Weekly Community Chat, July 5th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi Community, 

We hope that you had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Please join the Community team at 1 pm Pacific on Wednesday 7/5 for our weekly chat. There isn't a set topic this week so feel free to ask us your eBay buying & selling questions. 

Talk to you then!

[texanna1]

I was told twice today that there is no escalation team on ebay..........or that whoever answered the phone was the escalation team. Is this true?

[vrykalak]

I just got another late shipping defect, because someone bought an item while I was on vacation over the holiday weekend. I thought I had changed all my ads to 2-day shipping, but I missed one, so my TRS status is gone for good. This is really frustrating and depressing

That reminds me: I have to shut down all my listings before I go to the WorldCon in Helsinki, because I will be away for 10 days. I either have to change all my listings to 15-day shipping, or turn them all off before I go. And if by any chance I still had TRS status, I would lose my status because of THAT.

[do.you.read.me]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@carlmarxx wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Welcome to the weekly chat everyone! I hope your 4th of July was bright and amazing! Looking forward to discussing whatever is on your mind this afternoon 🙂

The chat is now open!

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I got pulled back into a Old Beta test , that  has all sellers items BIN's as IMPR  and forced to use the  check out  cart  to request total . I don't why ebay has not junked the old program.  I want out of it

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Hi @carlmarxx - We tested this a ways back but have recently made changes to help in our efforts of reducing Unpaid Item cases. There isn't an option to opt out of this feature but I encourage you to have your buyers use the cart and ensure your combined shipping rules are set up so that it's automatically being combined for your buyer. 

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The cart has proven to be a bone of contention for sellers.  Posts have continued to show up proving that the cart and combined shipping do not work hand in hand. It's a failed system. Ebay reps   Ignoring that this problem exists does not help matters.  

[tyler@ebay]

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@rw011164 wrote:

The bots still may think you are guilty of taking a sale off ebay. This happened to us. A buyer send a question for shipping and included her phone number. I responded with the shipping quote. I DID NOT CALL the phone number. The listing ended. We relisted it and that buyer then bought it ON EBAY. We received a policy violation accusing us of taking the sale off ebay. After 2 hours on the phone I did manage to get the violation removed since it was very easy to see that the sale happened ON EBAY

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@bigmotormania wrote:

Hello Alan, Trinton, Heidi, Tyler.

Been awhile since I was available to participate in the weekly chat so I don't even remember the things I was gonna ask, sad sad, however, I do have a question that's been concerning me as of late.

I've had a few people (from different countries, not sure if this is important or not, different policies etc) who have been sending me their addresses in messages asking me what I would charge for shipping. The reason this concerns me is I don't want to be caught in some crossfire on the matter. I do respond to the messages informing them that I only ship internationally through the GSP and I do not yield any information, links, numbers, addresses, emails, et cetera, but I still get worried with how drastically unreliable the bots can be that someone sending me their address or contact information might somehow have a negative effect on me. 

I do not ask for contact information and even before the new policies went in and the bots started going crazy on people for giving phone numbers I refused to utilize contact information given to me, people sending me phone numbers to which I would immediately respond that I do not contact outside of eBay, as I want my own paper trail in the event something bad happens in regard to any of those transactions.

So basically my main inquiry here is as long as I don't respond in kind, do people sending me contact info or addresses have any potential to negatively impact me, who refuses to have anything to do with said contact information?

Thanks, and Happy Belated 4th to you all, firework smoke has me feeling super icky today but it was a great Independence Day regardless.

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Hey @bigmotormania - fair question! As long as it's clear from your messages that you don't intend to to take the transaction off-site, you should be fine. It sounds like you're already doing exactly what we'd suggest: responding with statements that you ship through GSP or that you keep all communication on eBay. 

To your specific question: don't let those messages go unaddressed, respond and let them know that you ship only through GSP. Bots could take action if an address is sent and then for an unrelated reason the listing is ended, with no messaging between you. We would see that as an indicator the transaction is taken off eBay. 

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Hey @rw011164 - we definitely tend to err on the side of caution, but it shouldn't have needed to be a 2 hour call on something that is as plain as you describe it. I'm reaching out for more info so we can see what happened and get proper coaching sent. 🙂

[Anonymous]

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@djmovers99 wrote:

Hi friends,

What does the new item specific "bundle listings = -, yes, no" actually do?  I would like to learn about it and know how I should be setting it in my listings.

Thanks,

David (DJ)

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Hey DJ, this would be for when a seller is bundling two different items into one, such as a phone charger and headphones or a coloring book and colored pencils. If you are offering this bundle, selecting the bundle option in your listing will help to improve your search results 🙂

[vrykalak]

I barely managed to join the chat on July 5th because I was on the road, driving home from WesterCon over Fourth of July weekend.
I stopped at a truck stop, and O JOY, they had WiFi, so here I am.
I wish we could submit questions in advance, and get them answered during the chat, even if we can't attend at the time.

[mam98031]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@lintbrush* wrote:

I am curious why eBay doesn't display a seller's handlign time unless it's more than 4 days.

