02-09-2021 02:57 AM
eBay has now released Seller School to the public! https://sellerschool.ebay.com/
Much of the content in Seller School comes from the eBay for Business Youtube Channel & Facebook page, plus other marketing materials, so some of it you may have seen before.
There's a lot of good generic info here, but some if it is obviously dated already and some of it is just not accurate. It's a decent start, but I hope eBay continues to update and improve this resource over time.
The first thing that jumped out at me was the confusing messaging - big splashy banners indicate in multiple places that this resource is free, however there are also multiple FAQ sections regarding billing & subscriptions.
02-09-2021 03:03 AM
The first course is called "connecting with the community". There are links to the message boards here, as well as other social media channels and support outlets - but one very noticeable exception.
They don't mention the AskeBay Twitter page anywhere! https://twitter.com/AskeBay
The Twitter page is a great source for support, yet it is nowhere to be found either under "social media channels" or support resources in this course.
02-09-2021 03:05 AM
The "Listing Essentials" course was apparently written back when eBay was still charging the payment processing fee separately for Managed Payments.
02-09-2021 03:09 AM
"Planning For Growth" includes an 8 slide deck about store subscriptions and how you can change/cancel them at any time, but fails to explicitly mention the sometimes hefty early cancellation fees that may occur if you do.
If you make it all the way to the end, you do get a general "you are subject to the terms of service you agreed to when you signed up for eBay store" - but in my opinion that is not *nearly* transparent enough.
02-09-2021 03:13 AM
Shipping & Returns
Handling time - same day to 3 days. What happened to other options for longer handling times?
Did eBay change this or are they just trying to nudge new sellers in a particular direction?
02-09-2021 03:20 AM
Shipping & Returns
I wouldn't have expected to find several sections about payments in Shipping & Returns, but here it is.
First, eBay says "Payments from buyer are currently processed through PayPal" making no mention of Managed Payments.
Then 2 sections further down, all of sudden there's Managed Payments....but apparently we are still going with most sellers will be enrolled by the end of 2020. Time to update that graphic!
This section might need to be updated too in light of current Managed Payments Customer Service Experience
02-09-2021 03:24 AM
Last one for Shipping & Returns
Sorry to be picky, but some of these look like poorly translated instruction manuals. Not to mention that without anything specific about the "several service and protection" offered, this section is just really not very helpful.
02-09-2021 03:28 AM
And now, a subject near and dear to my heart.....sales tax. 🤣
Understanding US Sales Taxes on Ebay Transactions
There will be no fees for calculating, collecting or remitting taxes....but they forgot to mention those taxes will be included in the calculation for Managed Payments fees. Again, not nearly transparent enough.
02-09-2021 03:32 AM
Understanding US Sales Taxes on Ebay Transactions
Has anyone here ever had to provide eBay documentation for the states they set up as seller collected tax in tax rate table?
I work for a large company that previously had to collect for many states (before Marketplace facilitator laws took effect) and I have never been asked for this.
Is this something new or is eBay just covering themselves against the possibility that unethical sellers could enter anything in the tax table without providing proof of a legal obligation to collect or that the tax was remitted to the state?
02-09-2021 03:38 AM
Understanding US Sales Taxes on Ebay Transactions
"Buyers see your tax rates on the listing page" - oh geez, this one is pretty embarrassing really.
First of all, no, they don't and they haven't since about May 2019 when that info was removed from the listing page and replaced with a generic "taxes may apply at checkout" message.
Secondly, this was a big source of frustration for both buyers *and* sellers back when they changed it. Many posts here in the community from sellers at the time trying to convince eBay to change it back.
02-09-2021 03:43 AM
Understanding US Sales Taxes on Ebay Transactions
Am I reading this correctly that if a seller refunds outside of eBay for some reason, they have to pony up the entire amount including tax (even eBay collected tax?) and then hope eBay reimburses them?
I've never seen this personally before. Can anyone here confirm if this is how this is supposed to work and if eBay did in fact reimburse you for the tax?
Or is this just not a very clear way to describe that eBay collected tax gets refunded by eBay when you refund through PayPal?
02-09-2021 03:44 AM
That's all I have for now, but please feel free to add your own thoughts on the new eBay Seller School!
02-09-2021 04:03 AM
Hopefully @Anonymous and the community team can get this feedback to the right place. 😊
03-24-2021 07:58 AM
I am not able to complete some of the courses. I tried on two different networks and some of the courses I go through the course and it never says completed. Done this multiple times. Also one of the Youtube videos is blocked from watching, Fees for Managed Payments.