eBay

blueberryjellyfish · ‎03-21-2018

Hi alan@ebay. I could not make it in time for the chat but I hope you can help with my question.

When I use the Private Offer feature through eBay Messages I cannot find any place on the Reply With Offer page to check a box and have a copy sent to my e-mail and it does not occur automatically as with regular messages or best offers.

I can go to the listing on my selling page and "review all offers", but I want a copy in my e-mail, too.

One reason is that I want confirmation the offer has gone through to the buyer. Sometimes buyers tell me they didn't receive the offer.

From the chat:

For SNAD, just make sure the offer bundle is clearly detailed through your member to member messaging, and in your "message to buyer" section of the offer. That way eBay can see what was included in the order and the associated prices.

This is another important reason to have e-mails of the offer & text for our own record-keeping.

Can you request for copies of Private Offers to be sent to the seller's e-mail and for this feature to be added sooner rather than later, please?

jmb344 · ‎03-22-2018

@lovtaco0 wrote:

@blueberryjellyfishwrote:
Private Offers take place over eBay messaging, so how does eBay communicate, if at all, with payment processors like PayPal? If a buyer files a SNAD through PayPal instead of eBay will screenshots of eBay messaging and the offer screen be taken into account? Does eBay work with PayPal to keep them informed about features like Private Offers and is PayPal receptive to accepting screenshots as evidence in a case since the details of the deal are not viewable in a public listing?

@jmb344 do you have an update on this question? I'm very interested in eBay's answer. Thanks Josh.

@lovtaco0 That is a great question, unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I'll work on it and get back to you all.

tev4all · ‎03-22-2018

@jmb344wrote:
@tev4allwrote:
General reply
This whole process looks to be a work around to the Paypal /ebay agreement of 80% of all transactions to be completed through PP before completely dumping PP as payment processor.

@tev4all When buyers check out through messages in private offer they typically checkout with PayPal, same as any other transaction.

Currently you are correct, in which when a PO is paid for PP loses a possible Transaction Fee for each item added in the PO, thus reducing the percentage of transactions completed.

Doesn't refute what I am seeing as an attempt to gain a statisical advantage to the agreement.

jmb344 · ‎03-22-2018

@fern*wood wrote:

@jmb344wrote:

Maybe if I'm able to convince you of the value, you'll become an advocate too. You don't ever want to send an unsolicited offer to a buyer. You try to help educate them as the expert. "Thanks for asking about this product, just so you know I have this complimentary item for it as well if you are interested. It's an extra $30." or in the parts world, "Since you are installing this part, you'll probably need this X part as well to complete the repair. I have it for sale for $X if you buy this part." The idea is to be helpful, not pushy. Only send the offer once you all have agreed on something. Buyers get invoiced once they accept your offer, same as BO. I think you can exchange postal codes without problems. You can exchange pictures through messages, just not private offer. CS should review these as well should concerns arise. I hope this helps.

How are you proposing to inform the buyer of a possible offer or bundle without it being unsolicited? I thought that was what this was promoting---to let the buyer know what you can do or have to sell that they may not be aware of.

The make offer option is only available (at least in my experience) on the initial email from the buyer. That offer button is there regardless of the question. So once you respond to this buyer that button goes away. I can't answer the question by telling them of other things I have to sell to see if they are interested before actually making an offer, and then write again using the make offer button --- it would be gone.

@fern*wood I don't recommend SENDING an offer until you agree on a transaction, meaning you bundle a bunch of stuff in an offer prior to engaging with the buyer. Just answer their question, and let them know you have more of X product if they are interested. See where the conversation goes and address it as it comes. As for sending an offer, for now, you need to go back to the original email and send an offer that way AFTER you have agreed on whatever the transaction will be. A hassle for now, but an enhancement request!

lovtaco0 · ‎03-22-2018

Thank you. I think more sellers will use the feature to its fullest extent if they know their PayPal protections will not diminish.

bubbleman2010 · ‎03-22-2018

Up until 2000 the listings being described now were called choice listings I made a ton of money with them,but ebay got all upset about losing listing fees and made sellers stop. Only took them 18 years to come around to a professional sellers ways of thinking and reality is its just a little to late to many folks have come and gone and aren't coming back... Theres only one ace left to play,but I'm not on the payroll so I'll just keep it to myself...

moo*cow*corner · ‎03-22-2018

I used to ship big boxes of dinnerware all the time. As a general rule, the bigger the box, the more money I made. I quit that after my first expensive seller pays return shipping SNAD.

I can see how this is an attempt to capture off ebay sales...but those sellers who do that aren't going to stop. It's not only FVF they are avoiding....

