Community Chat, April 1 @ 1:00 pm PT - General Topics

[tyler@ebay]

Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on April 1st for our Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a specific topic this week, so please bring any general questions you may have about buying or selling.

The chat will be open for questions from 1-2 pm PT, at which point we'll close thread from additional responses. After this time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.

If you're new to the chat, welcome! Simply Reply to this post with your question from 1-2 PM Pacific Time and we'll be happy to look into it for you.

[tyler@ebay]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

When doing a search for my own listing here

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=recycled+can+ornaments&_sacat=0&rt=nc&_oaa=1&_dcat=16... 

The left hand navigation for Height seems to be way off.  None of my items are over 5 inches in height.  Would you please check this out for me.  Maybe I am doing something wrong when I am entering into the item specifics for height.

Thank You

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Hi @mcdougle4248 - yeah, that definitely seems unusual, particularly since (as far as I can tell) your item specifics are set properly. I will report it through my end, but would you please also send an example or two of what you're experiencing to sdsupport@ebay.com? That way they can review for any potential enhancements to be made to the category/item specific options. Thanks!

[vintagemodernglam]

Do they not have phones at home,....like most telecommute companies?

[vintagemodernglam]

That is NOT what it said. Look at my screen shot.

[cynthealee2]

Ty coffee...

Looks like I'll have to leave eBay once I get the 'invite'  sucks too... I LIKE ebay dang it.  But .25 on a card that the buyer pay .20 for (5/1.00 cards) and or .25 on a card the buyer pays .33 for (3/.99) is a bit steep.

Well I can only hope I'll be in the LAST batch to be invited... the concept itself doesn't bother me... money comes in and ends up in my hands either way.

[mam98031]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

It appears to me that Ebay has changed the process on refunding buyers when sales tax is part of the transaction.  I’m not sure when it changed.

It was that if I refunded a buyer in full, the sales tax was auto added to the refund that the buyer receives and Ebay of course took care of that sales tax portion.  It was also true that if I did a partial refund that the appropriate portion of the sales tax was auto added to the refund and Ebay again covered that portion.

But now it seems to have changed for partial refunds.  If we want to partially refund our buyer how are we going to get this to work right.  For example in the pic below.  I want to refund my buyer $45 out of the money they paid me for the product.  But if I put that in, as you can see, their total refund is $45 with the sales tax being part of the $45. It should be a refund of $45 PLUS sales tax.  In other words the buyer should be seeing a refund of $48.42 [45.00 + 3.42].

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Hi @mam98031, it looks like you are doing a partial refund through PayPal (correct me if I'm wrong). This is the correct way partial refunds work through PayPay, which is that the seller will need to calculate the tax and include the appropriate amount of tax in the 'Total Refund Amount' field.

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That's not how it works ... the TOTAL refund field is what Sellers type in ... if you change THAT amount the other two amounts will change ... plus it states eBay is refunding the tax NOT the Seller.  For myself the question  would be, If I type in $ 45.00 per @mam98031 's example WHAT will the Buyer see on their PayPal transaction?  The $ 41.58 from the Seller and then eBay sens ones for the $ 3.42?

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I just think you misread my post.  I'm aware that the $45 [in this case] is the amount I put into the refund.  And that was the amount I wanted to refund the buyer from what they paid me for the product.  But the PP screen is lowering my refund amount by the amount of tax will go back to the buyer to be a refund by me of 41.58.  

We've been on plenty of threads together.  I'm well aware that Ebay is refunding the taxes and not the seller.  My issue was that the refund should be $45 PLUS tax.  Not a flat $45.

[vrykalak]

Since someone mentioned drafts, I would like to bring up a question I asked a while back.
eBay saves drafts every few minutes, which means not only that drafts are kept of most of my listings, but several drafts may be kept of the same listing.
I request either (or both):
- only the latest draft be kept of a single listing
- when the item goes live, its draft(s) go away
Thanks.

[bookollections]

Greetings Tyler!

Yesterday, several sellers received "two" 200 free listings offers with the same offer # at the bottom of the offers, starting at 2 different times (3:15pm PDT & 5:41pm PDT.  Are these offers legitimate or glitches?  If sellers have activated & used these offers, will sellers be eventually charged for these "glitch" offers?

Thanks so much & be well...

[coffeebean832]

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@europeanantiques wrote:

Specifically what are the fees associated with cross boarder trades (international sales) for both sellers as well as buyers. We have read every single page that eBay has made available on its site regarding Managed Payments, but no where does it detail what the fees are for currency conversions and how eBay will be calculating those rates.

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You and me both- but eBay has not finalized that information yet. In December they sent those of us in the program this update on CBT:

"And in 2020, we are excited to add:

•  Expanded international reach:  

  •  You can expose your listings to buyers shopping on other eBay sites around the world - with managed payments support for cross border transactions (CBT). 

  • Plus, enjoy a new integration with the Global Shipping Program (GSP) so you can easily ship to international buyers."

[cynthealee2]

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

RE Managed payments:

Are there plans in place for a 2 tiered system on fees like with paypal?

For example PayPal has regular payments = 2.9% +.30 and Micro Payments of 5% +.05

Or are they going to stick with w/e it is now (still haven't figured out if it's .25 per item or per total order).

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Hi @cynthealee2, no new fee structures have been announced. If you have been invited to join or are currently in managed payments then you can contact customer service for more information. You'll also find the current information about managed payments here.

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Thank you for the answer it answers most of the questions... but the calculator doesn't work unless you sign up for the MP.... which I don't want to do.

[mam98031]

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@vintagemodernglam wrote:
Do they not have phones at home,....like most telecommute companies?

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It takes more than a phone.  How do you propose the access the live site and the members accounts?

[vintagemodernglam]

You are incorrect. Please read the print.

