on 24-05-2015 02:52 AM
This may be the last time I post in these pages. I have often thought about giving eBay the middle finger salute and taking my business elsewhere, but like an abused spouse I just seem to keep coming back. Before I throw in the towel for good tho, I would like to explain my reasons to someone who, unlike the many helpdesk workers I have spoke to in the last month, may be willing to listen to me.
Perhaps my experience might strike a chord with some of you. If so, I'd like to hear from you.
I have been an ebay seller for over 10 years, turning over about $8000 a month. What started as a hobby has now become my primary income - all legit with the tax office too. Until recently I was considering expanding my business and possibly employing someone to assist with mundane chores such as data enrty and answering questions.
In the last month I have seen my seller performance drop to below average, lost my power seller status, and am now unable to list under my ebay store subscrition. All of this inspite of an excellent DSR and consistently high feedback.
The reason has to do with recent policy changes which make it impossible for me to invoice my buyers with the correct postage charges.
Over the last few months certain functions have been removed from the checkout postage. At varying times the 'request combined postage' option has disappeared from the checkout, as has the 'send revised invoice' feature from selling manager. Up until very recently the 'send invoice to buyer' was also removed from the bottom of email notifications. In some instances buyers report being required to make immediate payment through paypal, even tho this condition was not stipulated by me in the listing. And god help anyone using a phone app that wishes to make multiple purchases. There seems ot be no choice but to pay multiple lots of postage and then complain about being overcharged..
This is where it starts to unravel. These changes all seem to have come since eBay decided it was fair to charge sellers a pecentage of the shipping fee, even tho this is a cost, which must be carried by the buyer or the seller, not a profit to which ebay would be rightly entitled to its fair share. I wouldn't be so cynical as to suggest that ebay are playing this to their advantage by making it harder for sellers to offer combined shipping, but I'll admit that the thought has crossed my mind.
Under current policy, a seller who initiates a paypal refund where there is no dispute incurrs a 'defect' on the transaction. The same thing happens if you cancel a transaction specifying out of stock as a reason. (The second option - buyer has requested a refund or changed his their mind is often confusiing to buyers who must agree to the cancellation in order for the seller to recoup their fees.)
In recent months I have had a couple of large sales where the buyer has overpaid and requested a refund, or, seeing the excessive total in the checkout has elected to pay by 'other'. In these instances the only option for me is to refund the payment in total or cancel the sale. To comply with ebay policy as best I can I tried relisting combined orders under the title PRIVATE SALE and included the correct price and fixed postage price in the listing. That seemed to work, the buyers paid the correct shipping and ebay collected the appropriate fee.
As a result of this my April performance evaluation put me below standard. I can't relist items as they expire or create any new listings, and the sudden drop-off in sales indicates that my items fallen to the bottom of the search results. I have contacted customer support on an almost daily basis and sent numerous emails. I am yet to speak to the same representative twice, and the responses I get to my emails, at least the ones written in a version of english that's recognisable, indicate that the they havent read, or understood the question.
On the odd occasion where I've felt like I've made some progress, I've then received different advice from the next rep. For instance I was told that once my seller evaluation returned an above avarage result I could request a higher selling limit. Nuh-uh. My last evaluation puts me at 'above standard' and when I spoke to trust and safety I was told I need to wait another 30 days. "Before we can increase your selling limit, we need to make sure that you are consistent giving excellent products and services to your buyers."
For the sake of ever loving f###. I have been consistently giving excellent service to my buyers for over 10 years with many repeat customers. If eBay simply dont want my money I guess thats an outcome I'd just have to deal with. But when they cant be bothered, or are incapable of dealing with a problem that goes a little off-script, it is just plain frustrating. Even more fristrating is this is a problem THEY CREATED.
Presently I have a leaking roof, my car rego is due and it doesn't look like I'll be able to make my mortgage payment this month.
I guess this was bound to happen, so my advice to anyone with inititative and a sensible business idea considering opening an ebay store is just dont bother. Unless you are dop-shipping cheap plastic gizmo's out of a factory in southern China, its just not worth the agony.
Thanks for listening to my story. If anyone from eBay is employed to moderate these forums, and suffficiently connected within the larger business to bring my complaint to the attention of someone who doesn't work in a call centre, I'd like to hear from you also.
on 24-05-2015 03:15 AM
I apologise for the typographical errors in the above post. Ebay wont let me edit it. Nor delete it and try again. Control freaks much?
on 24-05-2015 03:26 AM
Your issue is just one of MANY with EBay.
Simply put, Ebay are nothing but thieves and extremely dishonest.
