eBay Premium Service misleading

[barney_rubbles]

i was browsing for some items to buy & i saw the words 'eBay Premium Service' just under an item title and think to myself 'wow a premium service eh, i should check out this item as it must mean the seller has a very good track record of giving great service'. Well i could not be more wrong, the seller has less than 300fb points with only 98.1% positive fb rating, how is that premium?? It seems to me this is misleading advertising by ebay. Now i will go & duck for cover 😉

[davewil1964]

It's very simple.

The item qualifies for the Premium service badge because the seller is TRS and offers the following on the specific listing -

'Free' post

30 day money back guarantee (albeit possibly with qualifications)

An express postage option.

They are TRS because they have had more than 100 transactions, worth more than $1,000, and have feedback of at least 98%. A seller would be expected to know that. We get enough notifications from eBay about these things.

[barney_rubbles]

yes we do get notifications about these things, but it would have been quite some time ago & i for one don't remember the contents of all of them. I also don't offer free postage, money back guarantee or had USD $1,000+ in sales with Australian buyers over 12 months. So the notice would have been even less memorable as its not all that relevant to me. i haven't sold anything since last year either.

         In any case, i still think its misleading & believe it should only apply to sellers with 99%+ positive fb because they provide a 'premium' service by their actions, not because they offer 'premium' postage options & have a rather mediocre fb record.

[iamanark]

Free' post …. I have asked several times at the Post Office and they do not know anything about “Free Post” … gee, I would like to know where I can get it

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30 day money back guarantee (albeit possibly with qualifications) …

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Yes, and if you do have to send it back, that’s when you will find out there is no such thing as “free post”

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An express postage option. … provided you pay extra … again, no such thing as “free post”

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They are TRS because they have had more than 100 transactions, worth more than $1,000 … (100x10) wow ! that is some criteria … really establishes the seller as a major player …

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and have feedback of at least 98%. … sorry, but I would not consider buying off a seller who has two rotten transactions for every 100 … and that does not take into account the neutrals !

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A seller would be expected to know that … ah yes, but do the buyers ? or are they sucked in by ebay spin ?

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Or as the OP asks ... misleading ?

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It is not over until the fat lady posts

[2106greencat]

I have to agree to an extent - to be TRS you should need a bit more than that.

It isn't hard to accumulate dollar value and items sold.

When I was selling I got TRS status in about 2 months. The reason I got TRS so quickly was because my items were high ticket items and I could offer FREE POST (in sale price of course) and still sell for 40-45% under what the item would retail at a BM for.

I was a good seller, not tooting my own horn, but I always paid return postage if the error was mine or it the item was faulty, or on some occasions depending on the value of the item, and photo proof of damange or fault, I would simply refund and tell buyer to dispose of item.

I do not believe a buyer should be out of pocket for even 0.1c when it is seller (or manufactuer) fault. I offered 12 month warranty on all items, some up to 2 years as I was the registered seller of import items that I sold.

It seems to me rather than a dollar value and volume sold, a lot more should be placed on the service side of things, JMO

[dylan11235813]

I dont get any notifications about anything, even for major changes....With the exception of some BS post on the forums, which a member has to sign up seperately for.

[2106greencat]

You might have something 'un ticked' in your setting dylan - I still get all mine and I haven't sold in months.....

[davewil1964]

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@2106greencat wrote:

I have to agree to an extent - to be TRS you should need a bit more than that.

It isn't hard to accumulate dollar value and items sold.

When I was selling I got TRS status in about 2 months. The reason I got TRS so quickly was because my items were high ticket items and I could offer FREE POST (in sale price of course) and still sell for 40-45% under what the item would retail at a BM for.

I was a good seller, not tooting my own horn, but I always paid return postage if the error was mine or it the item was faulty, or on some occasions depending on the value of the item, and photo proof of damange or fault, I would simply refund and tell buyer to dispose of item.

I do not believe a buyer should be out of pocket for even 0.1c when it is seller (or manufactuer) fault. I offered 12 month warranty on all items, some up to 2 years as I was the registered seller of import items that I sold.

It seems to me rather than a dollar value and volume sold, a lot more should be placed on the service side of things, JMO

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Powerseller is dollar value and items sold, a maximum amount/% of low stars, no less than 4.4 on any star (anywhere else 4.4/5 would be excellent) and 98% feedback

TRS requires, in addition, even tighter limits on low stars. Which I think you need to get the Premium Service badge. Which is applied to individual listings, not the seller.

Anyway it's all going to change in August.