Community Team Community Chat, Nov 29th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone! 

Come join tyler@ebay, brian@ebay, doug@ebay and myself this afternoon for the weekly chat. No specific topic is planned for today, so feel free to bring your general buying & selling questions 

[sarahbru]

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@chrysylys wrote:

Post on the Selling board claims CS told them the no watermark policy has been rescinded:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Great-News-eBay-listened-they-will-not-make-us-remove-watermar...

Confirm? Refute?

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@chrysylys: Thanks for the question - yes, we've seen the thread - and we know this is a topic with alot of energy around it. We will be answering this question in greater detail later this week. Thanks! Sarah

[vrykalak]

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@vrykalak wrote:

I relisted about 40 items yesterday, and somewhere around #30, I noticed that it had a fixed shipping cost of $2 (less than the cost of ONE OUNCE at First Class rates).
I never use fixed cost shipping, even if it's likely to be First Class or Media Mail.
How/why did this change happen?
Is there any way to find/fix the problem with the bulk editor?

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Hi @vrykalak, I'm not sure why that would have happened. I want to take a closer look at the listings so I have a better idea of what may have occurred. I'll send an email to you after the chat, so keep an eye out for that.

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I may have exaggerated: I only see the last three with fixed price shipping now, if you look at my listings in order by "ending soonest"

I also noticed that, at least on those, the handling charge has been set to $0, which I never do. 
(At the very least, I need to drive to the post office to post every package, to be sure it gets checked in on time. If I let the carrier pick it up, or just drop it in the chute at the post office, it's likely to take a couple of days to show up, and then I'm in line for a late shipping defect.)
I don't know if the handling charge on any of the listings that still show calculated S&H have a $0 handling charge now. I'll have to check that. I know that used to happen a lot when I used Sell Similar.

[tyler@ebay]

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@aluvz2shop wrote:

Good Afternoon!

What is being done about listings in the wrong categories (still going on even when reported) as well as variation listings with starting prices at .01 to .99 that have nothing to do with the titles?

Search and browse manipulation.

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Hi @aluvz2shop - this is definitely something that we review and action regularly. The best course of action for you to take when you find listings like that will be to use the 'report this item' link. 

[vrykalak]

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@carlmarxx wrote:
My 4 of my 5 sellers that cancelled said they lost the items . The fifth one claimed they sold to another buyer. This is followup to my post.

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I hope they all got defects assigned for NIS after a sale.

[mam98031]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

I was searching to buy an item on ebay and found a listing that I liked.  The seller has TRS and the TRSplus seal was present, they had a 30 day return policy.

I clicked on the "see details"

And there the seller wrote, "returns only accepted if the item is grossly not as described"

My question:

Which is right?  Does the seller have to stand by the return policy or am I stuck with the item if the seller thinks it is a buyer's remorse or changed my mind is the reason? 

Will I be able to return the item?

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I feel I can answer this one for you.  The seller is out of line and could never uphold that term on Ebay.  Especially now with the October changes in the return system.

[mr_lincoln]

@Anonymous

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

Good afternoon eBay Team,

PO Box Delivery Confirmation Questions

1. If an item is shipped to a PO Box does Delivery Confirmation show delivered when the item is scanned at the Post Office where the PO Box resides? If the package is too big for the PO Box I understand from our local Post Office that a note will be placed in the PO Box and the package will sit in the Post Office waiting for the PO Box owner.
2. If Signature Confirmation is required on a PO Box address, does Delivery Confirmation occur ONLY when the Buyer signs for the item AND if it takes them a week or longer to get to the Post Office can an INR be processed prior to them signing for the package?

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Hi @mr_lincoln, when signature requirement is purchased and the item is shipped to a PO box, the tracking will indicate it is available for pickup once it reaches the Post Office. For an item that requires signature confirmation (those over $750), we would instruct the buyer to go retreive the item and give them some time to take these steps before taking action on a claim.

For those items where Signature Confirmation is not required by eBay (items under $750), the tracking showing the item is available for pickup would be sufficient delivery confirmation to protect a seller in an item not received request.

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Thank you Trinton ... for my situation it would most likely be an item below the $ 750 sig required threshold but one I felt the need to add signature to for security purposes BUT would probably not fit in most PO Boxes.

[alcoforever]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@alcoforever wrote:

In last weeks' Community Chat, post #41, brian denied a seller's request for relief from a buyer
circumventing a buyer block on the grounds that there was no clear evidence to ebay that the buyer was trying to disrupt the seller's business. 

