How to close eBay.in using few thousand Rs. Management Wake up. READ!

[microscopesind]

This is my second post of the day.

Usually this time in the evenings i am on my laptop creating my listings, responding to buyers and preparing the order list for next day.
But today as my account has been restricted and i cannot list my products i had some time to think some more about the new ebay feedback policies and how it can effect eBay.in more that the sellers.

Ok I am not an expert and my calculations could be wrong but this is what i realised:
There are so many other e-com sites in India who are competing with eBay.in
eBay has now made their work much easier.
eBay.in does not have as many Titanium or Platinum Powersellers as eBay.com who individually sell hundreds or thousands of products each month.
I was going through the feedbacks of few powersellers and found that 90% of them have a monthly average feedback in the range of 20-100
So if a powerseller recieves 2-10 neutral feedbacks in a month his account can be restricted by eBay for future listings which is very discouraging and even closed in the future.

I believe every seller has some very low value items in his product range. This he usually lists either to achieve volume sales or a regular feedback.
These products are usually in the range of 10-500Rs.

So one has to simply register with his and his friends/employees ids as a buyer stay on eBay for few months. Be a genuine member, make some purchase using 1Re auctions or buy lowest priced items, get some positive feedbacks and then start targeting the powersellers who have lower number of monthly feedbacks.

Buy some low value items from him, pay using paisapay and simply leave a neutral feedback stating shipping delay, shipping damage or maybe he dint like the color.

(I am stating this because the ONLY negative feedback i have was because of an international shipping delay which is not in my control and the buyer is not responding to my requests even when i am offering him a refund)

So accumulate few neutrals for the targeted seller and get him off eBay.

And then move on to other PowerSellers

In the whole process of doing this he would hardly have to spend a few thousand Rs.

Earlier the buyers used to resolve these issues on their own using Mutual Feedback Removal or in some cases ODR India when the buyer would not respond.

But now as nothing is available the feedback policy would be hitting eBay.in more than the sellers as we sellers would still have an option to list on other sites.

eBay.in top managers have to realise that eBay.in is still in its in growth phase with only very few power sellers who are the major contributors to the monthly revenue for the company and a future asset.

So they have to work together rather against them.

And trust me there will be many competitors who would be eyeing this weak link of eBay.in and wont mind spending a few thousand Rs for the competition.

I strongly believe that new feedback policy is great for newly registered sellers but even for them the neutral/negative feedback should be personally checked for fraud if the seller files a complaint.

And for the powersellers i believe the good old feedback system where the criteria of 98% customer satisfaction with neutral being neutral and the option for Mutual Feedback removal incase of negative should be reinstated.

And the seller should have an option to resolve any complaint on recieving the neutral/negative feedback with the help of eBay.

If we can maintain 98% we can even 100%.

There is another way to improve seller feedback.

There are many buyers who dont leave a feedback either due to negligance or lack of knowledge.
I have set an automatic feedback reminder using Seller Manager Pro and inspite of that only 50% of the buyers leave a feedback after recieving the item.

There is a rule for customer service which is taught in the ISO Qualiy system. If there is no customer feedback then it is to be understood that the customer is satisfied. Otherwise he would have contacted you with a problem. So if the seller does not recieve a feedback even after reminding the buyer using the eBay feedback reminder, eBay should contact the buyer stating that if does leave one within a stipulated time eBay would automatically leave a positive one on his behalf.

This is because each and every positive feedback now matters with the new rules.

eBay.in and its powersellers have just started to register their presence on the world map and the feedback system could erase them in no time.

Thanks
Manish

[cosycom]

Dear Manish , I am also shocked to see that genuine good sellers like you are suffering due to new feedback policy . Specially when a negative or neutral is received due to couriers or postal delay it really hurts since there is no fault of seller .

Certainly it will be a loss to eBay's reputation only if it continue to shorten their list of dedicated genuine sellers . It is only going to leave wrong message to buyers about eBay and its sellers in general .

Yes I also strongly recommend that if the seller does not receive a feedback , eBay should automatically leave a positive one on his behalf after a stipulated time .

I want to ask Indraneel what powers are available to eBay India staff in correcting any unjustified feedback received by sellers .

