eBay

Anonymous · ‎10-02-2019

Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on October 2nd 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 look into it for you

community_team · ‎10-14-2019

eBay Catalog: Categories

Q: Some of the stuff I sell is craft books on all kinds of subjects. Crochet, Knit, Cross Stitch, Plastic Canvas, Quilting, etc. There are categories under Crafts that allows for such pattern books to be legitimately listed under the Craft category. They are specific to pattern books. The problem comes in when I use a UPC that is recognized in the eBay Catalog. When that happens, during the posting of the listing to eBay, eBay changes the category I have selected to Books: Non Fiction Other. Any thoughts?

A: We’re happy to pass this along to our catalog team for review. They can make changes to the category associated with product identifiers such as UPCs. If you run into this again in the future, you can email the examples to sdsupport@eBay.com.

Internet Sales Tax

Q: Will PayPal be collecting fees on gross amount with the recent announcement to how sales tax will be collected and remitted?

A: Yes. The PayPal processing fee applies to the gross transaction value (item value, shipping and sales tax).

Q: When eBay collects sales tax, will we have to pay FVF on the sales tax?

A: No. We won't be assessing Final Value Fees for the sales tax amount. This is stated in the FAQ we have included in our recent announcement. While there is no date associated with this FAQ, when an FAQ is provided in a related announcement this is confirmation that the FAQ contains current information. You can find the announcement here.

Q: I have a question about situations where Internet Sales Tax is not assessed correctly. What needs to be done if, for example, a buyer located in Maple Valley, WA is being charged 10% when it should only be 8.6%?

A: We always encourage buyer to checkout with as complete an address as possible. The buyers zip code is determines the tax paid. When a buyer provides their zip code + 4, we can determine the tax for their jurisdiction. If a buyer has been charged the incorrect amount, they can try touching base with Customer Service or their local tax authority for potential credits.

Q: So how will it play out when a buyer who was charged sales tax returns something and wants a refund? How will a seller refund the sales tax portion?

A: eBay will automatically refund the sales tax to the buyer in cases where you issue a refund through an open request, cancel the transaction, etc.

Managed Payments

Q: Is there any update on when Global Shipping will be incorporated into Managed Payments?

A: We're still working on expanding managed payments to include the Global Shipping Program. There have not been any announcements as to when this will be available.

Q: There is some discussion going right now about MP and eBay forcing sellers to sign up by October 22nd. Could anyone from the team clarify?

A: A select group of sellers received an email letting them know they must onboard onto managed payments by October 22, 2019. For those sellers, they will need to join managed payments on or before October 22nd.

Search, Item Specifics, And Descriptions

Q: If I recall correctly, it was said in a recent podcast that for purposes of the search filters eBay looks only at Item Specifics, but doesn’t look at the description. So, if I say an item is green in my description, but leave the color blank in Item Specifics, a buyer filtering by Color: Green won't see my item?

A: The filters on the left side of search pages will utilize the Item Specifics provided in the listing when generating search results (ie. Color). If that field is left blank in a listing, then the item will not appear in that filtered search.

Q: Would I be correct to conclude that, for purposes of search, title and Item Specifics are very important while the description field is less so?

A: The Item title and Item Specifics are very important, as well as price, shipping cost, and description. Many factors go into Best Match search results. However, Item Specifics are required for items to appear when the filters on the left side of the screen are used, so sellers should definitely fill out as many Item Specific fields as possible.

Q: For purposes of search, does eBay treat the catalog supplied info as Item Specifics?

A: Yes. Catalog data fills out the related Item Specifics for you and are treated as Item Specifics in search

Q: In mobile, eBay truncates descriptions, although the buyer does retain the ability to read the entire description with one click. Some of these truncated descriptions are leaving out important info. Given that more and more buyers are looking at mobile, is it worth taking the time to write a detailed description?

A: The length and detail in a description will differ depending on the item. Sellers should always provide all necessary details in the listing. For a DVD, this may be a small description, while a collectible item would likely have a much larger description.

Q: What percentage of buyers actually read the description?

A: The Community Team does not have data on how many buyers view descriptions, and as such this isn't information we can provide.

Q: I routinely include a condition section at the end of my description field, but of course, eBay has a separate condition field for us to fill out. Is this duplication necessary?

A: You only need to fill out the condition field. It is not necessary to put the condition in the description as well.

Q: For something like a newer book (one with an ISBN), which will have a catalog entry, do I really need to fill out Item Specifics beyond the ISBN?

A: Filling out Item Specifics will give an item more chances to surface in filtered search results, so we strongly recommend filling out as many as possible.

Q: It would be great if eBay provided some definitions or examples of certain terms they suggest we use. Also, if eBay reviewed their IS and eliminated things like "Text Books" and "Textbooks" as a type of book for example give us one or the other, but not a choice. Could you pass this on the appropriate team?