So, isn't the seller the sole judge of whether a buyer is disruptive? Ebay would have no knowledge of that buyer's past interactions with that seller, e.g. things such as unreasonable demands, fishing for a partial refund etc.

The policy clearly states that using a different id to circumvent a buyer block is a policy violation.

If ebay won't back a seller when a buyer circumvents a buyer block, then the whole BBL program might as well be scrapped.

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Hi @alcoforever - you as a seller are definitely able to consider something disruptive. When it comes to what we consider unwelcome or malicious, if we have evidence that a buyer circumvented a block with intent to harm a listing or to leave negative or neutral feedback, or low DSRs we can work on an appeal of those. 

We can definitely view previous interactions various members have had with you as a seller, and can then take any included details in the 'Report a buyer' section into account when investigating buyer activities.

Please utilize the 'Report a buyer' flow to report any members you feel are circumventing a Whyou have in place so that appropriate review and action can be taken. Thanks!

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Why do you need evidence in these cases?    You don't need evidence of any kind for a seller to put a buyer on his BBL in the first place.    So blocking a sale that circumvents the BBL should be a no-brainer.

[*eponymous*]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

brian@ebay

Good afternoon Brian,

Two Chats ago (11/15) you were going to look into the Local Paick up questions I had and email me with some feedback,  if you sent an email I did not see it. Here's the fer from 11/15 for your convenience.

@mr_lincoln wrote:

Local Pick up questions:

1. I recently had a local pick up sale and messaged the Buyer to ask if my address comes up for them to find me ... they said no and then included their cell phone number in the message.  Fortunately, we have not received any messages about sharing personal info, selling off the site or account closures or restirctions.  BUT, this begs the question, is it okay once a Local Pick up order has been placed for the Seller to 1) message the Buyer with personal contact info as well as the address, 2) mention Seller will send a letter in the mail with the contact info, etc.. 

1. On a non-Local Pickup sale the Buyer's email address is available in PayPal but on this recent one for me the Buyer's email did not appear in the PayPal transaction ... is that normal?

1. Paying cash:  okay, a while ago I asked that when a Local Pick up order is placed that payment through paypal be blocked forcing cash at pick up ... since eBay has not effected that change (yet) is it permissible to cancel the PP order, refund the $4 and wait for pick up for the cashola?  That is what I have read here in The Community that others recommend ... is that right and acceptable?

Hi @mr_lincoln, I'm going to get more clarification about questions 1 and 3. I'll send you an email when I have more details.

I believe PayPal is no longer providing contact information within PayPal transactions. You'll want to contact PayPal for a definitive answer, however. 

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That is incorrect.  PayPal's system uses email addresses for payment processing. I'm sure there is also some sort of federal requirement for the sake of transparency (and, say, proof for the IRS) that requires payment processers to provide the email address of the payee to the payor.

eBay just wishes there was a way to totally block communication between buyers and sellers.  Until eBay buys their own payment system, that is not going to happen!  Amazon owns amazon payments and does effectively block off-site communication between buyers & sellers, and a buyer has recourse with Amazon.

[carlmarxx]

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@sarahbru wrote:

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@chrysylys wrote:

Post on the Selling board claims CS told them the no watermark policy has been rescinded:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Great-News-eBay-listened-they-will-not-make-us-remove-watermar...

Confirm? Refute?

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@chrysylys: Thanks for the question - yes, we've seen the thread - and we know this is a topic with alot of energy around it. We will be answering this question in greater detail later this week. Thanks! Sarah

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Sarahbru  I come for  help on my issue as a buyer  ,and can't get any help. 

[gracieallen01]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@alcoforever wrote:

In last weeks' Community Chat, post #41, brian denied a seller's request for relief from a buyer
circumventing a buyer block on the grounds that there was no clear evidence to ebay that the buyer was trying to disrupt the seller's business. 

So, isn't the seller the sole judge of whether a buyer is disruptive? Ebay would have no knowledge of that buyer's past interactions with that seller, e.g. things such as unreasonable demands, fishing for a partial refund etc.

The policy clearly states that using a different id to circumvent a buyer block is a policy violation.

If ebay won't back a seller when a buyer circumvents a buyer block, then the whole BBL program might as well be scrapped.

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Hi @alcoforever - you as a seller are definitely able to consider something disruptive. When it comes to what we consider unwelcome or malicious, if we have evidence that a buyer circumvented a block with intent to harm a listing or to leave negative or neutral feedback, or low DSRs we can work on an appeal of those. 