On Monday alone there were 2 different threads - one from a buyer; one from a seller.

The seller received a message over the weekend from their buyer who purchased on Thursday and was wondering why the item hadn't posted yet and wanted a refund.  The seller had a 2 day handling time and wasn't required to even ship it until Monday.

The buyer wondered why their seller hadn't marked the item shipped yet and given tracking after a day.  They were upset.  If the seller had a 2 or 3 day handling time, they (or we) wouldn't know.

These situations could be so easily handling if the sellers' handling times were posted on the listing - like they used to be.  It would save grief for the buyer and seller alike.  

These were not isolated posts.  We see a lot like this that could often be easily answered (or simply not asked) if the information was provided.

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Hi @lintbrush* - I just ran some searches and see exactly what you're saying. On certain listings the handling time is stated, on others it has been rolled into the estimated delivery date, but not necessarily stipulated when to expect a tracking number. 

I am not sure if this is a test or a roll-out change. I completely see how that would lead to poor experiences all around. I'll see what more I can find out and update you as I get info. 

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tyler@ebay

I don't think this is a test, unless it is a test being ran for at least a couple years.  It has been gone at least that long on my listings.  I do one day handling.  I've reported this before, not on this thread, but I did report it shortly after I noticed it.

[fern*wood]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

When I receive a question from a potential buyer and I choose to answer by using the offer button, I cannot find any record of my message or offer after it's sent.   

There are times I want to go back to see my response or what offer I sent but where did it go?

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Hey @fern*wood - you should be able to keep track of the private offer as a regular offer, and that should include the messaging. We tested it and were able to see the message too!

My eBay>Selling/Listings/Active>Review my offers (usually in drop down menu under More Actions).

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Thanks for testing this but I am still unclear as to where to find this.  The items I do this on are fixed price with no offers accepted.

[Anonymous]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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@carlmarxx wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

@d-k_treasures

To my knowledge all internet sites have shopping carts that function that way.  And physical stores for that matter.  The act of placing it into your cart does not create a purchase until you are ready to check out.  It would quickly become a nightmare if just putting something in your shopping cart created an actual sale.  We would be cancelling transactions a great deal and I could see the unpaid items increasing too.  

It is annoying when you have stuff in your cart and you are ready to check out only to find something that you wanted is now sold out.  It certainly has happened to me a few times, but it isn't the function of the shopping cart to act as anything but a cart to put the items you want to buy in until you are ready to purchase.

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D.K.  I do bids on auctions from same seller , Which in some cases has other items as BIN  , but don't require payment ASAP .   Other problem is  you sellers that don't setup combined shipping . 

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However, with a BIN with ebay auto-IPR, that doesn't work.

And with a lot of different items, there is no way anyone can set up combined shipping rules for antiques.

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Hi @d-k_treasures - I agree, antiques are a difficult category to create combined shipping rules in. I can see how it would make this change a little bit harder for sellers in those categories. While we can't make any guarantees, we will absolutely make sure this is sent to those in charge of this.

[carlmarxx]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@rw011164 wrote:

The bots still may think you are guilty of taking a sale off ebay. This happened to us. A buyer send a question for shipping and included her phone number. I responded with the shipping quote. I DID NOT CALL the phone number. The listing ended. We relisted it and that buyer then bought it ON EBAY. We received a policy violation accusing us of taking the sale off ebay. After 2 hours on the phone I did manage to get the violation removed since it was very easy to see that the sale happened ON EBAY

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@bigmotormania wrote:

Hello Alan, Trinton, Heidi, Tyler.

Been awhile since I was available to participate in the weekly chat so I don't even remember the things I was gonna ask, sad sad, however, I do have a question that's been concerning me as of late.

I've had a few people (from different countries, not sure if this is important or not, different policies etc) who have been sending me their addresses in messages asking me what I would charge for shipping. The reason this concerns me is I don't want to be caught in some crossfire on the matter. I do respond to the messages informing them that I only ship internationally through the GSP and I do not yield any information, links, numbers, addresses, emails, et cetera, but I still get worried with how drastically unreliable the bots can be that someone sending me their address or contact information might somehow have a negative effect on me. 

I do not ask for contact information and even before the new policies went in and the bots started going crazy on people for giving phone numbers I refused to utilize contact information given to me, people sending me phone numbers to which I would immediately respond that I do not contact outside of eBay, as I want my own paper trail in the event something bad happens in regard to any of those transactions.

So basically my main inquiry here is as long as I don't respond in kind, do people sending me contact info or addresses have any potential to negatively impact me, who refuses to have anything to do with said contact information?

Thanks, and Happy Belated 4th to you all, firework smoke has me feeling super icky today but it was a great Independence Day regardless.

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Hey @bigmotormania - fair question! As long as it's clear from your messages that you don't intend to to take the transaction off-site, you should be fine. It sounds like you're already doing exactly what we'd suggest: responding with statements that you ship through GSP or that you keep all communication on eBay. 

