Community Chat, December 16 @ 1:00 pm PT - General Topics

[brittanie@ebay]

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a specific topic this week, so feel free to share any general buying or selling questions you may have.

The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.

To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. The Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.

Missed the chat? Send your questions to the podcast by calling  888-723-4630 or email us at podcast@ebay.com and maybe your questions will make it on the air! Or listen to past episodes while you wait for next Wednesday!

[brittanie@ebay]

@donsdetour  You are welcome! I am glad you enjoyed it. 😁

[tsme35]

I can't put screen shots up without putting all my sales income for all to see.  We need a set financial report that shows total sales, refunds, shipping, taxes,fees. I have to go to performance-sales, run a report compared to prior month to get some of the numbers but they don't match the Financial statement or my sales invoice at the end of the month. I can but "shouldn't" have to run an excel program on sales report to get some numbers, that even in a week are different.  I have to give what numbers I can find to my accountant which he couldn't make sense of ebay's mess or could understand that after 2 years of MP, ebay hasn't set up a simple program. I've called in a few times and not one rep can tell where or even pull up all the reports to compare numbers. As a business, ebay's demand I conduct myself as so but I expect ebay to to the same for me.

 One last thing, could SOMEBODY  please get combine shipping on ebay's app, I lost 2 sales last week because they use a cell phone, I mean 40%+ are buying on the app now and we've been asking for over 3 yrs now

thanks

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[tsme35]

I post this last week and tagged you, never heard anything back

[deja8318]

Hi,   I have a question for late shipment protection. Is Ebay going to extend more account protection? I am aware of the current holiday late shipment protection announcement. However there has been a major problem with the post office not scanning receipt of packages or scan forms. To make the issue worse they are holding packages for days, sometimes a week, before they show up with a local scan. This happens both in the post office and with scheduled package pick up. I am not the only seller having this issue. It is posted on the Ebay forums. It is also happening to other sellers I network with. It seems to be a country wide problem not just local to me. I have done everything on my end to try to make sure it does not put my Ebay account in jeopardy. I shut down early in the pandemic when my state was on lock down to avoid problems with my Ebay account. When I opened back up I changed my handling time to three days and gave up my TSR discount. I still ship within 24 hours. I upgrade to priority mail when possible but that does not speed things up. I also tried bringing the packages to the post office closest to the regional hub. Clerks refuse to process prepaid packages and tell you to leave them. I have reached out to USPS CS. I have opened cases with them. I have spoken to the supervisors in my local PO. I am finally in communication with my post master she is trying to address the issue. As of yesterday I have emailed her my scan forms. But that will only help for future issues. The damage is already done from late November/December.  For the first time in all my years on Ebay my account is in serious jeopardy. When these defects show up in the December account review.  I am very concerned and very stressed out over this.  

[mr_lincoln]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@firstelm_group wrote:

Hi - I’d love to know what, if any, additional help eBay is going to provide to sellers impacted by USPS delays. I’ve already had to do my first refund because the buyer isn’t going to receive their item by Christmas. This is in spite of sending the item early enough for it to arrive on time, sending updates, etc. I’m very concerned that I’ll have many refunds to do in the coming weeks for something that is 100% out of my control. I don’t feel like I have any choices here because I’m working hard to get and maintain “Top Seller” status. I’d appreciate any guidance you can provide. 

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Hi @firstelm_group - you can read about the delays we're seeing and what we're doing to protect your seller rating in our announcement here. Thanks!

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Hi tyler@ebay ,

Just curious, did you ever actually read that announcement???   It is NOT automatic and about as clear as mud ... "we are keeping cases open for 10 more days from the time a buyer asked eBay to step".  WHEN does a Buyer ask eBay to step in???  My understanding is when an INR comes to an end in the 3-4 days a Seller is given the Buyer is refunded and the Seller gets an unresolved strike if they have NOT refunded in their alloted time frame?  What kind of protection is that???  I advised eBay (BEFORE THANKSGIVING) to push out when a Buyer can even process an INR by at least 7 days ...  on my 2 INRs had eBay done that they never would have occurred because packages were delivered 2 days in to the 4 & 10 day extensions I got ...

The policy is NOT clear at all, TOO many moving parts, just make it simple and delay when INRs can be processed.

[tyler@ebay]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

I have a question about a seller that is drop shipping.  I purchased an item from them because it said that the item was coming from California.  I thought it might have a chance to get here sooner given all the delays etc.  Well it turns out the seller is drop shipping and it is now shipping from Connecticut.  

Do  I have any options regarding this order?

This is the second time I am trying to get these items.  The first order was supposedly shipped by FED EX on Dec 4.  The seller provided a tracking number but it has never been updated and shows no movement.  While I am sympathetic with sellers and shipping during this time, it seems odd to me that it has not even been accepted in 12 days.  Nothing, nada.. zilch.

It's a tough time being a seller and a buyer.  I am really tired of 2020.

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Hi @golfingaddict - I agree with you there - it's tough all around for buyers and sellers alike. @mam98031 gave good advice - consider reporting the seller to us.

As to the shipments themselves, you've already been patient and I'd encourage you to continue hanging in there. It may also be worth nudging the seller on the FedEx shipment too, just to see if they have an update to share. 

[justsc92]

Same 24" x 36".    Original looks just like the reproduction except the original is canvas and paint the reproductions are paper and copy ink (I guess you could say copy ink).

Not sure why timing matters.

You really danced around the real heart of the matter.   Does eBay take a view on this as fraud.  Can the sales of a reprint or reproduction where it is printed right on the item for sale that it is "original oil painting" and "limited edition 1 of 1" be ok and be sold (knowing it is one of 1000 and not 1 of 1).    How can this be done carefully when the item has these things printed right on it?

Does it really matter what the listing states?    Isn't more important what the item itself has printed on it.

What I see on other listings is the hope that the buyer ignores (or is confused) what is stated in the listing and sees what is printed on the item.   The buyer seeing the statements printed on the item might for a moment think it is real and they are getting a bargin.  Why read the listing when these statements are listed on the item for sale.  They will open a box with the item having these statements - the listing is pretty much gone at that point.  

I guess if the listing is either mute on details or is in conflict with the statement printed right on the item itself which governs?

[mam98031]

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@mam98031 wrote:

On a few threads various members have expressed concern over CSRs in the call center having the ability to see their financial information.  Just regular CSRs that may or may not be based in the USA.  It is of real concern to many.  What is the Ebay policy on this?

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Just a little bump on this question I asked.  We are close to closing the thread and I didn't want it to be missed.

[brittanie@ebay]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

Why does eBay not vet its buyers they same way they vet their sellers?  You are more than happy to throw honest hard working sellers under the bus but rarely deal with bad buyers.  eBay’s dishonest behaviors are consistent though.  It seems enforcing selling policies are top priority.  Buying related polices are clearly just there for show.  I find it to be odd eBay takes the time to write buying policies they don’t enforce.  Maybe that time could be diverted to something more profitable.  Like stopping illegal activities within the company? 🤔

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@gwzcomps We're on the same page with this. We do evaluate our buyers activity and enforce our buying policies. I know there can be the misconception that "nothing was done" because the majority of these actions are not public facing.

As we protect all member privacy, we cannot provide sellers with details on their buyer's history or what's happened to their account, just as we wouldn't share actions taken on a seller's account, but that doesn't mean we have not reviewed the report and taken action based on our policies.

[mam98031]

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@mam98031 wrote:

In regards to the PM icon on the top right side of the community.  Along with the new format, which I'm not a fan of, comes an issue.  If you read post there but do not respond to it, the envelope icon will NOT turn back to black.  You have to respond to get it to go back to black.  That can end up being an endless circle between members going back and forth.  Certainly annoying.

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Just a little bump on this issue as I want to make sure it gets reported.

[brittanie@ebay]

@postcardcountry Glad to hear you're as excited, as I was when this was announced. There have been no announcements about plans to expand this, but I know this is something they are keeping their eye on for future improvements. Keep your eye out on our Announcement board here for any future updates we might have.

We don't allow links to Facebook groups here, so that wouldn't be something that can be done, but you are welcome to create a thread on the Selling board to talk with other like-minded sellers. 

[justsc92]

From Brittney "It's hard for me to speak to hypotheticals, but at a high-level, any item listed on eBay must comply with our policies and not infringe on the intellectual property rights of the right's owner."

I stated this is not an issue of  intellectual property rights of the right's owner.  Assume that the rightful owner has created the reproductions.  Is this an issue of potential fraud?    What is eBay's policy on if this as fraud or not.

eBay seems to want to wrap this back as right's ownership since it passes the buck,  and not deal with an item that is fraudulent no matter who produced it.  If it is fraudulent, who really cares who made it,  it is who is selling it.

This is not too much of a hypothetical?  There are real life examples today as live listings.   

[mr_lincoln]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

In regards to the PM icon on the top right side of the community.  Along with the new format, which I'm not a fan of, comes an issue.  If you read post there but do not respond to it, the envelope icon will NOT turn back to black.  You have to respond to get it to go back to black.  That can end up being an endless circle between members going back and forth.  Certainly annoying.

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Just a little bump on this issue as I want to make sure it gets reported.

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Yes THIS is annoying to say the least ... you can also DELETE the PM and the red notification number will change.  But that's just more work ... once the PM is read the Notification should change, period.

[maxoptical]

Tyler,  I  ship my items from 4 different US locations.  eBay has been promising me for years the ability to upload my actual inventory at each location and then giving actual delivery times based on the location with stock closest to the buyer.   This would avoid the scenario that this eBay buyer is having.  

John Norman

Max Optical LLC.

[tyler@ebay]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

On Saturday I noticed a change in the Promoted Listings FAQ.  I tagged tyler@ebay  in this thread but didn't get a response yet.

Here is the page from 11/6

and the same page from 12/12

I am reading these changes to mean that for sellers enrolled in Managed Payments, the Promoted Listings ad fees will be deducted at time of sale, like the FVF is currently.

Is this correct and if so, when will this change take effect? Will sellers be notified in advance or just start seeing fees deducted without notice?

Also just to confirm, how will the TRS $30/quarter credit be applied for those in Managed Payments? Does issuing the credit "toward your total account funds" mean it will be put in a seller's available funds for payout?

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Hi @valueaddedresource - I'm very limited in what I'm able to discuss when it comes to managed payments and its interactions with other aspects of your business. I can say that what the terms from your screenshot appear to describe is that Promoted Listing ad fees will now be netted at the time of payment for managed payments sellers (like Final Value Fees are). However, for specifics about how it will work in application, what it will look like, etc, I have to refer you to a payments-trained teammate.