Weekly Community Chat, May 10th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi Community, 

Join us today at 1pm Pacific for a Community chat. There isn't a set topic so feel free to ask us your buying and selling questions. 

If you are a small business, don't forget to submit your entry for our SHINE awards, the closing date for entries is fast approaching and we've got some fantastic prizes!!

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

I have two questions that are closely related to each other.

1st question  -  If I have an ebay buyer who I decide to refund in full through Paypal, does that result in an ebay out of stock defect?  This should really only be a yes or not answer.  The reason why I would refund should not have any deciding factors to the answer.

2nd question  -  If a buyer on eBay opens a return request and opens the return request incorrectly with multiply problems and I decide it would just be better to refund the buyer in full through paypal  -  Does this result in an out of stock defect on eBay?

In the 2nd question the refund has to be done through paypal because the return request was not done correctly and there would be no way to refund in full through the return request.

Thank You

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Hi @goodluckselling! 

1 - Yes. Without a cancellation request telling us why a refund was being sent, a defect would occur. 

2 - Defects could potentially occur but if this happens, reach out to our customer service teams: https://ocsnext.ebay.com/ocs/cuhome?from_ocs=1 and we can adjust the quantity in a return to correct the issue. 

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I am going to ask you to make sure what you are saying is correct.  I talked to CS early this morning and both the rep and the supervisor said that ebay will not under any circumstances issue a defect for out of stock when a full refund is issued through paypal.  The only way a out of stock defect can happen is when a seller cancels a sale on ebay. 

I feel certain they were both incorrect.  I also wondered why the rep said to me " what are you worried about anyways you do not have defect to your account right now"  Why that mattered I do not know and why the rep was not listening to me and my concerns instead of fishing around my account during the call, seems a bit out of line.

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I apologize for any negative experience you had, @goodluckselling. I can confirm that if a refund is issued through PayPal without a cancellation telling us why, a defect would apply. We don't know why a refund is being issued which is why we would assume the item wasn't available to follow through with the transaction.

[golfingaddict]

My question pertains to vacation settings or changing handling times.

The spring and summer means that many sellers will be taking long or short vacations.  With this selling account, it is easy to put my listings on vacation.  No sales, but no upset customers either.

On my other non-store selling accounts, the only choice I have is to end all the listings, raise the prices to crazy high prices, or change my handling time.  I use fixed priced listings for the most part.  And no, I do not want them automatically relisted, by the way.

1.  Why are vacation  settings not available to non store subscribers?   (it's ok to say because they want us to sign up for $20 a month store fee)    It seems like this is an issue that is more buyer friendly than seller friendly because the buyer is not confused when their items are not shipped right away.

2.  When I do change handling times on my listings, I would like an easy way to see this in the seller hub on my active listings.  Currently, you cannot customize active listings to show handling time. 

There are many things that you can add but handling time is not one of them.  Would this be an unrealistic request that they add handling time on seller hub active listings?  (optional of course)

thank you

[ted_200]

Side note: next update the Community Team should be given at least a week to view the updates before they are released, that way you can find out all the policy specifics ahead of the flood of questions and perhaps eliminate some of the confusion and speculation from the get-go. Make it easier on you and on us.

It might also be helpful to give eBay users a week to digest the updates once they are released prior to holding a Q & A / Special Discussion Board about them... by the time most users see, and read, and figure out they have questions, the Discussions are all locked and no one from eBay wants to talk about it anymore.

[Anonymous]

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@krazzykats wrote:

I was suspended for 3 days for the misuse of the word "Barbie" on three vintage Butterick doll sewing patterns. This was my second violation for this. What I can't understand is, "these are" vintage Butterick sewing patterns for Barbie, Midge and Ken dolls and that, is preprinted on the pattern envelope that it is, for Barbie, Midge and Ken dolls. I was suspended for misuse of brand. My descriptions comes straight off the packaging, so I don't feel I violated any rules.

The Barbie Butterick patterns are from the 1960s and were produced for Barbie, Midge, Babs, Annette dolls and more. And this verbage is printed clearly on the pattern envelope fronts. I could understand if I was using the Barbie name and it wasn't on the pattern envelope, but it is, and can be clearly seen in my photos. "These are original Butterick patterns for Barbie", etc... from the 1960s, so I don't understand the suspension for brand misuse. I accurately described these patterns.

I even checked the category, and they were in the correct vintage doll clothing pattern category.

Hello krazzykats,

We've determined that some of your listings haven't followed our Brand Name Misuse policy. As a result, we've taken the following actions on your account:
 - Selling privileges have been temporarily restricted. You won't be able to list new items or revise current listings for 3 days. You're also not allowed to register a new account during this time.
 - Listings that didn't follow our policies have been removed. A list of removed item(s) is available further down in this email.
 - Any fees for listings that were ended early for not following policy won't be credited to your account.

