Community Chat Hour - Wed. Sep 5th @ 1 pm PDT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Join The Community Team here at 1 pm today for our chat hour. We don't have a set topic, so feel free to ask us your buying and selling questions. 

Chat with you then! 

[a_c_green]

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@vrykalak wrote: 
Interesting! So if I change the shipping address to remove the +4 of the ZIP code, will eBay still allow me to send it? and will I still have the seller protections as if I had NOT changed the shipping address in this way?

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Actually, when you go to print the Shipping label, the address is validated against the USPS database behind the scenes, and the correct ZIP+4 code is applied at that time. So if you take off the +4 suffix in order to get your ZIP code past the flakiness of the eBay interface, the USPS validation will stick it right back on again (correctly) after that.

Thus I don't think you can actually print a 5-digit ZIP in the first place; it'll magically come out as ZIP+4 when the address as a whole is validated.

[globalautodistributors]

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@globalautodistributors wrote:

Hi eBay Community Team,

My question is about updating listing descriptions to ensure mobile-friendly compliance. When I use the eBay tool to check for mobile-friendliness, I get the warning: "Viewport Meta Tag Incorrect or Missing". The "Fix it for Me" feature solves the problem like magic.  In the sample mobile view, the font sizes and spacing are corrected for viewer-friendliness.  I'd like to ensure all my listings are mobile-friendly when it comes to font sizing/spacing/layout.

Is there a way to bulk edit all of my current active listings to eliminate the "viewport meta tag" problem? For new listings, it's not a problem, I just use the Fix it For Me tool.  But for all existing listings, it would be great if the fix can be done in bulk.

Thank you!

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Hi @globalautodistributors! The Bulk Edit tool does not support the Mobile Friendly checker. Items will have to be revised individually to get them updated. 

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Thank you, Brian!  I'll just continue hoping that one day it will be possible to do the fix in bulk, then.  For now I'll just revise & fix my most popular items.

[mam98031]

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@golf-usga wrote:

It is very disconcerting when looking at the seller dashboard to see that the Tracking uploaded on time and validated has dropped despite shipping on time and having my items scanned at the post office.

Quite often, my percentage drops and when I investigate the metrics tell me that the label has not been validated when in fact, often the package has already been delivered and has 4-5 scans at minimum.

This happens frequently on all of my accounts.  I use ebay labels and my carrier scans on pick up.  It makes me very distrustful of the information in my dashboard when I seem to always get those false "late shipping" or tracking not validated.

If ebay intends to hold us responsible for this information it seems that their process should work correctly. 

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I agree.  Every couple of months, it seems, that I have to call Ebay to get some stuff removed off my dashboard that does not belong there.  Tracking and ship times clearly show correctly on the online tracking, yet often times it is incorrectly reported on the dashboard as a late shipment.  Why does this happen so often?

[scga912]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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Hi @scga912, 

Thanks for calling this one out. We did send this over to the Help Hub team for their consideration a couple of weeks ago when you posted about it. We're going to contact them to advise that it has come up again in the Community and see if they are going to update the page. 

I'm hoping that we'll have news on this soon.

Thank you. 

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alan@ebay

Thanks for your reply.  I know you can only do what you are doing, and it is so very much appreciated.  However,  I don't really understand what there is to consider.  The information on the Cancellation page for Buyers is in direct opposition to the information on the Cancellation page for Sellers.  Maybe Legal needs to be notified too? 

[automotivepartsrecyclrs]

When a scan sheet is scanned the clerk has to check YES then they put in the number of packages showing on scan sheet. If they check NO then nothing on your scan sheet will show a scan. It has taken us 6 months to find the problem and it was one usps clerk.

[automotivepartsrecyclrs]

You can change the zip code but NOT the address without getting in trouble with Ebay

[vrykalak]

from last time, 29Aug18 #56

alan@ebay wrote:

@vrykalak wrote:
In the new payment plan:
2. Also, eBay will be charging fees to handle the money, and PayPal will also charge fees if a Buyer buys through PayPal. Since all buyers are currently required to buy through PayPal (whether directly or using a credit card that has been linked to PayPal), this seems like a bad deal for everyone.

Hi @vrykalak, 

2. The goal of managed payments is to reduce fees for sellers. Our CEO has advised this publicly many times. Check out the keynote from eBay Open (available at www.ebayopen.com) where managed payments is discussed.  When you're using managed payments on eBay, all of the payments are handled by eBay, so you're not subject to the double charge you mention - you'll just pay the eBay fee. 

