In a rather
unusual move (traditionally only done in spring and fall) eBay has rolled out a
summer seller update. While there’s not a huge amount of changes there are a
few important and interesting changes that could spell bigger and better things
to come.
Personal contact info not allowed– This move actually makes a lot of sense
to me for a few reasons. First it discourages offsite sales which do happen and
do not help the marketplace we want more shoppers on the site not less and two
it’s another level of protection for the seller. As a seller, you probably have been
contacted by a buyer at some point to do a transaction offsite and your answer should
always be a polite no. I know it may seem crazy, you are avoiding fees and
pocketing more money but what recourse do you have if you sell that item and 2
weeks later that person demands their money back? You can’t call on eBay to
step in if the buyer turns out to be a nut! This communication restriction also
extends to external links in your listings. Product videos, freight shipping
services and other legally required info all fine but link to your own website
that’s a no-no.
Continuing to enhance the eBay
catalog- This is
perhaps the most interesting item in the seller update, sellers are
automatically opted into ebay’s catalog of images meaning if you upload a pic
it can be used in eBay’s database. Is this a step towards a more streamlined
listing process? Is this a step towards a simpler listing by UPC with added
benefit of using catalog pictures? This would be amazing, saves lots of time,
reduce problems and eliminate redundant work! We can only hope and see what
happens next.
Greater visibility for stores offering
flexible returns–
offering 30 day or greater returns and don’t charge a restock fee? Well eBay
will be bringing that fact to their buyer’s attention in a few different ways.
First by adding search filters to search by return policy, second by highlighting your listing polices and last by featuring these listings in marketing
campaigns which is a nice little perk for being a flexible seller.
Additional control when you offer free
returns– This is
another one of the more interesting points in the summer update. Do you offer
free returns? Did some jerk just try to stiff you by returning a dirty t-shirt
that was not dirty when you sent it out? Well coming this fall its partial refunds
a big win for sellers who have demanded some form of recourse for situations
like this.
While
unexpected there were a few pleasant surprises, like the greater visibility a
big win for the top seller status and sellers who already offer 30 day returns
and finally the introduction of partial refunds, an additional tool in the
sellers arsenal to prevent abusive or fraudulent returns.