mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a specific topic this week, so feel free to share any general buying or selling questions you may have.
The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.
To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. The Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.
Missed the chat? Send your questions to the podcast by calling 888-723-4630 or email us at podcast@ebay.com and maybe your questions will make it on the air! Or listen to past episodes while you wait for next Wednesday!
@tincan630 wrote:
If I'm on any page other than advanced search and click the search bar I get a drop down list of 5 recent searches preceded with a little clock icon. If I type the first letter of a word I Get a drop down list of 2 recent searches preceded by the clock icon plus 10 "ebay suggested searches" that I have no interest in.
If I go to advance search and click the search box I get a drop down list of MY previous searches that have been retained for years. If I type the first letter of a word I get a drop down list of My previous searches retained for years that begin with that letter. No clock icons and no ebay nonsense suggestions. I've encountered this problem in previous years and the drop down list had an option to Hide ebay suggestions which solved the problem. This option no longer exists!
Thanks for following up @tincan630! If I start typing Converse in my accounts search bar, I get various suggestions with 'co' and they can change as I continue to type the word. Some includes words for past searches, and others are suggestions. It's not stipulated which are which for me though, and I see no clock icon. I'll include a screen shot below.
Are you wanting your own past searches to be served up and that's not happening when it did in the past? What kinds of things have you done? Like clearing the cache and cookies? Different browsers? Does any of that make a difference?
Thanks for joining this week’s chat. It’s closed from further replies, but we’ll continue working through any that have not received a response to make sure that everyone’s questions are answered. Thanks!
@saturdaystoys wrote:
Our ability to ship via Media Mail should depend only on the Media Mail qualifications for the item being listed... and should be completely disconnected from any limitation resulting from the CATEGORY we list in. For eBay to block our ability to select Media Mail shipping... even though we configured the listing to allow for that option... is punative, frustrating and intrusive. We acknowledge that we are obligated not to use Media Mail service if the item does not qualify... but that's between the seller and USPS... and eBay should have no authority to block an item otherwise qualified for Media Mail postage... regardless of the category where it is listed.
Hi @saturdaystoys - I see your point, and to that end, you are absolutely able to purchase Media Mail postage as you see fit from your local Post Office. However, as an authorized seller of USPS postage we are obligated to ensure that we are limiting and combating fraudulent usage of the service itself, which is why the category exclusions were placed.
As we continue to refine from 'blanket blocks' to more dynamic ones you will see it shift over time. However, for the time being, if you are listing in a category where Media Mail is excluded from eBay Labels you will need to find another provider of that postage.
@valueaddedresource wrote:
I know usually it's @my-cottage-books-and-antiques asking you guys about this one, but I'll take a turn this week. 😊
Any updates on if we're going to see that 2.5% social sharing fee feature for Q4?
Hi @valueaddedresource - no updates yet, but I would anticipate that when it is we'll see it pretty broadly shared on the Announcement Board and other communications.
@babclassics wrote:
Hi,
In last weeks chat I asked a question about the new Jewelry category changes and item specifics. I never saw an answer to that question that Tyler stated would be answered by the Category Team? Please check on the status of that promised answer.
To add to my original question, on further reflection, the consolidation of the jewelry categories and eliminating categories like "precious metal without stones" for example will make it harder to get good search results via a search phrase when you are looking for a "solid precious base metal bracelet". Who searches on that?
That is, not plated, not "over", not filled, but solid precious base metal. The only way I can think that could work now after new and eliminated categories go online would be to search on "negative" keywords like "not plated", "not over", "not filled", "not hollow". Nobody is going to know to or want to do that.
Newly consolidated categories that require negative search keywords to find what you are looking for need to be re-thought. Not too many people search via the category tree, most search by entering a search phrase IMO. eBay's new approach does not work well for every category and creates other redundancies further down in the category tree that had a real needed purpose (like listing creation time warnings about are you sure you should be listing in this category?). Otherwise the already over-the-top keyword spamming in jewelry (and now promoting) will surely give things like "18K Gold Over" [copper / zinc] for example as the top results every time. There are no good "positive" keywords I know of that will get a clean "not plated, not over, not filled" result. This may be why they have not answered yet?
