Xena
I can answer quite a few of these....should I? or do you want me to wait to give Miriam a chance to reply?
I can answer quite a few of these....should I? or do you want me to wait to give Miriam a chance to reply?
No apple...no answers!
However, when it comes to buyers, specifics are not the norm. Instead, I read “holding buyers accountable”, “more accountable”, “increase our monitoring”, “buyers behaving very badly”, “will be held more accountable”, all of which are statements without concrete parameters.
Probably because the parameters are in a state of flux, I'm guessing but I expect it will be similar to how they will calculate bad behaviour by sellers (ie: behavior that puts you in the bottom 5 - 10% of buyers).
Except in the case of fraudulent sellers, the cause of INR’s are (almost) always because an item is lost in the mail or a buyer (fraudulently) claims non-receipt (a piece-of-cake to do with “light” and “small” packets). Unfortunately, some buyers file INR’s early to protect themselves. A buyer can file a dispute in less time than it takes for the item to arrive (Italy as a crass example).
Question: If the “issue” is resolved voluntarily, i.e. the seller voluntarily refunds, does this buyer still count towards the “dissatisfied” score?
Only the last 30 days of activity are used so old claims regardless of how they are resolved will roll off by themselves after 30 days.
“New seller requirements”
Question: Do I understand correctly that EVERY new seller will be required to:
1. Offer PayPal or merchant credit card
2. Will have their funds held by PP in accordance with the new rules
Until they have reached at least 100 FB or have been an eBay member for at least 6 months, or they have 20 DSR’s (if under 4.5) in 12 months, whatever occurs LATEST?
For #1 yes, for #2 more complicated but primarily only if you sell in the "high-risk" categories.
“Protection from chargebacks for Power Sellers”
Question: Could you explain in more detail? Specifically “merchandise not received”. Does that mean that INR’s are automatically covered?
Question: If the answer to the above is “yes”, does it make any difference to the score whether the seller refunds out of his/her own pocket or if the “eBay seller protection” is invoked?
INR's are covered but you still need the same proof of delivery that you have always needed. For the great majority of International shipments this means no change from current policies since d/c is not obtained/available for the majority of International shipments. The real bonus in this policy change is that credit card chargebacks can be won without the need for a confirmed address but you still need proof of delivery.
“Repeat FB credit”
Question: Will this be retroactive and, if so, how far back?
Not sure, I think this is only going forward, I belive it's the removal of feedback from NARU'd members that will be removed retroactively. I thought I saw a clarification on this point but I can't find it now.
“Starting in February”
Question: Is there a specific date?
I believe on all of these the specific dates are TBA, I've heard that the PayPal International changes are effective today (Feb.14) but I can't confirm. I also understand that you need to opt-in to this extra protection for Powersellers. If you check your PayPal account there is a policy update scheduled for March 8th but the details have not yet been posted.
“Excessive shipping”
Question: How does eBay plan to calculate “excessive shipping”, i.e. what are the parameters/benchmarks?
I doubt anybody knows the complete answer, it's a very complicated issue. Sometimes it is simple and obvious but many times it's not. The last time there was a crackdown on excessive shipping there was a lot of "collateral damage".
“We will remove negative and neutral FB when a buyer does not respond to the UPI”
Question: What happens when the buyer responds “whatever” just to be able to leave FB, even though he/she will never pay?
Any response is a response, the only real change here is that if they don't respond the feedback comment (if any) will be entirely removed instead of the rating only being removed.
“When the listings end in different weeks”
Question: Which is the first day of an “eBay week”?
I saw it specified somewhere but I can't find it now, think it's Monday to Sunday but it could be Sunday to Saturday.
Hopefully Miriam will come back to correct any mistakes and fill in the missing answers.
However, when it comes to buyers, specifics are not the norm. Instead, I read “holding buyers accountable”, “more accountable”, “increase our monitoring”, “buyers behaving very badly”, “will be held more accountable”, all of which are statements without concrete parameters.
Probably because the parameters are in a state of flux, I'm guessing but I expect it will be similar to how they will calculate bad behaviour by sellers (ie: behavior that puts you in the bottom 5 - 10% of buyers).
Except in the case of fraudulent sellers, the cause of INR’s are (almost) always because an item is lost in the mail or a buyer (fraudulently) claims non-receipt (a piece-of-cake to do with “light” and “small” packets). Unfortunately, some buyers file INR’s early to protect themselves. A buyer can file a dispute in less time than it takes for the item to arrive (Italy as a crass example).
