New Ebay Changes. Thoughts??

Hey everyone. Hope your scrap and ebay ventures are going well. I recently came across the list of ebay's "sweeping changes" on their return policy as well as top rated/top rated plus requirements. What are your thoughts on this new direction they have taken?


For those not selling on ebay here is a quick recap of the major new ebay changes:

-removed 14 day returns, removed returns pas 60 days
-requiring top rated and top rated plus sellers to have free returns (ex: seller is now required to pay return shipping on all returns to keep their top rated or top rated plus status)

I sell a ton on ebay and these changes wont really do much on the surface anyway. Top rated is only 10% off final value fees when it use to be 20%. If your selling anything as used or new you are all ready forced to accept a 30 day return via ebay policy. If you dont want to accept a return all you have to do is sell it for parts not working no returns and explain in detail in your descriptions what you did to test the item. Couple this with all a seller has to do is open a return for item not as described or broken and your forced to take and pay for the return anyway as well.

Although I have the "Top rated seller" it is something I don't sweat over. One of my mentors gave the advice that maintaining Top Rated Seller status is not worth it to him. This he told me several years ago before these recent changes. I took his thoughts to heart when I started selling on ebay and am thankful for it.

To me ebay pushing to attain or continue top rated seller is just a way to manipulate sellers into acting in ebay's best interest. The reduction of discount from 20 to 10 percent makes my lack of caring for the discount even more so.

So for me I will not make changes to how I operate on ebay. Thanks to those who have brought these changes to my attention. Frankly I don't spend much time reading any of the notices from ebay. 73, Mike

Buyers on ebay care about two things: Price and how fast it is getting to them. Nobody cares about your seller status or any of that crap.

I always worked to maintain my top rated position, primarily for the discount on the fees. It was never really a problem for me as I almost never get returns and my descriptions are so accurate that "not as described" did not happen. It is true that buyers really do not care. They know that eBay will make the sale good if there is an issue anyway. But still, the 20% was a nice savings over the course of a year. Now, at 10%, I will still work to get it back (I lost it after I moved because I stopped selling for a couple of years) but I will not fret about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

Buyers on ebay care about two things: Price and how fast it is getting to them. Nobody cares about your seller status or any of that crap.

---

I disagree with this in a broad manner. When I buy on ebay I not only look at price and delivery time. I also look at sellers feedback ratings. Not status thats for sure. But if they are a top rated seller it makes it easy to skip the feedback section cause you know they have high ratings.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

I disagree with this in a broad manner. When I buy on ebay I not only look at price and delivery time. I also look at sellers feedback ratings. Not status thats for sure. But if they are a top rated seller it makes it easy to skip the feedback section cause you know they have high ratings.

---

This is partially true. Top rated has little to do with feedback ratings. You can have some negative feedback and still be top rated. Top rated has much more to do with how much you sell and how fast you ship with the added requirements of returns. Of course, you cannot have really poor feedback and be top rated.

I sell a lot on eBay and after over 20 years I am finally sick and tired of them.
Not so worried about the changes, but the glitches are INSANE!
My sub tenant is moving out in August and I will get into wholesaling lots of my stuff instead of breaking down.
Less margin but much faster speed. Step up the volume (no problem at all, I turn down jobs all the time and am not even trying to get new sources).
I will downsize ebay as the wholesale game grows.
Need less employees, less drama, more cash instead of electronic (PayPal) money.
Can't wait to get started!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aph

I sell a lot on eBay and after over 20 years I am finally sick and tired of them.
Not so worried about the changes, but the glitches are INSANE!

---

I do not blame you for backing away. It has become ridiculous. I hate the rules the place on sellers mostly but their software is so bad it also makes me crazy. You have to watch everything as the software screws up constantly. I can deal with it but it is time consuming. I am selling about 25% of what I used to as I look for more local alternatives. I reached Top Rated status again a short while ago but backed off when they added the latest requirement that I need to pay for all returns. Mind you, since 99 I have probably had 5 returns total but it is the point of it. If someone decides they don't want what they bought, I will not pay for them to return it.

