OT: eBay's Top Rated Seller Qualifications Suck

[Buythatcard]

I am curious to hear what others think about the following.

eBay offers discounts on their seller fees if you meet certain requirements to become a Top Seller.

1. Transaction Defect Rate must be less than 0.50 %
2. Late Shipment Rate must be less than 3.00%
3. Cases closed without seller resolution must be less than 3.00%
4. Tracking uploaded and on time must be greater than 90%
5. Must have more than 100 transactions within 12 month period
6. Must have $1,000 in sales within 12 month period

I have been selling on eBay for 14 years and have always had 100% positive feedback. When someone pays for an item, I will pack it up the same day and drop it off at the Post Office the next morning at 6 AM on my way to work. Since the Post Office is closed, I place it in their drop off chute. This is where my problems begin. I have found that many of my packages do not get scanned right away or not at all. Since eBay got this stupid rule (#2), if it is not scanned within a certain time frame then package will be considered late.
I have met all of eBay's requirements except #2. I called them up and complained and they pretty much didn't give a crap. They told me to bring it up to the PO counter and ask them to scan it. I explained to them this is a stupid rule, I don't have time to stand on line for 30 minutes a day. Besides, I have a full time job and when I get home, the PO is closed.

Why should a Seller be penalized due to the actions of the Post Office?

But know what gets me even more pissed off. There are sellers on eBay who have been accused of cheating buyers. There are sellers who have hundreds of negative feedback. Yes, you guessed it, they all have Top Rated Seller status.

I pay over $1,000 a month in fees and saving a few hundred dollars a month would help me make a profit.

I question myself many time. Is it worth my time anymore to sell on eBay?

[jhs5120]

I find that my life is much less stressful when I stopped pursuing the "Top rated" status. I changed my listing "shipping and handling time" to five business days and just live without the fee discount. I haven't received a complaint yet.
Edit to add: I don't think you need the item scanned, just the label printed.

[Buythatcard]

I also thought that you just needed to print a label but that's not the case. It needs to be scanned in.
I also thought about what you said and not care about this discount. Why rush to get my shipments out every morning when it really makes no difference if I wait a few more days? There are days, where I am really pressed for time but I always made sure that I got my packages to the PO. It's not worth it.

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

I also thought that you just needed to print a label but that's not the case. It needs to be scanned in.
I also thought about what you said and not care about this discount. Why rush to get my shipments out every morning when it really makes no difference if I wait a few more days? There are days, where I am really pressed for time but I always made sure that I got my packages to the PO. It's not worth it.

Well if that's the case, it certainly isn't worth the headache. I'm honest with customers, it'll ship within five business days. It'll usually go out within a day or two, but sometimes life gets in the way. Like I said, no one has complained to me about shipping time since switching two years ago.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I find that my life is much less stressful when I stopped pursuing the "Top rated" status. I changed my listing "shipping and handling time" to five business days and just live without the fee discount. I haven't received a complaint yet.
Edit to add: I don't think you need the item scanned, just the label printed.

Same...I still only have one business day handling, as I pride myself on shipping fast. But, excuse my French, I have stopped giving a flying fuck about Ebay's "Top Rated Seller" and their discount. All my customers know what a quick shipper and good seller I am. That's all I care about. Sure the extra discount would be nice, but I gave up chasing that carrot long ago.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

I am curious to hear what others think about the following.

eBay offers discounts on their seller fees if you meet certain requirements to become a Top Seller.

1. Transaction Defect Rate must be less than 0.50 %
2. Late Shipment Rate must be less than 3.00%
3. Cases closed without seller resolution must be less than 3.00%
4. Tracking uploaded and on time must be greater than 90%
5. Must have more than 100 transactions per month
6. Must have $1,000 in sales each month.

I have been selling on eBay for 14 years and have always had 100% positive feedback. When someone pays for an item, I will pack it up the same day and drop it off at the Post Office the next morning at 6 AM on my way to work. Since the Post Office is closed, I place it in their drop off chute. This is where my problems begin. I have found that many of my packages do not get scanned right away or not at all. Since eBay got this stupid rule (#2), if it is not scanned within a certain time frame then package will be considered late.
I have met all of eBay's requirements except #2. I called them up and complained and they pretty much didn't give a crap. They told me to bring it up to the PO counter and ask them to scan it. I explained to them this is a stupid rule, I don't have time to stand on line for 30 minutes a day. Besides, I have a full time job and when I get home, the PO is closed.

Why should a Seller be penalized due to the actions of the Post Office?

But know what gets me even more pissed off. There are sellers on eBay who have been accused of cheating buyers. There are sellers who have hundreds of negative feedback. Yes, you guessed it, they all have Top Rated Seller status.

I pay over $1,000 a month in fees and saving a few hundred dollars a month would help me make a profit.

I question myself many time. Is it worth my time anymore to sell on eBay?

