Community Chat, Dec 12 from 1:00 pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi eBay Community!

Join The Community Team here for our weekly chat here from 1-2 pm Pacific Time. We will be discussing general topics so please bring any buying or selling questions you have 

Chat soon. 💬

[mendelsons]

I for one dont like it at first I thought it was a spoof site, hopefully this isn't giving buyers another reason to run away but I'm sure that was heavily researched and its attracting more buyers.

[mg152]

Just dropped by to say howdy and Merry Christmas to everyone. I miss you all. I’ll be around more soon!

🎁🎁🎁🌲🌲🌲❄️❄️☃️☃️ 🌲 

[Anonymous]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

Buyer from another country uses a freight forewarding service as a ship to address.

Once item reaches the freight forewarding address I am assuming the 30 day return window starts?

Should buyer from another country want a return where is a seller liable in this? From address shipped to?

Is this actually even suppose to happen with sales on Ebay?

Is  a seller liable at all once it leaves the ship to address listed with ebay?

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Hi @automotivepartsrecyclrs, a freight forwarding service is a common practice for international transactions and in itself does not pose an eBay policy violation. That being said, a seller is not responsible for an item once it has been forwarded beyond the address they shipped to. Be aware that there are forwarding companies that will inspect what they receive on behalf of their customer and retain the shipment for a potential return if there is an issue. As long as the item has not yet been forwarded, it would be eligible for coverage under our eBay Money Back Guarantee. The 30 day window to open a return request would begin from delivery to the address the seller was provided with on eBay.

Additionally, a seller is empowered to work with their buyer as they see fit even if the item has been forwarded. eBay will uphold any return agreement a seller makes after they were informed the shipment was forwarded. To clarify; if the seller authorizes the return knowing that the item has been forwarded, the transaction would be covered by our eBay Money Back Guarantee. If the seller authorizes the return while unaware that the item had been forwarded, then we would be able to protect the seller once they became aware of this.

[mam98031]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

Hi to Alan and everyone from the eBay Community group,

Long time, no speak. I hope you are all preparing to have a happy Christmas and great holiday soon.

I have a question relating to sales tax, and eBay beginning to collect and remit sales tax for a number of states in the new year.

eBay sales tax collection

When eBay begins to collect sales tax for some states on Jan 1, 2019, will you prevent sellers from also collecting sales tax for those states? In essence, they would be double-charging the buyers.

Some USA sellers would do this by mistake, not realising that eBay was now doing it for them, but unfortunately, some foreign sellers do this now deliberately, as a way of increasing their profits, and they don't remit the money collected to any states.

There are some foreign sellers who have been charging, say, 10% to 25% on all their sales, to all states, and calling it a sales tax. Obviously, this fee is never remitted to any of the states, because it doesn't comply with the laws for collecting sales tax in any state. There is no way for a buyer to avoid paying this fraudulent charge except to find a better seller.

I think, when eBay begins to collect and remit sales tax for some states on Jan 1, 2019, that this would be a good time to block this practice, and stop foreign sellers from collecting these flat-rate fees to all states (not just the ones that eBay will be collecting sales tax for).

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Along the same theme of your questions above, I see a couple more.

Some states do not require businesses properly set up in that state to pay sales tax on shipping supplies.  Ebay needs to give us a way to make these purchases on site without the burden of a tax that we do not owe.

For the Ebay shipping supplies seller, I've contacted them as they charge sales tax.  If I give them my state ID number and other proper information, they will stop charging the sales tax.  I haven't tested that out yet, but will be next month.  

[tyler@ebay]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

Returns: Free Returns and Non Free Returns.

Once item is returned and anything less than 100% refund done why is it still left up to the buyer to approve days later?

Why is it a buyer can wait past the listed time frame given on a return to return? 

If CS is called the #1 reason given is "Let's give the buyer a few more days" 'then call us back"

We as sellers have a handling time deadline with Ebay why not a enforced deadline with buyers?

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Hi @automotivepartsrecyclrs - happy to review those specific situations, as it sounds like there are some opportunities on the part of CS. I'll reach out for more detail momentarily.

[Anonymous]

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@b86fiero wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@b86fiero wrote:

Not sure of this can be answered here or maybe answered a long time ago and I can't find the info ....

Are products recalled by the manufacturer automatically deleted from the eBay catalog? 

Are listings for recalled products automatically deleted from the site?

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Hi @b86fiero, items subject to a recall from the manufacturer or a government agency would be in violation of Product Safety Policy and we would work to get these items removed from the site. This would not necessarily remove the product from our catalog, as many recalls are temporary and the product may be available again in the future. We will address these on a case by case basis.

If you see any items that should be reviewed because of a relate recall you can report this directly from the listing by selecting Report Item link > Prohibited and restricted items > Other prohibited or restricted items > Recalled items. We'll be happy to review for appropriate action!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow up question ...

Since the recalled item would remain in the catalog, it is conceivable an unknowing seller could list that product and a buyer could purchase it.  

Most buyers figure if the product is in the catalog and item specifics are automatically added to their listing then there is no issue.

Who then is responsible for the recalled product appearing on the site again and being purchased?  Is that squarely on the seller?  

Would the seller receive some type of defect or strike on their account for listing a recalled product?   Would the fact that the product still appears in the catalog serve as a mitigating circumstance? 

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Hi @b86fiero, a seller is always responsible for ensuring the item they list does not violate an eBay policy. Product details in our catalog would not be an indication that there has not been a recall placed on the item and, as I mentioned before, would potentially remain in our catalog for recalls that are temporary. This would be reviewed on a case by case basis. A seller could face consequences if they continue to list a recalled item and the catalog would not be a factor. Catalog data is not solely designed to supply information for listings but also plays an important role in search engine optimization.

