eBay

jimsvinylvault · ‎07-11-2021

As we are on the brink of what I predict will be a DISASTER entitled "Item Specifics", I would like to see what this community has been discussing about the subject. (And if....if....if eBay personnel are responding, I want to see that too...) So how does one search for "Item Specifics"???

eburtonlab · ‎07-11-2021

Folks working for eBay rarely respond to posts other than to provide clarification of policy when specifically called upon to do so.

If you want to search the community discussion boards for posts about item specifics, try a search like this:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=item-specifics&sort_by=-topicPostDate&...

luckythewinner · ‎07-11-2021

@jimsvinylvault wrote:
As we are on the brink of what I predict will be a DISASTER entitled "Item Specifics", I would like to see what this community has been discussing about the subject. (And if....if....if eBay personnel are responding, I want to see that too...) So how does one search for "Item Specifics"???

Not sure what you are asking.

Are you asking how to search this message board for discussions about item specifics?

Or are you asking how item specifics are considered when a user searches for listings on the eBay site?

That aside ...

Why do you predict that ther is a "disaster" coming regarding item specifics? What form do you expect this disaster will take?

eleanor*rigby · ‎07-11-2021

@jimsvinylvault wrote:
(And if....if....if eBay personnel are responding, I want to see that too...)

@jimsvinylvault

If any eBay personnel respond to this thread, which they won't unless they're "tagged"--called into the thread by a member--their post will be surrounded by a big blue box and their member id will end in @ebay. You can't miss it. No one else responding to posts is an eBay employee, no matter how often they're accused of it by the eBay Bashing Society members who use it as an insult to anyone who disagrees with them.

jimsvinylvault · ‎07-11-2021

Good morning from Tucson! Okay, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever) because here comes your answer:

SEARCHING: As you can see at the top of this APP (or whatever you call it...), there isn't any there that provides for a search of a possible existing topic. (It use to be there long ago...when it changed, I don't know because I rather go here for that exact reason.) But that 'search' has been provided just now by one of the other readers, so I will cut-n-paste that so that I can use it in the future.

ITEM SPECIFICS: I don't what 'method' eBay used to communicate there change in item content, BUT it didn't to all of us.....I didn't know about it until a fellow VINYL SELLER expressed concern about the potential impacts to his 3,000+ listings. I contacted another fellow VINYL SELLER....she didn't get it either. So I started the "merry-go-round" of various eBay Seller Support folks....NOT knocking them, but it took four phone calls before one of them found the note....and sent it (along with something relative to EXCEL) to me.

After eight phone calls to Seller Support I was told by four that "vinyl IS NOT part of Collectables"....and four others said "YES it is". About one month into this "July 12th deadline" I spoke with another EXCELLENT Seller Support individual about a different subject, and while I 'had her' I asked the lingering unresolved question. SHE RESEARCHED IT, and stated: (a) NO, vinyl is not part of the category of COLLECTABLES....BUT IT IS part of the category of MEDIA. That meant my friends and I have approximately 4-5 weeks to start updating the fields of "FORMAT" (which is ALMOST always 'Record', but it could be 'Picture Sleeve', 'Record AND Picture Sleeve'; 'Company Sleeve'; etc.); "ARTIST" (which let's say that out of 1,000 listings the Seller probably has in excess of 950 that are different); and "ITEM TITLE" (which would obviously be even worse then "ARTIST". KEEP IN MIND that "ARTIST" and "ITEM TITLE" were already listed at the top of our listings......so, what's the point of 'Item Specifics' for those two categories...but then, read the next paragraph, as it gets worse:

So I started MANUALLY updating my 5,924 listings that are suddenly identified as 'Item Specifics' errors. I didn't get very far before the other somewhat recent fiasco jumped up and bit me in the (....), in that you can't submit 'Item Specifics' updates if the 'UPC' field is blank.....and oh, you have to leave the 'Item Specifics' page to type in the CONSTANT ANSWER of "Does Not Apply". So I once again called eBay Seller Support for guidance towards using BULK update on 'UPC' an/or 'Format' (even though they may not all be 'just' records).....I was technically informed that the BULK update function is not available for those two fields. "But I might want to consider asking for eBay support with the EXCEL update process."

By now (if you are still with me....) you are on your third cup of whatever.....and I leave you with this: So far I have manually updated all but 3,563 listings. I am tactfully 'racing' the eBay clock of JULY 12th. I have updated all of my July 12th through July 22nd listings....and hopefully I will get through July 24th! One of my vinyl seller friends 'only' had 140+ listings, so she is using my process....and when I last talked with her, she is in shape to avoid July 12th. The other vinyl buddy is in deep (you know what)....as he has over 3,000 listings (none of which have any information within the three Item Specifics blocks)....so I suggested the 'offered' eBay EXCEL support process before I double-checked its availability....and eBay Seller Support informed me "that the EXCEL support area is overloaded and probably can't help at this time".

