Beware of Webinterpret’s scam that ebay is allowing

[bigdeals.etc]

A couple of days ago a banner within my Seller Hub advertised reaching buyers in ebay international sites (shown in screenshot). I clicked it to learn what it was about. It pushed me to a 3rd party page (Webinterpret) explaining what it was and allowed me to register/sign up for their service. I didn’t sign up and just closed the page.

The next day, Webinterpret hacked into my ebay account. They duplicated all of my listings 4-6 times each listing. My usual 200 live listings became over 1200 listings. Each listing was specific to an ebay international website (au, uk, ca, de, etc.). They basically duplicated my inventory quantity as well… obviously I don’t have that much inventory to cover it. Beware, this is on ebay’s Main Seller Hub page that ebay is advertising.

Read further if you want to know ebay’s response to this:

I called my ebay concierge and after a few hours of asking around and researching, he called me back and said the company has been with ebay since 2011, they shouldn’t have access to your account without your signing up, authorizing, generating a token, etc. I told him I did none of that and the agent was confused on how the company was able to hack into my account like that. The agent helped me remove the duplicate listings manually (took awhile) and revoked any access from that company to my account. I checked and it appears many ebay members (dated as far back as 4 years) had the exact same thing happen to them and did the revoking, only to find months later the company hacks back into their accounts doing the same thing… sometimes even billing them. Ebay says they will check on it, but then again… this problem has been around for at least 4 years now and ebay hasn’t done anything about it.

I’m just warning others to NOT click on that banner.

[imapaqrat]

CRUD!  I just sold a Signed Nike Poster from the UK site!  They even paid for it.  Not a bad thing, but when I go into my Waiting To Ship folder, it isn't there!!

It is in my Sold History, so it is in a folder, but come on eBay; at least figure out that an order waiting to ship is an order waiting to ship.

But . . . this is probably the BEST news related to Webinterpret that I've had in a week.

Now all I need to do is spend about an hour of my time to see if they live up their promise of NO CLOSING FEES.  Any bets if the will remember to not charge me a closing fee?

[ittybitnot]

Who writes this drivel? Same guy who made the "technical" error?

I think it is the new ebay cosmetology department. 

[deja8318]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

Who writes this drivel? Same guy who made the "technical" error?

I think it is the new ebay cosmetology department. 

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  Thanks I needed that chuckle...

[ittybitnot]

ebay owes you for time and aggrevation...see my comment above.

eBay also owe those sellers who hit category limits due to this.....just for starters.  

[bigdeals.etc]

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@imapaqrat wrote:
Here is how you can confirm
1.) Verify that Webinterpret doesn't have a Third-Party Authorization (TPA) in you list
2.) Click that link . . . {I know, but now we know how to get out of it}
3.) Check your TPA again . . .
- if Webinterpret is now on your TPA list, they are still Auto-Opting

Just Revoke their authorization and you back to where you started.

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I'm sure no one would fault me for not wanting to click on that link anymore (let alone any ebay banner from now on). But there have also been previous reports of members saying they revoked the authorization token... only to find months later that Webinterpret was able to hack back into their account duplicating listings again. Those reports stated that they talked to ebay and the agents said they didn't know how the company was able to gain access again. TBH, we don't know if the people who reported this clicked onto the auto-opt link again or not. My agent revoked the token for me, it's not in my TPA, but still he suggested I email webinterpret still. If TPA absolutely gets me off their radar, then I wonder why the agent told me to send webinterpret an "opt-out" email.

@deja8318Yea I really feel for you man. How you are saying it's affecting your future sales because you lost all that momentum. I was fortunate enough to catch it early and have my agent on my side and ending listings for me so it didn't really affect my sales. This is clearly a huuuuuge blunder on ebay's part compared to previous issues. Obviously they discussed it amongst themselves and will never publicly admit to the correct degree of fault... hence the lack of constructive responses here from the blues. Down play the issue, sweep it under the rug and toss the minimal casualties aside, right? I'd never want any seller to go thru what you had to (even my competition). That's why I hope to get as many members aware of this issue and never click on that banner, regardless if they say it's been fixed.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@biken-mike wrote:
It came to me in a message from E-Bay so was a bit deceiving. I also had to manually remove 3000+ listings. When I called E-Bay yesterday they said they never heard of anything like that and had me on hold forever. I probably wasted 8+ hours from this and NOT happy about it!

