Weekly Community Chat, June 7th @ 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. 

For the last couple of weeks, we've been sharing a survey that we're currently conducting regarding the weekly chat format. We'll be closing the survey this week, so please take a minute to share your thoughts if you haven't done so yet. 

Talk to you at 1 pm!

[alan@ebay]

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@mg152 wrote:
First of all thank you Alan for caring about us & our families. That means a whole lot.

I'm not listing too much right now because of my family issues however, last month before my FIL passed I started an experiment of shortening my titles only not the description & I had at least a sale a day for a week. That's a lot for me right now considering I only have about 40 items listed. I had to cut my experiment short but I will try it again.

I saw all these sellers selling selling selling & I'd look & see things like "Men's blue tie" or "Woman's purse" so I decided to try it & it looks like it might work. When I'm searching I use 2-3 words usually. If your sales are slow, it wouldn't hurt to try. Again, that's the title only. My description is still the same. Have a great rest of the week & continue to pray for us please! Thanks!

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Hi @mg152!

I hope things are going a little bit better for you recently. 

Very nice of you to share the suggestion with your fellow sellers, that is the power of the eBay Community!! Hoping the sales continues to flow for you! 

Thanks. 

[Anonymous]

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@b86fiero wrote:

Good Afternoon Everybody,

The eBay product catalog:

When attempting to use catalog content to fill in item specifics on a listing I am often shown different product results for the same brand item.  For example Herbal Essences Shampoo will return 5 product results to choose from on the first search attempt.   A second search for the exact same words will return 9 product results and a third search will return only 3 product results.  Herbal Essences has about 10 varieties in various sizes on the market.  A more specific search for a particular type of this shampoo may not show it when it did show up in the more generic brand name search.

Is there a trick to using the product catalog so that all products and varieties of a certain brand are presented to select from?

Is there a limit to how many selections the catalog will show you per search? There used to be a "show more items" link at the bottom of those pages but I no longer see it.

~

The few catalog items that do show appear huge on my monitor screen now and the view slider bar across the bottom does not work.  I only see a tiny portion of anything off to the right.

~

I was told by an eBay employee Monday that there are millions of products in the catalog.  Any word when a simple catalog search will be available to sellers BEFORE we begin a listing.  Easy access to the catalog would surely speed up listing for some of us.  And we would know before listing which catalog pages are incorrect for the product we want to list.  (Especially in Books).

Thanks for any help,

Bonnie Jo 

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Thanks for joining us, Bonnie! I'm not sure of the answer right but I'd love the opportunity to look into this and see what I can find out for us. I'll be in touch via email shortly after the chat asking for more info. I'll send it on and get back to you as soon as I know more. Thanks!

[mam98031]

alan@ebay

Hi @mam98031

We do not "delete" listings. Ended listings are available in the usual places like Seller Hub and the 'Unsold' section of Selling Manager. 

Thanks. 

Yes Ebay does.  When they close a listing for a policy violation, they are deleted.  Or maybe "deleted" isn't the word Ebay uses.  But however you define it the listing is no longer accessable by the seller in unsold or anywhere else on Ebay.

This is my concern when they are closing listings because Ebay has decided they are too old and/or stale.

[dhbookds]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@sockmonkeydave wrote:

alan@ebay

Any update on what is happening with Turbo Lister.

I love the program, as do many others.

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Hi @sockmonkeydave

We understand from our conversations and surveys that for some of you, a few of the Turbo Lister features you rely on are not yet available in Seller Hub. In keeping with our promise, Turbo Lister will continue to be available beyond June with limited support.

However, Turbo Lister is no longer available to new users and we will not be making any product updates beyond support for category changes.

Meanwhile, we continue to add functionality to Seller Hub to make it the most convenient and powerful way to manage your selling from one convenient location. For example, you can upload listings in bulk with File Exchange, as well as create and manage listings from the Seller Hub listings tab. Regardless of how you list, we encourage you to take advantage of the unique competitive features in Seller Hub including performance reports, marketing tools, and growth and inventory guidance.

We will continue to enhance Seller Hub and will keep you posted, as new features are available.

Thank you!

