In every issue, readers soundoff about issues important to them. From feedback to payment services, from increased fees to posting policies, AuctionBytes Soundoff gives you a chance to air your views.
You can also read the AuctionBytes blog, which has a place for reader comments under every posting (http://blog.auctionbytes.com).
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Dear Ina,
I don't understand what all the fuss is about.... Why is it OK for Amazon to mandate the use of their own payment system and not Ebay.
It would be nice to see you take Ebay's side once in a while......
atul
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I just went to update our Buyer Requirements with the new "Buyers with Policy Violation Reports" block. I was astounded to find out that buyers are allowed to still be on the eBay marketplace with up to "7" Policy Violation Reports in just one single month.
Please go check it out yourself.
This is utterly ridiculous that eBay would allow such a troublesome user to stay on the marketplace to wreak even more havoc.
We are going to block with the most restrictive level eBay offers, 4 reports in 6 months. We would hate to even have to deal with buyers this troublesome, but it is all eBay will allow us to do to protect ourselves from difficult buyers.
What possible rational could there be for allowing Buyers with "7" Policy Violation Reports in one month to be on the marketplace and what does it actually take for a buyer to get kicked off eBay, "100", Policy Violation Reports in a month?
Thanks.
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Ina,
Remember a few months ago when we emailed/talked and I said that the reason eBay was doing these FB changes was because they wanted to actually level the playing field, so that sellers with worse FB would not be so penalized.
Well, I had it almost right, except they lowered the level of the playing field not for small sellers, but for Buy.com and their types. Think about it, Buy will be a 99.00 but all the 99.9 Sellers out there will now be 99.2s or 99.3s - not quite the obvious difference it was before. With the Buy deal (whatever that really is), this all makes a lot more sense.
Also, with their new FB score 98.8 (and dropping) I find it amazing they are able to keep those DSRs up - higher than any other Seller I have seen with that type of feedback.
If, as Lorrie stated, the small Sellers are still an important part of eBay's business plan, they have done a remarkably bad job of letting the Sellers know that. I would say it has been a PR disaster - if you have thousands of people who for some reason are not getting what you are saying - many of them reasonable business people with good sized businesses - than either they are all wrong/crazy, or the message has not been delivered clearly. I would give eBay's a 1 on all DSRs when it comes to their ability to communicate with their customers.
Also, when did they actually decide to include Neutrals in the equation - was it after so many Sellers got the discount? Did not seem to be part of the initial information flow from eBay management. An important part of this new equation is that the FB score is based on the last 12 months of transactions, not FB - so if you got FB in June of 2007 for a transaction in April of 2007, that does not count in your new score.
One last question re FB and DSRs - if a Seller is left a negative Feedback that is eventually removed because of an Unpaid Item, do the DSRs that buyer left also disappear?
Best.
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Hi Ina,
Thought this ebay thread might be of interest to you. 1 buyer leaving 48 negs and didnt pay for any of the auctions. Ebay says they see it as deserved.
Carl
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000704664&tstart=0&mod=1211491155158
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Dear Ina,
I need AuctionBytes help yet again.
As a digital product Powerseller seller on eBay for the past two years, with only one email from eBay stating listing violations, my account was deregistered. My listings were removed as I used the word "send" instead of "ship" I was told by eBay. I relisted everything following their instructions and then without any warning (and on Mother's Day afternoon), I was deregistered. I rang eBay Powerseller number on the Monday only to be told to appeal via email. Well I did that 10 days ago and still without any response other than an auto reply stating 2-3 days response time. I have rung three times and used Live Chat for twenty minutes to try and get my account back.
I worked hard the past two years to develop my brand on eBay and I specialised in helping eBayers increase their sales. My eBay store was my main source of income and it is so unfair how when you are not a criminal that your livelihood can se destroyed in milliseconds. How unfair is it that eBay allows another eBayer to steal by bandwidth and intellectual property for more than six months without deregistering them, yet I am closed down because of poor use (in eBay's eyes) of the English language. I should also state that EVERY eBay ID I own was also deregistered at the same time.
Maybe this is cynical, but does eBay have other things in mind to sell custom designed eBay stores themselves and the reason why there are now only a handful of designers like myself still selling on eBay? Is eBay going to work with a third party to offer this service so they can get a kickback?
I belong and am the founder of the' Ethical Designers Group on eBay' (EDGE) and almost all members have stopped selling on eBay since the new digital policy was announced. These members were all the top designers and most were Powersellers and all are eBay certified designers and have left eBay because it just does not work selling via a CD. eBay sellers want to customise their listings and stores, almost instantly and now eBay has taken away that right of choice. The idea of digital work is that it is sent in an electronic format and something we have become accustomed to receiving quickly and not via snail mail. It should be the buyer's choice how they want the item shipped or delivered, not eBays!
Thank you for your precious time.
Gayle
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Hi Ina,
Everybody's upset that neutral feedback now counts against us, points-wise, and retroactively, as you know.
