eBay

tyler@ebay · ‎10-29-2019

Join the Community team here at 1 PM PT on October 30th 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.

Please note that this is a general topics chat, and we're happy to work on getting you answers. For the latest information and updates on the Item Specifics technical issue please review the the Seller News Announcements.

Tyler,

community_team · ‎11-22-2019

eBay Account Performance / removals

Q: My account recently fell into the 'very high' range in my service metrics, but I offer free returns. On a recent return I was unable to offer less than a full refund, though I normally would have been able to. Why is this?

A: Being 'Very High' in Service Metrics does make the account ineligible for the partial refund tool. This information can be found on the Seller Protections help page.

Q: Where does ebay come up with the service metrics "as compared to my peers"? Please explain how you come up with the metric. Also, please explain why we should be penalized for buyers that abuse the system if we can prove that they open a NAD falsely?

A: Peer Groups are determined by a number of factors, such as item conditions (used vs. new), price, return policy, category, and volume of items sold (less then 400 transaction in a 3-month period vs. 400+ in a 3-month period). Your Peer Group is comprised of sellers with similar price points, category, item condition, and return policy. You'll find details about Service Metrics here.

In regard to removing Service Metric marks, this is a protection offered to Top Rated Sellers. If a buyer falsely claims Not As Described and/or if a buyer returns an item damaged/used, Top Rated Sellers can take steps to have those Service Metric marks removed. Go here for more details.

Q: One of my most popular listings was administratively removed by eBay. I called and they restored it but it was in my unsold section. I know that when relisted the sale history starts from the beginning and a new item ID is assigned. I want to list my item with original item ID and sale history that my listings had before deleted due to an eBay error.

A: We’re sorry to hear that some items were ended in error. Our teams strive for 100% accuracy when taking action on listings. It sounds like the error in this situation was caught and the listings restored so it can be relisted. Unfortunately, it is not possible to relist items with past item numbers or past sales history. Once a listing is ended (for any reason), the sales history ends with it. This means that customer service, including leadership, does not have the ability to restore the item’s sales history. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

eBay Tools

Q: I noticed recently that eBay is now showing us right in the sales section when an item has been sold with a Markdown Manager discount (similar to the way ebay shows an item was sold via Promoted Listings). Is that correct? And, if so, does ebay also show when an item has been purchased using a Codeless Coupon?

A: Items that sell by a promotion you’re running like a Markdown or codeless coupon will display on the Seller Hub Orders page.

Q: Scan forms can not be generated on the new bulk shipping page. No mention of this on the technical issues board.. Most post offices will not manually scan more than 3 packages and have signs posted that one must have a scan sheet if dropping off more than 3 packages.

A: There isn't currently a technical issue with a Scan form that we can find. If you're having trouble printing them you could try the following steps:

After printing a bulk batch of labels, on the labels purchase confirmation page click on the button to Print USPS SCAN form

OR

Go to the following page and bookmark it for future use:

https://gslblui.ebay.com/gslblui/bulk/#/scan-forms

From the SCAN forms page click the Generate button for the label printing session in question in the Available SCAN forms section

Once the SCAN form is generated, click on the Print option in the Generated SCAN forms section

Suggestions for future enhancements

Q: Is there any thought to showing more shipping options during the holiday season? Many buyers choose priority from now through Dec, even on small items.

A: There aren't any plans to make changes to this process. However, if Priority shipping has a faster estimated delivery date than the default shipping option on the listing, Priority will be an option for the buyer. I'm happy to take note of your suggestion though!

Q:Many audiobooks are in the catalog as regular books. I think this is misleading. "Audiobook" is a "hard category" meaning there's no doubt if it's true or not. "Fiction and Literature" or "Children & Young Adults" are soft categories, meaning they are open to interpretation. I think the catalog should give precedence to "Hard Categories"

A: That’s an interesting suggestion! The catalog team would love to hear from you on this. You can send them the suggestion (as well as any examples you have come across) to sdsupport@ebay.com.

Q:Can eBay do something to move the return process along more quickly?

