eBay Sees to Bad Buyers, Top-Rated Sellers

Reporting hub more accessible; new Top Rated Plus badge to debut in November.

By Olga Munoz · October 17, 2012 · 12 Comments
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eBay is giving sellers an easier way to report problem buyers, and it’s encouraging Top-rated Sellers to shoot for a shiny new emblem that will help them save on final value fees.

The marketplace has made its seller reporting hub “more accessible” by placing more links to it throughout the site, and has enhanced the hub, eBay reports. The marketplace also notes it will debut its Top Rated Plus badge in November.

All sellers will have access to the enhanced reporting hub, but only Top-rated Sellers are eligible for the new emblem, which is meant to help buyers spot good sellers at a glance, eBay notes.

Easier to report bad buyers

With the enhanced reporting hub, merchants will be able to report buyers for making unreasonable demands, not paying for items, misusing eBay’s buyer protection program, leaving inappropriate feedback, using offensive language and misusing returns, eBay states in its FAQs.

Sellers will find links to the hub on their My eBay pages, in the Selling Manager, when leaving feedback for buyers, in the resolution center and during the returns process. eBay adds it is also streamlining the reporting process so sellers can report issues with just a few clicks.
eBay will use the reports to monitor buyers for patterns of bad behavior. It will not act right away

Rebecca Miller, an eBay seller of more than 13 years, hopes the adjustments will help eBay more easily identify and deal with problem buyers. However, she’s not sure how effective the effort will be.

eBay says it will use reports merchants submit to monitor buyers for patterns of bad behavior. It will not act right away. If eBay staff members notice a pattern of bad behavior, they will investigate and could take actions, like removing negative or neutral feedback, or low detailed seller ratings left by buyers, eBay explains.

New emblem to debut

Regarding the new Top Rated Plus badge, eBay says it will be available to Top-rated Sellers who offer a one-day handling time, and a 14-day or longer return policy with a money back option.

eBay states in its General Announcements that when buyers see the new emblem, they’ll know the item ships fast, comes from an experienced seller and that they can return products “hassle-free, within a reasonable window of time.”

The Top Rated Plus badge will debut the week of Nov. 12, eBay reports. At that time, eBay will retire the current Top-rated Seller badge in all categories, except Motors.

Top-rated Sellers who upload tracking information for at least 90 percent of their sales to U.S. buyers within their stated handling time, offer a minimum of a 14-day return policy with the money back option, and provide one-day handling time will qualify for the new emblem and the discount on final value fees. Others will not.

Olga Munoz is editor of TheOnlineSeller.com. In addition to writing news and feature articles about e-commerce, selling trends, online marketing and other topics of interest to online sellers, Olga manages the site's social media efforts. A journalism graduate of Chico State, Olga says her favorite part of being a journalist is learning interesting facts that help put stories into perspective, attending industry events and meeting interesting people "that leave you smiling, even in tough situations." Opinions expressed here may not be shared by The Online Seller and/or its principals.

mailbag

Sellers have already been cheated out of their top rated seller badges do to combined shipping for buyers. Buyers do not understand, or they do not care. Buyers pay for the item they have purchased then contact the seller to combine shipping on future purchase. Ebay needs to protect the seller in these instances.
Jimbo

Yada Yada Yada. Because of the backlash by sellers due to constant fee increases and rule changes, ebay thinks this will appease people.
Baloney!! Once a bad buyer is identified, and gets their “slap on the wrist”, they will just assume another ebay identity with another e-mail account, and continue their antics. This is the way things are, and have always been done, on this site.
Bring back the feedback system as it was, and let these problem buyers be identified in a public forum. I can’t tell you how many times during a dispute a buyer proclaims “Check my feedback. It’s 100%!”. ALL ebay BUYERS HAVE 100% FEEDBACK, so their claim of being some “super customer” doesn’t hold water………..
- Carol Thompson
  
  After an absence of being a seller on eBay for awhile I listed several items last week and four items sold. However, almost a week after the auctions ended, only one buyer has actually paid for their item. So is this how it is now, only one out of four buyers actually pay for their item? The other three won’t even respond to my very polite messages. I think I’m done with eBay selling!
  - paintworx
    
    Yes, there is a high percentage of buyers that don’t pay now…. the only way I can avoid this problem is to list my items with a fixed price, and ‘immediate payment required’ — seems like that’s the only way to sell now on ebay with assurance that you’ll get your money without having your items hung up in limbo waiting for flaky buyers to pay…..
bbb1962

