VARIATION PHOTOS not matching DESCRIPTION in the Sold Awaiting Shipment SALES RECORD

[gopetersen]

This has happened more than once in the last week. I tried contacting Brian.t but the mail bounced (too many hops).

Very serious problem. Sellers don't know what to ship!!

In the SOLD AWAITING SHIPMENT Sales Record the thumbnail picture DOES NOT MATCH the variation description.

I do not know what the buyer wanted and many buyers do NOT check their email after buying, they simply wait for the product, so it's very difficult to ask them what they bought.

I cannot assume the buyer bought what is in the description because many buyers go by the picture and just ASSUME the description matches the picture they are seeing.

WHAT DO I SHIP? The listing is correct. I checked it twice, the problem is in the generation of the Sales Record info. It is wrong. Three of the four items  purchased by the buyer have the wrong picture. If I ship the wrong item, buyers get VERY upset.

[gopetersen]

Today, the Sold Awaiting Shipment list is still showing the wrong thumbnail for several of the variation-listing sales.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BUYER SAW when they ordered, the description or the picture (often buyers go by the picture and pay very little attention to the name of the variation item).

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SHIP.

I have tried messaging the buyers to see which one they chose, but it never works. After buying they do NOT check their messages. They wait for the item to arrive.

I HAVE TO SHIP THESE. eBay, the Sales Record is being incorrectly generated so there's a MISMATCH between the variation description and the thumbnail. What do I ship if I don't know which one the buyer chose?

[shoptalkid]

 I know what you are talking about, but when the buyer opens the drop-down menu, they know exactly what variation they are choosing, so they can't say "oh I thought I was getting everything in the main picture".  The picture may show all the choices the buyer had to choose from, but you should only send them the item/variation they selected, which will show on the invoice/packing slip.      I also upload individual variation pictures to avoid confusion, but yes, when they contact me regarding an order or a cancellation, it shows only the main listing picture and not the variation they are inquiring about.  

[gopetersen]

Buyers do NOT always use the drop-down menu. Some of them select the item with the thumbnails under the picture. They don't even look at the description that appears in the drop-down when they click on the thumbnail (clicking the thumbnail is different from hovering, since it creates an actual product selection).

Many of my buyers are making purely visual choices.

If the thumbnail and the description in the Sales Record don't match (which is what is happening and which means eBay's software is broken), we don't know whether the buyer purchased via thumbnail or via drop-down menu.

[gopetersen]

It's Day 3 now and I still don't know what to ship my buyers and more "mismatched" orders are coming in.

I've tried messaging the buyers but I knew I wouldn't get any answers. Buyers who buy ready-made items do not check messages, they just wait for the item to arrive.

I still don't know what they bought and eBay is 100% responsible but the fallout will fall on the seller for not shipping right away.

There are enough of these mismatched Sales Records now that I can see what might be a pattern...

If they buy multiples, the first one shows the correct thumbnail, the additional items show thumbnails and descriptions that do NOT match, so I don't know whether the thumbnail shows the right item or if the description shows the right item. I don't know whether the buyer clicked the thumbnail or the drop-down menu to choose the item.

It is BROKEN.

[carlqsportscards]

@Anonymous

A little help?

[brian@ebay]

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@gopetersen wrote:

It's Day 3 now and I still don't know what to ship my buyers and more "mismatched" orders are coming in.

I've tried messaging the buyers but I knew I wouldn't get any answers. Buyers who buy ready-made items do not check messages, they just wait for the item to arrive.

I still don't know what they bought and eBay is 100% responsible but the fallout will fall on the seller for not shipping right away.

There are enough of these mismatched Sales Records now that I can see what might be a pattern...

If they buy multiples, the first one shows the correct thumbnail, the additional items show thumbnails and descriptions that do NOT match, so I don't know whether the thumbnail shows the right item or if the description shows the right item. I don't know whether the buyer clicked the thumbnail or the drop-down menu to choose the item.

It is BROKEN.

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Hi @gopetersen, the variations the buyer selected are are specified in the 'Buyer username/email' column in the Orders section of Seller Hub (see screenshot below). This information is accurate and should be used when determining which variation your buyer selected. I'll be sure to send over the image display issue you've mentioned to the developers for review. Thanks for letting us know!

[gopetersen]

Thank you for letting us know that we are to ignore the thumbnails and to assume the description is correct.

I prefer NOT to assume these things. When software is broken, there's no way for us to know which part of it is broken, but if you say this is an image display issue ONLY in the Sales Record, then we have to assume the description can be trusted.

However, if this is an image display issue that is ALSO affecting what the buyer sees (and the buyer is clicking the thumbnails under the main pic to make their selections, rather than using the drop-down), then we CANNOT assume that the thumbnail and description are matching correctly (even when the listing is set up correctly) and that the buyer even looked at the description.

For now, until it gets fixed, I will ship what is listed in the description (not what it shows in the thumbnail) and hope that it is only the Sales Record that is broken and not also the buyer's view of the listing.

[gopetersen]

brian.t@ebay.com

This is to keep you informed that the image display in the Sold/Sold Awaiting Shipment lists are still incorrect for variation listings. The thumbnails in the Sold lists do not match the item purchased.

Of the most recent five items that were purchased today from the same listing, two of the thumbnails are wrong. Here is a summary of records that are mismatched:

• Sales Record 29222 is displaying the thumb-pic previous to the menu item the buyer purchased.
• Sales Record 29224 is displaying the thumb-pic previous to the menu item the buyer purchased.
• Sales Record 29171 is displaying the thumb-pic previous to the menu item the buyer purchased.
• Sales Record 29170 is displaying the thumb-pic previous to the menu item the buyer purchased.

But it's not a regular pattern, some of the selections have the correct thumbnail, and some are wrong in the other direction:

• Sales Record 29192 is displaying the thumb-pic following the menu item the buyer purchased.
• Sales Record 29169 is displaying the thumb-pic following to the menu item the buyer purchased.

There is no mismatch in the listing itself (at least that I can see, although I don't know what the buyer sees), only in the Sold lists (which makes it easy to make a mistake and ship the wrong variation for items that are similar).

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2.

There may be another problem as well (although it's difficult to know yet, since it's only one instance so far). A buyer complained yesterday that they selected item Blue Gingham (Sales Record 29213), which is 11th on the drop-down menu, but the Sales Record generated an order for Custom, which is 17th on the drop-down menu. It doesn't seem likely that a buyer would accidentally click an item that was that far away on the menu. If it happens again, I'll report it.