Example: I do not accept returns. Yet buyers keep opening return cases with false claims. So I am stuck waiting for these to be dropped by eBay. It's a waste of everyone's time when this could easily be resolved in 24 hours or less. There should be a seller option to immediately escalate for review.

A: The time frames in situations like the one you've described cannot be expedited. If a buyer opens a case for a Not As Described reason then we must allow them the full time frame to either ask us to step in or have the return closed after the specified time frame. While we do not have any plans to change the current time frames for closing a return, we do keep an eye on returns and make adjustments to time frames as needed (we actually made changes to time frames within the last couple years).

Q:On the October 23rd Community Chat, I posted "I have been wondering for years and never got around to asking until now as to why subscription based accounts (I have Premium) are charged in Home and Garden for auction listings. With the consolidation of categories it's becoming more burdensome."

Unfortunately, my question was not answered. I asked WHY we were being charged the fees all these years and noted that it is becoming a greater issue. I received a rushed answer with a link to the policy, which was not an answer.

A: We aren’t able to give you a 'why' answer as to why the Home and Garden category is excluded from the monthly free auctions for Store subscribers, other than a decision was made that not all categories qualify for these free insertion fees. With that said, we are definitely happy to take note of your feedback!

Item Specifics

Q: Some of the missing details in the new item specifics will definitely cause confusion and SNADs, and the color menu needs to be edited as a matter of priority. IVORY is not listed as a color. It is very common for buyers to want to know for sure if something is white or ivory, even if I already have it in my item description. Other colors are left out as well. The colors do not account for pastels. What do you do about an item that is peach? I can't choose orange.

A: The best way to express feedback about Item Specifics is to email sdsupport@ebay.com. That goes to the team over Item Specifics. They take all feedback into consideration, so we suggest sending this to them directly.

View Best Answer in original post

brian@ebay · ‎10-30-2019

Hi everyone! The chat is now open for comments 🙂

Brian,
Community Team

medallion-trading-company · ‎10-30-2019

My account recently fell into the 'very high' range in my service metrics.
Keep in mind that eBay has recently changed their policy to remove any false SNADs from the service metrics moving foward from the seller update in October. This would literally remove all but 2 of my 10 SNAD cases affecting my service metrics. But whatever.

Also, one of my SNADs will fall off as of Oct 19, putting me back down at only 9 and the restrictions will be removed again upon my next evaluation. Of course nobody from eBay told me this, I had to figure it out myself after going around and around from people from India. Also, they were going to look into the false SNADs on my account and get back with me, but alas I got an email from eBay saying they couldn't call me back to discuss it because the phone number was not updated. FALSE! Oh the games they have played with me.

So, that's only the beginning of this chaos.

A customer opened a return, because he didn't like it, which is fine because I offer free returns. He said it got stuck on his sweater. Well, he certainly did get it stuck on something. He sent back a completely damaged and broken $500 coin pendant. I was told by eBay that I would be able to refund partially, so my plan was to refund all but the $100 it would take to repair and replace the broken bail. However,the option to partially refund was never available to me. Despite talking to two agents AND a supervisor, the only answer they could come up with was that it did not show as delivered yet in their system. But, in fact, it DID show as delivered. So, I opened a case to help me with this. I OPENED THE CASE based on incorrect information from eBay. Now it is a defect. Let that sink in.

When I called in regarding the case I opened, I was told to partially refund through Paypal. I was told this buy an eBay agent. So that's what I did, since I was still convinced that I was doing everything correctly.

Then, after no progress on the open case after 24 hours, I called back. I was told the case was on hold until October 29th. So I called back then, on October 29th, and I was told that they needed to confirm with the buyer that the partial refund was received.

Then today the case closed out in the buyer's favor and my credit card charged the remaining $100 for the partial refund.

This is completely the opposite of everything I was being told by eBay up to this point.

So, I called AGAIN today.

After speaking to another agent who said I would not be covered on the appeal because the buyer sent item back and I received it, and another supervisor who said that the buyer would have to admit to the damage before they could do anything (After opening the case I sent pictures and an explanation of why I partially refunded to which the buyer never responded) and then finally, and agent who told me that the reason the option to partially refund wasn't available to me was because of my high service metrics. FINALLY, after almost 4 hours of calls with eBay and days and days of working on this, I got the information that nobody else gave me and instead gave me WRONG information.

