eBay

mythings415 · ‎09-27-2023

I have been selling on Ebay for over 20 years & I was a Power Seller for a long time. The Economy has really dropped & has gone into a rut. I have hit below standard for a few months now & I get a message from Ebay that says I am staying below standard on my listings & that these things could happen to me & my store. There is now a risk that my selling limits on my account will be lowered and in some cases I could be permanently restricted from selling on Ebay. I really do not think this is fair to anyone who has dropped below standard especially the Sellers that have sold for a long, long time & who has made Ebay money. I cannot afford losing selling on Ebay due to I really like selling on this site plus what little I do make at this moment helps me with my bills. I am a Senior Citizen & I have to take Chemo every 2 weeks & then their is the CT Scans, Dr. visits, medications, etc... I cannot help if the economy has dropped & I feel like the poor & middle class are the ones who have to suffer. Which is true in this world today. I would like to know how to keep my sales on Ebay. I do not need to worry about anything else at this time due to how I am going to pay for all of my bills.

Thank you for your attention on this matter, Barbara

dbfolks166mt · ‎09-27-2023

Generally you are not rated below standard unless there are issues with your performance metrics. At one time I was a top rated seller but due to the economy and other factors the number of items I am selling fell below the TRS and they downgraded me to above standard which means I am still meeting the performance metrics but just not the volume for TRS. Take a look at your seller metrics on your seller dashboard and the ratings policy and see if you have some issues you need to address to prevent you from falling below standard.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy?id=4347

If any of the following have a high percentage rate, other than the tracking uploaded on time and validated which SHOULD be at 100%, it is a cause for concern.

dnasilver · ‎09-27-2023

TRS is not fairly measured. Sell 1000 items for a total of $1,000 or sell 50 items for $50,000 and eBay prefers the person who sold 1000 items over the person who sold 50 even though they had FVF on $49000 more in sales. It really makes no sense.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-27-2023

Getting rated "Below standard" has nothing to do with "the economy has dropped." Seller performance is not reduced fro "Above standard" to "Below standard" just because of your having fewer sales. It's based on performance criteria such as defect points for canceling transactions. Look at your performance to see why you were downgraded.

dbfolks166mt · ‎09-27-2023

TRS is not fairly measured. Sell 1000 items for a total of $1,000 or sell 50 items for $50,000 and eBay prefers the person who sold 1000 items over the person who sold 50 even though they had FVF on $49000 more in sales. It really makes no sense.

Agreed, that has always been my issue with the metric but I really don't sweat it that much.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎09-27-2023

@mythings415 wrote:

”i would like to know how to keep my sales on Ebay. I do not need to worry about anything else at this time due to how I am going to pay for all of my bills…”

Sorry to hear about your health problems. Do you have a plan in place on how you will manage should your health needs interfere with your selling responsibilities? Have they already done so?

Ideally, it would be preferable if one’s health needs came first. But realistically, that is not always going to be the case. Your responsibilities in servicing your customers must take some precedence if you hope to keep selling here, because your account is obviously already in trouble if eBay is threatening you with a permanent selling restriction.

The one neg and neutral feedback hint at mistakes being made that maybe shouldn't have happened. In addition, you do not accept returns in a climate where shoppers expect it, and where not offering it can create more problems for a seller’s account. I see you have 5 revised feedbacks, alluding to other problems that needed addressing.

If you want to keep selling here, you need to immediately get a handle on why you have fallen Below Standard. Like another poster mentioned, falling standards is not a result of the economy, it is a result of your seller metrics not being met. Below is a link to eBay’s policy outlining how seller metrics are calculated. That should help you get started.

Wish you much smoother sailing ahead and hope your health improves. Good luck.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/seller-levels-performance-stan...

mementomoria · ‎09-27-2023

Hi Barbara

I know what it is like to try to run your business while being sick with cancer. The thing that helped me the most was that my daughter was responsible for pulling my orders and mailing them. I would have to explain to her where to find my items and how to package them. I handled all the customer interactions and my listings from my smartphone while I was in the hospital and rehab for weeks/months at a time. Maybe you can extend your shipping time if that is an issue and find a family member or friend as a backup to assist you when you are feeling ill from the chemo. It takes a bit more effort and problem solving when you are sick, but I know you can do it!

mam98031 · ‎09-28-2023

@mythings415

You did NOT drop to Below Standard because your sales decreased. You have something else going on and the email you got from Ebay would have told you what the problem is. If you want to copy the email into a post, blacking out any personal info, we can likely help you zero in on the problem you are having.

