If you can't beat them .....

I've tried to avoid using this blog to pimp my wares, but as everyone else is doing it, then I might as well join in.

This last few days I've added a load of listings to help you cope with the long school holidays for summer.  In summary there are ....

STRAWS

Long straws, short straws (for eBay sellers - lol)
Fat straws, thin straws
Straight straws, bendy straws
Plain straws and spoon straws
All in an assortment of colours and pack sizes - all in our eBay shop

PARTY BOXES FOR KIDS

A range of party boxes containing party bags, toys, and essential party supplies so you can organise a party from a box.  (More of these to be listed next week)  Listed in auction format, so you can grab a bargain from the low start prices.  If they don't sell, they'll relist in our eBay shop at a higher fixed price until they do sell = don't just watch them, bid now!

BBQ SUPPLIES

In addition to our standard huge range of cuilinary and therapeutic herbs and spices, I'm adding back in a range of sauces and sauce mixes, Kebab skewers, smoke chips and other stuff - keep an eye on our eBay shop over the coming weeks.

Don't forget also that our handmade mulberry paper wedding favour bags make excellent gift and "doggy" bags for guests to take home excess food from parties and barbeques.

Have a great summer all

Gaz

eBay's new feedback policy will affect your overall feedback percentage score on Thursday, and you might not be happy when you see the new scores.  You can have 0 negatives but still be less than 100% (since neutrals will count against you).

eBay rolled out the changes in Australia on Monday, so sellers in other countries can go to eBay Australia (www.eBay.com.au) and do an Advanced Search by Seller for your ID. Clicking on your feedback number will bring up your scores based on eBay's new methodology. 

Note that on Oz, the feedback % showing on your listings is still based on the current UK (old) calculation of just negs and positives, but the feedback page will tell a different story ....

Under the old system, I've been on 99.5% to 99.6% since way back before I became a PowerSeller and before John Donahoe was employed by eBay.

Having just checked the rating on eBay Oz, under the new system, my overall percentage drops to just 98.5% from the current 99.6% - that's a full 1.1% drop caused by 17 neutral comments received during and shortly after the UK's postal strike last autumn.

Am I happy?  Not a bit of it.

I sell on a dozen non-eBay auction sites, which between them have earned me more than double the total feedback I've earned on eBay, and collectively I have just one non-positive feedback score on all of those other sites (and that was a retaliatory from a non-paying bidder).

That leads me to ask, just what is it about eBay buyers and the new eBay culture that causes eBay buyers to be so willing to throw non-positives at sellers so frequently?  It also leads me to point out that from the tens of thousands of PayPal payments I've received over the years, the only chargeback claims ever made against my account have been from eBay buyers.

Roll the above into all the other seller-punishing new policies (and especially the unilateral ones from eBay UK) and it's got me working 25 hours a day to get my other channels ramped up so I can exit this madhouse, because the cuckoo's have definately taken over this nest.

Speaking of retaliatory feedback ... the USA doesn't block sellers from giving negatives until next Monday, and Mutual Feedback Withdrawal will be around for a month or two yet.  So if you're a seller and you get a rush of neutrals or negatives this weekend, pop across to the US site (before Monday breakfast time in the UK) and leave a nice glowing red retaliatory negative, with a suitable comment that doesn't contravene the feedback abuse policy so it can't be removed by eBay.

Grrrr - I am fuming at all these retroactive changes to feedback, and feeling thoroughly intolerant this week - Caveat Emptor = Buyer's Beware!

Mutter, snarl, hiss

Gaz

There's a question that's been niggling away in the back of my mind for many months now.

It's one of those questions that any sane person tries to suppress, because there will never be an answer to it that you quite fully believe, and that makes it one of those questions that can turn you paranoid.  So maybe you can tell me your thoughts on it?