SO IN SUMMATION: We (i.e. the vinyl community) aren't the only ones that are exposed to this ridiculous July 12th deadline. I was even informed by one Seller Support individual that "one eBay seller of trading cards is 'patiently' waiting for the eBay EXCEL support folks to call him/her back". BOTTOM LINE: If you seller products that multiple types (listed within the 'Item Specifics' document); and you have a huge store volume......GOOD LUCK! Okay, you can go to dinner now! ME: Breakfast and then back to the Item Specifics fiasco.......and the last of the 'HTTP Errors' (I had 3,000+listings....now after MANUAL updates I still have 85...) that were created when eBay migrated to Google Chrome.

pburn · ‎07-12-2021

@jimsvinylvault wrote:
SEARCHING: As you can see at the top of this APP (or whatever you call it...), there isn't any there that provides for a search of a possible existing topic. (It use to be there long ago...when it changed, I don't know because I rather go here for that exact reason.) But that 'search' has been provided just now by one of the other readers, so I will cut-n-paste that so that I can use it in the future.

If you're on the main page of a discussion board, enter your search criteria where it says "All Content" and click the "Enter" button on your computer keyboard or click on the hourglass (the internationally recognized icon for "search").

search 1.PNG

If you're on the page for a specific thread, enter your search criteria where it says "All Content" and click the "Enter" button on your computer keyboard or click on the hourglass (the internationally recognized icon for "search").

search 2.PNG

varebelrose · ‎07-12-2021

"click on the hourglass (the internationally recognized icon for "search")"

the hourglass icon usually means something is timing.

jimsvinylvault · ‎07-12-2021

Good morning to everyone. Well, I am going to close (from my end) this out with a brief (honest) update. As of this writing I still have 3,366 listings that the eBay software wants me to update 1-3 Item Specifics. Yesterday I modified my update procedure to 'satisfy' the 'Format' requirement for "Record and picture sleeve" or "Picture Sleeve ONLY!". Thus my current targets are December 23rd and 24th will MANUALLY (remember, BULK update is not available for 'Format'....) represent about 300+ listings. SCARCASTICALLY, it is either do that or list part of this VINYL HOARD that I need to dispose of before September 11, 2022 (my 80th birthday; and the 'end date' for eBay selling I committed to my family...).

Good luck to those that are just now (or in the future....) discovering that there 'Item Specifics' impacted listing just dropped off into eBay's 'Manage Unsold Listings' bucket over within their HUB. (My last hint.)

eleanor*rigby · ‎07-12-2021

.

jimsvinylvault · ‎07-12-2021

Okay, okay, so I 'lied".😎 Approximately I left my eBay listing of 'Add Item Specifics That Will Be Required Soon", with a new total of 3,200 (down from their original claim of 5,924 listings). I now come back to the computer to try and 'resolve' another 100, and suddenly I see that the number is down to 3,096 (must be an eBay reward for eating a healthy dinner...). But wait, there is yet another surprise under 'Seller Hub' category of 'Tasks'.....they have a new group of 243 entitled 'Add Required Item Specifics". Just when I thought the eBay software programmers and system analysts (what we called the technical support folks within IBM...oh wait, maybe eBay doesn't have such folks...) weren't doing anything constructive....

Good night from Tucson. I am going to work on the first group; and wait for some foolish person within eBay to tell me that I must 'fix' this new group of challenges. And yes, I don't give a flim-flam if they were stupidly extracted from the original group of challenges.

jimsvinylvault · ‎07-13-2021

Ah yes, good morning from Tucson. A little update, and then unless some body posts a question to me, I am done with this....still have over 3,000 (see below) listings to waste my time with newly required (e.g. within the last two months....) 'Item Specifics'.

First, CONGRATULATIONS to the eBay software individual(s) who created the new category of 'Add Required Item Specifics' within the 'Tasks' location within the Hub. It is smarter because it DOES identify which Item Specifics must be updated.....not that after MANUALLY updating 2700+ that I don't already know which fields to look at within the old 'Add Items Specifics That Will Be Required Soon' located within the 'Suggested Actions' location.

But second, why didn't they further task their brain(s) to include the dreaded 'snake in the grass' UPC update capability within their new field??? They SHOULD HAVE KNOWN full well that that is possibly going to pop up when the Seller 'solves' recommended/required items within their new field.

Okay, that's it....I will now take off my retired IBM 'analyst hat' and work on the items that going to end on July 24th and 25th. (I have already MANUALLY finished the items that will close today through July 23rd.... and yes, I am 'having fun'.....)