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eBay announces new minimum standards for sellers

13 August 2009

From 1 October 2009 all eBay sellers will need to ensure that their number of transactions with detailed seller ratings (DSR) of 1 and 2 for 'item description' is below 3%.

For other ratings such as communication, despatch time, postage and packing charges, eBay wants to see less than 4% of transactions with DSRs of 1 and 2.

eBay has confirmed that if a seller’s rate of 1s and 2s goes above this maximum percentage, sellers will receive lower search placements, and may even face limits on their selling activity until their ratings improve. 

eBay said the reasons for the change in emphasis (currently based primarily on DSR averages) is to  encourage all sellers to improve their ratings. An important exemption is that only domestic transactions will count towards the new DSR requirements.

What it means

eBay is becoming rather familiar with courts throughout the world, with many cases still pending judgment. It is also an aggressive lobbyist. One might argue that this is an attempt by eBay to convince brand owners and others that it is trying to combat the number of counterfeit items listed on its auction site.

What you should do?

As always, brand owners should ensure they keep an eye out and undertake regular searches to monitor activity levels on eBay (and other internet websites) in relation to their own branded goods. 

And they should implement internal procedures for identifying and dealing with items suspected of being counterfeit and/or parallel imports.

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