**IMPORTANT** Be Aware of Webinterpret Promo via eBay Message - September 2018 **IMPORTANT**

[callahanmagic]

Thanks to 2 threads started early May, 2018 regarding this 3rd Party App:  

1) https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Beware-of-Webinterpret-s-scam-that-ebay-is-allowing/m-p/284516...

by bigdeals.etc may 4th, 2018

2) https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Webinterpret-almost-Scam/m-p/28934269#M1280566

by studiorginal on May 6, 2018

Many of us were able to have a headsup on the ?workings? of this application. 

I thought with the 2 threads + the amount of discussions, including the fact the Blues were called to weigh in on this 3rd party application - that the 'fiasco' would be over. 

However, much to my surprise - the following "Promo" was found in our eBay inbox. (Photos attached for reference).

I quickly went to the Site Preference and true enough: Under Third Party Authorizations:

the Webinterprets tokens were there.  I've since REVOKED those tokens.

This morning, I've rechecked the site preference - No Webinterprets tokens were found. 

To those who have yet to encounter this Webinterpret - Please catch up on those 2 threads to self-educate

yourself about this 3rd party app.

-

Lucas

*still rollin' with the punches*

Webinterpret Promo via eBay MessageWebinterpret Promo via eBay message

[bassileid5]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@bassileid5, it appears you have not read the reports on webinterpret from the last few days. One poster even reported that their account has been suspended because webinterpret listings were flagged as duplicates. This is a real problem and your response does not address any of it.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Beware-of-Webinterpret-s-scam-that-ebay-is-allowing/m-p/28945948#M1282514

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/DO-NOT-click-on-Webinterpret-banner-from-Ebay/m-p/28951165#M1283221

---

Dear bigger.fish.to.fry, 

Many thanks for your feedback. 

We've contacted both of those sellers to get a better understanding of their experience and try to resolve any issues they had. We hope to connect with them to turn their experience into a positive one.

On the point of the link, we have tested the link, and the "Learn More" button leads to a landing page with more information.

Thanks again for raising the questions,
Bassil

[bassileid5]

---

@ittybitnot wrote:

 customers can sign up for the promotion by clicking on the “Sign up” button.

The "customers" don't need to find or click on the Sign up button..  By clicking on "learn more" they get signed up automatically whether they want it or not.   Did you not get the memo last time this nonsense was rolled out?  

---

Dear ittybitnot, 

Thanks for providing your input. 

We tested the link and it did lead to our eBay landing page providing more information and details on the promotion. We would love to learn more about your experience if the "Learn More" link signed you up directly. Happy to connect through a call on this. Want to ensure you have a positive experience. 

Thanks again, 

Bassil 

[imapaqrat]

bassileid5

The link takes you to a landing page AND blind auto-enrolls you without your knowledge.  The blind auto-enroll is the problem.

I had this FIASCO happen to my account back in May and had to personally spend dozens of hours to clean up my account.   I spent at least 8 hour on the phone with eBay customer support in the 1st two days and finally got ahold of somebody that wasn't just parrotting from some knowledge base.  She went on to my account, click the link of the banner and CONFIRMED that not only was she taken to the landing page, she was blind auto-enrolled.

After all the turmoil that was created last time, plus eBay's "heartfelt" apology regarding the "recent technical error"; I am dumbfounded that eBay allowed the exact same thing to happend again!

Personally, I didn't click the link on the Seller Hub banner this time.  Fool me once Shame On You . . . Fool me Twice . . . eBay should be held legally responsible!

Somebody at eBay needs to be FIRED for letting this happen again.  Also, eBay should be allowed to sweep this under the carpet like last time.

Bruce "ImaPaqRat" Fisher

[bassileid5]

---

@imapaqrat wrote:

bassileid5

The link takes you to a landing page AND blind auto-enrolls you without your knowledge.  The blind auto-enroll is the problem.

I had this FIASCO happen to my account back in May and had to personally spend dozens of hours to clean up my account.   I spent at least 8 hour on the phone with eBay customer support in the 1st two days and finally got ahold of somebody that wasn't just parrotting from some knowledge base.  She went on to my account, click the link of the banner and CONFIRMED that not only was she taken to the landing page, she was blind auto-enrolled.

After all the turmoil that was created last time, plus eBay's "heartfelt" apology regarding the "recent technical error"; I am dumbfounded that eBay allowed the exact same thing to happend again!