A: Item Specific terms are generated by Sellers, which is why you may see similar ones like 'Text Books' and 'Textbooks'. You can contact at sdsupport@eBay.com to provide feedback directly to the Item Specifics team about improvements that can be made to Item Specifics.

Q: Why do I have to click that I don’t have a UPC every single listing?

A: A UPC allows us to match the item to Item Specifics and product details that we have stored about the item. If we can match your item to a multitude of Item Specifics that you may not have considered it can increase the exposure of your listing increasing the chance it will sell quickly for you.

If you do have items with UPCs we strongly suggest that you add them! Otherwise, you can click that you don't have one, but it's going to be something we ask every time you list because we want your item to sell.

Q: Has anyone gone through each category / sub category / sub sub category to the very end of the tree to be sure there are valid Item Specifics for each little end of the tree?

A: the Item Specifics are primarily generated by sellers in our Community and while our catalog team is happy review for necessary adjustments, we won't be able to do this proactively for every possible item specific. You can send any concerns you have directly to sdsupport@eBay.com for review.

Q: In many cases, the Item Specifics have drop down boxes of choices. If mine desired information is not there, can I just enter the correct answer? example - postcards for California. Many cities are listed but the smaller towns are not. So I put the town in under city. If I remember correctly, the capital of New Jersey, Trenton is not on the list. Can I fill in with information if it doesn't match the drop down box and have it be used?

A: You are welcome to add new Item Specifics that are appropriate for your item - this will benefit your listing and the listings of any future sellers who are selling the same item.

Listing Photos

Q: Would eBay approve of a seller using white for their gallery photo, and so-called "lifestyle photos" for the rest of the photos?

A: Using lifestyle photos is a sellers choice, we just recommend using white backgrounds as they tend to look better and increase your chances of appearing in third party search engine results. If you'd like to do the main photo with a white background and include additional lifestyle photos, that would be fine.

Q: Any timeline for wider distribution of eBay's white background tool?

A: This tool is available currently for iOS users, and we don't have any new information on when it may be available on Android or PC.

Best Offer In Mobile

Q: Is eBay really going to force me into desktop listings for everything to avoid having Best Offer automatically added to my listings? I had (up till now) liked the convenience of the app.

A: Ultimately, we want to help your items convert into a sale: it's more money for you, and more money for us. On listings where your asking price is above the average selling price for similar items in the category we will add Best Offer if the item hasn't sold after 8 days. You aren't required to accept the offers, but we want to make sure you can receive them in case you receive one you'd be willing to consider. You are able to remove that option from listings that have it added, but know that it is possible it will be put back on if the item doesn't sell in the future. Also, to be clear, this isn't something that is app-specific. It may be done for listings created on the app or on a PC.

PayPal Notifications

Q: A lot of us are getting notifications from PayPal that an item sold but are not getting notifications from eBay and the listing is still listed. What is going on?

A: We are aware of an issue with payments not being visible on eBay and are investigating further. In the meantime, you can check PayPal to confirm that the payment was successful.

View Best Answer in original post

Anonymous · ‎10-02-2019

Hi everyone, the chat is now open for replies! Looking forward to seeing your what buying and selling questions everyone has today

theshoppingmom2 · ‎10-02-2019

Hi everyone!!

There is a thread going right now about MP and eBay forcing sellers to sign up by October 22nd

Could anyone from the team go there and clarify that this is not so?

TIA

ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ Patty ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ

christopher0 · ‎10-02-2019

Have been trying to collect the $21.50 coupon eBay owes me for completing a promotion of theirs--

(this one) https://pages.ebay.com/promo/2019/0612/coupon40.html

Sold $43 worth of items during the event, so $21.50 is what I was promised.

All I have gotten from eBay for 3 months now is THE RUN AROUND as well as blatantly being IGNORED.

I have come to believe, that eBay, like most (sunshine) companies, when they owe you something they will give you the run around & ignore you until you forget or give up.

My Original post on August 5th 2019

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-not-valuing-their-Promotions/qaq-p/30101030

I have already posted in TWO separate Weekly Chat With eBay Staff on August 7th 2019

(seen here) https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-August-7-1-00-pm-PT-General...

and September 18th 2019 (Seen here) https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-September-18-1-00-pm-PT-Pro...

Both Tyler and Alan of eBay staff have promised to look into my "issue" and promised a response. I have not heard from either of them since.

mam98031 · ‎10-02-2019

I don’t know why I haven’t brought this up before, but I have an issue with how the Ebay catalog will cause a change on my listings sometimes. I still create my listings in TurboLister. I know I need to let it go, but I like it and I find it easy to use.