Interestingly, as I'm searching help pages for an answer, I see that they still say that neutral does not change the score!
http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/feedback.html
Donna
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Hi Ina:
I sell mostly one of a kind "guy stuff" such as fishing gear, hunting stuff, collectible knives, tools, military collectibles, roof racks, etc. etc. It just doesn't sell for me anymore - my auctions sell through rate is maybe 10-15% & things in my store languish there forever.
I have looked @ Amazon, but have not started there. I am going back to my "old" profession & doing consulting work!! Ebay has been fun, but it may be over for me??
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Hi Ina!
PayPal is out of control. If merchants such as those in Australia are entirely at their mercy, they could be out of business on a whim.
Case in point: My wife and I are in Russia. In 2001 I tried to access my PayPal account from Russia and it was immediately locked down. I warned my wife!
She wrote to PayPal twice asking them if she could access her PayPal account from Russia (we're here for 6 weeks and in the meanwhile trying to manage our eBay stores from afar.
They did not both answering her.
On May 13, we telephoned PayPal, and were assured TWICE that we would have NO problem accessing our PayPal accounts. We specifically asked if we would be able to move money into our bank accounts. "No problem" we were assured. We invited them to telephone us and CONFIRM we are who we are. It was not necessary we were again assured, there would be no problem.
Fast forward one week. My wife logs into her personal account. She is greeted with a message that she has been "randomly selected" for a security screening. The whole process is so suspicious, so much like a phish, that we triple-check the web site.
She asked to confirm her bank account; she did. She's asked to change her password, she did, and then she logged out. Later in the day she went to her premier account to withdraw into her bank account. AGAIN, miraculously and against astronomical odds, she is again "random selected" for a security screening.
Why does PayPal find it necessary to LIE? There was NOTHING "random" about the screening process, it is deliberate. Why the DISHONEST? Makes one wonder, doesn't it? How would you feel if you caught your bank in a lie?
Anya goes through the whole process again, confirms her bank account, changes her password, goes to transfer funds, and the account is immediately limited and funds inaccessible. This DESPITE all the greasy assurance we received less than a week ago that there would be absolutely no problems accessing our account overseas. And DESPITE the fact that she has had a PayPal account since 2001, has been a Power Seller since 2001, and PayPal/eBay CLEARLY know who she is, and that she has been through a number of identity checks in the past. She is who she is and that hasn't changed in the past seven years.
Now in Australia (and I am sure soon elsewhere) eBay/PayPal DEMANDS that all transactions must be concluded via PayPal. Do we dare trust them? Imagine if ALL of your earnings were coming in via PayPal, and they arbitrarily size them like they just did my wife's? It's like being a mouse in bed with an elephant. It rolls over and you're dead. The elephant can apologize in the morning, but you're just as dead.
PayPal's behavior does not warrant total confidence. Especially the fact that they would DELIBERATELY LIE about the "random" nature of their security check. If I caught my bank in a lie like that, I'd change banks. Unfortunately with PayPal, you have no choice. They can be dishonest, and you have no options. You know, fraud is proved by intent. When you WILFULLY LIE about something like a "random" security check, that a demonstration of INTENT.
PayPal got popped for this by the California State Attorney general a few years back and entered into a consent agreement whereby they paid a few million dollars in restitution and agreed not to arbitrarily freeze accounts in the future. I wonder how the California State Attorney General would react if they knew that PayPal was deliberately manufacturing "random" security checks in order to justify freezing accounts? PayPal can argue that there is no intent to defraud anyone, but when the "random" nature of a security check is a LIE, then there is CLEAR INTENT.
Chuck
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Hi Ina,
I think the current eBay promotion is EASILY the DUMBEST ONE EVER.
15% off of FVF with free S&H.
That means that if an item sells for LESS than $102 the money you save during this "promotion" WON'T even cover the cost of a TINY ONE OUNCE PACKAGE shipped using PayPal shipping!!!
Minimum cost including eDC is $1.35 and you would only be saving 1.34!!!
102 x 0.0875 x 0.15 = 1.34
KR
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Dear Ina,
I would like to draw your attention to a thread on eBay's International Trading discussion board:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000699510&tstart=0&mod=1211198269446
It concerns an issue that affects a relatively small number of powersellers, but has much wider implications. In a nutshell, members of the US powerseller program are disqualified from receiving their FVF discounts if they are located outside the US.
This policy sets two undesirable precedents:
1) It creates an underclass of Powerseller. I belong to a sub-set of US powersellers (members of the US powerseller program located outside the US) that does not receive the same benefits as all other powersellers. I'm a second-class powerseller!
2) This policy is protectionist. It denies a benefit to powersellers outside the US which is given to powersellers inside the US.
In an interesting twist, eBay in the US and in HK offer the same FVF discount program. One or other of these sites must be responsible for paying FVF discounts to me. But the US site will not pay me because I'm located outside the US while the HK site will not pay me because I'm a member in the US.
What motivates this policy? In my opinion, the discrimination and protectionism is probably the inadvertant result of a poorly considered policy. But it is also possible that eBay is planning a future in which sellers must list only on their home site, with international visibility only possible through the new International Visibility upgrade.
