Final nail in the coffin for egay?

[Automasters]

Given the already dead economy and ever decreasing sales with rising fees, did egay finally outdo themselves? I saw this today:

What you need to know

We’re on a mission to make eBay the top destination for buying and selling Parts & Accessories (P&A). Based on buyer feedback, easy and free returns play a crucial role when choosing where to shop. To better meet these expectations and give you a competitive edge, we’re updating our return policy for eligible P&A listings by offering free returns. We’re here to support you, so we’ll automatically subsidize these return label costs by 50% going forward.
Driving growth and buyer satisfaction

Starting July 15, P&A sellers will be required to offer a minimum of free 30-day returns, creating a smoother and more consistent shopping journey. This streamlined policy helps eliminate confusion so buyers can have a hassle-free returns experience, strengthening their trust both in your business and in eBay.
Concerned about offering free returns? We’ve got you covered

While offering free returns can help boost your sales and have a positive impact on your business, we understand that you may have concerns. That’s why we’re taking these steps to support you:

Subsidized eBay return labels: Enjoy a 50% reduction in label costs, applied automatically to ease return shipping expenses when you use eBay Labels.
Continued seller protections: We’re continuously monitoring buyer fraud to ensure we have stronger safeguards in place to protect your business.
Targeted marketing campaigns: We’re promoting free returns to help attract more buyers to your P&A listings.

P&A listings required to offer free returns

If your P&A listings meet the following criteria, you’ll be required to offer free returns:

The item is listed on eBay.com and located in the US
The item is being shipped to a buyer in the US
The price of the item is more than $10
The item is new or new other
It’s a fixed-price Buy It Now listing

Next steps

Starting July 15, you’ll need to update your applicable P&A listings to offer free returns. Going forward you’ll benefit from the 50% subsidized eBay return labels. Additionally, we’ll begin automatically updating eligible P&A listings that are live to reflect this new return policy.

Great, even more hoops for the sellers to hop through. I think I'm almost done.

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by Automasters

Given the already dead economy and ever decreasing sales with rising fees, did egay finally outdo themselves? I saw this today:

What you need to know

We’re on a mission to make eBay the top destination for buying and selling Parts & Accessories (P&A). Based on buyer feedback, easy and free returns play a crucial role when choosing where to shop. To better meet these expectations and give you a competitive edge, we’re updating our return policy for eligible P&A listings by offering free returns. We’re here to support you, so we’ll automatically subsidize these return label costs by 50% going forward.
Driving growth and buyer satisfaction

Starting July 15, P&A sellers will be required to offer a minimum of free 30-day returns, creating a smoother and more consistent shopping journey. This streamlined policy helps eliminate confusion so buyers can have a hassle-free returns experience, strengthening their trust both in your business and in eBay.
Concerned about offering free returns? We’ve got you covered

While offering free returns can help boost your sales and have a positive impact on your business, we understand that you may have concerns. That’s why we’re taking these steps to support you:

Subsidized eBay return labels: Enjoy a 50% reduction in label costs, applied automatically to ease return shipping expenses when you use eBay Labels.
Continued seller protections: We’re continuously monitoring buyer fraud to ensure we have stronger safeguards in place to protect your business.
Targeted marketing campaigns: We’re promoting free returns to help attract more buyers to your P&A listings.

P&A listings required to offer free returns

If your P&A listings meet the following criteria, you’ll be required to offer free returns:

The item is listed on eBay.com and located in the US
The item is being shipped to a buyer in the US
The price of the item is more than $10
The item is new or new other
It’s a fixed-price Buy It Now listing

Next steps

Starting July 15, you’ll need to update your applicable P&A listings to offer free returns. Going forward you’ll benefit from the 50% subsidized eBay return labels. Additionally, we’ll begin automatically updating eligible P&A listings that are live to reflect this new return policy.

Great, even more hoops for the sellers to hop through. I think I'm almost done.

I know it's frustrating, but I'm sure once you give yourself a break from this you'll be back stronger...

[Automasters]

I think I may have found a temporary way around this madness - only certain categories are affected

[Automasters]

Here are the EXCLUDED categories, have fun!

Listings in the following categories are excluded from our updated return policy and aren’t required to offer free returns:

Wheels (179679)
Tires (179680)
Tire & Wheel packages (179681)
Other Wheel & Tire Parts (179684)
Auto Transmissions (171115)
Manual Transmissions (171117)
Complete Engines (33615)
Door Panels (33696)
Hood Panels (33646)
Airbags (177710)
Listings with local pick up only
Listings where shipping uses freight services

[agent006140]

Who would be buying those items?
individual trying to fix his own auto,repair shops,used car dealers?

[rsot]

Originally Posted by agent006140

Who would be buying those items?
individual trying to fix his own auto,repair shops,used car dealers?

Correct - and lower end private repair shops looking to save $

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by Automasters

Here are the EXCLUDED categories, have fun!

Listings in the following categories are excluded from our updated return policy and aren’t required to offer free returns:

Wheels (179679)
Tires (179680)
Tire & Wheel packages (179681)
Other Wheel & Tire Parts (179684)
Auto Transmissions (171115)
Manual Transmissions (171117)
Complete Engines (33615)
Door Panels (33696)
Hood Panels (33646)
Airbags (177710)
Listings with local pick up only
Listings where shipping uses freight services

See.... you already figured it out. TOld you, you'd be back stronger

[Automasters]

Yes, have already moved most listings over to the new categories as our products are automotive anyways. Using the sell similar item button seems to preserve the vehicle compatibility as well...

[agent006140]

Buyer could lose his buying privilege if he has too many returns !

[rsot]

Originally Posted by agent006140

Buyer could lose his buying privilege if he has too many returns !

Don't derail new thread to be started if discussing that.

[Automasters]

So far so good - all items moved to the new categories still have no returns status, it seems the tweak worked

[rsot]

Originally Posted by Automasters

So far so good - all items moved to the new categories still have no returns status, it seems the tweak worked

Congrats so far

[level4tech]

Would this not give a greater chance of an account flag if the product listing is in the incorrect category?

[Automasters]

I do not think so - I suspect is must be reported by someone, the item I list are not fitting into any specific category anyways - no problems so far

[level4tech]

What categories did you use, did you spread them out or put them all in one?

[philby]

I listed one item in a mismatching category and it was flagged within 4 hours and removed by ebay for incorrect category, so i feel it depends on the item

[rsot]

Originally Posted by philby

I listed one item in a mismatching category and it was flagged within 4 hours and removed by ebay for incorrect category, so i feel it depends on the item

Was your account suspended? Or just listing removed.