Below you will find a recap of our Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team for April 24, 2019. We hope to see you at our next chat!
Share to Social Media Promotion
I’ve heard about a feature where you can share a unique link to social media and if a buyer uses the link to purchase the item no Final Value Fees are charged. What eBay feature is this?
This is a promotion that some sellers are presented with when listing, relisting, or revising their items. If a buyer users the seller’s unique link to purchase the item, no final value fees are charged for the listing.
Returns
Why can the return reason a buyer has been selected be changed from remorse to not as described, but can’t be changed from not as described to remorse?
We want to start out by clarifying that the reason selected when a return is requested cannot be changed. If eBay is asked to step in we take action on the return request based on the information we have available. If there is any indication that the item the buyer received does not match the listing description, either in the return reason or in follow up messages, we would expect the seller to cover the cost of the return and provide a full refund.
What about if the buyer’s messages clearly show remorse when they chose a not as described return reason?
Interpreting messages to invalidate the buyer’s assertion that the item did not match the description is incredibly inaccurate. When the buyer selects a not as described return reason, they are stating the item does not match the description.
What if there is proof that the buyer chose the wrong reason and is abusing the returns program?
If there is very clear evidence that a member is abusing the returns process (such as a message that states, “The item is fine, I just don’t want to pay return shipping”), we will take action to protect a seller. A buyer is also able to contact eBay to let us know they chose the wrong return reason. We proactively review for signs of abuse and take steps to protect sellers when we find abusive behavior.
Why does eBay believe the buyer and not me?
The buyer is in possession of the item when they request a return and is the authority on the item’s current condition. Because of this, we do expect a seller to resolve these types of customer concerns by covering the cost of return shipping and providing a full refund.
I still don’t understand why the buyer can select a not as described reason incorrectly and eBay won’t fix this for me, but if the buyer selects a remorse reason incorrectly eBay will fix it for them?
Definitely want to reiterate that the reason selected when a return is opened cannot be changed. If eBay is asked to step in, we will review the return details for appropriate action. The return reason is one place where the buyer can indicate the item does not match the description, but this can also be communicated in messaging. For example, if the buyer opens a return request with the reason “Doesn’t fit” (typically a remorse reason), but states in messaging “I ordered a large and this is a small”, the seller should address the buyer’s concern that the item does not match the description. If a seller does not authorize a return in this situation, with return shipping costs covered and a full refund offered, eBay will step in and authorize this on their behalf.
We simply ask that a seller work to resolve their customer’s concern and focus on creating great customer service experiences. Since buyers and sellers have different roles in a transaction, they will also have different protections and expectations within the resolution process. Part of the seller’s responsibility is to resolve customer complaints to the best of their ability.
Can you please explain to me how a buyer is able to open a SNAD case when the listing says "for parts or not working - sold as is, NO Returns"
“For parts or not working” is not a catch all that absolves sellers of responsibility for accurately describing the item. There are times when an item listed as “For parts or not working” isn't properly described and a buyer needs to return it. For example, if a cellphone is listed for parts and the seller only states the screen doesn't work and the buyer discovers the phone also has water damage, this would be a valid SNAD since the water damage wasn't disclosed in the listing.
Item Condition For Handmade Goods
Can a seller use the condition of an item as NEW when it is a handmade item with some or all of the materials used to make the item are recycled materials?
If the seller is creating a new item out of the recycled/repurposed components, it would still be considered new. This is similar to how a table made from recycled plastic water bottles would still be considered a new table.
Buyer Requirements
If a buyer is blocked by my buyer requirements settings (such as the one that blocks buyers with a certain number of UPI strikes), are they also blocked from making offers?
Yes. These blocks would prevent the buyer from making offers. Additionally, if you are proactively sending offers to your watchers, any watcher that is blocked from purchasing would not be eligible for the offer and would not receive it.
Bulk End Items
I notice that the ability to select all the items ending today and end them in bulk is no longer available. I can select them individually and delete them, but until recently I was able to end them in bulk. Did something change?
In Seller Hub you can sort your Active listings by End Date. This will sort Good ‘Til Cancelled listings so the items renewing the soonest will be at the top of the list. From here, you can select the items you'd like to end, select the Action button, and end them in bulk. Additionally, there is a sort option in Seller Hub to only show items ending today, which would also make it easy to end these items in bulk. If you do not have Seller Hub then you can get it here.
Weekly Chat
Where can I find the weekly chat?
The weekly chat can be found here. We also post reminders with a link to the chat on the Selling board each week.
How do I post a question to the chat?
Just use the Reply button to post a question and we'll be happy to respond!
What is the purpose of selecting a solution to the Chat?
