eBay

bigdeals.etc · ‎05-04-2018

A couple of days ago a banner within my Seller Hub advertised reaching buyers in ebay international sites (shown in screenshot). I clicked it to learn what it was about. It pushed me to a 3rd party page (Webinterpret) explaining what it was and allowed me to register/sign up for their service. I didn’t sign up and just closed the page.

The next day, Webinterpret hacked into my ebay account. They duplicated all of my listings 4-6 times each listing. My usual 200 live listings became over 1200 listings. Each listing was specific to an ebay international website (au, uk, ca, de, etc.). They basically duplicated my inventory quantity as well… obviously I don’t have that much inventory to cover it. Beware, this is on ebay’s Main Seller Hub page that ebay is advertising.

Read further if you want to know ebay’s response to this:

I called my ebay concierge and after a few hours of asking around and researching, he called me back and said the company has been with ebay since 2011, they shouldn’t have access to your account without your signing up, authorizing, generating a token, etc. I told him I did none of that and the agent was confused on how the company was able to hack into my account like that. The agent helped me remove the duplicate listings manually (took awhile) and revoked any access from that company to my account. I checked and it appears many ebay members (dated as far back as 4 years) had the exact same thing happen to them and did the revoking, only to find months later the company hacks back into their accounts doing the same thing… sometimes even billing them. Ebay says they will check on it, but then again… this problem has been around for at least 4 years now and ebay hasn’t done anything about it.

I’m just warning others to NOT click on that banner.

a_c_green · ‎10-29-2018

@bassileid5 wrote:
@pturnbough wrote:
How do you get rid of it. They have no phone, no chat, don't answer emails.
Hi Pturnbough,

Apologies for your experience. You can opt out here at the link - https://app.webinterpret.com/submit-request/

Well, not exactly; that's simply their Request/Search page for finding answers in their Knowledgebase, and searching for an Unsubscribe method tends to lead you in a big circle right back to the first page again.

I did some more creative digging in their website and found this page here:

https://webinterpret.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203789248-How-do-I-cancel-my-WebInterpret-program...

(The user comments that got in at the bottom of that page are a hoot. They finally shut down comments in January of this year.)

While it seems more promising at first, clicking on that embedded link ("please contact our Support department") simply brings you full-circle back around to the first page again, Hotel California style...

ghost-star · ‎10-30-2018

@bassileid5

alan@ebay

Are you kidding????????

That so-called opt-out link you sent us is EXACTLY what we were complaining about. That is NOT an opt-out link. It is simply a help page that offers no opt-out link no matter what you type in in the search bar!

Did you even look at this page? Are you even an eBay support staff? This is becoming a true legal matter at this point. YOU CRIMINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And NOW EBAY HAS SHOVED THE WEBINTERPRET LINK RIGHT IN OUR FACES WITH ALMOST NO WAY OF AVOIDING IT. For the past several days, every time I sign into my account, the ONLY thing on the following page is the Webinterpret ad, with a CONTINUE button, and that button is the ONLY button on the page. There's not even a way to go to MY EBAY page. It's insane!

This is criminal malfeasance!

ghost-star · ‎10-30-2018

HERE IS HOW I OPTED OUT OF WEBINTERPRET:

1) I bombarded 3 email addresses (support@webinterpret.zendesk.com, sales@webinterpret.com) with constant emails for 2 days, explaining to them that I never enrolled willingly and that this was a criminal offense, and finally that I wished to be removed from their program permanently. Yes, it took about 50 emails over 48 hours for them to finally reply with a confirmation that my account had been cancelled. In the last several emails I also included my attorney's email address, so it may have been that inclusion that caused them to respond. Not sure.

2) I then went into my eBay account and made sure to remove the WebInterpret third-party

Here are the steps:

- On the eBay home page at the very top left corner, you'll see the tiny greeting "Hi (your name)!" Hover your mouse over that and you get a drop down menu. In the drop down menu, click on ACCOUNT SETTINGS.

- On the next page, at the very left, you'll see a box with the header: MY EBAY VIEWS. In that box, there is a list of options. Click on SITE PREFERENCES.

- On the Site Preferences page scroll all the way down to th GENERAL PREFERENCES section. There you'll find a sub-heading called THIRD-PARTY AUTHORIZATIONS. If you see one called WEBINTERPRET, then untick the corresponding box.

3) I have heard from some sellers that even after removing WEBINTERPRET's third-party authorization, that somehow they managed to regain authorization on their accounts. In case this is truly a possibility, mark your calendar to check your third-party authorizations once a week for the next several months.

jessdawgg · ‎11-05-2018

Have a few questions

Is the Webinterpet service over at the end of Dec 2018, and is it removed automatically? Or the service doesn't end and one has to remove it manually? And when the service is over will there be a charge/fee?

And my only issue so far with Webinterprets service is the exchange rates with a lost of about 5% of each transaction.

