As if eBay’s January 29 announcement regarding the changes to the feedback system wasn’t enough, eBay posted an update on Wednesday, giving sellers even more details and dropping another bombshell. eBay will no longer allow Mutual Feedback Withdrawal, a process that lets buyers and sellers withdraw their feedback ratings by mutual consent. In addition, sellers will no longer be able to use SquareTrade’s online dispute resolution service to aid in feedback removal. A service that costs 19.99 per incident but frequently used to abolish negative feedback between sellers/buyers. If both participants agreed, SquareTrade would submit a request to eBay to have feedback left by each wiped off their summaries.

“After much consideration, we’ve made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that - under the new rules - it opens sellers up to extortion. As part of this decision, Mutual Agreement from third-party Feedback mediation services, such as SquareTrade, will also no longer be accepted.”

The new feedback policy will go into effect May 19th.

One change to feedback revealed on Wednesday favors PowerSellers. eBay wrote,

“In January we mentioned that we’d block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for 3 days for sellers “with a track record.” Since January, we’ve made the decision to increase the wait period to 7 days and define “track record” as active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months.”

eBay also announced that they would make buyers aware that international shipments can be expected to take longer than domestic by sending them messages following a transaction and encouraging communication with the seller.

They will also introduce a new buyer requirement that will allow sellers to block buyers who have been reported by other sellers for eBay buying policy violations; as well as improving the process that sellers use to report buyers for policy violations; and expanding the scope of the existing buyer requirement for unpaid items, so that it supports more comprehensive blocking of buyers who have a history of non-payment.

More information on the upcoming changes can be found here.

Mac

Starting Wednesday, May 7, 2008 between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Wednesday, May 7, 2008) and ending on Wednesday May 14, 2008 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

Insertion fees for Fixed Price listings will be capped at 50¢ for items with a start price over $9.99 on the U.S. site www.ebay.com and eBay Motors www.ebaymotors.com.

Happy listing!

Mac

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Mac

According to Mark Taylor, who writes the ShippingCoach.com Blog, six out of every ten people that ship on eBay are paying too much for shipping. Taylor said eBay bought Skype to eliminate a friction point in communications and it bought PayPal to eliminate a friction point in payment processing. But shipping is still a friction point for buyers and sellers on the auction site. He called eBay’s latest policy that requires sellers to specify shipping costs in listings unfair because the auction site’s shipping calculator excludes some carriers. “It is unfair to sellers who found a better way to save on shipping,” he said.

Here’s some practical advice for online merchants regarding shipping rates and carriers. Hopefully these will help you to make better choices when choosing a shipping method and a specific carrier for your packages.

Tip #1: Don’t Pay Retail
A little known secret is that the parcel carriers have two sets rates; one for retail customers and one for commercial customers. The rates for commercial customers are as much as 30% less. You can qualify for a commercial rate with most carriers by signing up for an account or shipping online.

Tip #2: Compare Rates
According to Pitney Bowes, “Studies show that you could save 33% or more on shipping by using a rate comparison service.” You don’t just fly on one airline; why would you ship with a single carrier?

Tip #3: Leverage the Unique Advantages of the U.S. Postal Service
When you compare carriers, remember to include the U.S. Postal Service; it has some niches where the national carriers can’t compete on price. Examples include the Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, First Class Packages and Media Mail.

Tip #4: “Use an Accurate Shipping Scale with a Digital Display
The rates for shipping are determined by the weight of the package. Even one ounce can make a difference. For example, an 8-ounce First Class Mail Parcel costs only $2.32 to ship compared to the Priority Mail rate of $4.60 - a 50% savings.

A bit of shipping humor…

Mac