Interested in being part of the Deals program?

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Hi everyone,

The eBay Deals program on eBay.ca is doing amazing! Win-win situations all around: Buyers get great discounts & Sellers get to move their inventory!

If you're interested in being part of the program, please drop me an email with your User ID.

Thanks,

[rose-dee]

Hi Kalvin, 

For anybody here who isn't familiar with this (including me), could you briefly sum up what the eBay Deals programme is, and what restrictions/fees/requirements, etc. are attached?  I clicked on the link you provided, but it appears to be just a page of ads.  

Thanks.

[mr.elmwood]

Who covers the markdown?

[tobyshitzu]

Holy cow I havent looked at that in ages, they are back with shadier then ever fake "list prices" to show big fake discounts

"list price" of a pinkk nintendo 3ds xl is US$$650???? so $210 is a 68% discount???  Weird that reg price everywhere is $199.99, including on ebay from sellers like toysrus canada.  Grand tehft auto fake "list price" so the MSRP price is a deal?

Pretty sure ebay knows it is agaisnt the law in Canada to  do that being the ASC published a ruling against the big deal for the same thing.   Its the same thing forzani paid $1m+ to settle with the competition bureau a few years back.

[pierrelebel]

A few years ago I was invited to submit a proposal.  In those days, only five (5) deals were offered daily by eBay.ca

Over time I submitted two proposals, each meeting the requirements of the program as defined at the time (including real discount from true retail cost).  Never heard back from eBay.ca

Today, looking at all those "deals" offered on eBay.ca, I finally understand why my proposals were not selected: I do not have enough neutral/negative feedback!  It seems you need hundreds of neutral/negative feedback to be allowed to offer deals.

Strange world we live in.

[tobyshitzu]

Complaint:	The complainant alleged that the savings claims were exaggerated and could not be substantiated.
Decision:	In its response to Council, the advertiser explained that the MSRP is taken from the manufacturer’s website or from competitive retail sites. In some cases, the advertiser relies on the seller’s word to determine the appropriate MSRP. In Council’s opinion, the Big Deal advertisements conveyed the impression that the advertised products were ordinarily and regularly sold at the advertised MSRP and that buying the products at the prices advertised on eBay would generate a savings of the magnitude claimed in the advertisement. However, in this case, eBay could not substantiate that the MSRP claimed by the seller was the price at which the advertised products were ordinarily and regularly sold. Council, therefore, found that the savings claims could not be substantiated and represented unrealistic price comparisons.
Infraction:	Clause 3(a).

[tobyshitzu]

Cut and paste messed up the post.  that is from adstandards.com Upheld Complaints - Q4 2011.  Obivously now they either dont't even check the "list price' for the ones that would be dead simple to, or are intentiaonally allowing them to be inflated over 300% to show fake discounts

[rose-dee]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

Today, looking at all those "deals" offered on eBay.ca, I finally understand why my proposals were not selected: I do not have enough neutral/negative feedback!  It seems you need hundreds of neutral/negative feedback to be allowed to offer deals.

---

I decided to take a closer look too -- I see what you mean!

To be frank, looking at their FB I'm not sure I'd buy from any of these sellers to begin with.  

[rose-dee]

@pierrelebel wrote:

It seems you need hundreds of neutral/negative feedback to be allowed to offer deals.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Oh yes, and interestingly, as an addendum to my post above, I noticed that one of the recent negatives on one of these big deal sellers happened to be a complaint that an item was available from a major retailer for significantly less than what the seller charged.  By the response to the neg FB, it seems the seller refused to match the price by refunding. 

[kashka]

Wow...these are sellers with a large number of negs..Hmm..Is that how one gets visibility these days? Peeve off so many buyers a month and get your items promoted.I wouldn't spend $10 on any one of them.

[zittz]

Oh!  I am so waiting for Mr. Kalvin's response...............

[mr.elmwood]

Save a place in line for me

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay. The eBay Canada Deals program is a mirror image of the US program: http://deals.ebay.com/

It's a collection of hand curated merchandise - so we have someone who not only selects items, but also works with Sellers to make sure that standards on both the price & selling reputations are stellar. This program, which replaced The Big Deal, is a great vehicle for our most trusted sellers, as it's proven to be one of the most powerful sales & marketing levers they can utilize for their business.

Being a part of the program means the reach of buyers go beyond the Deals page itself. We have a growing subscriber base of 57,000 buyers, and exposure on PayPal and affiliates like RedFlagDeals and AirMiles.

I can connect you with our Deals Manager if you're further interested, so please send me an email.

Thanks,

[pierrelebel]

"great vehicle for our most trusted sellers,"

???

Have you taken a look at those sellers feedback page?

[kalvin@ebay.com]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"great vehicle for our most trusted sellers,"

???

Have you taken a look at those sellers feedback page?

