I had the opportunity to go to eBays ecomm program and I want to thank those who were a part of my invitation. And like everyone else, waited patiently for the announcement and I knew my business had to adjust again if I wanted to continue to sell on eBay. As soon as ebay announced the changes that they were going to implement in the next few months, all negative emotions poured out with eBays top sellers. Thoughout the day and evening I listened and observed, the complaints that all sellers had. Speaking to over 50 businesses, only 1 (an IMA member) said the changes would not hurt him. His DSR was so good in shipping that he will receive the 15% rebate on his FVF and this covered his additional fees.

That afternoon there was a Q&A and you can hear the complete session here. Click here to watch video

I am still in DC and sitting in the hotel lobby and had the opportunity to talk to at least 35 stores and asked again, what are you going to do. It was a different attitude and I guess the shock wore off and every seller told me that they have work to do when they get home. And the majority of the sellers said the same thing, communicate with the buyers more.

I feel for the 99cent sellers and when they look at the new changes, their increases are at least 50% higher. I personally witnessed our IMA President go to bat for them and dont quit yet. (I am convinced that the Energizer Bunny is really Steve Grossberg is the pink bunny suit.)

For those that are not 99cent sellers, eBay had no choice. Unfortunately Meg ignored the many problems for many years and the drastic changes had to be made. The good sellers will get through this and to join an organization, like IMA, you have an opportunity to talk to other serious business sellers and guide you through this.

Me? I personally am excited to see the bad sellers not get the top search and if it costs me a little more money, it will come back two fold. I welcome the changes and I thank eBay for FINALLY recognizing the problems and FINALLY taking action.

I know that it was a little unclear on the sellers DSR rating and eBays search. We had the opportunity to catch up with IMA President Steve Grossberg and his comments on Detailed Seller Rating.

part 1

part 2

An odd thing happened this holiday season on Ebay. I had an buyer that decided the Amazon return policy was much better than my return policy. I have to admit that having 30 days (Amazon’s policy) to return an item is much better than 7 days (my policy), and I did refund my customers money when the item arrived 30 days after we agreed she would return the item. But the incident got me thinking.

Is Amazon setting the standard now for internet buying customer service? Other Ebay sellers have reported that buyers are asking to return items up to 60 days after a sale. Some Amazon sellers are reporting packages being returned from Amazon buyers more than 30 days after the buyer received it.

I have to admit that a year ago I would never have dreamed of asking this question. Is the Amazon return policy going to become the default policy in the internet buyers subconscious? Will buyers hesitate to purchase unless they can expect to get a 30 day return policy?

I think a year ago many Ebay sellers believed Ebay was the only place to sell, and would remain the “main” selling venue. Times have obviously changed. Now Amazon may be setting trends in internet buying that affect sellers who don’t even sell on Amazon.

If you have any stories of how Amazon has affected your sales on Ebay, please post them. I would like to know if other sellers have noticed the same trends I have.

Jennie