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Retro, I agree.
I suspect most sellers never look at this stuff, and most never use the tools ebay keeps adding, like coded coupons and seller initiated offers. But I’ve been trying to tell ebay for years that if they would just give us the data and the tools we need to compete, we can do so much better (and it will be so much better for their bottom line.)
ebay is far from perfect, but I do think they are finally realizing they can do much more for sellers than they’ve been doing.
Jay, yes, I think this is a great way to click and see at a glance how some of these tools are performing…and maybe gain some insights into how to use them more effectively.
The only thing I can add is that the recent change to the Non Paying Buyer protocol was definitely described by ebay as a sort of middle ground between the hassle of the old NPB case method and the final answer, Immediate payment required for all sales, , whether fixed price, auction or offer.
They are hoping to have something before the end of the year, but there’s no definite timeline.
Sellers who complain about the NPBuyers generally say it would be an easy fix, but I don’t think it would be. As other sellers often note, auction buyers in particular often win an auction while bidding on others that won’t end till days later….and they want to pay for all at once, usually with combined shipping. And sellers usually want to accommodate them. And of course offers….if I accept a buyer’s offer, the buyer may be no where near his computer when I do….how can he pay immediately? Will ebay require buyers to have bank accounts or credit cards linked to ebay so ebay can withdraw whenever a purchase is made? Sort of a Managed Payments in reverse, for buyers?
So, what you might be seeing is a test of some sort, with ebay trying to figure out how to require some sort of “usually immediate but sometimes deferred” payment plan, or something.
I’m not at all sure what they are going to come up with, or whether they will manage to have it ready before Q4 (and please God, not release it in the middle of Q4).
But I don’t really think they are going in the direction AWAY from immediate payment. The goal is to eliminate NPBs, period.
To be honest, NPBs haven’t been a big problem for me, I use Immediate payment on FP listings, run very few auctions and most of my offer buyers usually do pay. But I know it’s a real pain point for some sellers, so I hope they can resolve it. At least they are trying. years ago, when we brought this up, we were always told “Impossible” and that was it.
I am still seeing parcel Select as an option I can choose for my buyers when creating a listing, and today a buyer chose it and I shipped parcel Select using ebay labels….no problem.
Not sure what is going on….
“I have a ton of suggested field notices too. Those are super annoying. 90% of the time those recommended fields do not apply to my item, and 75% of the time there is no way to enter n/a for those fields.”
eBay’s been pretty clear on the recommended fields…ebay’s advice…if they don’t apply, IGNORE them. No need to enter n/a. Just skip over them.
I’m going to be watching for a new YouTube video from The Million Dollar Peddlers….one of these guys sells a lot of vintage adult magazines, photos etc, and he was recently assured by ebay that he could continue selling his stuff in Managed Payments….I imagine he is not feeling real happy right now……hopefully he’ll be able to shed some light on just how far ebay is going with this….some of the rules are not very clear on what IS permitted….debitendcredits, you have my sympathy….hope you can still get your stuff sold…..I’m guessing someone is going to jump in to fill the gap ebay has created…..
Simon, I’m not sure…haven’t had any unpaid items in a while, but I think there’s supposed to be a way to have the auto cancel also auto relist….
I’ve never bought the throttling theory. economically, ebay’s interests are actually pretty well aligned with sellers…the more I sell, the more I make…and ebay makes. It’s the exact opposite of ebay’s “Golden Age”….in the early days, ebay made much more of its revenue from listing fees, and only a small percentage from FVFs. It was in ebay’s best interest to push more listings (and re-listings if an item didn’t sell the first time (or the 20th time) and it was also in ebay’s best interest to NOT supply sellers with basic business information (how to figure net profit, and so forth).
I don’t think it will reduce the number of payers….basically ebay is telling the buyer upfront to pay , and then reminding them to pay if they haven’t….which is what the Unpaid Item Process did, except that first, the seller had to basically tell ebay that the item was still unpaid….now ebay establishes that without the seller….either way, the message is pretty clear to the buyer: you need to pay for this. Those that simply forgot to pay, will pay. Those who have no intention of paying, won’t pay in four days or ten days.
I don’t use many auctions, so most of my unpaids are the result of offers….and I’d say a majority of mine DO pay once they get the reminder.
Here’s hoping this improves things for you…
workhorse, Your gut feeling is wrong in this case. I’m not sure what the rule is for credits, but it hasn’t changed. And the rules about non paying buyers hasn’t changed either….they still get strikes, and too many strikes and they can face a range of actions, up to account suspension.
What this actually does is 1. reduces the amount of time and effort a seller must put into chasing non paying items and 2. shortens the length of time in which an item can remain unpaid. (Of course, if you set this for manual, it will be up to you to actually cancel….if you set it to automated ebay will do it. Make sure your setting is what you want it to be).
ebay has acknowledged this is an interim measure. They are are actively working on developing immediate payment for auctions/offers…..it is more complicated than it may seem. So for now, we have this….in my opinion, a step in the right direction.
Haha—just glanced at their “Stories” page……uh-oh, this is the sort of rabbit hole I could go down for hours……back away, back away! At least until later today….gotta get some work done first!
