Weekly Community Chat, June 14th @ 1pm PT - General Topics

[alan@ebay]

Hi Community, 

Please join the Community team at 1 pm Pacific today for our weekly chat. We do not have a set topic this week so feel free to ask us your buying or selling questions or share what's on your eBay mind. 

Talk to you at 1 pm!

[Anonymous]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

The steps would depend on the courier you are using; not all couriers are able to provide you with a label for international shipment, however I have heard sellers frequently discussing DHL as a good international option and can suggest you start there. The label could be emailed to you and you could forward this label to your buyer or you could save the image of the label for your buyer to print out and attach to the package for return shipment.

Thank you for the answer. Fortunately, I will not have to deal with this since I no longer ship out of the US for ebay sales.  I was asking due to questions on the community boards.   The "sending money" option seemed rather silly/risky and is confirmed by the fact there is no seller protection for sending funds in this manner. 

Will look into DHL....and apprecaite your response. Living in the everglades, I  have not seen a DHL place in the last 20 years...LOL....maybe they are just around the corner from the gator's nest?   

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You can always check their website to see what options you have? I believe in some areas they contract with USPS for last mile delivery if there are no DHL deliveries in your area. Also, looking online keeps you safely at home away from potential gator attacks 😉

[alan@ebay]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

When will the Apps ebay has on the site be updated to not have the Active content?

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Hi @automotivepartsrecyclrs, active content will no longer load or be visible to buyers in item descriptions later this month. We've already turned active content off on European sites. 

Thanks. 

[copper.boom]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@copper.boom wrote:

What is the status of mobile view being updated with the "read more" link next to the description summary?

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Can you give me an item number as an example? I've reveiwed a few listings and see "See Full Item Description" under the description text. Happy to look into this further with an example!

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On every single listing there is a pale grey arrow to the right of the summary in mobile view and that's it. It can be very hard easy to miss the arrow. There is no text saying "see full item description". 

I am viewing on iPad and iPhone.

EDIT: Here is the reply you gave on May 30th:

This feature is still in testing and has not been rolled out to everyone. No word on an official release date, but likely is in the very near future.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/This-Week-s-Chat/m-p/27028876#M971140

[dtexley3]

Thanks Tyler, I just wish the verbage on the help page actually stated this instead of the current unhelpful content that's linked.

[ittybitnot]

There is always an option to send a label

Again, please provide us an ebay link that tells us how to do this.   If  there is not one, just say so. 

[panhandlesurplusllc]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@dtexley3 wrote:

This issue came up on one of the boards.  When you relist an item it resets the quantity available to the original quantity, not the remaining from the listing.  For example if I have a listing with 3 items and I sell 2, there's 1 left.  Relisting the item resets the quantity availble to 3!  This is NOT noted ANYWHERE expect in a couple posts in the community.   I never noticed this was occurring as I seldom have multiples of the same item.  This does explain 2 of my "item not in stock" cancellations where I could not for the life of me figure out how the buyer could purchase more than I had left.  This is VERY frustrating and should be part of the tutorials and documentation for sellers, especially new sellers.

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This was discussed a little more in detail on a thread earlier this week. See: http://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Tired-of-the-wonkiness/m-p/27090505#M981427 for the full details. I've gotten this reported on for enhancements and encourage you to review the details of the listing when you are relisting in the meantime.

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@Anonymous- In that thread, you said, of preserving quantities upon relisting "That would only be the case for GTC, correct. I'll be sure to pass along the feedback from this thread as an example of how a change to this process would be of benefit!"

Would you please:

(a) Clarify whether you're referring only to listings with variations or also regular multi quantity listings and

(b) Clarify that whatever suggestions you pass along will not involve making changes to regular multi quantity listings (without variations) so that the quantity is reset upon relisting. That would be an utter disatser for all MQ sellers who use bulk relist.

[Anonymous]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@this4chris2012 wrote:

I have been selling on eBay for more than 15 years. I am TRS on two of my id’s and have two stores. I usually have a combined total of 200-300 listings running.

It’s the middle of June and the month is shaping up to be my worst ever. So far this month I have had three sales.

Like thousands of other sellers, I have experienced steadily declining sales for years. But this is unbelievable.