Keep in mind that if I would have been told this from the beginning, I would have 1. Never opened a dispute to partially refund in the first place 2. I would have completed the refund at any time that the dispute was open so it didn't count against me rather than following the instructions of the Ebay agents and supervisors.

Finally, I would like to point out that the purchase was made by my buyer before I was being punished for very high service metrics (and presumably still covered by eBay's seller protections), the return was opened by my buyer while I was not being punished for very high service metrics. At what point did I stop being covered? Because this entire transaction took place while I was presumably covered. If I appeal it in 30 days, I will no longer have 'very high' service metrics. Will I be covered when I appeal it?

So, as you can see, I have a lot of concerns.

THANK YOU! Jodi

--------
I love me, thanks.

smileyditto · ‎10-30-2019

eBay Buyer Protection Failed Me

I bought an item that turned out to be counterfeit. I opened a SNAD "Doesn't seem authentic" case and the seller claimed it was real even though I know it was fake (I sell the same kind of items too except they're genuine, so I can tell the difference between a real one and a fake one). The seller would not work with me; he/she kept telling me it was real, tried to offer a partial refund for the fake item (I declined), and wouldn't pay for return shipping, so I had to escalate the case. The case was closed in my favor and I was told to return the item with the prepaid label. I did as instructed and the item was sent back to the seller.

The seller then initiated a refund after it was delivered and a few days later, his/her eCheck bounced, and PayPal attempted to process the refund again before it ultimately failed. I tried to escalate my case again with the "Ask eBay to step in" button, but it would bring me to an error page every time (I get either the "Oops, there was a technical hiccup" or "It's not you. It's us. Our server is down" page). I tried clearing cookies and cache and used different browsers, but the button to escalate my case just wouldn't work, so I had to call up eBay Customer Service.

It was very difficult for me getting in touch with the specialists as the calls kept breaking up and I could barely hear them. I wasn't sure if it was because of my phone or that the connection was poor on the CSR end. I was finally told during a call that eBay would refund me themselves and they would go after the seller, but I had to wait for 5-7 more days because the request needed to be approved by a supervisor before they would send me an email regarding about the refund. During the waiting period, my case was automatically closed due to "no activity for 21 days".

As I've mentioned before, the "Ask eBay to step in" button wasn't working, so I was unable to respond back to my case and it seems none of the eBay specialists did anything to help me about that. Right now, it has been about 5 days since I've last called CS and I'm unable to appeal on the website (unless I try to call again after the waiting period, which is on Nov. 1) because my case was closed. I still don't have my money back while the seller is scot-free. What can I do now?

I would very much appreciate it if this issue could be looked into further by eBay (the item # is 233350801333 and my case # is 5210655900).

k-beautybox · ‎10-30-2019

(Question summary)
-Active Listings(GTC) deleted due to eBay errors have been restored by eBay with apologize.(See picture 1)
I know that when relisting, the sale history starts from the beginning and a new item ID is assigned.
I want to listing my item with original item ID and sale history that my listings had before deleted due to eBay error.
I'd like to hear your answer on this.
And which department should I talk about this issue?
How can I contact the the department manager?

(Detailed situation)
Last week my listing was deleted due to an eBay error. I asked for a recovery. The story is long, so attach a link to the article in the discussion.
(Link : Overview of the situation posted in 'Discussions')
https://community.ebay.com/t5/My-Account/eBay-and-PayPal-s-fault-ruined-my-business-and-life/td-p/30...

Yesterday, eBay reinstated my listings that they deleted to 'Ended'.
They told me how to 'Relist' the listing they restored, with an apology "We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you" in message.

But there is a problem.
I know that when I do a 'Relist', the sale history starts from the beginning, including performance, number of counts, views, and reviews. And item ID changes, too.
For that reason, I've been listing on GTC and managing listings strictly.
However, due to eBay errors, listings with very high sale history were deleted.(See picture 2, 3)

I am relisting. But that's not my original listings.
Those listings have no performance and no sale history.

