Community Chat, Dec 20th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Please join the Community team here at 1 pm Pacific on Dec 20 for our weekly chat. We do not have a set topic this week, so please feel free to ask us your eBay related buying & selling questions.

The thread will open for replies at 1pm and will remain open for one hour. 

 Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🏽

[go-bad-chicken]

I am a US based book seller who offers USPS Priority Mail International shipping services for my listings to international buyers.

As a US based seller my shipping service of choice and the one that I predomintly offer to buyers outside of the USA is USPS Priority Mail International.

I do not offer nor do I wish to offer eBay's in house international shipping service known as the GSP "Global Shipping Program", for various personel and or buisness reasons.

With that said, I often look at other eBay sites around the world and search them to see how my listing look to those buyers in other countries from their perspective.

As an example I went to eBay UK and searched "George Martin", as I sell quite a bit of this authors work.

I then select the "Worldwide" filter over on the left, so that I might see all of the listings from sellers that offer International shipping from outside of any particular country.

Her is a link to the search that I am reffering to.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_clu=2&_fcid=3&_localstpos=&gbr=1&_nkw=George%2...

I have sorted the search by "High to Low".
I have also changed my location to the United Kingdom, so that I can see the search the same exact way a buyer located in the U.K. does.

What I have noticed for about the past 2 years in the search results on other eBay sites is that US based sellers that offer eBay's in house International GSP shipping service get additional signage in the search results that states : "Custom Services and International Tracking Provided"

This added verbage within the search results and what I see as an unfair advantage infers that the other listings offered by other sellers like myself who offer a different international serive other than the GSP, do not come with International Tracking.

Here are 2 screenshots:

The first screen shot that I have included here is from the search above on eBay UK and is about 13 or 14 listing down from the top. The second screenshot is from my listing showing that it is offereing USPS Priority Mail International

The listing on top is one of mine and the price shown for shipping is for USPS Priority Mail International Shipping, and that service DOES COME WITH INTERNATIONAL TRACKING, and it comes with other benefits as well. The listing below mine is a listing from a friendly competitor of mine that is using eBay's in house International shipping service known as the GSP or the Global Shipping Service.

Does eBay not consider this an unfair advantage or preferentual treament for the service that they own and operate over other shipping services?

Its like a car dealer who puts two cars for sale on their show room floor side by side but then places a sign on one of the cars that staes "This car comes with tires"

I understand that "Customs" are not included with the service that I provide, but when customs are deemed necisary by that buyers government, then those are requested by that buyers local postal service and they are collected at the time of delivery.

If eBay insist on promoting their own shipping service that they own and operate within the search results, why does it not then spell out the other shipping service that I or other sellers provide which in my case is USPS Priority Mail International shipping that includes "International Tracking"?

[theshoppingmom2]

OMG  alan@ebay LOVE the Dog!!!!!

[brian_burke@ebay]

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@siayan wrote:

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brian_burke@ebay wrote:

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@siayan wrote:

In the past if I did a search for a item all items with the search words would show up in best match.

Has there been a change to search that eliminates some items even if the search term is an exact match?

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@siayan

Are you saying that you did a search and then a minute later did the same search and received different (noticeably) results?  We haven't altered best match.  It's important to remember though that items end, are cancelled, etc. so the search results are ever changing - by the second. 

See the following for Best Match factors  - see http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/searchstanding.html

If you use the left hand navigation to reduce a search (e.g. new only, or model), the results will be very different than Best Match from the home page search, and if the item doesn't match criteria that you used, even an exact keyword match will not return the item. 

I would have to see the exact search you did - feel free to send it to me at bburke@ebay.com

Thanks for selling on eBay

Brian

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What I have found is I have several searches set up with minimial key words. While I am searching I will tweek the search in different directions by adding words and I will see items I didn't see before but have the same original search words as my original search. 

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Best match, and all searches, start by determining how relevant a specific item is to the buyer search terms. If you add words, you provide the search engine additional information that can be used to determine relevance. 

Brian

[Anonymous]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

It's nice to see familiar faces posting..

 

I hope everyone gets some time off to enjoy the holidays.

I'm wiped out from the last 4 weeks of selling/packing/shipping.

Now I am starting inventory.

But never too busy to hit the links.

FORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Work hard and play hard, @golfingaddict! 

[mallontown]

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@ci1000 wrote:
This is the worst December I have ever had on eBay. Not only are my sales down but my watchers and impressions are down. There is a lot of speculation which is all over the board. One day eBay favors large sellers the next day sellers with little or no experience are on top of the "Best Match" search.