What’s wrong?

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Hi @this4chris2012 - I'm not showing any listings on this account to provide suggestions which could help. Without that, I'm not able to provide much info on what could be happening. If you haven't already, check out this blog by Griff: http://community.ebay.com/t5/eBay-for-Business/In-a-Slump-Griff-s-Tips-for-Stimulating-eBay-Sales/ba-p/26163675 for best practices which could turn things around. 

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There isn't any new information in Griff's page.  Certainly all good advice, but for a seasoned seller, there is nothing new.  There are other issues at play.  It isn't just a few sellers, there have been many knowledgeable sellers that are having their sales significantly affected.  For me, the slow down in sales started in February and Each month thereafter has been a little worse than the previous month.

There are problems with the search engine, people have posted clear evidence on various threads.  And there may be other issues at play here.  But they aren't the seller's issues, it is the site having issues in various ways.

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Hi @mam98031 - When issues are reported, we do investigate to see what could be happening and notify the appropriate teams if we discover a problem. Unfortunately, when it comes to increasing sales, we don't have the magic potion which will immediately turn things around. We can provide suggestions, tips like Griff's, or current best practices which could help, however, there is no silver bullet answer as to why sales are down and what needs to happen to fix it. 

[Anonymous]

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@b86fiero wrote:

Question about eBay staff having the ability to read my messages from buyers.

A new eBay member purchased a hardcover novel from me.  I shipped immediately.  Buyer received it - plus other books written by the same author from another seller.

Buyer opened a case against me in the Resolution Center claiming the book I sent her had water damage to the last 100 or so pages.  The book I sent her was in Like New condition.

Buyer then sent me a message through the Contact Seller link telling me that she got me mixed up with the other seller and that the book I sent her was in "EXCELLENT" condition.  (Her words exactly).  She has actually sent me 2 messages now both stating the same thing and apologizing profusely.  They are both in My eBay Messages Folder.

I called eBay to inquire how to resolve this false SNAD claim.  eBay customer service employee told me there is nothing I can do about it.  He told me that no eBay employee is allowed to read our messages.  The buyer is afraid of the Resolution Center and will not add any message to the open case.

How are seller's supposed to defend themselves if even when given permission from the account holder they are not allowed to read proof of innocence?

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Sounds like the agent you spoke with misunderstood and provided some incorrect info - while we do not have access to read your messages from "My Messages", we can see these messages using our internal tools and any message between you and a buyer would be visible in the case that was opened on our end. I apologize for getting wrong info on this and am happy to look into the case to make sure it is actioned correctly and provide appropriate coaching for this! Look for an email from me here shortly for more details!

[janet9988]

Just to triple clarify this .........

On the chat on May 10th  it was said if we refund a buyer WITHOUT cancelling the transaction that we will earn a defect.

So, if a buyer wants to change their address, we have to actually cancel the sale stating there is problem with the buyer's address, wait for them to agree to it, and  then relist.  In the meantime, some sellers limits can be hit and they may not be able to relist .

Seems easier to just send the item that came with the original payment and leave the buyer on the hook.

[do.you.read.me]

On the ebay site map...I believe both areas of help, answer center and knowledge.  I will make a point of sending them to you as I encounter them Doug.

[alan@ebay]

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@bruce.carlson wrote:

hi Alan - My name is Bruce and I am an avid ebay fan and seller!  I have a new business opportunity that I think will improve the ebay community while generating significant recurring revenues for ebay.  I have tried to contact ebay multiple times through multiple avenues, but have never gotten a response.  Normally I would have given up by now, but I really think this idea has great potential for ebay.  I would really appreciate it if someone from ebay could contact me to further discuss this opportunity.  I have sent you a private message with my contact information.  Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!

bruce carlson jr.

ebay ID: bruce.carlson 

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Hi @panhandlesurplusllc

Thanks for the PM, I'll check it out later today and get back to you. 

[mam98031]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@fashion-junquee wrote:

Could you clarify something with regards to late shipping defects? Previously, Alan has stated that as long as tracking was uploaded on time, a late delivery would not count against us. Was that correct? Or is it an acceptance scan that has to be shown in the uploaded tracking within the handling time?

