posted on August 23, 2011 01:32:05 PM new
Ebay rep called and talked about the upcoming changes.
One of them is retiring the 3,7 days return polciy and replace it with 14 days or longer return policy to comply with 'INDUSTRY STANDARD'.
I told her Ebay is not industry and Ebay sellers cannot afford 14 days or longer return policy,she said she will pass this on to management.
Then I hanged up on her,I encourage all of you to do the same!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 23, 2011 02:04:02 PM new
As you all might remember, I sell stamps and seals, both singles and in collections. I currently have a 7 day policy, with a 3 day notification period, and a 10 day refund upon receipt of the returned item.
I also do not agree with the 30 day return policy.
When a buyer receives stamps or seals from me, he/she would instantly know that the item purchased is as described and if they wanted to return the item.
Using eBay's return policy, the buyer could leave the item lying around, with a possibility of damage. And, then return as a damaged or short count item.
I just do not understand the reasoning behind this change. Perhaps we all will soon be similar to Norstroms with a no questions asked - take the return back in any condition.
Currently, we only have 38 items at eBay, with no current plans to increase inventory.
posted on August 23, 2011 02:12:18 PM new
I agree this is unreasonable. There are certain aspects of this "venue" that eBay should leave to individual sellers. The sellers know their policies and what works best for them.
eBay does not own our inventories and should not dictate our terms.
posted on August 23, 2011 03:55:40 PM new
I've been using the 3,7,10 day route, and was happy with it. Looks like I will have to state no returns or refunds.
posted on August 23, 2011 04:19:35 PM new
Nordstrom may allow return,but it is kind of expensive,I did that with a pair of shoes,the shipping to me and return shipping to them can add up,it becomes rather expensive to try out a pair of shoes in the comfort of your own home -20 bucks!
In all fairness,3 days may not be enough,7-10 days is fair.
But 30 days????? and we dont have the Nordstrom or Nieman Marcus markup!
If a buyer wants to return the item,he will find a way,he will study every word you said in your description,examine your item under a microscope and checked off all the requriements for 'item significantly not as described'.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 23, 2011 06:11:04 PM new
I have already switched to no return. I would still refund if a buyer contacted me with a legitimate complaint, but this 30 day business is just outrageous.
JT
posted on August 23, 2011 07:29:03 PM new
I don't do a lot of sales but have done the no returns in my TOS for years. still willing to refund anyone who asks so far no one has.
posted on August 24, 2011 01:33:13 AM new
When does this start?
I have a no questions full refund (3 days) policy that has been working very well for me and I hate to change it.
30 days is too long but I think only the problem buyer will use it and we all know they will find a way to causes problems no matter what.
I would say for 99% of all buyers, it won't have an impact.
posted on August 24, 2011 03:38:23 AM new
Many items sold on Ebay are used or vintage or antique ,if a buyer keeps the merchandise around the house for 30 days,he may not have the original packing material and box to return the item,it may be exposed to dirt and moisture ,smoke,pet hair etc.
I sell expensive antique prints,they cannot be lying around the house for 30 days,new folds and wrinkles would reduce the value of the print.
The stupid rep said Ebay resolution will not tolerate any abuses,how the blank blank blank will the rep know if he has not seen it or even know enough of the merchandise?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 24, 2011 06:46:19 AM new
I think NO RETURNS is the way to go.I hope Ebay sees how this is going to backfire. It is not an advantage to their bottom line if many buyers return items and sellers ask for FVF refunds. Many small brick and mortar stores have a no return policy, store credit, all sales final, etc policy. Also, many larger stores can scrutinize the item being returned for use, abuse, wearing, tags being removed, etc. Even places like Nordstrom, Macy's, etc have special rules for prom type clothing that tags must still be attached (I know you can get around that, but it is still a requirement).
I sell many seasonal items. Of course there are going to be sales after Christmas so the buyer may just replace items they bought and used before the holidays with those they were able to get cheaper after, or just return them after the holidays rather than storing them for a year.
All sorts of opportunities for abuse and headaches keeping track of everything. Inventory out, inventory back, etc.
posted on August 24, 2011 07:03:45 AM new
Another few cents of opinion from me:
There is still the "restocking fee" concept. Put it on a sliding scale, the longer you wait, the higher % the restocking fee will be.
Also, many large retailers both on-line and brick & mortars have no return policies. Zulily (on-line discount mostly children's clothes), Gap and Gap outlet have final sale items, no returns allowed, many book stores (read it and return it??), cosmetics, etc.
posted on August 24, 2011 07:20:33 AM new
Here is something else to consider when deciding on whether or not to bend to eBay's latest arm-twisting:
From an email from eBay:
Give yourself a competitive edge with a generous return window and money-back option—this holiday season, sellers with a standard or above performance rating that offer a 14-day or longer return policy will get an added advantage in Best Match sort for Fixed Price listings.
posted on August 24, 2011 11:42:24 AM new
Oops, Ebay just called, but my CW popped in and it was my daughter and I wanted to talk to her, so bye, bye Ebay.
posted on August 24, 2011 03:32:23 PM new
If you want to sell on Barnes and Noble online site,you have to agree to a return policy of 30 days,but I dont think the buyers even know there is such a policy !
