A few weeks ago we published an article called: eBay Australia ban Arbitrage and Fufilment by Amazon. That looked at a new eBay rule instigated down under preventing, or rather limiting, eBay users from using third party fulfilment to get the goods to shoppers. You can read more details on the policy on the post above and so far it’s only applicable in Australia.
eBay is sticking to its guns by saying that the purpose of the new policy is to remove confusion for buyers when they receive goods that aren’t clearly marked as being from sellers. But the clause that specifically bans the use of fulfilment services from retailers and marketplaces and Amazon is directly mentioned in the new rules.
The Australian press have since awakened to the change and have started investigating whether the tactic is really about protecting about eBay from Amazon. The answer is inconclusive but they have elcited interesting comment from eBay Australia and given confirmation that some merchants have already been sanctioned underneath the new policy.
Our fulfilment policy was revised earlier this year to limit confusion among Australian buyers as to whom they purchased their items from, where their data has gone, and who to contact should they require customer service or seek to make a return.
The policy does not ban the use of third-party fulfilment on ebay.com.au but restricts the use of third-party fulfilment undertaken by retailers or marketplace operators for purchases made on ebay.com.au only. This policy only applies to Australia.
The appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to sellers’ compliance with eBay policies and listing practices. Actions were recently taken against sellers because these sellers were not complying with eBay policies. We cannot go into specifics because that is confidential. Changes to search algorithms and trust is ongoing and may impact Australian sellers from time to time.
– eBay spokeswoman reported in The New Daily
Two things arise from this, firstly that some buyers would appear to be reporting infractions to eBay because there isn’t an easy way for eBay to know exactly an item is fulfilled. And secondly, it has to be worth speculating whether policy against the practice will be rolled out to other locales. It does seem like a fair bet.
As a merchant, are you in favour f this move from eBay?
