What's the bottom line on Ebay "managed sales"? 1 1

[masterlogan2000]

6 hours ago, Lightning55 said:

If you don't trust the system and want to be sure your funds are in your possession before you ship, you can set your handling time to a longer period to compensate.

For those with Top Rated status, setting the handling time to a longer period negates the Top Rated Seller Plus benefits.  Those benefits include final value fee discounts and whatever item promotion eBay concocts up (currently just a Top Rated Seller Plus badge in the search results).  Trust me, those final value fees can add up.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/seller-levels-performance-standards?id=4080#whathttp://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/top-rated.html#what

[Lightning55]

8 minutes ago, masterlogan2000 said:

For those with Top Rated status, setting the handling time to a longer period negates the Top Rated Seller Plus benefits.  Those benefits include final value fee discounts and whatever item promotion eBay concocts up (currently just a Top Rated Seller Plus badge in the search results).  Trust me, those final value fees can add up.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/seller-levels-performance-standards?id=4080#whathttp://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/top-rated.html#what

Completely agree.  You are kind of trapped into going along with the new system, trusting it, if you are Top Rated.  Some people are unable to go through all the hoops, and I might be one someday.  Those who have longer handling times, or don't want to do free returns, have the flexibility to delay their shipping to make sure they have the funds in place first.

Over the many years, I have had some odd financial things happen here and there with eBay, and they have always made it right.  Things can go sideways, always true.  But so far, I can't say they have ever cheated me out of any money, so I am going along.  They don't have to cheat - they just find new ways to take it within the framework.

[Buzzetta]

First I want to publicly thank @Lightning55 for answering the PM questions I had.  His answers made sense and were more informative than that which I had received from eBay itself with similar inquiries as to how the whole process works.

@masterlogan2000 I have to admit though that I have never felt the desire to jump through the hoops to make that little bit more back.  I remember that angst that RMA used to talk about in trying to maintain it.  Also, as I am not just selling comics I have always felt the negation of the free return policy weeds out a lot of the 'use it and return it' crowd.  I have had people overtly tell me on one account that they wanted to wear something like a bracelet or a watch and see how it went for the night to decide if they wanted to keep it.  Uh... no... 

It has its when you want to sell some things but fails in all aspects with certain others.   

 

[masterlogan2000]

1 minute ago, Buzzetta said:

First I want to publicly thank @Lightning55 for answering the PM questions I had.  His answers made sense and were more informative than that which I had received from eBay itself with similar inquiries as to how the whole process works.

@masterlogan2000 I have to admit though that I have never felt the desire to jump through the hoops to make that little bit more back.  I remember that angst that RMA used to talk about in trying to maintain it.  Also, as I am not just selling comics I have always felt the negation of the free return policy weeds out a lot of the 'use it and return it' crowd.  I have had people overtly tell me on one account that they wanted to wear something like a bracelet or a watch and see how it went for the night to decide if they wanted to keep it.  Uh... no... 

It has its when you want to sell some things but fails in all aspects with certain others.   

 

I'll be the first to admit that the cumulative restrictions that eBay has made over the years to maintain that status AND get the discount is RIDICULOUS.  As little as 5 years ago, you could receive Power Seller and Top Rated status simply by having enough sales and good feedback.  The discount was great and automatic, as long as you maintained sales numbers.

Then, to compete with the Amazons of the world, eBay started mandating that their sellers offer free shipping to qualify for the discount.  (Not a big deal on this one, as you roll shipping costs into the price of the item).

Then, there was eBay's insistence on sellers cutting handling times to 1 day or the item will no longer be promoted.  Tracking had to be uploaded within one business day.  Shortly thereafter, this affected the final value discounts as well.

Then, the seller was required to accept a 14 day return policy or the discount and promotions would go away.

Then, eBay required the item to be delivered ON TIME... which could be completely dependent on the shipper (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.).  If the shipper temporarily lost your package and it was delivered a day late (again, through no fault of your own), you got docked your final value fee discounts.

Now, eBay extended the return policy to 30 days AND requires the return shipping to be covered by the seller!

