Help My Auction

July 12th, 2008
Welcome to Issue #15


Of Interest:


More changes to eBay feedback
They waited for the dust to settle, then decided to fine tune things a little.

Now, I know that I normally leave writing my newsletter until later in the month, but this latest announcement on feedback is worth writing about sooner rather than later. 
 
As you are well aware alot of the changes to eBay feedback have been less than welcome by a lot
members, particularly the fact that neutral feedback has been used to calculate a sellers over all feedback percentage.
  
Announced late yesterday afternoon, eBay have apparently been listening to some of the concerns put forward by the eBay community, as there have been two rather important changes to feedback.
  
  
Firstly, neutral feedback will no longer be counted towards a members total feedback percentage. They will return to being as their name suggests - neutral. This is not a change in policy as much as it is a rollback to the original policy regarding neutral feedback.
  
This policy will come into effect "late August" and will be applied retroactively.
  
The other change is actually a change, a whole new policy. EBay will allow buyers to change negative or neutral feedback that they have left for a seller.
  
With the previous policy (which was recently removed), buyers and sellers could agree to mutually withdraw feedback that they had left for each other. When the feedback was withdrawn, the rating (i.e the neg) was removed and the percentage was corrected, but the comment itself remained on file. This meant that everyone could still see what feedback comments had been written.
  
With the new change, if a buyer was to leave you a negative, and you subsequently resolved whatever issue the buyer had that prompted the neg, the buyer has the chance to change their neg into a positive and edit the comments that they left.
  
I do think this is a great idea, as a lot of people can get caught up in the heat of the moment and say (write) things they don't mean. Also it gives sellers an incentive to rectify buyer issues even after the buyer has left them a negative.
  
The full details for this new policy have not been released yet, so there are questions yet to be answered on this policy. For example, will a buyer be able to change a positive into a negative (a virtual nightmare for a seller), or will it be limited to only changing "bad" feedback? 
  
The rest of the details for this policy are due out "at the end of the fall" and the policy is due to commence by the end of October 2008. 
 
Paypal - as it stands now
I have been keeping you up to date on the Paypal only saga....
 
So here is where it is up to.
  
The ACCC had allowed up until the 3rd July for more comments and submissions from interested parties and then they were due to make their final and binding decision some time after that.
  
On the 2nd July, eBay withdraw their application for immunity. They announced that in the interest of not "confusing" their members with an ongoing battle with the ACCC, that they would no longer be implementing a Paypal only policy. They also announced, that part 1 of "the project" would stay.
  
This means that all members on eBay.com.au will be required to offer Paypal as one of their offered payment, except in a few exempt categories like Real Estate and Motors.
  
Whether or not eBay are breaking any trade practice laws by forcing all members to accept Paypal is open for debate. The ACCC has been receiving multiple complaints from disconcerted members, but has yet to respond as to whether eBay is breaking any laws or if they will attempt to prosecute eBay if they find that they are.
  
At this stage, you must offer paypal as one option for buyers to pay you, though you are welcome to offer payment methods as well.
  
One good thing that has come about from the whole debacle, is that eBay have now reversed their ban on the Australian version of Paypal called Paymate.
  
I have always found Paymate to be fast and reliable for processing payments, with far superior payment screening processes to stop chargeback's and fraudulent usage. Also the fact that they transfer to payments directly into your own bank account (for free), rather than into an online balance, is a real plus.
  
If you haven't heard of Paymate, you can check them out here. If you do sign up for Paymate don't forget to add me as a referral (payment@helpmyauction.com).
 
 
Australia Post Price Increases
 
Well they do it twice a year, here is a summary of the new prices.

Prices on some Australia Post services rose on Monday 6 July 2008. Here is a summary of some of the most commonly used services, that have increased.
Parcel Post;
  • Under 250gms - $4.20
  • Under 500gms - $5.40
Regular Post Pre-paid Satchels;
  • 500gms - $5.50
  • 3kgs - $9.60
Express Post Pre-paid Satchels;
  • 500gms - $7.70
  • 3kgs - $10.90
Platinum Post Pre-paid Satchels;
  • 500gms - $12.20
  • 3kgs - $16.30

Registered post labels have remained the same price, however the cost to add extra cover to the parcel (over the included $100 cover) has risen from $1.10 for each extra $100 to $1.25 for each extra $100.

 
You can find all of the prices on the Australia Post website, http://www.auspost.com.au/.
 
Until the next time,
Happy eBaying!
 
Amanda.