[alan@ebay]

Thanks for stopping by today with your questions. We hope that you found the hour useful. We're working through the questions we haven't got to yet, so please make sure you're 'subscribed' to this thread to receive notifications for new posts. 

Thanks again! See you next Wednesday. 

[Anonymous]

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@little.font.lord.leroy wrote:

I have more than one general question dealing with the exact same topic, I would appreciate it if you would answer all of the questions (I will number them)

Unlike the message forms we send to reps now, where an AI responds with a canned response and link to policy, at least here we have the feeling that someone might actually be reading what we write.

I am not one of those users who came here to blow smoke up anyone's rear. Nor am I happy that the only way I can get any answers to my questions is to have to plead with a rep on Wednesday at one to, maybe, get a proper response.

I am a buyer, and I am not happy with eBay right now.

1. Does a seller who cancels an item after it was purchased and paid for by the buyer get a defect? (ie, out of stock, lost it, broke it, etc).

2. If the seller uses the excuse "the buyer requested a cancellation" when in fact the buyer made no such request, will the seller get a defect?

I recently reported this (via eMail) and I was given this answer "Rest assured that sellers misusing cancellation reasons is automatically tracked by our system, and is something we do take action on if we see it is a trend"

3. So, before a seller gets a defect for not fulfilling the item that was purchased, eBay does nothing? eBay waits to see if "its a trend"? and what the heck is a trend, if they "choose" to not fulfill an order and give the excuse "buyer requested a cancellation" 5 times, do they get a defect? 20 times before defect, 1,000 times, or has eBay changed the policy and will do absolutely nothing as long as the seller lies and says "the buyer requested a refund"?

The rep went on to say "especially if they may also be misusing other seller protections." "especially" in this context means "stop bugging us with your petty complaints, we are only interested in issues where a seller may be misusing (the mysterious) other seller protections."

4. In other words, a seller who has an item listed on multiple platforms where they sell the item but neglect to remove it from their eBay listings until I purchase it, or a seller who is totally incompetent at keeping tabs on their inventory, and doesn't fulfill orders, eBay is no longer concerned with that?

Listen, I am out of time (searching, purchasing and communicating this transaction) I am out of pocket (the money is now held up for god knows how long until I am re-reimbursed. I used my new eBay CC, I'll never use it again) and I am out of patience (this has happened 3 times in the last week alone).

I do NOT come to ebay to waste time and borrow eBay my money for weeks on end. What a way to run a business!

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Hi @little.font.lord.leroy, happy to address your concerns below: 

1. Yes.
2. If a seller lies about the reason for cancellation, then no, they would not receive a defect as defects are not applied manually. This would be considered a policy violation, however, and could lead to restrictions, suspensions, or a full loss of eBay privileges. We proactively monitor for abuse and take action (as you were told via email), and you can report concerns to Customer Service for review.
3. It looks like this is the same question as #2, so refer to my answer in #2 and the email communication you received for details on what eBay does when we discover a seller has lied about their cancellation reason.
4. This also looks like the same concern as #2, please refer to my previous responses for details on how we address abusive behavior.

I understand you are frustrated, especially considering how often this has happened recently. Due to recent events, many members of our Community are experiencing challenges outside of the norm, and while we will absolutely monitor for potential abuse and take action, I want to also suggest the possibility that some sellers are simply making mistakes. Just as we do not suspend a buyer who has doesn't pay for their purchase the first time it happens, we also don't feel it is fair to suspend a seller who may have selected the wrong reason when they cancel. Again, I can see 100% why this has been stressful and encourage you to report any concerns you have for us to review. We do not benefit from allowing abuse to occur on our platform, and will take steps to protect our Community while also ensuring that those who are learning or were unclear on the correct steps to take have reasonable a chance to learn and improve.

[brian@ebay]

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@nomatchingshoes wrote:

Please help me understand the logic behind losing the "Immediate Payment Required" condition in Buy It Know listings when a seller makes an offer or counteroffer to a buyer - even if that requirement gets restated in the conditions of the offer or counteroffer?

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Hi @nomatchingshoes, it really comes down to the technical limitations of the Offer feature. Offers were designed as a way for buyers and seller to negotiate a price, while the Buy It Now feature was designed for immediate purchases and thus supports immediate payment required. Since we don't require a buyer to enter payment information when accepting an Offer it isn't possible to require immediate payment.

[brian@ebay]

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@wooden_flower wrote:

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

As you guys are aware, the threads are alive with concerns over the price gouging going on, as they should be.  And I confident Ebay takes it seriously as they are actively removing 10’s of 1,000’s of listings.  I know we discussed this some last week and I found it informative.  I do still have one question.

The announcement Ebay made said certain items were BANNED from the site, yet new listings by sellers that are clearly not on their preapproved list for the items keep happening over and over again.  Increasing Ebay’s workload to manage the site and increases the stress of those members that see these listings continuing to get posted.

The announcement said in part:

Effective immediately, eBay will block new listings and start to remove listings that sell:

• Health care masks including N95/N100 and surgical masks
• Hand Sanitizer/Gel
• Disinfecting Wipes

But that isn’t what is happening because we have lots and lots of new listings.

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Hi @mam98031, we are doing our best to address this, but as you know there are those who seek ways to circumvent our blocks to list items. We are proactively working to remove violating listings on the site. If you see listings that shouldn't be on the site then please report them. 

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Brian,

Does it really help to report them?  I know it makes me feel like I am doing something, maybe, but if I'm just causing someone more work by having to review the reports, I don't want to do that.

Sue

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Good question @wooden_flower! These reports do go to agents that can take action on the listings, so it's definitely worth filing a report on items that appear to have bypassed our blocks. It's important for us to get these listings off of the site and our agents are happy to review member reports to accomplish this 🙂