eBay

masterblasterplanet · ‎09-12-2023

9/12/2023

I know this probably won't be all that surprising to veteran eBay sellers but did you know eBay is tacking on promoted listings fees several minutes after a sale shows otherwise in your eBay Seller Hub including the order details?

I always wondered why eBay wouldn't just charge every sale a promoted listing fee? After all how would a seller prove it? Recently almost all of the items I sell on eBay are sold via promoted listings. They've increased the "suggested ad rate" over 15% on some categories and items. Just one year ago 54% of my sales were through promoted listings. Now it's around 98% of all of my sold items. I'm not doing anything different but obviously eBay changed something on their end.

Today I was able to document and prove that eBay is adding promoted listings fees several minutes after they showed me something different in my Seller Hub and order details. I thought I had noticed this situation the other day when I had looked at an item shortly after a sale but then later on when I printed out the shipping label I noticed it said the item was indeed sold via promoted listings. But I couldn't prove it. I just chalked it up making a mistake on my end. So I made a mental note and figured I'd keep a close eye on it. So today I sold an item at 7:14am PST and when I took a look in my seller hub @ 7:21am PST (7 minutes after the sale) I was excited because I noticed it was not sold via promoted listings. Sure enough when I took another look at 8:03am PST (42 minutes later) eBay had tacked on the promoted listing FEE and added another $9.90 in fees which was visible in my order details as well as on the "Awaiting Shipment" page.

So this prompted me to reach out to eBay Concierge aka customer service. I was told by a somewhat rude CS rep that this is how eBay has been doing things for awhile now. She couldn't give me an exact window of time in terms of how long after a sale it takes eBay to add a promoted listings fee to the order details but in my opinion it should be immediate. She gave me several examples of other times when my items had sold and eBay came in several minutes after the sale and tacked on the promoted listings fee. In most cases it was around 2-3 minutes after the sale. But this time was at least 7 minutes after the sale and I had it documented with screenshots.

How about some transparency with your sellers? Just let us know how long we have to wait to see if eBay is going to add an additional fee. I feel like all fees should be shown immediately in the order details. If not give us a timetable in terms of how long after a sale eBay can take to tack on yet another fee. It seems shady to me. I thought other sellers might be interested in this this suspicious practice and if you feel compelled reach out to eBay CS and let them know what you think about it.

iamalwaysright · ‎09-15-2023

@masterblasterplanet wrote:
According to eBay: "eBay Concierge gives members access to dedicated, specialized experts within our customer service organization, with minimal wait times."

Yes, how is that definition the same as general customer service to you? It's a higher tier. They are not at the same level.

blingfling123 · ‎09-15-2023

@masterblasterplanet

I know it is automated, sheesh, perhaps you missed the last line?

It still takes time to retrieve the record and verify if HALO applies blah blah. Automation does not always = instant.

masterblasterplanet · ‎09-15-2023

eBay concierge is still customer service. Yes they're a higher tier. That was already understood.

stainlessenginecovers · ‎09-15-2023

I'm not going to read that long opening post, nor the 18 or so 'responses' so I am just going to 'respond' to the TITLE:

What does that even mean?? If you sold an item 7 minutes after it was listed and you use Promotions, the item could have been shown as a 'sponsored' item and a buyer bought...CORRECT??

kateinthe26th · ‎09-15-2023

Hello,

What I have noticed is on the other end.....when I made a refund the other day the promoted listing fee was refunded back to me a good 15 minutes after I received my selling fees back.

I was getting ready to call customer services as I was curious why I wasnt seeing the promoted listing fee credit on a refunded order ( customer bought, paid, asked to cancel after 4 hours)

So, phone in hand and calling Customer Services I noticed the promoted listing fee refund came through.

bonhar-84 · ‎04-30-2024

You know you can edit the promoted listing...you can end it not unless you are comfortable paying those fees...I wouldn't mind paying to promote my items but when I'm charged over $5. Per promoted item that's too much for my pocket

the-hook-and-the-loop · ‎05-01-2024

eBay has 72 hours(eBay has given themselves 72 hours) because they rewrite their policies daily, to go back and make any and every sale "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS".