eBay Launches New Protections for Top Rated Sellers

by: pace306

"First, eBay will issue a seller invoice credit to cover return label cost if a buyer makes a false "item not as described" claim. "

"Second, eBay will now allow these sellers to issue partial refunds for all items that are returned damaged. "

Unless its the seller making these determinations - they are useless

by: pace306

Fake News.

Why should it matter what kind of seller you are.


Either eBay believes and trusts their sellers or they dont.

As sellers on eBay we know we DONT trust and Co .. see how it works?

by: RL15

so, how are the inept csr staff going to se what was shipped and returned?

standard line is we did not see what you shipped or what the buyer returned so, take one for the team.

I see a lot of buyers going to be doing credit card chargebacks. then fleecebay can charge the seller the chargeback fee.

way to go fleecebay, another way to pad the bottom line.

by: mjr55

OK, now maybe we are getting somewhere here.

I like TWO things here.

1-Refund of return shipping if the return is falsely reported as INAD.
2-The BIGGER thing is Ebay saying they will REMOVE open cases from service metrics for false INADs. We have been paying about $1,000 a month in added FVF since they instituted the 4% (now 5%) penalty on being higher than average. Thus, I have given them about $8,000 at this point due to this point.

I would GLADLY offer free returns if I can get the false INAD's descored from service metrics because 90% of them are item as described.

The question remains how easy it will be to actually get these removed once this policy is in place. I am hoping I can just call in (like with feedback or cases) and have it done manually.

Word of advice for all of you. GET PROOF the buyer did not read the listing. Ebay CANNOT act unless you show proof from the buyer that they are at fault/did not read the listing. If a buyer opens a return request and leaves ambiguity whether they read the listing....EMAIL THEM and get them to admit read the listing wrong or get evidence from their reply.

by: mjr55

I do have a clarification question......it says "Provide ship tracking to avoid item not as described claims. When tracking shows on-time item delivery, you are protected."

I guess I am confused here. If tracking shows on-time delivery, why would this protect us or be relevant regarding an INAD claim?

by: pace306

55 :)

What if you cant get the buyer "to admit" anything???

Of the returns I get - they are %99 false - its buyer remorse thats covered by "it doesnt work right its defective". Yet when it comes back - its perfect (as perfect as it was/is ever going to be) so ..... who gets to be believed if you cant get a buyer to "cooperate".

Yes its great that eBay will "descore" your account if you are found in the right - but being here since 1998, I can tell you that its somewhere between slim & none and slim - just left the building.

Besides - what does 30 days have to do with anything? either eBay "trusts you" or they dont.

by: thievesBay

eBay sure keeps banging on this "seller protection" drum aren't they? Odds are nothing will change just like when they proclaimed this the last time. Odds are it will continue to get worse. Everything they do seems like finely orchestrated PROPAGANDA. It keeps coming back to back. Notice all these "great" things eBay are announcing lately? It's all complete garbage. This is eBay continuing to try reeling in more sellers so they can rip them off and use their listings for their own profit. Sales? They could not care less.

by: mjr55

pace....if you can't get them to admit anything, then you are going to be out of luck. I call buyers if I can't get them to reply via email and tell them I've emailed them.

I've also been here that long....we have zero issue getting things removed when we have proof the buyer screwed up (talking about feedback, INR's, etc.).

by: toolguy

More GREAT news from eBay!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ebay-launch-managed-delive
ry-end-140000173.html

It's not for me but if you sell new items and have more then a few of them it might be for YOU! (wink wink - lol)

by: Silver Ice King

@Ina,

Not that I believe much of anything that Ebay says, but the opening sentence in this article says TRS Sellers are covered if they offer FREE RETURNS and then further down in the article the wording is changed to TRS Sellers offering 30 day or longer returns.  Can we please get some clarification as to which version of coverage is supposedly being offered?