Déjà Moo: The strange feeling that I've heard this bull before...

bubbleman2010 · ‎03-22-2018

I have right around 700 sets of dinnerware I'm not going to take the time to turn each set into a single listing takes way to much time and ebay change is like a breeze next year ebay goes back to not allowed again and those 100s of hours spent shrinking down listings will have to be respent going back to single listings. Last year I spent 155 man hours redoing pictures and removing text because what had been fine for 15 years wasn't fine any longer and needed changed or they'd be ended... Thanks but no thanks I've already been down this ebay road...

dtexley3 · ‎03-31-2018

@jmb344

So, I just used the Send Offer feature to a buyer for multiple items. When you click Send Offer it DOES NOT allow you to enter shipping OR tell you that it will ADD the shipping from the listing to the offer. It's just not clear. In this case the original listing had calculated shipping, so there was no way for me as the seller to know what shipping would be charged!!!! Luckily the buyer is a repeat customer and just told me to refund the shipping charge and still purchased.

For this to work effectively, we need to be able to add item numbers to the offer that eBay can use to mark the listings as SOLD. We need to be able to enter/adjust the shipping for a combined shipping cost, whether it be calculated or a fixed rate.

Without those changes this is really more of a pain then having the buyer buy the items and then refund the shipping. If you want us to use this and promote it you need to push on getting things changed to make it a time savings for the seller to use it.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew

blueberryjellyfish · ‎04-01-2018

@jmb344wrote:

@blueberryjellyfishwrote:
Private Offers take place over eBay messaging, so how does eBay communicate, if at all, with payment processors like PayPal? If a buyer files a SNAD through PayPal instead of eBay will screenshots of eBay messaging and the offer screen be taken into account? Does eBay work with PayPal to keep them informed about features like Private Offers and is PayPal receptive to accepting screenshots as evidence in a case since the details of the deal are not viewable in a public listing?
That is a great question, unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I'll work on it and get back to you all.

Hi @jmb344- do you have any more information?

jmb344 · ‎04-10-2018

@dtexley3 wrote:

@jmb344

So, I just used the Send Offer feature to a buyer for multiple items. When you click Send Offer it DOES NOT allow you to enter shipping OR tell you that it will ADD the shipping from the listing to the offer. It's just not clear. In this case the original listing had calculated shipping, so there was no way for me as the seller to know what shipping would be charged!!!! Luckily the buyer is a repeat customer and just told me to refund the shipping charge and still purchased.

For this to work effectively, we need to be able to add item numbers to the offer that eBay can use to mark the listings as SOLD. We need to be able to enter/adjust the shipping for a combined shipping cost, whether it be calculated or a fixed rate.

Without those changes this is really more of a pain then having the buyer buy the items and then refund the shipping. If you want us to use this and promote it you need to push on getting things changed to make it a time savings for the seller to use it.

@dtexley3 You make a great point about listings that are calculated shipping. The shipping costs are relatively easy to navigate if you are dealing with free shipping or a flat rate, then you need to make sure you add in the cost of shipping anything extra into the offer itself. We are working on enhancing private offer to make it more user-friendly. Thanks for the feedback.

jmb344 · ‎04-10-2018

@blueberryjellyfish wrote:

@jmb344wrote:

@blueberryjellyfishwrote:
Private Offers take place over eBay messaging, so how does eBay communicate, if at all, with payment processors like PayPal? If a buyer files a SNAD through PayPal instead of eBay will screenshots of eBay messaging and the offer screen be taken into account? Does eBay work with PayPal to keep them informed about features like Private Offers and is PayPal receptive to accepting screenshots as evidence in a case since the details of the deal are not viewable in a public listing?

That is a great question, unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I'll work on it and get back to you all.

Hi @jmb344- do you have any more information?

@blueberryjellyfish Thanks for the follow-up, but I haven't made any progress on discussing with Paypal the subject of screenshots yet.

dtexley3 · ‎04-10-2018

@jmb344 wrote:
@dtexley3 wrote:
@jmb344

So, I just used the Send Offer feature to a buyer for multiple items. When you click Send Offer it DOES NOT allow you to enter shipping OR tell you that it will ADD the shipping from the listing to the offer. It's just not clear. In this case the original listing had calculated shipping, so there was no way for me as the seller to know what shipping would be charged!!!! Luckily the buyer is a repeat customer and just told me to refund the shipping charge and still purchased.

For this to work effectively, we need to be able to add item numbers to the offer that eBay can use to mark the listings as SOLD. We need to be able to enter/adjust the shipping for a combined shipping cost, whether it be calculated or a fixed rate.

Without those changes this is really more of a pain then having the buyer buy the items and then refund the shipping. If you want us to use this and promote it you need to push on getting things changed to make it a time savings for the seller to use it.
@dtexley3 You make a great point about listings that are calculated shipping. The shipping costs are relatively easy to navigate if you are dealing with free shipping or a flat rate, then you need to make sure you add in the cost of shipping anything extra into the offer itself. We are working on enhancing private offer to make it more user-friendly. Thanks for the feedback.

So, same buyer, purchased again same way. This time I remembered to ask what it showed for the calculated shipping and deducted it from the offer amount. When the item sold the shipping charged the buyer was different than what they saw prior to shipment the difference was less than 50 cents, but still.... hehehe.

Overall the bookkeeping on this is still a headache and I won't be doing it again. I'm spending way too much time on a single order to make it worthwhile.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew