Community Chat, April 4th from 1pm Pacific - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi Community!

Please join The Community Team here on Wed April 4th at 1 pm Pacific for a one hour Q&A chat. We do not have a set topic, so please share your buying & selling questions.

Chat with you then

*Keep in mind the Community’s Rules of Engagement when you post. Non-constructive/disrespectful posts will be removed by our moderation team so that the thread can focus on a productive discussion. 

[vrykalak]

"If a members response helped, please give it a Helpful. If you are the author of a thread and one member's response resolved your question, please click 'Accept as Solution.' More on Accepted Solutions "

Today for the first time, I actually looked for this option. 
The "More on Accepted Solutions" page said it should be on the bottom left, under the Helpful flag...but it isn't. ?.

[tunicaslot]

Hi guys! 

Late to the party as I was busy listing - but I hope everyone had a nice Easter - and Alan hoping the root canal issue is improved.

I can't find the thread now - but someone had posted how when they called CS to argue about a SNAD return req - which they could prove was a remorse return through messages with the buyer - the CS rep told them that they could not change any req in the future and that the SNAD would stand. I've found CS to be more seller friendly within the past year and am wondering if this change - if it's true - is due to wanting sellers to enroll in free returns so that Ebay won't have to be a mediator anymore?

Many sellers were concerned and I'd just like clarification.

I also have to say that the youtubers are doing a great job promoting Ebay Open and the differnet groups on Facebook are already excited about it. 

[reclaimed_denim]

Thank you for the links --those look to be very helpful.  Regarding the maximum discount allowed, that really makes no sense to me.  As a buyer, I would want to be offered the maximum discount, and as a seller, I like it as an option to entice buyers and move items that haven't otherwise sold.  I find it troublesome that I pay for a store subscription, but can't control the discount I offer to my buyers.  I like to offer some new items at 70% off retail (or more) and I can no longer advertise it as such (at least not with markdown).  Shouldn't this be up to each seller to decide if this is an effective sales conversion tool?

[castlemagicmemories]

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tyler@ebaywrote:

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@castlemagicmemorieswrote:

Hello, Blues!  : )

Just a few things:

During the recent discount promotions, Brian posted the news and asked sellers to inform their buyers.  Poor guy, he got some pushback and was surprised.  Sorry, Brian!

Anyway, most sellers were skeptical about this because of the Ebay policy against spamming, as stated in the thread.  Sellers are not to contact anyone who has not asked them to contact them.  Although most buyers would probably like to know about discounts, one can't assume there wouldn't be an errant one who does not appreciate this. 

So is/has Ebay changed their stance/policy on spamming?  Or was this ok in these instances because Brian advised doing so?

Second, I would call this thread to your attention.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Item-not-described-before-received/m-p/28329325#M1183676

Thank God for Trinton, who had to come back to that thread after CS could not find his notes.  This is not an adverse reflection on him.  This seller just went through a lot with his contacts with CS.  That's all.

You guys are the last, best defense that sellers have.  Thank you, Blues, for that!

Just want to also thank Alan for his leadership of the Community.  

You guys rock!  : )

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Hi @castlemagicmemories - thanks for the love, always makes my day a better one 😄

When it comes to contacting buyers, the largest thing anyone would look at would be an intent to facilitate an eBay transaction, and invitation. Sending a store newsletter to subscribed members advertising items or the fact that there's currently a discount is just fine. So would sending a quick message to buyers who haven't yet paid for items, sharing it on other social media sites, and letting buyers who had sent questions know that today was a great day to buy. 

Cold-contacting members who have never expressed interest in your items would probably be a bit over the line. 

Long story short: nothing official has changed with regards to unwanted messages. If anyone received a warning for contacting a buyer about the discounts run last month should definitely contact CS for a review (or feel free to page us to the thread so we can review it). 

Tyler, thank you, you are always a true JOY!    There seems to be confusion within the Community regarding this.  There are sellers who are sending messages to push sales if they just think a buyer might be interested, which is against the spamming policy.  And there are sellers who indiscriminately sign buyers up for their newletters, without the buyer having requested it.  Threads bear these things out.  Just felt that some clarification would help Ebay/seller/Community relations in this regard.  And Brian won't have to duck when he posts about the next discounts   (discounts...hint, hint!)  : )

Thanks for all you do, Tyler!  