As i said, I don't really believe a word they say anymore so I dont trust that this is going to be happening, unless Ebay is actually starting to struggle under the loss of sellers due to their new GTC only fixed listings.  Wenig does absolutely nothing for sellers unless he feels he has zero choice in the matter.  Could it be that the Sellers have finally stopped lining Ebays pockets the way he had predicted all year??  Even this protection is not enough to get me back into selling on their site.  I just no longer miss the money nor the headaches of dealing with them.

by: quirkyantiques

hahhahahahhaha more smoke and mirrors. "If a buyer files a FALSE IND". Ok so now Ebays going to take the SELLERS word that the buyer is lying? I don't think so-that would be a first. So a seller proves it HOW exactly? And secondly-a $6 credit. Well that's all fine and dandy if you're sending jewelry by first class mail. Minimum small flat rate box Priority mail is more than $6. Enjoy jumping through that "free returns" hoop!

by: ebayout

They should have a banner:
"Our Newest Seller Protection Policy...20 Years in the Making!"

by: mjr55

@quirky

Again, you need PROOF. You can't have it both ways. Sellers want Ebay to remove stuff based solely on the seller's word......which isn't a rule that anyone anywhere follows.

Get proof. It's called sending a follow-up email.....having the buyer reply, end of story.

As for the $6 credit.....rarely any of our items are over that shipping-wise, so I'll take it. Just because it doesn't work for what you sell doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

This is a lot different than the last couple sellers announcements by Wenig promising seller protection.....because those did NOT actually protect sellers...it was a bunch of general statements about how they are improving their process of removing bad buyers. However, this announcement TELLS YOU that they will remove service metric numbers as well as others.

Now, again, I want to see the process they roll out for this.....but it implies that sellers will be able to get these removed with proof (meaning you will need to talk to someone at Ebay).

Again, I'll pay the $150 free returns will cost me to save the $1,000-$1,200 per month I am paying in penalties (and we have 100% feedback....over 50,000 feedback, TRS status, etc.......so we are hardly bad sellers).

by: DZT

I will stick with NO Returns Accepted & fight every return request to the very end.

by: pace306

..... if all this “new” protection is so great, why not offer it TODAY to every seller?

If it’s all so great, why the 30 day returns game ??

If sellers aren’t to be believed “solely on a sellers word”, then what kind of protection is it? Sounds like the mafia to me.

I’ve seen this Sopranos episode, it’s not Satriale's, it’s Walkers West, it’s not Tony it’s Devin and if you don’t kick up to Pauli or Uncle jr then you get wacked. Not by bullets but by negatives.

by: Map

Do like me and just get a different line of work. So happy to have quit 4.5 years ago. Sounds like selling is much worse now and they have found new lows to steal sellers money.

by: gutspiller

Ebay should just show all items 24/7 and stop interfering with every part of your business.

I quite Ebay 5 years ago to focus on my own site. I now do 3X the business I used to do on Ebay on my best days.

If I'd return to Ebay (which will never happen in this lifetime) I'd hardly have any sales. Maybe Ebay is still doing +- fine in the States/UK (although their last numbers weren't great). On the smaller European Ebay sites (where I used to sell) Ebay is dead and burried. Hardly anything sells with in my former category a 0.20% sell through rate.

I'd be amazed if Ebay is still doing 10% of the business they were doing 5 years ago.

From a buyers account with almost 10,000 feedbacks I haven't boughy anything the last year. They no longer wanted me as a seller so I also stopped buying the moment I quit Ebay.

And even if I wanted I could no longer buy what I used to buy. The offer just is no longer on Ebay. A lot of people moved to the many facebook groups and I can't blame them. Now only buy on Ebay if I really can't find it anywhere else.

If I'd treat my customers the way Ebay treats their sellers I'd been ouf of business a couple of years ago.

by: toolguy

@gutspiller

"And even if I wanted I could no longer buy what I used to buy. The offer just is no longer on Ebay."

So you say you can't find it on eBay! Yet you say 2 sentences later

"Now only buy on Ebay if I really can't find it anywhere else."

So it IS on eBay but you would PREFER to buy it elsewhere. . .

A perfect example of "double talk"

by: maxmad

I don't think the ebay spaghetti will stick to the wall, but I guess they have to try anything to get more sellers to stay, and pay more, for nothing

too little, way too late for ebay, they are becoming more obsolete every day.

by: mjr55

Ina, is there an actual Ebay page link to this new policy? I can’t find it. Thanks.