Some Top Rated eBay Sellers Can Say No to Remorse Returns

by: DRA

Dear Ina,

I think there should be a correction to your article:  "To qualify for the badge, you are required to offer at least 30-day returns".  

To qualify for the Badge a Seller must offer at least 30-Days FREE Returns.  We know this, as we are Top Rated Seller Plus Status and do not have the Badge, as we could not afford to offer Free Returns. We still receive the 10% off our Final Value Fees...but they will not display the badge on our listings.  I think that is wrong! But ...who can fight the system!  

NOTE: We sell Boat Parts and Boat Motor Parts...large engines, lower units, HEAVY, and high dollar items, and are simply a Mom and Pop Marine Shop.  If we offered Free Returns, we would be out of business within a matter of weeks.  

by: unsuck

We're no eBay rules experts, but unless there's a new category specific "Top-Rated Plus" badge exception for the trading cards, it sure looks like eBay botched-up another critical seller communication due to their own internal confusion (must be all the new hires?)

Since ECB's quoting from the email, it looks like it's eBay that needs the correction.

Well over two years ago we posted about eBay's chronic internal struggles with keeping up with their seemingly incessant impetuous terminology and so-called 'perks' changes:

"EBAY TERMINOLOGY INCONSISTENCIES:

One of eBay's biggest hurdles in rolling out new changes has getting their own externally-facing team members using the new verbiage their marketing department excretes.

The most obvious examples are things like TRS+ (now TRP) and Markdown Manager related changes."

DRA has it mostly right, but the badge is a listing level thing, while the "Top-Rated Seller" is (as the name suggests), an account-level benefit.

Sellers aren't technically "Top-Rated Plus" sellers - they're Top-Rated sellers that opted to have some (or all) their listings qualify for the TRP plus badge.

TL;DR Unless there's a new exception, eBay's email should have read, "To qualify for the badge, you are required to offer at least 30-day FREE returns."

by: unsuck

~ Quick update - just did a cursory scan of a couple dozen TRP trading cards with the badge -- all listings with the badge/shield had 30+ *FREE* returns.

Looks like eBay goofed in their email by omitting ''FREE'' returns as a requirement for the badge, so perhaps they'll make good on their botched comms and eliminate it from the policy.🤣

by: pace306

"badges? we dont need no stinkin BADGES!"

I got this email - didnt look to see if any listings had a badge or not - as we do no returns on EVERYTHING.

We dont sell individual cards, just complete boxes - so we have different issues then most card sellers.

eBay only loosened the rules because too many sellers were getting ripped off (with the help of eBay, Griff, and Cornelious/Cornhole) and were exiting to other places.

eBay only listens when someone in eBay brass gets yelled at - when they notice loss in certain categories and thats what happened HERE.

Of course eBay STILL sucks, none of this should be eBays business to begin with but any WIN over the culture of corruption in San Jose - is a good thing.

by: RL15

so the buyers will just file inads

by: Silver Ice King

@RL15

I was thinking the exact same thing and Ebay will gladly give them your money back.  This announcement is completely worthless and was only made out of desperation to try and keep the continuous exodus of Trading cards Sellers from Ebay as that is the most recent target they have been trying to retain.  Card sellers are tired of getting ripped off by the scammers that Ebay continues to support and this entire announcement was a total waste of time and effort for those Sellers who have read it as it really changes absolutely nothing.

by: Rexford

What RL15 said.  

by: ShortSeller

How on earth do you have a General Manager of Collectible and Trading Cards? What does this person do all day long, unpack boxes of Pokemon cards to brush up on their product knowledge?

Wake me up when ebay does something pro-seller in a category other than one competitors will be attacking. Fraud is endemic across ebay after all.

by: COVID-19

Meaningless garbage by eBay!  This is actually making things worse for sellers, since the scummy speculators who gamble on sports cards to begin with will now just purposefully damage the items and claim INAD (SNAD whatever) and force a return.  Sellers lose.....AGAIN! like always when dealing on eBay.

by: toolguy

Off Topic

I was suppose to be put in Manged Payments on the 22nd with one of my accounts

I went back into my messages tonight about being put into it and they've all "disappeared"!

Did eBay pull the plug on putting more people into it?

by: Snapped

eBay’s discouraging remorse returns? Right.

Ok, buyers? Be sure not to check ‘remorse’ as the reason for your return, k?

There ya go.

by: pace306

"since the scummy speculators who gamble on sports cards to begin with will now just purposefully damage the items and claim INAD"

%1000000000 right!

Buy a box of cards, open each pack, look for XXXX rookie card - when its NOT there (no one said it would be - its you know RANDOM) - you claim SNAD.

eBay doesnt care - they profit from the theft - and BTW - Mercari isnt much better ......

by: Silver Ice King

@PACE306

"Buy a box of cards, open each pack, look for XXXX rookie card - when its NOT there (no one said it would be - its you know RANDOM) - you claim SNAD."

What do you mean when its not in there you return it??  The new way of doing things is to remove the RC;s and other valuable cards (especially the autographs) and then send back what is left as SNAD, or if you have kept too many cards and need to show some additional weight, then substitute with other cards from that set or even other sets that are  basically worthless.  That way they not only got what they wanted but got it for free and unloaded a bunch of worthless cards back to the Seller at their expense for shipping as well as their loss on the box as Ebay could not care less what the Seller gets back from the buyer, just that they at least got an empty box.

This plan shows just how little thought goes into these announcements as well as policy changes by Ebay executives.  All they know is they are starting to lose business in the Trading Card categories so they come up with what they consider a great plan that will not have any effect whatsoever on their bottom line and is once again useless for those that sell in that category.  I am starting to see more and more posts about how unhappy a large majority of the Sellers are with Mangled Payments and having been forced into it in the various Facebook card groups i am in and not much in the way of positive posts about Ebay, just searching for new groups to sell in as they are tired of having to pay so much to Ebay and how little help Mangled Payments is when it comes to getting reports they need to help them easily figure out how much Sales Tax collected is included in their Gross Sales because Ebay is either to lazy or has no qualified programmers to take care of this issue for Sellers.

by: pace306

SIK 😀 you said it better then I ever could - ty!