Some of the stuff I sell is craft books on all kinds of subjects. Crochet, Knit, Cross Stitch, Plastic Canvas, Quilting, etc. There are categories under Crafts that allows for such pattern books to be legitimately listed under the Craft category. They are specific to pattern books. And I’d venture a guess that many crafters look in the craft categories for what they need.

The problem comes in when I use a UPC that is recognized in the Ebay Catalog. When that happens, during the posting of the listing from TL to Ebay, Ebay changes the category I have selected to Books: Non Fiction Other.

I don’t want them in that category. If I had wanted them in that category I would have designed the listing that way. This is becoming an increasingly larger problem all the time as more and more UPCs are added to the catalog.

Then there is the search engine. While a buyer may be trying to search in all categories, after doing a search, it will often times auto change to a specific category. For my poor little craft books, it will typically change to Books: Non Fiction.

I want my books in the Craft categories where they belong. I am losing sales due to this, I’m confident of that. I’m trying to get my categories corrected for the Holiday season, but of course it takes time and when you change the category on an existing listing it deletes all your ISBs [item specific box] so I have to reenter all of that.

The only way around this when posting a new listing that I’ve found it to put Does Not Apply in the UPC box. I’d prefer to have a better way of getting my stuff in the proper categories. Any thoughts??

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

shaizen · ‎10-02-2019

Hi! I have a question about Internet Sales Tax. What needs to be done if let's say a buyer located in Maple Valley WA is being charged 10% when it should only be 8.6%? Thanks!

rosevelyn · ‎10-02-2019

Will Paypal be collecting fees on gross amount with this announcement, which I just received now in my email?

"In 2018, PayPal and eBay worked together to implement a solution to comply with laws that require eBay to collect and remit tax on applicable transactions. Those transactions that require eBay to collect tax are currently divided into two separate charges - one for the item purchased and another for the associated tax.

Effective November 2019, PayPal and eBay will change the way these transactions are processed and how taxes are collected and remitted.

For transactions that require eBay to collect tax from buyers, the tax amount will be included in the gross purchase amount to be processed. Once settled, the tax amount will be automatically deducted for remittance to the applicable taxing authority.

You do not need to take any action.

Learn more about Internet Tax at ebay Seller Center."

brian@ebay · ‎10-02-2019

@theshoppingmom2 wrote:

Hi everyone!!

There is a thread going right now about MP and eBay forcing sellers to sign up by October 22nd

Could anyone from the team go there and clarify that this is not so?

TIA

Hi @theshoppingmom2, I'm happy to clarify! A select group of sellers received an email letting them know they must onboard onto managed payments by October 22, 2019. For those sellers, they will need to join managed payments on or before October 22nd.

Brian,
Community Team

postcardcountry · ‎10-02-2019

There is some confusion about the latest statements being made by eBay concerning the collection of sales tax and how it will appear. At one point the term "gross amount of the sale" is used.

This has led some people to believe we will now be charged a FVF on the sales tax.

While it does say in the Seller Center that we will not be charged FVFs, there is no date associated with that statement, so we have no way of knowing if this is a current statement.

So....when eBay collects sales tax, will we have to pay FVF on the sales tax?

Anonymous · ‎10-02-2019

@mam98031 wrote:

I don’t know why I haven’t brought this up before, but I have an issue with how the Ebay catalog will cause a change on my listings sometimes. I still create my listings in TurboLister. I know I need to let it go, but I like it and I find it easy to use.

Some of the stuff I sell is craft books on all kinds of subjects. Crochet, Knit, Cross Stitch, Plastic Canvas, Quilting, etc. There are categories under Crafts that allows for such pattern books to be legitimately listed under the Craft category. They are specific to pattern books. And I’d venture a guess that many crafters look in the craft categories for what they need.

The problem comes in when I use a UPC that is recognized in the Ebay Catalog. When that happens, during the posting of the listing from TL to Ebay, Ebay changes the category I have selected to Books: Non Fiction Other.

I don’t want them in that category. If I had wanted them in that category I would have designed the listing that way. This is becoming an increasingly larger problem all the time as more and more UPCs are added to the catalog.

Then there is the search engine. While a buyer may be trying to search in all categories, after doing a search, it will often times auto change to a specific category. For my poor little craft books, it will typically change to Books: Non Fiction.

I want my books in the Craft categories where they belong. I am losing sales due to this, I’m confident of that. I’m trying to get my categories corrected for the Holiday season, but of course it takes time and when you change the category on an existing listing it deletes all your ISBs [item specific box] so I have to reenter all of that.

The only way around this when posting a new listing that I’ve found it to put Does Not Apply in the UPC box. I’d prefer to have a better way of getting my stuff in the proper categories. Any thoughts??

