Community Chat, Jan 24th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi eBay Community! 

Please join The Community Team here for our Community chat hour between 1-2pm Pacific on Wed. Jan 24th. There isn't a set topic this week so feel free to join in and ask your buying & selling questions. 

We'll keep the thread open for an hour, and we'll stay around after the hour is up to ensure we answer all questions. 

Chat then! 

[sactownpickers]

I posted this in the ebay for business fb group as well, i am reiterating I really feel it needs to be said again and with much greater consideration. Ebay gave the shipping supplies benefit to us in the spring 2017 update to soften the store fee increase, as an offset. To me, that is $300 in boxes a year. Why is ebay allowing ebayshippingsupplies to discontinue box sizes? Shouldn’t ebay be monitoring the benefits they give their sellers? This is a benefit to me that I can no longer use. All 3 box sizes that I use are discontinued 10x10x10, 12x12x12, 18x14x12. As boxes are the only thing I use from ebayshippingsupplies, I can no longer use my coupons. On top of that, no notice…I was all ready to order and have my new shipment here in a week….so here I am spending time researching costs for boxes from other vendors and having it come out of pocket on top of that. This has left me feeling very frustrated, paying out of pocket is a huge consideration for me as a small seller. I relied upon this benefit from ebay. Unless larger boxes become available again this quarter, the only way I see to recoup some of my cost would be to become a reseller of ebay tape - which I really don’t want to do, its so silly, but I'm not going to throw money away. Thanks for listening, it takes a lot for me to post, as I am a very positive person - most difficulties sort themselves out. If anyone else sees this and is in the same position, please like this post or comment. ~p

[brian@ebay]

---

@mallontown wrote:

On the sell your item page there is a radio checkbox for international visibility.

When I click on it it shows only UK as a choice and If I choose it shows a .50 charge.

I did not choose it.

I logged into eBay UK to see my listing and there are there and show my items converted pricing in  UK pound cost.

So what exactly is the .50 charge for as I already show my items as being listed on the UK site?

Is ebays "Monetization team" (a Griff joke , I'm hoping) charging sellers extra for something they get for free anyway?

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

---

Hi @mallontown, while this feature is useful, it's not required for your listings to be visible on international sites. The International Site Visibility option lets the listing show above the fold in search results. With that said, if you offer international shipping on your listings then they will show up on international sites. 

[Anonymous]

---

@labs118 wrote:

I don't sell to international on this account & understand buyers may have reshippers or USA addresses
But why is my dashboard telling me I am going to be moved from Top Rated to Above Standard with these   notifications?
Am I going to fall from Top Rated all together ? Sorry This confuses me.
I Ship every item & upload on time, have no cases so I am not understanding this at all. 
How do you even rate e for Global when this account doesn't ship internationally ?

---

Hi @labs118, our 2017 Summer Seller Update announced changes to how international performance standards are calculated and also discussed how sellers who were currently Top Rated in the Global region at that time would have this extended until February 20, 2018. Though I won't be able to go into specific details on what requirements you aren't meeting to be Top Rated globally, you can review our Help Page on Global Seller Performance for details you can compare to your account.

[vrykalak]

re #88, 17Jan18: Can't give a Combined Shipping discount through eBay; have to refund thru PayPal. eBay doesn't have a any plans to change that.
ALL of my last 8 sales involved combined shipping. Not only will eBay not acknowledge multiple sales to the same customer, I paid FVFs on $23 of S&H that I refunded to the customers.
Paypal refunded their fees on the $23; eBay did not.

Bad for sellers who offer combined shipping to buyers of multiple items.

[dcintennessee]

alan@ebay, @Anonymous, brian@ebay.com

I quickly scanned, and didn't see this:

FedEx SmartPost rates went up, I think 2 days ago. Currently, Buyers are being charged the OLD rates, while Sellers are being charged the new rates. The rate difference can be significant. I had a "free" shipping sale, small package, less than 4 pounds. I shipped PM for $4 less than SmartPost, but this worked out only because the buyer was in a nearby zone.

Fix it please!!

[golfingaddict]

Last suggestion

Get rid of the antiquated feedback and dsr program

brian_burke@ebay

[alan@ebay]

---

@mallontown wrote:

Great Value in Every Stores Subscription Package

Ebay uses free supplies as an enticemnet to get sellers to sign up for different levels of stores.

In the promotion it says 10 sizes of boxes and includes a picture of boxes with 1 being the cube shape. Please bring back the cubes. 4 < 10+. bait and switch or false advertising or both?

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

Ebay only has 4 sizes available

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

---

Hi @mallontown, 

This has been a recurring topic in the last couple of our chats. It has come up already today. We've shared feedback with our shipping supplies team for their consideration.

Thank you. 

[vrykalak]

Apologies if this has already been addressed:

I took a non-eBay package to the Post Office that weighed 15oz. They said it had to go Priority, because First Class stops at 13oz.
I know I have sent parcels weighing more than 13 oz by First Class in eBay.

Is that a change resulting from the new USPS rates?

Or is that some deal eBay has with USPS that mere mortals can't access?

[mr_lincoln]

@mallontown

---

@mallontown wrote:

Great Value in Every Stores Subscription Package

Ebay uses free supplies as an enticemnet to get sellers to sign up for different levels of stores.

In the promotion it says 10 sizes of boxes and includes a picture of boxes with 1 being the cube shape. Please bring back the cubes. 4 < 10+. bait and switch or false advertising or both?

