Fall 2009 eBay Powerseller Changes .... Here come the screws!

PoppaJ

As we announced in April, in the spirit of partnership, eBay is consolidating changes into two or three major releases a year, with at least a two-month advance notice for sellers. Here's an overview of the second and final major release of 2009. Most of these updates will launch between September 22 and October 1.

Especially important for you as a PowerSeller--over the coming months we will be making some changes to the PowerSeller program requirements, and providing the highest rewards to Power Sellers of all sizes who consistently provide great service to their customers.

The focus of all the updates in this release is to reward great service, bring you more sales, increase your profitability, and help you succeed.

Rewards for sellers delivering great buyer experiences


Changes to the PowerSeller program
- New eBay Top-rated seller status coming in October
- Highest discounts and rewards go to Top-rated sellers
- PowerSellers at all levels can qualify
- Current PowerSeller discount structure continues until April 1, 2010
- New PowerSeller requirements and discount structure coming in April 2010


New way to look at DSRs
- Avoid low DSRs (1s and 2s)
- Only domestic DSRs count
- Updates to Seller Dashboard to monitor your status


New minimum standards for all sellers
- New minimum standard for all eBay sellers
- New Selling Practices policy
- Buyer charges for shipping insurance no longer allowed.




Enhanced search presents more relevant listings


Updates to Best Match sort order
- Changing title or price no longer resets recent sales (starting now)
- Best Match considers impressions (end of September)
- Single quantity and newly listed items get impressions upfront (end of September)
- Auction-style listings still get a boost as they are about to end
- New Search Visibility tool to evaluate your listings' performance (end of September)


Other search updates
- BIN price for Auction-style must be at least 10% higher than auction start price
- Some listing features to be discontinued
- Featured First for Top-rated sellers only
- Product pages rolling out to more buyers; list with product details
- Shared product pictures can give you exposure or you can opt out by September




Easier, more profitable selling on eBay


Streamlined dispute process
- Unpaid items: time to recourse cut in half
- New automated option blocks negative buyer feedback
- eBay dispute resolution for buyer claims expanded


Streamlined buyer communications
- My Messages updates: see the whole thread
- More options for responding to buyers
- User identity kept anonymous until transaction complete
- Post-transaction emails streamlined


Shipping updates
- More control over international ship-to locations
- Only domestic DSRs count
- Upload tracking information for more carriers


Editing listings made easy
- Now update multi-quantity listings with a sale
- Make bulk edits to more fields and listing descriptions


New ways to boost efficiency
- New Selling Manager Applications--try them free!
- Category and Item Specifics changes consolidated with the rest of updates
- Stores subscribers can now put all Fixed Price listings on vacation

stevek

I've got my legal department working on interpreting this and they'll let me know the findings.

storm888

"User identity kept anonymous until transaction complete"


"Buyer charges for shipping insurance no longer allowed"


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ecrater.com works well with google adwords.

stevek

i read the whole thing about an hour ago, and from the headache it gave me I need a Tylenol, I'd take a Vicodin if I had it.

bobbyw8469

Ebay blows big time......All my high dollar cards are going to Robert Edwards....I don't want to put anything decent on Ebay anymore...

stevek

Whoever came up with that formula for the DSR's that a rocket scientist couldn't comprehend, must be outa their mudder luvin minds.

Bottom9th

More Ebay BS.....

Allen

So everything will be free S&H and Insurance?

ElToroLoco

This is getting ridiculous. I know this is geared toward Power Sellers but jeez, how much more money does eBay need to take? Free shipping and Insurance? I know eBay's idea is the bottom line here as they hope/know that sellers are going to add the difference in to their BIN selling price thus increasing their percentage rake. I don't think it's just eBay either, these percentages are getting out of hand.

csmtampa

<< <i>So everything will be free S&H and Insurance? >>



From what I read and understood, it is the insurance only that the seller will have to pay for, not the shipping.

nflhof

You can tell by the lack of listings that sellers are staying away from ebay. I for one am not a fan of selling on the bay. Not a good idea anymore. Just too much crap to deal with.

storm888

A pink weighs in on the new "dispute roslution" scheme:
..................

Re: Ebay, Please clarify what this OPT-OUT thing is with Dispute resolution....

Jul 27, 2009 11:18 AM

Let me provide a bit of detail here.

With the new resolution system we've moved the process for sorting out transaction issues from PayPal (where it is currently) to eBay. As a part of this transition we made a few changes to how eBay and PayPal interact, including what you mention above.

In the new system, in the event you as a seller lose a buyer's resolution claim, we'll reverse the PayPal transaction--similar to how it happens in the current system. However, we now offer the ability to opt out of this PayPal reversal process--essentially not let eBay reverse funds from your PayPal account if required. In this case, the reversal "liability"--the amount of the refund--would not go away; you still owe the money. Instead though, we would allow you to pay it through the payment method you have on file with eBay. (We will seek your authorization before placing the charge.)

The advantage of not opting out is that the refund happens within PayPal, where you received the funds in the first place. Also, doing it through PayPal helps prevent the buyer from filing a subsequent chargeback since with the PayPal reversal we put it back onto the buyer's funding source--credit card for example. But if you choose (that is, if you opt out), we will put it on your payment method on file with eBay instead.

Also please note that the usual methods of managing buyer disputes (for example, appeal a buyer's item not received claim by providing delivery confirmation) still apply.

Clay

30

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This Will Eventually Get Interesting


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If you "opt-out," your PayPal fees will NOT be returned to you
when the extorted refund is paid to the "buyer."

It is important to note, for those who don't know, NONE of the
PayPal "SNAD" nonsense is in play on sales that are made AWAY
from the EBAY venue.