Thanks.

If a buyer pays through PayPal, are you saying PayPal will NOT charge their usual fees, which is in addition to whatever fees eBay charges for handling the transaction?

[rivers9701]

When eBay flags a bad Zip code, that doesn't necessarily mean the Zip code is bad — it could be that an error in the address is putting it in another Zip code. I always validate addresses with the USPS and have found many errors in my years of selling on eBay. Buyer address validation should be part of eBay's job. Regarding specific examples, I shouldn't do that publicly. Can you tell me whom to contact privately to continue this conversation? Thanks.

[terrycanarsky]

Yes, sir.  As I said, it is a Sales page, *not* the direction you gave.

........and it is nowhere nearly as useful as the older version.

~M

[Anonymous]

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@vrykalak wrote:

from last time, 8/29/18, #65

@vrykalak wrote:

This is a trivial matter, but I want to put it out to the community:
when I call CS, most of the time, they only ask my name and ZIP code to prove who I am. Other times, they also demand my phone number (which the robot has already confirmed), and sometimes even my full address. Can this policy be changed, so all I have to give to talk to an agent is name and ZIP code?

Hi @vrykalak, happy to elaborate on this. The methods we have available to confirm your identity can vary depending on the topic you are calling in about and the information we obtained from you through our automated system. Additionally, we do not always ask the same questions but select from a variety of options as this improves account security. To clarify, asking the same details every time actually increases your risk, as those who may seek to gain access to your account only only need to obtain the standard pieces of information. If we ask different questions each time, then we are taking steps to increase your account security.

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Hi @vrykalak, to ensure your security and the security of our site, we will continue to ask a variety of questions and will sometimes ask these questions repeatedly. Though this may seem like an inconvenience for you, securing your account takes only moments and the benefits far outweigh any potential detriments. 

As for how someone could gain access to your account using your information, I wouldn't be able to address this in more detail. I'm sure you can understand how specific examples on this topic could be used by those looking for ways to fraudulently gain access to your account. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

alan@ebay

If comics-scifi-collectibles is correct about the pomo modules showing on mobile IF and only IF the header shows at the top of the listing page on a PC, then shouldn't sellers be told in the tutorials that UNLESS they figure out the hidden rules for when headers appear, their pomos are nearly useless on Mobile?

[alan@ebay]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Thanks Alan. Do ANY of the promotions manager modules work with the app? If so, which ones?

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I don't know off the top of my head. I'll ask my friend on the mobile apps team and find out for you. Will update you soon. 

[brian@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I know the issue of disappearing pics have been reported off and on over the last few months.  I'm hear to join in with that issue.  I am starting to see some of my variation listings losing their pics with the exception of the main pic.  

As I'm sure you can imagine, this is a HUGE problem.  For many reasons.  

Now I need to review every variation listing I have posted.

Correct / add pics as needed which can be a lot of pics.

Potentially losing sales as the buyer can't see what they are actually purchasing.

Or potentially a SNAD because the buyer assumed something about the item that would have been noticed in the pic, but the pic was not there.

And so on.

This is a great deal of work.  Why does this issue keep coming back?

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Hi @mam98031, we're happy to look into this and get it reported. Can you provide some example item numbers this has occurred on? That will give us some data to research and send over.

[mam98031]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:
You can change the zip code but NOT the address without getting in trouble with Ebay

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That isn't entirely correct.  You can reformat the address.  For example sometimes, especially on an international address, the information on one line may be too long for the label system to handle.  You can adjust that.  Break it up into two lines.  As long as the information is not actually changing the address, you can do it.  And sometimes the zip code doesn't match the city in which the buyer has on their typed out address.  I've corrected that too without issue.  But I have to admit, I haven't had to do this in the last month or so.  So if something has changed, I'm unaware of it.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote: 
Interesting! So if I change the shipping address to remove the +4 of the ZIP code, will eBay still allow me to send it? and will I still have the seller protections as if I had NOT changed the shipping address in this way?

---

Actually, when you go to print the Shipping label, the address is validated against the USPS database behind the scenes, and the correct ZIP+4 code is applied at that time. So if you take off the +4 suffix in order to get your ZIP code past the flakiness of the eBay interface, the USPS validation will stick it right back on again (correctly) after that.

Thus I don't think you can actually print a 5-digit ZIP in the first place; it'll magically come out as ZIP+4 when the address as a whole is validated.

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Right.

The +4 is for USPS use only, it makes not one whit of difference in the address or the deliverability of the package.