Truncated mobile descriptions may lead to SNAD cases

[njrtsr]

So what happens if a buyer claims SNAD and opens a case because a flaw or condition noted in the full listing was left out on the buyer's mobile device?  Seller still goes to jail and doesn't collect 200 dollars?

[njrtsr]

Any response from the ebay team?

[sundayvisit]

My question exactly.

I bet eBay management didn't think about that. Doh.

[brian_burke@ebay]

---

@njrtsr wrote:

So what happens if a buyer claims SNAD and opens a case because a flaw or condition noted in the full listing was left out on the buyer's mobile device?  Seller still goes to jail and doesn't collect 200 dollars?

---

Remember, the item description is still available for the buyer to view - just like today.

With these changes we are actually providing buyers with more information when they are reviewing the item on a mobile device. When we provide buyers this information, conversion rates increase. Buyer still have the ability to view the entire description a click away. It's not possible to place the entire description on a mobile device, except with the parameters we set - 800 characters. These changes give you more control over the buyer experience.

Thanks for selling on eBay.

Brian

[njrtsr]

Ok, so sellers will be penalized for buyer mistakes caused by ebay's computer program.

Unless I spend at least a month redoing 7000 listings to make sure vital info is in all the descriptions.

Thanks for clarifying that.

[fern*wood]

What could possibly go wrong?  Ebay mobile already doesn't display shipping costs to buyers and sellers have to cover for this fiasco.

[shipscript]

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@njrtsr wrote:
Ok, so sellers will be penalized for buyer mistakes caused by ebay's computer program.
Unless I spend at least a month redoing 7000 listings to make sure vital info is in all the descriptions.

---

@njrtsr   I looked at a few of your listings and there is very little item description, so I assume you are speaking on behalf of other sellers;  and as a SixBit user, you have more tools available than most users. As a problem solver and tool creator, I am curious what vital information you feel must be modified. If the need is large, we can start addressing it now.  

[wirthwein-guns]

I always thought there should just be a button that says "TO SEE FULL DESCRIPTION AND PURCHASE CLICK HERE"

The buyer SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BUY unless they click the full description.

Pretty much like checking the box on user agreements,,,

OR just have the check box stating "Buyer acknowledges the FULL description"

Once the box is checked the item can be purchased and in the case of SNAD ebay just reviews full description and UPHOLDS it,,,

HA HA HA  YEAH and UNICORNS ARE DANCING IN MY DRIVEWAY!!!!

IMAGINE ebay supporting a seller HA HA HA!!! Unicorns,,,

[freightfinders]

The info that needs to be modified is NO SNIPPET DESCRIPTIONS.  OR, the  buyer cannot claim SNAD if he didn't ckick READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION.   There is no point in us writing these "down to the last detail" descriptions if they are going to put in a snippet, example:   

THIS ITEM IS USED MANAGE BRANDS ARE ALLEN BRADLEY   

(WTH does that mean exactly???) This is random words taken out of context in bits of the description, NOT THE FIRST 250 CHARACTERS AS WE WERE TOLD..  .    EBAY!!!

I personally do not have this problem, MY personal problem is finding a tool to locate all the hidden descriptions so that I can waste my time revising them to stop this NONSENSE.  Of course, since ALL I EVER DO NOW is fool with the revisions and ebay stuff, I guess no new items will go up, but I am guessing that's what ebay wants. I guess?

I do not want ANY of my listings truncated this way. IF I revise it and it goes truncated again, I WILL END THE LISTING IMMEDIATELY.

ALSO I don't want a laptop or PC buyer being shown a mobile description - that is RETARDED.

If I see them that way, then so does a regular buyer using a PC. 

And if they INSIST on using snippets, use the first 250 characters, okay??

SINCE THAT'S WHAT THEY TOLD US.

What is needed is a tool to find and remove the screwed up listings. 

[shipscript]

@freightfinders

eBay indicated they would pick up the full item description if under 800 characters if posted as plain text, and would pick out what it deemed to be "important" phrases if the listing was longer or complex.  For complex HTML, and for sellers who are particular about the summary text, eBay introduced and provided Mobile Summary tags two years ago to wrap that part of the description that sellers wanted displayed as the summary (the feature went live a little over a year ago).

