Community Chat, Jan 31st @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

Join us today at 1 PM Pacific time to discuss your general buying and selling questions. This week tyler@ebay, brian@ebay and myself will be detained for the first half of the chat, but rest assured we will join as soon as possible. All questions will be reviewed and while the chat will close at the normal time (2 PM Pacific Time), we will continue to work on responses after that point.

Looking forward to hearing from everybody!

[alan@ebay]

Thanks for joining the thread is open!

[odditiesandantiquities1]

In this past week, we were asked to comment on the second release of The Modern Buyer: How Baby Boomers and Generation Xers Shop Now.
In that discussion, it came up about customer contact and communication. I mentioned that if one of my customers wants me to find something for them I will. When I find it I will let them know and then list it on eBay for them. There were a few comments about this being spamming. I honestly can't see that as I am providing my customer a service, which I thought we are supposed to do as good sellers; increase our business, increase our sales, increase our customers satisfaction.

I would like confirmation that this is acceptable to do.

Ann

Oops and HELLO everyone. :-))

[warrenshobbies]

We are still seeing delays in USPS Priority Mail to Florida taking 10 days, most likely weather related.

I was told by Ebay CS that there would be an announcement for the weather on the week of the 16th.

Storm Igna closed or delayed many hubs for 4 days in the south east. Most of my mail sent into these areas was re-routed to a postal service annex in Richmind Va where it sits until it can move.

The ebay for business page posted this in reply to another seller with an issue on the 17th.

Today is the 31st and there hasn't been anything announced. CS acts like it didn't happen now.

What's the deal?

[alan@ebay]

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wrote:

In this past week, we were asked to comment on the second release of The Modern Buyer: How Baby Boomers and Generation Xers Shop Now.
In that discussion, it came up about customer contact and communication. I mentioned that if one of my customers wants me to find something for them I will. When I find it I will let them know and then list it on eBay for them. There were a few comments about this being spamming. I honestly can't see that as I am providing my customer a service, which I thought we are supposed to do as good sellers; increase our business, increase our sales, increase our customers satisfaction.

I would like confirmation that this is acceptable to do.

Ann

Oops and HELLO everyone. :-))

---

Hi @odditiesandantiquities1, 

Hello! 

I do not see an issue with that. If your customer initiates the contact and asks for something then I do not see how that as "spamming." It sounds like great customer service. 

Thanks. 

[vrykalak]

I think I know why people are leaving feedback in the reviews section.
I forgot to leave feedback for one of my purchases, and got an email from eBay asking for a REVIEW. Should chg that email, to mention a review, but ask for feedback (and give the link to the feedback page).

[muttlymob]

In the past 2 weeks, first the item Listing Confirmation emails disappeared.  Then the Unsold Items emails disappeared.

Is this a planned change, or a glitch?

Any plans to announce it as an intentional change, or to fix if it's a glitch?

[odditiesandantiquities1]

A second question if I may. I decided to accept the reduced price offer of upgrading my store. I prefer an annual billing, however it's not very clear how I will be billed. Just a tad confusing. Can I get some clarification how this upgrade is going to be billed in my case?

Thanks so much.

[daveroo]

Banning selling of items with Cuba in the title.

eBay doesn't seem to understand that the items I have were NOT made in Cuba.
They are US-made postal cards for use by US personnel in Cuba while the US still had control right after the Spanish-American War (1899).

This is before the embargo was enforced.

If you use the word Cuba when selling eBay stomps on you -- hard.

BTW this is the first time here for me.

I don't know if I posted correctly.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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wrote:

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wrote:

In this past week, we were asked to comment on the second release of The Modern Buyer: How Baby Boomers and Generation Xers Shop Now.
In that discussion, it came up about customer contact and communication. I mentioned that if one of my customers wants me to find something for them I will. When I find it I will let them know and then list it on eBay for them. There were a few comments about this being spamming. I honestly can't see that as I am providing my customer a service, which I thought we are supposed to do as good sellers; increase our business, increase our sales, increase our customers satisfaction.

I would like confirmation that this is acceptable to do.

Ann

Oops and HELLO everyone. :-))

---

Hi @odditiesandantiquities1, 

Hello! 

I do not see an issue with that. If your customer initiates the contact and asks for something then I do not see how that as "spamming." It sounds like great customer service. 

Thanks. 

---

I appreciate that Alan. Thank you so much.

[mallontown]

Ebay CEO statement at Davos

https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebay-at-davos-2018/

at 1:50 one of the panelists mentions Amazon and in Wenig's reply was this statement

"In the US a package is delivered average in 2 days, for ebay"

So when He says average, you take all the mail sellers send  via  Ups FedEX and Usps and other services and compute the average.

I use USPS and those deliveries are Express, first class, Priority, Parcel Select, Media Mail etc.

Can anyone from ebay  tell us where he is getting his numbers from as I don't believe the statement 

[dtexley3]

What is the status on fixing the FedEx shipping snafu?  I can't add FedEx as an available shipping option if I can't trust that the shipping calculator estimate, what the buyer pays and what the label costs all match.  There are multiple threads on this and most indicate that sellers are still getting shafted with label prices exceeding what the buyer is charged.

I also think it's unconsionable that eBay has not made efforts to let sellers that ship via FedEx know about these issues other than a few comments in the community.  Many sellers do not participate and would have no reason to know that the buyer will be quoted and charged a lower rate than what the seller will be charged for the label.

[duggmills]

I'm just observing for now.

[mg152]

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wrote:

In the past 2 weeks, first the item Listing Confirmation emails disappeared.  Then the Unsold Items emails disappeared.

Is this a planned change, or a glitch?

Any plans to announce it as an intentional change, or to fix if it's a glitch?

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I’m getting them. At least I did a couple days ago. I haven’t listed in a couple days.

[mam98031]

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wrote:

In this past week, we were asked to comment on the second release of The Modern Buyer: How Baby Boomers and Generation Xers Shop Now.
In that discussion, it came up about customer contact and communication. I mentioned that if one of my customers wants me to find something for them I will. When I find it I will let them know and then list it on eBay for them. There were a few comments about this being spamming. I honestly can't see that as I am providing my customer a service, which I thought we are supposed to do as good sellers; increase our business, increase our sales, increase our customers satisfaction.

I would like confirmation that this is acceptable to do.

Ann

Oops and HELLO everyone. :-))

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I completely agree with you and I do the same thing and have for years.  My customers are happy with my responses as well, which afterall is the most important thing.