I've had it with the crooks running eBay. Yesterday, I was going to take advantage of their 3-day 1000 free listing offer and put up a bunch of extra Joe stuff I don't need. When listing the first item, I noticed they were charging me for the listing. I checked the terms and conditions of the offer and eventually found my way to my seller dashboard. That is when I learned that my once powerseller-status performance was now below standard. This is why I couldn't take advantage of the free listing offer. Then, I check my Paypal account and find that they are now putting up to a 21-day hold on all of my payments received!

I'm so ticked off right now I can't see straight. I've bought and sold on eBay for more than 8 years, I have 100% positive feedback, and have no unresolved buyer protection cases. My DSRs over the past 12 months are 4.93, 4.95, 4.90 and 4.91 respectively. In the past 3 months they are 4.90, 4.92, 4.88 and 4.88. In the past 12 months, out of more than 400 transactions, I have four 1 or 2-star ratings in the item as described category and four more low ratings in the shipping time category.

I'm sure I know two of the users who gave me low ratings. I'm guessing they gave me 1's or 2's across the board which would account for two of the four low ratings in both the item not described and the shipping time categories. One of the users was a complete lunatic who bought a lot of broken parts then complained that they were "junk" when he got them. Part of the title of the lot was "broken, battle-damaged". In addition, I clearly stated multiple times in the item description that all of the items had some sort of damage. I said that, while I had no use for them, some people like to buy these types of lots and use them in dioramas, etc.. I re-iterated over and over that the items were damaged yet the embicile who bought them had the audacity to complain about them being "junk".

The second unhappy buyer was my fault. I described a vehicle as being in better condition than it actually was. It was an honest mistake as I had overlooked several defects while trying to list a bunch of stuff as quickly as possible. Although the buyer left positive feedback, I could tell from the tone of the FB that he wasn't happy. I immediately contacted him, apologized and offered a partial refund. He asked for what amounted to 2/3 of the sale price to be refunded. I immediately sent the requested refund. Afterward, the buyer let me know that he was very satisfied with how I handled the situation. While he eventually walked away happy, he had already left feedback and I'm sure he nailed me with low DSRs. He would probably revise the FB if I contacted him and requested it but I don't really want to bother him.

The other two users who gave me low DSRs are a complete mystery. Neither of them ever contacted me to complain about anything and I can't tell by reading my feedback who may have been unhappy with some aspect of our transaction(s). I clearly state in my item descriptions that I will ship within three business days of receiving cleared payment. In all but one case I have done so. The only time I didn't ship within three days it took me four. While I would understand if that single buyer knocked my shipping time rating down a bit, there is absolutely no reason that any other buyer should give me anything less than five stars on shipping time as I sent every one of their items within the allotted time frame.

Ebay's requirements for maintaining an above standard performance rating are nearly impossible to meet. Basically, if even 1 out of 100 of your customers is a nut or a malcontent who haphazardly leaves you a 1 or 2-star rating, you're screwed. Ebay will drop your account to below average and put a hold on your payments received. The hold is quite possibly illegal as well, at least in some states. Those of you who haven't been hit yet, it's only a matter of time. I would have never thought this would happen to me but it obviously did.

Sorry to hear this happened to your ratings. Someone else on yojoe was suspended because of their ratings getting too low.

In order to raise your scores you may want to guarantee two out of the 4 DSRs are 5 stars. First, sell with free shipping because that's 5 stars automatically. Second, offer 1 day handling time shipping and have it to the buyer within 4 business days because then you get an automatic 5 stars for shipping speed. Enhancements to Feedback and Buyer Protection to help sellers | eBay Announcement Page (http://announcements.ebay.com/2010/09/enhancements-to-feedback-and-buyer-protection-to-help-sellers/)

Another thing I do is provide the buyer large closeup pictures on the auction page and show both sides, etc. This helps them see what's wrong or not wrong. I think this helps maintain a 5 star description rating.

The communication DSR can be helped by notifying the buyer when the item ships and by giving an approximate time of arrival.

