How to improve eBay.au for sellers

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

I wanted to start a thread where members could suggest things that would improve the selling experience for sellers.  I want this to be a constructive thread and not one that disintegrates into posters having a go at eachother or denigrating suggestions.

We have all seen the multitude of "negs for buyers" threads and I don't want this thread to get into a to-and-fro between those that are for and against negs for buyers and same old arguments repeated all over again.

Most of the suggestions that get posted have probably been posted before, but probably not on a single thread.  If really good proactive suggestions are made then next time eBay send any of us a survey asking "How can we improve?" then we can list the best ideas that are posted here.

I'll kick it off with the next two posts as I would like each post to contain a single concise suggestion without having to be explained too much. After all . . . . . if it has to be explained in detail then it isn't really a simple idea for improving eBay selling.

Readers can give Kudos to those suggestions that they agree with.

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

Cross-referencing between buyer accounts to restrict members who try to circumvent blocks by opening new accounts.

[thecatspjs · Accepted solution]

Signficantly improved account ID verification requirements.

[thecatspjs]

I like this thread

Posters on the trading boards that repeatedly break board policy and have posts removed in their hundreds are sent packing

[digital*ghost]

This one is more of a personal wish regarding specific functions, so I hope it's not out of place...

I would really like the option to have a global quanity on variation listings, rather than have to set specific quantities per variation. Sometimes I have for example 20 of an item that I can customise 5 different ways - I could actually provide 20 of one customisation, or 4 of each, or 10 of two, but I can't provide this option to customers because if I can only supply 20 in total, I can only set each variation with a lower quantity so that the maximum available doesn't exceed 20.

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

FVF credits if a seller can prove they refunded excess postage.

FVF charged on the lowest domestic postage option.

[davewil1964]

---

@thecatspjs wrote:

I like this thread

Posters on the trading boards that repeatedly break board policy and have posts removed in their hundreds are sent packing

---

They are certainly sent packing from the boards. And the boards are an adjunct, not the main game....

[davewil1964 · Accepted solution]

I would like a non-payment = non-buying option.

Most of my items are one-offs for me. So a NPB puts my stuff out of circulation for at least 8 days. More really, but that's the OCD.

I don't think the current system is adequate as it only allows Paypal as the payment method. Not every buyer uses Paypal, and it should be simple enough to set the cart up so no-pay = no-buy.

[thecatspjs]

---

@davewil1964 wrote:

I would like a non-payment = non-buying option.

Most of my items are one-offs for me. So a NPB puts my stuff out of circulation for at least 8 days. More really, but that's the OCD.

I don't think the current system is adequate as it only allows Paypal as the payment method. Not every buyer uses Paypal, and it should be simple enough to set the cart up so no-pay = no-buy.

---

This sounds to me like a very worthy idea, that I have not heard of before, I like ..

[*crikey*mate*]

I currently have 14 BINs that I have not yet paid for.

8 of them from one seller - I'm ready to pay, but haven't for 2 reasons

1) They told me they have more items I may like and that they would list them so I could see and of course buy legitimately through eBay etc - as yet, they have not listed the items - real life is interfering etc

2) They have not sent me an invoice for those 8 with the combined shipping fee that they offer

So, in the no pay, no buy scenario, someone who only wanted one item or would pay individually could purchase these items instead of me. (The items are in the US, so ind9vidual shipping will become cost prohibitive - hence my desire to bulk purchase

We are in daily contact with allowances for the time differences

..................................

The other 2 - I am waiting for courier costs to be invoiced so that I can pay - same seller, so just one invoice, but even individually, I cannot pay until they provide a shipping amount

.................................

earlier today I bought 4 more items off another US seller spread between 2 listings. Again, they have agreed to combine postage, so until they log in taking the time difference into account, and issue me an invoice, I can't pay.

.....................

Thus i think the current system where we as sellers have the option of BIN instant payment required as an option is fine, but I don't think it should be an automaTIC REQUIREMENT - it should remain a choice

There is no way I would have bought the quantities I did if I had to pay shipping individually, the importation became cost effecxtive for me because of the combined postage discount so the seller may have missed out on some sales, or at least had to wait longer to make the sales

Also, how would instant payment affect those in categories where combined postage is an advantage?

ie - off the top of my head - a used book. I pay $5 for the book and $8 for post - but if I can buy more to fill a 3kg satchel or a Bx4 box - the shipping costs become a bit better.

[digital*ghost]

---

@*crikey*mate* wrote:

Thus i think the current system where we as sellers have the option of BIN instant payment required as an option is fine, but I don't think it should be an automaTIC REQUIREMENT - it should remain a choice

There is no way I would have bought the quantities I did if I had to pay shipping individually, the importation became cost effecxtive for me because of the combined postage discount so the seller may have missed out on some sales, or at least had to wait longer to make the sales

Also, how would instant payment affect those in categories where combined postage is an advantage?

ie - off the top of my head - a used book. I pay $5 for the book and $8 for post - but if I can buy more to fill a 3kg satchel or a Bx4 box - the shipping costs become a bit better.

---

This problem could be solved with more sophisticated postage and checkout options (plus all the bugs resolved).

If you think about it, many independent websites operate in exactly this manner, with no option to buy and pay later (though some have a 'submit order' style of system where the order remains valid for X amount of time, allowing for cheques, money orders, bank deposits or even wire transfers), but the biggest issue is postage costs - however, their carts are sophisticated enough to work out totals based on combined weight and/or volume of the items the buyer purchased, so there is never any need for a buyer to query postage, nor wait for an invoice.

Something like that may be slightly more problematic for ebay to implement, each shipping service would require different parameters, but I'd be very surprised if it was impossible. 

The final improvement to make such a system work would be the removal of the BIN button and only retain 'add to cart'.