[tunicaslot]

So sorry Trinton - took me so long to compose my question that it's already been answered - TY

[mam98031]

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brian@ebaywrote:

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@mam98031wrote:

I have a question regarding the Free Return program.

If I were to offer Free Returns, will I still be able to withhold the original shipping or otherwise give a partial refund on a claim that is filed as a Buyer’s Remorse?  What if I do free shipping?  Will I still be able to give a partial refund on a Buyer’s Remorse Request?

Will I still be able to have the buyer pay for return shipping if I do Free Returns?

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Hi @mam98031, sellers will still have the option to retain original shipping on remorse returns, even when offering free returns. We expect partial refunds of the item cost to only be done if an item is returned damaged and not on remorse returns. Sellers that offer Free Returns will not have the ability to charge buyers for return shipping.

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But on remorse returns there can be issues too which envolve a partial refund.  Like in fragrances.  Every one I sell are new condition, never used, and 99% of the time in a sealed box.  If the buyer breaks the seal, uses the scent and then decide they don't like it and want to return it, that is a buyer remorse request or should be.

Now this item is no longer in the condition in which I sent it, I can no longer sell it as new, there are health laws / rules that prevent these items of being sold as new and the value is significantly affected, even with just one spray.  What are we to do about that as sellers?

[labs118]

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brian@ebaywrote:

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@mam98031wrote:

I have a question regarding the Free Return program.

If I were to offer Free Returns, will I still be able to withhold the original shipping or otherwise give a partial refund on a claim that is filed as a Buyer’s Remorse?  What if I do free shipping?  Will I still be able to give a partial refund on a Buyer’s Remorse Request?

Will I still be able to have the buyer pay for return shipping if I do Free Returns?

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Hi @mam98031, sellers will still have the option to retain original shipping on remorse returns, even when offering free returns. We expect partial refunds of the item cost to only be done if an item is returned damaged and not on remorse returns. Sellers that offer Free Returns will not have the ability to charge buyers for return shipping.

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Am I misunderstanding
if this seller offers free outbound shipping they cannot withhold a shipping charge on a remorse return  Per Brian post #25

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Live-Broadcast-amp-Community-Chat-Mar-14th...

If the seller offered free shipping outbound, then there is no ship charge for them to withhold from the buyer. If, on the other hand the seller charged the buyer shipping when the item was purchased, the seller can withhold the outbound ship cost. 

I hope that clarifies it. 

Thanks for selling on eBay.

Brian

[*coins]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiqueswrote:

I did not recieve this survey from ebay, but someone posted part of a survey they recieved. It included a list of possible features ebay wanted to know our thoughts on:

Send newsletters to targeted customer groups

Create customizable content pages on my eBay storefront

Design my own custom home page to drive new and repeat buyers to my listings

Sell my products on an invite-only site for an exclusive group of sellers

Have my brand/store featured on a "seller spotlight" page on eBay's social media platform

Just want to say I'm in favor of all of these. Most helpful to me, I feel would be the customizable content pages on my store front and a custom home page. 

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^^^^

Wow, those would all be cool to get!!

I would like all of those as well.

[Anonymous]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

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@mam98031wrote:

Question regarding how a buyer selects the reason for a Return Request.

Let’s say I have a buyer that I’ve been communicating with in M2M regarding an issue the buyer is having with an item they purchased from me.  In the course of these communications the buyer clearly states that they want to return the item because it is just not what they really wanted or some other buyer remorse reason. 

Then the buyer goes and opens up a request for a return but they do not use one of the BR reasons, they file it as a SNAD.  This happens to sellers all the time.  But in this case let’s keep in mind that the seller has clear evidence via M2M that this is a BR claim and the buyer has tried to game the system/seller by filing it as a SNAD.

When there is clear evidence and I do mean clear, not subjective, that the buyer filed for the wrong type of return, why can’t sellers call and get this SNAD closed or changed to a BR return?

What  is it that Ebay expects sellers to do in a case like this?  What are a seller’s options to get this changed as the two types of claims carry a different process for most sellers?

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Hi @mam98031! We have contacted the appropriate teams about the process these kinds of returns are subject to. Once we have more information to share we will update the boards, no problem! In the meantime, I recommend that any seller who runs into this situation contact Customer Service to have the details reviewed for appropriate next steps.

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While in it sounds logical to give a call to Ebay.  Some of us are finding that idea is not necessarily in the best interest of the seller in cases like this.

