eBay Spring Seller Update – Seller Protections Are Here! But WHERE Are They??

eBay’s Spring Seller Update is loaded with good news for sellers. The long awaited for Seller Protections are HERE! But wait. Are they? What are they? And exactly, where are they?

Before we deal with Seller Protections let’s quickly look at the other parts of the update.

First, to Managed PaymentsIt’s continuing to roll out. It now includes Google Pay. Paypal is slowly being integrated into Managed Payments. International payments, to date, are NOT included. Managed Payments is being offered to sellers gradually. As of now you are not required to use it.

Additionally, eBay is simplifying order numbers. This is a great asset to sellers in Managed Payments. This simplified order number will be available to all sellers. In July sellers already in Managed Payments will find it easier to issue a partial refund. Simplification is always welcome.

Next is Seller Growth ToolsAlready live on eBay is the ability of all sellers in Good Standing to use Promoted Listings. You do not need to have an eBay store to use Promoted Listings. Promoted Listings are easy to access both in Seller Hub and in the eBay listing flow.

Note, as so many sellers can now use Promoted Listings, keep an eye on the Trending Rate. What worked even a few weeks may no longer be a relevant rate. Here is the link for the current Promoted Listing Ad rates on eBay.

Sellers only pay the Promoted Listings fee, if a buyer clicks and purchases an item within 30 days of initially seeing the Promoted item. Details on this program are HERE.

Promoted Listings is eBay’s paid enhanced search service for sellers. Sellers items receive enhanced visibility once opted in to Promoted Listings. Promoted Listings is NOT pay per click advertising.

Best Offer Updates, Offer To Buyers For All & Volume Pricing!More simplification for sellers! As of May, Best Offer can now to added, removed, changed, auto accept and decline added, or removed through eBay’s Bulk Edit function. Also sellers will be able to “Send Offers To Buyers” in bulk through Seller Hub.

Volume Pricing has been live on eBay since November of 2018. Volume Pricing allows sellers to create discounts on multi quantity purchases by buyers of the same item. The beauty of Volume Pricing is that it shows RIGHT on the listing. eBay states that Volume Pricing is available on Multi Variation listings now. I did not find that be true. I’m sure it’s coming soon

Senior eBay staff advise me that Volume Pricing has been wildly successful.

If your item qualifies for it, try it out.

There is no additional fee to using the Volume Pricing function.

eBay Makes A Few Changes In Inventory OptimizationEvery year eBay makes changes in categories and the item specifics associated with those categories. In June the following categories will see changes: books, business & industrial, cell phones & accessories, collectibles, computers, tablets & networking, consumer electronics, everything else, health & beauty, home & garden, pet supplies, sporting goods, video games and consoles.

For instance, one change coming is in Books as of June 2019, you can no longer list or revise Books in Other Books. Books need to be listed a fiction or nonfiction. Details on this are here.

Item Specifics & Keywords- More Important Than Ever!eBay once again emphasizes the vital importance of keywords and item specifics for listings. Good item keywords empower listings to be found not only on eBay but also Google search. Sellers in the following categories, be on the lookout for eBay making more requests and recommendations for your item specifics and keywords. These listing categories are home & garden, antique coins & paper money, sporting goods, and toys & hobbies.

So important are item specifics and keywords to getting listings found by shoppers and search engines, eBay states it may even require certain item specifics in the future.

Keywords can be overwhelming. What are they? How do I find them? What’s the best way to use them specifically for eBay? I’ve spent hours and hours researching this crucial topic for you. I break it all down and make it easy for you.

With “Keyword Domination To Explode eBay Sales”. you get everything needed to quickly understand this important part of a successful listing. Using Keyword Domination, you’re equipped to maximize your sales without hours and hours of research and webinars!

You’ll want to GRAB instant access to this powerful guide!

Marketplace UpdateGood news for sellers on seller fees for Good ‘Til Cancelled listings. With Good ‘Til Cancelled listings recently being mandated on eBay, sellers expressed concerns over fees. eBay has listened. Seller fees will be charged on a calendar month basis, rather than 30-day basis, as of July 2019.

What this means is if you create a listing on July 5th, it rolls over on August 5th, September 5th etc. If an item is created on the 31st day of the month, it will roll over on the last day of each succeeding month. This solves the issue raised by sellers of potential double billing on listings for months of 31 days. Thank you, eBay,!

Auto Relist On Cancelled Transactions!Starting in May, sellers will have an easy relist option on cancelled items or remorse returns. When refunding you’ll see a box you can check for auto relist.

WARNING: If you had item in Promoted Listings it will auto relist into Promoted Listings at the rate you had established. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But, be aware of it.