Personally, I didn't click the link on the Seller Hub banner this time.  Fool me once Shame On You . . . Fool me Twice . . . eBay should be held legally responsible!

Somebody at eBay needs to be FIRED for letting this happen again.  Also, eBay should be allowed to sweep this under the carpet like last time.

Bruce "ImaPaqRat" Fisher

---

Hi imapaqrat, 

Many thanks for your feedback. 

Totally understand your frustration from the earlier promo in May. It was executed with the wrong link which auto-opted in sellers and we sincerely apologies for that mistake. We have executed this promotion with a more informed seller flow that leads a seller to landing page for them to learn more before signing up. We hope this experience will be a positive one for sellers informing them of the promotion details. 

Happy to connect on a call to discuss things further. Your input is greatly valued. 

Thanks again, 

Bassil

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

---

@imapaqrat wrote:

bassileid5

The link takes you to a landing page AND blind auto-enrolls you without your knowledge.  The blind auto-enroll is the problem.

I had this FIASCO happen to my account back in May and had to personally spend dozens of hours to clean up my account.   I spent at least 8 hour on the phone with eBay customer support in the 1st two days and finally got ahold of somebody that wasn't just parrotting from some knowledge base.  She went on to my account, click the link of the banner and CONFIRMED that not only was she taken to the landing page, she was blind auto-enrolled.

After all the turmoil that was created last time, plus eBay's "heartfelt" apology regarding the "recent technical error"; I am dumbfounded that eBay allowed the exact same thing to happend again!

Personally, I didn't click the link on the Seller Hub banner this time.  Fool me once Shame On You . . . Fool me Twice . . . eBay should be held legally responsible!

Somebody at eBay needs to be FIRED for letting this happen again.  Also, eBay should be allowed to sweep this under the carpet like last time.

Bruce "ImaPaqRat" Fisher

---

Well they have more unsuspecting guineau pigs to test it out on now so many more sellers have been rolled into the Hub.

[newview]

---

@bassileid5 wrote:

---

@imapaqrat wrote:

bassileid5

The link takes you to a landing page AND blind auto-enrolls you without your knowledge.  The blind auto-enroll is the problem.

I had this FIASCO happen to my account back in May and had to personally spend dozens of hours to clean up my account.   I spent at least 8 hour on the phone with eBay customer support in the 1st two days and finally got ahold of somebody that wasn't just parrotting from some knowledge base.  She went on to my account, click the link of the banner and CONFIRMED that not only was she taken to the landing page, she was blind auto-enrolled.

After all the turmoil that was created last time, plus eBay's "heartfelt" apology regarding the "recent technical error"; I am dumbfounded that eBay allowed the exact same thing to happend again!

Personally, I didn't click the link on the Seller Hub banner this time.  Fool me once Shame On You . . . Fool me Twice . . . eBay should be held legally responsible!

Somebody at eBay needs to be FIRED for letting this happen again.  Also, eBay should be allowed to sweep this under the carpet like last time.

Bruce "ImaPaqRat" Fisher

---

Hi imapaqrat, 

Many thanks for your feedback. 

Totally understand your frustration from the earlier promo in May. It was executed with the wrong link which auto-opted in sellers and we sincerely apologies for that mistake. We have executed this promotion with a more informed seller flow that leads a seller to landing page for them to learn more before signing up. We hope this experience will be a positive one for sellers informing them of the promotion details. 

Happy to connect on a call to discuss things further. Your input is greatly valued. 

Thanks again, 

Bassil

---

Absolutely HORRIBLE Reviews of Webinterpret on the WebRetailer website ... and many others.

THIS is the kind of promotion eBay wants to foist upon it's sellers?

My opinion of eBay continues it's downward trend.

[Anonymous]

@bassileid5, Ads are one thing, but an integrated partnership with a company that has such bad practices is another. It appears as though eBay didn't vet the company, or maybe they just didn't care about their practices. I'm sad to say this has lowered my opinion of eBay.

We are in the midst of the most technical issues many of us have ever seen on this platform, we're dealing with a clunky transition to product-based listing, we're going into the holiday season, and Webinterpret is not a welcome addition to that already heavy pile.

Thanks for reaching out to the sellers whose accounts were suspended from this. I hope you will reach out to all posters on this board, facebook and instagram that have had bad experiences as a result of this parternership with Webinterpret and fix everything that went wrong. Please take into consideration what happened here and be more selective about who eBay partners with in the future.