Anyway, please check on an answer to the original post last week and add this additional thinking to that if it is not too late.
Thanks.
Sorry for any delay with your original question @babclassics but we just recently heard back on that and they said the following:
The redesign for Fine Jewelry has been exhaustively researched and we have adhered to policy around fine/precious metals and gemstones. There are dependencies between Metal and Metal Purity in order to further qualify what is considered Fine and we have included those values under Gemstones that also qualify as fine per policy.
To provide as much detail as possible for sellers and buyers we have added aspects for Metal and Base Metal to Fine Jewelry categories. The values that exist under Metal include options for Plated metals in addition to solids. (ex: Rose Gold, Rose Gold Plated, & Rose Gold Filled). As sellers adopt these values it should be easier to filter to what is plated versus filled and what has a base metal that is a fine metal.
@windhaze wrote:
Also while these Sellers I've encountered this with are all in Managed Payments they also all list PayPal as a payment method.
Can I use Pay Pal to pay even tho the card linked on there is still my AMEX? I don't want to try and then find out I can't-thank you.
Hey @windhaze! Yes, you can use PayPal to buy on eBay...even though you're running into issues with AMEX and that is what's linked to your PayPal account. That will probably be a good workaround!
@mam98031 wrote:
tyler@ebay wrote:
@ittybitnot wrote:
Good afternoon!
In reviewing information about the Global Shipping Program, in the policy pages with regards to seller protection is this:
If an item is lost or broken during international shipping, eBay Money Back Guarantee cases will be resolved in your favour, and your seller performance standards won't be affected
Link to full page: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/global-shipping-program?id...
On this page the words eBay Money Back Guarantee are also underlined and the phrase is a link to the general information on the MBG.
The question, therefore, is the seller protection only offered for MBG claims? If a buyer should bypass the eBay claim system and file a Payment Dispute from missing or broken items are sellers subject to what the credit card company decides?
Apparently, customer service is telling sellers the usual "ebay has no control, and it is the credit card company and nothing can be done."
Hi @ittybitnot - the protections associated with a Global Shipping Program shipment are for eMBG requests only.
A payment dispute opened directly with a financial institution has different protections that are offered (listed here), and while some could overlap (for example, a buyer opens a payment dispute after an eMBG request for a GSP item is found in favor of the Seller) sending an item via GSP in and of itself will not offer protection in the event a buyer chooses to open a dispute without utilizing any other eBay-provided avenue for resolution.
Now this is news to me, so please explain this statement in detail and provide links.
"A payment dispute opened directly with a financial institution has different protections..."
Please give DETAILS.
Hi @mam98031 - the link in my reply should take you directly to the seller protections offered for Payment Disputes (copied here).
At a high level, an eMBG request (like a SNAD return) opened for an item sent via GSP offers a certain level of protection. Those protections do not carry over into a Payment Dispute, though similar protections are offered.
Thanks!
@windhaze wrote:
Good day.
Just a follow up question to one I asked here about a month ago and no answer yet.
Why is it that in jewelry some items you can pay for with AMEX and others you can't?
An example is here where the Seller has 3 rings, nearly identical yet out of the 3 only one can be paid for with it? Item #'s 173567394046 (Yes), 173567375222 (Yes), & 143209424338 (No).
Of course I want the 3rd one and can't buy it. Well I could if I attached my Visa linked to my band acct which
I will not do.
And it's a pain having to go 2 towns away to buy an eBay gift card to buy it (one of your US Reps told me not to buy one online and then try to buy it as they've had issues with those not working.)
It's not the Seller doing it, this has happened before and it's on eBay's end. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Thanks for checking back in on this @windhaze I wish I had a more specific answer but basically it's listing specific. If you don't have the option to use AMEX directly you can for sure add it to your PayPal and use it that way. Thanks for working with us!
@bland233 wrote:
I am having problems responding to buyer questions. When I try to reply, I am getting the statement that the question is invalid or older than 90 days. This happens immediately after getting the question. Some places, I get an error message that access was denied. The only way I could respond to a question today was by using sending an offer and using the comment section. I did not want to send an offer but did want to answer the questions the prospective buyer asked.