I have trusted eBay for consistent income for over 10 years. I have done everything you have asked of me and I no longer believe that my hard work, positive feedback and customer service does anything to improve my ranking in the search engines.

What is going on? and what is throttling?

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I'm in the same boat as you, we have to keep bailing the water instead of hoisting the sails

[vrykalak]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@golfingaddict wrote:

alan@ebay

I have a few packages that appear to be delayed.  I shipped them in my handling time, and validated by post office.

How is this reflected in Guaranteed delivery and my shipping time metrics.

They seem to be delayed due the current heavy shipping volumes.

 And yes, volumes this year have been very heavy.

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Hi @golfingaddict, 

My understanding of shipping protections if you are in the 'handling time option' is that as long as you have an acceptance scan from the carrier in your handling time, you should be protected. 

More info on protections for eBay Guaranteed Delivery available here: http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/guaranteed-delivery.html#faqs

If I am missing something here, let me know, and I will contact the Shipping team. 

Many thanks. 

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The problem is: if the item arrives late, due to postal volume or for another reason, what good is Guaranteed Delivery? The buyer is counting on having the item arrive in time. The buyer is upset, the seller has to refund the item (which costs) so the seller is upset, too. Why bother?

[d-k_treasures]

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@mallontown wrote:

What can ebay do for US seller who experienced a drop in sales this year.

I think a big problem is the  influx of all the chinese fakes with low prices.

Has ebay ever considered helping USA sellers by making the default search on the Ebay.com (United States site) as being US.  There could still be the radio boxes for other countries.

We USA sellers at at a disadvantage because ebay does not police its own site correctly

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That would only help some, because a lot have a tiny office in some warehouse complex and ship nothing from there, but ship from china. They just lie regarding item location and nothing is done about it.

[tyler@ebay]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@aluvz2shop wrote:

Happy Holiday to all.

Quick question about a recent promo 

List FREE - 200 auction-style or fixed priced listings Pay no insertion fees on up to 200 listings. Plus, add Buy It Now for free.

12/19/17 00:00:00 PST

12/23/17 23:59:59 PST

0

200

It is listed not once but twice, is this a super bonus or done in error? 

Thanks in advance!

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Hi @aluvz2shop, I've never actually seen this happen before, but I do have a test you can run to determine if there are actually two promotions with the same offer or if this is just a graphical error. Try listing an item within the promotion criteria and check to see if the count of "200" lowers on both or just one. You are welcome to update me with what you find and I can get this over to our tech teams if there is an error present!

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I saw this yesterday.

List an item. It shows used in both spots. Not going to get double 200.

No harm, no foul:)

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The listings I am using are only coming off one of the offers.  The second one is still showing as active with 200 available.

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Howdy @fern*wood - will you check the terms and conditions of the promotions? We have promotions going for Fixed Price as well as for Auction Style listings with similar numbers that could be confusing. 

[monkeystein]

From a previous SELLING THREAD:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/some-of-my-listings-are-appearing-under-international-sellers/...

Searching some of my items on November 11 & 12, when I search anonymously / not signed in and use the SEARCH WITHIN xxx Miles option, any zipcode that is different from mine shows my listings as International Seller,  not United States Seller.

Only in the DEFAULT mode do my listings appear as United States Seller.

When I click on and open a listing, then it does show as United States Seller. But potential buyers are not going to click on the listing if they think it is from an international seller.

Any update on this yet?

[alan@ebay]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

It's nice to see familiar faces posting..

 

I hope everyone gets some time off to enjoy the holidays.

I'm wiped out from the last 4 weeks of selling/packing/shipping.

Now I am starting inventory.

But never too busy to hit the links.

FORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

---

Fantastic news, @golfingaddict! I love that you are living up to your user ID 🙂

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

I think I have discovered why some sellers are complaining about "late" mailing when, in fact, they have met all tracking deadlines. USPS is removing some information from the tracking record! For example, on Monday, December 18, I created an eBay shipping label at 3:43 p.m. PST and took the package to the nearby PO shortly after 4 p.m. (The order was paid on Sunday, December 17.) Rather than wait in line for an acceptance scan (busiest day of the year and about 15 people in line for 2 clerks), I simply placed the 6x9 bubble mailer on a stack of prepaid boxes, caught the eye of the nearest clerk who acknowledged that I had done so, and left the PO. Later Monday evening, I looked up the tracking number at usps.com and found an entry "order confirmed, 6:31 p.m., [my zip code]." This entry confirms that the package is in USPS possession, which satisfies eBay's on-time requirements. On Tuesday morning, I checked the progress of the package -- the "order confirmed" entry was GONE! It was supplanted by 2 entries -- acceptance on December 19 at 1:50 a.m. in my zip code and arrival at the regional sorting facility at 3:05 a.m. Both these entries indicate to eBay that I mailed the package LATE! That's not fair! I created the label and physically mailed the package within my 1-day handling time and USPS acknowledged the order at 6:31 p.m. the same day. But now that acknowledgement no longer exists! And, no, this is not a time zone issue. I am in the Pacific time zone, same as eBay. ~~C~~

[theshoppingmom2]

@sarahbru wishing you good luck with your book !!! and looking forward to reading it soon!

((((Hugssss))))))

[fern*wood]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@aluvz2shop wrote:

Happy Holiday to all.

Quick question about a recent promo 

List FREE - 200 auction-style or fixed priced listings Pay no insertion fees on up to 200 listings. Plus, add Buy It Now for free.

12/19/17 00:00:00 PST

12/23/17 23:59:59 PST

0

200

It is listed not once but twice, is this a super bonus or done in error? 

Thanks in advance!

---

Hi @aluvz2shop, I've never actually seen this happen before, but I do have a test you can run to determine if there are actually two promotions with the same offer or if this is just a graphical error. Try listing an item within the promotion criteria and check to see if the count of "200" lowers on both or just one. You are welcome to update me with what you find and I can get this over to our tech teams if there is an error present!

---

I saw this yesterday.

List an item. It shows used in both spots. Not going to get double 200.

No harm, no foul:)

---

The listings I am using are only coming off one of the offers.  The second one is still showing as active with 200 available.

---

Howdy @fern*wood - will you check the terms and conditions of the promotions? We have promotions going for Fixed Price as well as for Auction Style listings with similar numbers that could be confusing. 

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They are the same one.  Both are showing accepted the same second, even though I only clicked accept once.   Even stranger than having it show up twice was seeing the count down wasn't advancing on both.

[vrykalak]

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brian_burke@ebay wrote:

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@siayan wrote:

---

brian_burke@ebay wrote:

---

@siayan wrote:

In the past if I did a search for a item all items with the search words would show up in best match.

Has there been a change to search that eliminates some items even if the search term is an exact match?

---

@siayan

Are you saying that you did a search and then a minute later did the same search and received different (noticeably) results?  We haven't altered best match.  It's important to remember though that items end, are cancelled, etc. so the search results are ever changing - by the second. 

See the following for Best Match factors  - see http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/searchstanding.html

If you use the left hand navigation to reduce a search (e.g. new only, or model), the results will be very different than Best Match from the home page search, and if the item doesn't match criteria that you used, even an exact keyword match will not return the item. 

I would have to see the exact search you did - feel free to send it to me at bburke@ebay.com

Thanks for selling on eBay

Brian

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What I have found is I have several searches set up with minimial key words. While I am searching I will tweek the search in different directions by adding words and I will see items I didn't see before but have the same original search words as my original search. 

---

Best match, and all searches, start by determining how relevant a specific item is to the buyer search terms. If you add words, you provide the search engine additional information that can be used to determine relevance. 

Brian

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Relevant?!?
I asked for a certain product.
Any listing that has those exact keywords in the title is RELEVANT. Any that don't are not.
If I add more keywords (AND function), that should always reduce the number of results.
"Relevant" has nothing to do with it.

[brian_burke@ebay]

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@vrykalak wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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@siayan wrote:

In the past if I did a search for a item all items with the search words would show up in best match.

Has there been a change to search that eliminates some items even if the search term is an exact match?

---

In the more distant past, if I did a search for an item on ebay, only the ones that had those words in it would show up.

Now it's anyones guess as to what shows up.

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Agree! eBay's search engine used to be the best in the universe. 
It allowed AND, OR, and NOT clauses, and showed exactly and only results that matched the search terms. 
As soon as eBay invented Best Match, their search algorithms went nuts. 
Now I'm lucky if half the results contain all my keywords.

And I NEVER use Best Match. I always search for Price + Shipping.

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@vrykalak - Search is very powerful and if you are not happy with the standard search, I encourage you to use advanced search (upper right of the page) - see these advanced search options: https://pages.ebay.com/help/search/advanced-search.html

Thanks for buying on eBay 🙂

Brian