eBay

inhawaii · ‎08-14-2020

So from my seller hub it tells X amount of listings require more item specifics.

So i went to revise some of them. Some of the specifics are dumb/ridiculous/stupid. Some of them i can't even answer so i have to leave blank.

Example: A laptop case. Ebay wants to know for what brand of laptop. LOL

Does ebay want us to answer all of them? Is just having some of them ok? At what point will ebay be ok with the item specifics you have?

Papa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations

dhbookds · ‎08-14-2020

They have different "levels" of IS now......Required, Recommended, Buyers would appreciate knowing (whatever the "real" name is). Required is required. They will aggravate you for the recommended (in my experience). I've used "unknown" in a number of cases and that seems to forestall repeated "reminders". There is also a very small "don't show me this again" check off box that I check off (for better or worse) once I fill out what I can. I don't think anyone knows what happens if you skip everything but the recommended.

At one point, don't ask me where it was said, ebay seemed to say they would be developing filters (like colors, size, etc) for the side bar so your item would be left out of search if you didn't have that specific filter IS filled out, even tho the info may be in the title and /or description. How far down the chain of IS's those filters will go is unknown to me.....or if those filters will ever happen is another question.

Last January I had some real "go arounds" with Harry....trying to insist that ebay remove the ludicrous IS choices (some are 40 or more) and actually insert REALLY applicable IS.....you might remember my loaf pan crusade and I also wanted "casserole" inserted as a choice of object type in the Corning category.....in amongst the vase/ashtray/toby jug choices (that Corning never made). I tried going thru the recommended procedure, contacting the team.....After numerous emails about "casserole" (showing that there were over 10,000 listed), I was told they would take it under advisement. Just got an email last wk, that further IS changes had been put off until 2021..... Give them credit for the notification......but that pretty much killed any thought that I could/would "help"....

So basically, I've concluded you MUST fill in the required.....recommended at some point may become required, so do the best you can with those, and only try the 3rd level if there is something to be gained for a keyword or phrase.

onlinecentral · ‎08-14-2020

eBay added the item specifics of Manufacturer Part Number and UPC Code in 2014.
eBay was founded in 1995 and it took nineteen years, a generation.
The MPN is a standard thingee on ALL computer systems I ever used on day jobs.
It was frustrating to not have that number on the eBay Items Awaiting Shipment screen.
It was a waste to time to have to look that up number to send the correct merchandise.
Electrical Switches went from 7 to 25 Item Specifics in 2016.
Many were utterly useless.
Nominal Temperature Minimum
Nominal Temperature Maximum
Maximum Temperature Minimum
Maximum Temperature Maximum
At some point in time they decreased to 18.
The Customer Service Rep or Computer Programmer who decided 25 was the right number apparently didn't consult with the sellers or someone with a degree in electrical engineering.
Time is money and I will not be wasting any by updating existing listings with item specifics.
The issue will eventually take care of itself as I relist sold out items or add new items.

I have encountered a few items in the eBay catalog.
Some IDIOT who didn't know what they were doing added many incorrect item specifics.
I was able to correct all except for the most important one, the CATEGORY, DUH.
I tried to list this in the correct category several times and could not.
I finally gave up and listed in it in the WRONG category.
Making that correction would require phone calls, which I was unwilling to do.

Entering the item specifics of Brand, MPN and UPC contributes to the Race To The Bottom.
That enables eBay to put carousels of competing merchandise into your listings.
Unfair.

onlinecentral · ‎08-14-2020

Suppose a buyer clicks on my listing because of my better photo, title or most importantly ITEM SPECIFIC. It is unfair to have these carousels of competing merchandise displayed on my listing. The other lazy seller who didn't bother to enter the item specifics gets rewarded.

patd3283 · ‎08-14-2020

Or the choices given do not apply but you do not have the choice to type in the correct response.

dwtrading2015 · ‎08-26-2020

It isn't working. I have now had a few items fall into the catagories and sales collapse. Most of the options to fill in are of no relevance and it is very difficult to second guess what a buyer might be thinking when searching. The whole point of open ended search with pictures in the results is that the buyer, who doesn't actual know what the correct description of the item is, can identify from the inital set of results what they are trying to find. Even 'shoes' means many different things to different people. The specifics limit listings which means buyers can no longer be tempted by a colour, shape or product that they didn't intend on in the first place. I am actually finding it difficult to find what should be simple items now. This attempt to catagories everything flies in the face of how an open interface should work. It is failing and quite badely according to many posts from 2016 onwards as far as I can see.

fern*wood · ‎08-26-2020

This is frustrating as heck. I'm about to give up, because it's never enough (without giving incorrect answers). I'm about ready to just say "Fine, then end it". It's starting to feel like a rat gnawing on my leg.

techvaluesatoz · ‎09-12-2020

I must chime in agreement with those of you who are thinking it, but perhaps not just outright stating it, that ebay is being run by blithering idiots. The last time I looked up "blithering" in a dictionary, it was defined as "uttering nonsense". You have cited several examples of idiotic, nonsensical item specific descriptors that are meaningless in several product categories. My products are mostly used electronics items. Here are my examples of ludicrous ebay-supplied model descriptions.

According to ebay, several models of digital camcorders are compatible with Mississippi 98, Mississippi 2000, Mississippi NT, and Mississippi XP. (According to ebay MS is obviously always an abbreviation for Mississippi, no matter the context.) Also, several of the VHS VCRs I sell are not equipped with HiFi sound, but with HawaiiFi sound. (Get it? Hi always means Hawaii, or at least in the context of VHS sound technology, right?)

How does ebay think they have ANY right to tell its sellers how to describe items, when it is run with such incompetence? It is further disgusting to realize that this is part of the **bleep** that our ebay fees fund to provide us.

Ebay, if you're listening, don't you realize that you paid people to fill your website with such malarkey?