Email from Webinterpret saying Ive been opted in. Is this real? More fun stuff.

[soccerteeth]

I just woke up to 3 problems as usual. One big one is web-interpret cross border welcoming me and saying that ebay opted me in.   Im not clicking through anything and I know there were major issues in the past.   I never would opt in and have offered international shipping for 10 years.  Im at a point where I may stop all international shipping.  I had 2 - no pickups, 1 in Germany and 1 in the UK. Really Im at the point of about closing my store after almost 3 million in sales.

The last thing I want is being auto-opted into a program that is scammy. Also telling me I have to offer 30 day paid returns, which I will close my store before doing that. Ive always taken returns, Ive always shipped international but, I need to have some control over that. An overseas return is costly and buyers not wanting to pay customs is becoming common.

I want to sell to everyone, everywhere. Its in our best business interest but, when ever little thing is micromanaged poorly, we stand to lose more money and time which gives us no time to actually work on our store.

I called ebay while writing this and couldnt be told if I was opted in or not.  I was told to go to webinterpret and click a link and send a message and to report to spoof@ebay.   It seems rather antiquated that ebay couldnt tell me and that I have to write companies to see if Im opted in.  Its just one thing after another here.

Another issue some of you may be able to clarify for me.  Weve shipped everyday since the beginning.  Noone had to make us do this or threaten us with defects.  Yet of course they did. The most common feedback we get is super fast shipping or something like that.

it took us a long time to sort out usps as we had no full time carrier becasue our mail route was long and noone wanted it. For a long time, we were literally chasing carriers, running to the post office before close and always stressed out about something we already did but, to get that scan. We had 7 different carriers some weeks, all at different times. After a lot of begging, we got on a route for pickups becasue we did enough volume.  We have guy who comes everyday so it was a load off our shoulders.  Now we moved close by and the same guy comes and he's great.  The issue is now that due to our sales taking a dump, and some days we have 0-2 packages, it looks like we are losing our pickup.  USPS will not pickup on a route unless you do x amount of packages, which we no longer do and it is 100% ebays issues.  We never had blackouts and were on a constant climb until June 2018. 

Recently with the quadrupling of returns, we started charging shipping again. Things changed for the worse and free  shipping became an open invite to buy without thinking.  We have no discounts, I dont beleive anything we do can make Cassinni like us, so if we lose our carrier we will stop shipping daily. Not intentionally, as we will still do the packages but, we will not drive to the post office daily or have the stress of chasing down an unsuspecting mailman with a bunch of packages. We will have to put them out with scan sheet and cross our fingers.  We have a job box with a code and instructions on our porch. We can request pickups through the site again and add instructions but, we know how that worked out last time, which was sometimes packages wouldnt be picked up.  

This will surely tank our shipping % if a decent size load doesnt get picked up and I cant bare to call ebay everyday like the old days.  What will this do to our account ? We dont care about badges, weve been here long enough to have repeat customers and weve seen this terror ship coming at us for years so made lots of money and diversified, assuming that we wouldnt be selling here some day.  Of course I dont want to see the work weve put in to the store go away but sunk cost fallacy be damned.

So many unintended consequences have made doing business here harder.  We have almost always been 100% feedback sellers, we had all the discounts and shipped 6 days a week. 45k a month was average. Almost 3 million in sales.  Right now if 1 of of every item in our store sold, the value of current prices is 500k. much of that stuff we have in large quantities not listed on ebay. We also have enough inventory to quadruple the size of our store but, severely diminished returns if we go at it like we used to for much less. Many millions in inventory.

Weve done every edit and change over the years, weve tried free returns, done free shipping for years and now find ourselves selling much less but constant issues. The customer has almost become a unintended adversary. We block at the slightest hint of issue and look at feedback left by buyers when they ask questions.  This is the only protection we have when ebay stopped protecting us.  We have always been top sellers , never losing discounts and being crazy to get our scans and packages out as intended. Ebay has constantly made this harder to achieve through the one size fits all, treating us all like were crooks and not doing something right.  We used to rewards, now we get threats constantly. Psychologically, its pretty messed up. It doesnt matter if its un-intended, thats what it is. Constant problems, different solutions from different people and usually several cs calls or emails to get a halfway decent solution. 

This is different than what has ever happened here.  I would bet that some of us sellers were ebays best buyers as well. Now we see no reason to invest more and more time and money as the present and end looks bleak. I'll beleive seller protections when I see them. 

Started the day out with manufactured problems is becoming more the norm and it doesnt get ant easier, it just builds up until we are about to pop.

[ittybitnot]

Umm... so does this mean we're opted in automatically and have to manually opt out...? 

Sure looks that way.  You didn't get the "email" last month letting you know this day was upon you?  

Apparently, they were not getting enough volunteers clicking on the "learn more" button, so they have resorted to other unsavory tactics to increase participation. 