They actually WANT you to go.
They brought in the best match scam in order to have no more than two sellers per catagory. Everyone else they do not want. That is why you will find the same seller is always on top of all searches.
You will find that you may have been taken off the 'protected sellers' list (if you were one) for some reason if your sales have dropped dramatically.
I went from 60 desktop systems a month to zero with the introduction of best match. Have never recovered and never will. No matter what price you sell for the adds will never go above the 'protected seller' in my catagory. EBay simply will not allow it.
This is just one of NUMEROUS scams and rorts Ebay is involved in.
People are leaving it in droves. They are sick of being treated like dirt. For Ebay to take a couple of thousand or more a month in fees and not even have the courtesy to respond to emails or solve issues says everything about what they are.
I used to be angry at those who scammed or stole on Ebay as it was bad for everyones business. Now I could not care who scams them. After all, they steal and rip off a huge number of sellers on here now.
on 24-05-2015 06:05 AM
on 24-05-2015 06:54 AM
I feel sorry for you in this situation
So many stories like yours on these boards
Good sellers are leaving in droves either by choice or are forced
Out by policy changes
And once you have been ousted there is no coming back in most
cases.
Combined postage problems as you described are mentioned
Here frequently.
I have been selling here for about three years but not on such
A large scale but it did help pay the bills
I haven't listed anything for about three months because it is
No longer a even playing field
Try phoning cs not emailing and ask for a supervisor
Although your chances are not good at this stage
Your Own website sounds like the way to go b for you
Because you have been so successful you may be able to get a
Government grant to set it up if you go to centerlink
Just a thought you could look into
on 24-05-2015 09:23 AM
Sorry to hear this but I will address a few of your concerns which might help in the future.
In some instances buyers report being required to make immediate payment through paypal –
When you have had this issue have you checked the listing to see if it is the buyer misunderstanding the payment instructions or whether in actual fact instant payment is showing on the listing. Many buyers think that when the Pay Now button comes up that means they have to pay immediately. I have had this conversation on several occasions with buyers and every time it has been a misunderstanding of the payment process by the buyer.
Over the last few months certain functions have been removed from the checkout postage –
I have never had functions disappear from checkout so not sure what is causing that problem. I have never had a problem sending combined invoices either. I do know however that the ebay app for mobile devices can cause problems. When this happens suggest the buyer use the classic view on their mobile or make payment from a PC.
You can also set up postage rules for buyer that purchase multiple items so they don’t need to wait for an invoice to be sent.
Under current policy, a seller who initiates a paypal refund where there is no dispute incurrs a 'defect' on the transaction. The same thing happens if you cancel a transaction specifying out of stock as a reason. (The second option - buyer has requested a refund or changed his their mind is often confusiing to buyers who must agree to the cancellation in order for the seller to recoup their fees.)
I have done lots of cancellations when the buyer has changed their mind and never received a defect for them.
If a buyer has requested a refund as they have changed their mind or made an error if the message comes through the ebay message system and you choose the option buyer has requested a refund or changed their mind no defect is issued. If the buyer does not respond to the cancellation request then ebay automatically close it after about 10 days and the seller gets the fees back.
If however you have run out of stock and that is the reason for the cancellation then yes a defect is issued as it is considered a bad buying experience.
In recent months I have had a couple of large sales where the buyer has overpaid and requested a refund, or, seeing the excessive total in the checkout has elected to pay by 'other'. In these instances the only option for me is to refund the payment in total or cancel the sale. To comply with ebay policy as best I can I tried relisting combined orders under the title PRIVATE SALE and included the correct price and fixed postage price in the listing. That seemed to work, the buyers paid the correct shipping and ebay collected the appropriate fee.
If a buyer has overpaid sending a partial refund through Paypal does not incur a defect. In these situations it is not necessary to fully refund and relist the item(s) – you simply refund the overpaid amount.
Good luck with your business and I hope you get it back to the level you reached.
on 24-05-2015 12:32 PM
on 24-05-2015 01:37 PM
Hence why I say... I would recommend you explore other business solutions... We are now, but should have done so earlier. We don't feel safe at all and since online selling is our primary source of financial support we need to protect ourselves. We are no longer able to do this on ebay so we now have an exit strategy plan in place.
Good luck to all!
on 24-05-2015 01:52 PM
In the same boat,2 accounts already gone and this account is just under the 5% so I just need 1 more defect and I'm definately gone on this account also.
But I already noticed a penalty on this account which is the 3 free relistings are no more so the signs are already showing.
Thanks ebay!
on 24-05-2015 02:30 PM