Getting Ebay Support w/Order Issues

[stev.tucke]

I am a buyer and a seller on Ebay. I have bought for decades but just recently ventured into selling. Issues come up with selling. Issues I need Ebay as a support and problem solver. These various issues can be infinite but let's say various in nature. Is it too much to ask that since Ebay takes on average 36% of my sales revenue (shipping revenue is not a profit-based revenue and should be as close to neutral as possible, I do not consider it) that when I need some help I should be able to speak with a human being and not get the runaround by AI, the silo Ebay uses to guard against human interaction. A buyer tells me of a problem and I have no way to directly contact Ebay? I am the one who the customer contacted. Should I ask the customer to put in a ticket like AI suggests so Ebay will know there is a problem. That happened 4-5 weeks ago. Do you know what the customer, the buyer, told me when I approached them with that. NO THANKS! That was what the customer told me. What they did not say but was written all over was PATHETIC! And I 100% agree. A customer buys an item but needs to change it from Local pickup to ship. That cannot be uncommon. That is something a billion dollar company with high school degrees can see happening a mile away. How hard would it be for system integrators to deal with anomalies like that so there is a pleasant workaround. Ebay does not have a way to manage a change to an order from pickup to ship. Ebays solution, please work this out with the buyer. WHAT? A billion dollar company that had any foresight and customer focus let alone seller focus would have this taken care of with one phone call from the seller. HOLD ON, WAIT! The seller can't call. But what a terrible solution. OMG! How pathetic. I draw the line here at ignorance. That type of thinking is so far from customer-serive based mentality it lands right in the middle of something. I am still amazed. My guess is I will lose the order and maybe get a poor review. Then someone will say that Ebay will throw out that review. My answer: Totally not the point!

[luckythewinner]

ebay does not have a way to manage a change to an order from pickup to ship

My guess is I will lose the order and maybe get a poor review.

If a buyer contacted me and said "I accidentally bought the wrong item. I meant to buy the XXX but I accidentally bought the YYY"   I would not expect eBay to provide a pleasant workaround for this. I would expect the buyer to cancel the order and repurchase the correct item.

The situation you describe is really no different than the one I describe.

If you are going to lose a sale and get a bad review over a routine cancel-and-repurchase deal, then I would argue your issue is with your buyer and not with eBay. He either (a) does not really want the item, or (b) you ticked him off by foolishly choosing to tell him he needs to take it up with eBay rather than dealing with it yourself.

[dhbookds]

Steve..........I deal with reality......I have done what I told you to do several times, as have others,........worked fine.....  sorry it didn't work for you.......

For obvious reasons, Ebay employees cannot (and should not be able to) change the terms of a sale........which is what you are expecting them to do.....

[stev.tucke]

Magically change from pickup to shipping? There is nothing magic about it. This type of issue is foreseeable, it happens, and there are customer-friendly solutions. What should, and does happen, is the customer tells me, I tell Ebay, Ebay looks at the message interactions between the customer and myself which they did anyway, they see the customer wants to ship. They see the customer is in Idaho and I am in Georgia, this was a error, they change from pickup to ship, send notification for approval if needed, charge customers method of payment, customer-focused solution win-win. Your solution which was Ebays as well is unacceptable. I told Ebay that at the time and was told it would be included in a report. I communicated the solution to my customer. Guess what my customer did? THEY CANCELED THE ORDER......NO REPURCHASE.  You and Ebay are wrong. Not because I say it. THE CUSTOMERSAID IT. Ebay takes 36% of my sales price. I expect help, acceptable help, when I need it. The Ebay Community is not help. It is a site Ebay has set up to teach newcomers how to NOT ask Ebay for anything, solve your problems on your own, and accept the gouging of your sales price with the most expensive deceitful fee scheme in the business. My hope is you truly take a look at Ebay, unless they are paying or compensating you that well, and see the truth and simply be honest and communicate it is unacceptable. I need Ebay for sales and I need Chairish for sales. Not the same type of sales. Chairish takes 22% of the sales price and a real human being responds to my messages within 24 hours. The Ebay Community has one purpose, welcome, here's the Kool-aid, have a sip.

[outdoor_sports_specialists]

I completely agree with the OP's point - regardless of each person's opinion on whether specific questions meet the bar for help or not.

We're selling on a multi-billion dollar platform and the organization takes a significant "commission". One of the things they should provide to earn that commission is phone support. Period. End of story. There are certain conversations that are MUCH more efficiently held on the phone - well, assuming there is a reasonably intelligent person on the other end.

Especially for new sellers, a few questions answered by a knowledgable human being goes a long way to bring that seller up to speed quickly. No need to relegate everything to a bot, or some idiot from half way around the world with a script in front of them.

[kensgiftshop]

Not sure where you come up with 36% in fee's?

Unless you're counting shipping as a fee, which it isn't.

Other sites sell their own stuff, and they can do whatever they want with orders.

We might not like the way Ebay does some things, but it's their site and they make the rules and we either deal with them or move on.