[zamo-zuan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@zamo-zuan wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Ran out of edit time.

@Anonymous 

tyler@ebay 

Please, can you confirm that these emails are legitmate and that Ebay has opted sellers into Webinterpret?  Thank you!

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Hi @castlemagicmemories, I can confirm that some sellers have been opted into the free WebInterpret service to have up to 50% of their eligible listings translated and posted to 6 major eBay sites. These listings would not create duplicates, nor would they incur insertion fees. The sellers who were opted in are sellers who already ship directly to international locations (ie. don't use the Global Shipping Program). While these listings may use a seller's available limits, we are happy to review these limits for increases as needed. These sellers were emailed a month ago to notify them they would be opted in, and can opt out at any time. The details of this program are found here.

Again, this service is free and something we are happy to provide to our sellers to increase their visibility and ultimately boost their sales. @soccerteeth, it looks like the account you posted from is not a selling account so you may want to touch base with Customer Service to discuss account specifics for your selling account. It looks like you may be a member of our Concierge/Merchant Support programs, so should have a direct line to eBay for questions like the ones you have posed here. If you are ever concerned about an email potentially not being from eBay, you can forward it to spoof@ebay.com for us to review those concerns.

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@Anonymous 

I would like to know if we were included in this as well (as the screenshot posted above).

We currently ship internationally with the Global Shipping Program, and that does not seem to match what you stated in the response I quoted, so I would like to know more information, as it should not be applying to us.

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Hi @zamo-zuan, the listings that are eligible for the Global Shipping Program would not be translated and posted to other sites. It may be that you have a large number of listings where you are willing to ship directly to international buyers, so you were identified as a seller who would benefit from this service. I would recommend contacting Customer Support to discuss the specific details of your account and this program.

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I don't believe we use any service other than Global Shipping.

Also, we are very careful about international shipping because most auto parts have major fitment issues if not manufactured for usage in the US. So this is very dangerous to be automatically applying to any sellers in Motors!

[zamo-zuan]

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@abfabvintage wrote:

@zamo-zuan 

Hey...and your screenshot at the bottom says Want to Keep It Local? and you can unenroll. What does Local mean, no international ? when you already offer international but not using Winterpret? If I received one of those (never in my lifetime) I would usually just delete it not reading the tiny tiny fine print to Unenroll. Plus, this auto enrolling shouldn't be happening without the seller's permission. Unless buried in the UA it says they can? JMO

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Yeah, but I'm worried about the unenroll having any side effects. 

It's confusing, as you say. We already offered as much international as we wanted to offer. 

It looked like another one of their common advertisements. We got it on the 9th, and I would never have expected it to have automatically signed up us for a 3rd party??? 

I don't think it should be happening without our permission, especially when we only use GSP.

It also claims we can "login to webinterpret to see our performance" in the FAQ... yet they never even sent us that information (not that we want it).

[zamo-zuan]

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@soccerteeth wrote:

Would you mind sharing the address that came from and the date because I cant find anything with any searches. In the least I may find it hidden and be able to opt out and commence business this weekend.  Thanks

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email is: ebay@reply5.ebay.com

It was received 8AM on July 10th. (Sorry, I thought it was 9th, but as I checked again, it was the 10th, and 9 *days* ago).

[Anonymous]

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@soccerteeth wrote:

I just got off the phone with a friendly gentleman who sees no 3rd paty authorizations and nothing about webinterpret on my account.  

So im at 2 frustrating calls today with noone at ebay knowing were in or it being a scam.  Kin do fboth the same at this point.

I turned the store off so apparently I and ebay will be making no money off of us this weekend.  Its a shame becasue we just hit our nook, where we get sale after sale for a few hours before it goes away again.

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Hi @soccerteeth, I'm sorry if we are having a misunderstanding or if you have missed some of my responses - please click the link I shared earlier for this program to read more details and to opt out if you would like. I don't see a reason for you to close your store at this time - you either are opted into this program and very easily could opt out, or you received a fraudulent email and can take the normal steps to protect yourself when this occurs (forward the email to spoof@ebay.com). Of course it is your decision to close down your store at any time, I just would hate to see you loose out on some weekend sales for no reason.

Additionally, based on the information you shared earlier, I see no reason to believe the email you received is not valid. Third parties cannot gain access to an eBay email address (ending with @ebay.com) nor is the email asking you to do anything other than review the information that is publicly available at the link I gave before. 

[zamo-zuan]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

Umm... so does this mean we're opted in automatically and have to manually opt out...? 

Sure looks that way.  You didn't get the "email" last month letting you know this day was upon you?  

Apparently, they were not getting enough volunteers clicking on the "learn more" button, so they have resorted to other unsavory tactics to increase participation. 