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At least when I first called, my agent thought I was crazy and speaking gibberish. He never heard of what I was saying too. He was reciting the help pages on how not to accidentally create duplicate listings. It wasn't until I respectfully asked him to humor me to check my active listings until he started to believe something was weird. He ended up telling me he's going to do a bunch of research and asking other people about it and called me back in 2 hours (he didn't want me to stay on hold). He ended up ending all my duplicate listings for me on his own. Took him two days of work. Called me after he was done and apologized for the whole ordeal.

[alan@ebay]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

Hi all, 

We're looking into this topic. When we have information to share we'll let you know. 

Thank you! 

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Hi everyone, 

This morning we sent an email to sellers who were auto opted-in. 

Thank you. 

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I didn't get any email about this at all. If I didn't, are you saying and confirming that I'm not opted in anymore? I didn't communicate with Webinterpret at all as my agent suggested for fear of opening another can of worms.

Also, btw, I still see the banner up on my seller hub page. Can you confirm that it's no longer auto-opting in sellers who click on that banner? From what I hear, Webinterpret has been auto-opting sellers since 2014.

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Hi @bigdeals.etc, 

If you clicked on the banner and were accidentally opted in between May 1-4, you would have received an email today.

We corrected the banner during the day on May 4th. Now, if the banner is clicked, you'll land on a page where you can choose to opt-in.

Thanks. 

[imapaqrat]

Alan,

Sorry but that is WRONG! The banner was still Auto-Opting seller this morning.

As of 5/9, ~10:00AM Pacific time, the "Technical"  problem was still auto-opting people in.

I had an eBay customer service person confirm that Webinterpret DID NOT have a Third-Party Approval (TPA) on my account. She then clicked the banner from my seller hub and POOF . . . Webinterpret had TPA token in my account. Auto- Opt-In still adding Webby's token.

Confirmed and Verified by ECS Susan: Ref Tickt # 1-158295914247. Feel free to confirm with her. She has been the only ECS person I've worked with the last 4 days that seems to have a handle on the situation.

To recap: As of 5/9 AM the problem still existed.

[lovtaco0]

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@chrysylys wrote: 
They have now responed to several other threads in the last couple of hours, but still nothing here.

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If all else fails, don't forget about the Weekly Chat tomorrow, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific time.

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It kinda looks like the chat, today, is going to be devoted to the shine award. 

Seems that they tend to take exception to going off-topic when they have something important scheduled.

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Weird topic to devote an entire hour. They should have dedicated the first 15-30 min to that topic then the rest to general topics. There was only one question the entire chat.

[ittybitnot]

Weird topic to devote an entire hour.

It was "topic avoidance" coupled with one holding up the rug while the other used the broom.

[jonathankirkland]

Wow I cannot believe this fiasco is not only continuing, but ebay is obviously less than sympathetic to those who were affected.

This is very sad indeed. The lack of sympathy and quick action to correct this horrendous mess from ebay speaks volumes about how they feel about their sellers.

[ted_200]

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@rennybooks wrote:

Dear rennybooks, We want to inform you of a recent technical error that occurred when you clicked on a promotional banner advertisement in Seller Hub between May 1, 2018 and May 4, 2018.

The promotional offer is for a free trial of Webinterpret and zero fees on up to 3,000 listings on each of eBay’s six international sites. Our intention was to direct you to an informational sign-up page. Unfortunately, when you clicked on the banner, you were auto-opted into the promotion, and your ebay.com listings were automatically translated and listed on eligible international sites.

The promotion was offered to you to increase your listings’ visibility and grow your international sales. Webinterpret automatically translates, converts currency, and lists your ebay.com listings on eBay’s international sites where you had already enabled shipping. You may in fact have already seen an increase in your international sales. If you do not want your ebay.com listings on eBay’s international sites as part of this promotion, you can remove them by opting out. To opt out, click here and fill out the form on the page.