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For example, you can upload listings in bulk with File Exchange

So file exchange is going to be the answer?  If so, please beg someone to tell us that NOW..... so we can stop hoping for a simple program like TL..........  I don't think I'm a dummy....but it's too complicated for me.........

[b86fiero]

The Community Discussion Boards:

Yesterday afternoon I was happy to find that my viewing of the boards has been returned to the immediate past version.  I don't know if the new version is still being seen by some but I found it clunky to use and really appreciate seeing the old version back with the board options across the top of the screen.

Just wanted to say thanks.

Bonnie Jo

[Anonymous]

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@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:

Has eBay decreased the length of time that completed listings (sold or unsold) remain on its servers?  I have always understood it to be 90 days.

Last week, on my secondary selling ID, I wanted to relist a fixed-price listing that ended on March 20.  Of course, the listing had aged off the 60-day Unsold section in My eBay but I should have been able to find it by item number until about June 20.  (Other completed listings -- from other sellers and my primary selling ID -- are easily found back as far as February.)

Fortunately, I had saved the listing as a template from which to create additional listings and I always compose listings in Notepad.  But why was my completed listing not available via Search for the full 90 days?

By the way, thanks to the boardie who provided a link to find saved templates -- a vital feature no longer available via Sell Your Item or Create a Listing.

~~C~~

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Hi @duchess-at-speakeasy! 90-days is generally only the case through Seller Hub, Selling Manager, or Selling Manager Pro. If you don't have one of those tools, it will move from your Unsold section after 60-days. That said, it should still be available via search as you mentioned. I would suggest reaching out to customer service with the original item number to see what they can find out for you.

[alan@ebay]

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@woadieland wrote:

So, how will I be able to access Seller Hub next winter when there's a blizzard and my phone and cable are  both down and there's not wifi cause Comcast piggybacks their wifi on my router?

Having a listing tool offline so I can list, in the car, on the train, on the plain, in the desert, in the blizzard etc.  is essential. 

Having everything controlled thru an online source is useless cause a lot of places still don't have and never will have hi-speed internet access.  What you're doing is akin to Amazon's new 2 step verification.  I don't have 2 cell phones so I won't be able to sell there after June 30th. 

I don't have "Mind Control" to send things thru the ether to ebay listings forms when the weather or the equally glitchy Comcast (equally glitchy with ebay) blows up..and so why bother? 

Of course with my totally disappearing sales, why bother

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Hi @woadieland

Turbo Lister users can continue to use the tool and contact eBay Customer Support when they need assistance. If you'd like to look at an alternative, you could try using File Exchange, that tool can be used offline. 

Thanks. 

[ymeagainlord]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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We do not "delete" listings. Ended listings are available in the usual places like Seller Hub and the 'Unsold' section of Selling Manager. 

Thanks. 

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Then why do we get both sellers AND buyers coming to the boards claiming a listing they won/sold was "removed" due to "suspicious activity" or such and the listing is nowhere to be found?

Sounds like "deleted" to me.

[dansteinke972]

The issue I was calling about still has not been properly addressed, still need to speak with a customer service manager. How do I reach one? Otherwise, your reply is just as good as the phone reps.

[tunicaslot]

What happens with Ad Fees charged to sellers for Promoted Listings when:
 
- Buyer does not pay for the item, UPI filed and closed without payment
 
- Cancelation due to buyer request or problem with buyer's address (payment refunded to buyer)
 
- Buyer returns item for remorse
 
- Buyer returns item for not as described
 
- Seller cancels due to out of stock
 
For any of these instances where the ad fee is credited back to the seller:
 
- Is it automatic?
 
- Is it on the same billing cycle or the next billing cycle?
 

[alan@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

alan@ebay

Last week we chatted a bit about Ebay’s efforts in removing what they consider old and/or stale listings from the site.  I asked several questions on this subject and most were answered with the announcement Ebay made on June 1st.

The Announcement link for those that may want to see it.

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/eBay-Listing-Spring-Cleaning/ba-p/27039412

I sent you an email right after it was posted as there is still one remaining VERY IMPORTANT question that has not gotten a response yet.