I am knocking on wood when I say this, but I drop in a blue box most mornings on my way to work and over the years less than 1 out of a 1000 mailings have not received an origin scan leaving my local area causing my shipment not to meet eBay's shipping expectations. If I have time during the day or have large boxes going out, I stop at a "contract" (privately run) USPS post office and they scan it. Very friendly folks who allow me to bypass any line, hand them my outgoing and they scan when they are free.

But I agree, ebay could care less if USPS missed an origin scan and the package was first scanned arriving at it's destination across the country 3 days later(meaning it mailed in their time frame).

With the requirements for a TRS becoming even tougher (95% tracking uploaded) and the TRS discount being cut from 20 to 10%, my guess is many more sellers will throw in the towel on staying a TRS seller as there is almost NO incentive anymore.

A few years back, a tracking upload glitch caused me to lose my TRS status. The worst part of losing this status was, my sales fell off for the 2 months I was not a TRS. At that point it was explained to me that one of the benefits of being a TRS is placement of your items in searches. I believe that not ranking high in the "best match" search due to not being a TRS did constrict my sales as they rebounded once I was reinstated as a TRS. This search ranking benefit appears to be more important than any other TRS benefit IMO.

For me, keeping my ranking earned for being a TRS is my main incentive for keeping this status. However, once there are so few TRS, it may not matter to non-TRS where they fall in the "best match" searches.

IMO, the "newly listed" and "low price +s/h" searches are the searches that are equally as important to rank highly on.

[slidekellyslide]

My mailman picks up at my shop every day and scans them before he puts them in his truck. Only occasionally do I have to call the PO and remind them to pick up, but my regular mailman is really good at letting his fill in people know they have to stop back to my shop to pick up.

[Jason]

I actually just purchased some car items from top rated seller and had to do a return. When I was in that process I noticed they had over 140 negatives within the year. I have to agree some of the requirements are a joke.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

I believe that not ranking high in the "best match" search due to not being a TRS did constrict my sales as they rebounded once I was reinstated as a TRS. This search ranking benefit appears to be more important than any other TRS benefit

I cannot believe that anyone would be so inept as to let themselves use that best match crap. The moment they came out with that it was an obvious attempt to take advantage of the technology challenged segment of society.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by JustinD

I cannot believe that anyone would be so inept as to let themselves use that best match crap. The moment they came out with that it was an obvious attempt to take advantage of the technology challenged segment of society.

I can't believe anyone would use that ranking either, I NEVER would. However, I have NO other explanation as to why my sales were down those two months other than not placing high enough on this ranking.

I received a large amount of GTC this past fall. I normally use 30 day listings, so none of my listings are ever over 30 days old. Last fall I did not relist my GTC listings and my sales plummeted again, IMO due to the lack of fresh listings....I started manually ending and relisting the GTC listings and my sales rebounded back up.

So while I know of no one who utilizes the best match searches, but many (including myself) who use the newly listed search ranking, these two searches have both had negative impacts on my results when I do not rank highly on them.

[bobbyw8469]

I am knocking on wood when I say this, but I drop in a blue box most mornings on my way to work and over the years less than 1 out of a 1000 mailings have not received an origin scan leaving my local area causing my shipment not to meet eBay's shipping expectations. If I have time during the day or have large boxes going out, I stop at a "contract" (privately run) USPS post office and they scan it. Very friendly folks who allow me to bypass any line, hand them my outgoing and they scan when they are free.

^^^^^ You are playing with fire...I had one card not get a scan dropping it in that unattended blue box. I don't know if a postal employee took the card, the winning bidder got the card and took advantage, or what......all I know is I gave away a card and that damn thing still hasn't received a scan. That was enough for me.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I am knocking on wood when I say this, but I drop in a blue box most mornings on my way to work and over the years less than 1 out of a 1000 mailings have not received an origin scan leaving my local area causing my shipment not to meet eBay's shipping expectations. If I have time during the day or have large boxes going out, I stop at a "contract" (privately run) USPS post office and they scan it. Very friendly folks who allow me to bypass any line, hand them my outgoing and they scan when they are free.

^^^^^ You are playing with fire...I had one card not get a scan dropping it in that unattended blue box. I don't know if a postal employee took the card, the winning bidder got the card and took advantage, or what......all I know is I gave away a card and that damn thing still hasn't received a scan. That was enough for me.

I have been dropping mail like this for the past 15+ years....a handful of lost pieces locally(far fewer than the # lost with a scan after leaving my area), a very small pct not scanned at origin (but scanned upon arrival) are what I have had to deal with in all that time. Trust me when I say, if there was a problem or one develops, I would not continue dropping my mail in a blue box.

Any higher priced items, parcels etc are either dropped off at the contact office and scanned, or I have the mailing picked up by my route carrier and scanned in front of me. However, I will continue to take my chances dropping a 1st class package with tracking containing some $2 card in the blue box as in 15+ years it has not been a problem. I understand shippers in other cities/towns have had different experiences dropping in a blue box, but I, to this point, have not.

[megalimey]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

I can't believe anyone would use that ranking either, I NEVER would. However, I have NO other explanation as to why my sales were down those two months other than not placing high enough on this ranking.