All the while, buyer protections continue to increase.  Though this is great news for your average, honest buyer, it's like printing free money to all those scam artists that game the system day in and day out... a lot of which is at the cost of the seller.

 

It's no wonder eBay's marketplace continues to tank.  They have continued to screw over the suppliers of their distribution model, and forcing them to opt in to a singular payment system is just one more nail in that coffin.

Oh, and don't get me started on their failures with the EPN program.

 

Needless to say, I've moved most of my comic sales (especially high dollar books) to other avenues like these Boards.

 

[CAMPER49]

eBay forced me to sign up for this "managed sales" thing by July 15th.

When I finally did, they sent me this message...

"Thanks for registering for managed payments! We’ve identified your business as one that likely sells to the US or on the US site directly. We understand that you may currently get paid out in multiple currencies, which is not currently supported with managed payments. As a result, we’ve delayed your activation for managed payments while we work on a solution. In the meantime, you can continue selling as usual. Our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible and we will only activate your account for managed payments once the available features match your business needs."

[Tempus Fugit]

I have steadily ignored their emails, and the click through warning when I post sales. I got a call from an actual human being at ebay the other day. He was nice enough, and told me that ebay could shut me down. I informed him that I have a day job, and if ebay wanted to throw away our 22 year relationship, and the few hundred dollars a month they get from me, then so be it.

He seemed genuinely  surprised at this brazen act of brinkmanship, and he was quite persistent, but I did not cave.

I expect I will eventually be shut down, but I am holding out as long as possible.

[Buzzetta]

59 minutes ago, Tempus Fugit said:

I have steadily ignored their emails, and the click through warning when I post sales. I got a call from an actual human being at ebay the other day. He was nice enough, and told me that ebay could shut me down. I informed him that I have a day job, and if ebay wanted to throw away our 22 year relationship, and the few hundred dollars a month they get from me, then so be it.

He seemed genuinely  surprised at this brazen act of brinkmanship, and he was quite persistent, but I did not cave.

I expect I will eventually be shut down, but I am holding out as long as possible.

I got the woman with the British accent.  

[Action252Kid]

Something I don't think anyone mentioned (and of course, I know it's not a typical sale, but..) on higher priced sales, I was pleasantly surprised that the fees are actually quite a bit lower than the old way.  For example, a $10,000 sale is now treated as: final value fees on the first $2,500 (so say 10% for simplicity), then the remaining amount (the $2,501st to $10,000th dollar) are just charged at the processing rate that eBay pays on the transaction (something like 2.2%).  So a $10k sale now has 'in total' around $450 in fees, while before it was eBay's 10% and another 3% from PayPal.  I spoke to someone at eBay on the phone the other day and they are well aware of the complaints people have, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised with it (although the delayed access to funds, taking the final value fees out immediately instead of billing at the end of the month, etc. are all annoying.. but I knew that going into July 15th and was happy that there haven't been any other unknown issues so far).

[Hamlet]

1 hour ago, Tempus Fugit said:

I have steadily ignored their emails, and the click through warning when I post sales. I got a call from an actual human being at ebay the other day. He was nice enough, and told me that ebay could shut me down. I informed him that I have a day job, and if ebay wanted to throw away our 22 year relationship, and the few hundred dollars a month they get from me, then so be it.

He seemed genuinely  surprised at this brazen act of brinkmanship, and he was quite persistent, but I did not cave.

I expect I will eventually be shut down, but I am holding out as long as possible.

I’m pretty amazed at how painful Ebay makes it for sellers.  I buy some on Ebay, but I have absolutely no interest in selling on it.  They’ve stacked the deck so much in favor of buyers that it really seems like scammers have to be a constant problem.

 

[FlyingDonut]

I don't understand their math. Each of these items sold for $5. It appears that they are spreading the fees across each one and assigning partial costs of the shipping to each item.

[Lightning55]

30 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

I don't understand their math. Each of these items sold for $5. It appears that they are spreading the fees across each one and assigning partial costs of the shipping to each item.

Your link isn't working, but yes, I think that is how they do it.  For multiple item orders they prorate shipping and fees to get the totals.  Just easier for their database, probably. 