Narinder

[indiashine]

We are raising this issue in front of ebay.in for quite a long time. But we have recd only CUT and PASTE replies. 99% of the sellers are against this feedback policy. I am also one of them. Though my account is not hit yet, But It will be also hit. I am sure about this. I am also feeling now not secure and uncomfortable in selling on eBay

[highskyindia]

I fully agree with manish and specially the idea of automatically leaving a positive one on buyers behalf,
I think,that can really solve the issue .
I suggest eBay to give this post a serious thought
Regards
akash

[goadigital]

Dear sellers,

If you notice on all the discussions by sellers against the feedback policy, none of the eBay team members are responding. It appears that either they don't care or are powerless. We have to wait and watch. And also keep other alternatives open in case eBay wants to make the life of genuine sellers hell.

The automatic positive feedback is a great suggestion and is the least eBay could do for us.

Wonder if anyone from eBay will bother to reply here or on any discussion about feedback.

Lets start praying that eBay wakes up to their mindless action.

Ricardo

[shivamemory]

Hi:-)
i am also one among those who got a -ve by the King of Ebay(Buyer). Our hard earned ratings are ruined within seconds when a Buyer Leaves a -ve.:-(
What about those Buyers who don't even think of leavin a feedback.
Yes I also agree with Mr.Satyam jain (indiashine) and Mr. Narinder (cosycom) and strongly recommend that if the seller does not receive a feedback , eBay should automatically leave a positive one on his behalf after a stipulated time and ebay should think over again regarding the Neutral feedback for Buyers.
Joginder k.

[rajesh.parekh-kings.international]

Hello,

yes your are right worst period for sellers, despite of selling genuine products and best service because of 1-2new buyers unjustified neutral feedback % went to 96.4 from 98.8, sales gone down, power seller status will go and loosing interest in relisting.

Ebay think again this is India not USA, understand buyers psychology.

[rajawadu]

Hello Everyone,
can anyone tell me what means restriction on account and how they are implement.

Samin

[microscopesind]

rajawadu i see that you have 6 feedback for last month. So if you were to recieve one neutral feedback you can list on 1 product each week and if 2 neutrals that would be 33% buyer dissatisfaction rate and according to eBay policies enough to close your account.
You cannot have more than 5% dissatisfaction for a month. 10 feedbacks and one neutral you can list very limited items and 2 which makes 20% you are out of eBay.
Thanks
Manish

[sapana@ebay.com]

Hi Manish (microscopesind),

I am sorry to hear about the neutral feedback and restrictions in your account. I know it is not a pleasant situation but I am sure your Account Manager will closely work with you to get the issues resolved. Most importantly, I will like you to know that we are here to work with you and help you out. You are as important for us as any eBay member.

To understand your issue better and hoping that I might be able to help, I checked the neutral feedbacks that you have received. One of the neutral is due to some shipping issue and seems to be a communication gap. However, I will not comment on the same since I do not have knowledge of the situation.

The other 3 neutrals you have received are all for the product - "NEW!! HAND TABLE MICROTOME w fixing clamp". Two of those neutrals complaint about the razor being not as described. You have not received a single positive for that particular product. This potentially means that the particular item has either product or communication issue.

It might be worth your while to investigate the reason for buyer dissatisfaction from the product. It may help to communicate with the buyer, offer them replacements, repair services as applicable. A response to a neutral "You can return the product if you dont like", it not a very buyer friendly approach.

Return Shipping: I looked up your item listings and saw that you mention clearly that buyer will bear the cost of return shipment. To me it almost sounds like you want the buyer to NOT ship the product back. If you were a buyer, will you feel excited about contacting the seller back to get the issue resolved? Possibly not!

If possible, arrange for the courier to pick up the product from the buyer's place. In my mind, a buyer will not mind paying for the shipping charges as long as he does not have to go through the hassle of finding a courier company. You are in the business and will possibly be able to help the buyer ship the product back at a cheaper cost.

If nothing else works out, at least the buyer will know that you tried your best because you care for him and the business he is giving you.

Please remember, a buyer is investing his time and money to buy from you on eBay because he needs the product and believes that you will give him good service. He needs to be assured of the same all the time (be it listing description or your buyer communication emails).

Hope the above helps!

Warm Regards,
Sapana