[stev.tucke]

You don't get it! I wish you did. That mentality is not acceptable to a lot of customers. Last month, when I asked a customer to open a ticket so I could navigate by AI, the customer said that he had communicated the problem, why should he have to open a ticket, why can't I do that? That customer is right. Ebay, and you, mentality wants to push things Ebay should handle solely onto the buyer and seller. All Ebay wants to do is collect the 36% on average they take of my sales price. That is not what a customer-focused company does. In my situation a few days ago, I took Ebays, and your, solution to them. Guess what they did? THE CANCELED THE ORDER....NO REPURCHASE! Ebay should have changed the order to ship, the proof was in the messages between the customer and myself which they looked at anyway, billed the customer payment method, sent for approval if needed, problem solved in a customer-focused manner. Not Ebay! They do not want to support sellers so they don't. They create an Ebay Community and man it with people who have drank the Kool-aid.  My hope is you can truly look at what Ebay does to sellers and buyers and simply tell them this is not acceptable. I need Ebay but I should be able to say this is wrong. I disagree. A lot of small sellers are unhappy on Ebay because Ebay deceitfully gouges their sales prices and offers no support when they need it. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

You are in a similar situation to a retailer in a mall or a sharecropper.

You run your business, pay the landlord. and deal with any issues you may have in your business, all while following the rules the landlord has set.

Your problem is you are not treating your business as your business. Ebay, Amazon or Walmart's marketplaces do not help you deal with your customers, they set limits on how you can deal with your customers.

Many sellers regularly complain about the size of the fees they pay Ebay, and then they ask for additional services which can only increase fees.

Many of us know how to deal with our customers, take the time to deal with their customers, and never waste time contacting Ebay about things the do not and should not be involved in. We do not want to pay more to provide a nanny for sellers who probably should not be selling at all, except in person.

Many people think that the little sellers who sell a few items are responsible for Ebay's profits. The are not. Many are unprofitable for Ebay, and a small percentage of the sellers (which do not include you or me) represent a huge percentage of the sales and profits. The Pareto Principle applies to online sales.

For your specific problem. When a seller lists for Local Pickup it is because they do not want to ship the item. When a buyer ignores that, the order should be cancelled quickly, wasting as little time as possible. I see the reverse situation, I will sometimes get a request from a buyer to pickup and I firmly advise them they cannot pick anything up - it is always a waste of time. If it is not easy to ship, it is not one of my listings.

[stev.tucke]

Rant! Call it as it is! Yes, rant is correct. I took the proper course of action from Ebay to the customer. THEY CANCELED THE ORDER....NO REPURCHASE. I had a sale. Billion dollar companies make order changes everyday like this. It is not a big deal. To Ebay it is because the want their exorbitant fees, 36% on average of my sales price, and provide no support. What they spew out as solutions and proper courses of action are wrong, wrong, wrong. Then, they create and man a "community" with people to enforce and propagate the worst solutions and courses of action. What I see is anti-customer, anti-seller, anti-good business. I will not rant cause you are full of Ebay Kool-aid but the ultimate authority, not Ebay, is the customer. In both situations, my customers have said you and Ebay are wrong. I am trying to tell Ebay and you and you come back with rant. Well, go explain your solution to my customer and get them to repurchase. The funny thing about this community. I get a group of people like you that come out and attack me when I actually have a legitimate issue with Ebay. You see no part of my story. Do you know what that tells me? I am right and you know it. Ebay must pay you well. It won't be long before you and only Ebay Kool-aiders are in the community because anyone that does not fit the Kool-aid philosophy we must ATTACK! It isn't that sad! Same thing is happening all across America.

[stev.tucke]

And when I took that solution to the customer, they canceled the order....NO REPURCHASE. Ebay can change the order. It happens all the time in all the online systems. The line you fed me was from Ebay, not you. Ebay can change from pickup to ship, they can verify the change via messaging, they can bill the customer method of payment for shipping and message for approval, and I would still have that much needed sale. Ebay and this community teach you can't do that. Ebay can, they don't want to. They want to push all problems onto the seller and buyer. Why am I paying them 36% on average of my sales price? I expect support and acceptable solutions. Ebay has proven they are not seller or customer friendly or focused. All they want is money, fees. Well, my customer spoke loudly. That is the 2nd time in a month I have taken Ebays AI solution to the customer and they said no. 

Ebay gave me a 2nd option on the shipping. Ebay said I could work out shipping and payment of said shipping with the customer. I messaged the customer. THEN, I got a message from Ebay that said they monitor all messages and that I am trying to do business outside of the Ebay system and that is NOT ALLOWED. I am sorry but that is messed up. Ebay gives me a solution then warns and chastised me for trying to follow it. Mmmmm, maybe it is better Ebay offers no support!

[itsjustasprain]

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@stev.tucke wrote:

And when I took that solution to the customer, they canceled the order....NO REPURCHASE. Ebay can change the order. It happens all the time in all the online systems. The line you fed me was from Ebay, not you. Ebay can change from pickup to ship, they can verify the change via messaging, they can bill the customer method of payment for shipping and message for approval, and I would still have that much needed sale.

