eBay Seller Release to Include Changes to Fees, Feedback

[pierrelebel]

By Ina Steiner
EcommerceBytes.com
February 28, 2012

eBay will announce the first Seller Release of 2012 today, and fees and feedback are on the table. Some of the forthcoming policy changes are designed to encourage sellers to send items quickly and reward sellers for having no communication with buyers, and eBay is raising the bar for Top Rated Sellers who wish to receive the 20% Final Value Fee discount.

Beginning July 2nd, eBay will offer sellers free image hosting, and beginning in the fall, all listings will be required to have at least one picture - additional quality standards for pictures will also be in effect.

eBay will also raise the maximum Final Value Fee for auction listings to $250 for non-Store owners, which impacts auctions that close at $1,111 and above.

for more:  http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y12/m02/i28/s00 

[Anonymous]

We'd be happy to see more US sellers using trackable services to Canada. We all know how frequently items can get stuck in customs in either direction, and tracking mitigates a lot of buyer anxiety.

If eBay is "happy" it's only because they have NEVER bought or sold anything involving a cross-border shipment.

The odds than "tracking" info is going to "mitigate" anything is phantasy, all the tracking ever shows is that the package seems to have vanished enroute.

I'm sorry but you people (eBay) are idiots if they think pushing sellers into using trackable services for International is a good thing!

These same idiots are probably going to start promoting UPS/FedEx Ground when US sellers ship to Canada.

[Anonymous]

Whoops. Butterfingers sorry.

What I meant to say way that I should introduce myself.

I'm the head of product management for eBay Canada, and I co-manage our operations in Canada. I have been with eBay for over 10 years, and have been selling from Canada for over 10 years.

From my own experiences, and interacting with sellers, I have a fairly decent sense of what it means to sell from Canada. That's why I worked to ensure Canadian sellers were exempt from the 90% tracking requirement for the US Top-rated designation.

The changes to the US Top-rated program that were announced today were based on data and research. We believe we're doing what we need to do to attract more buyers to our sites, to help them buy more stuff when they get there, and to avoid the item not received claims and low DSR's that can unfairly plague a seller that must contend with the slooooow US/Canada border.

If tracking doesn't make sense for you or your listings, that's okay. Provide great items at great prices and support with outstanding and friendly Canadian style customer service and you can qualify for the Top-rated designation, delight your buyers, and do really well.

[pierrelebel]

An interesting comment from an eBay staffer on eBay.com:

"When the Top-rated seller program initially launched, many sellers did not think they would be able to qualify… and today over half our sold items come from Top-rated sellers."

[dutchman48]

I am reading various pages and the links to other pages. On some it says top rated seller status qualifications lowered to 1000 per month and in other areas states 1000 in annual sales. Which is correct and when will this discrepancy be fixed?

[hit_the_icebox]

From my own experiences, and interacting with sellers, I have a fairly decent sense of what it means to sell from Canada. That's why I worked to ensure Canadian sellers were exempt from the 90% tracking requirement for the US Top-rated designation.

The changes to the US Top-rated program that were announced today were based on data and research. We believe we're doing what we need to do to attract more buyers to our sites, to help them buy more stuff when they get there, and to avoid the item not received claims and low DSR's that can unfairly plague a seller that must contend with the slooooow US/Canada border.

Rodney, can I ask what you sell? Is it all items that are expensive enough to require tracking? Because as a Canadian seller of sports cards for about seven years, I can tell you that I receive a RIDICULOUS number of questions/complaints because Americans apparently can't read the 2-3 week shipping time on Canada Post Lettermail we put in every auction and invoice.

[triber]

I find that the "false" tracking number on small package rate is a real problem, I am continually getting mail from buyers saying that the number doesn't work. Of course it doesn't, there IS no tracking on small package rate.

[bilge21]

Hi Sheepgal54

You are correct. Lettermail will not count as a trackable service. The tracking uplaod is 90% so if lettermail is less than 10% of your shipments to the US you will be fine and will get the full US TRS benefits plus the extra boost.

Extra boost is meaningless unless you first deal with those sellers that have many duplicates listed, using different titles and prices to bypass the duplication rules.

