Below you will find a recap of our Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team for May 22, 2019. We hope to see you at our next chat!
The Community Discussion Boards
Is there a reason that the threads within the Community no longer show who replied last?
This is a bug we're currently working to fix. We hope to have this resolved very soon.
Any update on the Notification Bell issues that have been reported previously?
This fix is complex. We have been working around the clock for some time trying to find a solution with no update as of yet. We do feel the pain on this issue and it remains our top priority. While we are closer to a fix, we’re unable to provide an ETA at this time.
eBay Developer Account
My eBay developer account has been suspended. Is there anything I can do to have this decision reviewed?
The Community Team and Customer Service are unable to review these decisions for appeal. When our developers determine that it is in our best interest to part ways in this manner, the decision is final.
New Shipping Label Flow
The orientation of FedEx shipping labels has not been addressed yet. Do you have an update?
We are happy to confirm that the issue with label orientation is being addressed. You are able to open the label as a PNG file and make adjustments to the display before printing in the meantime as we continue to work on improvements.
When printing FedEx labels, the option of adding an SKU or item number disappears, so after printing a dozen labels I do not know which order is which, which label goes on which box. Can you get this looked into?
We will be sure to touch base with our developers to confirm this is being worked on.
The classic shipping page had the option to "ship from a different zip code" with USPS. The new page does not have this option, it has a "ship from a different address" option instead. What is going on?
The reason a full address is required instead of just the zip code is due to a change in what is requested by USPS. This is not related to the new shipping label process. You can Edit the Ship from address (near the top, in the center of the form) to adjust your Ship from address. This is one of two options, so be sure you are selecting the Ship from address and not the Return address. You may need to check the box next to My ship from and return addresses are different to see the secondary address window.
Checkout Issues
When click on "Buy It Now" or "Go To Checkout", I get a page saying Access Denied. You don't have permission to access "http://pay.ebay.com/rxo?" on this server. Why am I getting this error?
We can get this filed for review, no problem! Our tech teams benefit from a screenshot of the error as well as the specific session id in the URL of the checkout page. If you run into this error, be sure to grab a screenshot and have the complete URL for us to review.
Send Offers To Watchers
So what exactly makes an item/watcher combination eligible for offers?
To be eligible to send offers to watchers on a listing, your watchers must be willing to receive offers. This is the most common reason why you may find you cannot send an offer on a listing with watchers. Additional factors to keep in mind:
- Only 1 offer can be sent per watcher
- The 10 most recent eligible watchers receive the offer simultaneously
- This feature is not available currently for listings with variations
- This feature is not available in all categories
- Offers are not held to any immediate payment requirements
- Offers cannot be sent to buyers who you have previously blocked
We can look into any examples to check for issues that need to be reported to our tech teams, no problem!
How does a buyer opt out of these kinds of offers?
This feature is on by default, and a buyer can turn this option off by adjusting their marketing preferences - My eBay > Summary > Communication Preferences
What email communication buyers receive to let them know about this feature?
Buyers are notified of the details of this feature when they receive an offer from a seller. If a buyer has previously elected to block offers through their communication preferences, they will not receive these offers.
eBay Money Back Guarantee
I had a buyer claim "extremely strong smoke smell" and wants to return at my expense claiming the item was "not as described". If the "smell" claim is not covered, how can a seller get these types of claims resolved in their favor?
While smell is typically considered a remorse reason by itself, we do look to the buyer's return reason if asked to step in and make a decision on a case. If a buyer has indicated concerns with the smell of the item and also let you know the item did not match the description, a return for a refund would be expected.
If the buyer has requested a return for a remorse reason; has indicated concerns with the odor that are not an integral part of the item (ie. scented candles with the wrong scent), do not pose health concerns (ie. chemical odors), and do not contradict information in the listing (ie. smoke free/pet free home); and you do not accept returns, then you can deny the return request if you so choose.
I don’t understand how an issue with the smell can be seen as not as described if eBay considers concerns with the odor to be remorse. Can you explain?
There are times when the smell is considered an integral part of the item, and concerns with only the smell would be reason to return the item (such as a vanilla scented candle smelling like cinnamon). We also would expect a return if the odor poses a health risk (ie. chemical smells, smoke or pet odors for a new item, etc.).
But if the buyer complains about the smell, why am I expected to address the return as if it is a not as described return (pay for return shipping, issue a full refund, etc.)?
A buyer’s messages should not be used as a way of invalidating their return reason - a buyer who has opened a return with the Does not match the listing description reason AND let you know that they have concerns with the smell of the item is not contradicting themselves - these two statements do not conflict, nor does the concern with the odor of the item supercede the return reason. Any indication from the buyer in the messages or return reason that the item did not match the description should be addressed with an accepted return, return shipping compensation, and a full refund.
I have a return where the buyer did not return the item within the time eBay gave them. I thought ebay would auto close case, but they didn't. I thought they couldn't return it after 30 days?
If you've accepted the return and the buyer fails to ship the item back to you within the time frame specified you can ask us to step into the return and we can close the request out. We will not automatically step into a return request without being asked to by one party or the other. While a buyer is not eligible for protection if they do not send the item back within the timeframe we gave them, we do hope you work with the buyer if you do end up receiving the return back. The buyer has protection options outside of eBay (ie. PayPal or their Financial Institution) and we would not be able to make a decision in a third party dispute.