Users of Selling Manager Pro will know that in the "info not shown to buyers", at the bottom of the transaction record page, is a section where sellers can input their product and actual postage costs.  The purpose of this, is for one of the gross profit reporting tools that comes with SMP - it allows you to see your revenue net of eBay + PayPal + product + Post Office costs, on an invoice by invoice basis.  It's useful for seeing which products are making money and which ones aren't (in a rough rounded-out sort of way, as it doesn't allow for labour costs etc).

Long term buyers and sellers will also know that eBay have been on the warpath about P&P gouging for the last couple of years, and that's why the two postage DSR feedback stats are continually getting hammered in all sellers' feedback charts, even when the seller charges no shipping, and delivery was by digital download or buyer collection.

So the niggling question is .... would eBay be dirtily tricky enough to use the sellers' SMP P&P costs and charges, to create a metric for punishing P&P overcharging sellers under the new Best Match search and browse algorithm?  Would they go so far as to argue that if the data is on their system, it's their's to use, even when it's in the "confidential" area of a seller's privileged area within their account data?

After all, eBay have refused to release details of all the metrics, used by Best Match, in order to prevent sellers gaming the system.  Therefore no-one outside of eBay really knows what they're using to prioritise the search results.  If they are doing that, have they included a method of reverse-handicap for international sales?  Or are cross border transactions being especially penalised, in line with various other territory protectionist policies introduced over the last 24 months?

It leaves me wondering if I should continue inputting those costs, or stop and lose the SMP report (which I hardly use anyway).

What do you all think?

Gaz

On the US announcements board this week, director of eBay Marketplace Operations, Lorrie Norrington has announced there will be no eBay Live in 2009.  Instead she says eBay will run more, smaller, events, giving more people the chance to interface with eBay and PayPal staff.

Hoorah says I, with a big BUT.

If this means the senior management will get out on the road more, and visit their developing markets such as South East Asia - with recognition that, for example in my case, the "small" countries in the developing world also require multiple events (it takes 14 hours on the train from here to Thailand's capital, Bangkok) then this will be a long awaited good move.

However, if as expected, the forays from the San Jose's Ivory Towers never leave mainland USA, then it's a yah-boo-hiss from me.

I very much want the opportunity to front the likes of Ms Norrington and her bosses with questions (and documentary evidence) regarding how the new policies have been destroying my business.  Visitor traffic to my listings are down on every site except Australia (and that's due to the mass seller exodus over the PayPal-only policy).  Page views per visitor are up, but spend per visitor is down - this means the average number of page views per Pound of revenue is through the roof.  The reduced number of browsers are looking, but not spending.

I know exactly why as well.  Not only are those who do buy, hammering our shipping DSRs because of our location (they're reading despatch time as meaning total delivery time, which is wrong even by eBay's help page texts, and they're hitting us on P&P costs purely due to location without comparing the stated price or the delivery-surety services included in the price).  But also, we're suffering badly on the international visibility cuts eBay enforced last year, and introduced fees for, this year.  Those are causing escalating fee overheads which have to be recouped, and that means higher start prices, which now penalise everyone under the Best Match search criteria.

Of course, not all of it is eBay's fault, detrimental exchange rates have affected prices, and gloom about economies on both sides of the Atlantic are slowing bids.  But mostly, as proved by the data analysis, it's eBay policies that are causing our sales drop.  Our product range and target markets are not so affected by general economics as some other product groups.

Looking at our traffic analysis on Omniture, total monthly visitors from the US have dropped steadily by around 5% per month for each of the last nine months.  On the UK site, they have monthly yoyo'd by up to 40% every month in the last nine months, with the overall trend being downwards, such that last month was 50% down on August last year (both being peaks on the yoyo graph). 

The yoyo-ing itself speaks volumes about eBay playing on-off games with visibility of our listings.  December is normally a peak month for us, last year it was a trough - 65% down on November instead of the usual 10-20% up.  With total monthly visitor count jumping from 22,000 down to 15,000, then back up to 19,000, and down to 13,500 (for example) there's definately unseasonal factors at play.

