Ebay Returns Extended No Affect

I read on ebay that by opting in for holiday returns and extending your returns to a longer period, that your ebay sales would be boosted with ebay cassini. I did extend my returns to 30 days and opted in for holiday returns but to no increase affect in sales, in fact I noticed zero boost in sales. And worse the ebay sales have dropped in the last week. I would be interested in others opinions. Does ebay opt in to holiday returns option really make any difference in increased ebay sales? Do buyers actually consider the returns period when bidding on stamps or postal history?

It may be the case that if you opt in to one of ebay's programs, your items will have increased priority in the search filters. So, you may not get more sales, but you may get more exposure...

I can't speak to how opting in will affect your sales or not. But regarding return policy, the more I pay for an item (stamp or not), the closer I pay attention to the return policy. If it's something that only costs a couple bucks, it's more trouble to return it than it's worth, so I really don't care if they even take returns. If I'm talking hundreds of dollars, a good return policy offers some peace of mind in case things don't work out as well as I'd hoped. Regardless, if you take PayPal, you're on the hook for 6 months, as that's what their new period is for disputes. It's fairly unlikely you'll have to deal with a dispute that far out, but the possibility is there and there's nothing you can do to opt out of that.

So 30 days ebay returns is reasonable for expensive lots and may bring in more buyers in the end. I hope so. Actually I have no one returning items as everyone is happy. 6 months return for paypal I think works better for electronics, with stamps on covers I find everyone is happy when they receive my sending. Doubt collectible sellers would receive paypal claims after 178 days.

Theoretically, if the seller is particular about the quality of his stamps stock then a returns period beyond the minimum is of little relevance. Nice if there is a returns facility, better if it is not needed.

Terry

I think sellers who offer a good return policy will probably also be more careful in accurately describing what they sell. Bottom line is, most people don't want to return an item. They wanted it in the first place, that's why they bought it. If the item meets their expectations, the thought of a return never enters their minds. It's usually only if they buy something and it's not what they thought that people return it. For expensive items, I would imagine there can be cases of buyer's remorse, but usually those people are going to return it within the first month or so. I have no doubt that there unethical buyers who will spend $300 on a stamp, find a good deal on the same stamp 3 months later for $200 and then file a dispute to return the $300 stamp. I'd imagine those people are few and far between, but I'm sure they're out there. No one likes the idea of taking returns, but it's good business policy.

I am really carefull with photos and accurate descriptions, and I am sure everyone is happy what I send because they get what they bid on. So they never need to use the return option. Yes I can see some may try to dispute a stamp 3 months later in the manner you have described, but luckily my auctions are postal history, they are covers with stamps on them all before the Boer war in 1902. 19th century stamps on covers have unique postmarks on them so it would be hard for someone to swop it 3 months on for similar and try to pass it off as the original item. My items from the 18th century all are unique.