Hopefully your changes will benefit everyone!
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Oh my goodness. I just had a look at the MM app to see what yall are talking about. It, in theory, is a good idea, but in my opinion it’s so misleading for even infrequent buyers such as myself.
The green check mark appearing on the thumbnail listings makes me think that new buyers are going to see these and only want to buy from the sellers whose listings have the check mark on the thumbnail. I mean, could you at least take that off the thumbnails of the listings? I can certainly understand why sellers and members of this community are upset.
Was there any qualitative research done before this change was rolled out? Sellers, does MM allow you to see the # of times a listing has been clicked on? I’d be curious to see the actual harm / loss of business this causes our longtime trustworthy sellers who don’t ship through MM. It saddens me because it seems unfair and potentially misleading having the check mark so prominent, especially right out of the gate on the thumbnail listings pages.
I get the intent, but I think it could be detrimental in the long run to reputable sellers not using MM shipping. Yes, I did read that it will be offered for an additional fee to those who don’t use MM shipping. But charging for that seems unfair. Just my 2 cents.
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I haven’t jumped into this discussion yet, but you’ve expressed my own opinions better than I could.
An additional point for me is that I’d think it’s the transactions OVER $500 that should be secured in a program like this. I don’t get the $500 limit. “Buy cheap stuff with confidence, but for expensive stuff, your butt is still hanging out there.”
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Trustworthy sellers having to pay extra to receive the protection badge isn’t fair in the least. We already pay a yearly fee for MorphMarket and I do all of my transactions here and promote my MM store. I sincerely hope that this is thought through better and that actual trustworthy sellers can get the badge easily regardless of whether they use MM shipping or not. I’m sorry, but all I see there is a business move to have a monopoly on shipping, and I don’t support it.
Also seconding that I trust reviews over badges, as does everyone I know.
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We would have to define what a trustworthy seller is, because we have sellers every month that have been on MM for years and then decide to “get out” and take peoples money in the process. We have not found a clear way to identify trustworthy vs non trustworthy. We will be adding a paid version of this for sellers, so they don’t have to ship through us and we can minimize our risk. I do see that some of you are saying that the checkmark doesn’t matter and that you trust reviews over a checkmark, but I can tell you right now that most of the sellers who have ripped people off had a 5 star rating. A seller could be perfect for years, and then something personal happens or they decide to get out of the industry and they turn into a completely different person.
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I appreciate the fact that you’ve been commenting here in this thread, @drollinger , but respectfully, I feel like what I’m seeing as your answers are somewhat canned responses with a hyperfocus on sellers who used to be trustworthy and then turned into cons. There are other questions being asked that haven’t been addressed.
I mean, I could also have perfect reviews then turn into a total con of a seller due to a major life event and pay extra for that “verified” check mark being discussed for those who don’t use MM shipping. How is this much different than a seller on Amazon who gives a huge discount or free product in exchange for a 5 star review?
I hope I’m wrong in thinking that the timing and manner of this “green check mark” rollout is going to be a disastrous disaster all the way around. For MM, for sellers, and for buyers. Making such a one-sided and potentially detrimental change that favors only those sellers who use MM shipping is a risky move in my opinion. The current economy, inflation, uncertainty, and potential for a financial collapse is probably not the best time to make ANY changes, let alone this one.
My comments come from a place of respect and concern for all involved. Thank you.
Editing to add: this probably doesn’t matter to anyone, but I’ve been a market research analyst for decades.
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I’m thirding this.
I’ve been watching this discussion with interest, and as a buyer rather than a breeder, my takeaway is that this “trustworthy” status will be a largely meaningless (or at worst, deeply misleading) indicator. Something like “morphmarket insured” or “morphmarket shipper” would be more honest.
I’m also in Canada, so honestly at the moment it’s going to make me less likely to buy from a breeder through the MorphMarket platform because I already know what their response will probably be to international shipping.
This might be a good indicator that you shouldn’t be implementing a “trusted seller” status until you find a way to make that distinction.
I do not mean to be incendiary, but this feature either needs a rename or a revamp in order to be a useful tool. I’d love to see something like it in the future, so all of this is said in the spirit of constructive criticism.
