eBay

bigskysell · ‎10-04-2023

I had a customer contact me who wants to purchase from me, but EIS is not providing an option to the United Kingdom. And they are a previous customer of mine. Who previously purchased product through the same listing. Using EIS.

The business policy used by the listing was modified in the past to define shipping to only the US and Canada. Other countries, those not specified, were supposed to be shipped via EIS, but while most display, none of them now work (it says to contact me). And in the case of United Kingdom it doesn't show at all.

In an attempt to get EIS working, I changed the business policy so that it says I only ship to the US, no international, so EIS would kick in. It may have. I'm not sure. However, the United Kingdom is still completely missing.

And, also, the link that Ebay sometimes shows to the customer to "Contact the seller" for shipping costs does not work either. It goes to an error page. "Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later."

In any case, this is what my listing currently shows for shipping information:

Ships to:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Excludes:

Barbados, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Libya, Martinique, New Caledonia, Reunion, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Venezuela

Notice that the United Kingdom is completely missing. Not sure what I'm supposed to do here.

steady2304 · ‎10-21-2023

elizabeth@ebay wrote:
@clough42 wrote:
Can you provide a pointer to documentation explaining the rules and how to comply with them?

Right now, I have buyers contacting me daily about why I don't ship my products to the UK, and I have no answers. In my case, I am also the manufacturer, and if there's something I need to do, I'm happy to do so, but I have no idea what that is.
Hi @clough42. The shipping team has provided further clarification:

"We are only blocking for eBay managed programs. Sellers who are self exporting it is still allowed"

I hope this helps.

eBay really needs to get EIS shipping figured out. It is bad enough that the UK is being blocked in the Toys and Hobbies> Diecast toy vehicles> Car, trucks & vans> Contemporary or Vintage manufacture category but now so is New Zealand. What the heck is going on with this **bleep** How are sellers supposed to keep up with all these changes. I have some items that show N.Z. and others that don't and they are all listed in the exact same category using EIS shipping. Nothing like Beta testing a product on live listings. Your shipping programmers should be canned for incompetence. This site just keeps going downhill....

mokelbe · ‎10-23-2023

Well if the UK blocking issue isn't bad enough with EIS, the processing time at the Glendale Illinois Consolidation Center is also a real problem. I've had a package sitting there for 12 days now and counting. Had I just sent it using USPS it would be to my buyer by now. This isn't the kind of customer service I want my buyers to see experience, so I'm opting out of EIS completely. The benefits sounded good, but if they can't speed up the processing time at the Consolidation Centers it just isn't worth it to me.

quicksilverdiecast · ‎10-24-2023

I have the same issue on over 3500 listings and buyers wanting to buy.....at least when we had paypal we could salvage the sales ebay screws up

stephenmorgan · ‎10-25-2023

Not that his resolves anything with the EIS, but the items I sent to the UK on the 16th using eBay International Delivery were delivered today and that is very quick at eight days. Of course not being allowed to use the EIS I did not get the 1.65% International Fee waivered and that sucks.

I sent two 1980's toys pre CE markings so I guess I am free to send these with out worry about the new regulations?

mokelbe · ‎10-26-2023

And you were lucky your package got sent to the CA distribution center and not to Glendale. My package has been stuck in the Glendale center for 2 weeks now. Inexcusable service. Not sure about how the UK regulations will start kicking in through other shipping services. It may end up being the luck of the draw when items are evaluated in customs based on the item description on the package. But clearly pre CE items and used items should not be subject to the restrictions anyway.

tunny-33 · ‎10-28-2023

Hi Elizabeth, I am new to the community forum. However I have this same issue. I have actually posted this issue earlier today under the technical issue forum page.

I am a regular purchaser from the US of mainly toy trains and associated items. Three purchases have not allowed me to send payment this week and I have been on the customer service chat for the past couple of days.

The item was shown with a price for eBay international shipping, yet once I go to pay I have a red error message asking me to change my address as there is a problem shipping to my location. I sometimes get a request message to ask seller for shipping costs. However this just gives them an option to send via UPS or USPS (which is a lot more expensive than the EIS shipping price). The issue is stressing me out as I always pay and have never had the issue before when most were through the GSP. I have had two purchases cancelled as the sellers have tried everything their end and I am now awaiting a fix so that the current item in my basket can be paid for. Please help.

wastingtime101 · ‎10-28-2023

@tunny-33 wrote:
Hi Elizabeth, I am new to the community forum. However I have this same issue. I have actually posted this issue earlier today under the technical issue forum page.
I am a regular purchaser from the US of mainly toy trains and associated items. Three purchases have not allowed me to send payment this week and I have been on the customer service chat for the past couple of days.
The item was shown with a price for eBay international shipping, yet once I go to pay I have a red error message asking me to change my address as there is a problem shipping to my location. I sometimes get a request message to ask seller for shipping costs. However this just gives them an option to send via UPS or USPS (which is a lot more expensive than the EIS shipping price). The issue is stressing me out as I always pay and have never had the issue before when most were through the GSP. I have had two purchases cancelled as the sellers have tried everything their end and I am now awaiting a fix so that the current item in my basket can be paid for. Please help.

Hey elizabeth@ebay . You said above:

Its not a "exclusion" but rather a visibility and checkout block. Exclusions are specific to what was specified on the sellers listing as an exclusion.

