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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@copper.boom wrote:

It would take me too long to dig up the reference post right now, but I remember it being said in one of the chats that the shipping team was looking into finally(!) add USPS Reg Rate A & B boxes as an option on the listing form (not just the print shipping label form). Is there any update on this?

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Hi @copper.boom! No update just yet but I'll send this on to see where we're at. Thanks! 

[tyler@ebay]

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@this4chris2012 wrote:

Now that Promoted Listings is available on single items, I tried it. What I saw in my listings was the item listed twice, with the second listing saying "sponsored." Does having it listed twice like that mean it can be purchased twice, i.e, a buyer could buy either listing and the second one stays viable, thus creating a scenario for the seller to receive an out of stock defect?

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Howdy @this4chris2012 - glad to hear you're liking the Promoted Listings for single quantity! The 'Sponsored' listing shares the same item number, so it's not considered a separate one, which means if it sells via the organic search it will end the Sponsored listing (and vice versa). 

If you have further questions on this make sure to tune in next week! We'll have Shefali here, who knows Promoted Listings backwards and forwards. 🙂

[panhandlesurplusllc]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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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. 

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alan@ebay- I think you meant @bruce.carlson. That wasn't me. 🙂

[alan@ebay]

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@panhandlesurplusllc wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

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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. 

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alan@ebay- I think you meant @bruce.carlson. That wasn't me. 🙂

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oops - thanks @panhandlesurplusllc

[mam98031]

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@b86fiero wrote:

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.

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http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/glossary.html

[alan@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@b86fiero wrote:

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.

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http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/glossary.html

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Nice! 

[Anonymous]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

This is for regular multi-quantity listings.  Are you saying that the quantity is designed to reset to the original qty, or that the quantity at the end of the listing should be carried forward at relist?

My issue is that this is NOT stated anywhere and it results in sellers having to cancel sales for "out of stock" gaining a defect in the process.  It's not intuative (to me at least) that relisting a multi-quantity listing with only 1 of 3 left would reset the quantity available back to 3!  I have 2 seller defects because of this exact issue and never knew how the buyer could purchase more than I had on hand.

Here's the odd piece.  I just went and checked two listings of mine where I originally had 1 of the item and later updated the quantity to 2 because I got another.  I use 30 day fixed, so these items have been relisted more than once.  Guess what the current qty available is?  If you said 1 you would be wrong!

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Definitely hear your feedback on this and have gotten the request passed along for either an enhancement to this process or an addition of these details to the help pages 🙂

[alan@ebay]

That was fun! Thanks for joining us this week. 

We are working through questions we have not got to yet. Tune in at the same time, same board next week, for a chat on the topic of Promoted Listings. 

[tyler@ebay]

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@coinslabz26 wrote:

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tyler@ebay wrote:

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@coinslabz26 wrote:

Any update from the shipping team on my post from last week about getting the option to use padded flat rate envelopes added to ebay shipping?


Extremely frustrating issue too. So I discovered yesterday that paypal shipping does have a priority mail ex[ress padded flatrate option. So yesterday when I sold a $3750 coin I though what a wonderful time to try this out. Come to find out there is no way to add signature confirmation to any EXPRESS label in the new paypal shipping. There is an option to add signature to every other class of mail including media mail but NOT for express mail. Then the labels print "waver of signature" by default with no way to select add signature. I was absolutely floored. Now I have to wait a month for my postage refund, and my poor buyer is now confused with 2 tracking numbers since I had to print another though ebay shipping to get signature confirmation. Very frustrating! Someone should probably inform paypal since most people are not using express mail to ship cheap stuff!

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Hey @coinslabz26 - I did hear back from the shipping team that 'that didn't sound right' and they would be in touch with more specifics. I didn't update you because I wanted something a bit more substantive before I did. 

I'll request another update to see if I can light a fire under them. As for the PayPal label, I'm just as floored as you, as Express typically automatically requires a signature. It's confusing to me that they would default to 'waiver of signature' as well, as that's less helpful. I'll see what I can do to get the feedback to PayPal's shipping people. Thanks for the update, and I'll let you know when I hear back. 

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Thanks for the reply!!

What didn't sound right? That there is no option for us to use padded flat rate?

As for paypal. USPS started a few months ago requiring no signature by default but no additional charge to request it, but you have to request it. Ebay shipping auto checks the signature box for all items over $750 so that is not an issue here (and I love that you guys do this it prevents me from forgetting!!)! With paypal it looks like they never updated their system and express is just shipping with signature waiver. I still have the label sitting on my desk with bold letters "WAIVER OF SIGNATURE" displayed between the address and return address and the tracking number was 9471 2096 9993 7668 2901 65 and there is no way to select "add signature". The tracking does not show waived online but you can clearly see that "signature service" is not in the list of servces as it should be if a signature was required.

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Exactly - that it should be an option and it's not right that it doesn't appear. 

Thanks for the clarification on the PayPal process. Hopefully we can get some clarification on PayPal's process and if we can get it added back for you. 

[Anonymous]

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@janet9988 wrote:

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.

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Hi @janet9988 - If you issue a refund without a cancellation or a return happening, a defect would apply. That said, if your buyer needs to change their address and they notify you through the eBay messaging system, you are protected through Seller Protection if you change to the address requested. Just make sure that the communication happens through our system. 

[doug@ebay]

Yes @do.you.read.me if you see dead links, please send them. eBay IT is currently working on updating Answer Center links.

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@do.you.read.me wrote:

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.

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[Anonymous]

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@copper.boom wrote:

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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

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I'll reach out to you to get an example as this may not have been rolled out to you yet.

[tyler@ebay]

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@dtexley3 wrote:
Thanks Tyler, I just wish the verbage on the help page actually stated this instead of the current unhelpful content that's linked.

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Agreed! I'm going to get it suggested for a change. It sounds like it was definitely unhelpful. 

[Anonymous]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

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. 

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There is not a link to provide you on eBay that would outline steps you take on another site. I apologize if there was a misunderstanding; as I referenced, these steps would vary depending on the courier you choose to use, so we would not be able to provide steps to you. I encourage you to research options and select a courier that works for you.

[Anonymous]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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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.

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Hi @mam98031 - All post offices should be scanning packages at drop-off or pick-up which means the scan should follow shipment. If that's not happening, you can request for scans and if you receive any push back, please let us know. This check point should be in your control 100%.