Kind regards,
Don
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Hi Ina!
I don't know if you are aware of this... but ebay is actually PROMPTING buyers to leave negative feedback (inadvertently).... when you go to leave feedback now you are prompted with this message: "Buyers, you can no longer receive negative or neutral Feedback from sellers. *
You should leave honest and accurate Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings."
I am so mad I could spit!!!! They are hoping to keep the DSR ratings down so that they don't have to shell out the discounts they are offering! I think this is going to push me over the edge... what do you think?
marina
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Hi Ina,
How have you been? Sorry to only come to you with problems, but, maybe, this will be a great story of how big corporations, like eBay/Pay Pal, have gotten a little too big.
I had a case, Resolution of Case # (redacted), that went to Pay Pal for non-receipt of shipment. As is usually the case here, it was just a problem of the item being held up in Customs and basically going into a dark hole for a couple months.
About a month or so after the Complaint was filed, I received eBay feedback and a note saying that the item had arrived and the problem was solved. I forwarded this along to Pay Pal through their Resolution Center (including the eBay feedback, reply - positive, by the way).
That information was so convincing that Pay Pal, saying that my tracking info was not sufficient, decided to REFUND the payment to the Buyer. Now that's what I call a good deal! Admit that you have received your item and STILL get your money back!
They probably never even read the information sent to them. They relied on the tracking info, which as we discussed before, is not even tracked (scanned) by the USPS, unless sent by Priority Mail. No wonder everyone LOVES Pay Pal!
Thanks for your time,
Bill
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This evening on seller central we were in the middle of a discussion with ebay users in france and spain and belgium about how upset they were with the changes there and offering support for our boycott and encouragement for their own boycott plans..it hit 140 posts in 3 hours and as usual ebay removed it from the front page to page 88..you might want to see if it is still there and report on what our overseas friends are saying..this is a worldwide boycott now..as if there was any doubt.
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000709174&tstart=3440&mod=1212145660231
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Hi Ina,
And yet another foul-up by eBay and unable to contact anyone regarding the problem
I posted this on the User Board hoping for an answer.... nothing yet ...
"What's going on with the completed auction searches. I can go to Advanced Search and enter an item to search for and get a list of completed auctions for that item. However, if I want to modify my search in the search bar, when I click on search it brings up active auctions. This then takes me three separate steps to once again find the completed listings. Is eBay aware of this problem? Or is it a new feature designed to infuriate eBay users?"
Ed
Ed sent an update: "I got an answer. Apparently people are being automatically put over into a Beta Completed Auction Search function, but when you run your first search there is a small, hard to see link that allows you to opt out of the Beta test. Since I opted out, everything is back to normal."
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Hello Ina,
You may on may not have seen my new topic but at
http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=6498345#6498345
I have attempted to put together a more concise document for the very obvious case against the absolute anonymity of bidding that eBay has introduced to Australia and the UK (at least) and which could be used by anyone wishing to bring this unconscionable conduct by eBay to the attention of the appropriate regulatory authorities.
I have invited readers to contribute thereto or comment thereon: so far some readers but as yet no contributions or comments.
I guess the real question is, is the mass of addicted eBay junkies out there yet annoyed enough to want to try to bring these cowboys to heel via political/governmental pressure? Will they be annoyed enough when eBay ultimately applies this outrageous absolute anonymity on the US site?
In the meantime, I wondered if anyone had a list of appropriate email addresses (members of parliament, government agencies, the media, etc) in the US to which such complaints can forwarded and publicised.
Regards
Philip
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Hello Ina
eBay claimed they changed feedback to stop seller retaliation.
The result of eBays accomplishments can be seen here:
"Click here: Doc's Suspended From eBay Blog » eBay Changes Feedback Policy & Buyers Are Negging Sellers!"
http://www.suspendedfromebay.com/?p=110
eBay has since NARU'd the account and removed the feedbacks, fortunately the screen shot on that link will preserve the reverse abuse which eBay will likely deny is occurring.
This is exactly the kind of abuse sellers feared when the policy was announced.
With DSR's being anonymous, even more damage will be incurred to sellers reputations which will sellers will not realize until it is too late.
Worse still is the anonymous DSR's will not only damage seller reputations, but will also bury their listings in Best Match since DSR's are linked to visibility.
eBay can deny it was their intent, but these policy changes seem to support the dissatisfied sellers that have accused eBay of implementing these changes to reduce the number of Power Sellers receiving discounts. At the same time, it supports their deal with buy.com by allowing their listings to receive priority visibility while sellers that have worked hard for years see their listings buried.
eBay sure has done a fine job destroying sellers trust and confidence in the venue.
Personally, I am even more happy to be completely eBay free and will remain free of eBay until trust and confidence has been restored.
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I've attached a screenshot from the latest ebay message touting their new seller dashboard (which currently isn't working). You can clearly see that under buyer satisfaction it says unacceptable. Why would they use this one as an example?
