eBay issued a reminder of imminent changes, including new seller benchmarks and fee changes. Among the changes: eBay is requiring sellers to enter a zip code for item shipping location, and it will institute a new automated returns protocol.
eBay is also discouraging sellers from listing a single item in multiple categories with a new fee policy.
eBay announcement follows:
In the 2018 Summer Seller Update, we announced new changes to the eBay marketplace that will go into effect later this summer. We also recently notified sellers that a change in final value fees that was scheduled for May 1, 2018 has been rescheduled. Beginning July 1, 2018, when you list an item in two or more categories and there is a difference in final value fees between the categories, the highest final value fee will apply when your item sells. List your items in one “best fit” category rather than multiple categories to ensure that the most accurate and helpful search results show up in buyers’ searches.
Announced changes going live in July
– Service metrics and peer benchmarks. New service metrics and peer benchmarks will give you new competitive insights and greater visibility into after-sale requests that aren’t meeting buyers’ expectations.
– Returns automation. An enhanced returns process will save up to one week of processing time for you and your buyers. eBay may immediately accept a return request by providing a return shipping label to a buyer when you receive a return request, and you will have two business days to review a returned item and issue a refund.
– Zip code requirement. You will be required to enter a zip code for your item’s shipping location, which will help us provide your buyers with more accurate delivery estimates.
Announced changes going live in August
– Returns policy updates. Listings that have not been updated to one of the five new returns policies (including Good ‘Til Cancelled listings) will be automatically updated by eBay for you.
– Ability to suggest edits to the eBay catalog. You will be able to suggest edits to the eBay catalog for products that that you may feel are inaccurate or missing critical information.
– Ability to create new products in the eBay catalog. You will also be able to create new products for consideration to the catalog.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
SOURCE: eBay Announcement
HA HA HA Ebay is so funny…..The idiots can’t keep their platform running without daily glitches, how are they going to inforce all these new rules or laws. We still have listings that haven’t been updated yet with active content. Why bother. We just figure if Ebay was so worried about it they will just delete the auctions. We will then take the item to the swap meet. When they do this enough we will just close our stores and give ebay the figure. SO LONG SUCKER.
“Zip code requirement. You will be required to enter a zip code for your item’s shipping location,”
The only good thing I’ve seen them do in a very long time. NO exceptions however. If it ships from a US location, the Zip should be accurate regardless of how big the seller/company or how many locations they have.
If it eliminates the scourge of dropshipping, so much the better.
One question: Does anyone know how specifically this will be implemented? I ship from several different zip codes in my metropolitan area, usually when running other errands or having to use a different post office kiosk after hours when one bin is full. (Yes, I know I am fortunate to have several options as many do not.)
Will I be required to ship from only one, which is my account address? Will the shipping zip code be added to the information we provide for the tracking #?
Have no fear Dear, The Dude with the Miohawk is answering, err, deflecting questions on the Seller Board now. Dude[‘s name is Tyler by the way.
“Listings that have not been updated to one of the five new returns policies … will be automatically updated by eBay for you.”
And you just know that eBay will graciously up-date them for you to 60-day free returns.
Their categories are bad and illogical, and the drop down boxes for item specific selections either miss important selections, or have choices that are unrelated to what you are listing.
But that is because they have outsourced companies in India doing all this for cheap using practically slave labor, instead of people who know retail and know what buyers are searching for in the US. They won’t hire American companies to do tech well because it would mean that Wenig and cronies would have less money to plunder, and their bad management would be obvious. They are playing a shell game, hiding losses by being cheap and poor quality
A recent post on Ebay discussions is valued reading for everybody as it provides insight into how big a mess lawyer and career failure Devin Wenig and his friends like Fisher (who have never done a single thing with any competence in their lives, never mind no background in retail or tech or high level executive management) have made of Ebay. They are running it as cheaply and badly as they can so they can plunder the company and try to inflate their stock options.
In the process they are destroying even million dollar Ebay businesses.
Do a search on the Seller discussion board for EBay statistics inaccurate
One thing that comes up is that Ebay insiders admitted that Ebay has a very small Tech department, for all their claims about being tech leaders. A small tech department that doesn’t want to do very much but pass the buck.
The real work, of course, is outsourced to companies in India that bid cheap on projects and don’t deliver. They just make a mess. They have no understanding at all of the American market. Everything blows up, which is why you see so many glitches and insane choices. Fisher has been playing a shell game.
You can find more information about the post Carol is referring to on the Letters to the Editor blog.
https://bit.ly/2yGRYqD
The entire Summer 2018 update is crazy. I am going to have to go from 30 day returns to zero returns to keep ebay from making my decisions – and I am sure my sales will drop
I sell used clothes so are my peers people who sell cheap new Chinese junk that buyers won’t even bother to return? I know my sales are going to drop.
I used to relist items as “sell similar” every 7 days because I had read it helps in search results. As a result I never have any item that has been listed for over 14 days – and now I can’t put them on sale even though they may have really been listed for months. Putting the items on sale always generated around $300 in sales every week I did it. Ebay is saying I am tricking the buyers by doing this because apparently ebay does not believe that an items market value is whatever a buyer is willing to pay and they think the buyers don’t have enough sense to know how to spend their own money Therefore ebay is determined to protect the buyers from spending any money. I know my sales will go down.