Add in that our sales in the last week of April were 10% of the previous 3 weeks, and a switch was flipped off somewhere.  This week is, so far, no better.  That's 90% down, not 10% down.  Additionally we've had more days with no sales in the last fortnight, than we had in the whole of 2003 (our first year on eBay).

I remain unconvinced that Ms Norrington's announcement is aimed at improving communication between eBay and its small and medium sized sellers.  Looking at our experiences of the last 2 years, and all the policy changes in the same period, I think the new, smaller, roadshows are fishing expeditions, intended to showcase eBay to the local corporates in each location they visit, and that the little guys like us, will continue to be squeezed out by unannounced policies that hammer our visibility and sales.  One thing's for sure - corporate customers will not tolerate the on-off-on-again visibility so many current sellers are suffering, and reporting in the eBay forums.

Gaz

We began trading on eBay in February 2003, and operated successfully for 5 years without a formal Returns & Refunds Policy.  However, in the first quarter of 2008, eBay began operating a "Carrot, Stick, and Straitjacket" methodology with the paying customers who sell on the site.  It is due to eBay's interference that we have to introduce a formal Returns & Refunds Policy, and due to eBay's strictures and regulation, it will be far less lenient than our previous ad-hoc system.  As a buyer, you can thank eBay for this. 

eBay UK have used two sets of British Law as beating sticks for their newly coerced business sellers - DSRs (Distance Selling Regulations) and the Sale of Goods Act.

Some of eBay's actions and policy announcements are explained here and relate to those statutes -

• The Carrot - On 28th January 2008, eBay Global announced that all sellers, who delivered high customer satisfaction, would receive discounts on the fees they pay for successfully selling on the eBay platform.  eBay UK initially announced the same, but then unilaterally twisted this announcement to include only sellers registered or qualified as PowerSellers on eBay UK.
• The Stick - The eBay Global announcement about the discounts specified ALL sellers with a minimum sales volume (of 10 items per month that received Detailed Seller Ratings from buyers).  On 29th January, eBay UK required all PowerSellers to register as businesses, even if they were not businesses (e.g. charities, NGOs, etc) if they wished to receive the seller performance discounts.  For genuine non-businesses, registering as such could bring unwelcome action from the Inland Revenue.  However, the eBay announcement states UK non-PowerSellers must be registered as business sellers to receive the discounts - this is not what has been implemented in other countries.
  • The 2nd Carrot - On 20th March, in the face of seller reluctance to register as business sellers, eBay UK tried a bribe of double discounts under the seller performance program.
• The Straitjacket - Having bribed and beaten sellers into registering on eBay as businesses, eBay UK then began applying a straitjacket to force them to behave the way eBay wanted them to.  They did this without consideration of who already did and did not comply with UK laws, nor with thought of who is, or is not, based in the UK and thus subject to UK jurisdiction.  Several times they were over-zealous in extending the meaning of UK statutes and had to back down in the face of a rebellion and exodus of their sellers.
  • Strap 1 - Display of Business physical address - initially required to be on ALL item listings (11th April) - eBay were forced to back away from this (16th April) and apply the law as written (see linked announcements) due to concerns about the personal and family safety of home-based sellers, and Data Protection Act breach concerns.
  • Strap 2 - Mandatory Returns & Refunds Policy publishing by business sellers.  eBay have provided good information and guidance pages for both the Returns and Refunds Policy legal background, and for the underpinning laws and statutes it claims to support.  We have used these to write our own policy that will soon appear in our eBay Shop info pages.
  • Strap 3 - "Shape Up or Ship Out" - that is the message from Stephanie Tilanius, Director of eBay Global Marketplaces.  At a US Conference in April 2008, she clearly stated that "eBay is not the place for you", meaning for sellers who cannot or will not adapt to the standards eBay are setting.  Unfortunately, she is failing to take into account the differences of eBay's many international marketplaces and sellers, and all their policies are geared towards domestic sellers in each marketplace.

