Community Chat, Dec 13th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hello, 

Please join the Community team here at 1 pm PT today for our weekly chat. 

Talk with you soon! 

[llllady]

In a couple of eBay's television commercials, they are promising guaranteed lowest prices.  How can they do that when they own nothing and sell nothing? 

Chatter is that the only way it can be done is by hiding higher priced items.  Please explain.  Thanks.

[doug@ebay]

Hi @chrysylys thanks for the suggestion, but we wouldn't want to do anything like that to limit conversation around the topic and/or to delete any posts that don't violate guidelines. It would be difficult to decide what is relevant and what is not, and we don't think volume is a good reason to remove posts.

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@chrysylys wrote:

Hit and run post as I have something else to do before the sun goes down.

Should there be some kind of a soft limit on the number of posts in a thread? With very rare exceptions, once a thread goes past about 50 posts it has gone off topic in one way or another and has turned into bickering between points of view. Sure, those posts can be reported, but perhaps they can be monitored a bit better to prevent those issues to begin with?

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[alan@ebay]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Alan/ et al.........\

any word on when the refurbished of  "new and refurbished" will be removed? 

It certainly continues to be embarrassing.      

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Hi @dhbookds, 

I'll check with our Product team to see if they've made a decision on that. I'll let you know what I hear back.

Thanks. 

[mr_lincoln]

alan@ebay  Good afternoon eBay Team!  Several months ago I believe "Doug" was asking if anyone had issues with UPC codes to pass them on to him.  I came across a code on a train car box that may be of interest to his department.  Pic below shows two different train car boxes from the same company, one code is a UPC and the other ... not sure but does not look like a UPC, only 6 characters and appears to be more like a parts number ... anyway, that is the only bar code on the train car.

[brian@ebay]

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@llllady wrote:

In a couple of eBay's television commercials, they are promising guaranteed lowest prices.  How can they do that when they own nothing and sell nothing? 

Chatter is that the only way it can be done is by hiding higher priced items.  Please explain.  Thanks.

---

Hi @llllady, we highlight products and vendors through our Daily Deals while also offering a Price Match Guarantee. 

[Anonymous]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

alan@ebay  Good afternoon eBay Team!  Several months ago I believe "Doug" was asking if anyone had issues with UPC codes to pass them on to him.  I came across a code on a train car box that may be of interest to his department.  Pic below shows two different train car boxes from the same company, one code is a UPC and the other ... not sure but does not look like a UPC, only 6 characters and appears to be more like a parts number ... anyway, that is the only bar code on the train car.

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Hi @mr_lincoln, thanks for the example! I will get this over to our catalog team for review. If you find any more examples you would like to share, email sdsupport@eBay.com and our catalog team will be happy to hear from you 

[tyler@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

tyler@ebay

I recently had a listing removed by Ebay stating that I violated policy and that item was a counterfeit or replica and violated the trademark policy.  I’ve sold this brand of products for years and I’ve sold this specific item before on Ebay, just not in the last couple of years.  I find this extremely concerning as to why Ebay would remove my listing without ANY proof that I’ve done what they are accusing me of doing.  ZERO!!!  My history as a seller should stand for something and sometimes I’m just not getting that from Ebay at all.

So suddenly after almost 20 years on Ebay and an excellent selling record, I’ve decided that the way to go for the future is to sell counterfeit items.  Why in the world would I do that?  There is no logical answer to that question.

In speaking with Customer Service, I got a very nice and thorough representative.  She was wonderful, kind and informative.  However there is no way to appeal this according to her.  She further explained that Ebay removed the listing because the trademark holder contacted Ebay to say that the item was no longer in production and therefore what I’m selling MUST be counterfeit.  For the record there is NO basis in FACT that supports that.  The product IS still in production and is one of their most popular fragrances to date.  It is sold by many other big named sites.  I offered up that information, but again she reminded me that there is no appeal process.  I’d have to contact the trademark holder to try and get this problem fixed. 

On top of that, my listing was ended within 30 minutes of it being posted, so this Trademark holder certainly is FAST in reviewing listings. 

So I learned to day that someone can say anything they want, it does not have to be based in fact or even reality and Ebay will remove my listing if the complaining company wants that done.  I’m not talking about other Ebay sellers, I’m talking about trademark companies.  I can give proof that it is still in production, sold by many sites [to include Ebay] and that I do not now nor have I ever sold fake items to ANYONE, nor would I knowingly do that.

To add insult to injury I just got an email in from Ebay, just one of those regular marketing emails, that asks me if I’m still looking for this product and giving me some links to other sellers selling the very product I’ve been slapped for by Ebay.

I am beyond concerned by this and I am extremely insulted by Ebay’s actions.

---

Hi @mam98031 - no offense intended, but I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm not certain without looking at your account details, but in most situations that you described it sounds like a Verified Rights Owner removal. 