The buyer sent a return to me and I opened it to find a bunch of junk in the box. I called ebay and they still awarded the refund to the buyer. Why wasn’t I protected?
We do have protection options available in situations like this. You can work with Customer Service to review the case details to ensure this is investigated fully and the correct action is taken.
Unsold Item Suggestion
If an auction ends, the Unsold list shows how many visits & watchers it had. Previously, when a Fixed price item ended, the Unsold list also showed the visits & watchers. I'd like to ask for that information to be saved, as it used to be, when an item ends.
We’re happy to pass along your feedback!
Best Offer Suggestion
On sending offers to buyers from messages, one inconvenience I’ve run into is when a buyer is asking for free shipping; in order to set to free shipping it can be pretty cumbersome to adjust this when using a third party tool to list items on the site. It would be nice to have a check box for free shipping next to the box where you enter the value of the offer.
We'll get this one passed on. Thanks for the suggestion!
Search Issue
Sometime in the last couple of weeks there were changes made to the search engine, apparently in the "search expansion" coding. Doesn't seem to matter whether it's best match or lowest price selected. There are several threads noting the huge increase in non-matching items being returned at the top of the listing.
We’ll review the reports within our Community of this issue and run some tests. If there are signs of search problems, we’ll get this over to our tech teams for review. Thanks for bringing this up!
Shipping Confirmation Email
I'm following up on a problem first reported back at the beginning of the month, where someone rolled out a new Shipping confirmation message that's basically missing all the data for the shipment, making recordkeeping very difficult. Can we get the following information added back?
- Listing title of sold item, and listing number
- Listing end date and time
Also, the Payment Method hyperlink (PayPal) does not lead to the transaction in PayPal.
Thanks for touching base on this. We’ve reported these concerns to the appropriate teams and while we don't have an update on these issues, we’ll be sure to let you know when we do have more information.
Feedback
I'm not able to leave feedback for my buyers. I leave feedback but it doesn't go through. Can you pass this on to the tech teams?
Definitely going to get this over for investigation. We’ve had a few similar reports over the last week; if you are receiving a specific error message let us know so we can include this in our report to the tech teams.
Javascript Issue
I have been trying to relist an item I last listed a year ago, but I’m receiving an error that the listing contains Javascript. Can you look into this for me?
We can look into the specific example and see what might be going on, no problem. Some information to keep in mind when reviewing these kinds of situations and some general best practices are listed below.
- Ensure all the links in your listings are up to date - URLs should not direct outside of eBay, should not redirect a potential buyer, and should be in the https format (instead of http) when possible.
- The item description should only contain relevant information to your listing; references to third party sites or comments that could reduce a buyer’s trust in eBay are considered violations of our Item Description Policy.
- Active content code from third party listing tools may create errors when attempting to relist or negatively impact your visibility.
- Avoid including text that is in ALL CAPS, as this can negatively impact your search placement in third party search engines.
- Any instructions to buyers (such as steps to receive a combined shipping discount, request an invoice, or contact you) should be up to date. It is a good idea to test out the steps yourself so you can describe them accurately to your buyers, or provide a related eBay Help Page that provides these details.
Search & Browse Manipulation Violations
What is eBay doing about multivariation style listings where one of the variations is priced significantly lower than the other items, or is an unrelated item?
This is something that is on our radar. We review for violations and are happy to review any reports submitted for appropriate action. Since there are valid reasons to have a large price difference between variations, it is difficult to separate valid listings from listings that are attempting to manipulate our search algorithm. Because it is not possible to reliably identify these differences proactively/automatically, this is likely to remain a topic that remains something we need to manually review but rest assured, this is something we will continue to work on for improvements.
What item location misrepresentation violations, such as sellers who are drop shipping in ways that violate eBay’s policies?
We have ways to identify those that are abusing the terms and conditions of our Selling practices Policy and will take appropriate action when this is identified. We may reduce a seller’s visibility while they adjust their business practices to align with our expectations. You can report these kinds of violations directly from tom the listing.
What about those that drop ship and are located in another country? Sometimes I see a delay between placing my order and the shipment arriving to USPS, and later find the return address is in another country.
The Selling Practices Policy applies to all members who list on eBay.com, so members in violation of this policy would have consequences regardless of where they are located.
If a seller is required to cover the return shipping they are able to specify the return location of their choice (as they are paying for return shipping). However, if you as a buyer are expected to pay for return shipping, the seller would need to provide a domestic shipping address for an item that was located domestically.
I looked up a book I was interested in, and noticed that the first 5 copies in the results were all from the same seller, with identical Item Specifics & Descriptions. Is this allowed?
If all 5 listings were from the same seller, for the same item, in the same condition, and approximately the same price, then this would be considered a Duplicate Listing Policy violation. We actively review for these kinds of issues regularly to take appropriate action, and you are also welcome to report concerns directly from the listing for review as well. Keep in mind that items that have different item conditions or vary significantly in price would need to be listed separately.
USPS Shipping Price Update
Any suggestions for sellers that use USPS when the new dimensional pricing for all zones goes live in June?
Check out our recent Announcement on this change for a list of recommendations