To bigdeals.etc and others who posted about this in May: thank you. If not for your posts I would have found myself in the same boat with Webinterpret.

[a_c_green]

---

@newview wrote: 
Absolutely HORRIBLE Reviews of Webinterpret on the WebRetailer website ... and many others.

THIS is the kind of promotion eBay wants to foist upon it's sellers?

My opinion of eBay continues it's downward trend.

---

It's definitely an impressive disaster of a company, having 20 devastating reviews there, going back several years. (It's notable that they're interspersed with 6 oddly glowing reviews, four of which were posted a day or two apart in a continuous burst in September of 2014.) The first complaint of duplicate listings occurred back in 2015.

Why would eBay choose to associate with such a company in the first place, let alone return to it for a second encounter so soon after apologizing for the mess it caused the first time? 

[bassileid5]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@bassileid5, Ads are one thing, but an integrated partnership with a company that has such bad practices is another. It appears as though eBay didn't vet the company, or maybe they just didn't care about their practices. I'm sad to say this has lowered my opinion of eBay.

We are in the midst of the most technical issues many of us have ever seen on this platform, we're dealing with a clunky transition to product-based listing, we're going into the holiday season, and Webinterpret is not a welcome addition to that already heavy pile.

Thanks for reaching out to the sellers whose accounts were suspended from this. I hope you will reach out to all posters on this board, facebook and instagram that have had bad experiences as a result of this parternership with Webinterpret and fix everything that went wrong. Please take into consideration what happened here and be more selective about who eBay partners with in the future.

To bigdeals.etc and others who posted about this in May: thank you. If not for your posts I would have found myself in the same boat with Webinterpret.

---

Hi bigger.fish.to.fry, 

Many thanks for your honest post. Certainly sad to hear you feel eBay has let you down. 

Completely understand that sellers could feel overwhelmed at the current moment with the various eBay initatives being proposed. Everything we do, including this promotion, is an attempt to provide value to sellers and apologize for any negative experience that come about.  We are hopeful we can connect with sellers which have had negative experiences and try to remedy them into a positive one. 

Will continue to work through the problems and provide guidance. Thanks for your feedback here. It's important you voice concerns and provide input. 

Bassil

[gracieallen01]

---

@bassileid5 wrote:

---

Hi imapaqrat, 

Many thanks for your feedback. 

Totally understand your frustration from the earlier promo in May. It was executed with the wrong link which auto-opted in sellers and we sincerely apologies for that mistake. We have executed this promotion with a more informed seller flow that leads a seller to landing page for them to learn more before signing up. We hope this experience will be a positive one for sellers informing them of the promotion details. 

Happy to connect on a call to discuss things further. Your input is greatly valued. 

Thanks again, 

Bassil

---

I'm just a little curious on this point.  How could it have been excuted with a 'wrong link'? 

Somebody had to produce that link, and somebody had to place that link where it would be activated - not to mention the myriad of 'minor details' associated with using it.  If that was a 'wrong link',  why did it exist, let alone, how did it get used - especially without the suspected results being considered?

[imapaqrat]

IMHO eBay was being disingenuous when the said it was s technical error / wrong link. If that is true then they are letting grade school kids run there development department. There is NO WAY an error like that gets into production unless the team is run by complete idiots.

I spent over 20 years doing end user programming, include beta testing and production rollout. There is NO WAY something like that is overlooked. It was a strategy and nothing eBay says will convince me otherwise. Well maybe one thing . . . if eBay announced, "eBay has fired Mr./Ms. Pat Imanidiot for their gross incompetence regarding the WebInterPret Banner Blunder." That would convince me.

[newview]

---

@imapaqrat wrote:

IMHO eBay was being disingenuous when the said it was s technical error / wrong link. If that is true then they are letting grade school kids run there development department. There is NO WAY an error like that gets into production unless the team is run by complete idiots.

---

Totally agree ... it was either purposeful or an "error" of such magnitude that eBay is NOT to be trusted with your security. This looms large on the eve of their Adyen rollout.