If you do not opt out, Webinterpret will continue to post your listings on eligible international sites during the promotional period and your Webinterpret trial will automatically end at the end of the promotional period, at no cost to you.

If you continue with this promotion: • You will not be charged fees during the promotion period (no insertion fees or final value fees on eligible international sites, and no cost for Webinterpret). • Your items will remain listed on eBay’s international sites based on the shipping destinations and return policies you had already enabled in your ebay.com listings. • Webinterpret will remove all of the listings that were created during the promotional period, on or before July 1, 2018. No action is required from you.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you for selling on eBay.

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If you go back and look at Post #18, the "promotional period" for the 3,000 "free" listings ends May 31.  You'll be charged insertion fees for listings that renew during June, if you go with the "no action" course. 

The rest of that is only slightly less inadequate, annoying, and insulting... any inconvenience this may have caused?  LOL!  

[ted_200]

Sorry but that is WRONG! The banner was still Auto-Opting seller this morning.

As of 5/9, ~10:00AM Pacific time, the "Technical"  problem was still auto-opting people in.

So, the May 4 date is patently false information? 

Swell.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@ted_200 wrote:

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@rennybooks wrote:

Dear rennybooks, We want to inform you of a recent technical error that occurred when you clicked on a promotional banner advertisement in Seller Hub between May 1, 2018 and May 4, 2018.

The promotional offer is for a free trial of Webinterpret and zero fees on up to 3,000 listings on each of eBay’s six international sites. Our intention was to direct you to an informational sign-up page. Unfortunately, when you clicked on the banner, you were auto-opted into the promotion, and your ebay.com listings were automatically translated and listed on eligible international sites.

The promotion was offered to you to increase your listings’ visibility and grow your international sales. Webinterpret automatically translates, converts currency, and lists your ebay.com listings on eBay’s international sites where you had already enabled shipping. You may in fact have already seen an increase in your international sales. If you do not want your ebay.com listings on eBay’s international sites as part of this promotion, you can remove them by opting out. To opt out, click here and fill out the form on the page.

If you do not opt out, Webinterpret will continue to post your listings on eligible international sites during the promotional period and your Webinterpret trial will automatically end at the end of the promotional period, at no cost to you.

If you continue with this promotion: • You will not be charged fees during the promotion period (no insertion fees or final value fees on eligible international sites, and no cost for Webinterpret). • Your items will remain listed on eBay’s international sites based on the shipping destinations and return policies you had already enabled in your ebay.com listings. • Webinterpret will remove all of the listings that were created during the promotional period, on or before July 1, 2018. No action is required from you.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you for selling on eBay.

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If you go back and look at Post #18, the "promotional period" for the 3,000 "free" listings ends May 31.  You'll be charged insertion fees for listings that renew during June, if you go with the "no action" course. 

The rest of that is only slightly less inadequate, annoying, and insulting... any inconvenience this may have caused?  LOL!  

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 Their intentions were to direct sellers to an informational page? Oh but we might have seen in increase in sales!!  Sorry, not buying it. Not even renting. I have been around eBay long enough to understand the double speak and  deflections.  

Just wait till they launch the new payment processor, the best predictor of future behavior IS past behavior and if how many glitches and problems this site has had in the last six months is any indication.... I am putting my stores on a long vacation. 

[bigdeals.etc]

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alan@ebay wrote:

Hi @bigdeals.etc, 

If you clicked on the banner and were accidentally opted in between May 1-4, you would have received an email today.

We corrected the banner during the day on May 4th. Now, if the banner is clicked, you'll land on a page where you can choose to opt-in.

Thanks. 

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Well I can't comment if the banner is currently working "correctly" or not as other have... since I'm never clicking on that banner anymore.

But regarding the email... I was auto-opted in on May 3, and I haven't received any email from eBay about this issue. You can check my ended listings to confirm I was in fact opted in (otherwise I would have never started this post). I checked all folders of my email... inbox, spam, social, trash, etc. No email about webinterpret and the auto-opt. My concierge handled my listing endings and revoking of my token. Could that be the reason why I didn't an email? Because there is no longer a trace of my information within webinterpret?