mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
When will eBay update how variation listings show up in search? As a buyer and a seller I am so tired of seeing stuff show up in price lowest first when the quantity isn't available or it doesn't match my search. I wish the search engine appropriately showed items based on what I searched for and if the quantity was available. If I wanted to look at a bunch of out of stock items or items without accurate pricing I would go over to Amazon. Search example:
@gwzcomps wrote:
Is there ever going to be an increase to the 5000 limit on blocked buyers? I'm no where near it personally, but I can imagine it would be nice to get that number increased.
Dang. That would be a whole lot of blocks. Just sayin!
Have you ever gone in and clear out / delete the ones that have a extension on them of "@deleted". That would likely give you more room and they don't need to be there anymore since the accounts are deleted.
@vrykalak wrote:
@vrykalak wrote:
Sellers should be allowed to send small items using First Class Letter post without being dinged for it. It makes no sense to send a $1 item in a $3 package.
The buyers prefer First Class Letter Post, of course, because it saves them money.
But we sellers are not allowed to provide it, because a demerit for shipping without tracking harms our status for 3 to 12 months.
Hi @vrykalak - you're right that shipping with tracking doesn't always make sense for lower cost items, and I want to reiterate that you are absolutely allowed to offer the shipping options that work best for your business.
However, to be a Top Rated Seller we expect that the majority of your items are shipped with tracking. Being a Top Rated account allows you to qualify for a 10% Final Value Fee discount on the cost of the item, as well as access to the enhanced seller protections. Ultimately, though, it may not make financial sense for you to spend a dollar to save a dime (so to speak). You will need to make that decision based on your business model.
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Why? Why should eBay care whether or not I ship with tracking, as long as my customers are happy?
Hi @vrykalak - tracking is a common buyer expectation, and one we encourage members to use as they can. We recognize that it's not always feasible for your business, which is why it's not a requirement in order to sell on eBay. We incentivize you to use tracking by making it a requirement for the Top Rated program, and to fully protect yourself in Item Not Received requests.
Ultimately, if your buyers are happy, that's great! We won't shut your account down or penalize you for not using tracking if it doesn't work for you. You just won't qualify for Top Rated status.
@gwzcomps wrote:
When will eBay update how variation listings show up in search? As a buyer and a seller I am so tired of seeing stuff show up in price lowest first when the quantity isn't available or it doesn't match my search. I wish the search engine appropriately showed items based on what I searched for and if the quantity was available. If I wanted to look at a bunch of out of stock items or items without accurate pricing I would go over to Amazon. Search example:
Hi @gwzcomps, I'm not aware of any upcoming changes to how variations appear in search, but it's feedback we can pass along!
@gwzcomps wrote:
Is there ever going to be an increase to the 5000 limit on blocked buyers? I'm no where near it personally, but I can imagine it would be nice to get that number increased.
Hi @gwzcomps - I haven't heard that an expansion is coming for the blocked buyer list, but I'll make the suggestion and let you know if I hear back!
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Trinton, As you are well aware, the confusing execution of ebay's price gouging policy is having a chilling effect on many sellers, who rightly fear their listings will be pulled without notice and with no clear explanation, and they could face a range of actions up to and including account suspension. Here is eBay's policy
Price gouging policy
What is the policy?
- Items that are considered essential must be offered at a reasonable price
(Most of us understand this....some essential items have been outright banned (toilet paper, for example) and others aren't too hard to guess, although reasonable people can certainly disagree on whether some items are or are not "essential". Still, it would help if ebay could provide more guidance around the words "essential" and "reasonable price" Can the team in charge of this stuff provide that?)
- Inflating the price of goods in response to an emergency or disaster is not allowed(I'll come back to this one...)
- eBay may restrict the sale of items that are susceptible to price gouging behavior - for example, by only allowing items to be sold by authorized sellers
(Again, understood in general, but how are we to know WHICH items are "Susceptible to price gouging behavior" And please be clear: does this actually mean that ebay can remove listings that do NOT have inflated prices, that are NOT, in fact, deemed to be gouging on prices? If that is the case, then ban them outright, like toilet paper, so we know not to list them. Don't make us guess whether even our reasonably priced items are going to be removed just because they are "Susceptible to price gouging behavior" )
- Sellers must follow all applicable laws and regulations that apply to the sale of their items.
(Well, sure, fine, but not really very helpful.)
Now, back to this one: " Inflating the price of goods in response to an emergency or disaster is not allowed"
This is so absurdly general that it is impossible for a seller to know whether they are violating this rule or not. It is limited by only one phrase, and even that limitation is being ignored by ebay's enforcement of the rule. That limit is that one cannot inflate the price IN RESPONSE TO AN EMERGENCY OR DISASTER. If I list an antique at a high price because interest in that particular type of antique has recently increased, technically, it would not be a violation, because I've increased the price in response to market forces not associated with the emergency. But ebay doesn't seem to be looking for any evidence that the price is somehow tied to an emergency, and so even that one limitation is meaningless. So we are really left with: "Inflating the price of goods is not allowed" But of course, for me to make a profit I must "inflate" the price above what I paid for it, so the question then becomes what level of "inflation" is permitted? And again, you guys provide ZERO guidance. So again, how about some real guidance here?
That, in a nutshell, is all anyone is asking for...these rules are so general and so vague that they provide no guidance and only provoke fear. To your credit, you have given out many free listings, but people are afraid to use them because pretty much anything can be considered a violation of these rules. In this time of crisis, ebay should be a place where sellers can feel confident to list, for many those listings can mean the difference between having an income and not having an income. But this vague policy undermines the whole purpose of the site.
Please, for the sake of ebay's sellers, our buyers and ebay itself, give us some clear criteria. Or watch the opportunity for ebay to shine be blotted out by this over-broad policy. Can you provide those details?
Hi @my-cottage-books-and-antiques - I don't have specifics to give you on this at this point in time, but I'll escalate it and let you know as I hear back. Thanks!
brian@ebay wrote:
@gwzcomps wrote:When will eBay update how variation listings show up in search? As a buyer and a seller I am so tired of seeing stuff show up in price lowest first when the quantity isn't available or it doesn't match my search. I wish the search engine appropriately showed items based on what I searched for and if the quantity was available. If I wanted to look at a bunch of out of stock items or items without accurate pricing I would go over to Amazon. Search example:
Hi @gwzcomps, I'm not aware of any upcoming changes to how variations appear in search, but it's feedback we can pass along!
Ok thanks. Beyond the people exploiting it, it is a frustrating system in general. Hopefully some improvements can be made to make it faster and easier to find products on the site.
@gwzcomps wrote:
brian@ebay wrote:
@gwzcomps wrote:When will eBay update how variation listings show up in search? As a buyer and a seller I am so tired of seeing stuff show up in price lowest first when the quantity isn't available or it doesn't match my search. I wish the search engine appropriately showed items based on what I searched for and if the quantity was available. If I wanted to look at a bunch of out of stock items or items without accurate pricing I would go over to Amazon. Search example:
Hi @gwzcomps, I'm not aware of any upcoming changes to how variations appear in search, but it's feedback we can pass along!
Ok thanks. Beyond the people exploiting it, it is a frustrating system in general. Hopefully some improvements can be made to make it faster and easier to find products on the site.
While having the lowest priced item OOS isn't a policy violation, when you run across those variation listings that post something in the variation options and a low price that has NOTHING to do with the other things in the variation listing, that is a violation and you should report those listings as you find them.
I've seen it many times and usually with sellers outside the USA. That doesn't excuse it, it is just my observation.