Please use only terms that describe your item accurately.

Adding brand, celebrity, or manufacturer names to a listing that was not made by that company, person, or manufacturer isn't allowed.

Making comparisons or including unrelated terms in your listing may confuse buyers who may not understand what's actually being offered. This can result in an unsuccessful transaction and may also lead to a buyer claim being filed.

For more information on our search and browse manipulation policy, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/search-manipulation.html

Please know, the listing title "BUTTERICK 3385 SEWING PATTERN~UNCUT 11.5" Barbie Midge DOLL CLOTHES NOT COPY!" suggests that the item is made/manufactured/marketted by "Barbie", when it is not, this might mislead buyers.  For this reason, eBay suggests sellers to include brand or model names in listing titles for items that are mechanically or electrically compatible with specific brands if words such as 'compatible with', 'fits' or 'for' are mentioned before the brand/model names. There's one exception, if the item for sale is universally compatible with most of the brands then the listing should not have any brand name. You may relist the item after making the necessary changes in the listing.

 During this restriction you can still:
 - Send email
 - Obtain shipping addresses
 - Leave feedback
 - Perform other administrative tasks......

What am I missing? Its a 1960s Butterick Sewing Pattern for Barbie, Midge, etc....

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Happy to clarify this for you. Brand name misuse does not necessarily indicate that the brand was innaccurate. It can reference not having authorization from the brand owner to sell a product with their brand name on it. Visit: http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing/create-effective-listings/vero-program.html for more information about our Verified Rights Owner program and next steps you can take!

[everythingvaluable]

If there are too many policies with too many changes, there are no policies.

That said, the easiest thing for me is to simply keep doing what I'm doing and let eBay compliance catch my mistakes.  Of course, that's also the hardest thing for eBay to do. 

There is an easy solution.  Make all policy changes at a single time and issue a notification of changes in announcements.  There should be no need on a mature site for constant revision.  When you have minor changes to make hold them until the revision date.

Imagine if Microsoft issued constant software updates all day long, every day.  Your computer would do nothing but update the operating system.

[alan@ebay]

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@carlmarxx wrote:

Trinton: Did I ask any thing that you folks could not respond back too? thank  you.

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Hi @carlmarxx

You didn't ask a question. You shared information. Please stop posting the same content over and over. 

Thanks. 

[Anonymous]

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@bigmotormania wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@bigmotormania wrote:

Hello Alan, and probably Trinton and Heidi.

I have a question about communication between a seller and a buyer in regards to a Not As Described claim, and I was wondering about linking the buyer to websites that display the information to prove that your description was actually accurate and if that gets lit up by the bots as "trying to circumvent eBay".

The website I get my information from does in-fact sell items, but is not affiliated with me in the slightest. So it's just a general question here about the rules in regards to communication with buyers and showing specific information.

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This could be a tough one, as the link would be considered as potential drive to off site transactions. While you are not personally affiliated with that site, it does take the buyer off eBay to a location where they can make a purchase. If a buyer has concerns about a description, we recommend addressing those directly, recommending they do independant research or providing a link to product information that does not relate to a selling platform when possible.

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So to put it into simpler terms "Such a thing can be easily misconstrued, don't do that."

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Exactly! 

[vrykalak]

In regards to the photo editing issues you are running into, I'll reach out via email to get more detail and help troubleshoot this, no problem.

I spoke to four different CS techs the day the problem arose. Three of them had no idea what I was asking, and wasted over six hours of my time telling me to try this and try that to fix it.

The fourth one said that the ability to edit photos after uploading had been elimninated with the new listing pages, and my account had just been moved into the new listing page that day! He also said that the editing capability still existing on the Quick Listing page...for a while...and I should use that as long as it was still functioning.

So...the capability to edit photos after uploading has been DELIBERATELY ELIMINATED by eBay.

[mam98031]

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@copper.boom wrote:

Two weeks ago @Anonymous posted a reply at the end of chat:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-April-26th-1pm-PT-General-Topics/m-p/26899516#M11636

@Anonymous wrote:

We've got a lot of different policies and while we don't have a centralized area where all changes are posted, the individual Help Pages are updated. I would always recommend double-checking the policy to make sure any updates are made to the information you're providing. Thank you so much for all you do in the Community! 

I appreciate that advice was given to double-check a policy page before giving advice to another poster, however...

This response also says to me that policies and policy pages are changed directly on the policy page and the only way to know about it is by viewing the page.

As a seller I am not going to read every single policy page every day just to see if anything has changed and if my listings are suddenly no longer compliant.

Why are policy updates not posted to the Announcements area as they occur with a link to the appropriate policy page? And is this something that we can make happen go forward?

