mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
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.
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brian@ebay wrote:
@greg213213 wrote:The only thing that showed up on the transaction was the amount paid by the buyer, but no shipping carrier such as USPS Priority or UPS as those were options I had on the listing. I did speak with a CSR and he didn't know why that didn't show up either.
@greg213213 hmm that's odd. When you tried to print a label did it show the service the buyer selected? I'm not aware of a site issue like this. If you run into it again then will you tag me in a thread so I can take a closer look at it?
You can't go by how the Print a label screen appears. For example the pic below. Mine always default to PM which isn't even anything I offer on my listings. And before this change, it would default to PM shipping and also state BUYER SELECTED, which also wasn't possible since I don't offer it.
@evry1nositswindy wrote:I see this hasn't been brought up yet:
Several threads are going about printing shipping labels. The screen no longer pops up when you hit purchase postage. You have to download, a separate screen opens, and then yet another screen to print. Lots of extra steps! What happened?
I also can concur about the issue discussed about the buyer selected shipping being grayed out. I have had this problem myself a few times.
One more shipping question: Does MP verify addresses like PayPal did? I had a sale last week and there was no street address, just the street name. I cancelled due to problem with address. I tried a couple of times to message the buyer, but no response. I'm sure I'll have a problem when the time comes for the package to be delivered and it isn't there. Am I protected against a negative or defect?
Just to add a voice to this. I too have been experiencing this too. However for me it is just one more click than I had before. Still it was much better when the label automatically loaded instead of me having to click on another icon to get it to load.
@clarkphilatelics wrote:
When eBay starts collecting VAT for the European Union on July 1st, I expect remaining offshore sales, already decimated by COVID to disappear. I do not believe that buyers will be able to compete with US buyers for lower priced items with US customers. Collectibles costing a few dollars will no longer be attractive to offshore buyers faced with the double whammy of VAT and the cost of tracked shipping. While technically not allowed, small lightweight items could be sent by First Class Mail International for a fraction of the cost of a First-Class Package International or various mail consolidation services. Will collecting VAT introduce new risks for items shipped "under the radar" by First Class Mail International?
One customer already complained about a consolidated shipment. Was a tariff added to the VAT because the customs label printed by the forwarder was not correctly interpreted?
Where was eBay when shipping merchandise by First Class Mail International from the US was prohibited?
Could eBay provide resources to help sellers fill out customs forms with correct HS codes?
How much business will be lost after July 1st? Does anyone at eBay care or have a plan to make it possible for sellers of lower priced items to continue selling internationally?
Hi @clarkphilatelics - I hope that you're incorrect and that you see business continue to the EU!
I can't tell you to intentionally misuse First Class Mail International, so I wouldn't advise that you send something FCMI if it should be sent First Class Package International.
The new EU VAT rules consider the value per consignment, not per item. So if a customer purchased multiple items from you in a single checkout the payable VAT will be calculated from the final transaction amount including shipping and other handling costs.
When it comes to filling out customs forms, I can make that suggestion but there isn't any resources I can find that provide that type of information on eBay currently.
@postcardcountry wrote:
Could you please point me to the documentation that explains exactly how eBay pays my monthly store subscription? I can't seem to find it.
This month I had to tap paypal funds to pay shipping because eBay takes "processing funds" as well as available funds.
How can I find the exact date eBay will be collecting my store fee? Last month it was the 18th, this month the 16th.
@postcardcountry It sounds like you are on the mid-month invoice cycle. Invoices are generated between the 18th and the 20th of the month. The invoicing period is from the 16th of the previous month to the 15th of the current month. For example, an invoice that was generated on June 18th includes activity that occurred between May 16th and June 15th.
Payment processing depends on the payment method the seller has on file. I've included the processing times below.
Credit card processing: 23rd-24th
PayPal and direct pay processing: 30th-1st
If you have further questions then you'll want to contact customer service. They'll be able to give specific details for your account.
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Yes, it's new. It was discussed at the recent Developer's Conference. I'm not entirely clear on the mechanics, but this isn't about whether the buyer can use the offer and the coupon for the transaction. He can't. It's more like this: I send the offer (with a "hidden" coupon for buyer's NEXT purchase). If buyer accepts the offer, THEN he is given the coupon, which he can use for his NEXT purchase (NOT the offer item)
Since I got the notice from ebay indicating this is now available, I have been unable to find anything about HOW to do it.
