Community Chat, Jan 31st @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

Join us today at 1 PM Pacific time to discuss your general buying and selling questions. This week tyler@ebay, brian@ebay and myself will be detained for the first half of the chat, but rest assured we will join as soon as possible. All questions will be reviewed and while the chat will close at the normal time (2 PM Pacific Time), we will continue to work on responses after that point.

Looking forward to hearing from everybody!

[mallontown]

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wrote:

"Thanks for acknowledging that people want more boxes and sizes.

My concern is that ebay is advertising thing that they can't or won't supply.

the promotion clearly says 10+ sizes and ebay only has 4. So ebay is aware of the discrepancy but has not changed the terms of the offer. When will ebay adjust the offer or give us the sizes they promised?"

I think we need to have some consideration of Alan and friends.  After all, they can only relay messages and concerns to the teams and being the messenger isn't always a rewarding job.  They have nothing to say about what gets done or when or by whom.  It isn't being kind to shoot the messenger.

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Alans reply was "This has been a recurring topic in the last couple of our chats. It has come up already today. We've shared feedback with our shipping supplies team for their consideration."

Definetly not shooting the messenger as my main point was about how the promotion was not updated to reflect the true amount of boxes. 

Ebay is showing false information to users of that program

[golfingaddict]

If a seller cancels a purchase it is a defect to the seller

If a buyer is on the blocked list and buys anyone,

What can the seller do?

[mam98031]

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wrote:

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As long as the byer is not hurting the reputation of the seller ebay no longer cares about the seller on this issue. Ebay allows buyers to purchase if blocked by using a different buyer id.

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Is this information correct?

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YEP!

[Anonymous]

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wrote:
I was recently told by phone support that buyers are welcome to keep buying and returning the same unique item as many times as they like as long as a seller has a return policy. Can you confirm this is true?

I ask because I have a buyer who has purchased and returned the same $1800 item multiple times. Since they already saw it in hand the first time around why would they be allowed to keep buying it and returning it?

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Hi @coinslabz26, are return policy exists to allow for a buyer to return an item for any reason as long as they contact the seller within the return policy timeframe. While we do not have any restrictions for repeated returns of the same item, a seller is able to block a buyer or bidder if they feel this is disruptive to their business.

[alan@ebay]

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wrote:

I can't follow the quotes---is there a reason the names are redacted?

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Hi @fern*wood, 

Unfortunately, there's a bug that is removing names from quoted posts - annoying I know! 😞 

[tyler@ebay]

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wrote:

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wrote:
I was recently told by phone support that buyers are welcome to keep buying and returning the same unique item as many times as they like as long as a seller has a return policy. Can you confirm this is true?

I ask because I have a buyer who has purchased and returned the same $1800 item multiple times. Since they already saw it in hand the first time around why would they be allowed to keep buying it and returning it?

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In a previous chat, someone said they heard/saw/? that eBay suggested buying something to "try it out" because you could return it without any loss if you didn't like it. Does eBay actually suggest that?
If so, they need to stop immediately!
If a buyer returns an item, the seller is out the cost of shipping both ways, and the Final Value Fee for the sale, and possibly the cost of the listing.
This is appalling.

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Hi @vrykalak - it came up a few chats ago, and I requested some specifics as that's not language I'm aware we are using. I haven't gotten any replies on the thread. If you see someone that has actually received an email with that wording please tag one of us!

[brian_burke@ebay]

@warrenshobbies - Sorry for the confusion.  A lot of factors go into whether we implement automated protections. When we do not post, it doesn't mean a seller cannot be protected. Imagine a sellers business burns down - the last thing we want is the seller to be hit with a bunch of late shipments, so we will protect them, but they have to contact us. We will not post about it. 

I don't know the details about the weather in your state, but if the carriers were not posting about delays and we were not seeing delays based on our tracking, or the delay was very short so there was minimal impact regionally, we may choose not to automate protections and have those sellers impacted contact us. 

Thanks for selling on eBay, and again, I apologize that you received information that was inaccurate. 

Brian

[alan@ebay]

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wrote:

In this past week, we were asked to comment on the second release of The Modern Buyer: How Baby Boomers and Generation Xers Shop Now.
In that discussion, it came up about customer contact and communication. I mentioned that if one of my customers wants me to find something for them I will. When I find it I will let them know and then list it on eBay for them. There were a few comments about this being spamming. I honestly can't see that as I am providing my customer a service, which I thought we are supposed to do as good sellers; increase our business, increase our sales, increase our customers satisfaction.