We can definitely view previous interactions various members have had with you as a seller, and can then take any included details in the 'Report a buyer' section into account when investigating buyer activities.

Please utilize the 'Report a buyer' flow to report any members you feel are circumventing a block you have in place so that appropriate review and action can be taken. Thanks!

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I'm curious here.

If ebay can refuse service to any seller - at their sole discretion - why does a seller need ebay's permission to refuse service to a buyer that they presume to be hazardous - for whatever reason - to their business?

ebay is still a venue, isn't it?

[a_c_green]

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@sarahbru wrote:

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@chrysylys wrote:

Post on the Selling board claims CS told them the no watermark policy has been rescinded:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Great-News-eBay-listened-they-will-not-make-us-remove-watermar...

Confirm? Refute?

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@chrysylys: Thanks for the question - yes, we've seen the thread - and we know this is a topic with a lot of energy around it. We will be answering this question in greater detail later this week. Thanks! Sarah

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Hello @sarahbru; thanks for acknowledging that. Where should we be looking later in the week for eBay's answers? (Please don't say "Facebook" ) Will someone post a response to that original thread above? Thanks...

[golfingaddict]

Can a guest buyer leave feedback and detailed seller ratings?

I had a blocked buyer purchase an item with a guest ID.  This was a buyer that I had previously done business with and chose to discontinue that business.  When he found he could no longer purchase from me I got several emails from him and moments later, a purchase from a newly registered, random generated user ID and the exact NAME, ADDRESS, CITY, STATE from the buyer that inquired and was blocked.

Do I report the new ID or the old ID?  Will it only appear to be a disruptive buyer if he leaves feedback? 

What point is the Blocked bidder list if he can just user guest buyer to purchase?

[Anonymous]

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@mam98031 wrote:

@Anonymous

Trinton,

Back in early March 2017 I reported a problem regarding UPCs and variations listings.  You have been assisting me with this issue off thread.  But now we are 8+ months after the initial reporting and nothing has changed.  So what is happening, why hasn't Ebay fixed this,it is extremely time consuming for some of your sellers??

Just in recap for those that may not remember my original posting, I said the following back in March.

When I have an item on existing variation listings go out of stock or I damage it or for some other reason become unavailable, I go and update my variation listing so no one can purchase that item.  If the item needed a quantity adjustment has had a sale on it and I bring the quantity to zero on a particular size or item in a variation listing, in the drop down menu that buyers see, it is in light grey and notes it is OOS [out of stock] and it retains the UPC.  I like that as it shows the buyer I normally carry it, but for now it is OOS.  And when it becomes available again I can put in a quantity, adjust pricing if needed and the UPC code remains there.  When this happens it also shows on the listing form under Variation combinations.  Again, that makes it very easy to add back to stock.

BUT if when I do the same thing to adjust a quantity to zero, for whatever reason I may have and it DROPS off the menu list that buyers see it does NOT retain the UPC when I go back at some point to add it back to stock.  It also drops out of the area call Variation Combinations on the listing form.  To bring it back into stock I need to do Add Combination which is the button just above Variation Combinations on the right side.  It of course is still in the Attributes & Options section of the listing form, but when I have to bring it back down to the Variation Combinations FROM the Attributes section, it drops the UPC.

Clear as mud !!  Sorry if I didn't word this very well, but if I've confused you ask me anything as I'm certainly looking for a solution to this annoying problem.  It creates extra work for seller that is just not necessary.  Ebay can retain the information if they just program it to do so.

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Hi @mam98031, I've escalated this directly to our developers just now and will update you as soon as I have more information. I know that you have been more than patient through all of this and I very much appreciate it. I will absolutely touch base to give you an update.

[aluvz2shop]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@aluvz2shop wrote:

Good Afternoon!

What is being done about listings in the wrong categories (still going on even when reported) as well as variation listings with starting prices at .01 to .99 that have nothing to do with the titles?

Search and browse manipulation.

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Hi @aluvz2shop - this is definitely something that we review and action regularly. The best course of action for you to take when you find listings like that will be to use the 'report this item' link. 

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Thanks for the response.  I doubt I will be doing that anymore.  Last time I reported 79 from the same seller yet 49 stayed on the site.  It takes too much time that I can spend doing more productive things.

[dtexley3]

Is anyone inside eBay following the VERY unhappy sellers in the threads about having Best Offer added to their listings?  Not everyone will call CS and complain and I personally doubt that most of these complaints will be forwarded up to the appropriate departments.  This appears to be a very unpopular change, will it be reconsidered (sp?) ?