---

Hi pierrelebel,

The first 10 Sellers are Top Rated Sellers - and as I'm sure you can appreciate, Negative Feedback can't be avoided sometimes, sellers can't please 100% of their buyers. I trust that Sellers we feature are indicative of their Top Rated status, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to retain that designation, let alone be part of the Deals program.

Happy to carry this conversation further - please send me an email directly.

Thanks,

[tobyshitzu]

wow, kalvin you are saying ebay has soemone who personally verified things like a nintendo 3ds sould be shown as a list price of $650???  Its gone now,  but virtually everything there is either a completely fake  "list price" (Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Unlocked GSM Camera / Smartphone with 16MP Camera, list price $1420??? Weird the river shows list price $799), or using what may have been an original list price for a new item on an old item that is refurbished too.  Or things like the invicta scam watch company that does pormote ridicuousl list prices they are never sold at so they can sell them on groupon copies or other shady websites (which shouldnt be promoted as sale or discount in canada). 

If I wanted to spend an afternoon reporting every single one of those to the ASC, ebay.ca  would end up with their all time record for most upheld rulings of  deceptive price representations

[tobyshitzu]

Curious why use a Hong Kong video game seller selling PAL format games at what MSRP is here to highlight on the .ca deal page?   The PS3 ones will work, except the customer may have to create a second online account making out they are overseas  for any download content to work here.  It wouldnt make any sense for anyone in Canada to buy these and have them shipped from hong kong when they can get the same thing at the same price anywhere here

Then of course there are the global shipping program ones where the extra charges to Canada eliminate even the fake discount from the fake list price of the refurb product

[rose-dee]

---

kalvin@ebay.com wrote:

The first 10 Sellers are Top Rated Sellers - and as I'm sure you can appreciate, Negative Feedback can't be avoided sometimes, sellers can't please 100% of their buyers. I trust that Sellers we feature are indicative of their Top Rated status, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to retain that designation, let alone be part of the Deals program.

---

It's useful to look a little further than the TRS badge.  Frankly, as a buyer after reviewing the FB page of most of the featured sellers I'd conclude that they are not providing superior service to their customers.  There wasn't one I looked at that I'd normally risk buying from.  A large volume can absorb a lot of poor selling practice yet still retain the TRS status, as we all are aware.  

As a sample from reality, I decided to check deeper into one Canadian seller featured on the "Deals" page today, selling silver jewellery.  This is someone with 1742 total FB points who has already accumulated 13 neutrals and 4 negative FB ratings.  Check a little further into the seller's other items offered for sale: for one item, I found some rather dubious although veiled disclaimers about seller responsibility, etc.  There is a link to "Fast and reliable shipping" at the top of the item description, which I clicked on. This link leads to a page full of unabashed disclaimers of responsibility on the part of the seller.  Here is a portion of the text: 

Regular letter mail: Since the courier doesn't provide any receipt for this method, if your item is lost when using this method, we shall not be held responsible for it.

Light packet: Courier don't provide insurance for this, but they will help to find the parcel AFTER 45 days,

Small package by Air: We will help you claim the lost item and keep you posted of any update during the process. But we shall not be held liable if it turns out lost in the end.

So if you don't receive your parcel, please contact us right AFTER 45 days

I've put in bold the text I found most shocking -- and that last line is a dilly!  I think any seller of integrity knows exactly what that request is hoping to achieve -- coerce the buyer beyond the eBay claim/policy timeline so that the buyer can't make a claim against the seller.  

I knew immediately what the seller was trying to do, and wouldn't buy from this person under any circumstances, having seen this text.  However, a new buyer might not understand the significance of waiting 45 days, and find him/herself completely shut out of any recourse against the seller.  I'd submit to eBay that this is shameful and deceptive practice on the part of this seller.  

Again, I think that whoever evaluates sellers to participate in this programme needs to delve a little deeper into the seller's history and practice on eBay, and not simply rely on the TRS badge.  Actually reading some of the negative FB (and seller replies) gives you a better grasp of the seller's true attitude toward his/her buyers.  Here you really can't judge a book by its cover. 

This is of course in addition to the pricing concerns raised by 'toby' above, which are serious enough.  

I will probably have this post removed for saying this, but it seems to me someone has done an excellent job of propagandizing this programme.  It needs to be more carefully designed and monitored.  

[rose-dee]

On reflection, as this 'Deals' programme stands now, as a seller I don't think I'd even want to be seen in the same company as a number of the sellers featured.  Buyers might draw conclusions about my reputation by association.  

Sorry!  EBay needs to do better. 

[tobyshitzu]

There are clearly ones that aren't TRS on either .com or global.  The refurb cuisinart grill seller isn't, has a 4.7 for shipping time and picks up 200 negs a month.    I found that one on the 3rd item I randomly clicked on.