Since around mid month (Jan 2025) there is breakage happening with mobile descriptions across newly published US and UK listings, or any listings revised or edited since then, including just a price change. This looks to me to effect all sellers who want to show a description on mobile (app or web). Repro notes at the bottom to check your own listings.
Specifically I am referring to the mobile description as properly tagged
<div vocab="https://schema.org/" typeof="Product"><span property="description">
DESCRIPTION TEXT
</span></div>
1. In the mobile app, most mobile descriptions are not being displayed at all. Not just our listings but on everyone's. Called in to support and had them check their mobile and web as well to match. Only the "See Full Description" link is visible. Not the published text snippet.
2. On mobile view web browser, some text is visible but not the tagged descriptions. Instead eBay is using the older parser that scans the entire html description and picks out random text that is often incorrect. Again this is on everyone's listings not just ours. The text being displayed on mobile web view is parsed random text not what is tagged as the mobile description.
e.g. if the seller has text describing store policies or other information in the main description, this can inappropriately be mashed into the mobile description and can read as complete chaos. That instantly ruins a buyer's confidence in the seller. It makes it look like the seller can't write their own description without confusing broken text.
3. Older listings from months ago, I can find a few selective ones that are still displaying the correct both App and mobile web tagged description. But most listings I search are borked. It is likely working ones were parsed prior to a recent update, and haven't been edited or updated.
4. Since the problem has been occurring (around Jan 14th), the style="display:none" is being stripped out of the <div style="display:none" vocab="https://schema.org/"... at listing creation making the mobile description visible on desktop view. I have tested all variations of adding it in, or removing it, or moving the entire div in the description but it does not fix #1-3. This might point to why the parser is ignoring the whole thing. Seeing those become visible was our first sign of a problem.
Due to the above errors being visible on both mobile app, mobile web view , desktop web view, and verified by support on these platforms as well, this is not a browser or app issue. There is a problem with the parser that runs on the listing after it is created or edited.
It is no longer correctly finding:
<div style="display:none" vocab="https://schema.org/" typeof="Product"><span property="description">
or
<div vocab="https://schema.org/" typeof="Product"><span property="description">
if you prefer.
I did find one lonely guy in the UK who also noticed.
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Technical-Issues/Item-Descriptions-Broken-When-Format-Options-Are-Us...
To repro the problem: look at any recently published listing, or listing revised or otherwise touched by a change (price/qty) since 1/14/24.
On the mobile app you will see no mobile description where it says "Item Description From Seller" You will only see the "see full description" link there.
On mobile web view where it says "Item Description From Seller" you will see a body of text there but it is not what is contained within the tag. It is being programmatically selected by eBay's parser/scraper. It will likely contain errors. If for example the seller has policies or any other text in their normal full description.
Mobile descriptions are vital. Currently there is no way for the seller to self define what is in the mobile description as the tag is broken. It is therefor empty on the app costing us sales, or worse can contain factual errors in the web view.