Hi @bland233 - I bet that gets old really fast, sorry to hear you're running into that!
I don't have anything like this currently reported, would you mind going to this board (click here) and starting a conversation about it? Please include the exact error message you're getting as well as a screenshot (if you have one handy).
That will let me file a tech ticket to have it reviewed.
Thanks!
@somanypcs wrote:
I am extremely concerned with the number of technical issues, the length of time it takes to fix them, and the almost total lack of comments by eBay on the status or even existence of these technical issues. Here are just a few examples:
1. My Seller Hub bell says I need to ship 22 items. The truth is I need to ship 21 items.
2. When I am in Purchase History and do a search on an Order number, a Nov. 6, 2019 order with a different order number is displayed. This search has needed to be fixed for a long time now.
3. eBay sends error messages that are untrue. Currently eBay is telling buyers who get offers that the seller does not ship to that address, when the seller DOES ship to the address. I no longer am sending out auction 2nd chance offers due to this error which has existed for well over a month.
4. When I make a payment for multiple items in my shopping cart all to the same seller, eBay collects just 1 payment but sometimes generates additional order number(s). In my case this results in additional shipping costs (i.e. $1/order), and I'm guessing it results in the seller paying additional $.30 transaction fees.
When will eBay address it's technical issues in a professional manner?
Hey @somanypcs!
1. I'm sorry to hear there may be a delay with the Seller Hub updating once you've shipped an item. If that continues, we'd encourage you to contact Customer Support so they can take a closer look, and possibly get a ticket opened with our tech team if they find it necessary.
2. I was able to recreate this somewhat. While I don't get served an old order, my entire history goes blank and the order is not shown to me. I've filed a ticket with our tech team.
3. This is a known issue others have reported so please know that it's being looked into.
4. If the seller has their listings set up to combine shipping then this shouldn't happen. In those instances, you may want to reach out to the seller to make them aware, and even ask if they'd be willing to partially refund you if they're able to ship it all together for less than what they're charging. They may or may not be willing to do this.
If you know you will be buying more than one listing from a seller, you could message them ahead of time to see what their shipping 'policy' is and if they discount shipping when you buy more than one thing from them. If they don't offer discounts, then you can determine whether or not you want to buy from them, or from someone else who does offer combined shipping.
@donsdetour wrote:
Hmm the promotional thing and paying for key words etc:
How does this work with words that are intellectual property right of others, and folks paying for such usage to eBay??
Hi @donsdetour! I've been looking for an answer for this for quite sometime, so I apologize for the delay. I will be reaching out to see if I can get an answer, and I'll follow-up with you if I get a response. Thank you!
@donsdetour wrote:
Hmm the promotional thing and paying for key words etc:
How does this work with words that are intellectual property right of others, and folks paying for such usage to eBay??
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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here.
I've heard back with an answer to your question @donsdetour and I'll provide it below:
We don’t restrict trademarks as keywords. If a listing isn’t relevant for a particular branded query, however, the Promoted Listings Advanced ad for that listing is not likely to show. Our algorithms are designed with proprietary relevance and performance filters in place, which means that ads will only appear if they pass our relevancy filters and will only continue to show if buyers actually engage with them. If we see low engagement, or clicks, on a particular ad, our performance filters will automatically stop showing the ad.
If you believe that any content in which you claim trademark ownership has been infringed by anyone using eBay’s services, please notify our VeRO team through the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program and eBay will investigate your notice.
@valueaddedresource wrote:
On one of the threads about the return timeframe glitch, @coffeebean832 brought up an important point that it appeared there had been an unannounced change in policy sometime last November.
Specifically it seems eBay changed the timeframe for returns with eBay generated labels from 10-15 days to 15-35 days.
While I understand this ultimately wasn't relevant to the specific issue with the technical glitch, I still think it's important to note that something in the return timeframe policy *did* change, even if it was last year.
When exactly did that policy change and why did eBay not make an announcement about it?
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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here.
Hi @valueaddedresource! I heard back as to where this was announced and it can be found here if you go to the FAQ's section. I'll include a screen shot below too. Thanks!
