eBay

hamster8 · ‎02-12-2018

I have reported this issue countless times, but nothing is ever rectified. I am a triangle seller. That is, I am based in the UK but sell in dollars on the US site - where I have been selling since 1999. I though that the concept of ebay was to sell things - yet the site is actively blocking my sales. This is because of the "request total" button being greyed out. In order to attract customers, I offer promotions almost continually. This encourages my sales, which is the whole idea. Then, when they get to checkout, the request total button is greyed out courtesy of ebay. Then they empty their cart, and are gone. More sales I have lost. I used to get 180 transactions a month and now I am usually between 10-20. ebay just doesn't help by having this nonsensical link between a discounted price and the inaction of the request total button. They are not connected, and this makes no sense at all. Issues like this never existed in the past. I try really hard to get sales, and then obstructs them. I know, because every week I get messages asking me why the button is greyed out, and then I lose the customers. I really don't know what to do. I have asked for this matter to be addressed so many times and yet no-one will ever fix it. Thank you.

rfmtm · ‎02-12-2018

Request Total is not working for others as well, and it is an ongoing problem. Ebay broke it and now can't seem to fix it. No real work around either.

dhbookds · ‎02-12-2018

This is what's happening to all of us. Look at small "ballon" note at top.......Ebay doesn't understand that giving a sales price does not mean a seller isn't also willing to combine shipping.....and reduce that charge also..........

hamster8 · ‎02-13-2018

wrote:

This is what's happening to all of us. Look at small "ballon" note at top.......Ebay doesn't understand that giving a sales price does not mean a seller isn't also willing to combine shipping.....and reduce that charge also..........

You are SO right! It is none of ebay's business as to what discounts are being offered. That is the choice of the seller. Pricing discounts are a completely separate issue from combining shipping. eBay are unfortunately so full of their own importance that they think they can dictate what we eat for breakfast. What I find incredulous, is that when there is an ebay technical fault or issue, no-one will ever fix anything. There isn't even any access to technical staff who write the code. All we encounter is the ebay brick wall. Working with ebay is exasperating. As I always say, the ebay website prospers because of all the users. It prospers despite the management - and not because of them. It is really sad. The ebay site used to be such a good company to work with in the past when it was owned by the original site creators. They cared about their users - unlike today. 😞

dhbookds · ‎02-13-2018

This isn't a technical problem..........it's the way ebay ebay has "decided" to make the process. There have been many complaints about it.....and someone said they are trying to come up with a solution....how accurate that is or whether something will be changed, they haven't said.

hamster8 · ‎02-13-2018

wrote:
This isn't a technical problem..........it's the way ebay ebay has "decided" to make the process. There have been many complaints about it.....and someone said they are trying to come up with a solution....how accurate that is or whether something will be changed, they haven't said.

Yes you are of course absolutely right. They don't have to be particularly smart to work out a solution. Just remove the block. It is ridiculous that it is there in the first place. There needs to be an ebay "regulator" because the behaviour of this company is just out of control. The users make the site. Yet the company just bulldozes over us all. Our opinions or pleas for help are completely ignored. This is total irony, because as sellers WE always behave properly to our customers, yet the company needs to take a leaf out of our book and do the same to us.

hamster8 · ‎02-14-2018

Have been trying to rack my brains as to what is in it for ebay to have created this crazy scenario in the first place. There are two possibilities that come to mind. Firstly, if buyers are blocked from requesting a combined shipping total - then they are forced to pay first - assuming they are even prepared to do this at all. This results in huge shipping overpayment, which I refund back to them once I know the real cost. However, ebay is then able to profit from this, by retaining the fees associated with the overpayment. Secondly, I wonder if this is all part of a ploy to force sellers to offer free shipping. We all know that buyers love free shipping - me included. However, nothing is really free, and the price of this has to be incorporated into the price of the goods. For me, as a seller outside of the USA, this would really hike up all my prices - rather than giving anyone good value. Considering that ebay won't even communicate about the issue, I might have to give this a try - as I have run out of options or workarounds. Perhaps customers might perceive this as good value - even though it isn't. The problem I have, is that morally, I don't like to be forced into overcharging anyone. It would be so much simpler if they fixed that wretched button.