What happens to retailers who sell electronics on Ebay,a 30 days return policy will kill these smaller retailers,they would not be able to sell them as MIB (mint in box) anymore.
And what about the sellers who use dropshipper,they cant return the items back to their dropship service after 30 days?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 24, 2011 03:36:20 PM new
Ebay buyers are already enjoying a lower price,no sales tax and coolie sellers who will bend backwards to ship same or next day to Alaska,Calgary,Timbuktu,Mars.
And before this FVF on shipping,Ebay buyers also enjoy a low or no shipping fee.
If they want 30 days return policy,go to Nordstrom,Target,Bestbuy and pay their price !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 24, 2011 06:07:49 PM new
hwahwa, I agree the deals to be had by the buyers on Ebay are hard to beat anywhere else.
I still think for the most part the shipping charged by most sellers is fair, if it isn't, you know up front, so don't buy from that seller.
One on-line retailer, Zulilly charges $8.95 shipping, NO RETURNS, and if you read the fine print your realize they do not have any inventory. When you buy from them, they buy from their supplier, so you have to wait 3-4 weeks for shipment.
Ebay sellers do much better than that. Ebay should just work on weeding out bad sellers rather that making the rest of up jump through hoops.
posted on August 24, 2011 07:20:39 PM new
Now,waiting 3-4 weeks for your package to arrive.
There is this credit card rule that you must ship within 24 hours after you charge customer credit card,so when does this retailer charge your card>
Also if they accept Paypal,the buyer credit card is charged immediately so shipping in 3-4 weeks is a violation.
The Ebay rep kept babbling on the phone it is the industry standard,and I said Ebay is not the industry ,Ebay holds no merchandise and the sellers are individuals not business enterprise,so why is Ebay twisting our arms?
One reason I can think of is GSI commerce,Ebay bought this outfit which helps retailers set up and run their website,offer fullfillment so if these retailers are integrated into Ebay website,then they have to compete with the likes of AMZN sellers,AMZN,TARGET,WALMART etc so they have to offer 30 days return.
Since we are sharing the website with these retailers,we may have to do likewise/
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 27, 2011 07:29:25 AM new
re waiting 3-4 weeks, yup, that is what this site does and it does charge your card immediately.
re Amazon's policies & shipping. I have ordered a specific book 3 times, for some reason it says it is in stock, but says shipping will be 1-3 weeks. After 1 week, I cancelled. This happened 2 times. Just bought it on Ebay cheaper than Amazon. I guess all sites have their quirks, but Ebay wants us to live up to the highest standards in the "industry" even though other sites do not.
posted on August 27, 2011 11:57:01 AM new
2 days ago I read an article on Ebay saying Ebay may report increase in revnue,but domestic Ebay sales is declining and it is overseas Ebay and Paypal showing the increase quarter after quarter .
Now Ebay wants to be like AMZN,and then the article said Ebay has aligned with a nationwide retailer and soon its products will be brought into Ebay>
Did anyone read about it>
If this is true,I would think this retailer will be selling new items and offering 30 days return policy to compete with AMZN,hence Ebay is urging us to do the same.
wonder who this retailer is?
Cant be Walmart,could it be Target or Bestbuy?
Bestbuy is being used as AMZN showroom,so it needs to do something.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on August 31, 2011 01:56:47 PM new
Well, I got my call from Big Brother today. After explaining to the lady that since I keep up with the eBay emails and was familiar with the upcoming changes, I listened patiently as she explained them to me again.
When she got to the change in return policy, I explained to her ( slowly, in small words) that I will indeed be changing my policy from a reasonable one to NO RETURNS. When she questioned why, I told her that the increased return time was unreasonable.
Thanks for starting this post. At least I was prepared for the call.
posted on August 31, 2011 07:01:11 PM new
I just came back from Bestbuy,I bought a camera and it has been 5 years since I bought my last one,so a lot has changed.
I asked what is your return policy,the clerk said 14 days.
I think it is a good policy,I should be able to find out in 14 days if I want to keep the camera or not.
It is not fair to the retailer if we take it home,try it,throw it in a corner and return it on the 29th day!
Eventually the consumer has to pay,just like shoplifting!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on September 2, 2011 06:35:48 PM new
I am still learning how to use my new camera,it is not working too well with my old PC,my old monitor and my old photo editing software.
So now I can understand a longer return policy,what if someone cant devote full time on learning and installing and overcoming incompatible software and hardware issues and need more time,it could be 2-3 weeks.
This camera can shoot movies and upload i to Youtube,I dont need all that,so I may have to return it,what is RAW image?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on September 2, 2011 07:21:37 PM new
I set my return policy to 14 days. My wife reminded me that since much of the business is to global buyers - it would take more than 7 days for the item to return to California.
So,... returns, when accepted, must be within 14 days.
