Below standard seller status

[jjba6541]

After 22years Ebay have given me a below standard rating on my main selling account For the 1st time ever..They say I have until February 25 to improve or I will be cut back on more selling privalges,,How, am i supposed to improve  when they are already cutting back on items i can list and saying that My listingss wont be near top in Topmatch ,They have listed me  below standard because i had to cancel a couple of sales.,,I believe Ebay are getting rid of the small time sellers in Favour of bigger sellers,This is their way of doing it,,

[the_dutchess_of_dork]

I'm going to agree to disagree with everyone on this, jjba6541.

I think you are absolutely right.  eBay don't care a whit about small sellers.

I wrote in another thread, one seller I looked at had almost 700 Negative and Neutral feedback in the past twelve months and was still being described as "One of eBay's most reputable sellers" and "Consistently delivers outstanding customer service".  You have one cancellation, not including the buyer cancellation request, and eBay is going all "bad cop" on you.

I think it should be about the bigger picture.  As they say, you can't please everyone, so an occasional hit is inevitable.  However, it should be about the overall conduct of a seller.  Clearly someone who is repeatedly getting negative / neutral feedback - often for the same issues and same items - is demonstrating a pattern of not being reputable or delivering outstanding customer service.

The only reason they stay afloat is because they are volume sellers and often low value sellers.  A lot of buyers can't be bothered pursuing it because of the value of the item versus the time to reach a resolution.  These sellers are also notorious for offering partial refunds which increase as buyers dig their heels in so many probably settle for a partial refund and it goes no further.

I think it's sad because, for me, what sets eBay apart from other online shopping sites is the smaller independent sellers; mostly with pre-owned items.  All the low price low quality new products are available anywhere.  It's the niche stuff that's kept me on eBay for 20 years.  I think it's a shame eBay don't value these sellers as much as they should.

[bjlcr]

You can think all you like. I  Know Ebay dont come here and I just really am commenting on what is happening ...Commenting/ complaining (whatever)..I wasnt expecting anyone from the company to respond..Tried talking to a robot.That was hopeless..If I knew I done I had done something wrong I  wouldn't bother comming here,

I've seen seller's with more negative feedback than positive and they have high rating .

Now they limit my selling options,Charge me higher  FV Fee,And tell me ,Go fix your rating by February 

or we may limit you more and maybe cancel your account,,.How can anyone fix their account if all this happens.I can't fix my account if they wont let me sell.

There's nothing more to this,Just Ebay getting rid of small sellers,

[davewil1964]

I didn't think, I suspected.

Given you have provided no relevant information, that is all any of us can do.

And as I have previously posted, I am a small seller. But I know how eBay works and ensure I don't get tripped by not knowing the pitfalls.

[springyzone]

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@jjba6541 wrote:

It was 2 items I had to refund and one of those was a buyer cancelling,Go figure,I think they are just after

The small time sellers.

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I don't know that they are after you as such but what happens to smaller sellers is that even one or two transactions that go wrong can have a big impact, whereas with some of the huge sellers, they can and do get away with it because the bad transactions get lost in the dozens or hundreds of other transactions where no claim was opened.

I actually agree with you that ebay does not care about small sellers all that much and would rather have big volume sellers of new stuff on their site.

And the Duchess is 100% spot on in that what has set ebay apart, if they only realised it, is that there are second hand and one off items available here, often from smaller sellers.

But back to your problem. 

In future if a buyer requests a cancellation, only ever cancel it as a buyer request otherwise ebay will ding you for it.

If you have been restricted in the number of items you list, have a look at past sales and see what sort of things are the easiest to sell and maybe for a while, restrict yourself to those.

For a while, you may have to cop slightly higher fees, you may be able to work that into your asking price by slightly raising the overall prices, even by a few cents here and there.

I don't know that you can improve except by sending out your sold items quickly and resolving any problems quickly. Just keep under the radar for a few months, with what sales you do have running smoothly.

[sardonicus001]

Like the original correspondent I was downgraded from Top Seller to Below Standard. I have been selling on eBay since 2011. After eceiving a warning I did a stocktake of my inventory to ensure that I was in possession of the items I was offering for sale. Unfortunately this effort was in vain because I don't expect to be re-evaluated until March. As a consequence I have unlisted 400+ items and will relist them at a later date. Does eBay charge higher fees for people in my position? I think someone suggested that they charge an extra 5.5%. If this is the case I would cease listing altogether as it becomes uneconomical. In any case, why should eBay feel entitled to make an extra profit, even if I am at fault?

[lezned-toycollector]

It has nothing to do with eBay feeling entitled. They will charge the extra 5.5% FVF not because of how they feel, but because you have given them permission to do so. If you don't like the fees they charge, then don't sell anything on their platform... it really is as simple as that

[designers*n*more]

I rarely check my performance ratings as I rarely have issues and if I do I resolve them. However, I did check my ratings a few months ago and was in shock when I saw there were 2 defects for « closed without resolution.

One was for late last year, which has now dropped off when i just checked but, the item went missing in the post and had tracking, dispute resolution resolved because « I » initiated the refund, not eBay. Tried to appeal this but couldn’t due to time lapse, so requested a call back. Was told it would be removed, but never was.

second item again missing in post had tracking  and I promptly initiated a refund to the buyer, not eBay. Can’t appeal as it’s been more than 90 days 😢

[springyzone]

That is very poor on ebay's part, they must have the technology to deal with this and they have let you down. You must have been very disappointed.

It shouldn't matter if it is over 90 days, an ebay rep should be able to fix things if they can clearly see a mistake has been made.

I guess the only thing you can take from this experience is if you ever do the right  thing and eg cancel an order for a customer or initiate a refund, that you check out your ratings soon afterwards, just in case.

[sardonicus001]

I didn't consciously give them permission to charge me an extra 5.5% FVF because, since 2011, I haven't seen any reference to this fee and did not have the option of agreeing to it. Perhaps I should do as you suggest and leave the platform.

[lezned-toycollector]

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@sardonicus001 wrote:

I didn't consciously give them permission to charge me an extra 5.5% FVF because, since 2011, I haven't seen any reference to this fee and did not have the option of agreeing to it. Perhaps I should do as you suggest and leave the platform.

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That's just a load of **bleep**. You can't list anything on eBay without agreeing to their rules. As you are well aware, you also need to agree to their user agreement to use their site. The simple fact that you've listed anything is proof positive that you've read and agreed to eBay's terms.

Every time eBay change their user agreement, each and every member gets an email advising them of the changes and the date they will take effect. Each recipient is given the option of either agreeing and doing nothing, or disagreeing and closing their account. The simple fact that you are here at all is proof positive that you've personally accepted eBay's terms.

You don't get to say you've read and agreed to something, then get lazy and not bother reading it at all, then claim that you haven't seen it. Regardless of whether you've read the relevant text or not, you have personally confirmed your knowledge of and agreement to all of eBay's rules/policies.

So, at the end of the day, you have given eBay permission to charge you an extra 5.5% FVF - like it or not.