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 

[pierrelebel]

"To answer your question, any valid tracking number will work for Canadian sellers as far as providing the info required for DSR protection and eBay.com TRS promotion qualification."

Let me try again.

Obviously, the information entered in the previous post (FirstClassMail and Canada Post) would NOT qualify for the Seller Protection program.  I know that. We all know that.

The question is: will "tracking" information such as "FirstClassMail and Canada Post (or USPS)" be acceptable for both Canadian and American selllers - advertising one day handling time and shipping through First Class Mail to save money to buyers - listing on eBay.com for the purpose of getting higher visibility with Best Match as announced today?

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Regaring your copmment about it being a "huge difference".

As Canadian seller who meets the US TRS requirements except tracking, you will still get the badge, the discount and search promotion.

The extra exposure provided by the 90% tracking does definitely play a role but as I said earlier, if you take into account all the best match factor, you will still receive great exposure for your listings as a US TRS seller.

[dutchman48]

Pierre, if you are referring to me, I am not talking about the seller protection program, just tracking as it will affect TRS status

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Hi it*s-not-me,

As long as they are valid shipment reference numbers, these "tracking" numbers will count for Canadian sellers even though they can't technically be read by the site to deliver tracking updates.

[dutchman48]

Vincenzo - we do require 1 day shipping???? we have no mail on Saturday, how will that affect us as we can't ship saturday of friday sales. what about holidays here that are not holidays in the US? I really don't think Ebay thought about these ridiculous new rules and Canadians. If not, why do they just not close Ebay .ca as we are not in the US and can't abide by their rules.

[pierrelebel]

"We will allow any valid shipment reference entered as tracking information by Canadian sellers."

Life is good! 🙂

[dutchman48]

Vincenzo - If we just upload hoaky numbers which is what the paypal numbers really are, who checks if they are legitimate unless there is a claim. This is a hypothetical question, but some may try because they are forced to play Ebay's games. Who is going to monitor whether the numbers are legit or not? And what happens if they are not legit as the Paypal numbers are not also?

[it*s-not-me]

Hi it*s-not-me,

As long as they are valid shipment reference numbers, these "tracking" numbers will count for Canadian sellers even though they can't technically be read by the site to deliver tracking updates.

Very Confusing!

Is there an extra step required to enter these numbers into completed listings?...........

or is the email send out to the buyer from Paypal enough?

This sounds like eBay will be assessing completed listings looking for tracking numbers........

entered somewhere............ somethow...........

or perhaps the purchased label at Paypal are enough? .............

for light pakets and small packets shipping?

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Hi Dutchman,

Saturday is not considered a business day so there is no gap here between what Canadian and US sellers can do.

When it comes to the very rare cases where there would be a Canadian holiday not matched by a US holiday exceptions can be made for Canadian sellers in these cases if there is a complaint from the buyer.

[pocomocomputing]

Sigh, fake tracking numbers will qualify. So much fudging around to make things work for Canadian sellers.

So if I send an item within Canada using Canada Post Lettermail Oversize or Canada Post Letter-post USA or International, I can enter "123456789" as a tracking number to qualify?

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

If the shipping label is printed using PayPal we know the "tracking" number is valid. The site and our trust and safety team will be able to cover the cases where a "fake" number is entered deliberately.

We are touching on trust and site security rules so please allow me to not go too much into details when it comes to what we can detect and take action on.

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Hi Pocomo,

The site will accept the number but we will monitor seller behaviors and this kind of "gaming" will not be tolerated and rapidly lead to sanctions on the account.

So entering totally fake numbers is not the way to go.

[art-in-the-making]

The thing that caught my eye was that "not communicating" with the customer will be rewarded with an automatic 5 DSR rating if shipping, tracking and 14-day return policy is met:-)

Not communicating is great communications!!???

I was told by an eBay (in house) sales consultant not that long ago that the more communications the better!

What is the reasoning for this change in approach, Vincenzo?

[pierrelebel]

"If the shipping label is printed using PayPal..."

Vincenzo, we all know that millions of items are sold on eBay every week and shipped through USPS First Class Mail by American sellers (mostly) and a few thousand Canadian sellers.

I do not believe the new policy intends to "punish" American sellers shipping through USPS First Class Mail by putting a stamp on the envelope or parcel (not PayPal) - assuming the risk for loss to minimize shipping costs for buyers.

How will eBay handle those American sellers?  Will they be "punished" (lower exposure through Best Match) for offering a reduced shipping to their buyers?  Is that really what eBay intends?  If so, does it make any sense?

[dutchman48]

But Paypal tracking numbers for light packet and small packet are fake as they have no on line searchable delivery and if there is a INR claim, Ebay will not accept these numbers so thet are fake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This needs to be clarified and Michael Jones needs to get his head out of the sand and live in the real world as we sellers have to.

Vincenzo - I really appreciate your input, but fake is fake or are there degrees according to Ebay. It can either be tracked or not tracked and from Canada, light packet and small packet CAN NOT be tracked so what good are the Paypal real phony numbers compared to made up ones.

[dutchman48]

Pierre

If I remeber correctly, they can add tracking to first class mail in the US for next to nothing in cost. Correct me if I am wrong

[msmaggie060]

dutchman, I think the key word here is "valid". eBay allows valid numbers but not phoney ones!

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Hi,

Regarding the communication question, I think it's important to note that the protection will only apply if the item is shipped within 1 day and tracking is uploaded and if the buyer does not contact the seller through member to member communicaitons. The automated order confirmation emails will not count as member to member communication.

Communicating with the buyer is still important and a best practice but as soon as commuication happens, even if it's to provide info about the order, it makes sense for buyers to be able to rate it.

If the buyer has an issue then they will contact the seller and there will not be automatic 5 stars so this rule is really meant to protect sellers from buyers who would leave low DSRs without having had a chance to interact with the buyer and who have delivered on their commitment.

I hope that helps!

[vincenzo@ebay.com]

Hi Dutchman,

These numbers don't necessarily allow tracking but provide a proof that shipping happened (if they are valid) so they are not fake. Knowing the Canadian context, we thought that allowing the use of these numbers while ensure there was no abuse was the right thing to help Canadian sellers.

[art-in-the-making]

well explained about communications, Vincenzo - thanks!