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This was my take on the wording.
That’s a separate concern, but many of us export to Canada. I am one of them. I have no problem committing to shipping solely with MorphMarket domestically. But you’ve pointed out a good question.
@drollinger, what about exports? Is MorphMarket going to be doing exports? If not, will shipping internationally violate the terms for Buyer Protection qualification?
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Oh, I know! I’ve had great interactions with breeders from the US. In regards to this topic, I was referencing specifically this line in the original post:
…and the fact that MorphMarket shipping is currently only supported in the US (according to the thread about the beta launch). If a breeder who uses MM Buyer Protection has to use MM shipping, then they won’t be able to ship to me unless I’m not buying from them on MM, right? It risks specifically driving international buyers away from these badged sellers, or at least away from buying from them on MorphMarket. I’d love to see that change once MM shipping is out of beta.
Still, that leaves the concern over who gets to be counted as “trusted” which – you’re right Caryl, is a separate concern. I guess I’ve got two concerns about this setup, lol.
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We’ll keep improving this over the coming weeks and make it available to all sellers. We will likely change the wording as it is just buyer protection, it lets buyers purchase without worrying.
It’s only been a few days, but sales for those without it seem mostly unaffected. Sellers without it are still making sales, and overall, sales on the site are actually a little higher than normal. My goal is to increase sales and make the platform safer for buyers, and so far we’ve had a ton of positive feedback from buyers, which is a great sign.
I do think some people are taking this more seriously than they need to. Sure, there might be some minor issues, and possibly a small impact on some sellers, but as we roll it out to everyone and fine-tune things, we’ll see how it plays out. If it doesn’t increase sales overall on the site, we’ll remove it just like we’ve done with other things we’ve tested. But right now, it seems to be having a positive effect, and it’s worth giving it time to see how it goes.
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We could have launched this differently, but the best way to think about it moving forward is like a paid feature similar to Meta Verified or X Verified. The difference is that instead of just a checkmark, you get a buyer protection badge that displays your sales and shipments and actually includes real buyer protection.
That said, if you agree to ship everything with us (for applicable sales that aren’t international or otherwise can’t be shipped through us), you’ll get this feature for free.
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Calling it similar to Meta or X verified just ruins it entirely. Especially since everyone knows X algorithms favors and pushes posts for verified users.
Calling it similar implies that you will be pushing harder on that just because of a business deal or paid membership on top of what memberships people are already paying
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So to be excruciatingly clear, please correct me if I’m wrong. Sellers may still continue to export animals using other services, since MorphMarket currently handles only domestic shipping. This does not constitute a violation of the Buyer Protection opt-in agreement to ship through MorphMarket only. Right?
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We don’t have an algorithm, so your argument that it will somehow show more is not valid. This is simply a badge that shows which sellers MM will provide a buyer guarantee for. It’s really that simple.
This is US only at the moment. Buyers are also currently only covered when a purchase is made and shipped via MM. What I’m saying is that we are planning to expand it. You can use other services, but there is no protection for the buyer if another service is used.
It’s not that simple though. Which is why this conversation is happening. You compare it to meta or X and not Etsy or eBay, which have been established marketplaces with verified services.
Instead, you rolled out a new program without any discussion that I’ve seen on this forum or alert for any sort of discussion on the matter.
And by comparing it to X or Meta verification it doesn’t do a thing to ensure safety or better service because even a parody account can pay to have a checkmark. Just because MorphMarket doesn’t have an algorithm, doesn’t mean that people won’t assume they’re seeing those green checkmarks because of one.
How does a green check make things any different with how you need to weed out bad vendors? If as you said, someone just wants to ‘get out’ and rip someone off … The same thing can happen with a paid account that has used MorphMarket shipping and has the check.
You would just end up doing the same thing and banning them from the platform after the reports. If all this is about is getting people to feel comfortable and safe buying and shipping from MorphMarket then all you need to do is say it’s only available through MM shipping and not use a green checkmark.
Just make a new blurb or something that says ‘ask your breeder to use Mm shipping to get up to 1k in Buyer protection’ instead of a lame status symbol.
