eBay wrote in the announcement: "In our 2019 autumn seller update, we announced an updated return policy to provide buyers with a retail standard return experience and help increase sellers’ conversion rate."
This time the return policy is a mandatory update. By March 2020, it will automatically update the products that do not comply with the rules. The policy restricts sellers from providing 5 solutions in their product information:
No returns ("Final Sale")
30 days return
30 days free return
60 days return
60-day free return
Sellers who have chosen a 14-day return policy will not be affected
eBay stated that there are individual exceptions to this policy update, with the exception of items listed in "certain product categories with unique retail standards": collectibles and art, cameras and photos, and medical and mobility categories. Items listed in these categories can continue to be returned for 14 days without being affected by this policy, but sellers can change to a new return policy.
As eBay explained in the fall update, this exception has also been extended to the list of items in the "jewelry and watches" category: "From the beginning of November, in addition to the above policies, products in this category can also be returned for 14 days. "
"Top Rated Seller" Qualification
eBay provides some incentives for sellers who choose to update the policy. Sellers who choose a return policy of more than 14 days will be eligible to join eBay's "Highest Rated Seller" program and receive a 10% discount on the final value fee.
eBay emphasized that this change will be applied to the November "highest rating" review cycle. And the "Highest Rated Seller" badge is only available for products that are offered for returns of 30 days or more.
The new return policy is considered a decoration by sellers
Some sellers think that the new return policy is more like a decoration, causing some new eBay sellers to mistakenly believe that they can control their return policy.
Because the buyer wants to return the product, he can submit the return for any reason, regardless of the category, reason, product, seller policy or eBay policy, etc., all rules are not binding, and the return will generally be automatically approved. Even if there is a very rare refusal to return, the buyer can submit an archive to Paypal for up to 6 months, and the public jurors will prefer the buyer to return the product.
But this situation can also be improved with the termination of the cooperation between eBay and Paypal. This is also a policy that eBay adopts when competing with external competitors. eBay's policy is creating opportunities for those who can innovate in the market.