If you take a look in the category I sell in, you will find 90% of Canadian sellers in that category skirting the duplication rule.

I am interested in what changes to that policy will be.

[nicki9912]

Small time Mom and Pop Operation here. Because of  new policies and changes plus getting hit with the cost of shipping fees I decided to bow out and sell elsewhere. Received two emails from eBay in the past two days.. One was that I no longer meet the Requirements of being a Top Seller, and the other was for Free Photo's beginning in July.  Nothing like getting a Slap in the Face for Doing Nothing, and then Getting Rewarded right after being told that I was a loser. Thanks Ebay, I luvs ya !

[it*s-not-me]

We believe we're doing what we need to do to attract more buyers to our sites, to help them buy more stuff when they get there, and to avoid the item not received claims and low DSR's that can unfairly plague a seller that must contend with the slooooow US/Canada border.

As someone who buys a lot from the U.S. I'm anticipating a lot of tension from U.S. sellers.

The only reason Canadians can buy from the U.S, is because of low First Class International shipping.

If U.S. sellers will not ship that way I cannot buy from them...... period!

It's not really clear what the changes mean.  They will have to send 90% of their items with tracking IF they want TRS status.

That will only confuse them, make them nervous, and that will all result in more problems for me as a buyer.

I'll get billed for all sorts of upgraded shipping methods because they wont know what qualifies.

Time will tell, but I'm anticipating that this will put a stop to my eBay buying  for a while. and maybe for good.

How on earth does increasing the cost of shipping attract buyers?

EBay has been pushing sellers hard to reduce the cost of shipping for a long time..............

Now........... there's a complete about face and eBay is pushing sellers to increase shipping costs substantially.

What the Heck????

[nonstopchatter]

I had a look at the handy dandy check list.  What a joke.  Could you make things more complicated?  I don't think so.  The KISS rule appears to be lost on ebay.

I, for one, will not be changing anything.  For the tiny volume of sales that I have I will not be making any adjustments for a tiny shift in search placement.

Its disheartening to see ebay continuing to go down this path however.

[pierrelebel]

Rodney: "That's why I worked to ensure Canadian sellers were exempt from the 90% tracking requirement for the US Top-rated designation."

Could you please elaborate.

"Canadian sellers" ? 

Are Canadian "legacy" users registered on eBay.com included in "Canadian sellers"?

[it*s-not-me]

I am confused about this:

The rules state that we ""Get an automatic 5-star Communications rating for transactions where you offer same-day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information by the end of the next business day, and there is no communication between you and the buyer.""""

That doesn't seem like a problem, but again it contradicts the way we've been encouraged to do things in the past.

I thought that eBay was encouraging us to connect with our buyers, but now it seems that's not the case.

I send an email to buyers after shipping to let them know that the item is on the way etc. etc. etc.

Now that's bad?

What I see is that sellers will be hightly rewarded for using on line shipping methods.

Since the buyer gets an email from Paypal, any buyer who wants to greatly decrease the chance that a buyer will email and ruin the 5 star rating.......

will use Paypal for shipping.

Holy Cow........... What a cash grab that is for the eBay/Paypal team.

That's what at the heart of this............... no?

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Hi Pierre -

"Legacy" sellers are treated the same way in this context as those registered on eBay.ca. The qualifier in this context to be a "Canadian Seller" is that your registration address is in Canada, not whether or not your registration site is eBay.ca.

Thanks!

~Kalvin

[bighillbargains1]

The rules state that we ""Get an automatic 5-star Communications rating for transactions where you offer same-day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information by the end of the next business day, and there is no communication between you and the buyer.""""

Why don't we get an automatic 5-star rating for Shipping time if we ship within that 1-day handling rule???????????????

The DSR for shipping time is a far bigger problem than the DSR for communication!

This does not make any sense at all!

[tobyshitzu]

Ive never seen a single person complain they lost TRS or got in trouble over the communication star.  If someone was going to  that one they are porbably doing it to others too.  So who cares if its "protected" when they can just hammer another one that they were more likely to do anyway.  They must have figured they needed something to announce they could spin as a positive for sellers

[pierrelebel]

"They must have figured they needed something to announce they could spin as a positive for sellers."