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

Ebay only has 4 sizes available

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

---

I agree 110%  Need the larger boxes back and of course one suggestion is to have one larger footprint with pre-scored lines every 2" downthe height so Sellers can adjust height themselves ...

[raquel_bayarea]

---

@mallontown wrote:

Will ebay be protect sellers for issues that arise because  of not being able to print label?

Will ebay be footing the bill for all of the late shipments in the guaranteed program?

We ebay protect sellers from accounts getting dings on their Seller performance status?

Will the protections be proactive?

I don't think sellers should have to call customer service to get any

defect removed or credit applied as this was an ebay issue not a seller issue.

If you found my reply useful, please give it a Helpful. If my response assisted in resolving your question, please click "Accept as Solution."

---

Hi @mallontown, yes your Seller Performance Status will be protected from not being able to print a label. These protections will be automatic. 

[alan@ebay]

Thanks everyone! That hour went quickly. We're all attending a meeting now for the next while. We'll be back later this afternoon to respond to questions we haven't got to yet. 

Make sure you 'subscribe' via the options menu so that you're alerted to later responses. 

Thanks & have a great rest of the week! 

[tyler@ebay]

---

@mcjbob wrote:

Please address the following:

January USPS rate change disabled printing of eBay First Class Package International labels and domestic First Class 13 to 16 oz labels.  Over 24 hours passed before any official announcement was made.

1. Why such a lag?
2. First announcement I saw from eBay was made on eBay Facebook. Why Facebook first not on eBay itself?
3. eBay Customer Service was providing incorrect information that USPS discontinued First Class International Package shipping. Who provides and approves ebay Customer Service with their responses?
4. This change was not an overnight change by UPS, ebay had lead-in time. Does ebay do any testing for changes?
5. Does anyone at ebay review discussion boards or internet sites that monitor ebay issues, as users noted this over 24 hours before ebay recognized or admitted there was an issue? This was all made worse by eBay users posting incorrect information.
6. eBay users were worried about loss of TRS status for late international shipping. I know ebay has addressed this and advised adjustments will be made for this issue beyond a seller’s control. However, ebay needs to do a better job of explaining how international shipping and domestic shipping are measured differently and their respective impact on TRS status. Please do a better job of explaining TRS for domestic and global. 

Finally I did see ebay staff on Monday commenting on printing issue on the Discussion Board, MUCH APPRECIATED! 

---

Hi @mcjbob - happy to discuss your concerns:

1 and 2 were addressed by Alan.
3. Unfortunately, Customer Service did provide incorrect information early on when we first started to receive reports from sellers. Customer Service received updated information soon after and they then began providing the most up-to-date information to sellers after that.
4. We do test products before roll out, and the teams involved are working on what happened and why.
5. We review our Community boards and social media sites and report issues that are impacts to members as we hear them. There is usually a delay between initial reports and a formal announcement as we take time to measure breadth and scope of the issue as well as best course of action to correct.
6. More information about Top Rated status and qualifications here.

[brian@ebay]

@rosevelyn wrote:

Thank you for doing so, Brian. Why was it changed? I want honest feedback in a timely manner so that I can move on. I have been told over the years by ebay team members that various issues will be brought up in a meeting. I used to be able to speak with a member of seller insights on the phone.

Hi @rosevelyn, our marketing and designs will evolve over time. We've been working on the new logo and design for the last couple of years and are now planning to use it going forward. While the old designs will always be classic, we won't always have those options available for purchase. 

[Anonymous]

---

@dtexley3 wrote:

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Just want to mention there have been several threads about tracking issues.

Also removing the seller's handling time has been causing buyer's concern.

A seller may be shipping within their handling time, but to the buyer, who does not know this, it may be concerning.  

Some sellers have been negged for this.

Sorry to come up with another concern to bring forward, thank you for all you do!

---

I want to tag onto this that I paged staff in a thread where the examples would lead on to believe that once you print your label, the handling time is removed from the delivery estimate.  So if I have 3 day handling time and print my label early but don't ship until day 3 the delivery estimate could be skewed by 2 days if handling time was no longer considered after the label was printed. 

---

Hi @dtexley3, happy to clarify that the handling time is still taken into consideration once the label is printed. 

[brian@ebay]

---

@mg152 wrote:
I have a different issue. I’m full of issues this week. 😂
I bid on an auction & won. Yay! It was a great deal & I did notice free shipping but since the seller was in Sweden I assumed I’d be charged shipping & I was ok with that. Turns out this new inexperienced seller listed free worldwide shipping. Being honest she messaged me first that one of the tiny items broke as she was packing it, I said that’s ok I understand. Then she messaged me about what a horrible person she is & she’d understand (her words not mine) if I gave her bad FB. She packed & shopped the items without tracking hence the “horrible person” comment because it cost her $16 & tracking would’ve been $40. I have no problem with any of this but I really want to compensate her for the $16 she spent, I won the lot for $25. She’s gonna lose money after shipping & fees. I want this new, incredibly nice & honest seller to stick around. If you could interact with her, you’d understand what an asset she could be to eBay.
Can I repay her for the shipping?
Can I mentor her in selling so she doesn’t make this mistake again?

---

Hi @mg152, I agree, we definitely want this seller to stick around! Once a transaction is complete and payment has been made, you can share contact information with the seller in order to arrange payment. There isn't a built-in mentor program on the site, but you are welcome to keep in touch with the seller and offer advice to them going forward. Thanks for taking an interest in their success