The link below to an announcement made at the annual meeting in Las Vegas may make some posters happy. Among the things being addressed are the "excessive shipping charges" that some sellers have been charging.
Here's an extract:
Excessive Shipping
That said, this is an open marketplace, and we’ve been very reluctant about telling our sellers what they can charge for shipping and handling. Our sellers sell everything from pianos to t-shirts.
Over the last few months, the best talent in the company has been looking at solutions to this issue. We’ll continue to look at site changes and other solutions, but I’m pleased to announce that one major change we are instituting – starting Monday, June 19th - is new aggressive enforcement against Excessive Shipping & Handling.
Now, before sellers become unnecessarily concerned, let me make it clear – this policy is geared for those egregious cases that are clearly taking advantage of the system and our buyers. You all know the listings that I mean – the .01 BIN listings with $25.00 shipping & handling for an item that weighs less than a pound to ship.
We’re going to clean up the site and stop this type of listing -- which does a disservice to the whole Community. We are going to proactively search for the worst offenders -- those whose business model is predicated on a low Buy It Now cost offset by outrageous shipping charges. Last night I gave these sellers a clear message: stop this practice, or you’re no longer welcome on eBay.
Now please understand -- if you’re charging simply to cover your actual shipping, packaging and overhead costs, you have no reason to be concerned. If you’ll be charging for custom crating, or other services, just say so in your listings.
As many of you who listen to my monthly audio Town Halls know, I have personally committed to making sure the problem of some sellers charging excessive shipping costs gets addressed. You’ve told us and we agree -- excessive shipping has become a serious issue that needs a solution. It sets up unfair competition through fee avoidance and search manipulation, and, most importantly, it is eroding buyer trust in the eBay marketplace. In fact, we completed research that found this is the number one reason that buyers leave eBay.
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