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/itemdescription/customizeyoursummary.html

I took this listing at random:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/332392090565

This is a very complex description (perhaps you would like me to evaluate a different one).  This listing is much longer than 800 characters (about 22,000 characters) and is loaded with HTML. Here is just a small sampling of what eBay must wade through to find relevant text:

<div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="5" style="color: rgb(32, 32, 32);">**IMPORTANT** We are unable to test any of our electrical equipment within our warehouse. </font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br>
<font size="6" style="color: rgb(32, 32, 32); font-weight: bold;"><font size="7"><span style="color: rgb(0, 49, 98); "><font><font color="#00ae5f" face="Arial" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(0, 2, 88);"><font size="4">**Items include ONLY what you see in the photo, if you need an accessory that is not pictured--ASK!!!!!</font></font></font></font></span></font></font></div>
<font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;">  </span></font></span></span></font>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; text-align: center; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;">
<p><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253);"><font size="2"><b><u><font color="#ff0000" size="6">PAYMENT INFO:</font></u></b></font></span></font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
</div>
<p align="center"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font color="#ff0010" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253);"><font size="2"><b><font color="#ff0000"><font size="4">USA BUYERS:</font></font></b></font></span></font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<p align="center" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font size="2">Any form of Paypal. with other forms of payment, please ask us!</font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<p align="center" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font> </font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font size="2" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0000" size="4"><b>  INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:</b></font></font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; text-align: center; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font size="2">Paypal is preferred, though we also accept I M O s in US $ from a US bank.</font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; text-align: center; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010" style="color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font color="#ff0010"><span style="color: rgb(0, 44, 253); font-weight: bold;"><font><font size="2">E-mail any questions.</font></font></span></font></span></span></font></p>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; text-align: center; color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-weight: bold;">
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The mobile summary is not just for mobile devices or for the new "click to see full description" associated with browser security. The mobile summary is also delivered to other shopping venues like facebook and google.

Here is a snapshot of some code eBay places at the top of your listing page. This is where I can easily find your mobile summary without having to deal with other devices. The first one (og:description) is destined for Facebook, the middle is probably Google and other crawlers, and the last one, is obviously for Twitter.

<meta Property="og:description" Content="SEE PHOTOS. (CAR2-K9-1). Allen Bradley, Cutler Hammer, Square D, Fanuc, Atlas-Copco. We always strive to resolve any issue. If you do not see it listed, ASK US, we can list it for you! We accept no responsibility for the correct application or installation of this item. | eBay!" />

<meta name="description" content="SEE PHOTOS. (CAR2-K9-1). Allen Bradley, Cutler Hammer, Square D, Fanuc, Atlas-Copco. We always strive to resolve any issue. If you do not see it listed, ASK US, we can list it for you! We accept no responsibility for the correct application or installation of this item. | eBay!" />

<meta name="twitter:description" content="SEE PHOTOS. (CAR2-K9-1). Allen Bradley, Cutler Hammer, Square D, Fanuc, Atlas-Copco. We always strive to resolve any issue. If you do not see it listed, ASK US, we can list it for you! We accept no responsibility for the correct application or installation of this item. | eBay!" />

They are all the same text and are probably what would be seen on mobile devices, or when coming to your listing through google shopping, or when eBay adds the one-click-away description button.

Now compare this with a test listing I just posted that uses the eBay mobile summary tags:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222687460629

The large middle paragraph is marked as the mobile summary, while the first and last paragraphs are outside of the summary.

This is what eBay has encoded at the top of the listing source code (I'll just show the first tag and not the other two):

<meta Property="og:description" Content="This paragraph contains almost 800 characters of text to be displayed in the mobile item description. And the text in this paragraph through this sentence contains 250 characters, which is the amount we will display without any actions on your part. When you tag a paragraph with these HTML breaks, the content will be displayed to shoppers looking at your item. This will allow the shopper to see the key information you want to display, without them having to click through to the complete description. If your complete description is 800 characters or less and uses basic HTML we will display the entire description without any action on your behalf – so the best practice is to keep it within 800 characters. If you have a long description, make it easy for your buyers by using this option. | eBay!" />

Notice that it contains only the marked content (verbatim), while the first and last paragraphs of my description are ignored.  I suspect the above is what mobile users would see.

The difficult task for someone like you, with many thousands of listings and a lot of HTML, will be extracting the text that is important within your own listings. It looks like eBay ignored the text that duplicated the title.  Beyond that, what part of the description is the actual description? All the text ahead of "Payment info"?

Do all your listings use the same format with "Payment info" dividing description from ancillary text? Do you use a bulk listing tool? If so, what sort of editing capabilities does it have?

I would envision your code split at the divide, keep the top, strip all HTML off the top (one glob of text), put wrappers around that text, and prepend it back onto your full description.