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Severe checkout page bug with message box

When checking out to pay there is a box to write a message. This is a crucial function used between buyers and sellers for personalized products such as engravings. 

 

When I write a message that includes the plus symbol "+" and save the message, it DOES NOT show up.

 

This severely affects customized orders that needs a "+" sign in the message, resulting in headaches for the customer and seller and having to rectify the issue at an additional expense. 

 

Can eBay developers please fix this, ASAP? And identify if this happens with any other special characters?  

 

I've had an issue with orders as a buyer and seller several times in the last month now. I noticed this  started happening around September to now.

See images below:

 

Before:

message-with-plus-sign-before-saving.png


After:

message-missing-plus-sign.png

 

Message 1 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box


@wastingtime101 wrote:

eBay has a longstanding issue with symbols and punctuation marks (like quotation marks).

 

Can you get this escalated devon@ebay kyle@ebay as it's affecting orders, costing sellers and buyers time and money.

 

In the meantime @veteranprinting , even though it's a huge inconvenience, you might want to use eBay messaging to confirm personalization rather than relying on notes sent through the checkout page. 


Hey @wastingtime101! We will get this sent over to the correct team to have them review and thank you for letting us know!  

Devon,
eBay

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Message 3 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

eBay has a longstanding issue with symbols and punctuation marks (like quotation marks).

 

Can you get this escalated devon@ebay kyle@ebay as it's affecting orders, costing sellers and buyers time and money.

 

In the meantime @veteranprinting , even though it's a huge inconvenience, you might want to use eBay messaging to confirm personalization rather than relying on notes sent through the checkout page. 

Message 2 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box


@wastingtime101 wrote:

eBay has a longstanding issue with symbols and punctuation marks (like quotation marks).

 

Can you get this escalated devon@ebay kyle@ebay as it's affecting orders, costing sellers and buyers time and money.

 

In the meantime @veteranprinting , even though it's a huge inconvenience, you might want to use eBay messaging to confirm personalization rather than relying on notes sent through the checkout page. 


Hey @wastingtime101! We will get this sent over to the correct team to have them review and thank you for letting us know!  

Devon,
eBay
Message 3 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box


@wastingtime101 wrote:

In the meantime @veteranprinting , even though it's a huge inconvenience, you might want to use eBay messaging to confirm personalization rather than relying on notes sent through the checkout page. 


You'll want to confirm that, too. For example, I've found that although apostrophes go through just fine in an eBay message to your seller or buyer, typing the Double Quote character (") will show the recipient its HTML entity name instead: "

 

Whenever I need to use a Double Quote character in an eBay message (such as for abbreviating dimensions in inches), I'll type two apostrophes in a row instead (e.g. 24''). It looks the same to the reader anyway.

Message 4 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

Yeah, that's what I was referring to above @a_c_green . eBay has never been able to handle the quotation mark. It always converts to HTML.

 

It also has trouble with apostrophes in countless areas of the site, converting to either the HTML code or simply omitting the apostrophe and leaving a space instead.

 

GF was running a sale in her shop and titled the promo something like Women's Sweaters but once published the system changed it to Women s Sweaters.

 

And take a look at any invoices you send with apostrophes or quotation marks in the comments box - always converts to the HTML. Or in the little about me section of a userid - changes them to HTML there, too.

 

Edit to add some history of this problem:

 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Ebay-hates-apostrophes/m-p/30350709

 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Report-eBay-Technical-Issues/can-t-use-apostrophe-in-Purchase-History-...

 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Monthly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-Oct-3rd-from-1-00-PDT-Gene...

 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Ask-a-Mentor/I-amp-amp-amp-rsquo-ve-What-is-meant-by-this-in-my-sent-t...


devon@ebay 

Message 5 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box


@wastingtime101 wrote:

Yeah, that's what I was referring to above @a_c_green . eBay has never been able to handle the quotation mark. It always converts to HTML.


Punctuation marks are always a headache in text handling because several of them have special functions outside of their language roles. The ampersand, for example, is used to start an entity name (e.g. """), so in some situations, if you actually want to use an ampersand in text, you have to use the entity for an ampersand in order to get the ampersand itself to show up ("&"). It's as if the Department of Motor Vehicles decided to get into the programming business. 😁

 

Not that it matters here, but USPS.com has a total freakout if you're requesting emailed tracking updates and the recipient's name has an apostrophe in it (e.g. John O'Neill). It immediately (before you're even done typing in the Name field) turns the field outline to red and adds a somewhat incorrect red error message as well: 

 

Apostrophe_Error.jpg

You can't proceed until you replace the offending apostrophe with a space instead. Interestingly, their code does accommodate ampersands or @ symbols in that field without complaining, such as for business names, I assume, but an apostrophe sends it into a tizzy. (It doesn't like a Plus sign there, either.)

Message 6 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

Yep, I've hit that on the USPS site before. dtexley3 said on one of those linked threads:

 

Apostrophes (single quotes) cause all sorts of issues in most database back-ends. Every scrap of sql code that accesses that data needs to wrap string data in special wrappers to avoid problems. eBay coders are just taking the easy way out and stripping the input data.


 

Message 7 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box


@wastingtime101 wrote:

Yep, I've hit that on the USPS site before. dtexley3 said on one of those linked threads:

 

Apostrophes (single quotes) cause all sorts of issues in most database back-ends. Every scrap of sql code that accesses that data needs to wrap string data in special wrappers to avoid problems. eBay coders are just taking the easy way out and stripping the input data.



Agreed. What I think they likely did was to use a string (text handling) function that automatically screens the user's input for certain disallowed characters (similar to a number-only function for a ZIP Code field that would accept only digits, no letters). In this case they may be using a function that only accepts letters and numbers, rather than a function that will accept any printable character.

 

In their defense (and I am not being a cheerleader here), any public-facing form (like that text field for taking messages to be engraved) can be a major security risk if it allows the user to key in special characters forming executable computer code, and the website accepts it without proper screening. I can see why those special characters would be routinely removed. In a situation like this where special characters might be needed as part of a personalization or engraved dedication, some kind of workaround would be required.

Message 8 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

Thank you for pinging a member of the eBay team to address the issue.

 

And thanks for the suggestion. I certainly have been sending a follow up message to orders with engraving, but sometimes the seller may have already processed the engraving before viewing the message, so there's that.

 

I really hope this gets addressed and fixed soon. 

Message 9 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

Message the seller before placing the order?

Message 10 of 11
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Severe checkout page bug with message box

That's interesting that you pointed that out about USPS. (Also, thanks for your input on ebay's messaging issue).

 

I also have an issue with USPS' website specifically when submitting their change of address form.

My wife has three words in her first name, and USPS will not allow more than one word in the first name field.

 

Now anytime she receives mail sent from USPS, it's addressed to 1/3 of her first name + last name. 

And anyone USPS sells her data to we would know because they would address it the same way. 😂

 

Example:

Screenshot 2023-10-27 230034.png

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