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques - that sounds really cool and a useful way to keep buyers coming back to you! I'll see what I can find out and get you some how-tos.
@tsme35 wrote:
Still need ebay to put combine shipping or "request total" on your app, lost 2 more sales this month. 3 years we've been asking, yes I have combine rules set up but don't work or heavy items
Hi @tsme35 - this suggestion has been made with the mobile team and is still with them. They've said it's not on the roadmap for any upcoming improvements, but is something they are considering longer-term.
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
OK, so in the terms and conditions, the word "promotions" refers to ebay promotions, not a seller's own promotions, such as Markdown Manager?
So, just to be clear, if I run a Markdown Manager sale and previously sent a buyer a coded coupon which has not yet expired, the buyer could buy the item at the marked down price and apply the coupon to the marked down purchase?
If that is true, I really think ebay should make that VERY clear in the coded coupon informational page. Do you agree?
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques That is correct. I agree that this could be clearer in the coded coupon page. I'll get that send over for review for possible changes.
@tsme35 wrote:
USPS is no longer paying insurance claims with out proof at the post office, now my customer is mad because the PO breaks the item and I have to ask if they'll hang onto the item and take it to the PO a week later when the claim requires proof taken to PO.
An idea to pass on the higher ups, when a customer wants to return a "broken item" for refund but there's no reason to pay postage for a item we don't need returned, ebay should have it set up requesting pictures and showing the USPS the damaged item.
Without inspection USPS WILL not pay the claim, the claim is null if it's shipped back. Good luck trying to contact the PO, there is no one in claims to answer the phone, closest I got was a person that verified I had a claim, nothing else. Its not the problem of refunding the buyer but just trying to make the USPS pay for destroying packages and the last 6 months, seems like they don't even care
Hi @tsme35 - I'll get this suggestion submitted!
@evry1nositswindy wrote:
I see this hasn't been brought up yet:
Several threads are going about printing shipping labels. The screen no longer pops up when you hit purchase postage. You have to download, a separate screen opens, and then yet another screen to print. Lots of extra steps! What happened?
I also can concur about the issue discussed about the buyer selected shipping being grayed out. I have had this problem myself a few times.
One more shipping question: Does MP verify addresses like PayPal did? I had a sale last week and there was no street address, just the street name. I cancelled due to problem with address. I tried a couple of times to message the buyer, but no response. I'm sure I'll have a problem when the time comes for the package to be delivered and it isn't there. Am I protected against a negative or defect?
@evry1nositswindy There is a known issue that is causing the pop-up window to not appear when printing labels. Our teams are working to resolve this.
My understanding is that we verify addresses during the label printing flow. If there is an issue then cancelling the sale (like you did) is the appropriate process to follow.
I'll send feedback to the team about this as well to ensure this is taken into consideration. Thanks!
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques - Oh I did want to update something, I mistyped when I said promotions under markdown manager are stackable, it should have been Markdowns specifically, as Order Discount and Volume Pricing are not stackable with Coded Coupons at this time.
@valueaddedresource wrote:
brian@ebay wrote:
@valueaddedresource wrote:
brittanie@ebay any update on the Funko Pop presale situation?
Many listings that are in violation are still active, including ones that also direct buyers offsite to the seller's Instagram and direct website.
@valueaddedresource our teams are always working to improve our process to detect listings that violate our pre-sale policy, but no update beyond that.
In the meantime, it does help us when members report listings that appear to violate our policies through the report flow on the site. These reports go to the relevant eBay team for review and are actioned accordingly. I know reporting listings takes valuable time, but it does help our teams find and action listings that otherwise might be missed by our manual and automated reviews.
Thanks brian@ebay - I tried that 2 weeks ago, listings I reported are still active despite very clearly violating presale policies, directing sales off site, and violating FTC 30 Day Mailing rules.
Clearly the current way eBay is approaching this issue isn't working and something else needs to be done.
Where does it go from here? How does this get escalated so buyers are not left with 0 recourse if they do not receive the items?
@valueaddedresource if a buyer encounters a situation like this then they should contact customer service as there are times we can protect them when presale items violate our policy.
