eBay changes free ChannelAdvisor webinar next week 2/13@2pm EST

There is a HUGE amount of misinformation (example here) about the changes coming to eBay.  So we're hosting a webinar next week to first provide real details on the changes and then we've also done a detailed analysis for how eBay sellers can use this period of change to their advantage. We'll be covering some independent analysis we've done on DSRs, best practices for improving your DSRs, details of Finding 2.0/BestMatch, and much more. Finally, for our customers we'll discuss changes coming to our software to help sellers take advantage of the changes.

You can sign up here.

Comments

[kimberly yamashita]

11 days ago eBay members got an email basically telling sellers that we will have no recourse against con artist buyers, that we will no longer be able to leave negative feedback for buyers and that they were lowering our fees. In actuality they have raised our fees up to 30%. I posted the blog below on 1/29/08 shortly after I opened this email. I couldn't believe that these changes were for real. I actually had to call and ask if I was reading it correctly.

I got an email from ebay this morning. It was in reference to "powerseller program and pricing changes".
So they're saying that they're going to give discounts to powersellers for listings and FVF, yada, yada, yada..
There is a section that screamed out to me and it was this sentence with absolutely NO clarification to WHAT this means.
I consider myself to be intelligent and I managed to graduate from college but I cannot understand this. I have pasted the section below.
First off, a fellow blogger brought it to our attention that while feedback is removed when a person's acct gets suspended, the DETAILED RATINGS are NOT. eBay claims that "they cannot track who leaves which rating". Then guess what.. it's flawed and it should NOT hold ANY weight regarding a seller's sales and how there items are searchable, etc...
So, let's see... a buyer, like many (see my previous BLOG about the feedback issue) doesn't contact you about any issue and you log into your acct and you have a negative. Are they saying that the SELLER CANNOT LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK for this uncommunicative buyer. I mean, they deserve it... communication is EVERYTHING on here. I always fix an issue if it is my issue and sometimes when it's not but sellers can't be mind readers and clairvoyant, can we?
I'm still waiting for the DETAILED BUYER'S RATINGS. Why shouldn't we be able to "rate" our buyers??? Their speed of payment, communication, etc...
I have had an issue with their half assed ratings system since they launched it.
It allows buyers to leave positive feedback and then leave CRAP RATINGS if they are spiteful or if you didn't give them more off of the listed shipping or anything else because it's hidden. It's cowardly if you ask me.
And do buyers really think sellers can't see WHO screwed their ratings up??? We can. I'm going to call ebay now and find out about this "no negatives for buyers" bullshit because it's going to either be an even playing field with the same rules for EVERYONE or it's discriminatory to the sellers on here and if need be, I will take legal action and will invite anyone to jump on the bandwagon.
So for those of you out there that have had your stupid ratings demolished like some I've seen on eBay YOU won't be getting any of the discounts according to the way they wrote this..
Oh... and even though they're paying MORE than the other powersellers with better ratings, their listings are not going to be as easily accessible/searchable as other sellers with better ratings according to this email.

Paypal will also be "HOLDING" OUR MONEY without interest for up to 3 weeks, at their discretion.

We are still in America... right?



Here are some of the HUGE changes that I never knew anything about. Don't you love how they keep us informed about what they're doing to effect OUR POCKETS?

Search Visibility:Search visibility will be tied to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is reflected in a combination of DSRs, Feedback, and fewer complaints filed of an item being "significantly not as described" (SNAD) or "item not received" (INR). In March 2008, Best Match will become the default sort in search to give more buyers the results they want and will:
Increase exposure for sellers with DSRs 4.6 and above and at least 95% customer satisfaction in the last 30 days.
Decrease exposure for sellers with low customer satisfaction or Shipping & Handling DSRs.
PowerSeller Rewards & StandardsWe're taking steps to give new meaning to PowerSeller status on eBay. Starting July, a score of 4.5 or more on all DSRs (based on the last 12 months) will be required for membership in the PowerSeller program. We will reward PowerSellers with fee discounts and other benefits for their record of excellent customer service.

DSRs of 4.6 or more (based on the last 30 days): 5% Final Value Fee discount
DSRs of 4.8 or more (based on the last 30 days): 15% Final Value Fee discount
Feedback ChangesThe eBay Feedback system was designed to provide a simple, honest, accurate record of member experiences. Focusing on customer service includes doing everything we can to grow customer confidence in our sellers.
Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback.
Positive repeat customer Feedback will count (up to 1 Feedback from the same buyer per week.)
Feedback more than 12-months old won't count towards your Feedback percentage.
When a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) process the negative or neutral Feedback they have left for that transaction will be removed.
When a member is suspended, all their negative and neutral Feedback will be removed.
Buyers must wait 3 days before leaving negative or neutral Feedback for sellers with an established track record, to encourage communication.
All Feedback must be left within 60 days (compared to 90 days today) of listing end to encourage timely Feedback and discourage abuse.
Buyers will be held more accountable when sellers report an unpaid item or commit other policy violations.

[Fruity]

Ebay gives misinformation all the time, I dont see you writing about that Scot! Personally, I dont believe its Donahoes' vision, but out of those 8 points...do you actually disagree with it? I don't. It's true. It's so true that it's repeatable.

Fruity

[Dave]

i just read that article and there are some very valid points on there, there ARE 1000's of complaints about best match not working and it does not work well and isnt the whole point of auctions is to have an end time when people fight over listings as they end? with best match your ending listings wont even get seen on the first page, maybe not even the 2nd or 3rd

there are offsite links to amazon on ebay and to other sites which is taking away business from ebay sellers but putting more $$$ into ebays pockets

the site is unstable, more problems with searches,my ebay, there is a free shipping problem now showing items with free shipping(this one is just today)

everytime i use markdown manager the sale never ends and i have to end the listing then pay again for it to begin again without the sale(100's of people still have this problem with this, probably more that dont post on the forums)

and what about the FEE INCREASE? this is not a fee decrease, the new ceo said this is what sellers wanted, lower listing fees so they can list more without worrying about the upfront fees.....A WHOLE NICKLE SAVINGS PER LISTING IS NOT GOING TO MAKE SELLERS WANT TO LIST MORE!!!!!!

and of course the 60+ percent increase in final value fees

sellers cant leave negs anymore(I have 4 buyers right now I filed non paying bidders against and they all will be at 15 days tomorrow so I can close it and neg them for not paying)

ebay has lots of problems and all these new changes will drop listings even further than they are now

ebay screwed up and as with the store fee increase, will lose 100's if not 1000's of sellers and buyers this time around also

just watch it will happen