The option to select a response in the chat as a solution is only available in the Weekly Chats for the purposes of marking these recaps as the solution. This ensures future readers can quickly see the questions and answers from that week, as marking the recap as a solution moves a copy of the post to the beginning of the discussion.
Send Offers To Watchers
a) When will this feature be universally available?
b) What determines which listings are eligible to send these offers?
c) We need to know to whom we are making an offer. Will this be added?
A) This rollout that will occur for everyone over the coming months. Most US sellers should already have the option.
B) In order to send offers the item must be listed for at least 5 days. Historically they could only be for single quantity listings, but we've expanded this recently to include multi-quantity listings.
C) The offer can be sent to the 10 most recent watchers on the item. Currently, watchers are anonymous to protect their privacy. At this time, you cannot choose which watchers get the offer, though there are plans to expand that in the future.
Keyword Search Concerns
If I search for Trifari Jewels of India (vintage designer costume jewelry items by manufacturer and collection name) I now find vintage jewelry items, current jewelry items, unrelated items -- neither jewelry nor wearable items, etc. Is eBay going to refine the key word search to improve accuracy?
When we tested this out we did not experience the same issue. Search results can be affected by the filters applied and a variety of account specific factors. If you are not finding what you are looking for after your first search, try changing the keywords or utilizing some of the refinements available on the left side of the screen.
Best Match Placement
I am a small niche seller who, if using fixed price listings, find my items buried behind numerous other related and unrelated items. Why am I not showing up higher in search results?
We recommend you check out our Help page on Optimizing your listings for Best Match. We’ve recently made changes to improve seller’s visibility and traffic by reducing the fixed price listing duration options and only allowing for Good ‘Til Cancelled listings. We believe this will maximize the chance of successful sales as listings with a longer duration will appear more frequently in both third party search results and eBay search.
Item Not Received
Seller performance metrics now show as "high" for INR stats as the INR for an item that was delivered now counts against the seller in direct conflict with the message sent by eBay when an item not received request is closed in their favor. What is going on?
The language used in the email we send when closing an Item Not Received Request in the seller’s favor is specifically referring to account defects or case closed without resolution marks, which are directly tied to your Seller Performance rating. This would not include Service Metrics, which are tracked differently as Service Metrics don't impact your Seller Performance Rating and is considered an independent metric.
The Item Not Received service metrics looks at all opened not received requests (regardless of outcome), with two exceptions:
If the item was sent with the Global Shipping Program
If you ship your item within your stated handling time, but it arrives late due to carrier disruptions, site bugs, natural disasters or severe weather, this will not negatively affect your seller metrics.
You can review more details about Service Metrics here. We will pass along your feedback for any necessary improvements to our communications.
UPI Option After Buyer Is Refunded
Sellers Hub now shows a purchase is eligible to have a UPI opened against the buyer after I’ve refunded. What is going on?
We will pass this feedback along for potential improvements in the future to how this is displayed. For now, though, you should be able to archive or delete the transaction so it will get out of your daily reminders.
Free Returns Protections
Does a seller who offers Free Returns have added protections with respect to neutral/negative feedback?
A seller who offers free returns and has issued a partial refund in accordance with eBay guidance will be protected from negative or neutral feedback. This is outlined in our 2018 Spring Seller Update in the FAQs related to the protections available for sellers who offer free returns (found here).
Seller Hub & My eBay All Selling Page
Can I have access to both Seller Hub and the My eBay All Selling Page at the same time?
Yes, you can have Seller Hub and still access the My eBay All Selling page. Go to the overview tab, scroll all the way to the bottom and then click on View My eBay Selling. Alternatively, you can go to My eBay > Summary > Hover over the Activity tab > Select Sell from the drop down that appears. You can also use this link.
Store Subscription Fee
My store subscription was due to expire and I cancelled it yet was charged for it again at the yearly rate which is what I had previously. Why?
Ending your store subscription is a little different than ending a listing. Because you pay for the services a month in advance, a cancellation will always take effect the 1st of the next calendar month after you cancel. That means if you put through the cancellation in April it would take effect May 1st. If you put through the cancellation in March to take place in April and it hasn't yet cancelled please let us know!
Managed Payments
Is there anyone at eBay that can get me into managed payments?
We can't make any guarantees about when members will be added, but as we move forward more sellers will be invited to participate in managed payments.
Open Box Condition
Some of my listings now have the item condition of “Open Box”. When did this change?
This change was announced in the Fall Seller Update. Anything in the categories outlined in our announcement that had the condition of New Other was changed to Open Box. This helps standardize our condition terminology and better align with buyer expectations. Thanks!
Transaction Report
Why do some of my transactions not appear on the Transaction Report I’ve downloaded?
We are looking into this to see what might be going on.
