Community Chat, March 25 @ 1:00 pm PT - General Topics

[brian@ebay]

Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on March 25th for our Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a specific topic this week, so please bring any general questions you may have about buying or selling.

The chat will be open for questions from 1-2 pm PT, at which point we'll close thread from additional responses. After this time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.

If you're new to the chat, welcome! Simply Reply to this post with your question from 1-2 PM Pacific Time and we'll be happy to look into it for you.

[Anonymous]

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@vrykalak wrote:

Problem about shipping: a person bought 2 items, and I sent an invoice.

When I sent it, the third line said "Local Pickup - $0.00" But when they got it, the third line had changed to "FedEx Express - $0.00" so naturally, that's what they chose.
Even the least expensive shipping mode costs more than the cost of the items they bought.
Is there anything I can do?

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Hi @vrykalak, I'd love to take a look at this in more detail. Can you provide me with the item number for this situation so I can investigate and pass this along?

[vrykalak]

@gwzcomps wrote:

Many stores are starting to refuse to do returns and are selling things all sales final due to safety concerns. What is eBay doing to protect the safety of sellers when it comes to returns? In most cases I am not willing to refund without getting my item back. At the same time I want to make sure I am able to safely run my business. Hopefully as things continue to get worse eBay is keeping the health and safety of the sellers in mind.

Hi @gwzcomps, we have made no announcements about changes to returns on our site, meaning returns will proceed as usual. We advise all members to follow the advice of the World Health Organization, who say that the likelihood of catching a virus from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is low. More information is available here.

[mam98031]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

I think Ebay is doing a really good job shutting down various FP listings that are participating in price gouging.  

But when it is an auction, they don't seem to get shut down or certainly not as quickly as an FP.  Is there a different criteria for auctions vs FB?

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Hi @mam98031, this is a great question! Due to the nature of fixed-price listings, we are able to identify much more quickly if there is a concern with the stated price potentially being in violation. For auction-style listings, though we are not proactively blocking most auctions, we will still remove any potential price gouging concerns based on the starting price or the price the auction is bid up to. Depending on the reason for the removal, a seller may still be able to relist with a fixed-price format and would be notified if this is the case. Any concerns you see can be reported using the options outlined here: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/reporting-price-gouging-ebay?id=5105

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Thanx.

Interesting.  I do try to spend a few minutes a day reporting listings of price gouging as I find them in the hopes that I'm helping the community.  

But if the item being sold it on the banned list, why would an auction be OK in any form?  And where there are lots of bids, shill bidding could be going on as well.  These darn sellers that are so persistent about taking advantage of others are very creative in how they can get the prices they want.

I sincerely hope Ebay is connecting these selling accounts that are participating in price gouging as there are so many new sellers doing this and some are very likely seasoned Ebay sellers just trying to keep it away from their main account.  I'm confident I'm not telling you anything you didn't think of already.  

[popblox]

Yes, I have the documentation - it's very obvious, all one has to do is glance at the tracking information and compare my zip code to the zip code that the item was delivered to. And yes,  I already tried an appeal several times - it will not allow me to appeal. As I mentioned earlier in my post, I have tried everything and regardless of the action (including an appeal), when I click on the item, I get redirected to a page that says "You don't need to do anything, your item has been delivered". There is no option to upload documentation or "file" anything. Any more suggestions?

[medallion-trading-company]

Well, I tried to repost it and I am not sure if it's in the right place now.  I'm just going to try again.

Hello,
Can you please review the (only) negative feedback on my account. The buyer had the bracelet, which I sold as a used piece of jewelry, for 45 days before leaving me the negative feedback. During that time she wore it for several weeks and broke it, according to her messages. I have a 30 day free return policy, which she chose not to use.

She has indicated that in order to return the item at this point (55 days later), she wants to be reimbursed for the $70 repair bill first. Also she has indicated that in order to revise her negative feedback she wants to be compensated for the $70 repair bill first. Can I please have this feedbback removed for extortion? I have tried to repeatedly communicate through the eBay email system but I think at this point I am only getting automated messages that send me back around in a circle, getting no where.

The only two feedback she has left, ever, have been negative. Never a nice comment left for any sellers. She also left a negative for another seller asking for a return through the feedback system and demanding a label. Just an FYI

As you know, most sellers are being affected by COVID-19, as is mine. This negative feedback only makes a bad sales situation worse.

Thank you.

[picknparley]

"....we are not proactively blocking most auctions, we will still remove any potential price gouging concerns based on the starting price or the price the auction is bid up to...." 

1) so, are those crazy priced auctions actually being paid and completed? Do those sellers get dinged with PayPal fees or any kind of seller fees?

".....Depending on the reason for the removal, a seller may still be able to relist with a fixed-price format...."  

2) after all this time with the banned items clearly stated, what's the purpose of allowing any seller to relist under any format? Isn't their infraction enough to just shut their account down? 

I know it's probably easier for us to sit on this side of the ebay system and give suggestions.  But we are interested in seeing all this detrimental price gouging come to an end. It's not helping ebay's reputation one bit. 

We're all interested to know if the Feds have contacted ebay??  Just curious, that's all!! 

Hope you all are staying well.  No hugging or high fives, but we know you're trying to keep things running.

[ekmadonna]

Trinton, I want to apologize if I came off as sounding rude yesterday when you replied to my post. I was more than a little upset over this whole fiasco and losing so much money to a dishonest buyer and let my emotions get the better of me. for that I am sorry!