When Ebay removes these listings are they simply closing them or are they DELETING them?  As we know, there is a HUGE difference between the two actions.

Is it Ebay’s intention to delete these listing so that a seller has to go through all the work of rewriting a listing and get new pics before they can post the item or items again, instead of allowing them to revise the old listing and repost it?????  Clearly deleting the listings puts a burden on sellers that is just NOT necessary.

Ebay is removing listings that do NOT break ANY policy, which is unfair in the first place.  IMHO Ebay does not have the right to mess with my business at this level.  Certainly Ebay can and does make suggestions to make listings stronger and more appetizing, but to take on the management of my listings that break no policy or rule is just plain wrong. That is MY job!

And IF Ebay is going to be deleting the listings, Ebay is then costing sellers money by the time lost / spent in recreating certain listings.  In what world is that fair to sellers???  If we have to endure this action by Ebay, then closing the listings is the better approach IMHO!

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Hi @mam98031

We do not "delete" listings. Ended listings are available in the usual places like Seller Hub and the 'Unsold' section of Selling Manager. 

Thanks. 

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Some sellers have stated on various threads that they are NOT in the Unsold.

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Hi @mam98031

@We need specific examples to investigate. Sellers can contact Customer Service if they are experiencing this, alternatively, have them @mention our team in one of their Community posts and we'll take a look into it for them. 

Thanks. 

[alan@ebay]

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@timemachine777 wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@sockmonkeydave wrote:

alan@ebay

Any update on what is happening with Turbo Lister.

I love the program, as do many others.

---

Hi @sockmonkeydave

We understand from our conversations and surveys that for some of you, a few of the Turbo Lister features you rely on are not yet available in Seller Hub. In keeping with our promise, Turbo Lister will continue to be available beyond June with limited support.

However, Turbo Lister is no longer available to new users and we will not be making any product updates beyond support for category changes.

Meanwhile, we continue to add functionality to Seller Hub to make it the most convenient and powerful way to manage your selling from one convenient location. For example, you can upload listings in bulk with File Exchange, as well as create and manage listings from the Seller Hub listings tab. Regardless of how you list, we encourage you to take advantage of the unique competitive features in Seller Hub including performance reports, marketing tools, and growth and inventory guidance.

We will continue to enhance Seller Hub and will keep you posted, as new features are available.

Thank you!

---

Talking about seller hub...Have they fixed the save issue. The last time I used it, It took me forever compared to TL to create 7 listings because I had to save each step. I spent about an hour creating those listings which would have taken no more than 15 mins in TL. Anyway. While I was typing my title for the 7th listing, my page was redirected to the seller hub main page, and no matter how hard I tried or looked, I could not recover the listings I just made, even though I had to keep selecting save for each step. I just wasted my time making listings for nothing.

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Hi @timemachine777

I'll share your question with our Seller Hub team and update you when I hear back. 

Thanks! 

[Anonymous]

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@dansteinke972 wrote:

The issue I was calling about still has not been properly addressed, still need to speak with a customer service manager. How do I reach one? Otherwise, your reply is just as good as the phone reps.

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Hi @dansteinke972 - We'll reach out to you via email shortly after the chat to go over the issue you're running into. We definitely want to make sure it's addressed for you.

[tyler@ebay]

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@automotivepartsrecyclrs wrote:

Of the 74 apps ebay has in the app section which ones are not going to give me the bad active content on our listings? I guess it's when is Ebay going to clean up their app store

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While we vet the apps available through the app section, not all of them may be ready for the changeover yet depending on the level of support they provide. Nevertheless, this is a good call out and I'll get your experience shared to see if we can get more accountability from those businesses. 

[doug@ebay]

Hi @b86fiero, can you please post a screenshot? All users should see the same version of the boards, so I'd like to see what you're seeing. You can also PM it to me.

Thanks,

Doug

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@b86fiero wrote:

The Community Discussion Boards:

Yesterday afternoon I was happy to find that my viewing of the boards has been returned to the immediate past version.  I don't know if the new version is still being seen by some but I found it clunky to use and really appreciate seeing the old version back with the board options across the top of the screen.

Just wanted to say thanks.

Bonnie Jo

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