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We got an option to join in April, and then nothing until the email I just showed you.

[Anonymous]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

Umm... so does this mean we're opted in automatically and have to manually opt out...? 

Sure looks that way.  You didn't get the "email" last month letting you know this day was upon you?  

Apparently, they were not getting enough volunteers clicking on the "learn more" button, so they have resorted to other unsavory tactics to increase participation. 

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Hi @ittybitnot, I want to clear up a misconception I've seen mentioned here a few times - this program is free to sellers and something that will boost their visibility. We are not promoting this feature simply to increase the number of users, but instead because we have seen a high level of success with this program for the sellers who have been using it, and want to extend this further to increase our sellers sales. 

Honestly, I am a confused to see the level of negative reaction that I've seen here for a free service that only serves to increase visibility for those sellers who are already shipping internationally. It is simply a translation service and though I commend those who wish to educate themselves further, I want to encourage everyone to take a moment to review the information I've already shared to reassure themselves of what this program is and is not.

[gracieallen01]

Trinton, you may find that many people are hesitant to click on a link to Webinterpret, especially after so many being automatically enrolled the first time it appeared at the top of the page some time back - once bitten, twice shy.

[a_c_green]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi @castlemagicmemories, I can confirm that some sellers have been opted into the free WebInterpret service to have up to 50% of their eligible listings translated and posted to 6 major eBay sites. These listings would not create duplicates, nor would they incur insertion fees. The sellers who were opted in are sellers who already ship directly to international locations (ie. don't use the Global Shipping Program). While these listings may use a seller's available limits, we are happy to review these limits for increases as needed. These sellers were emailed a month ago to notify them they would be opted in, and can opt out at any time. The details of this program are found here.

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"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

-- Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin); The Princess Bride (1987)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes/qt0482717

"Opt in" suggests that the seller voluntarily agreed to sign up. The process you are describing could hardly be called "opting in," especially in cases like this where the seller was not even aware of it until after he was in it. It sound more like a draft process, really.

Certainly if you think sellers are not aware of Webinterpret already, it's a good idea to send them further details on it, explain how they can benefit from it, etc., but after that, if not enough sellers are joining the program voluntarily, then maybe it's just not a very good program.

The one thing you don't do is stick them in the program without their permission, and call it opting-in. It is not, regardless of how many Marketing people are telling you otherwise. This is one case where eBay should have pushed back on Webinterpret, and (internally) pushed back on anyone within eBay who thought that opting-in sellers without their permission was a good idea.

[Anonymous]

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@zamo-zuan wrote:

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@soccerteeth wrote:

Would you mind sharing the address that came from and the date because I cant find anything with any searches. In the least I may find it hidden and be able to opt out and commence business this weekend.  Thanks

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email is: ebay@reply5.ebay.com

It was received 8AM on July 10th. (Sorry, I thought it was 9th, but as I checked again, it was the 10th, and 9 *days* ago).

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Hi @zamo-zuan, take a look at the Terms & Conditions to confirm when the Promotion will begin - all of the information I've reviewed states that this will start on Monday, September the 4th. Well over a month away from the time you received your email. Since there may be more than one similar promotion, I can't say with certainty what you have been offered. 

[zamo-zuan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Honestly, I am a confused to see the level of negative reaction that I've seen here for a free service that only serves to increase visibility for those sellers who are already shipping internationally. It is simply a translation service and though I commend those who wish to educate themselves further, I want to encourage everyone to take a moment to review the information I've already shared to reassure themselves of what this program is and is not.

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In another post on here regarding webinterpret recently, you mentioned fees could be charged after the promotional period ends. That is one reason.

The second is, as you can see, we didn't even know we were signed up. It feels like a betrayal of trust to see we were automatically enrolled in a program, especially one that has regularly been discussed on the forums here by sellers who had issues with it.

You have also mentioned in the other post that it will count towards seller limits, when these days we are carrying one new brand so far, and have a couple new brands incoming. This will limit our listing ability as we grow.

If I did not find this post, I would have never seen the email stating that we were signed up. Which would put us under threat of increased fees after promotional period, as well as we would never know why our listing limits were being filled up.

Finally, as you said, this not should be applying to sellers who ship internationally with Global Shipping. This is 100% confirmation that it IS applying to sellers who ship with Global Shipping (as that is our international method). 

It's hard to have comfort in something that we were signed up for without our knowledge, especially when the stated policies about who gets signed up are not even being followed correctly.

One more thing I just noticed, in another post on here from just 4 days ago, you mentioned you do not opt anyone in without authorization, and that some sellers were notified a month ago. This does not seem to be the truth, as we were signed up 9 days ago without authorization. 

All these combine to a severe breach of trust. 

After the issues we've had over the last year and a half, combined with this, how are we expected to even trust this "opt out" button without knowing exactly what signing us up did to our account, and what opting out does...?