Also, can you point me in the direction of ebay's official definition of a business day? I recently had an auction that was won on the 11th. The winner did not pay until today. The ebay note states that it must be shipped by tomorrow. My handling time for this listing was 2 business days. My choices are same business day (which would be today), 1 business day (tomorrow), 2, 3 ,4, etc. Why wouldn't it be required to be shipped by Friday the 16th, which would be 2 business days?

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Hi @fashion-junquee - For Late Shipment, a scan would be needed within your handling time to prevent a defect. That's the one out of the three checkpoints that's 100% in your control as a seller. Here is a link to the definition for handling time (under the Tracking Requirement section): http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/top-rated.html#what

It seems that the auction you sold yesterday hasn't updated because if it's 2 business day, you would have until Friday to ship that item out on time. 

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While what you said regarding how the Late Shipment Defect will happen is certainly correct, the second half of that is not completely accurate.

For Late Shipment, a scan would be needed within your handling time to prevent a defect.

True

That's the one out of the three checkpoints that's 100% in your control as a seller.

WHAT?  While it is true that a seller is in control of WHEN the item ships, they are NOT in control if the carrier gets is scanned on time, delivered on time with a scan as well or if the buyer when leaving FB notes it was delivered on time.  Sellers have zero control over any of this once it leaves their hands.

[goodluckselling]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

　

Please inform the group that is working on this and tell them the importance oif this info to businesses. I do not care to here our data says it is rarely used. Without it eBay will never be used by myself.

Good Luck Selling!

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I can see where you're coming from, @goodluckselling. It would definitely be useful and I'll send it on to the Seller Hub team to take into consideration. 

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Your tools for businesses are actually laughable.  For ebay to portray itself as a leading platform without tools for registered small business seller is a joke.   You deserve all the criticism you get in this area.  Outside of paying for a third party app to get this info which seems completely crazy that eBay would recommend we use an app that is owned by your big brother competitor is also laughable.  This is what I was told here in the forum last time I talked about this issue

Let me explain how I assemble my in state sales transactions so I can submit my state sales tax correct.  Please submit this info to the proper team so they can see what we have to go through to get this info on eBay.  I only do it this way because eVay does not care to help small businesses with anything that might make it possible for them to succeed without dozens of hours of duplicate work in what seems like month changes.

• I go and sort all orders by the month
• Then I take that subset and sort by zip code
• I go and find all transactions that are in my states zip code areas.
• I send those transactions from my all order files to achived.  Now I have a set of orders for the month I am working on isolated away from all the other orders
• I then sort by date the new archived set of orders
• I then print out the report
• When I am finished I use the tab that lets me re sort this set back into the original all orders files

I do this every month and now I would have to do this on one day and only one day and hope I am not to busy filling orders or taking care of eBays precious buyers who need coddling and pacified because they are to busy to act like an adult and read things before completing a transaction.

Congrats on having the stupiest buyers on the internet!  I can say this with complete confidence as I have sold for years on many platforms. 

Please submit the details about how some sellers use the features they have taken away, all in the name of mobile use.

Good Luck Selling!

[b86fiero]

Just wondering........

Is there an eBay Dictionary or composite of frequently used eBay terms?

You know, when you want to find out what OOAK or Bundle Listing means but don't want to show your lack of savvyness by asking in a public forum  

Occasionally a member posts an inquiry on one of the boards.  It would be helpful to have a link to terminology.

[rw011164]

I echo this concern. Being accused in one way or another of getting to take sales off of ebay, when the opposite is the truth is creating a hostile marketplace.

I have never been on the phone more with ebay over any issue than this.

We are an outstanding seller, top rated, platinum powerseller and I use social media and other platforms to drive traffic TO EBay...daily. To be openly accused is beyond insulting....It should not be happening to us

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@do.you.read.me wrote:
While you're at it, It would be great if all the dead links could be fixed.
It would also be great if you'd impress upon your higher-ups that the internal messaging system is one INFERNAL mess. All those warnings about outside selling are a slap in the face to honest sellers and buyers alike.

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Thanks, @do.you.read.me! We've sent this feedback on 

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