I don't know how to get my listings that deleted due to eBay errors back to 'original'. But I think it can be done in several ways.
For example, modifying active listings information or changing listing's state from active from 'Ended'.

The data remains. It's not as impossible as eBay reinstated the listings they deleted. It is necessary to get things right.
(Of course, I'll delete all the listings that I relist to avoid duplicate listing issues.)

This is not common and there may not be a ready answer.
I want to get in touch with a department or person in charge who can discuss this.
I'm watching 'Community Chat' now.
If you have more information to answer, I can answer immediately.
I will wait for your reply.

(Picture 1_Message from eBay)
(Picture 2_Screenshot of 12,062 Sold history)
(Picture 3_Screenshot of 5,060 Sold history)

millcreekrescue909 · ‎10-30-2019

Cannot revise items. Cannot use Sell Similar. Cannot relist. Cannot put up new listings. And, on top of that, TurboLister will no longer sync with eBay. My hands are completely tied. This has been going on for approx. 1 ½ weeks with no end in sight. For me, the site is completely unusable with the exception of making and receiving payments and I am paying for a Premium Store. At the very least, I expect a credit against my store subscription. How will eBay be compensating me for these issues? And how will eBay be compensating all sellers affected by these serious and unresolved issues?

____________________________________

Always a newbie!

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-30-2019

Something I noticed recently...apparently ebay is now showing us right in the sales section when an item has been sold with a Markdown Manager discount (similar to the way ebay shows an item was sold via Promoted Listings). Is that correct? And, if so, does ebay also show when an item has been purchased using a Codeless Coupon?

tyler@ebay · ‎10-30-2019

@smileyditto wrote:

eBay Buyer Protection Failed Me

I bought an item that turned out to be counterfeit. I opened a SNAD "Doesn't seem authentic" case and the seller claimed it was real even though I know it was fake (I sell the same kind of items too except they're genuine, so I can tell the difference between a real one and a fake one). The seller would not work with me; he/she kept telling me it was real, tried to offer a partial refund for the fake item (I declined), and wouldn't pay for return shipping, so I had to escalate the case. The case was closed in my favor and I was told to return the item with the prepaid label. I did as instructed and the item was sent back to the seller.

The seller then initiated a refund after it was delivered and a few days later, his/her eCheck bounced, and PayPal attempted to process the refund again before it ultimately failed. I tried to escalate my case again with the "Ask eBay to step in" button, but it would bring me to an error page every time (I get either the "Oops, there was a technical hiccup" or "It's not you. It's us. Our server is down" page). I tried clearing cookies and cache and used different browsers, but the button to escalate my case just wouldn't work, so I had to call up eBay Customer Service.

It was very difficult for me getting in touch with the specialists as the calls kept breaking up and I could barely hear them. I wasn't sure if it was because of my phone or that the connection was poor on the CSR end. I was finally told during a call that eBay would refund me themselves and they would go after the seller, but I had to wait for 5-7 more days because the request needed to be approved by a supervisor before they would send me an email regarding about the refund. During the waiting period, my case was automatically closed due to "no activity for 21 days".

As I've mentioned before, the "Ask eBay to step in" button wasn't working, so I was unable to respond back to my case and it seems none of the eBay specialists did anything to help me about that. Right now, it has been about 5 days since I've last called CS and I'm unable to appeal on the website (unless I try to call again after the waiting period, which is on Nov. 1) because my case was closed. I still don't have my money back while the seller is scot-free. What can I do now?

I would very much appreciate it if this issue could be looked into further by eBay (the item # is 233350801333 and my case # is 5210655900).

Hi @smileyditto - I'll get this reported for review and will be in touch as I have more information. Thanks!

Tyler,

mam98031 · ‎10-30-2019

I wanted to extend a THANK YOU for sharing my concerns over the new FB page format with the appropriate team. While there was some joking around that it is the way an older person my prefer the page over someone younger that prefers the white, wide open spaces. It was nice to see a decent compromise.

The new revised, revised design to me is far easier to read. The spaces are a little more defined. The links returned to the top right side as well.