Hi @mam98031, this one might be a bit tricky; we will change the category to match the one associated with that item in our catalog in an effort to bring consistency to the items in our catalog and ultimately improve visibility. For the specific example you have provided, I can see how the crafts category may be better than the non-fiction category for these patterns. I'll have to touch base with the appropriate team on this one to see what the best recommendation would be, but I will update this thread once I have more info!

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-02-2019

Just watched ebay's How to Build the Perfect Listing video eBay Selling 101: How to Create the Perfect Listing

eBay Selling 101: How to Create the Perfect Listing

Hear from an eBay executive and an expert seller on how to create the perfect listing, including tips for the ti...

I've also heard Harry talk about the subject, I think on the podcast. So, I get the 4 "pillars" of the perfect listing: Title, Item Specifics, Photos and Price. My question: What about the "Description" field? I've been on ebay 20 plus years, and years ago many of us wrote pretty long descriptions. (And let's leave TOS---terms of sale---out of this discussion---I assume many sellers have drastically cut down or eliminated the TOS within a description field, at least, I certainly hope so).

But I'm talking about the item description itself. I'm noticing a definite trend among sellers towards shorter and shorter descriptions. I recently listed some newer text books, and, because I knew ebay's catalog would provide a lot of details, the only thing I included in the description was the title, author, and edition, along with condition. So, those are easy and short. However, I also sell a lot of older, vintage items, and they generally require more information (IMHO). So, a few questions:

1. If I recall correctly, Harry said in the podcast (this wasn't in the video) that , for purposes of the search filters, ebay looks only at Item Specifics (and maybe title?), but does NOT look at description. So, if I say an item is green in my description, but leave Color blank in item specifics, a buyer filtering by color: green won't see my item. Does ebay's search function even look at what's in the description field? If so, for what purpose?

2. In mobile, ebay truncates descriptions, although the buyer does retain the ability to read the entire description with one click. Some of these truncated descriptions are, sorry to say, really awful, leaving out important info. But that's a discussion for another time. LOL My question is, given that more and more buyers are looking at mobile, is it worth taking the time to write a detailed description?

3. Related to my second question: I'm sure ebay has data on this, although you guys might not want to share it. I'm not asking for details, but at least some idea....what percentage of buyers actually read the description? If it's 95%, then it's worth the time to write a good one. If it's 5%, a lot of us may be wasting a lot of time. It would be nice to know.

4. Would I be correct to conclude that, for purposes of SEARCH...that is, for the buyer to FIND the item in the first place...Title and Item Specifics are very important, description field really is not? The way I'm looking at it, the description field is not going to bring a buyer to me, but once the buyer has arrived, it's one place where I can try to convert the searcher to a buyer? For example, I can point out that an item could be repurposed as this or that, or I could provide some background about the item's history, or an interesting story about how I acquired the item. But, if only 5% of buyers look at descriptions, that might be more effort than it's worth.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-02-2019

Some more questions regarding description field and item specifics:

1. I routinely include a condition section at the end of my description field, but of course, ebay has a separate condition field for us to fill out, and I use the same info in the description field and the condition field. Is this duplication necessary? I believe ebay said one time that, in an INAD claim, ebay only looks at the seller's condition field, not the description, for the seller's stated condition. While I assume repeating the condition in the description is not any sort of violation, my questions is: is it really necessary? I could save some time if I only put it in the condition field. (To be clear, I'm talking about used items, not new in box stuff)

2. For something like a newer book (one with an ISBN), which will have a catalog entry, do I really need to fill out Item Specifics beyond the ISBN?

3. Also, for purposes of search, does ebay treat ebay's own catalog supplied info as Item Specifics, or does ebay ignore it, the way it appears to ignore the description field?

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-02-2019

Another question related to the Perfect Listing video. The video advises using a white background (or editing software to create a white background) for photos. I want to add that, in a recent ebay podcast, ebay mentioned---with approval---a seller who uses a white background for his gallery photo, but black backgrounds for his other photos (because his items "pop" better on a black background). Would ebay also approve of a seller using white for the gallery photo, and so-called "lifestyle photos" for the rest of the photos?

And, related to that, any timeline for wider distribution of ebay's white background tool? Specifically, any chance it will make it to Android before next year? Or to PCs?

dusty_relics_tx · ‎10-02-2019

Good afternoon, Is there any update on when Global Shipping will be incorporated back into Managed Payments?

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-02-2019

Glad to see Jordan Sweetnam has returned to ebay after a few years at WalMart, and also glad to see in his recent podcast interview that he really seems to appreciate the value of used and vintage stuff (maybe because it really differentiates this site from WalMart) Any chance you guys will be able to bring him onto Weekly Chat?