[tyler@ebay]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
First, Hope you guys are doing well. Second, thanks for putting up the COVID-19 Hub and for the free listing promo and other steps ebay has taken to help at this time. And question: Many sellers are under some type of "Stay in Place" order, and I've seen sellers who have closed down their ebay business entirely because they believe they are considered a "non-essential" business and cannot travel to the PO to drop off parcels. Could you provide some insights into this? As far as I can tell, at least here in PA, we can continue to go to the PO and so can continue to function as an online business.

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Hi @my-cottage-books-and-antiques - I want to make sure that I'm clear and don't give the wrong impression, so first let me say that any member who is uncomfortable with the idea of continuing to run their business because of a shelter-in-place order, general concern over the risk of infection or other issues related to Covid-19 does not need to continue to run their eBay business. 

With that being said, shippers like USPS, UPS and FedEx have been designated as essential services, and remain open for business, and are able to accept parcels and other mailpieces for delivery. If you feel comfortable continuing to run your online business and can fulfill your items while also observing the type of shelter orders states are issuing then I don't see anything wrong with that. As always, though, if a member has specific concerns about whether or not their business would apply to a shutdown they should consider contacting their local leaders/government. Thanks! 

[Anonymous]

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@reallytalljon wrote:

Hello, I am bringing up the old "Fedex label orientation" issue.  The problem is that the labels get printed out in portrait mode instead of landscape.  If 8.5 x 11 labels, 2 per page, are being used, the bar codes at the bottom of the label get amputated. 

This is a known issue and it is STILL happening.  A post last May from one of you guys said that it was being fixed.

I want to use Fedex more, with the more favorable rates and all, but if I have to do workarounds to print the label correctly, then I will be less likely to use them.  

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Hi @reallytalljon, we are aware of the request for enhancements to this process. I do need to stress that while this has been reported to us, this is not a technical issue in the sense that this is working as designed. We hear your feedback on how this is designed, but there is a meaningful distinction between a technical issue (something not working as it is intended) and a request for improvements (updates or changes that would improve your experience).

I am happy to confirm here again that this feedback has been passed along to the appropriate teams and we have requested that changes be made, but no expected date for potential changes can be provided. In the meantime, you should be able to save the label as a PDF and adjust the orientation from there as a workaround. We know that this is not an ideal resolution as it takes up sellers' valuable time, and will continue to pass along feedback for potential improvements to our label features.

[vrykalak]

@vrykalak wrote:

Problem about shipping: a person bought 2 items, and I sent an invoice.

When I sent it, the third line said "Local Pickup - $0.00" But when they got it, the third line had changed to "FedEx Express - $0.00" so naturally, that's what they chose.
Even the least expensive shipping mode costs more than the cost of the items they bought.
Is there anything I can do?

Hi @vrykalak, I'd love to take a look at this in more detail. Can you provide me with the item number for this situation so I can investigate and pass this along?

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383329060350 & 383329087752

[alan@ebay]

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@medallion-trading-company wrote:

No problem, thank you for letting me know. I was concerned I had violated a community policy .

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Nope. No worries there! Thanks. 

[a_c_green]

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@itscalledapostingid wrote:

Is there anything that can be done to stop "Same Day Shipping" from being displayed on my 1-day handling time items? I have been trying to get help with this for 4 months. I don't lie to my customers. Why does Ebay lie to them? Ebay tells sellers that it's important to meet handling times and have good communication with customers but they put this false claim on all my items.
(Posting only ID here.)

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Hi @itscalledapostingid, we have reported this to the our tech team and they are aware of the issue. The Community team continues to send them examples as well. I don't have an update on the status of a fix right now though. 

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Hi Brian, 

What are your options for escalating the priority of a fix in cases such as this, when the sheer length of time and absence of any progress report makes it painfully clear that no one is working on it? 

Do you have any verbal contact with the programmers, such as a weekly conference call, or is this all conducted only in email? Thanks.

[vrykalak]

some questions about stores:
a. if I open two stores, is there any way to connect them? e.g.,
1. let people visiting one store also see inventory from the other?
2. transfer some items from old store to new one when I start it up?
b. is there a way to set store categories on items in bulk?
c. how do I get to Terapeak (without going to Seller Hub)?
I have read every page I can find about running a store, and none of them touch on these questions.

[brian@ebay]

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@golfingaddict wrote:
Thank you for the recent announcement regarding ebay protecting our seller standings. Can you please clarify? It says that our seller standards will be protected until June 20th evaluation. But some of the things that cause us to lose status stay on our account for a year. (late shipment rate, for example) I know that some things are evaluated for three months. Is this protection really going just going to delay our accounts falling below standard or losing TRS status? Or is the protection only designed to protect large accounts that are looked at with a 3 month evaluation period Could you please clarify. Thank you.

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Hi @golfingaddict, currently sellers are protected from having their seller standing being downgraded through the June 20th review. After June 20th seller standing reviews will proceed as usual. This is something we continue to monitor and, if needed, we will make adjustments to these protections and communicate them with the Community.

If a seller needs extra time to ship their items out then I recommend increasing their handling times to accommodate this. Additionally, if a seller does receive a defect as a clear result of COVID-19 then they should contact customer service to have the situation reviewed.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

a. if I open two stores, is there any way to connect them? e.g.,
1. let people visiting one store also see inventory from the other?

You can include a link to the other store in your description field. Also, you could include the name of the other store in your store banner (although it wouldn't be a clickable link"