I would like confirmation that this is acceptable to do.

Ann

Oops and HELLO everyone. :-))

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Hi @odditiesandantiquities1, 

Hello! 

I do not see an issue with that. If your customer initiates the contact and asks for something then I do not see how that as "spamming." It sounds like great customer service. 

Thanks. 

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What if the seller is the one initiating contact? Because that is what was stated on the thread in question and that is why some said it was spam.

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The seller contacting the buyer scenario doesn't make sense. How would the seller know that a buyer is looking for a certain item that the seller doesn't actually have? Hard to comment on a hypothetical situation. 

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

Does ebay have a policy regarding how guest buyers can purchase items on ebay.

I realize that all they need is to pick their item, pay for it and they never have to register an account.

Can you tell me more about this process?  Why do you have it this way , what can those buyers do, and can anyone purchase as a guest user, even those with a registered ebay account.?

Are there any limitations or rules regading guest users?

Will you please post a link to the rules/policies regarding guest users. Thank you.

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Hi @golfingaddict, there are only a few restrictions for buying as a guest on eBay, as follows: 

• The item must cost less than $2,000
• The item must be available through Buy It Now
• The seller must have a feedback score of 50 or higher and a positive rating of at least 98%
• You pay with either PayPal or a credit card

You can review these details here. There are not restrictions for those who have a registered account to make a guest purchase. If you have any other questions or specific issues, don't hesitate to contact Customer Service for further assistance!

[tyler@ebay]

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wrote:

can a blocked bidder just user a guest account and buy again?

Is there any recourse if a blocked bidder purchases from you again using another account or a guest account?

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Hi @golfingaddict - a buyer is not allowed to purchase an item from you with the intent of disrupting your business (buying an item with the sole purpose of leaving negative feedback or DSR). 

If you have a buyer you feel has circumvented a block in order to disrupt your business please contact CS to report the buyer for review. 

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

I am also concerned about my late shipment rate due to the winter storms and USPS issues. I am a Top Rated seller and have had 34 shipments that indicate late delivery since December 10th! Before that I had ONE in April of 2017--that's it! Tracking was uploaded on time and validated on 99.63% of my shipments.

So now I am going to lose my Top Rated Seller level, and my discount unless Ebay adjusts for inclement weather.

Any word on when and IF Ebay is going to do this?

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Hi @zombiejoes, we are always here to offer protections when weather in your area caused delays outside of your control. Contact Customer Service with the details of these shipments (item number, date and tracking number) and they carn review for protections. If Top Rated Seller status is lost due to these types of events, we can look into manually reinstating your account to Top Rated status.

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

what is multi-variation listing abuse?

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Hi @golfingaddict, I believe you may be referencing including a variation in a multi-variation style listing that is of a significantly lower price than the other variations and is for an unrelated item (often times labelled as a "gift"). These would be considered search and browse manipulation and could be reported directly from the listing for review.

[brian@ebay]

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wrote:

#94, 24Jan18: re #88, 17Jan18: Can't give a Combined Shipping discount through eBay; have to refund thru PayPal. eBay doesn't have a any plans to change that.
ALL of my last 8 sales involved combined shipping. Not only will eBay not acknowledge multiple sales to the same customer, I paid FVFs on $23 of S&H that I refunded to the customers.
Paypal refunded their fees on the $23; eBay did not.
Bad for sellers who offer combined shipping to buyers of multiple items.
Any chance this can be changed? if not changed in SW, any chance sellers could request a refund of fees by calling customer service?

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Hi @vrykalak, while there aren't any current plans to change the functionality of combining discounted items, though it's always possible that it could be updated in a future update. To ensure buyers receive a shipping discount automatically, you will need to set up shipping profiles or a Shipping Discount. Doing so will apply the shipping discount even if there are other discounts present on the listings.

[doug@ebay]

Chat is now closed, thanks for joining us. See you again next week, same day, same time.

We're still working on answering some of your posts so be sure to check back if we didn't get to you.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

If a seller cancels a purchase it is a defect to the seller

If a buyer is on the blocked list and buys anyone,

What can the seller do?

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Hi @golfingaddict, a defect is only recorded for a cancellation if the seller selects the out of stock reason. If a buyer is on your blocked list, they are not able to purchase from you. If you run into an issue where a buyer who's username is on your blocked list is able to purchase, contact Customer Service to have this investigated.