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@Anonymous

You should know that to re-read every policy Ebay has on a regular basis to stay current on any unannounce change that may have happened recently would be futile.  There aren't enough hours in the day to read every policy Ebay has, digest it, sell on Ebay and still have a life and/or a little sleep.

Copper's suggestion is a good one and has been asked for in the past.  The vast quantity of policies is ridiculous.  To create an exception report whenever ANY policy is adjusted in any fashion shouldn't be that hard to create, if one wanted to create one.  Creation dates and update dates on policies would also be helpful.  

I try very hard to stay current on the changes on Ebay, but it is almost an impossible task when Ebay makes unannounced changes.  Unless members become clairvoyant there is no way for them to know when Ebay makes a change without an announcement.

[sharonlpk]

It sure would be nice to be able to selectively put items on sale through the Active List rather than having to go through Markdown Manager and select items that way.  Some of the criteria I use to choose items to put on sale doesn't show up as a sorting feature when selecting items using the Markdown Manager interface.  Could you please pass this on to appropriate personnel?

[hidy-hoo]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@copper.boom wrote:

Two weeks ago @Anonymous posted a reply at the end of chat:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-April-26th-1pm-PT-General-Topics/m-p/26899516#M11636

@Anonymous wrote:

We've got a lot of different policies and while we don't have a centralized area where all changes are posted, the individual Help Pages are updated. I would always recommend double-checking the policy to make sure any updates are made to the information you're providing. Thank you so much for all you do in the Community! 

I appreciate that advice was given to double-check a policy page before giving advice to another poster, however...

This response also says to me that policies and policy pages are changed directly on the policy page and the only way to know about it is by viewing the page.

As a seller I am not going to read every single policy page every day just to see if anything has changed and if my listings are suddenly no longer compliant.

Why are policy updates not posted to the Announcements area as they occur with a link to the appropriate policy page? And is this something that we can make happen go forward?

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Hi @copper.boom - I can appreciate your concern on this. With how many policies we have, we wouldn't be able to post an announcement with each update. That said, we will make announcements on major changes. I simply suggest doing a quick glance over from time to time just as a refresher. 

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...ain't that the truth!   ~ which makes it that much more important for the volunteer responders to have current and accurate information.  One would think that each time a policy is changed that it could be added to a list that could be accessed by community members.

Trying to find a particular policy in the current policy pages is like trying to find a needle in the haystack, i.e. eBay's terms are usually very different from the terms that a regular seller/buyer would use. Take for example the feedback removal policy ~ it is listed under Member to Member Contact Policy

[labs118]

@Anonymous

We don't know why a refund is being issued which is why we would assume the item wasn't available to follow through with the transaction.


We have always been advised if an item was tracked as delivered & a refund was given it would not be an oos defect!
Now your saying  even if ebay &  Paypal are 2 seperate compaines but a refund is given on Paypal it  tiggers a defect to our ebay account?

[Anonymous]

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@aswegrow2 wrote:
Watching for answer on this one it effects me also ty for asking

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Hi there, @aswegrow2! You can find my answer to this post here: http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-May-10th-1pm-PT-Gener...

[llllady]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@llllady wrote:

@Anonymous

Hi, Trinton...

Still looking for some resolution with the seller using the red/blue hearts in his/her titles.  I see the violation continues. 

Is there a reason why, after about three weeks and numerous reports, why the seller has at least not been told to stop this practice?  As you know, it is a straight-forward browse and search manipulation policy violation.

At this point, if nothing is going to be done, then I'm sure other sellers would be extremely interested in knowing it is okay to do this so they, too, can have attention drawn to their listings, myself included.

Thanks.

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Hi @llllady - We aren't able to go into any details regarding actions taken on another member's account. That said, I can assure you we are addressing this and working with appropriate teams to have it handled. 

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Good try!   Not buying it.  It doesn't take three weeks to tell a seller to stop blatantly abusing an eBay policy.  It matters not HOW the seller is able to do it.  It matters that the seller should be told to STOP doing it. 

Look for my listings soon with hearts in the title.  Can't wait for more exposure for my listings, especially since sales have been so bad.  If no one can fix it, apparently it isn't broken. 

[alan@ebay]

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@labs118 wrote:

Been lot's of questions on different boards about a new email some sellers are receiving
ebay has been sending a you've been paid email even if someone does a multi order purchase with say 5 items they get 5 emails!
They are posting that there is not a place in site preferences /communication preferences to stop these emails.
why have they started with some sellers ? & how can they be stopped

so sellers are now getting 3 messages when 1 item sells

You've been paid!" email in addition to the "your item has sold" and the paypal payment email.


Thanks

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Hi @labs118

That doesn't sound good! I'll float this to our comms team so that they can review and make changes if necessary. 

Thank you.