Hundreds of inactive listings deleted without warning—written assistance required
Summary: tucker5654 expressed frustration about the disappearance of hundreds of inactive listings from Seller Hub, which contained valuable information integral to their business. Despite their efforts to contact eBay for assistance, they only received automated responses and lack alternative contact methods. tucker5654 did not receive any email warning prior to the deletion, contrary to eBay's standard practices. Other participants explained that inactive listings are only kept for 90 days and suggested using inventory preferences to retain listings longer, advice which tucker5654 appreciated but was unaware of before. Unfortunately, once deleted after the 90-day period, the listings cannot be recovered.
Hundreds of my inactive/ended listings have disappeared from Seller Hub. These listings represented months of work and contained extensive original descriptions, condition reports, measurements and photographs that exist nowhere else. I have been a Top Rated Seller on eBay for over 10 years and have invested considerable time and care in maintaining high standards on the platform. These missing listings form the core of my business.
A professional selling platform should not treat inactive listings as disposable. At minimum, eBay should provide a conspicuous advance warning and an opportunity to export listing data before permanently deleting it. eBay's automated chat confirms that: "If your listings were removed, you should have received an email detailing the reason and a message in Messages in My eBay." I have reviewed all my communications from eBay and I received nothing. Had I received a warning, I would have preserved, exported or temporarily reactivated them.
I am now asking for an eBay staff moderator to arrange for the Seller Hub Listings technical team to contact me in writing to determine if the listing records can be restored or supplied in a downloadable form. I would also like eBay to confirm:
When my listings were deleted;
How many were deleted;
If eBay generated any advance warning for my account and, if so, the date and method of delivery; and
If any backup, archive or internal recovery procedure exists.
I attempted to report this through eBay’s customer-service system. I explicitly informed the automated assistant three times that I could not hear adequately on a telephone call and needed either live written chat or email support. Each time, it offered only a telephone callback. I have screenshots of the entire exchange. With Facebook support discontinued and apparently no functioning email option, I have been unable to reach a human agent in writing.
This is not a request for instructions on manually recreating the listings. I am requesting recovery or export of the original listing data. If that is impossible, please record this as a formal complaint, provide a case number and explain why hundreds of completed listings were permanently deleted without advance or subsequent notification.
Please have an eBay representative contact me through a secure written channel. Thanks.
klhmdg
·2 weeks agoInactive listings are only kept for 90 days.
Once eBay deletes listings for being inactive 90 days or longer there is no way to recover them.
There is no one here to file a formal complaint.
There will be no notification since the timeline is in the policy on listings / inactive listings.
kensgiftshop
·2 weeks agoHow long ago were they ended.
They only keep them for 90 days before they are deleted.
tucker5654
OP2 weeks agoUnsure. I suspended my store while I was moving. I had started relisting piece by piece as I unpacked my inventory. Then today they were gone.
mam98031
·2 weeks agoIt is likely that more than 90 days have passed since you closed those listings. Ebay has had this rule for MANY years. With Billions and Billions and Billions of listings on this site, it just takes up too much storage space.
The ONLY way around this is in your Site Preferences. Set your inventory to have the OOS [out of stock]. Then when your qty goes to zero on a listing, it closes and it will be retained for up to 6 months so that you have the chance to restock the item without losing the listing. However you need to make sure you understand that each of those listings will renew [even when they are a zero qty] every 30 days and will pull from your allotment of free listings or if you go over that, you get charged a listing fee.
tucker5654
OP2 weeks agoThanks. Wish I had known of that option.
mam98031
·2 weeks agoIt pays to research sometimes. The setting has been there for a very long time. Here is more info on it.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/multiquantity-listings-listings-variations?id=4150