Purchase history question - Where are the pictures?

[papayadog]

Hi all...Maybe it's me (I hope it is) but eBay doesn't seem to be doing their customers many favors in our attempts to record keep our purchases and sales.  When I look at my purchase history from 2023 and try to click the detail on an item...particularly a lot with multiple items included...to remind myself what was included in that lot...I often get the "We looked everywhere" error message.  This is happening on items purchased as recently as June of 2023.  This can't be how ebay is supposed to work, is it?  Is it a glitch?  As I scroll through my purchase history from this year, I see many purchases that don't even have a thumbnail picture any more.  Just a generic gray box.  Is this happening to anyone else?

And if this how ebay is supposed to work...How do resellers document what came in a lot and thus what they actually paid for an individual item in a lot?  Sometimes I buy lots of dozens if not hundreds of items.  

I would think with the $600 reporting requirement, more people would need to keep records and eBay should be making it easier for us, not harder.

Would love to get thoughts from others.

Thank you

[hartungcards]

I think old people love to argue for much the same reason young people like to find other people who just agree with their complaints, and don't like hearing the answers they don't want to hear from people with more experience.

[papayadog]

Thanks for the reply Cypress.Grove...I track on a spreadsheet as well.  The one for one items are easy to document.  It's the lots that are problematic.  

I'm not so concerned with determining the cost basis of the item, but being able to validate and prove it.  An item from a lot may not sell for months or maybe even years later.  Trying to remember what lot it was a part of is difficult.  And itemizing lots of hundreds of items, especially when many of the lots include the same exact items, doesn't seem practical or even that helpful.  If I have 10 of that particular item, how am I supposed to remember which lot it came from?  With pictures I at least have a better chance of identifying each one.

[melmurdock]

As soon as my listing is complete and officially listed I open the listing and file/print the page to pdf. The pdf page serves as a pictorial record. I then include a link to the pdf file in my Excel spreadsheet.

As far as buying in lots...

Just divide the cost of your lot by number of items in your lot and adjust as needed to get an estimated unit cost.

I'm sure everyone does it differently

This is what works for me.

Good luck selling!

[coolections]

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@papayadog wrote:

Now that we got this out of the way.  Any decent people care to chime in?

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I will. Keep your own pictures, do not rely on someone else to save them for you.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@papayadog wrote:

Now that we got this out of the way.  Any decent people care to chime in?

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Why do people come here for advice if they only want to hear what they want to hear?

Sometimes what you want to hear isn't accurate. 

[feltfootball]

Great advice here.

[papayadog]

My questions were...

1)   What's up with ebay removing purchase history after 3 months?

2)  How do people who buy lots for re-sale document what came in the lot?

This somehow triggered the Grandma Gestapo who thought I requested a talking down to.

To those who provided assistance...thank you.  To the rest, go take a nap and see if you feel better.

[chapeau-noir]

eBay eliminates all photos after about 90 days - think about it. There are almost two billion items selling on this site. Storing photos for years on end for tens of millions of sales is going to take up a lot of space for something that most people may not even use. Also, I wouldn't consider it very reliable storage.

[hartungcards]

I think you just joined the Grandma Gestapo.  That answer was already tried and didn't go over well with the OP.  It's just not the answer they want to hear.

[coolections]

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@papayadog wrote:

My questions were...

1)   What's up with ebay removing purchase history after 3 months?

2)  How do people who buy lots for re-sale document what came in the lot?

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1. Ebay is not in the business of storing data for individual sellers as it cost them money.

2. You can do it on your computer, or if you really feel ambitious, you can write using a pencil and paper. Totally up to you how to keep track of your inventory.

I am gong to take a nap now. Was glad to provide some assistance.

[magsmg101]

If you go to your purchase history at the right there is a small arrow

this lets you choose 60 day or 2023, 2022 and 2021.

All my purchase pics were there as well as order details.

Apparently I did not buy anything in 2022 in sept 2021 all purchases were shown.

I am on a pc.... win 11 + chrome. are looking at the app?

PS not a grandma 😎

[chapeau-noir]

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@magsmg101 wrote:

If you go to your purchase history at the right there is a small arrow

this lets you choose 60 day or 2023, 2022 and 2021.

All my purchase pics were there as well as order details.

Apparently I did not buy anything in 2022 in sept 2021 all purchases were shown.

I am on a pc.... win 11 + chrome. are looking at the app?

PS not a grandma 😎

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The photos on many of mine are missing, which is why I don't consider it reliable storage.

[sltom6]

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@papayadog wrote:

My questions were...

1)   What's up with ebay removing purchase history after 3 months?

2)  How do people who buy lots for re-sale document what came in the lot?

This somehow triggered the Grandma Gestapo who thought I requested a talking down to.

To those who provided assistance...thank you.  To the rest, go take a nap and see if you feel better.

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You've been given the answers you sought.  I thought that was your purpose.

[gone.c-33]

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@papayadog wrote:

My questions were...

1)   What's up with ebay removing purchase history after 3 months?

2)  How do people who buy lots for re-sale document what came in the lot?

This somehow triggered the Grandma Gestapo who thought I requested a talking down to.

To those who provided assistance...thank you.  To the rest, go take a nap and see if you feel better.

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eBay, unlike Amazon who owns its own data storage service, doesn’t have unlimited storage space to keep a copy of the billions of listings that have appeared over the years.

I’ve kept every confirmation email of my sales and purchases since I started on eBay in ‘99 (right after I turned 18 so not a grandma) because even as a young one, I knew it was my responsibility to keep my own receipts. I also have a Manila folder with all the paper receipts of every significant purchase I have made over the years for warrantee, insurance and/or resale purposes.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Going forward; if you buy something that you plan to 'resell' you can simply 'print out' the 'order', on 1 page.

Keep that in a folder monthly, along with 'sales' info, sales' reports' and shipping receipts'. End of year, you'll have 12 folders of 'back up' (and of course, easiest to 'record/book keep etc.' this information on that same monthly basis with a rolling YTD.