Ship it fast and secure and the buyer should be happy.

although i don't necessarily agree with you, i will agree that ebay is getting rediculous. "somebody" reported one of my auctions, which were all clear and upfrontly described. as a result i had to deliberately dilute the description of my items and go on probation. so i totally agree that it only takes one nut to spoil the batch. but what ticks me off worse is that i have to charge as much as i do. ebay/paypal/ and the usps get a over a third of the price of the items that i sell. then i still have materials, equipment and fuel to buy.
i don't want to complain, but i sure would rather give the 1/3 back to the person buying the items, but in order to get more materials for my personal use - I just knuckle under and try to offer the best product i can for the money.
and before you jump my case, i am trying to say i agree with you, but there just isn't any "real" alternative. when someone is looking for something to buy, they go to ebay first. and it is almost set up for a seller to take a loss so a buyer can make out and get addicted to gambling on ebay auctions.

I only use eBay for buying anymore. The last time I sold anything on eBay was around Joe Con last year. It just sucks for sellers.

I remember selling a beautiful 100% complete 1977 Millennium Falcon a year or so ago. The buyer was upset because it was the vintage version and left me a neg. Even though the auction title and description clearly stated it was from 1977. I went to ebay for help, but they just said, "Next time try rewording your title so it isn't as confusing".

Between that, and all the price increases, and sellers getting the shaft all the time, I just stopped selling there. Luckily, my web store does enough that I just don't need eBay.. Since I stopped selling on there, I average a savings of $1,000+ a month in their fees. Sure, my site doesn't get as much traffic as my eBay store did, but it does alright, and it feels good knowing I'm not feeding that awful beast.

So for everyone upset with eBay, I feel for ya. That place sucks for sellers.

Sorry to hear this happened to your ratings. Someone else on yojoe was suspended because of their ratings getting too low.

In order to raise your scores you may want to guarantee two out of the 4 DSRs are 5 stars. First, sell with free shipping because that's 5 stars automatically. Second, offer 1 day handling time shipping and have it to the buyer within 4 business days because then you get an automatic 5 stars for shipping speed. Enhancements to Feedback and Buyer Protection to help sellers | eBay Announcement Page (http://announcements.ebay.com/2010/09/enhancements-to-feedback-and-buyer-protection-to-help-sellers/)

Another thing I do is provide the buyer large closeup pictures on the auction page and show both sides, etc. This helps them see what's wrong or not wrong. I think this helps maintain a 5 star description rating.

The communication DSR can be helped by notifying the buyer when the item ships and by giving an approximate time of arrival.

Ship it fast and secure and the buyer should be happy.
Thank goodness the morons didn't suspend my account. That would have REALLY sent me over the deep end. I've offered free shipping in the past but found that, at least in the short time I tried it, buyers were still basically bidding the same amount on my items (instead of factoring for the free shipping and adjusting their bids accordingly). Many of the items I sell go for around $5-$15 bucks so having to eat $2.50 or so for shipping, supplies, etc. really affected my bottom line. While I don't sell for a living and don't expect to make a lot of profit, I would like to at least break even and the free shipping (along with all of eBay/Paypal's other fees not to mention increased USPS rates) was making that nearly impossible.

As for the DSR concerning shipping time, my schedule doesn't allow me to offer 1-day handling time. Although many times I can and do ship within a day, sometimes I have to be at work before the post office opens and don't get home until after it closes. Also, being able to guarantee that buyers get their packages within four days would require me to send items via priority mail which would be okay in some instances but is outrageously expensive in other cases. For example, a 4 lb. package that measures 13"x13"x13" mailed from my zip to the west coast (zip code beginning with a 9) would cost less than $11 via parcel post but more than $32 via priority mail. Parcel post is really the only viable alternative for shipping heavy and/or (even slightly) large packages unless the item is high-dollar and the extra $20 or so for priority shipping isn't a big deal. That is of course unless the buyer pays the additional $$ for quicker arrival.