Yeah, I rant a lot about eBay because they abuse their seller, imo, and we are at least half of the equation that makes them money. As I find better selling alternatives, I will increasingly back away.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

I disagree with this in a broad manner. When I buy on ebay I not only look at price and delivery time. I also look at sellers feedback ratings. Not status thats for sure. But if they are a top rated seller it makes it easy to skip the feedback section cause you know they have high ratings.

---

i care more about why they got bad feedback more than how many

I've never sold but i find myself buying a lot on ebay. The prices are better and the shipping times are generally pretty good.

The main thing is that i'm just looking to get the job done right on the first pass with a minimum of fuss. I'm pressed for time so the part i ordered gets installed as soon as it comes in and it's off to the next project that needs my attention.

In other words: I need the seller to do his job so i can do my job.

As a buyer this is what i'm looking for: ( In no particular order. )

1: Price

2: Fast shipping

3: Free -or- low cost shipping

4: " Buy it now" I don't want to waste hours or days with with a silly bidding process that might / might not get the job done.

5: I'm looking for seller integrity. If they're well rated with lots of successful transactions it gives me the impression that i'm dealing with a pro. If they're new ....there's always that question in my mind .... Is this guy solid ? Am i going to run into problems here ? The last thing i want is to have to waste time doing a return.

Pair a good seller with a good buyer and there's a minimum of fuss ? Everybody gets what they want ? It's a win/win ?

==================

Another possibility for the sellers here might be Amazon ? The prices are higher there so there's more profit potential ? I know a lot of people that only buy on Amazon because they're sold on the whole Amazon Prime thing.

~ Just a bit of customer feedback for whatever it's worth.~

Here at home: We've gotten really good results from doing customer surveys and tailoring the business to meet their needs.

AS of when I posted this, Ebay now has very short shipping time requirements.
If you want that precious 'top rated' status, it is almost required to 'overnight' everything as there is now a mandatory 3 delivery time.

As a seller on ebay your list is always my goal. I have done well with ebay over the years and have found I can process less and put enough in my pocket to be happy.

One thing that I do consistently for my listing is the "buy now" and USPS Expedited shipping. Why Expedited shipping because much of what I sell is over one pound which makes USPS First Class package unavailable.

I use the eBay Global Shipping service because once the package is in their hands I am no longer responsible. I understand even negative feedback won't stick to you. I am guessing 5% of my sales are international and since the ebay center I ship to is close enough to use the USPS Priority Regional A and B boxes and save on shipping.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hills

I've never sold but i find myself buying a lot on ebay. The prices are better and the shipping times are generally pretty good.

The main thing is that i'm just looking to get the job done right on the first pass with a minimum of fuss. I'm pressed for time so the part i ordered gets installed as soon as it comes in and it's off to the next project that needs my attention.

In other words: I need the seller to do his job so i can do my job.

As a buyer this is what i'm looking for: ( In no particular order. )

1: Price

2: Fast shipping

3: Free -or- low cost shipping

4: " Buy it now" I don't want to waste hours or days with with a silly bidding process that might / might not get the job done.

5: I'm looking for seller integrity. If they're well rated with lots of successful transactions it gives me the impression that i'm dealing with a pro. If they're new ....there's always that question in my mind .... Is this guy solid ? Am i going to run into problems here ? The last thing i want is to have to waste time doing a return.

Pair a good seller with a good buyer and there's a minimum of fuss ? Everybody gets what they want ? It's a win/win ?

==================

Another possibility for the sellers here might be Amazon ? The prices are higher there so there's more profit potential ? I know a lot of people that only buy on Amazon because they're sold on the whole Amazon Prime thing.

~ Just a bit of customer feedback for whatever it's worth.~

Here at home: We've gotten really good results from doing customer surveys and tailoring the business to meet their needs.

---