Twice in the last month my friend has had a case similar to what is described here.  Unfortunately I advised her to call Ebay to see what could be done with it.  The CSR said there was nothing they could do to help.  And even though the seller was clear with the CSR they did Not want the Request escalated, that is exactly what the CSR did.  And within moments the case got closed in the favor of the buyer before the seller could even call Ebay back to see what went wrong.  

More and more it appears that CSRs are escalating Requests when sellers don't want them escalated, they are merely calling for some assistance.  Instead they are getting more issues to deal with.

My friend did appeal the case and it was reversed, but the buyer did get their money back in full and it was Ebay that refunding the seller.  My guess is that this should be getting pretty expensive for Ebay.

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Hi @mam98031@, definitely not the kind of experience we want sellers to have when calling in for advice. Feel free to @mention a member of the Community Team if you see these experiences on the boards and we can have the call reviewed for appropriate action and coaching as needed.

[castlemagicmemories]

alan@ebay

@*coins

My apologies, really thought that was there longer than that!  Have lurked for well over a decade.   

[alan@ebay]

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@mg152 wrote:
I gotta go. It’s been great! Thank you Alan! Hopefully I’ll see you all next week. May I ask for positive thoughts for my 1 yr old maltese? He’s having surgery Tuesday. He broke 6 teeth. It’s always something with my dogs but I love them. The little one has Pet insurance thank God! 😀😀😀Have a great week!

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Oh no! You're very unlucky with your dogs. I just got mine set up with insurance and it is expensive - eugh!

Sending positive vibes your way for a speedy recovery!

[brian@ebay]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

I spent quite a bit of time last night trying to find a good way to offer a discount when someone orders multiple items with FREE shipping.  I wanted to offer $2 or $3 off each additional (free shipping) item when 2 or more were ordered.    There's really no way to create such a discount, either as a shipping discount or an order discount. 

I was able to create an order promotion by adding a "free shipping" category to my store and adding that as the second category to all items with free shipping and then creating a promotion for 10% off three or more,  not really what I wanted, but as close as I could come.  It's not showing as a shipping discount (preferable) but even as an order discount it's not clear what the details are.

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Hi @dtexley3, the exact discount you are wanting to create isn't an option within promotions manager. The closest one I can see if the "Buy one, get one" option, which it sounds like you ended up using to create your promotion. We're always looking to enhance our tools, so thank you for the feedback! 

[tyler@ebay]

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@imagizeyourworld wrote:

I have some questions regarding the following "new store experience" FAQ...

Q: Will eBay Stores continue to have its own local search capability?

A: Yes. Consumers will be able to search for items within a Store in the main eBay search bar.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-spring/ebay-stores.html#m22_tb_a2__7

1. What exactly does this mean/How exactly will this work? Will buyers have to change/select something to do a search specifically in the store? Or will it be completely straight forward and automatic... meaning that if the buyer is "in" a store, the search will apply to that store by default, instead of site-wide (or something like that)? Anything that makes the buyers work harder or need special knowledge about how the site works is a barrier to sales.

2. Will the URL structure for store search results remain the same as it is now? In other words: will existing "canned search" links sellers have in their descriptions (to point buyers to similar or related items) continue to function correctly after the new store search structure is implemented? Or will those links have to be changed?

Thank you.

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Hi @imagizeyourworld - 

1. This will work a bit differently than it has in the past, but it should feel fairly intuitive. The idea is that it will work exactly the way you think it will: if you click into a store, the top search bar then becomes the 'store search' search bar. (see photo example)

2. I know that the main URL for your store will change, but we will have auto-redirects in place. However, for static search links you may be including in a description I am not certain of if those will redirect. I will find out and update you!

[mcjbob]

When I go to print a FedEx SmartPost label for a buyer with a PO Box address, eBay message:: "FedEx does NOT ship to PO Boxes, choose another service"

FedEx SmartPost does ship to PO Boxes.

I had to go to my FedEx account to ship FedEx SmartPost, cost me my eBay discount, lots of extra work, and then back to eBay to enter the tracking number.

I called customer service and I was told SmartPost does not ship to PO Boxes. Not true.

[*coins]

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@castlemagicmemorieswrote:

alan@ebay

@*coins

My apologies, really thought that was there longer than that!  Have lurked for well over a decade.   

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Well, technecally, giving helpfuls/kudos to yourself has been an unwritten rule since the community started to my knowledge.