OK, so that's the background, eBay has made using their site to be far more rule-bound, more financially risky, and more real-world dangerous for purely international sellers.  For a complete and detailed explanation of how eBay have placed all international sellers under the risk of bankruptcy because of the eBay DSRs (Detailed Seller Rating) feedback that buyers can leave, please see this entry in our eBay blog - especially note earlier readers comments at the bottom, and leave your own thoughts too.

So what about the "real" DSRs?  The Distance Selling Regulations.

Well ... the following started out as me having a laugh to myself about what I'd really like to say in my newly-enforced need for a Returns & Refunds Policy.  The version below has had a LOT of editing, and is nearing final draft for use as an introduction to that policy, which eBay UK now states all sellers must display in their listings or on an info page in their shop.

This near-final version contains information genuinely useful to would-be buyers, as well as an expression of the angst I feel regarding eBay's constant interfering in the operation of both, my business, and a business that was a role model to the online world (i.e. eBay itself) before they started fiddling and breaking it.  It also contains the very real legal info that I could dig my heels in about, if I was so inclined.

Draft for intro to eBay enforced Returns & Refunds Policy

eBay have been continuously changing policies and rules since "those" announcements in January 2008.  In compliance with those policy changes and eBay UK's applying them differently to the rest of eBay, we have been forced into publishing several policies to comply the UK site's new rules.  They are shown below and reflect the special circumstances of us not being resident in the western hemisphere, but maintaining an account on eBay UK.  Our new policies comply with eBay rules, and those parts of UK law that we feel are beneficial to customers, even though those laws do not govern us.

1. On eBay UK's "Returns & The Law" information page, it states - "Note: this page is for informational purposes and only applies to sellers based in the UK (with the exception of a limited number of territories within the UK that are not part of the EU, such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). If you are based outside the UK, different rules are likely to apply." 
2. On that same page, it states - "The Distance Selling Regulations generally apply to sales to non-business buyers made by sellers acting in the course of a business, which have been made at a distance. In other words, where there is no face-to-face contact between the seller and the buyer before the contract is made. The Distance Selling Regulations usually cover sales made over the internet, including: 
   • Buy It Now listings on eBay.co.uk
   • Second Chance Offers on eBay.co.uk
   The UK Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to eBay auction format listings on eBay.co.uk, and do not apply to all types of items.
   If your listing doesn't fall under the Distance Selling Regulations, you're not legally obliged to refund a buyer if they change their mind."
   1. So just to make it crystal clear - The UK Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to Auction Listings.

GazLanNaThai are based in Thailand (South East Asia).  Thailand is a sovereign nation that has never been a part of any European Empire or Commonwealth, let alone a member of the European Community, and it is certainly not part of the UK or USA - just thought I should make that bit crystal clear as well.

• NO Auctions are covered under UK Distance Selling Regulations on eBay UK (from any seller - UK or otherwise)
• NO Buy It Now or Second Chance Offers or Shop Inventory sales are covered, because we're not UK based.

So to summarise the above, and everything else in UK law, with regard to buying from GazLanNaThai - UK laws do not apply.  i.e. When you buy from us, any part of UK law with which we decide to comply, is a voluntary action on our part, and unless we have made a prior promise in writing, is entirely non-enforcable.

Right, now that we've got that clearly explained and out of the way, let's get down to the serious stuff.  Here's what we voluntarily offer as our Shipping, Returns, Refunds, and Exchanges Policies (Plain English Summary) - They have been written to comply with eBay rules, where the eBay rules overlap UK laws that would otherwise not apply to purchases made from GazLanNaThai.

Just as we have always done on eBay since early 2003, we will continue to offer exemplary and extended service to customers who approach any problems politely, non-aggressively, and who take responsibility for their own decisions.  If that's not how you do things, then please don't bid on our products.  If you rely on the law to make your decisions, you're not our type of customer.  We're serious about our business, and about building ongoing relationships with repeat-buying,  business-minded customers.