Ebay intermittently showing stock photo as my main photo in live auction, causing huge problems.

[power_deals]

I am selling a new remote control for a fan as seen here in the first photo. 

But ebay keeps intermittently showing a buyer my listing with a stock photo of a fan:

They bought it, then asked to cancel, seeing it was just the remote after they checked out the details. I canceled and relisted. Then it did it again to them and they almost bought it again.  I have had this happen with several other auctions as well. I even received a negative feedback because of it. This needs to be fixed, as even if I was selling a fan, there could be color variations ect. This is bad for the buyer and the seller.

[hartungcards]

You might want to read the blue banner at the top of the second one showing a complete fan.

[lacemaker3]

@power_deals,

You're using the MPN (manufacturer's part number) for the complete fan with the remote control, so your listing is tied to the eBay product page for the fan itself.

Buyers can purchase items directly from the product page (not recommended for this reason), and if they choose on price alone, they are likely to purchase your listing for just the RC when they really want the complete fan. So your listing is deceptive, even though it was probably an honest mistake to include the [wrong] MPN, for the device that the RC controls.

If you remove the MPN from the item specifics, that should fix it, and break the link to the fan product page. Might take a while (24 hours or so) for this to be updated after you revise it.

...

[power_deals]

While that is true in this case, I sell a handful of remotes and other items that share the same part number as the device itself.  A stock photo should never be replacing the sellers photo for a myriad of reasons. It is just bad policy.

[power_deals]

 Shows as purchasable in this one.

[lacemaker3]

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@power_deals wrote:

While that is true in this case, I sell a handful of remotes and other items that share the same part number as the device itself.  A stock photo should never be replacing the sellers photo for a myriad of reasons. It is just bad policy.

---

Well, yeah. I can't argue with the fact that eBay product pages are poorly implemented. Textbook example of how not to implement machine learning.

The stock photo is not shown on your listing, itself. But the buyer can see it on the product page, and if they buy from there, then they can easily buy the wrong thing. The product page usually defaults to the lowest price listing, and that's what most buyers are looking for. Accessories (like an RC) usually sell for less than the whole system. The screenshot you showed was the next default listing from the product page, after your item had been sold. The blue banner at the top explains that you  need to click on it to see the original listing.

Bottom line is, sellers need to be aware and avoid possible points of confusion. It's not effective to complain about the points of confusion, because eBay doesn't listen to the problems and won't fix them. It's just up to sellers to be aware and avoid them. Don't use the MPN for a complete system, if you are only selling an accessory for the system.

[gurlcat]

Huh I had no idea that one item specific entry could cause automatic stuff to occur like that.  I learned something new today!  

EDIT: But this is yet another example of why I happily stick to pre-owned items.