Improving the User Experience: Recovering Deleted Listings
Summary: grannyspalapa initiated a discussion about accidental deletions of listings on a selling platform, noting how the interface could lead to mistakes. onlinecentral shared their approach of keeping a Notepad file and CSV downloads to avoid this issue, while gone.c-33 mentioned maintaining an archive of photos and descriptions. toomuchstuffagain35 reminisced about a past recovery function that used to exist. Some participants suggested strategies like using third-party software or being more careful, while others commented on the involvement of AI in discussions. The need for improved user interface and potential platform feedback was also discussed by christworks. Overall, the conversation highlighted personal strategies and the need for better platform features to prevent accidental deletions.
Have you ever accidentally deleted an item while trying to list it for sale? The current interface can sometimes make it easy to make mistakes, like hitting the wrong button or permanently deleting an item even with a warning window. I’m curious to hear about your experiences with this issue. How have accidental deletions impacted your selling process? What strategies, if any, have you adopted to avoid such mistakes? Moreover, what improvements would you suggest for the interface to make recovering deleted listings possible? Let's share our thoughts and ideas to help create a more user-friendly experience!
inhawaii
·1 month agoMy thoughts.
The more lengthy and elaborate the lost data is, the more careful you will be the next time.
christworks
·1 month ago@grannyspalapa Have I ever accidently deleted a listing? Absolutely. Sometimes eBay even does it for me!
What have I adopted to avoid such mistakes? I pay for 3rd party software that has many UI features that eBay does not have. One of them is that if a listing is deleted by me on the eBay UI, it goes into a trash bin on my 3rd party software for 30-days before it is automatically deleted. If I delete something by mistake, I simply go to the trash bin and remove it. It will go back into whatever directory I deleted it from, which will normally be inactive or drafts.
There is other 3rd party software that automatically backs up your listings in the event you delete your whole store, for example.
What improvements would I suggest? Well, every eBay page as a question mark in the bottom right corner. I have submitted a few UI improvement ideas over the past couple of years. The only one that has been impleted really isn't a UI improvement, but it is a good feature that recently rolled out: Bundled discounts. Something that is automatic and can be stacked with coupons. That feature is on every other platform I sell on, and eBay should have had it years ago.
My question to you is have you ever submitted improvements to eBay?
The fact is when it comes to UI, eBay is seemingly perfectly happy to allow 3rd party developers to come up with those type of tools. eBay provides the basics, and if sellers want features to help make their workflow more efficient they can pay for that through a 3rd party. Given how some UI improvements eBay has done have turned into a complete cluster, I am perfectly okay with that.
janet9988
·1 month agoI do not click any button before triple checking all information.
adamcartwright
·1 month agoIt sure is interesting to see the AI-generated summary of the AI-generated post.
christworks
·1 month agoSeriously!
But for people having stuff listed, I would think half the users here are AI bots.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoIf that happens, I would just make a new listing and be more careful next time.
mam98031
·1 month agoUsually when you actually "Delete" something, there is a message on screen that asks you to CONFIRM that you actually wanted to delete whatever it is. Are you saying those messages don't appear for you.
You can simply CLOSE a listing by revising it to a ZERO quantity and the listing will just close. These listings will stay available for you to revise and relist for 90 days. Unless you have the OOS [out of stock] inventory selected in your Site preferences for your inventory. Then the listing with a zero qty will be accessible for about 6 months. But make sure you understand the setting before using it.
toomuchstuffagain35
·1 month agoEons ago now, we actually had a function to recover accidentally deleted listings, but, like a lot of things useful to sellers, ebay decided to take it away.
onlinecentral
·1 month ago · EditedHow have accidental deletions impacted your selling process?
It has not affected me. I don't do the End, Sell Similar or the End, Relist process. In my biased opinion, there is no evidence doing that increases sales. That process is a hoax, old wives' tale or urban legend. Plus, you risk getting the listings permanently removed from your Seller Hub screens.
What strategies, if any, have you adopted to avoid such mistakes?
I add entries to a Notepad file as I create listings.
You can download a CSV file of your Active Listings.
Either method enables you to Relist or Sell Similar one at a time since you have the 12 digit numbers.
Download Listing Report
Go to your Seller Hub Page
Under the More tab, click on "Reports".
On the next page click on "Downloads".
There will then be a drop-down menu labeled "Source".
Click that then click "Listings" and follow the prompts.
That will give you a complete list of everything you have listed.
Editted to add.
You forfeit external search engine impressions when you relist or sell similar.
gone.c-33
·1 month agoSame. I keep folders with all my photos and written descriptions.
Never deleted a listing by mistake but I like having an archive of all my listings.