It's like when you use a Rewards coupon at some stores.  They apply part of the rewards to each item you purchased, not all to one item.

[FlyingDonut]

Here's the corrected link.

[Poka]

On 8/11/2020 at 12:39 PM, Buzzetta said:

First I want to publicly thank @Lightning55 for answering the PM questions I had.  His answers made sense and were more informative than that which I had received from eBay itself with similar inquiries as to how the whole process works.

@masterlogan2000 I have to admit though that I have never felt the desire to jump through the hoops to make that little bit more back.  I remember that angst that RMA used to talk about in trying to maintain it.  Also, as I am not just selling comics I have always felt the negation of the free return policy weeds out a lot of the 'use it and return it' crowd.  I have had people overtly tell me on one account that they wanted to wear something like a bracelet or a watch and see how it went for the night to decide if they wanted to keep it.  Uh... no... 

It has its when you want to sell some things but fails in all aspects with certain others.   

 

BTW - where is RMA?

[Poka]

11 hours ago, Action252Kid said:

Something I don't think anyone mentioned (and of course, I know it's not a typical sale, but..) on higher priced sales, I was pleasantly surprised that the fees are actually quite a bit lower than the old way.  For example, a $10,000 sale is now treated as: final value fees on the first $2,500 (so say 10% for simplicity), then the remaining amount (the $2,501st to $10,000th dollar) are just charged at the processing rate that eBay pays on the transaction (something like 2.2%).  So a $10k sale now has 'in total' around $450 in fees, while before it was eBay's 10% and another 3% from PayPal.  I spoke to someone at eBay on the phone the other day and they are well aware of the complaints people have, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised with it (although the delayed access to funds, taking the final value fees out immediately instead of billing at the end of the month, etc. are all annoying.. but I knew that going into July 15th and was happy that there haven't been any other unknown issues so far).

If you have a shop on ebay - the FVF has a cap - also before Managed payment

[Buzzetta]

19 minutes ago, Poka said:

BTW - where is RMA?

I believe he has taken a step back for the time being by his own choice.

[Lightning55]

7 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

Here's the corrected link.

Yeah, looks right (for EBay land).  The method is what I usually see. 

The odd thing here is that the order, with shipping, is $22.50 for 3 items, easily divisible by 3 to get $7.50 each.  But they have 7.49, 7.49 and 7.52.  And they wonder why we don't like to trust eBay with our finances.

[manetteska]

43 minutes ago, Lightning55 said:

8 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

Here's the corrected link.

Yeah, looks right (for EBay land).  The method is what I usually see. 

The odd thing here is that the order, with shipping, is $22.50 for 3 items, easily divisible by 3 to get $7.50 each.  But they have 7.49, 7.49 and 7.52.  And they wonder why we don't like to trust eBay with our finances.

Trusting a company -- who repeatedly changes policies (usually in a negative way for the seller) and offers vague information about said changes -- with our finances, banking information, and personal info is but a small hurdle.

[Action252Kid]

11 hours ago, Poka said:

If you have a shop on ebay - the FVF has a cap - also before Managed payment

This is true, but it's still cheaper (again, on higher priced sales) under the new program.  Before, you had a FVF cap at $350/item (and then 3% PayPal fees on the whole sale).  Now it's ~ 10% FVF on the first $2500 and 2.2% on the remainder, but no PayPal fees now.  Still an annoying system/change overall, but really there isn't much that can be done about it, so I'm just hopeful that it improves over time.

[jsilverjanet]

Here' a perfect example of why this new system sucks.

All my sales from 8/13 are still processing, I've been now notified that payment for these items will not be sent to my bank until 8/17. That means I won't see these funds till 8/18 in my bank account

[Lightning55]

4 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said:

Here' a perfect example of why this new system sucks.

All my sales from 8/13 are still processing, I've been now notified that payment for these items will not be sent to my bank until 8/17. That means I won't see these funds till 8/18 in my bank account

That's about right for the timing, right for the opinion of the transfer speed (sucks).  You have to see it coming, be ready for the lag.  Every week at this time, that's how it will be.  The weekend jams it up.  Other days, not so bad.  If you had a brick and mortar store, it would be just like this.