IF you don’t want the listing relisting with ALL your previous choices DON’T click auto relist. Relist manually, checking that your listing has the choices, keywords etc that you want.

More On Sales Tax

IF you buy on eBay and qualify for sales tax exemption, click here for details.

As the laws change on how sales tax is collected, by the marketplace or seller, updates will appear HERE.

Front and center in the Spring Seller Update are improved Seller Protections!For years eBay has listened to sellers speak to buyers claiming item not as described to get a free return. To make matters worse, even sellers offering free returns, can still bear dings of a return item not as described despite offering free returns. Sellers have reported sellers returning empty boxes, used items when new items were purchased etc.

eBay has promised more protections for sellers, and here they are. But what are they? eBay is purposely vague, stating it will be harsher with offending buyers.

eBay says it will protect sellers more. How? No clear cut policies are set in place. For instance, if eBay is to protect sellers from false INAD returns by buyers, how will be eBay decide that a return is a false INAD?

Will eBay block the return? I hear “we will be tougher on bad sellers.” I don’t see the how and what.

Is unwarranted bad feedback automatically removed? eBay doesn’t state a clear policy. Again it states it ‘backs” good sellers.Translated, that means sellers once again spend their precious time messaging and or calling eBay customer service.

eBay further promises it will be vigilant against illegal drop ship policies. This is my YouTube about eBay’s current drop ship policy.

eBay promises to stand up for sellers who are “legally” drop shipping with a formal merchant fulfillment relationship. Sellers buying from 3rd party sites and fulfilling orders for eBay buyers without a formal drop ship relationship, eBay states will be penalized in eBay search.

This sounds good. But, I don’t know how eBay knows who is a legal or illegal drop shipper.

eBay is rolling out FAQ information for sellers defining what is and is not abuse in the buyer/seller relationship.

The purpose of this FAQ is to formalize what is and is not acceptable buying behavior. Doesn’t eBay already have buyer rules in place?

I am reminded of the famous line from Shakespeare, “full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” Well not nothing. I’m glad eBay is looking to step up protections for sellers, but the “new” standard looks same old, same old with a new coat of paint.

I look forward to seeing clear, tangible steps taken by eBay to protect sellers. I welcome a seamless, state of the art flow, for sellers to “activate” seller protection when dealing with abusive customers, that attempt to exhort partial refunds, open false item not as described cases, return damaged items and more.

The “new” Seller Protections, though welcome sound like a new headache for the hardworking eBay customer service team.

In Closing,eBay’s Spring Seller Update has tangible good news for sellers and some welcome but vague promises. The glad tidings are increased functionality of seller tools that drive sales. The calendar month being used for GTC listings is also great for sellers. Thank you, eBay.

The vagueness centers around the eBay “New Seller Protections”. eBay is to be applauded for stepping into the arena of more seller protections. I look forward to seeing these” protections” fully articulated with seamless, time efficient protocols for sellers.

Right now, the “new” protections remind me of the ad “where’s the beef?”, with the ladies looking at a big hamburger bun with a miniscule hamburger on it.

eBay is clearly continuing to engage its seller community and partner with them to strengthen the eBay platform for all. This is in stark contrast to other sites that antagonize and compete against their sellers. eBay is to be commended for being the seller friendly, community place it is. So eBay, we as sellers appreciate the partnership. Now, we’d like some more “beef” in the seller protections.

Kathy Terrill is here to help you crush it on eBay! She is a New York-based professional actress who has more than 25 years of experience in brick-and-mortar retail and over 6 years as an on-air product presenter for QVC, the shopping channel.

Kathy started her eBay selling in small way. Kathy sold items from her Manhattan NYC apartment while caring for sick family members. Kathy’s eBay business has grown and she is now a Top Rated Powerseller.You'll find Kathy regularly on Facebook as the founder for the seller group eBay Stores Nothing but eBay Stores which has over 3500 global members, eBay Selling Basics Nothing But Selling Basics, and Online Selling Nothing but Online Selling.

About the Author

Kathy is an eBay Influencer as well as an in-demand speaker and private sales coach. She loves to share her expertise at eBay and ecommerce events all across the USA. In 2017, Kathy was chosen from among more than 600,000 members of eBay’s Small Business Ambassador Program as the winner of eBay’s Small Business Advocate Award. She speaks nationally on eBay selling. Kathy has appeared on Fox News as a small business expert.

She is here to help online sellers of all levels increase sales with practical advice she gleans from her extensive retail and on-air selling experience. Many popular eBay classes plus great tips for increasing online sales are available at Kathy’s ecommerce blog site, I Love To Be Selling.

"The author is not an employee of eBay Inc. or any of its affiliated companies. Views expressed in this book are the author's own, and do not reflect the views of eBay Inc., its employees, affiliates, or indeed anyone else."