Community Chat, November 13 @ 1:00 pm PT - General Topics

[Anonymous]

Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on November 13th for our Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a set topic this week, so please bring any general questions you may have on buying or selling.

The chat will be open for questions from 1-2 pm PT, at which point we'll close thread. While no additional questions can be submitted after this time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that may 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 help!

[hioctane62]

These chats are becoming redundant. Lots of questions and no, old, or obsolete answers.

[doug@ebay]

Hi @my-cottage-books-and-antiques that's the only commercial for holiday we've seen to far. Any new videos will be posted on the eBay YouTube channel. We don't usually post marketing campaign updates in the Community. I'd encourage you to subscribe to the YouTube channel for updates. Thanks!

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
doug, Those videos were last updated in late September. It's now mid November. Maybe time for something new?

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[greg213213]

You are very correct in your statement. eBay is not living up to their own terms and conditions on returns that are damaged by a buyer. This buyer admits he wore the coat and now he wants to return it after being damaged by him. I guess this is eBay's rental site. Rent it damage it and then return with a false reason.

Sellers need more protection than what eBay gives them. This return I have should have been rejected by eBay CS when I called them. Not told the only option I have is to accept it.

Every year this site is going further down the sewer.

[mendelsons]

Not expecting a quick fix - just a fix. Its a vital part of online shopping - the shipping cost and eBay is failing bad on this part.

[dtexley3]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Hi @mendelsons, as we've discussed previously, the details of your report have been passed along to our tech teams and will be reviewed. Changes during the final part of the year are something we generally avoid unless there is a widespread issue with no available workarounds, so you may not see an update on this specific topic until the new year. I know that we've been investigating this with you for quite some time and can only reiterate our apology for the frustrations this has caused.

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Hi Trinton,  Could you please share with us what the "widespread issue with no available workarounds" were that necessitated the item specific changes?

Thank you.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

doug,

Thanks, but I already know you don't usually post marketing campaigns here. That's why I'm asking you to do it. Is there a reason you don't post them here? Usually, sooner or later, people see the ads and start talking about them on the Boards anyway. Why not post them here when they first go live? While sellers have no control over ebay's ad campaigns, the campaigns certainly impact us, so its only natural we'd be curious.

[buyselljack2016]

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@mendelsons wrote:
Not expecting a quick fix - just a fix. Its a vital part of online shopping - the shipping cost and eBay is failing bad on this part.

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Then rest assured, you will not be disappointed as you are not expecting a "quick fix":)

[mam98031]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Hi @mendelsons, as we've discussed previously, the details of your report have been passed along to our tech teams and will be reviewed. Changes during the final part of the year are something we generally avoid unless there is a widespread issue with no available workarounds, so you may not see an update on this specific topic until the new year. I know that we've been investigating this with you for quite some time and can only reiterate our apology for the frustrations this has caused.

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Hi Trinton,  Could you please share with us what the "widespread issue with no available workarounds" were that necessitated the item specific changes?

Thank you.

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Or just a list of the know problems Ebay is working on.

[brian@ebay]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

I posted on the Tech forums earlier today, but I think this is something that really needs to be disseminated to sellers.

When a buyer requests an invoice and you change the shipping method drop down THE SHIPPING COST DOES NOT UPDATE.  So if I change it from SmartPost to Priority at the customer request, it doesn't adjust to the Priority rate.  This nearly cost me a significant amount of money today and explains a couple cases in recent weeks where the label cost me more than the buyer paid.

The invoice used to update the shipping when you changed the dropdown. Now it doesn't.  Sellers should be notified of this issue until it can be fixed.

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Hi @dtexley3, if you tag me in that thread then I'll look it over and send a report about to the appropriate team. Thanks!

[alan@ebay]

Thank you all for joining us today. We've closed the thread as the hour is up. We're working through questions we haven't got to yet. 

Chat with you again next week! 

[doug@ebay]

Hi @hioctane62 we'd love to hear any ideas for improvement you or others have. 

Please starts a post in Community Platform Feedback and we'll look for the suggestions: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Community-Platform-Feedback/bd-p/CommunityNews

We're not able to answer account specific questions publically. We strive to answer all that we can in the time we have and if we can't answer live, we follow up after the chat is closed. Sometimes we don't have an answer or an update. What posts are you seeing not being answered, and what answers are you seeing that are obsolete? 

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@hioctane62 wrote:

These chats are becoming redundant. Lots of questions and no, old, or obsolete answers.

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[tyler@ebay]

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@vrykalak wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote:

I'm really annoyed about Item Specifics having to be retyped from scratch every time I change the category.