On such transactions, only INR-claims are decided by PayPal.

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EBAY on the issue of "free" insurance:

July 27, 2009

"Sellers are responsible for their items until they are safely in their customers' hands; offering insurance to a buyer (optional or required) infers that the buyer is responsible for the safe delivery of the item and reduces buyer confidence in the marketplace."

Jarrod Jodoin
Product Management


.........

Re: Why no insurance?
Jul 27, 2009 11:09 AM

"By removing optional or required shipping insurance, we are adjusting to help meet buyer expectations for ecommerce and aligning with industry standard practices. In most circumstances, buyers do not expect to pay for the cost of shipping insurance. This change also reflects the industry—and eBay—standard practice that sellers are responsible for their items until they are safely in their customers' hands."

I hope this answers your question.

Jarrod Jodoin
Product Management

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skilow

Insurance only protects the seller, as always.It was unfair to charge the customer, as it was ALWAYS the sellers responsibility to deliver the card in the same condition as described. I love the new rule, it will cut down on sellers charging for something THEY

storm888

<< <i>Insurance only protects the seller, as always.It was unfair to charge the customer, as it was ALWAYS the sellers responsibility to deliver the card in the same condition as described. I love the new rule, it will cut down on sellers charging for something THEY..... >>



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I use "free" shipping and the buyer pays for every cent
of my shipping costs, when I simply ADD those costs to
the BIN-price of my item.

............

In almost every circumstance on EBAY, insurance protects
the seller and NOT the buyer.

BUT, in one narrow circumstance, the BUYER is the SOLE
beneficiary of insurance coverage.

If I ship an item WITHOUT insurance and the Delivery
Confirmation shows the item was delivered - even though
the item was misdelivered - the buyer LOSES their PayPal
protection and they will LOSE an INR-claim.

If that misdelivered item was USPS insured, a claim could
be filed and the buyer would receive their money back.

schr1st

I really wonder if the mgmt. team at eBay realizes how badly they have screwed up what was a perfect business model.

I think it's time for me to get out, gang!

ndleo

User identity kept anonymous until transaction complete
---------------------
Translation = More non-payers.

storm888

<< <i>User identity kept anonymous until transaction complete
---------------------
Translation = More non-payers. >>



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On account of EBAY is being run by stupid and silly little children,
they have used the words

"User Identity"

as though they were the same as

"User ID."

The "User ID" is your EBAY ID and it will still be seen by sellers.

(The EBAY ID will also show in ASQ emails.)

The "User Identity"

is your email addy, your name and addy and phone number, and
it will NOT be seen by sellers until you buy something. (It is unclear
as to whether or not a seller can request this info from EBAY - as
is currently the case - after a "buyer" has bid on an item. I suspect,
not, but cannot be sure based on the poorly worded explanation.)


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Excerpt from good Financial Times article.... Full story at link:

"...To those who have grown dependent on Ebay, the shift feels like a betrayal. Ebay is suffering from an “identity crisis”, says Ms Steiner. “All the things that are changing show Ebay’s pursuit of the professional seller. They really disadvantage the smaller, casual sellers. There is no old Ebay any more.”

The changes risked alienating the small sellers on whose backs Ebay was built. Sure enough, visitors were down 14 per cent from the previous year in May, and there were 32 per cent fewer page views.

Mr Donahoe seems less concerned to preserve Ebay’s legacy than to reinvent the company.

Increasingly, shoppers come to Ebay not to find a vintage dress, but to buy a new pair of last season’s tennis shoes. “They’re looking for the widest selection and great deals,” Mr Donahoe says. “It’s sort of what the outlet malls do in the offline world.”

The strategy is not without possible pitfalls. Ebay could find itself squeezed in the middle, losing out to Amazon and WalMart.com on the traditional retail front, and to niche auction sites in terms of antiques and collectibles...."


The Future Of EBAY

IchiroDeported

more stupid changes by stupid people. It is mind boggling. Cant charge for insurance? ridiculous.

vintagechris

I like the changes personally. Doing away with the "optional" insurance is not a big deal. 99.9% of people don't purchase optional insurance anyway. If you want to make sure you get insurance paid by the buyer, just add it in to the shipping charges.

Nice to see they are doing away with the crazy DSR rules. It seems like it is easier for power sellers to get the 20% discount now.

For me, I don't have a problem with the changes.

I'm not trying to defend eBay as I think some of the changes they have made in the past were really bad, but they are just like any other business, they have to adapt to try and build their business revenue during times of inflation and recession. They also have to try to please Wall Street. Not an easy task in these days. I know we all hate it when they try to squeeze more $ out of us, but truthfully, every business does it and every business passes down the increase in cost of doing business down to their consumers. There is a great deal of pressure on a billion dollar company to continue to increase profits every year.

The truth of the matter is, eBay may have been built on the small seller, but it will not continue to grow or to meet Wall Streets extreme expectations without the big sellers.

Unfortunately the cost of doing business gets passed down, starting from the top. The cost of doing business isn't getting cheaper for anyone.

Tabe

I like the rule eliminating insurance charges. Puts the onus back on sellers, exactly where it should be.

I understand people being upset with the change. However, just like buyer negative feedback is no longer allowed because sellers used it to retaliate against buyers and intimidate them, sellers have no one to blame but themselves for this change. Far too many sellers used insurance unscrupulously as a profit center and it finally caught up with them with this change. Sellers put messages like "not responsible if insurance isn't purchased" or "Not responsible once I ship it"-type messages in their auctions and uninformed buyers just went along with it. Then the sellers would not purchase insurance - or would commit fraud by claiming to be self-insured - and the buyer gets screwed.

So now Ebay dictates how things will be.

Tabe