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Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

So , many sellers are concerned about bots gone wild , flagging ebay messages for offsite transactions...some sellers are getting suspended , restricted . 

tyler@ebay @Anonymous alan@ebay points of clarification...

 

If a buyer asks a question on an item..for example-"will you take 35 ?" or "is x still available" (closed listing) or "I cant make my paypal work" or "I need help with my x , call me 123 4567" ...AND that listing ends due to 1. It being sold somewhere else, ie Bonanza, Shopify etc OR 2. The item gets ended by seller due to it being listed incorrectly , breaks , misplaced etc..NOT a natural ending /time runs out...

Will the seller get a violation , ie listing must've sold off ebay due to the question and ending of the listing ?  

Any more precautions , suggestions , points of clarification appreciated, thanks! (yes I have read what was previously stated)

Message 1 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages


@becksrelics wrote:

So , many sellers are concerned about bots gone wild , flagging ebay messages for offsite transactions...some sellers are getting suspended , restricted . 

tyler@ebay @Anonymous alan@ebay points of clarification...

 

If a buyer asks a question on an item..for example-"will you take 35 ?" or "is x still available" (closed listing) or "I cant make my paypal work" or "I need help with my x , call me 123 4567" ...AND that listing ends due to 1. It being sold somewhere else, ie Bonanza, Shopify etc OR 2. The item gets ended by seller due to it being listed incorrectly , breaks , misplaced etc..NOT a natural ending /time runs out...

Will the seller get a violation , ie listing must've sold off ebay due to the question and ending of the listing ?  

Any more precautions , suggestions , points of clarification appreciated, thanks! (yes I have read what was previously stated)


I always thought it you listed on ebay you were not supposed to list it simultaneously on another venue.  Yes I know people do, but that is a different story.

 

Until the person purchases the item, imo all conversation should be done through ebay email to avoid the appearance that the transaction is being taken off line.  So no need to exchange phone numbers or email addresses.  In fact giving out your email address prematurely is a way for scammers to send you a bogus paypal email saying it has been paid.

 

If you end a listing early within your allotted time, you will be OK if you do not make a habit of it.  But if after someone purchases it and then you discover a problem, then that is a big defect.  A couple of those is another way to get suspended.  Merchandise should be checked first to make sure they are fit for sale and then if you have good to cancelled listings, periodically to make sure it is still in sellable condition,  

 

Asking if you will take less money should only be done through best offer.  If no best offer, I would not even respond to the request.

 

But if ebay is getting stricter it is become some sellers abused it so we are all paying for it.

Message 2 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

My response is always "Make a formal offer, please", or "Yes/No, it is still available", or I'm sorry, I suggest you call PayPal", or just plain "I'm sorry, all messages need to go through eBay. It's for your protection as well as ours".

Create the paper trail for these type of situations, and then if the eBay bot system (which is pretty terrible) does go spastic, you have something to refer CustServ to when a fuss is raised.

~Melody R
Message 3 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

Well  this  policy is retroactive  from my understanding.  Question is  how  far are they going  back!  If  a buyer  as me about something that has  ended  I am going to relist it for them.  
eBay  the  new amazon junior    shakes  head

Time is the most precious gift, Thank you for yours,
aswe
Message 4 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages


@aswegrow2 wrote:

Well  this  policy is retroactive  from my understanding.  Question is  how  far are they going  back!  If  a buyer  as me about something that has  ended  I am going to relist it for them.  
eBay  the  new amazon junior    shakes  head


Oh. This  again, huh? 

Chaos is NOT an "industry standard".
Message 5 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

Anonymous
Not applicable

@becksrelics wrote:

So , many sellers are concerned about bots gone wild , flagging ebay messages for offsite transactions...some sellers are getting suspended , restricted . 

tyler@ebay @Anonymous alan@ebay points of clarification...

 

If a buyer asks a question on an item..for example-"will you take 35 ?" or "is x still available" (closed listing) or "I cant make my paypal work" or "I need help with my x , call me 123 4567" ...AND that listing ends due to 1. It being sold somewhere else, ie Bonanza, Shopify etc OR 2. The item gets ended by seller due to it being listed incorrectly , breaks , misplaced etc..NOT a natural ending /time runs out...

Will the seller get a violation , ie listing must've sold off ebay due to the question and ending of the listing ?  

Any more precautions , suggestions , points of clarification appreciated, thanks! (yes I have read what was previously stated)


When any action is taken on an account, we review the communication between both parties and the surrounding details of the listing to see if there is reason to believe the transaction was taken off eBay. I recommend that sellers make it clear to buyers that they will only sell through the eBay site so we can see this as a part of any needed investigation. While I cannot go into some of the specifics you have listed as going into too much detail on our process can lead to exploitation, I can confirm that we understand there are times where a buyer requests an off site sale and by coincidence, the item is damaged or sold on another venue afterwards. While these instances should be few and far between, customer service can review any specific situations you have had where you feel action was taken incorrectly.