Question: If the “issue” is resolved voluntarily, i.e. the seller voluntarily refunds, does this buyer still count towards the “dissatisfied” score?
Only the last 30 days of activity are used so old claims regardless of how they are resolved will roll off by themselves after 30 days.
“New seller requirements”
Question: Do I understand correctly that EVERY new seller will be required to:
1. Offer PayPal or merchant credit card
2. Will have their funds held by PP in accordance with the new rules
Until they have reached at least 100 FB or have been an eBay member for at least 6 months, or they have 20 DSR’s (if under 4.5) in 12 months, whatever occurs LATEST?
For #1 yes, for #2 more complicated but primarily only if you sell in the "high-risk" categories.
“Protection from chargebacks for Power Sellers”
Question: Could you explain in more detail? Specifically “merchandise not received”. Does that mean that INR’s are automatically covered?
Question: If the answer to the above is “yes”, does it make any difference to the score whether the seller refunds out of his/her own pocket or if the “eBay seller protection” is invoked?
INR's are covered but you still need the same proof of delivery that you have always needed. For the great majority of International shipments this means no change from current policies since d/c is not obtained/available for the majority of International shipments. The real bonus in this policy change is that credit card chargebacks can be won without the need for a confirmed address but you still need proof of delivery.
“Repeat FB credit”
Question: Will this be retroactive and, if so, how far back?
Not sure, I think this is only going forward, I belive it's the removal of feedback from NARU'd members that will be removed retroactively. I thought I saw a clarification on this point but I can't find it now.
“Starting in February”
Question: Is there a specific date?
I believe on all of these the specific dates are TBA, I've heard that the PayPal International changes are effective today (Feb.14) but I can't confirm. I also understand that you need to opt-in to this extra protection for Powersellers. If you check your PayPal account there is a policy update scheduled for March 8th but the details have not yet been posted.
“Excessive shipping”
Question: How does eBay plan to calculate “excessive shipping”, i.e. what are the parameters/benchmarks?
I doubt anybody knows the complete answer, it's a very complicated issue. Sometimes it is simple and obvious but many times it's not. The last time there was a crackdown on excessive shipping there was a lot of "collateral damage".
“We will remove negative and neutral FB when a buyer does not respond to the UPI”
Question: What happens when the buyer responds “whatever” just to be able to leave FB, even though he/she will never pay?
Any response is a response, the only real change here is that if they don't respond the feedback comment (if any) will be entirely removed instead of the rating only being removed.
“When the listings end in different weeks”
Question: Which is the first day of an “eBay week”?
I saw it specified somewhere but I can't find it now, think it's Monday to Sunday but it could be Sunday to Saturday.
Hopefully Miriam will come back to correct any mistakes and fill in the missing answers.
Miriam, another question for you.
Regarding the new DSR qualification standard for Powerseller eligibility.
# New requirement effective July 2008: have maintained a rating of 4.5 or higher for the past 12 months in all four detailed seller ratings (DSRs)
On the US Powerseller board there is considerable confusion on this (and no one like you to answer). If a seller slips below 4.5 in one (or more I suppose) star categories for a short period, say less than 2 months will they lose Powerseller status and if so when will they be eligible again?
Would they have to wait until 12 months had past since they went below 4.5 or is the 4.5 number some sort of average or aggregate score based on the previous 12 months.
Regarding the new DSR qualification standard for Powerseller eligibility.
# New requirement effective July 2008: have maintained a rating of 4.5 or higher for the past 12 months in all four detailed seller ratings (DSRs)
On the US Powerseller board there is considerable confusion on this (and no one like you to answer). If a seller slips below 4.5 in one (or more I suppose) star categories for a short period, say less than 2 months will they lose Powerseller status and if so when will they be eligible again?
Would they have to wait until 12 months had past since they went below 4.5 or is the 4.5 number some sort of average or aggregate score based on the previous 12 months.
Repeat Feedback credit is not retroactive - the credit starts this month and counts going forward. We considered making it retroactive, but the complexity of it was so vast that it would have been wildly expensive and impossible to get 100% accurate. (I was bummed about this because I could have gotten my feedback score above 300 with retroactive repeat feedback.)
You're "bummed"! I could a been an instant shooting star if it was retroactive :_|
You're "bummed"! I could a been an instant shooting star if it was retroactive :_|