I received a large amount of GTC this past fall. I normally use 30 day listings, so none of my listings are ever over 30 days old. Last fall I did not relist my GTC listings and my sales plummeted again, IMO due to the lack of fresh listings....I started manually ending and relisting the GTC listings and my sales rebounded back up.

So while I know of no one who utilizes the best match searches, but many (including myself) who use the newly listed search ranking, these two searches have both had negative impacts on my results when I do not rank highly on them.

if your listing a buy it now item on ebay if listed correctly there is one thing and one thing only that truly matters , That's the asking price , the educated buyer obviously has saved searches which are specific , If they get a hit
and item is bargain or low priced it will sell very quickly , if it is like like a lot of pipe dream prices being asked on buy it nows you get to keep it.

same with auctions if it is a quality item "low starting bid" no reserve & listed correctly , it will meet fair current market value 90%-100% of the time
truly rare items can go through the roof if listed right.

I have been buying on ebay for over 15 years never once looked up "best match" , all I care about is newly listed under priced bargains , not some item that is a best match that has been relisted a 10 times due to joke asking pricing , your inventory and pricing dictate your sales revenue 99% of
the time , the other 1% is just luck

[rjackson44]

Feeebay

[Buythatcard]

My mistake.

#5 & #6

To be a Top Rated Seller, you must have at least 100 transactions and $1,000.00 in sales during the past 12 months

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

I am curious to hear what others think about the following.

eBay offers discounts on their seller fees if you meet certain requirements to become a Top Seller.

1. Transaction Defect Rate must be less than 0.50 %
2. Late Shipment Rate must be less than 3.00%
3. Cases closed without seller resolution must be less than 3.00%
4. Tracking uploaded and on time must be greater than 90%
5. Must have more than 100 transactions within 12 month period
6. Must have $1,000 in sales within 12 month period

I have been selling on eBay for 14 years and have always had 100% positive feedback. When someone pays for an item, I will pack it up the same day and drop it off at the Post Office the next morning at 6 AM on my way to work. Since the Post Office is closed, I place it in their drop off chute. This is where my problems begin. I have found that many of my packages do not get scanned right away or not at all. Since eBay got this stupid rule (#2), if it is not scanned within a certain time frame then package will be considered late.
I have met all of eBay's requirements except #2. I called them up and complained and they pretty much didn't give a crap. They told me to bring it up to the PO counter and ask them to scan it. I explained to them this is a stupid rule, I don't have time to stand on line for 30 minutes a day. Besides, I have a full time job and when I get home, the PO is closed.

Why should a Seller be penalized due to the actions of the Post Office?

But know what gets me even more pissed off. There are sellers on eBay who have been accused of cheating buyers. There are sellers who have hundreds of negative feedback. Yes, you guessed it, they all have Top Rated Seller status.

I pay over $1,000 a month in fees and saving a few hundred dollars a month would help me make a profit.

I question myself many time. Is it worth my time anymore to sell on eBay?

I lost my top rated status for the same reason after MANY years.

[Buythatcard]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

I lost my top rated status for the same reason after MANY years.

Scott, join the crowd. So, the lesson that we learn from all this is the better we treat our customers, the worst that eBay will treat us.
I dream that one day there will be a better place for us to sell our cards A place where the good sellers are respected. A place where the bad sellers are blocked.

[Exhibitman]

I do the same as most posters here--ignore the qualifications and use a shipping window that works for me. For the relatively low $$ volume I do, the discount is not worth getting all bunged up about.

[Luke]

Question for you guys:

Is there a way to see if you are getting discounts?

I decided not to offer 30-day returns and I thought that made me ineligible for discounts, but since I wasn't sure, I have been using a 1-Day shipping window just in case I still qualify for something.

If I'm not getting any discounts, I'd prefer to dial back the shipping window a bit.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Luke

Question for you guys:

Is there a way to see if you are getting discounts?

I decided not to offer 30-day returns and I thought that made me ineligible for discounts, but since I wasn't sure, I have been using a 1-Day shipping window just in case I still qualify for something.

If I'm not getting any discounts, I'd prefer to dial back the shipping window a bit.

Go look at your last detailed Ebay invoice. All discounts and credits should be listed on there.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Luke

Question for you guys:

Is there a way to see if you are getting discounts?

I decided not to offer 30-day returns and I thought that made me ineligible for discounts, but since I wasn't sure, I have been using a 1-Day shipping window just in case I still qualify for something.

If I'm not getting any discounts, I'd prefer to dial back the shipping window a bit.

Why would you decide not to offer 30 day returns? You have no choice if they pay by paypal.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Luke

Question for you guys:

Is there a way to see if you are getting discounts?

I decided not to offer 30-day returns and I thought that made me ineligible for discounts, but since I wasn't sure, I have been using a 1-Day shipping window just in case I still qualify for something.

If I'm not getting any discounts, I'd prefer to dial back the shipping window a bit.

You aren't getting discounts....You MUST accept 30 day returns to get the discount.