To get your account back to Above Standard, you must FIRST know what caused you to drop to Below standard. Without that info, you have no idea of what you need to fix.

Have you looked at your Seller Dashboard recently? What is it telling you?

https://sellerstandards.ebay.com/dashboard?region=US

Or have you looked at the numbers on your Service Metrics?

https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/service-metrics

When you are in the Below Standard level, Ebay will be charging you an extra 6% penalty fee on top of your regular FVFs. So you really need to concentrate on figuring out what the problem is that caused you to drop so you can work to fix it and get out of the Below Standard Level as quickly as possible.

We are here and willing to help you, but we do need more info to help properly advise you.

I know from personal experience what the type of health issues you are battling does to a person and I am beyond sorry that you are having to deal with all that. I know it seems never ending and just one thing after another. My heart goes out to you. I do hope you beat this and come out the other side very soon!! 😍

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

chapeau-noir · ‎09-28-2023

@mythings415 - the dog in your avatar is adorable!

When you dine with leopards, it is wise to check the menu lest you find yourself as the main course.

#freedomtoread
#readbannedbooks

mam98031 · ‎09-28-2023

@chapeau-noir wrote:
@mythings415 - the dog in your avatar is adorable!

You should look at some of the adorable dog clothing items she has for little ones. Too CUTE!

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

mythings415 · ‎10-10-2023

Hi & thank you so much for helping me. I guess shipping items late could be the problem. Ebay has lowered my monthly limits so low & I cannot relist or list anything. How am I supposed to get my sales up on the click through rate & listing page views & selling over a $1,000.00 a month when ebay will not let me re-list or list new items. The Holidays are coming up & I have Pet Christmas & Halloween dresses to sell? Do I go in and delete most of my items down to the selling limit or cost to put on the items I need to put on? Please help. I have been selling on Ebay for over 20 years & I cannot believe this is happening. Thank you again, Barbara

candd205 · ‎10-10-2023

If you cancelled some sales because you were sick or in the hospital, this is what put you below standard. The only way to overcome this is the passage of time since your last cancellations and don't make any new cancellations.

mam98031 · ‎10-10-2023

@mythings415 wrote:
Hi & thank you so much for helping me. I guess shipping items late could be the problem. Ebay has lowered my monthly limits so low & I cannot relist or list anything. How am I supposed to get my sales up on the click through rate & listing page views & selling over a $1,000.00 a month when ebay will not let me re-list or list new items. The Holidays are coming up & I have Pet Christmas & Halloween dresses to sell? Do I go in and delete most of my items down to the selling limit or cost to put on the items I need to put on? Please help. I have been selling on Ebay for over 20 years & I cannot believe this is happening. Thank you again, Barbara

Go through the listings you have and close any that are stale or slow to sell. Keep in mind that every variation on a listing counts as a listing too. Meaning if you have a variation listing with 5 variations, that is counted as 5 listings.

Get your first 30 days under your belt. Show some effort and/or improvement. And if Ebay can see that, you can aske for an increase in selling limits. But only once every 30 days.

When a seller desires to increase their selling limits, they are allowed to request an increase once every 30 days. Mark your calendar and every 30 days request an increase until you have your selling limit well above anything you think you will ever need. Below is a link to where you can go to ask for a selling limit increase. It is the third option in the link below.

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/sl

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

mam98031 · ‎10-10-2023

@candd205 wrote:
If you cancelled some sales because you were sick or in the hospital, this is what put you below standard. The only way to overcome this is the passage of time since your last cancellations and don't make any new cancellations.

That isn't the only way to overcome the issue. Certainly the first step is to stop doing cancellations for seller reasons.

The next step is to try and get some sales to dilute the numbers. Run a sales event, coupons, lower pricing, make sure your hottest items are posted, etc. Even inexpensive items counts. Building UP your transaction count will help to dilute the numbers that are hurting the seller.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999