In those situations we are served legal paperwork by the Rights Owner and are required to remove the mentioned posts and notify you as the seller of the item. That's why there isn't an appeal option through us - we need to be contacted by the Trademark Owner and told that it can be appealed. 

In any such removal the email should contain contact information for the Rights Owner who served us the paperwork so you can work with them. 

Happy to take a closer look to double check, I'll reach out for detail in a few moments. Thanks!

I'm happy to take 

[mam98031]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

tyler@ebay

I recently had a listing removed by Ebay stating that I violated policy and that item was a counterfeit or replica and violated the trademark policy.  I’ve sold this brand of products for years and I’ve sold this specific item before on Ebay, just not in the last couple of years.  I find this extremely concerning as to why Ebay would remove my listing without ANY proof that I’ve done what they are accusing me of doing.  ZERO!!!  My history as a seller should stand for something and sometimes I’m just not getting that from Ebay at all.

So suddenly after almost 20 years on Ebay and an excellent selling record, I’ve decided that the way to go for the future is to sell counterfeit items.  Why in the world would I do that?  There is no logical answer to that question.

In speaking with Customer Service, I got a very nice and thorough representative.  She was wonderful, kind and informative.  However there is no way to appeal this according to her.  She further explained that Ebay removed the listing because the trademark holder contacted Ebay to say that the item was no longer in production and therefore what I’m selling MUST be counterfeit.  For the record there is NO basis in FACT that supports that.  The product IS still in production and is one of their most popular fragrances to date.  It is sold by many other big named sites.  I offered up that information, but again she reminded me that there is no appeal process.  I’d have to contact the trademark holder to try and get this problem fixed. 

On top of that, my listing was ended within 30 minutes of it being posted, so this Trademark holder certainly is FAST in reviewing listings. 

So I learned to day that someone can say anything they want, it does not have to be based in fact or even reality and Ebay will remove my listing if the complaining company wants that done.  I’m not talking about other Ebay sellers, I’m talking about trademark companies.  I can give proof that it is still in production, sold by many sites [to include Ebay] and that I do not now nor have I ever sold fake items to ANYONE, nor would I knowingly do that.

To add insult to injury I just got an email in from Ebay, just one of those regular marketing emails, that asks me if I’m still looking for this product and giving me some links to other sellers selling the very product I’ve been slapped for by Ebay.

I am beyond concerned by this and I am extremely insulted by Ebay’s actions.

---

Hi @mam98031 - no offense intended, but I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm not certain without looking at your account details, but in most situations that you described it sounds like a Verified Rights Owner removal. 

In those situations we are served legal paperwork by the Rights Owner and are required to remove the mentioned posts and notify you as the seller of the item. That's why there isn't an appeal option through us - we need to be contacted by the Trademark Owner and told that it can be appealed. 

In any such removal the email should contain contact information for the Rights Owner who served us the paperwork so you can work with them. 

Happy to take a closer look to double check, I'll reach out for detail in a few moments. Thanks!

I'm happy to take 

---

That is what I thought too, however when I called this a Vero violation to the CSR I spoke with, she said it wasn't Vero.  It was an Ebay dept responsible for reviewing listngs and ending ones that are deemed appropriate to be ended for a site violation / breach.

No where on the email I have does it refer to contact info directly to the trademark holder.  And as I stated above, the reason that Ebay used for removing the listing is factually incorrect.  I can prove that simply by a little internet surfing.  This product is NOT out of production.

[tyler@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

---

tyler@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

tyler@ebay

I recently had a listing removed by Ebay stating that I violated policy and that item was a counterfeit or replica and violated the trademark policy.  I’ve sold this brand of products for years and I’ve sold this specific item before on Ebay, just not in the last couple of years.  I find this extremely concerning as to why Ebay would remove my listing without ANY proof that I’ve done what they are accusing me of doing.  ZERO!!!  My history as a seller should stand for something and sometimes I’m just not getting that from Ebay at all.

So suddenly after almost 20 years on Ebay and an excellent selling record, I’ve decided that the way to go for the future is to sell counterfeit items.  Why in the world would I do that?  There is no logical answer to that question.

In speaking with Customer Service, I got a very nice and thorough representative.  She was wonderful, kind and informative.  However there is no way to appeal this according to her.  She further explained that Ebay removed the listing because the trademark holder contacted Ebay to say that the item was no longer in production and therefore what I’m selling MUST be counterfeit.  For the record there is NO basis in FACT that supports that.  The product IS still in production and is one of their most popular fragrances to date.  It is sold by many other big named sites.  I offered up that information, but again she reminded me that there is no appeal process.  I’d have to contact the trademark holder to try and get this problem fixed. 

On top of that, my listing was ended within 30 minutes of it being posted, so this Trademark holder certainly is FAST in reviewing listings. 

So I learned to day that someone can say anything they want, it does not have to be based in fact or even reality and Ebay will remove my listing if the complaining company wants that done.  I’m not talking about other Ebay sellers, I’m talking about trademark companies.  I can give proof that it is still in production, sold by many sites [to include Ebay] and that I do not now nor have I ever sold fake items to ANYONE, nor would I knowingly do that.

