mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on October 9th for our Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a set topic this week, so please bring any general questions you may have on buying or selling.
The chat will be open for questions from 1-2 pm PT, at which point we'll close thread. While no additional questions can be submitted after this time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that may still be unanswered.
If you're new to the chat, welcome! Simply Reply to this post with your question from 1-2 PM Pacific Time and we'll be happy to look into it for you 
@dusty_relics_tx wrote:
Good afternoon, One of the items I sell is View Masters there are 2 different unrelated categories that cover these depending on the item. if its a viewer or projector it goes in the Toys & Hobbies > Classic Toys > View-Master Category if its a View Master reel it goes in the Collectibles > Photographic Images > Contemporary (1940-Now) > Viewmaster Category. Who or what team would I talk to to see about getting these combined as the item specifics in both have little to pertain to the item being listed. As there is more emphasis on item specifics it seems they should be relevant.
Hi @dusty_relics_tx - the best team to work on this with is the catalog team! You can reach them directly at sdsupport@ebay.com. Thanks!
@golfingaddict wrote:
I have used vacation settings for years In my store. I understand how they work. Usually I just set it to block purchases and then have nothing to worry about.
Recently I went away from Saturday to Wednesday with expected ship date on Thursday, which is 4 day handling time for anything that sold over the days I was gone.
Because the listings no longer show handling time UNLESS you put 10 day handling time or longer, I set my handling time to 10 days.
So I had my listings with 10 day handling time showing right next to the buy now button and I had my vacation settings set to "away" returning on Thursday (with a note)
And a buyer purchased an item on Sunday and became irate and sent me a blistering email complaining that he "just saw that I had 10 days handling" and wanted to know why I couldn't ship immediately.
I explained, offered to cancel/refund but wondered why the buyer did not seem to notice prior to purchase that I had extended handling time or that I was on vacation.
Does it show the same on all devices? For example, I rarely use the APP and I use edge or IE for my browser. Am I seeing it differently than my buyers?
Was I out of line to change my handling time and put my store on vacation that way? I figured that I would be able to ship by Thursday so it wasn't that prolonged a wait to ship.
What do you suggest?
Hi @golfingaddict, the shipping and estimated delivery information is the same across browsers and the app, so the handling time and estimated delivery date should have been present before they made the purchase. Changing your handling time and placing the Store on vacation is the appropriate thing to do in these situations, so I don't think you were out of line at all doing that. Offering to cancel the transaction if the buyers wants is a good way to handle this as well. Hopefully the buyer is more understanding after communicating with you!
@Anonymous wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@captb_54 wrote:Just a suggestion for the future. Don't do FALL UPDATE or mess with things right before 4th qtr ever. Do everything in winter and summer and stop the Fall. You know that even though IT guys tell you no problems there are always bugs, Always. And 4th qtr is not time to deal with them.
I agree as I'm confident many others do as well when it has to do with the structure or data contained in a listing. Every year sellers ask Ebay to please be more considerate of our needs to be working on sourcing inventory and creating listings for the holiday season. But every year we have the Fall Update since at least 2014, it could be further back than that.
I don't mine changes in cosmetic things or the addition of Seller Protections, but when it affects the design, layout or functionality of a listing, sellers need time to work with that and not take away from the needs of the Holiday season. Both Ebay and seller would be stronger for it and make a little more money IMHO.
My vote is Winter and Spring. Keeping in mine when those seasons actually start.
Let me revisit my suggestion. It should have said Winter and Summer so there is a bit more space in between and more like twice a year. Which was agreed to years ago that we would only have two seller updates a year. However in 2018 we had 3 and 2019 so far we have had 3.
Hi @mam98031, can you direct me to what you are referencing? I recall that years ago we committed to having fewer and more consolidated Seller Updates, with a minimum of 2 a year. I remember there was a time where Seller Updates were smaller and more frequent, and we received feedback from the Community that fewer and larger updates would be better. I want to double check if there are any resources out there that need to be updated, so feel free to share any links you may have available
I wish I could, but it was a long time ago and I did not keep the messages, discussion or whatever format it took where this was discussed. But there was a commitment to sellers when Donahoe was CEO to no more than 2 Seller Updates per year [which was met from 2013 to 2017] and that no major listing changes would happen without a minimum 90 day notice to sellers. Changes that requires sellers to update their listings.
brian@ebay wrote:
@golfingaddict wrote:My question is about seller protection:
This happens frequently, just last week.
I send brand new in package undergarments.
Buyer receives exactly what they order but says "wore them, don't fit well, are uncomfortable, bigger than I thought (or smaller) I need to return them" In about half the cases they claim Not as described because they do not fit. In about 100% of the cases, the items are essentially ruined and I cannot resell them. (worn, out of package, no packaging included with return etc..)
Does the new seller protections offer me any recourse? Protections? Am I just expected to take the loss because the buyer doesn't like them, they don't fit, they are uncomfortable or other (not my problem) issues?
Thank you.
Hi @golfingaddict, the enhanced protections for Top Rated Sellers give sellers the option to give a partial refund if an item is returned damaged, used, or altered. Doing a partial refund also comes with feedback, defect, and seller metric protection for the seller. You can view the partial refund guideline table here to see when and how much of a partial refund can be given in different circumstances. Additionally, if a buyer falsely reports an item is Not As Described, sellers can report the buyer to us and received a $6 credit on their monthly invoice, along with feedback, defect, and seller metrics protections.
The Seller Protections team will be here for next weeks Weekly Chat, so be sure to join us then if you have further questions
I know about the new seller "protections" for the TRS. Is there any similar protections for the struggling seller who has not reached that level yet?
When it comes up in the Q&A - we can't just tell the OP there is no hope or they are not worthy. I am concerned about this. Thanks.
@holidaysandmemories wrote:
Amazon has longer product titles. I think eBay should extend them past the 80 characters currently allowed for this reason. The app is difficult because customer dont see how to press on the button to read more of the description.
Hi @holidaysandmemories, thank you for sharing your feedback! We'll pass this along for consideration and can recommend utilizing as many item specifics as possible to provide potential buyers with item details they may need 
@inthewoodspam wrote:
tyler@ebay wrote:
@inthewoodspam wrote:
I would like to know if ebay will honor a $10.00 promotion for selling, that I activated on one of my IDs, which has now disappeared? I cannot find the email, the promotion, or any sign of it now and would like to know where it went. It was supposed to be good through the 13th if I sold $30.00 worth per the rules.
Hi @inthewoodspam - I'm happy to check it out - can you give me any more detail about what the promotion was and which account received it?
This is the ID I received it on and it was titled something like "Give selling a try and earn a $10.00 coupon".
There is a thread about this offer on the selling board:
Thanks for this @inthewoodspam! I'll do some digging and see what I can find out. 🙂
@dentalsales4u wrote:
I had a buyer request to return due to item being defective.
I offer free returns and therefore, sent them a return label.
When I received the product back, there was nothing wrong with the product.
They didn't even open the batteries to install them. We did and the product worked fine.
I reported the buyer for returns abuse since I offer free returns, there was no need to file a false INAD.
Am I protected on returns like this?
Hi @dentalsales4u, if you are Top Rated and report the buyer for opening a false Not As Described return, then we will credit your invoice $6 to help subsidize the return shipping cost. You would also be protected from feedback, defects, and service metrics.
The Seller Protections team will be on here for the Weekly Chat next week, so be sure to join us if you have more questions about Seller Protections 