The postive, been able to sell items I was unable to sell for months through Ebay.com. But I do ship international. Not sure why certian items are now showing with Webinterpet and not with Ebay.com

carpartsbylts · ‎11-09-2018

They are also shameless, they keep calling us everyday in fact that we had the same conversation many times.

First they tell you how good would be to upgrade and it is an option, if you do not want to upgrade then they say that you were on trail version and you have to upgrade.

This is how they try to sell you something and I can not believe that eBay let this company to trade like this

jeweloftheheart · ‎11-09-2018

Wow, I am sorry that happened to you. Now you have your work cut out fixing the mess they created!

spotted_dog_design1 · ‎11-23-2018

THIS PROGRAM IS A NIGHTMARE....STAY AWAY. EBAY SHOULD NEVER HAVE OFFERED A PROGRAM THAT DOES NOT WORK. PEOPLE CANNOT GET MESSAGES TO ME, THEY RELIST ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN SOLD, CUSTOMERS CANNOT MAKE PAYMENTS, AND OTHER PROBLEMS IT TAKES LONGER TO DESCRIBE. THIS PROGRAM HAS COST ME A LOT OF MONEY AND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME. IT IS NOT "FREE"....I JUST GOT A BILL FROM THEM YESTERDAY AS I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRYING TO TERMINATE THIS PROGRAM.

bigdeals.etc · ‎11-23-2018

partsgalore1 · ‎11-25-2018

I have also encountered many problems... but to their credit, the customer service people have been very responsive and helpful. The problem is, they are also at the mercy of buggy and poorly designed software. Even though users have the ability to blacklist and block items they don't want listed... there is a learning curve during which 100s or 1000s of items are listed internationally that you may not want listed internationally. They do not allow users to choose the items they want to list! The free trial randomly chooses a limited # of items which I find unacceptable. Even the pay as you go version (which I signed up for).... grabs all of your eBay listings and proceeds to list them without any acceptance or input from their users! I have also had problems with my blacklisted items being listed. Also, I have 100s of items on my "listed" tab in WI that are not even listed on eBay anymore...which by the way, they have not been able to correct... yet? During the past 3 months I have had to end 1000s of listings that I do not want WI to list internationally. I think the program will be more acceptable for a person who simply wants all of their listings processed and listed by WI. It has been really frustrating...but I'm sticking with them as long as the reps continue to be responsive and helpful. At this point I don't have anything listed and of the items that were listed, I have not made any sales...so at this point, I have a great deal of time invested and nothing to show for it. I do think the basic premise is good and I have hopes they will get the issues fixed... eventually. I do not recommend WI at this point... they have a lot of work to do before the program is ready for prime time...

Joshua Trenge

tools_n_things_by_may · ‎01-16-2019

How would one check to see if they had been charged any money for this?

bigdeals.etc · ‎01-24-2019

@tools_n_things_by_may wrote:
How would one check to see if they had been charged any money for this?

Personally to cover all bases, I would check my linked credit card statement in a 2 month span, check my eBay statement (also 2 month span) to see if there is anything out of the ordinary in regards to charges and activity volume.

Btw, I just got an email from them a day or two ago. I didn't bother to click and open it, I don't care what they are trying to promote.

partsgalore1 · ‎01-25-2019

This is a follow up to my previous post. Since then WI has fixed the issues with bogus items on my "listed tab" in WI and also the black listed items that were being listed has been fixed. I have listed the 150 items I wanted to list and made my first sale through WI. I checked my eBay account and there are no incorrect charges and zero charges attributable to WI. I have not received my invoice from WI that shows the fee for the item I sold for $250est. I will follow up with the cost of that sale when I do get the invoice. WI is not for everyone...but if you have items that are worth the shipping cost internationally and are desired by international buyers WI can be a big help. At the same time, one sale is not earth- shattering and it's important to note that it was to Australia...so not interpretation was needed. I will say with absolute certainty WI is not a scam! Is it right for everyone...NO. Will you have to spend considerable time to learn and make use of WI...YES. Does WI have potential to boost international sales... YES. Am I happy I stuck with WI... YES. Only time will tell if it will boost my international sales enough to make the effort spent worth it. I will keep posting as things progress...

Joshua Trenge

partsgalore1 · ‎01-29-2019

Last follow up... I received my invoice from WI which included an item I sold for $250. The fee was $10 and change. Since I have a "pay as you go" account, this is what I was expecting and I'm happy with it. I'm glad I stuck with them. There is no question they have worked very hard to fix past issues and will help sellers boost their international sales. I still agree, they are not for everyone but for the right product and the right seller Webinterpret can be very helpful to boost international sales. Ignore all posts calling WI a "scam" company... this is clearly not true. I have worked closely with them to resolve issues and they have been extremely helpful and professional at all times.

Joshua Trenge