eBay Removing Sellers from eBay Plus

Lchanga on 08/09/2018 - 19:42
Last edited 08/09/2018 - 20:02

Like many of you, I joined eBay Plus in order to get free shipping from a number of sellers, but I have found that eBay are removing some popular sellers from the eBay Plus program as eBay does not want to pay the shipping fees.

I had been watching a number of items (all eBay Plus items) and had added them to my watch list. I made a few purchases and qualified for the free shipping, but had a few items still in my watch list. I was intending to purchase them over the weekend.

When I went to make my purchase, all the items no longer qualified for eBay Plus and free shipping. This was not just one seller, but 3 different sellers which I had purchased from earlier in the week (saving me $50 in shipping) over 4 purchases.

I contacted the sellers asking why they were no longer part of eBay Plus and received this message from one of the sellers (with over 35,000 feedback and a rating of 99.8%)

"Sorry about this, ebay plus members are getting free shipping as ebay is the one paying for it. Unfortunately for them, we are getting a lot of purchases so they are spending quite a lot for postage. Hence, they opted us out as an ebay plus seller and we are still negotiating this out with them."

I got a similar message from the other seller who has over 20,000 feedback and a 97.8% positive feedback rating).

I contacted eBay Plus support, as to why these sellers were removed and was told that the seller no longer met eBay's criteria for eBay Plus.

What a joke! eBay are sucking people into eBay Plus, and then removing sellers so you don't get free shipping.

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Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 08/09/2018 - 19:47
    +5

    Not surprised by this.

  • spackbace on 08/09/2018 - 19:52
    -1

    Sellers jacking up posting 'costs' to discount the product have probably ruined it for the rest.

    Or those stores you contacted tried to do it and got caught out

    • changa on 08/09/2018 - 19:57
      +8

      I have purchased from these stores before eBay plus and their shipping costs have not changed. They are definitely not jacking up their shipping costs.

      • 4892 on 21/09/2018 - 00:36

        I do agree with the statement about sellers jacking up the postage costs. Maybe not the ones in the OP but it's definitely a factor.

  • Savas on 08/09/2018 - 20:06
    +19

    the joke is paying for ebay plus in the first place

    • changa on 08/09/2018 - 20:08
      +4

      I agree. I won't be making that mistake again.

    • Clear on 08/09/2018 - 20:34
      +1

      I thought that until some recent CA deals and blew the annual rate pretty quickly. Plus the bonus Google Mini. I don't think I'll renew though and the program will probably be dead by then ;)

    • subywagon on 08/09/2018 - 22:54
      +6

      I did by accident… frigging forgot to cancel it. They rely on that sh*t to happen.

      • desync on 10/09/2018 - 17:59

        ask for a refund, they will have to give it if you point out they are removing sellers you intended to buy off

  • indium on 08/09/2018 - 21:05

    Paid for ebay plus as i wanted items from a particular seller who's items above a certain price all seemed to have ebay plus free shipping, now they have no ebay plus listings. Would have saved me a lot of money however now I've just wasted $29 on nothing.

  • SnoozeAndLose on 08/09/2018 - 21:06

    i read from here saying that only item with free shipping will qualify for ebay plus.

    • singingwolf on 08/09/2018 - 22:46

      yep that's what they told me about my listings. So I made the, free shipping and still no eBay Plus

      • SnoozeAndLose on 08/09/2018 - 22:59

        if it is free shipping, ebay plus or not wont attract more buyer.

        • singingwolf on 08/09/2018 - 23:03

          Not true. EBay Plus items are eligible for 10% off offers from time to time. They also seem to rank higher in search too.

        • SnoozeAndLose on 08/09/2018 - 23:05

          @singingwolf:

          from time to time

          This may not going to happen anymore as ebay dumping the ebay plus subscriber now.

          They also seem to rank higher in search too.

          Not true, but they do have a tick box to select only the ebay plus item.

      • Zachary on 10/09/2018 - 09:23

        I got told sellers would opt in on a weekly basis, and randomly…..which means even they themselves won't be able to tell us when we are in or force it on us if we request so….

  • The Wololo Wombat on 08/09/2018 - 21:09
    +1

    I've gotten great value from eBay plus :) Cheaper shipping from computer alliance alone has made it worth it :)

    • goldieluxe on 20/09/2018 - 23:27

      Me too! Don't get all the hate! Ebay Plus items change all the time, if it is Ebay Plus one day it may not be the next, just gotta keep that in mind. But I have saved a lot in shipping since having it! And that's after checking for the best deals and checking my non ebay plus account to check it isn't free shipping anyway.