To add insult to injury I just got an email in from Ebay, just one of those regular marketing emails, that asks me if I’m still looking for this product and giving me some links to other sellers selling the very product I’ve been slapped for by Ebay.

I am beyond concerned by this and I am extremely insulted by Ebay’s actions.

---

Hi @mam98031 - no offense intended, but I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm not certain without looking at your account details, but in most situations that you described it sounds like a Verified Rights Owner removal. 

In those situations we are served legal paperwork by the Rights Owner and are required to remove the mentioned posts and notify you as the seller of the item. That's why there isn't an appeal option through us - we need to be contacted by the Trademark Owner and told that it can be appealed. 

In any such removal the email should contain contact information for the Rights Owner who served us the paperwork so you can work with them. 

Happy to take a closer look to double check, I'll reach out for detail in a few moments. Thanks!

I'm happy to take 

---

That is what I thought too, however when I called this a Vero violation to the CSR I spoke with, she said it wasn't Vero.  It was an Ebay dept responsible for reviewing listngs and ending ones that are deemed appropriate to be ended for a site violation / breach.

No where on the email I have does it refer to contact info directly to the trademark holder.  And as I stated above, the reason that Ebay used for removing the listing is factually incorrect.  I can prove that simply by a little internet surfing.  This product is NOT out of production.

---

Good to know - definitely want to see what more I can find out about this. I reached out a moment ago for additional detail.

[a_c_green]

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trinton@ebay wrote: 
Thank you so much for touching base on this topic, @a_c_green. I can confirm that our sellers are all held to the same expectations. This could have been placed back on the listings in error by an employee or a listing tool, but we will absolutely make sure this is addressed and that appropriate action is taken.

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Thanks. I did get the sense from looking at those listings that they're almost certainly prepared offsite by some editorial people who clearly haven't gotten the word, so someone really needs to follow up on the customer side and read them the Riot Act over there. Will see if they update their listings in the coming week or two.

I mean, seriously, once a buyer is lured over to their own site for further toy shopping, there's no motiviation, reminder or anything like that to prod them into returning here. They'll just carry on shopping there, and eBay will get none of the proceeds. That's a big revenue stream going right down the drain. Good luck on retraining them.

[mr_lincoln]

alan@ebay@, @klassic*kids

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@klassic*kids wrote:

Alan, I am wondering if there are any cold hard statistics if promotional listings is working?

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Hi @klassic*kids, 

I don't think that there is any public information on success statistics for Promoted Listings. I do know from speaking with sellers that a lot of our sellers love using this feature and the fact that eBay has invested more and expanded Promoted Listings to more categories over time tells me that it is successful/working. 

Thanks. 

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eBay opened up Promoted Listings to individual items and broadened tha category base a little while ago.  

I think it was the week before Thanksgiving that I decided to put every Fixed Price item on 2 IDs on Promoted Listings for a substantial % thru Dec 4 to cover Cyber Monday ... sales were very good the rest of the month and both accounts recorded sales on Promoted items ... now we're talking collectibles here and not high volume commodities ... but I think that feature increased sales across the board.

[mr_lincoln]

@Anonymous  10-4 ... will do.

[mam98031]

I sent you the info you requested.

[alan@ebay]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

alan@ebay@, @klassic*kids

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@klassic*kids wrote:

Alan, I am wondering if there are any cold hard statistics if promotional listings is working?

---

Hi @klassic*kids, 

I don't think that there is any public information on success statistics for Promoted Listings. I do know from speaking with sellers that a lot of our sellers love using this feature and the fact that eBay has invested more and expanded Promoted Listings to more categories over time tells me that it is successful/working. 

Thanks. 

---

eBay opened up Promoted Listings to individual items and broadened tha category base a little while ago.  

I think it was the week before Thanksgiving that I decided to put every Fixed Price item on 2 IDs on Promoted Listings for a substantial % thru Dec 4 to cover Cyber Monday ... sales were very good the rest of the month and both accounts recorded sales on Promoted items ... now we're talking collectibles here and not high volume commodities ... but I think that feature increased sales across the board.

---

Awesome, thanks for sharing! 

The good news is that fees are only charged when a Promoted Listing sells, so any sellers on the fence about using the feature could try it out, knowing that the fee will only be charged if it turns out to be successful for them. 

[a_c_green]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

Pic below shows two different train car boxes from the same company, one code is a UPC and the other ... not sure but does not look like a UPC, only 6 characters and appears to be more like a parts number ... anyway, that is the only bar code on the train car.

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Actually, if you look to the right of that barcode label in your first photo, you can see that it's the manufacturer's own model number in barcode form; it is indeed not a UPC code.

Is it possible that that particular item, a caboose, was part of a prepackaged train set, and thus would have only a model number but no UPC code of its own (at least when not packaged for individual sale)?