Strategies to Protect Your eBay Account

Selling online is relatively easy. For those that do not want to go through the hassle of creating an e-commerce website can look to marketplaces like Amazon, Bonanza, Etsy, and eBay, among many others. Therefore, the barrier to entry in this market is relatively low.

To open an account, all that a person needs is to provide an email address, phone number, physical address, and other identifiable information. Nevertheless, novice online sellers and experienced e-commerce retailers alike keep making mistakes that end up generating negative feedback on their accounts or account demotions or suspensions.

Most of these mistakes are simple errors that sellers can avoid. For eBay accounts, understanding how the metrics and performance rating work can make an impact.

Understand the performance standards

All sellers are expected to solve customer issues within a reasonable timeframe. Additionally, eBay sellers should ship their products within the agreed-upon handling time and manage inventory to ensure that products that are listed are available. Meeting the expectations of the buyer is also just as important.

Sellers need to ensure that the item is exactly as described, that the shipping prices are reasonable, that the product is well packaged, and that the item is shipped according to what the listing promises. Buyers will look to detailed listings that provide an in-depth description of the item along with pictures that provide the user with an exact idea of what they will be receiving. Issues in these areas can lead to eBay placing selling limits and account restrictions that end up causing lost sales.

One of the metrics that the company uses to determine how a seller is rated is the transaction defect rate. This number represents the percentage of transactions that have a closed case without a seller resolution or a cancellation that the seller initializes. To be in good standing, the rate should not be above two percent over the latest evaluation period. For Top Rated Seller status, this number should be below 0.5 percent.

The Late Shipment rate is also a number that sellers need to monitor. The rate should not be above seven percent. Buyers also have the option of providing feedback. Excessively bad feedback will impact the status of the account and sellers need to keep the positive feedback above 98 percent.

Protecting against problems

At some point, even the best business will need to cancel a sale or will obtain negative feedback from a customer. This can happen even if and when the company does everything right. Products may end up being damaged in the preparation process, or an unreasonable customer with impossible expectations can make a transaction difficult. Nevertheless, a well-run company should be able to handle these situations properly.

Furthermore, sellers need to ensure that every possible transaction is completed successfully and to the customer’s satisfaction. This way, when an unwarranted problem does arise, the effect will be minimal. One way to ensure this is to stop treating the side selling as a hobby and organize the activities as a thriving formal business.

Finally, protect against bad customers. Apart from answering questions promptly and being accurate on product descriptions, focus on increasing the number of sales. Sometimes it is best to pad sales by purchasing low-cost items and reselling them at a low price just to give the platform more positive sales.

The idea is not necessarily to make a big margin, but rather to use the additional sales numbers to obtain a buffer from possible negative feedback or other issues. Look for wholesale pallets that provide a large variety of products and incredibly low prices. When these products are sold and at prices and high rotation, the number of sales will allow a few problematic transactions to occur without mathematically influencing seller performance statistics.