It is especially annoying for clothing, because there are now about a dozen required "specifics" for clothing.

If the item was a shirt, it still is a shirt,

If it was made by Hanes, it still is made by Hanes.

If it had a collar and short sleeves, it still has a collar and short sleeves.

If it was blue, it still is blue.

Since all those Item Specifics exist in all clothing categories that refer to shirts, there's no reason why they all get erased if I change the category

...to list in both Men's and Women's category, now that Unisex categories are gone.
Also, when the item is in the catalog, why doesn't the system fill in the Item Specifics that are in the catalog entry?

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Hi @vrykalak, you can email sdsupport@eBay.com with examples of catalog entries that are not populating the listing form with the appropriate item specifics. They will be happy to look into this and get back to you with an update.

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote:

I'm really annoyed about Item Specifics having to be retyped from scratch every time I change the category.

It is especially annoying for clothing, because there are now about a dozen required "specifics" for clothing.

If the item was a shirt, it still is a shirt,

If it was made by Hanes, it still is made by Hanes.

If it had a collar and short sleeves, it still has a collar and short sleeves.

If it was blue, it still is blue.

Since all those Item Specifics exist in all clothing categories that refer to shirts, there's no reason why they all get erased if I change the category

...to list in both Men's and Women's category, now that Unisex categories are gone.
Also, when the item is in the catalog, why doesn't the system fill in the Item Specifics that are in the catalog entry?

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Hi @vrykalak, you can email sdsupport@eBay.com with examples of catalog entries that are not populating the listing form with the appropriate item specifics. They will be happy to look into this and get back to you with an update.

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Forget the last sentence. Answer the rest of the complaint.

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Hi @vrykalak - I know that this is a topic you feel strongly about, and we've discussed it several times this year (1, 2).

We've answered why Item Specifics require this re-entry in the past, and that answer hasn't changed: It's because Item Specifics are unique and dynamic from category to category. Those fields do not talk to one another, and even though it is named the same thing, it is not considered so when building it into search. 

I know that you disagree with this and feel that data should be transferred. There are no current plans for that to happen, and while I appreciate your frustration at the additional work this creates for you, asking us repeatedly about it will not change that fact. 

Trinton's suggestion to email and discuss this with sdsupport@ebay.com is the best course of action for you, as they oversee both item specifics and catalog data. I can't promise you that they will consider changing the architecture of the current system, but you're more than welcome to make your case with them.

[brian@ebay]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Hi @mendelsons, as we've discussed previously, the details of your report have been passed along to our tech teams and will be reviewed. Changes during the final part of the year are something we generally avoid unless there is a widespread issue with no available workarounds, so you may not see an update on this specific topic until the new year. I know that we've been investigating this with you for quite some time and can only reiterate our apology for the frustrations this has caused.

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Hi Trinton,  Could you please share with us what the "widespread issue with no available workarounds" were that necessitated the item specific changes?

Thank you.

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Hi @dtexley3, this question was raised in the chat with the Structured Data team last month and you'll find the response from that team there.

[doug@ebay]

Hi @my-cottage-books-and-antiques I do see your point and the team can discuss it. I think the fact of the matter is that the Community is not considered a marketing channel, and the marketing team focuses certain assets elsewhere, where they will have the biggest impact. We're a peer to peer support community not a marketing channel.

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
doug,

Thanks, but I already know you don't usually post marketing campaigns here. That's why I'm asking you to do it. Is there a reason you don't post them here? Usually, sooner or later, people see the ads and start talking about them on the Boards anyway. Why not post them here when they first go live? While sellers have no control over ebay's ad campaigns, the campaigns certainly impact us, so its only natural we'd be curious.

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[tyler@ebay]

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@wooden_flower wrote:

Hi there,

Your answer about listing site reminded me to ask - is there a way to look at a listing and know the listing site, or the site where it was purchased?

Questions come up from time to time about cases that can't be opened because the member is on the wrong site, but he doesn't remember which site he was on when it was purchased 🙂

thanks!

Sue

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Hi @wooden_flower - ohhh this is a good question! There isn't a specific place on a listing that will tell you what site it was listed on, but there are clues. 

If the stated currency for the item is different from yours (for instance, Canadian with a US Dollar exchange rate below it) that indicates it was born on a different site. Item location can also help (but isn't always a good indicator, as members from all over the world can create listings on .com). If a listing appears in Euros, and states they're located in Greece, chances are pretty high that it was listed on a different site from .com. 

With the specific example you shared, there is a tech issue right now that is impacting a few buyers - best course of action for them is to contact CS so they can review the transaction in detail and get them next steps. Thanks!