It is essential to understand ebay’s motive in making the changes to their seller standards, what the changes are, and what you need to do to be ready. Starting with the August 20th monthly seller evaluation, a new measure, the transaction defect rate (“defect rate”), will replace the current four individual detailed seller rating requirements in evaluating seller performance. Because this new rating may impact your status and ultimately your bottom line you need to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep up with these new change
Why change the Seller Standards?
The reason eBay is changing their seller standards is they want to reward the sellers that create a better shopping experience. Jerry Gregoire, the CIO of Dell computers was right when he said, “The customer experience is the next competitive battleground”. This is especially true in the eCommerce world, where all of your competitors are only one click away. The new seller performance evaluation is designed to increase buyer satisfaction and loyalty by raising the sellers’ bar so buyers can shop with confidence on eBay. Those that deliver a better buying experience and have a low defect rate will be rewarded with an enhanced position in Best Match search results, which will ultimately pay off in more visibility and potential sales.
What are the Changes?
So What’s the new seller standard? its all about something eBay calls the DEFECT RATE. The defect rate is the percentage of a seller’s transactions that have one or more of the following defects:
- Detailed seller rating of 1, 2 or 3 for Item as Described
- Detailed seller rating of 1 for Ship Time
- Negative or neutral feedback
- Return initiated for a reason that indicates the item was not as
described
- Buyer opens eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase
- Seller-cancelled transactions
The new Top Rated Seller requirement is that the maximum defect rate is 2%. All other requirements are the same. They include 0.30% for closed cases without resolution, 90% package tracking, a minimum of 100 sales transactions a month and a minimum of $1,000 in total sales for the month.
There is also one important change in the Top Rated Plus requirements which is providing extended holiday returns. With the extension, returns have to be accepted through January 31 for sales from November 1 through December 31. All other Requirements are the same, which are, being a top rated seller, provide same day or 1-day handling and providing 14-day returns with Money Back Guarantee.
How to be successful with the Changes?
There will be areas where you need to focus to make sure that your seller reputation helps you move more product instead of hurting your bottom line but how will you know exactly what you need to focus on most? First, analyze your current defect rate. The new defect rate should already be visible in your seller dashboards so you can see exactly what type of defects you are getting and what you need to focus on .
Another thing to keep in mind is to keep doing well what you are already doing well. This should include shipping quickly and describing your items accurately. Also keep in mind that all seller-cancelled transactions are automatic defects so be mindful to manage oversells and check for problem listings that have higher percentages of defects.
As we have already talked about, the reason that eBay is making these changes is to provide a better buying experience so that is what you need to do. The best way to ensure that you are providing a great experience to your customers is to use a CRM (customer relationship management) tool. eCommSource by Cloud Conversion is designed for companies who sell on eBay, Amazon and Magento Web Stores. The orders, inventory, customer service and returns that slows your growth and could increase your defect rate can now be automated and streamlined so you can refocus your attention where it needs to be.
For More Details register for pre-recorded Webinar that was produced by our Partner ChannelAdvisor: http://go.channeladvisor.com/US-CAWebinar-eBay-Seller-Release-Spring14-April72014-Download.html