eBay's TRS System
I've really had it with eBay's TRS (Top Rated Seller) system. This system of identifying the "top" and best eBay sellers is simply innacurate and wrong. It identifies only about 20 to 25% of the doll sellers on eBay as TRS, the rest have NO designation as to their status, since eBay is also removing the Power Seller program.
I am a TRS about half the time. I know many, many other fantastic doll sellers that I have purchased from that deserve the TRS status but who don't have it. Many others drop in and out of this nonsensical system as I do.
The problem with eBay's TRS system is that it uses just .05 percent of the customers to determine a seller's fate in 1 DSR (detailed seller rating) category, while ignoring 99.5% of the rest of a seller's customers. So, 995 customers can rate a seller as being perfect, but 5 customers (who could be competitors, competitors cousins, grouchy people, or people making a mistake) give a low rating in one out of four categories (item as described, communication, shipping time, and shipping cost) and the buyer loses search standings, TRS designation, and fee discounts. And, to make matters even worse, the ratings are anonymous, so you cannot address any perceived problems, much less find out if a competitor is giving you the low ratings.
I am not willing to have a small amount of anonymous customers control my business, and I am beyond frustrated with eBay that they believe this is in any way an accurate way of identifying the best eBay sellers. The system creates anger and frustration and stress in nearly 100% of sellers (even those who are TRS feel this stress, since you never know when you'll be hit with anonymous DSRs that will knock you out of the program).
Anonymous Bidders
eBay, the world's greatest online auction house, failed to understand their own auction business. Whey they made bidders anonymous, they took most of the competition in the auction process right out of the auctions. They also made it nearly impossible to identify shill bidders, which undermined confidence in the auction venue. Prices have suffered.
Final Value Fees Will Rise For Many Items On April First
eBay has once again changed their fee structure, and for high-value items, the increase on Final Value Fees paid at the end of an auction are going up a considerable percentage.
As Fees Go Up, Customer Service Goes Down
Athough eBay holds sellers up to nearly impossible customer service standards ruled by anonymous judges, eBay's customer service continues to plummet. More and more of the customer service seems to be handled by off-shore customer service reps with no real feel for the actual business of eBay, and no power to do anything to help a seller.
Buyers Rule, Sellers Drool
Of course the buyers are important...sellers get that. But, to eBay, the buyer is always right and the seller is always wrong. Whether a seller gets a negative from someone who never pays for an item, or whether a seller is feedback extorted or scammed by a buyer, it seems that eBay is always taking the buyer's side. eBay's tolerance for buyers who leave out-of-proportion amounts of negatives for sellers is also huge, and with the TRS system, a real problem.
eBay Wants to Be Amazon.com
Which makes no sense at all, because eBay was its own brand with huge customer loyalty for so many years. Heck, I love Amazon and I even sell there, but Amazon doesn't work for antique or vintage dolls.
I'm Not Leaving eBay Completely
I need to make something clear--I'm not leaving eBay completely. The doll market there is still vital. I will continue to sell my modern dolls and toys on eBay, since eBay for dolls is still the marketplaces with the most "eyeballs". However, I'm moving my desirable antique and vintage dolls fixed price business away from eBay, at least until I see some changes. Will eBay notice even a good number of doll sellers making a move like this? Probably not. However, I've been so demoralized by so many of the recent changes, I needed to try something new. I'll report back in a few months with my results.