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The green checkmark isn’t just about using MorphMarket Shipping, it shows that a seller has met specific requirements, including being on the platform for at least a year and following our rules for Buyer Protection. Without the badge, buyers wouldn’t know which sellers qualify, and simply saying “ask your breeder to use MM Shipping” wouldn’t account for these other factors.
Many buyers aren’t even aware of MM Shipping or how Buyer Protection works, so the badge helps educate them and makes it instantly clear when a purchase is eligible. It’s about making the process safer and more transparent, not just adding a status symbol.
None of these requirements are particularly difficult to acquire. Heck as a newbie I am very close to meeting your standards. And you can easily see the 4.5- 5* status when checking the reviews on the vendor. You can even see how long the shop has been on the platform by looking at the profile.
All you need to add is # of animals sold instead of just review #s
MM already has a standard that they expect sellers to keep that overrides any shady activities. Nothing in this list says there’s an above average gold standard. Simply pay for it when it’s available with your shop membership updates or freebie for using MM shipping.
Is this guarantee also going to give qualified users continued discounts for shipping once you raise the prices? Because if it’s that easy to acquire all you really do is keep the lowlife scammers that want to use the cashier check payments away.
It still does nothing to prevent an old timer from getting out in a hurry or an upstart biding time until they can lift an expensive animal from another vendor’s table and get caught.
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I get that you don’t think these requirements are particularly difficult to meet, but that’s kind of the point, it’s not about making an ‘elite’ tier, it’s about giving buyers a simple way to know when they’re covered under Buyer Protection. The goal isn’t to create some exclusive club; it’s to encourage best practices and make sure we can verify transactions when disputes arise.
Yes, buyers can already see a seller’s rating and how long they’ve been around, but that doesn’t tell them whether MorphMarket will step in if something goes wrong. That’s what the badge clarifies, nothing more, nothing less. And we didn’t make it unnecessarily restrictive because we want as many sellers as possible to qualify, as long as they meet basic standards.
As for scammers, no system prevents every bad actor. But by limiting Buyer Protection to MM-tracked transactions, we remove most of the riskier payment/shipping scenarios where scams typically happen. If someone tries to cash out and disappear, we can still investigate and take action. The difference is that now, buyers have an extra layer of security for qualifying purchases.
Regarding the comparisons to Etsy or eBay, MorphMarket is not like those platforms. We don’t require sellers to use an on-site payment system that charges a fee and ours doesn’t even have a fee (other than what square charges). Our Buy Now option is optional and free, and only about 20% of sellers even have it enabled. The alternative here is that we could force everyone onto our payment system and charge a transaction fee like other marketplaces do. Maybe we should, since sellers seem to take for granted just how inexpensive MorphMarket is compared to every other platform out there.
There will be a slight revenue increase with this feature, because that’s what allows us to actually cover buyers when issues arise. If we just added this protection without any shipping requirements or additional revenue, it wouldn’t be sustainable. At that point, we’d either have to drop the guarantee or pass the cost onto everyone, which wouldn’t be fair.
And on the topic of discussing this before launch, that criticism is ridiculous. You don’t see Etsy, eBay, or Amazon holding public forums before rolling out new features. They launch what they believe is best for their business. At least we do discuss these things, and that should be more appreciated. We’re constantly trying to do right by buyers, sellers, and the animals, and frankly, most businesses wouldn’t even attempt to handle things this way.
At the end of the day, this is about clarity, trust, and making sure the program is actually viable. If you have specific ideas for improving how we communicate Buyer Protection, I’m open to hearing them, but the core structure of the program isn’t changing.
See … This is the part that most of the other vendors won’t agree with me on.
You should absolutely require the Buy Now option or some sort of payment system through MorphMarket for a buyer protection.
I use an on site payment system for freelance illustration to avoid scammers and such. I can easily see a system like that implemented here.
So many issues will arise with things like non-refundable payments through Zelle/Venmo/whatever… Or shops still using PayPal F&F which can also get the Buyer’s account frozen if PayPal catches on to the tax/fee evasion. Or the chargeback scammers.
Of all the things to help bolster a guarantee for purchases here that should be part of it.
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