eBay

blingfling123 · ‎05-17-2022

There have been some posts on the new tracking window so the last couple of days I have been watching mine. I am not sure if this is as a result of how this is coded or if I am not understanding how this is supposed to work.

I was under the impression this new functionality was to give a quick current status to everyone and then if the seller or buyer wanted to, they could click a link to see the detailed information.

I sell something, the USPS picks up the item and off it goes to its new home.

On the old tracking window, all of the available USPS tracking scans were available. The new tracking window is supposed to show a quick status at the top and then the option to go further into details. The issue is the new status is not actually showing the current status, at least from my view.

Here is an item that sold over the weekend.

Here is the quick view on eBay. It shows the item was accepted but the In Transit is not filled in. If a buyer looks at this, they can (and are) confused because although their package was accepted it does not look like it is moving.

If they click the show tracking details, this is what they see, the item was picked up and it has processed through the Distribution center. It is "In Transit"

This is the tracking status of the same package on USPS. Note that the USPS status shows it has left the distribution center and it is obviously in transit.

Here is the detailed tracking on the USPS site (that does not match the scan status in the detailed tracking on eBay for some reason).

When an item has any USPS status/scan update after the initial acceptance scan like as shown above, the In Transit should be filled in on the quick view at the top of the new tracking screen. The package has moved, it is in transit.

It can take days for the "In Transit" to update, sometimes it never hits that status and goes straight from accepted to out for delivery or from accepted to delivered on the top view which gives the impression to the buyer that their package is not moving.

I understand that this can happen if there are no intermediate scans, but I do not understand why it is not showing In Transit when there are intermediate scans. Now the buyer or seller has to do the extra step click another link to see the real status, which they did not have to in the past. It was all visible on the tracking page that was changed.

I cannot remember if the old version was also not showing the incorrect in transit status but now that this is the only view to a buyer without them taking an extra step, it should populate correctly.

Am I missing something on how this is supposed to work?

a_c_green · ‎05-18-2022

@blingfling123 wrote:
velvet@ebay Thanks very much. I know it seems like a little thing but it is a BIG thing when you have a cranky customer who thinks you did not ship your item or wants to know why it is not showing in transit.

velvet@ebay: Ayup. I think the root problem leading to buyer confusion is that the "current" indication, highlighting the next line segment and the next open circle in blue, is so faint that it's barely noticeable. The user homes in on the most-recently-checked circle (the previous stage, now complete) and thinks that that's the current status, when it isn't.

As @blingfling123 said previously, "But the Out for delivery is not checked even though that is the status above the dots and the scan." It would only get checked after the fact, when the next step is current. While it is functioning "as intended," with a blue highlight and empty blue circle, it's not at all helpful because it's easy to misread (if not miss altogether).

I think that highlighting the current stage in some other color (I'm suggesting green for completed segments, and blue for current stage only), plus (more importantly) filling in the current circle with some symbol to denote its current status (I'm suggesting a Right Arrow) would go a long way toward promoting clarity in where the package is.

babclassics · ‎05-18-2022

Tagging on - agree with all stated suggestions but wanted to add. Why do we not simply show the most recent scan at the bottom of the screen where it says "Hide Tracking Details" in blue? If it is so important to some people to hide the full tracking (I would rather see it or at least have an option to not have to click), then at least show the most recent scan. The attempts to summarize the status are always going to have exceptions where it does not reflect the true status.

Let's see at least one scan that is actually from the carrier, in addition to the surmised status. Put it at the bottom of the screen that can be expanded if desired. You will never get the summary to be 100% accurate, there are just too many exceptions. Trust me on this!