If you’re concerned about the new Seller Standards on eBay UK, confused by the new defect rates, miffed about the new Seller Dashboard or worried about your recent demotion from Top Rated Seller to Below Standard, eBay will be hosting a webcast today that will hopefully address some of your concerns.
Register here to hear from Dieter Newell (Senior Director, Global Managed Marketplaces) and Ian Crawley (Director, Global Managed Marketplaces) in a webcast dedicated to seller standards. The blurb says:
“Hear about the updates to seller standards from the eBay team. In this session, we’ll talk on the new performance measurement and how best to use the new seller dashboard. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to ask us questions before the standards come into effect in August 2014.”
If you attend the webcast, do pop back here and tell what you thought of it and if any of your concerns have been addressed.
17 Responses
The eBay Webcast: I was filling in the survey from the grey button afterwards and it cut me off, hoping for an email survey :-/
Q&A needed to be much longer and I didn’t think some questions were even answered.
Nice to see eBay doing a live webcast though, should be done more often and a bit more interactive with the audience.
Thanks peeps 🙂
Were any questions actually answered ?
Good to have the opportunity to hear from eBay movers and shakers.
Pity they do not appear to live in the real world. Clearly the one on the right has never ran a business or been anywhere near a customer , with his silly let me share you my experiences comments. His comment re don’ get hung up on the word defect was appalling and an insult to those sellers who have years of BUSINESS EXPERIENCE.
They used the phrase ” Managing expectations ” a few times.I am afraid that eBay believes that they can sigle handed create a BLUE SKY shopping environment, at the sellers expense.
Next webinar should be a QUESTION TIME forum with invited experienced business sellers asking straight questions to the movers and shakers. Would the one on the right turn up ?
They probably took too long with the initial presentation and not enough time on the Q&A. The presentation merely covered what was said in the Seller release and very little new was added.
Despite this it was a welcome addition from Ebay and they can hopefully put more of these types of events on but with more substance.
eBay Question Time, love that!
I just started a thread on eBay discussion forum asking for seller’s thoughts and overwhelming response is “UNHAPPY” or neutral, as per new eBay standards.
eBay is about seller and buyer but after August it will be seller vs buyer.
We signed up for managed returns last year and apart from few issues we have used it with success and found that it helps both buyer and the seller. We used to email a screen shot image showing our customer how to follow the returns process for prepaid label. Sometimes even as a goodwill when we were not even obliged to pay returns postage.
Customers loved it and felt re-assured that they have been looked after.
NOW, we are being told the prepaid returns will effect DSR. You see how this can be damaging for those who wish to use this process not only for defect, damages but also free returns as goodwill or in term used in webcast, Generous returns? In case of abused return we refunded and moved on but now we are being told not to move on but fight the buyers return.
Our request, if they are listening:
Managed returns no problem, but please reconsider decision to penalize sellers DSR with neutral score and managed returns. Proving that buyer misused or abused the item is a no win situation for sellers.
questions ! how about these ! did anyone learn anything, ?has anything changed ?has anyone more confidence in ebay or the defect program?
I managed to sit through it all. It was awful, there were technical errors for the 1st 10 minutes, the presenters were very amateurish, and lots of the information given was aimed at new sellers.
On the whole, very patronising and a waste of time.
Didn’t see any of it – had to collect daughter from school.
Went to log into powerseller discussion board to get the feedback from those who had taken part…….board has vanished!
Al least this place is working 🙂
Looks like I didn’t miss much – just the standard drivel.
whoops dont mention patronising to ebay and ex ebay employees it upsets them no end
Judging from the thread on PS board it didn’t go down to well.
on the plus side, the webinar system seemed very good. there was no additional software required, no messing arounds with accounts/passwords, there were seperate resizeable windows so you can choose to focus on the main video presentation, or other elements of the webinar such as the slideshow going on to one side. the intitial good impression was mainly destroyed by it not working for the first ten minutes of the webcast.
after the first ten minutes of unwatchable glitchyness, the video became watchable. bit of a waste of time though, i can read the seller release in ten minutes, rather than have an hour taken for someone to read it out loud. (see diagram 1 – this is where you will see your status. this may say top rated. it may not. there is a slider. it has top rated at one side, and below standard on the other. the little arrow is where you are between top rated and below standard. this shows you how you are….. oh god kill me now.)
i didnt hang around for the Q&A, didnt see the point, they would never approach anything they havent already answered (or ignored).
– One tidbit i did pick up i didnt know before, we’ll be able to see the no-longer-anonymous DSR’s for each transaction, starting from the 1st May.
In short, form August eBay wants you to;
Put your sad face on, start getting frustrated and start phoning them and beg to remove your low DSR.
Don’t just bin the abused item, or refund and allow the buyer to keep the item and refund and move on, but fight back even if this affects your abilities to concentrate on good customers and positive attitude to trade with honesty.
1: Make sure you enter the tracking number so customer knows when it is being delivered. Has the webcast panel ever used Royal Mail and have they ever heard of them?
2: Make sure your buyer is honest and he does not misuse or abuse the item and blame you, otherwise you will pay the price. Few (not all) will be dishonest but seller are responsible for their actions.
3: Make sure you pack well. Nothing damages in transit. BBC panorama documentary on couriers and Royal Mail staff kicking and throwing parcel was faked. Parcel lost or delivered wrongly, never happens. If item does not arrive in mint condition, seller is responsible and even if you bend over backwards to put things right, your DSR is GONE WITH THE WIND 🙁
We have never lost our TRS but are now mentally prepared to lose it. We were using our 15% TRS as a fund to support returns, issue partial refunds for small petty issues etc.. No fund means no reaching out, no goodwill gestures and no free surprise gifts in the pack but only do what we have to do to maintain our account.
Received following email from a customer at 13:08.
” great thank you ,this is the best service i ever had on ebay and will gladly leve you a first rate feedback”
Issue was;
Despite well packaging Item received damaged, customer contacted via eBay managed returns and was provided a collect+ prepaid label for refund.
Somehow he was unable to print the label off and needed a replacement not a refund. As usual we replied to all emails without any delay (like many good sellers), offered to send a replacement and a royal mail prepaid returns label to return the damaged unit at his own convenience.
NOW..
From August this will be counted as a defect, despite the same efficient and courteous service ending with a very happy eBay customer, sellers DSR will be marked. I can see how this can and will effect sellers approach to deal with issues from August.