I appreciate the advice and may look into trying free shipping again but, honestly, I don't think it will do much good as all it takes is one person out of 100 to wreck everything, regardless of how well we cover our bases. Heck, a week ago I was within striking range of achieving top-seller status and looking forward to the 20% reduction in FVFs that comes along with it. Next thing I know eBay is putting a hold on my new payments and treating me like some kind of thief or something. It's really mind-boggling how fine a line they've drawn between their top performers and those they deem to be unsatisfactory in some way.

although i don't necessarily agree with you, i will agree that ebay is getting rediculous. "somebody" reported one of my auctions, which were all clear and upfrontly described. as a result i had to deliberately dilute the description of my items and go on probation. so i totally agree that it only takes one nut to spoil the batch. but what ticks me off worse is that i have to charge as much as i do. ebay/paypal/ and the usps get a over a third of the price of the items that i sell. then i still have materials, equipment and fuel to buy.
i don't want to complain, but i sure would rather give the 1/3 back to the person buying the items, but in order to get more materials for my personal use - I just knuckle under and try to offer the best product i can for the money.
and before you jump my case, i am trying to say i agree with you, but there just isn't any "real" alternative. when someone is looking for something to buy, they go to ebay first. and it is almost set up for a seller to take a loss so a buyer can make out and get addicted to gambling on ebay auctions.

I don't have any reason to jump your case. I don't know why you said you don't necessarily agree with me, though. I agree with the majority of your post. The (eBay, Paypal, USPS) fees have become insane. Just a few short years ago, a 1 lb. priority package cost $4.60 to ship anywhere in the US, 2 lbs. was usually only 10-20 cents higher. If I remember correctly, eBay took around 6% or so TOTAL in fees and sellers weren't even required to have a Paypal account. Now the USPS's rates are astronomical (just check the example I replied to spider's post with), Paypal is the required method of payment, and eBay/Paypal end up taking, what, 13-18% of our sale price by the time it's all said and done.

At one time I appreciated eBay's stricter policies toward sellers as there wasn't much if any buyer protection at all back in the "old days". However, they completely jumped the shark when they stopped allowing sellers to leave negative FB for buyers and this DSR thing is completely over the top. It's like the people running eBay are suicidal or something when it comes to business. They better hope none of these upstart auction sites ever catch on because, if they do, eBay's days will be numbered. Although most sellers (myself included) will continue selling on eBay for the time being, if we are ever presented with a viable alternative, I believe sellers will abandon eBay in droves and it'll serve them right for the disrespect they've shown and continue to show for even their most honest and dependable sellers.

I don't have any reason to jump your case. I don't know why you said you don't necessarily agree with me, though. I agree with the majority of your post.

i just meant in general, not this specific post to which i highly agree.


They better hope none of these upstart auction sites ever catch on because, if they do, eBay's days will be numbered. Although most sellers (myself included) will continue selling on eBay for the time being, if we are ever presented with a viable alternative, I believe sellers will abandon eBay in droves and it'll serve them right for the disrespect they've shown and continue to show for even their most honest and dependable sellers.
exactly!
most of my "packages" are actually padded mailers that used to cost 80something cents to mail (all weigh less than .4 ounces). now they all fall into the 1.71 domestic. that happened at about the same time ebay started charging a final value fee, which in the end puts sellers in a bind.
i want to do like yeti and start my own site, but it basically boils down to me not having a lot of spare time. i, like you, go to work before the p.o. opens, and get off right when they close.
anyways, good luck righting the ship, it is aggravating, and they make it seem like you are lucky to have them, which is funny because if we weren't selling nobody would be buying.

I print labels at home and drop them in the mail or oversized mail bin at the closed Post Office before work or in the evening after work.

i thought it was me, when i got list for free emails. I was like yay! But when I noticed the payment I was like, :mad:

I too only use eBay for buying anymore. I used to sell quite a bit but got tired of the insane fees everywhere I turned.
Sam

Sorry to hear about your ebay difficulties. Thats why I only buy from Ebay and even that its very rare.
It's really not a place for sellers with their multiple fees. (paypal, ebay, boxes, labels, and shipping) It eats away at your profits.