"The promotion effectively circumvented the token safeguards put in place to give sellers the opportunity to confirm if they want a third-party to have access to their account and list, end, or change listings."

eBay Promotion with Webinterpret Goes Wrong – Upsets Sellers

[gracieallen01]

---

@imapaqrat wrote:

IMHO eBay was being disingenuous when the said it was s technical error / wrong link. If that is true then they are letting grade school kids run there development department. There is NO WAY an error like that gets into production unless the team is run by complete idiots.

I spent over 20 years doing end user programming, include beta testing and production rollout. There is NO WAY something like that is overlooked. It was a strategy and nothing eBay says will convince me otherwise. Well maybe one thing . . . if eBay announced, "eBay has fired Mr./Ms. Pat Imanidiot for their gross incompetence regarding the WebInterPret Banner Blunder." That would convince me.

---

I'm guessing that you can appreciate why I'm not really expecting an answer to my question.

I'm not sure that an announcement would be of much relief - fired from one department and promoted to another has been know to be a way of life in some corp. environments.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@bassileid5 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@bassileid5, Ads are one thing, but an integrated partnership with a company that has such bad practices is another. It appears as though eBay didn't vet the company, or maybe they just didn't care about their practices. I'm sad to say this has lowered my opinion of eBay.

We are in the midst of the most technical issues many of us have ever seen on this platform, we're dealing with a clunky transition to product-based listing, we're going into the holiday season, and Webinterpret is not a welcome addition to that already heavy pile.

Thanks for reaching out to the sellers whose accounts were suspended from this. I hope you will reach out to all posters on this board, facebook and instagram that have had bad experiences as a result of this parternership with Webinterpret and fix everything that went wrong. Please take into consideration what happened here and be more selective about who eBay partners with in the future.

To bigdeals.etc and others who posted about this in May: thank you. If not for your posts I would have found myself in the same boat with Webinterpret.

---

Hi bigger.fish.to.fry, 

Many thanks for your honest post. Certainly sad to hear you feel eBay has let you down. 

Completely understand that sellers could feel overwhelmed at the current moment with the various eBay initatives being proposed. Everything we do, including this promotion, is an attempt to provide value to sellers and apologize for any negative experience that come about.  We are hopeful we can connect with sellers which have had negative experiences and try to remedy them into a positive one. 

Will continue to work through the problems and provide guidance. Thanks for your feedback here. It's important you voice concerns and provide input. 

Bassil

---

HI, @bassileid5

Alan posted a link that brought me to this page; he stated that an employee was answering questions here.  

I'd like to refer the OP of this link to you:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/My-Account/Ebay-and-our-battle-to-get-them-to-not-completely-destroy-o...

His problems go back to May of this year from the first Webinterpret emails that were sent out.  To the best of my knowledge, his issue has still not been resolved, as he reached out to me in August.  He has a store and is a large seller, and have been extremely patient throughout this situation.  

Hopefully either his situation has been resolved, or you can see that it is now.

Thank you, Basilleid5.  I'm sure he will be very grateful to get this behind him.

[bigdeals.etc]

Oh wow. See eBay... it's so sad to hear that this glitch caused so many people to suffer like the OP @castlemagicmemories just mentioned. Do you even comprehend how much damage this glitch can cause someone? You're messing with people's lives here... people who have been loyal to you for literally decades (myself included). Please tell me this isn't how you repay us, by sweeping this stuff under the rug, which can kill our businesses and potentially put our families out on the street.

I was fortunate enough to catch my glitch rather quickly, otherwise I could've ended up like that OP. I'm a large volume seller too, this is my full time job which which allows my family (including my 2 month old son) to survive. I'm also thankful that I have my concierge backing me up, despite them dropping the ball sometimes they far exceed the service I would get from the default CS. My agent was on top of this and "cleaned" my account from anything Webinterpret within a few hours... he even helped after his shift was over.

So that is all good news for me, but what about everyone else? I'm glad my post helped save some members from the aggrevation I went thru, but it breaks my heart to see that more sellers continue to fall prey to this scam. No use beating around the bush and calling it anything else, it's a scam. Ebay CLEARLY did not vet this company. My memory is rusty, but I recall my agent saying something like eBay will likely continue to give webinterpret the authority, but they'll mention the glitch and charge them a bit more because of lack of compliance or something. Basically that means penalize them with more money, but continue to let them do what they do. Sounds really sad if it's true. And I'm starting to believe that agent because webinterpret reared its head again. And sadly, if they go away now I wouldn't be surprised if we see them again during Christmas time.

Watch out everyone. We are never safe from these guys.