Wow! Is probably the best word to describe all of the
changes to eBay in 2017, I am not going to rehash them all again but if you
want a refresher check out our article from just last month on some of the big eBay
changes in 2017. So what’s left to
announce for the 2017 fall seller update? Well there are important changes here
that you need to be aware of.
Changes to returns–
Lots to cover on returns so let’s dig in. Automatic returns will roll out next month for
transactions in which the buyer is responsible for the return shipping so be
aware and make sure you are not caught off guard by this. Free returns need to be truly free no more restock fees, if
you do not offer free returns you will have the option of 10% up to 20%
restocking fee but no more than that. Have an Item returned to you with missing
parts or damaged? You will now have the option of issuing a partial credit up
to 50% of the items price. eBay is also not so subtly pushing sellers to offer
free returns. What’s the carrot being offered to sellers? It’s increased
exposure for sellers offering 30 day free returns. In my mind this can work for
a lot of sellers and items, after all you can build this additional risk into
the cost but don’t jump on the bandwagon before doing your homework. Will this
additional exposure lead to greater sales and will those greater sales outweigh
the risks? It remains to be seen!
Are you HTTPS
compliant– What is this and why you need to care? Basically half the world
uses google chrome as their browser and in a few weeks those users will start
to get a security warning every time they view a page that is not HTTPS or
simply HTTP. Extra S stands for you can probably guess… Secure. If you are like
me, you probably dont have a clue if your listings are compliant so eBay has
provided a tool to check
your listings. If you find any of that pesky Http links you need to get rid
of them, instructions for doing this can be found here.
Watermarked images
are a no-no– Yet another step in the march to the eBay comprehensive
catalog of products. Some may not like the idea of their pictures being used by
the entire Ebay community but it does work both ways eventually, you may not
have to take pictures of commodity items because its already on the site, less
time wasted photographing and editing that’s a plus in my book.
No offsite
communication– eBay wants no contact info in listings and very limited
offsite links. Basically only video links for product demonstrations and
freight shipping services for those oversized items. This is all to discourage
sellers from taking a sale offsite to avoid the fees. eBay will allow you to
list a contact phone number but this can only be accessed after the sale has
been completed.
With these exciting changes, it is best to be prepared and ready with plenty of inventory to choose from our wholesale lots.