Power Seller Criteria - Vote it Out

[indconcepts]

Hello Everybody,

There are changes in the Power Seller Criteria which raises the minimum average Sales required from Rs.5,000 to Rs.20,000.

Is it justified ?

ebay-India is trying to match it with ebay-USA where the criteria for Bronze Power Seller is $1000.

Taking into account that 1$ = Rs.40 .... Power Seller status should have been at Rs.40,000 worth of Sales per month. But Indians are being offered at a Sales figure of Rs.20,000. (50% discount)

But what ebay-India is not looking into is the amount of Sales an average Seller is having.

On ebay-USA there are more than 1.5 crores Live Listings as compared to ebay-India where there are just 1.25 lakhs Live Listings. There are massive Sales on ebay-USA and $1000 criteria is quite justified.

Upholding Community Values, maintaining 98% Feedback, clean ebay account and complying with all Policies .... All these have taken a back seat and Sales figure of Rs.20,000 have overnight become the Main criteria.

Apart from status PS Logo ... ebay was distributing packing material to all Power Sellers. This was the only recurring expense which ebay India was shelling out of their pocket. Now it seems that it has started pinching ebay-India and wants to reduce the Power Sellers in India.

So rather than denying the Packing material they seems to have come up with an immediate solution .... 🙂

Many New Sellers I know where just working hard to achieve this status PS logo .... would definitely be discouraged now as the target has been increased 4 folds.

I feel the increase from Rs.5000 to Rs.20000 should have been over a period of 1 year. This would have given reasonable time to serious sellers to work hard and push their sales. Un-realistic goals cannot encourage anybody to attain the targets.

This ebay step is not to encourage Seller's to achieve higher Sales but it's a specifically created Criteria to knock down the number of growing Power Sellers.

I am sure that the existing Power Sellers with much higher Sales would support this ebay move.

I am also sure that serious Sellers with lower Sales would not favour this at all.

It's just a debate to see how many are in favour and how many against it.

So guys ..... just VOTE it out.

Are you in FAVOUR ..... or ..... are you AGAINST it ? .


best regards

Umang Midha

[sapana@ebay.com]

Hi,

Here are my thoughts on the concerns raised by you:

I think you are right when you say that US has lots of business. When we launched eBay (from Baazee), we also thought the same. We thought that having $1000 as the criteria for a PowerSeller will be too high for Indian seller and therefore we reduced it to 5000.
(Operationally it meant managing the program manually instead of having it on a global automated system)

However, as time went by, we realised that most sellers who are doing serious business on eBay (folks like you) actually do business of far more than 5000. In fact when we ran a report we saw that most of our existing PowerSellers will remain to be PowerSellers even with the new criteria.

Having said the above, I agree that it can become challenging for sellers who sell low value items (Stamps, collectibles, junk jewellery are some such examples). It will also impact and sellers who have high seasonality in their sales. Globally we are already working on a project to see as to how the program can be modified such that sellers who have high seasonality and sell low value items continue to receive the benefits of the PowerSeller program. While we do not have immediate answer to this topic, do allow me to assure you that the team is actively looking at solutions to this end.

I think the objective of PowerSeller program is manifold. From a buyer point of view, it is a quick reference point to find trustworthy sellers. From a seller point of view, it is a great achievement and certainly something to be proud of. From eBay’s point of view, it is a tool to differentiate business sellers from casual sellers so that it can service its business sellers better. Business sellers will need faster service, will require promotions and tools that can support their growing business. Tighter PowerSeller criteria will help eBay recognise such sellers and hopefully help them grow their eBay business.

Regards,
Sapana

[avertek_infosys]

Hi

For me I would say that it is not a bad move provided Ebay gives more promotion/ exposure to power sellers on the site in return. Also it would always keep us on toes to achieve the targets.

The only concern I have is that if I am not well or for sometime I am not able to pay attention to my account I am going to lose my Power seller status inspite of having good track record and providing best service to my customers.

Also I would say that it is rather easy for high value items sellers like jewelry etc. and difficult for low value items sellers.

If a seller sells in low volumes but provides best services to customers he still deserves to be a power seller. So keeping a high feedback percentage is better.

Also sudden increase from 5K to 20K is a bit too fast. If it was 10K my vote would have been in FAVOUR definitely.

Only time can tell it Ebay promotes POWERSELLERS in such a way that sales are high and targets can be achieved easily. My vote is Against at the moment.

[creative_pursuits]

My Vote is also totally AGAINST...

What is Ebay India upto???First the listing fees and now this sudden change in criteria and that too 4 folds!!!!Strange and total injustice to genuine hard working sellers.

Regards
Mala

[indconcepts]

Thanks Sapana for writing on this issue.

But atleast I am not impressed by your reply / clarification.

You have said that .......

"From eBay’s point of view, it is a tool to differentiate business sellers from casual sellers so that it can service its business sellers better. Business sellers will need faster service, will require promotions and tools that can support their growing business. Tighter PowerSeller criteria will help eBay recognise such sellers and hopefully help them grow their eBay business."


Don't distinguish the Business Sellers & Casual Sellers by their Sales.

If you really want to sort out the BUSINESS and CASUAL Sellers than sort them while they register on site.

You just not ask for a Sales Tax Registration Number and still say that you want to distinguish Business Sellers from Casual Sellers ..... :^O

If a Business Seller is working too hard and still not able to get higher Sales then ebay's expertise should have an important role to play.

It's very easy to promote already established Players and take the Credit.

By saying the above statement you are just not ready to help the Hard Working Sellers to grow their business but helping the already established Sellers to achieve greater heights.

This step of yours is a real discouragement for Hard working Sellers who are involved day in and day out.

The Community is all against this NEW CRITERIA and would never accept it willingly. .


best regards

Umang Midha

[indconcepts]

Hello Ajay,

You clear cut Vote would help the Community to raise a strong Voice against this injustice.

Although you are AGAINST but it seems like a diplomatic reply. .


best regards

Umang Midha

[adit999]

Hi Everyone,
I think eBay India should be focussing on the feedback percentage rather than the minimum monthly average sales. Increase the current 98% positive feedback minimum to 98.5 - 99% OR minimum sales of 7500/- - 10,000/-
I think that would be a better and a feasible solution to everyone. I think mostly all the existing powersellers have already that kind of track record and will strive to keep it that way.

Sapana, thank you for your reply but I think the only help we are getting from eBay-India is calls about how much we are listing and why our listings have dropped ?? which in turn is not for OUR benefit but for eBay. Has it ever occured eBay-India that the reason our listings might drop is because we might have sold something and don't have stock for it anymore etc etc. There are a lot of sellers here like me who thrive on actual stock in hand. Apart from that we get packing material which is really good but in turn benefits eBay-India. How are we benefitted ?? If eBay-India wants to help powersellers then reduce fees + listing prices so there will be a lot of potential powersellers thriving to acheive that target and also the current sellers will have to maintain their track record.

Thanks & warmest regards,
Aditya Shah.

[jewels.exports]

My VOTE : AGAINST

I am a new seller and i am litr'ly shocked :((

[touchnshine]

I am against this move and don't like to say anything else. I have logged into community after a long time and everytime I log in .. I find a rule of ebay for it's sellers ..

[amitava123gems]

Hi indconcepts,
Stamps are low value items,but intellectual items.You cant find anywhere,find it in ebay.
In some African countries they officially cull elephants just to keep the forest healthy.
Once you grant something and then take it away,is not good.I am agaist this.
Thanx,
Truly,

[lidia_9]

Strongly Against and upset that a small seller like me could never become Power Seller.
:^O