Message 6 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

I am hopping mad right now.

 

I have NEVER made an off-eBay transaction and I have turned down many offers from other sellers and buyers to do off-eBay transactions.

 

But now *I* have a warning from eBay because my buyer was trying to send me a copy of her logo, to put on a customized product. It is in vector format and eBay's image uploader doesn't support EPS/PDF files (probably not tiff files either) so we worked out a way for her to send it to my regular email as an attachment. She had already paid for the product and I responded to her and showed her the draft of the final product on eBay. Everything was done on eBay. **NOTHING** has been violated.

 

 

If eBay wants to make it difficult for sellers to provide personalized service to buyers who ask us to add their logos to customized products and can't be bothered provide a way for buyers to upload vector-format files, it's eBay's mistake, eBay's inadequacy, and eBay's lack of business sense and foresight. For them to blame it on me and WARN me for violating their terms is beyond ridiculous.

 

 

If I get another warning when I have done nothing wrong, I will move my products elsewhere.

 

 

Message 7 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

@gopetersen

 

The ghost of gopete? My goodness! Hi there 🙂 

Sorry about this situation, I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who posted! 

Message 8 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages


@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

@gopetersen

 

The ghost of gopete? My goodness! Hi there 🙂 

Sorry about this situation, I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who posted! 


Ditto!  Great surprise here as well!  

 

You have been missed, gopete.

Message 9 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

I got a message warning that if it happens again my account might be restricted. 

 

Buyer gave me his phone number and asked me to call him. I replied 'I can only talk through here (on eBay)'..which is ME following the rules. 3 days later I got a warning noticed...I called and was told the warning is non-removebale. If I get a 2nd I am restricted and they said I can remove that if I'm not at fault...so what, I have to have a warning strike and then call once my account is restricted? Crazy!

Message 10 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages


@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

@gopetersen

 

The ghost of gopete? My goodness! Hi there 🙂 

Sorry about this situation, I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who posted! 


Me too! I thought this was another necrothread(well it is, but not her comment).

 

Hi ya, gopete!!!

 

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"
Message 11 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

[It's a pleasure to see you all and thank you for the kind words.]

 

It's a shock to get a stern warning (it was not the one-line warning that sometimes appears in the message system when you try to send, but a separate ominous and nasty message from eBay two days later).

 

Completely unjustified and a consequence of them not keeping up with the times and providing the tools we need to do business.

 

If they had any brains at all, they would have noticed that there are tens of thousands of sellers selling personalized products and would have realized that they need to 1) add an option in checkout that specifically asks the buyer what they want written on their item (most buyers forget to leave a note if not prompted), and 2) allow the buyer to upload vector-format logo so we don't have to trade email addresses to give buyers what they want.

 

A proactive company would have done it years ago. Instead they waste programming dollars changing the color of the buttons and text to a light gray so we can no longer see them and they add lines between combined purchases in the new Purchase History so they look like separate purchases.

 

They should be pointing the finger at themselves, not at those of us who are bending over backwards to be good sellers.

 

 

Message 12 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages


@gopetersen wrote:

[It's a pleasure to see you all and thank you for the kind words.]

 

It's a shock to get a stern warning (it was not the one-line warning that sometimes appears in the message system when you try to send, but a separate ominous and nasty message from eBay two days later).

 

Completely unjustified and a consequence of them not keeping up with the times and providing the tools we need to do business.

 

If they had any brains at all, they would have noticed that there are tens of thousands of sellers selling personalized products and would have realized that they need to 1) add an option in checkout that specifically asks the buyer what they want written on their item (most buyers forget to leave a note if not prompted), and 2) allow the buyer to upload vector-format logo so we don't have to trade email addresses to give buyers what they want.

 

A proactive company would have done it years ago. Instead they waste programming dollars changing the color of the buttons and text to a light gray so we can no longer see them and they add lines between combined purchases in the new Purchase History so they look like separate purchases.

 

They should be pointing the finger at themselves, not at those of us who are bending over backwards to be good sellers.

 

 


Key words are in red ...........

 

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"
Message 13 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

"When any action is taken on an account, we review the communication between both parties and the surrounding details of the listing to see if there is reason to believe the transaction was taken off eBay."

 

When you say "We review", who exactly is we? Are these CSR's offshore who can actually comprehend the conversation in the messages? Is some kid in a hut sitting there doing 600 cases an hour with minimum command of english? I get the impression that if anyone reads these messages at all they have no idea what is being said. I can only envision two feasible explanations: Someone actually reviews the messages, but has no idea what they are reading, OR there is little to no human review at all.

Message 14 of 77
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Re: Off ebay transactions-bots-ebay messages

We know, we know, we know, you're preaching to the choir...we're here daily remember, like you used to be. You should come back and jump in, the water's fine 😛 

Message 15 of 77
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