If there’s no recourse, a bad buyer will continue to reek havac on other sellers….
I’ve noticed personally in the last few months , the numbers are escalating!!
I’m not saying there weren’t sellers abusing the feedback system for buyers, however I don’t think all sellers should have been punished for a few “bad apples”
JayneLynn

Ebay doesn’t care one bit about the seller. This is where the problem lies. If ebay treated “sellers” as valued customers of ebay like we are expected to treat our customers none of these problems would exist!
Eric Graff

No matter what bad buyer rules on eBay there’s NO recourse for sellers, “reporting” buyers is b.s., nothing happens EVER. Notice NOW that deadbeats can beat WAY more than the old 3 sellers they can do it UNLIMITED in some cases WITH NO SANCTIONS from eBay. But two “cases” opened in THREE MONTHS on YOU can KILL top rated seller rating.
Suze

Amazing how E-Bay thinks. If they had no sellers they would have no income. They seem to forget that all their money comes from sellers fees. The buyer pays nothing!!!
And yet they continue to make the seller jump through hoops to increase the delightful experience for the buyer. Gosh in the last 2 weeks I have over $500.00 on unpaid items
and no recourse on my part. Yes, buyers are important but the unreasonable new demands on sellers are infuriating. .
Anna

A buyer claimed I sold a fake Juicy Couture handbag. I have almost 7,000 perfect feedback and have been a top rated seller with all perfect stars since the beginning.
I sent the buyer a copy of the receipt. She opened a claim with ebay and THEY FOUND IN HER FAVOR!. They didn’t even want to see the receipt or speak to the people in the store who sold me the handbags. I had sold 27 of the same handbag. Now…I have a case ruled against me, final value fees taken out, shipping of $14.00 and for what?
I also sell Furla, Burberry & Coach. Her negative feedback (yes, she has done the same thing to other sellers) about me selling fakes will destroy me! Ebay ruled in her favor in less than 4 minutes. Who is that helping? Now she is telling everyone not to buy on ebay because the handbags are fake. Hurts me and hurts ebay.
- Margo Jablonska
  
  that whole feedback system sucks big time
  Ebay doesnt care about sellers and thats bottom truth
  I have had similar issue like Yours
  Ebay advice me t o r e f u n d the buyer a p o l o g i z e !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and then if she will state in her email that she may c o n s i d e r removing neg feedback they will remove it for me…i just cant believe how horrible this is ….
  its very scary to sell expensive items …in case seller doesnt like it …
  says color is a bit darker/like in my case/ Y O U are supposed to refund them to make them remove negg feedback and they keep the item …
  lets say a gold ring ….
  and you as a buyer will have to make a choice either that or they will block You for some time so You will be in a dog house….
  but thats nothing anyway in compare to Amazon …..hey ….
  I have had blooming business there and then out of the blue I have got the notice to remove my listing because of the copyrights issue
  before I even started to do it they suspended my account f o r e v e r /
  it was 5 yrs ago/ and I have no way to come back /they also suspended my husband and his mother /lol …contacted and call them 100 times and all I getin response is firm NO
  IMAGINE that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I
gailkk

I SORT of understand why eBay no longer lets sellers leave negative feedback; it prevents the battles you used to see in feedback. However, they should have some way of 1) noting on the buyer’s rating that the buyer did not pay and 2) a way to block nonpaying buyers from any further ebay. This would be a warning to other sellers and give nonpaying buyers some consequence. Also, sellers, I ALWAYS open unpaid item cases on nonpayers. At least that way eBay has a record of it and it sometimes gets me paid.
student1916

eBay in the last month or so have been incredible misunderstanding to their sellers.

I love their mission statement, let me paraphrase , we believe all people are good by nature.

As a physician of psychiatry and business owner this delusion is only shared by the corporation heads. Have any of these nitwits tried to ever sell any thing on their own site. Sadly, I will pack up soon. Dealing with the most psychotically, sociopathic, delusional. bipolar patient in acute psychosis in the emergency department lock down center is much easier and hopeful than actually believing that ebay is not screwing up grandly especially in these last months.

At least with the patients their is some smidgeon of hope that things will get better, delusions will be seen through, reasonable requests will finally be heard.. alas… Is there a pharmaceutics medication so potent to aid the ebay policy setters … not that I can think of. All great things must come to an end. Dr Daniels