My only comment on this newer form is that the statement that the seller is TRS is still rather unremarkable and easy to miss. Since sellers haven't gotten a TRS badge on their listings in a very long time unless their listings are TRS+, the FB page is the only place the buyer can be informed of this. It would be nice for it to be a different colored font or something simple. Just a little something to allow it to stand out on a page that is completely and literally black and white.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

unusual_retail · ‎10-30-2019

Can eBay do something to move the return process along more quickly?

Example: I do not accept returns (because I have been defrauded so many times here). Yet, buyers keep opening return cases with false claims. So I am stuck waiting for these to be dropped by eBay. Recently I had a buyer claim the items were not as described, even though the issues he claimed were wrong with the item were described exactly as that in my listing.

It's a waste of everyone's time when this could easily be resolved in 24 hours or less. My only recourse is to reply to the buyer, basically telling them sorry you didn't read the description, and wait the 5 or more days for eBay to step in. There should be a seller option to immediately escalate for review.

tyler@ebay · ‎10-30-2019

@millcreekrescue909 wrote:

Cannot revise items. Cannot use Sell Similar. Cannot relist. Cannot put up new listings. And, on top of that, TurboLister will no longer sync with eBay. My hands are completely tied. This has been going on for approx. 1 ½ weeks with no end in sight. For me, the site is completely unusable with the exception of making and receiving payments and I am paying for a Premium Store. At the very least, I expect a credit against my store subscription. How will eBay be compensating me for these issues? And how will eBay be compensating all sellers affected by these serious and unresolved issues?

Hi @millcreekrescue909 - sorry to hear that you've encountered such difficulties! Can you let me know a little more about what you've been encountering and the troubleshooting steps you've already tried? Specific examples will help, as well as which browsers you've tried, clearing cache and cookies, browser version, etc.

When it comes to TurboLister support I can't do much here I'm afraid, but you can work directly with a great team who can help. If you contact CS by phone you can request to be connected with the Advanced Apps team. Or you could email them too: turbodata@eBay.com. Thanks!

Tyler,

vrykalak · ‎10-30-2019

Many audiobooks are in the catalog as regular books. I think this is misleading. "Audiobook" is a "hard category" meaning there's no doubt if it's true or not. "Fiction and Literature" or "Children & Young Adults" are soft categories, meaning they are open to interpretation. I think the catalog should give precedence to "Hard Categories"

tyler@ebay · ‎10-30-2019

@mam98031 wrote:

I wanted to extend a THANK YOU for sharing my concerns over the new FB page format with the appropriate team. While there was some joking around that it is the way an older person my prefer the page over someone younger that prefers the white, wide open spaces. It was nice to see a decent compromise.

The new revised, revised design to me is far easier to read. The spaces are a little more defined. The links returned to the top right side as well.

My only comment on this newer form is that the statement that the seller is TRS is still rather unremarkable and easy to miss. Since sellers haven't gotten a TRS badge on their listings in a very long time unless their listings are TRS+, the FB page is the only place the buyer can be informed of this. It would be nice for it to be a different colored font or something simple. Just a little something to allow it to stand out on a page that is completely and literally black and white.

Hi @mam98031! Thanks for the feedback and input! I'm glad that this page finds a bit more of a middle ground. 🙂

I like your suggestion re: more prominent display of the Top Rated status - I'll get that passed on.

Tyler,

rosevelyn · ‎10-30-2019

On the October 23rd Community Chat, I posted "I have been wondering for years and never got around to asking until now as to why subscription based accounts (I have Premium) are charged in Home and Garden for auction listings. With the consolidation of categories it's becoming more burdensome."

Unfortunately, my question was not answered. I asked WHY we were being charged the fees all these years and noted that it is becoming a greater issue. I received a rushed answer with a link to the policy, which was not an answer.

ebay needs to look back and take inventory -- do an overhaul of all the energy blockers like what I have posted above and the GTC ad infinitum debacle. I used to have my view in active listings set to Most Watchers because it is a great motivator to see all of the interested potential buyers. Now with the need to end and relist my GTC listings on a daily basis, I am out of the groove--another energy blocker.