  • Lichen6420 on 08/09/2018 - 21:33

    I just canceled it on my 2 ebay accounts. I got the google home mine out of one and the $20 off promo on the other. I have saved at-least the membership cost and then some on the other one as i purchased a heap of stuff in the last couple of months. 2 accounts so i could use all the promo codes more than once.

    Good news is when you cancel you keep your subscription until the expiry date and then it simply does not renew. Can always subscribe again after the end date if the membership value improves over time.

  • ode1online on 08/09/2018 - 21:40

    Yes, I noticed a few items I was watching are now plus shipping.

  • Diji1 on 08/09/2018 - 21:43
    +3

    I'm not sure why you expected ethical behavior from the business that runs a 24/7 pricejacking operation while it claims that this behavior is strictly prohibited and simply awful and there's no way any seller would do that on eBay, even ones that have been repeatedly doing it over and over after being specifically used by eBay in a promotion.

  • ibuy on 09/09/2018 - 00:14

    Some analyst’s head in eBay is going to roll. Obviously did not accurately forecast the level of use of free shipping…

    Then again eBay is trying to copy the Amazon model but the problem is eBay ain’t no Amazon.

  • garetz on 09/09/2018 - 03:47
    +5

    The whole ebay plus program was obviously a bait and switch, they wanted to sign up as much people as possible to the 12 months, then remove most sellers from the program to reduce their costs.

  • PlasticSpaceman on 09/09/2018 - 12:02
    +2

    I have to say I have managed to cover the cost of the membership, but there is no way I'll pay in full to renew next year. My Amazon Prime membership I'm pretty sure I'll renew even if I have to pay full price for - this is through free shipping on everyday consumer items (soap, shampoo, etc) where I'm getting them delivered for less than it costs at the local supermarket/Costco (even more so when there is a discount coupon available - for example at the moment it's 15% off if you get more than $50 worth), as well as the other bonuses such as kindle books (have managed to find a handful of good reads, and Prime Video (which is definitely not Netflix but again I've found some good shows)

  • HighAndDry on 10/09/2018 - 15:17
    +2

    I'd actually complain to eBay about this - you joined eBay Plus based on the sellers which were there at the time. I don't see how eBay has an unfettered discretion to remove sellers from the program, thereby reducing the value of eBay Plus to buyers who've paid for it.

    • singingwolf on 10/09/2018 - 19:23

      agree. Will try. I bet I get a scripted response.

    • changa on 11/09/2018 - 07:12

      I did contact eBay about this, but they will not offer a refund.

      eBay claim it is the seller who is at fault as it is the seller who no longer meets the eBay Plus criteria (whatever the criteria is). I asked what the criteria is to qualify for eBay Plus, and they could not tell me but said a I would need to call an eBay sales specialist to discuss eBay Plus requirements.

      • Zachary on 11/09/2018 - 10:30

        (whatever the criteria is). I asked what the criteria is to qualify for eBay Plus, and they could not tell me but said a I would need to call an eBay sales specialist to discuss eBay Plus requirements.

        Rubbish, they know what it is and even have a link for it which I shall share here - you probably got a rep who was on a bad day and or didn't feel like helping at all….ebay sales specialist……my ass….

        I guess I must have got lucky with support then since it would appear support isn't all that great even being in the PLUS membership area, proved by you…..as touted by eBay themselves….and if that's the case….I take back all the good things I said about how their support was better as an ebay plus and trying to praise and or look or sound like I work for ebay which I don't….

        OH and there's also an exclusion zone too which isn't mentioned on that page…..so items listed in those categories will NOT receive the badge regardless how long it waits for the automated system to mark it so….

        EDIT: So in conclusion, I suppose this was a money grab after all and nothing special and we all got sucked into it……😕😔😑🤔

        • changa on 11/09/2018 - 12:20

          Thanks for the link. I checked the criteria, and the items I was going to purchase would meet all of the necessary criteria.

          The only one which is debatable is the item can’t be large or bulky, there is no clear weight or size requirements listed. The item I was purchasing (and purchased in the past) weighs about 2kg and is 40cm x 40cm x 20cm. I dint think that would be considered heavy and bulky, but it’s the only thing I see which could have excluded their item as qualify for eBay Plus.

          In addition, I checked my chat transcript, the term they used was eBay Sales Expert (rather than eBay Sales Specialist), so apologies for that error.

        • Zachary on 21/09/2018 - 00:33

          @changa:

          The only one which is debatable is the item can’t be large or bulky, there is no clear weight or size requirements listed.

          …yes….would have to ask for that….because I don't think I was told this either….

  • desync on 10/09/2018 - 17:58

    in light of this eBay have no option but to fully refund you if requested

    • singingwolf on 10/09/2018 - 19:24

      OK. let's see - if I do, I shout drinks to everyone on OzBargain that reads this. Using Only1 gift cards…

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