[tyler@ebay]

Thanks for joining this week everyone, the chat is now closed. 

We'll be spending time and answering the questions we haven't gotten to yet - and we'll see you next week!

[brian@ebay]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

My  question is about returns.

If a buyer returns an item for a "remorse reason"

1. Is a seller allowed to hold back the original shipping charges?

2. How is the amount that is billed to the buyer for return shipping calculated?

3.Are there any buyer facing pages that inform the buyer what and how much they will get in a return?

In the return process (buyer side) Is there any way to inform the buyer of the exact amount to expect for a return?

For example, a buyer purchases an item for $200 plus $25 shiping/handling.  The buyer decides to return the item.  eBay charges the buyer $15 for return shipping. The seller withholds the original $25 shipping and the buyer is refunded $200.

Where in the process does the buyer get informed that they will only be entitled to the $200 and the overall cost of the return will be $40  (25 original shipping and 15  for return shipping)

It seems to me that the buyer should know up front (in the process) that they stand to be out $40 if they choose to return an item.

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Edit: Added info on how the cost of return shipping is calculated.

Hi @golfingaddict! When a buyer chooses a remorse reason in the return, the seller can withhold original shipping from the refund if that is how they set up their return policy. This is mentioned in this help page. Buyers will also see the correct refund amount within the return, meaning they will see that original shipping will not be included in the refund. Buyers will see the cost for return shipping when they go to print/purchase a label on ebay. They can also purchase a label directly from the carrier if they prefer. See the screenshot below for some information about how return shipping is calculated.

Below is an example of what buyers see in a return with a breakdown what is included in the refund.

[Anonymous]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

December 5th

Is Ebay going to make this right on late shipments without sellers having to stand inline on the phone getting it corrected?

We had well over 10 plus items that were flagged late due to this.

BTW: UPS and FEDEX were business as usual so no reason why a seller could not ship If they used those 2 services.

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Hi @automotivepartsrecyclrs, happy to address these concerns for you! As we announced recently, we will be offering automatic protections for sellers who ship via USPS and ran into delays because of the Nation Day of Mourning on December 5th. This wouldn't apply to sellers who ship via UPS or FedEx, as they would not have been affected. As we outlined in our recent announcement, these Seller Performance and late shipment rate protections will be applied automatically, reflected in your monthly seller evaluation.

[tyler@ebay]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

We get messages about your items are in carts now drop the price to make the sale.

HELLO.........If they are in the carts let's make the sale without dropping the price............

A very annoying email from ebay

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Hi @automotivepartsrecyclrs - often times buyers place items in the cart and they end up staying there for a long time. We want to get you that information so that you're aware there are buyers considering your items but they haven't yet made the purchase. In our experience even a small drop in price can win over that buyer who may be on the fence, which is why we advise the price reduction and incentivize it by offering to email your buyers should you reduce it by a certain percentage.  

[brian@ebay]

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@b86fiero wrote:

Silly little question:

The eBay logo is red right now, presumably for the holiday season.  I like the red!

What color is it going to be in January?

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Hi @b86fiero! I like the red holiday color too  It's a fun little change. I'm not sure what the plan is for January (I assume it will go back to the normal logo colors), but I'm excited to find out!

[Anonymous]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

Hi to Alan and everyone from the eBay Community group,

Long time, no speak. I hope you are all preparing to have a happy Christmas and great holiday soon.

I have a question relating to sales tax, and eBay beginning to collect and remit sales tax for a number of states in the new year.

eBay sales tax collection

When eBay begins to collect sales tax for some states on Jan 1, 2019, will you prevent sellers from also collecting sales tax for those states? In essence, they would be double-charging the buyers.

Some USA sellers would do this by mistake, not realising that eBay was now doing it for them, but unfortunately, some foreign sellers do this now deliberately, as a way of increasing their profits, and they don't remit the money collected to any states.

There are some foreign sellers who have been charging, say, 10% to 25% on all their sales, to all states, and calling it a sales tax. Obviously, this fee is never remitted to any of the states, because it doesn't comply with the laws for collecting sales tax in any state. There is no way for a buyer to avoid paying this fraudulent charge except to find a better seller.

I think, when eBay begins to collect and remit sales tax for some states on Jan 1, 2019, that this would be a good time to block this practice, and stop foreign sellers from collecting these flat-rate fees to all states (not just the ones that eBay will be collecting sales tax for).

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Hi @lacemaker3, as we begin collecting sales tax for applicable states next year a seller will not have to take any further action. They will not be able to opt out of this process or make any modifications to the amount that is being collected. A seller would not be able to collect tax independently for these states, and subsequently a double charge will not be possible. 

Additionally, we already review for excessive tax collection and take action accordingly. If you see this, you are welcome to report the listing to eBay for review and the appropriate teams will work to resolve this.

@mam98031, your example is something we are aware of and are reviewing for appropriate action!

[brian@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I know this happened a long time ago, but I like to better understand why Ebay made this change.

The TRS badge is only visable to buyer if they look at our FB page.  Why was this change made.  It use to show on our listings, but now it is only the TRS+ badge that shows.

Why is it more important for a buyer to know we are eligible for the TRS FVF discount than it is to know that we are TRS sellers?  TRS+ as we all know simply means that, that particular listing meets the requirements for the seller to receive a discount on their FVFs.  Why isn't it more important for a seller to know that we meet all the standards of TRS and that is what should be advertised, not the discount status?

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Hi @mam98031! While sellers do receive discounted fees from Top Rated Plus, buyers also benefit. We want to highlight and showcase the benefits a buyer gets from a Top Rated Plus listing, such as free 30-day returns, which is a big part of the reasoning behind this change. Additionally, displaying Top Rated Plus on listings is one of the benefits for Top Rated Plus sellers/listings.