(Edit: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Why-the-negativity-about-Webinterpret/m-p/30033371/highlight/true#M1453317 - that post sums up the reason for distrust very well.)

[soccerteeth]

Trinton,

There was a message in my ebay mesages May 22.  Mine is different than Zamo.Zuan and says once you click your listings go live and had no opt out. attached. The thing is I never opened it so I never clicked it and ebay reps cannot see that I am in.   This just shows the same devious tactics webinterpret used last time as most people click on a message to open anyway. Placement of that is even psychologically devious. 

This does not allay my fears. This terrifies me as this is already not a good relationship.

Holy cow looking through my messages in ebay mesasges is a like car crash of issues. return, case, case, case, return. 

I dont want to be opted into anything . This company gives me constant anxiety.

I was running my business and growing and had happy repeat customers. Ebay is actually making less money on us and spending more in cs to try and resolve manufactured problems.  How is that a win?

I'll email you Trinton and you can look at our account. Look at our sales for the last few years, look at our returns.  I know youre just doing your job but my personal experience is the marketplace is killing our sales, making what do sell terrifying, and making us spend all the time we used to selling, into solving manufactured problems.  I never hung out on this forum until last year and even then, i just kept editing and triage.  I wont be renewing my store subscription at this rate.  I like what I do and i have tons of inventory that noone else has but its been turned into something terrible. Of course that is moot if you cant actually do anything.

I really hope its time that someone stands up there and acknowledges the problems and those that are inevitably in the pipeline so someone can stop this madness but, I would guess by the looks of it some are doubling down and watching buyers and sellers leave. 

Go back to rewarding good behavior instead of lipservice about making it easier on us and setting up punishment parameters to make it easier on us to do more business.  It hasnt worked once.

[Anonymous]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi @castlemagicmemories, I can confirm that some sellers have been opted into the free WebInterpret service to have up to 50% of their eligible listings translated and posted to 6 major eBay sites. These listings would not create duplicates, nor would they incur insertion fees. The sellers who were opted in are sellers who already ship directly to international locations (ie. don't use the Global Shipping Program). While these listings may use a seller's available limits, we are happy to review these limits for increases as needed. These sellers were emailed a month ago to notify them they would be opted in, and can opt out at any time. The details of this program are found here.

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"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

-- Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin); The Princess Bride (1987)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes/qt0482717

"Opt in" suggests that the seller voluntarily agreed to sign up. The process you are describing could hardly be called "opting in," especially in cases like this where the seller was not even aware of it until after he was in it. It sound more like a draft process, really.

Certainly if you think sellers are not aware of Webinterpret already, it's a good idea to send them further details on it, explain how they can benefit from it, etc., but after that, if not enough sellers are joining the program voluntarily, then maybe it's just not a very good program.

The one thing you don't do is stick them in the program without their permission, and call it opting-in. It is not, regardless of how many Marketing people are telling you otherwise. This is one case where eBay should have pushed back on Webinterpret, and (internally) pushed back on anyone within eBay who thought that opting-in sellers without their permission was a good idea.

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Hi @a_c_green, when we use the term "Opt in", it is synonymous with "enroll". Many programs, features, and tools here at eBay will be discussed in the terms of members being "Opted-in", and this is not in any way meant to indicate that those members submitted a request or selected an option to use those features. Language is constantly evolving and the meaning behind the opt in phrasing may not be the same as it was in the past. Though I 100% agree that clear communication is vital, particularly in a written format, discussions about semantics is not generally productive; we have consistently referred to seller's being moved to a new tool or being placed in a new program as those sellers having been "opted in". This is why Terms & Conditions can elaborate further on what a promotion is offering.

Additionally, though I understand that there is a perception here that "not enough sellers are joining the program", I need to reiterate that we do not promote a program simply because it is not being used. I don't know why this perspective has arisen, but can correct here again by stating that we've seen great success with this program; sellers who are already shipping internationally have increased visibility to the buyers they are already selling to by having their listings translated for free into the language that their customers are more familiar with.

Again, this program provides a great benefit to the sellers who have been using it, and we believe it will do the same for the sellers we have selected to automatically opt in. If a seller does not want to participate for some reason, they can opt out at any time.

[ittybitnot]

Honestly, I am a confused to see the level of negative reaction that I've seen here for a free service that only serves to increase visibility for those sellers who are already shipping internationally.

Does ebay plan to fund the seller's costs for unfavorable currency conversion rates and associated added fees since they will be required to accept other than USD$?  

[gracieallen01]

Hello Trinton,

It appears that you (ebay) uses 'opt in' to mean enroll in, without a necessarily active or voluntary action.  

However, 'opt out' is a decisive voluntary, and seller decided, action to exit a program. 

How can that be?  Just which is the correct usage of the word 'opt'?