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I have to say that you have spent waaaay more time typing here than you would have needed to just get this resolved and satisfy the buyer.

The actions you describe Ebay as being responsible for are what you can do for the buyer yourself. Instead of making it sound like brain surgery you can simply describe what you are going to do for them and then do it. Yes - they will need to repurchase - but if you just give them a simple quick explanation and tell them that you will cancel and have a revised listing ready for them in 5 minutes then they will be willing to wait that long. You can even phone them to explain that - or tell them that you will take those steps as soon as you get their confirmation in reply.

I have had to do changes or revisions in my selling account like this every now and then and all went fine. If the buyer knows that you are on the other end of the wire and you are working on it right now then they will work with you.

[stev.tucke]

The item was paid for. Ebay did say that another option would be to work out shipping with the customer. They threw out PayPal as well. I hate to lay out my limitations but I have no idea how to go about that. What do I do take the package to the post office, find out the cost, then come home and wait for payment to take it back to ship? What if the customer does not have PayPal or really does not know how to use it? No Venmo or whatever either? You and everyone on here seems to think everyone knows how to do these things. If you have never run across it then you don't. I am pretty sure the lady who was my customer was not PayPal familiar. Ebay is a billion dollar company that knows customers will change orders. That is why I am getting all these cancel, refund, repurchase instructions. Do you know what my customer did when I took these proper action solutions to them? They canceled, refunded, but NO REORDER! No PayPay shipping. Why? Because you don't ask customers to do those things. As a business, you plan for them and you put procedures in place to correct SO AS NOT TO INCONVENIENCE THE CUSTOMER. No one here or at Ebay seems to get that. Ebay has no customer-focus except that of fees. Assuming people can or know how to use PayPal or Venmo is wrong. A lot of Ebay buyers don't and most who do probably don't want to be bothered by it. It is poor customer service 101. It is unacceptable to me. It should be unacceptable to you and every seller everywhere.

[fern*wood]

I have my complaints with some things with ebay, but my frustration level isn't as high when I learn from problems and make sure I don't do the same thing again. This approach is so much easier than depending on someone else to fix something.   If you are listing an item that you are willing to ship, never list as pick up only, or at least enter both options.  Sorry you lost that sale, but relist, and who knows they might change their minds.

I'm curious, you state Chairish (never heard of it BTW) only charges 22% of the selling price.  Do they not charge any fees on the total payment?

[bonjourami]

You 'lost' that order thru your own negligence. Idk of any online company that allows you to change the shipping method after a sale, and Ive sold at several. I will agree tho, that Ebay is not good at holding hands with sellers who are unable, or unwilling to handle their own problems.

[luckythewinner]

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@stev.tucke wrote:

What should, and does happen, is the customer tells me, I tell Ebay, Ebay looks at the message interactions between the customer and myself which they did anyway, they see the customer wants to ship. They see the customer is in Idaho and I am in Georgia, this was a error, they change from pickup to ship, send notification for approval if needed, charge customers method of payment, customer-focused solution win-win.

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There is no way eBay is going to devote the time, resources and take the legal responsibility for interpreting requests in eBay messages and charging the buyer's payment method as a result.

I have been reading this board almost daily for a decade now and I do not ever recall reading a request for the system you describe. I do not think this is nearly as commonplace as you seem to be suggesting it is.

[stev.tucke]

CS can't do anything because Ebay is non-supportive of seller needs and Ebay is not customer friendly or focused. It is pathetic. A billion dollar company can fix a problem like this in 5-10 minutes. Happens all the time in customer focused decent companies. There is a saying: we teach people how we want to be treated." Ebay is screaming leave me alone. No seller support, no problems, deal with them yourselves. Ebay takes 36% on average of my sales prices. Flat out they gorge me. I have an expectation that they adequately and acceptably support me. Asking customers to create tickets or pay for shipping via PayPal or repurchase. That is insane! Anti-customer, anti-seller. CS can change it, Ebay is drawing the line. So I took your solution which was Ebays as well to the customer. Guess what? They chose to cancel, refund, but.....NO REORDER. Why? You don't go back to customers and do things like that. The customer told me they cannot pick up and to ship. I go back and say I need you to do this and this and this. Think about that. STOP! Think! That is about stupid! You would not appreciate that kind of customer service from a billion dollar company. The option to pay for shipping via PayPal was offered up by Ebay. Does everyone who buys on Ebay have a PayPal or Venmo and even know how to use it? No, a vast number of people do not. You and all the others who have kindly input suggestions assume things that are not correct. The primary is that Ebay can't do things. Wrong. If this Ebay Community were really for making things better for sellers and buyers, the last thing that would be going on is attacking comments to me and trying to tell me the same solutions Ebay gave me and that is proper action. Bulloney, it is not proper, it is not acceptable, and it is not right. It proves this is not a community to improve or make better but to have Ebay protocols, ridiculously unsupported. I need Ebay but as a buyer and a seller, it is imperative for me to look at the truth. That is what I am doing. I need Ebay support. I pay for it and want to know where it is. It is definitely not here.