I assumed visibility block to mean UK buyers would not see these listings in search. Please review above quoted post from a buyer that's doesn't have a visibility block but instead has a checkout block that's leading to a really bad buying experience.

GLORIOUS!

tunny-33 · ‎10-29-2023

Thank you for your reply/comment. I am still awaiting a fix from customer service or the tech team. However after more reading on the forum I am discovering that this may be a wider issue. I am purchasing vintage toy trains. Not sure if this is relevant or helpful to Elizabeth. Something I have done for many years via GSP with no issue shipping from the US to the UK. I have spoken again to eBay customer service (4th day running) and still no fix to the problem.

I have lost two purchases this week that have had to time out as unpaid. For this I sincerely apologise to the sellers in the US. I tried my best. I am hoping that a fix arrives soon so I can pay for the last remaining item in my basket. Many Thanks.

steady2304 · ‎10-30-2023

elizabeth@ebay

Is there any way you can get a list of what categories are blocked into the UK in the Toy & Hobbies category or is it the whole category that is prohibited.

Now we have buyers complaining about not being able to purchase items due to this nonsense.

eBay need to explain exactly what the problem is so buyers and sellers can adjust.

How are sellers of items in the Toys & Hobbies category supposed to know if their listing need the CE or UKCA marking especially items made before these marking even came into existence.

A lot of these older toys don't even have UPC codes much less CE or UKCA markings.

eBay really needs to step up and answer these questions rather than the standard we will check with the appropriate team.

It seems the appropriate team never replies or if they do it is just a generic statement with no facts to it.

Buyers and sellers need concrete answers not lip service.

tunny-33 · ‎10-30-2023

I agree this would be most helpful. I am having to relay information found in this thread to the seller in the US to make them aware of the possible reason for being unable to send payment.

This is also out of courtesy as I do not want any of us to be penalized for none payment of purchases. eBay customer service have been friendly in all my chats. However no fix has been offered and the promised tech team resolution or call back has not happened yet. Please can we have help. Being new to the forum I am totally confused by this whole situation and how to resolve it.

wastingtime101 · ‎10-30-2023

Hey @tunny-33 . Send your seller a link to this discussion thread.

The only way you'll be able to pay is if the seller sends you an invoice with a direct shipping method, like USPS First Class Package International.

If the seller does not want to ship direct then they can cancel the order.

If you get non-payment strikes you can appeal them with customer service since the seller is not specifying shipping for you to pay. https://www.ebay.com/help/contact_us?id=4002&st=10

GLORIOUS!

tunny-33 · ‎10-30-2023

Thank you,

I will see what the seller wishes to do. I know that the purchase that expired a couple of days ago. That seller would only sell via the eBay international shipping service due to the buyer / seller assurances and no loss protections.

Plus being vintage heavy model toy trains the EIS quoted shipping price was attractively low for shipping to the UK.

elizabeth@ebay · ‎10-31-2023

Hi all,

We're working with the shipping team to get more clarity, and will post once we know more.

Thank you.

Elizabeth,

steady2304 · ‎11-02-2023

elizabeth@ebay wrote:
Hi all,

We're working with the shipping team to get more clarity, and will post once we know more.

Thank you.

It has been almost a month since this was reported and more and more buyers and sellers are reporting that buyers can't pay if they are from the UK and the seller is using EIS shipping.

Somewhere along the line someone at eBay messed this up big time. We don't need were working to clarify the problem we need the problem rectified ASAP.

It seems every day something else doesn't work as it should. The last few days it was feedback. What will it be tomorrow.

eBay needs to put out a statement so buyers and sellers know exactly what is going on with UK shipping via EIS.

bennotbill · ‎11-02-2023

A UK rep was asked by a buyer why it seems they can no longer buy the things they used to from America. Their question was........

"Is eBay aware (I assume so) of the issue for buyers in the UK where US-based sellers who ship to the UK (often using eBay International Shipping) are now widely affected by a glitch that prevents any shipping to the UK? I first saw it about 2 months ago, on occasional new listings that corrected themselves shortly after going live, but now it permanently affects nearly all new listings, plus any that were previously OK once they renew for a further term or have any editing applied to them.

It seems to be category-specific – the categories Dolls & Bears and Toys & Hobbies are seriously affected, but maybe other areas are too.

When it happens, all shipping to UK prices disappear and on contacting the sellers, they cannot correct it as the UK now doesn’t appear in their list of countries to ship to, but also isn’t in the excluded countries (or anywhere else) either. Many aren’t even aware of the issue until then, as they hadn’t caused it (even experienced power sellers). When sellers are unaware, UK buyers can’t bid, buy or make offers. A couple of sellers said they’ve been told by eBay to add UK buyers to an exemption list – this seems to work, but on the first try for one I’ve bought from, it removed eBay International Shipping, which wasn’t ideal for either of us.

Is there any news on fixing this?"

The reps answers were.......not any help at all.

"What is the issue you are referring to exactly? As in the seller in the US is unable to ship to the UK using GSP? If so, could you please confirm an item number, so we can review that for you?

Thanks for flagging that with us, we are happy to send this for review, so if you confirm an item number, we will look into it.

I will send that for review now, and I will post back here with an update once I get one.

The reason why you might not be able to see this item or to purchase is because there is no shipping method to the UK, as in the UK is not listed as one of the countries they ship to."