To your specific question: don't let those messages go unaddressed, respond and let them know that you ship only through GSP. Bots could take action if an address is sent and then for an unrelated reason the listing is ended, with no messaging between you. We would see that as an indicator the transaction is taken off eBay. 

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Hey @rw011164 - we definitely tend to err on the side of caution, but it shouldn't have needed to be a 2 hour call on something that is as plain as you describe it. I'm reaching out for more info so we can see what happened and get proper coaching sent. 🙂

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Tyler:  The sellers have tools to setup  how fast or slow they want their payment ! Ebay should not ever be Butting in ! 

[djmovers99]

I accidentily reverted back to a previous version of seller hub, I think.  How do I get the latest version again?  There was a new feature that show things like delivered on, shipped on, etc in the far left hand column of the Manage all orders page.  I wanted to customize the view, but there was no "customize" button, so (somehow) I clicked yes on a box that said sorry you don't like this version and then it restore the earlier version with less features.

Thanks,

DJ

[Anonymous]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

I want to ask this question but I would apopreciate you reading all the way through so as to not assume what the post is about before replying. I am not asking about a specific transaction as this is a general security question.

My questions understands it is against eBay policy to try to conduct business off eBay with a potential buyer who started communications on the eBay site.  I am not trying to avoid anyfees or break any policies.  I am tryinf to clarify eBay polciy.

　

Is it possible for a potential buyer who has not purchased yet but has had eBay communications with a seller - to obtain the sellers registered eBay email address?   I want you to think about the possibilities like

• user agreement policys at different eBay country sites,
• CS giving the buyer the info,
• buyer submitting a request for sellers email address and eBay fulfilling the request.

　

Also if it is possible for a buyer to obtain this info without a purchase can you direct me and others to the policy that allows this? 

　

Good Luck Selling!

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Hi @goodluckselling - A buyer should never be given a seller's email address by CS or by our systems here on eBay, at any point during a transaction. It's possible a teammate can make an error but if that happens, we'd like to know about it right away to ensure it doesn't happen again.  

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Thanks for your explanation.  Could you or someone else review this thread and tell us why this seller and many others who have participated in that thread are experiencing security uncertainty with eBay due to secured info you have confirmed would not be released without purchase history.

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Against-eBay-rules/m-p/27182811#M997041

Good Luck Selling!

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Sure thing, @goodluckselling! I'll hop over there shortly after the chat to see what I can find out and how we can help. Thanks for bringing this up! 

[Anonymous]

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@texanna1 wrote:

I was told twice today that there is no escalation team on ebay..........or that whoever answered the phone was the escalation team. Is this true?

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This depends on what type of escalation you are referring to. We do have a department that deals with escalating cases within the eBay Money Back Guarantee and each department does have escalation processes for if you would like to speak to a member of our leadership team. You may have been speaking with the department that deals with escalating cases. I can check when I review your email, no problem.

[alan@ebay]

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@vrykalak wrote:

I barely managed to join the chat on July 5th because I was on the road, driving home from WesterCon over Fourth of July weekend.
I stopped at a truck stop, and O JOY, they had WiFi, so here I am.
I wish we could submit questions in advance, and get them answered during the chat, even if we can't attend at the time.

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Thanks for attending, @vrykalak. We appreciate your dedication; we are looking at the format of the chat to see how we can improve it. 

[tyler@ebay]

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@bigmotormania wrote:

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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Hey @bigmotormania - fair question! As long as it's clear from your messages that you don't intend to to take the transaction off-site, you should be fine. It sounds like you're already doing exactly what we'd suggest: responding with statements that you ship through GSP or that you keep all communication on eBay. 

To your specific question: don't let those messages go unaddressed, respond and let them know that you ship only through GSP. Bots could take action if an address is sent and then for an unrelated reason the listing is ended, with no messaging between you. We would see that as an indicator the transaction is taken off eBay. 

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tyler@ebay 

I do eBay for a company and I don't work on the weekends, so sometimes when I have to take time off work I could be out for 4-5 days easily at a time, to which I cannot respond to messages sent to me, in the event of this and someone sends me information I don't want when asking about a particular item, and the listing times out (all my listings are put up to time out at the same time, makes for easier relisting, ya know?) but wasn't purposefully or manually ended, could that potentially cause a mixup or does a listing timing out and a listing being ended (it doesn't ask for a reason when ending multiple listings) get treated as entirely separate? 

I don't trust bots, I'm sure you can understand why I don't trust bots. Bots don't understand the difference between intent and a lack thereof, or just simply happenstance. 

I'm sure you can understand my skepticism when it comes to bots, virtual intelligence just like humans has great potential to make huge mistakes, and for some people this could be life endangering as this might be their only option for making money and all it takes is a single word in a listing to destroy that livelihood.

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Absolutely see where you're coming from, and I don't blame you for not wanting to trust machines (Hal 9000 beckons 😉 ).

A listing being ended versus timing out (and then ending) are different, and we'd look at it differently. The good news is that while bots may flag an interaction or send a warning, any action that impacts your account is reviewed by a real, live, human prior to taking that action.