I agree with you that the policy change seems to make little sense at first sight. I do not have any "inside" insight into the changes. It is important to understand these changes are based on the American marketplace. Changes affecting Canadian sellers are simply an adaptation of the American model.

Personally, while eBay is trying to show it is working hard to make the site safer and more convenient for buyers, I suspect the changes are needed because eBay now realizes - from data collected from PayPal - many buyers are abusing the system, at the expense of honest sellers.

By encouraging American sellers to use one day shipping with "tracking" despite the extra cost, eBay hopes claims by buyers for non-receipt will be reduced.  The "communication" star was selected as an enticement for sellers.

As a bonus, eBay will also collect added FVF on the more expensive shipping method suggested for sellers (it makes no difference if sellers charge extra or increase their prices to cover the extra shipping cost; either way eBay gets more!).

WIN - WIN for eBay!

[it*s-not-me]

It took me a while to digest it, but actually, I can see the reasoning behind the automatic 5 stars for communication.

It pretty much means that it will be to a seller's advantage to plug in a shipping amount in their listings if they want the automatic 5 stars.

It should reduce the open ended shipping listings.

All in all I see that as a good thing.

The off shoot is that those emails we send out to buyers are no longer a good idea.

Or at least it will be advisable to wait a few days after shipping.

In any event.......... I think that most of us get 5 stars for communication most of the time anyway.

[it*s-not-me]

What I see is that "IF" U.S. sellers really buy into this too much......... as they are likely to do for a while.....

Canadians purchases from the US will all but stop.

That could be a good thing.......... maybe then they'll appreciate us a little more.

I never ask a seller to fudge the numbers, but I do insist on First Class International shipping.......... non-negotiable.

If the item is expensvie I direct the seller to shipsurance.

ALL of my items have arrived safely............ ALL of them and I've bought thousands of items over the past 10+ years.

I suspect that a lot of those IDNA claims will become INAD claims if items are shipped with tracking.

Returns would increase and that could be shipping nightmare with upgraded methods.

Time will tell, but if my eBay buying days are over....... I'm good with that.

The item would have to be absolutely outstanding for me to pay upgraded shipping, and that's never the case.

Where this will go (if anywhere) is not predictable and IMO quite risky for eBay.

Odds are that nothing will change too much in the long run.........

US sellers have been buying FCI shipping online very recently, and perhaps this announcement was timed to coincide with that change.

I don't know, but I do know that this on-line FCI shipping comes with fake tracking too.

[rosscd57]

Is everyone aware of this - I pulled it off the Auctiva site. I further wonder if eBay and PayPal is taking a fee from the return postage.

"One of the more significant changes noted in the seller update is the end of the three- and seven-day return policy options.

Starting the first week of May, sellers who accept returns will have to choose between offering 14-, 30- or 60-day windows for returning items. Additionally, sellers will no longer be able to offer “merchandise credit” or exchanges. If sellers accept returns, they’ll need to offer “money back” or “money back or exchange” options, eBay notes

Along with these changes, eBay also announced a “new way” of returning items. Buyers will be able to log in to My eBay, click the “Return this Item” link next to the appropriate sale, choose the reason for the return and print a shipping label before sending the item back.

“eBay pays for the return shipping upfront and then either charges the buyer’s PayPal account or adds it to your next invoice, depending on who you specified pays for shipping,” eBay’s announcement states.

“When you receive the item, you simply click a button to issue a refund,” the announcement continues. “Your final value fee for that transaction will show as a credit on your next seller invoice and a portion of your PayPal fees will also be refunded.”

[it*s-not-me]

Is everyone aware of this - I pulled it off the Auctiva site. I

“eBay pays for the return shipping upfront and then either charges the buyer’s PayPal account or adds it to your next invoice, depending on who you specified pays for shipping,” eBay’s announcement states.

It almost sounds like this is saying that a buyer can return an item and spedify that the seller will pay return shipping with no negotiation............... as well as choose the method of shipping.

Is that right?

Can't be........ can it?

With upgraded shipping methods............ that would be a  nightmare for sellers.