eBay

community_team · ‎10-12-2021

--Final Update, October 28--

The category changes announced in our Fall Seller Update have been completed.

Now that all category changes are complete, while you might still see some adjustments to searches, it is okay to update or edit your listings without concerns of losing data or having it moved again.

We appreciate your feedback on this roll-out. We'll continue to adjust the process based on the input we’ve received here, and we'll take all of these suggestions into consideration for future updates.

As this project is now complete the post is being locked from further comments.

Resources and observations

We’ve heard from you that updating your Item Specifics in time for the February 2022 requirement date may be a challenge.

A useful tool that may help is located in the Seller Hub under Listing>Active. There is a drop-down box labeled ‘Download’ which will generate an Excel document for ‘Missing Required or Recommended Item Specifics’. You can read more about this tool here.

Should you come across any inaccuracies within the new Item Specifics we ask that you report those directly to sdsupport@ebay.com so our team can investigate. Outside of that, please share suggestions as to changes you'd like to see going forward here, selecting the Categories and Item Specifics option.

---Update as of October 19th---

We apologize for this delayed update. Thank you for your patience while our teams worked to finalize category changes.

All listings have been moved to their final destination categories. You may now proceed with checking your categories, revising items, and updating item specifics where needed.

Some item specifics have been renamed, and the value you originally provided has been copied over to the new item specific, so you don’t need to re-add these item specifics. We encourage you to update your listings with item specifics that are showing as “Required Soon.” These will become required on February 22, 2022.

All other item specifics are either Recommended or Optional. Learn more about item specifics.

Some categories were retired and replaced by product-based categories. You and your buyers can still find the items you’re looking for. Simply browse to the product category of your choice and use the filters to refine your search.

More information about key category changes:

Dolls & Bears. The categories based on Brand/Material/Theme/Character/Franchise/Product Line/Type of doll have been retired. Former categories have been replaced by left-hand navigation filters in the new Dolls & Doll Playsets category. You can access the filters by browsing to the product category of your choice and using Brand/Vintage/Material/Theme/Character/Franchise/Product Line/Type filters to refine your search.

Pottery & Glass. The categories based on Brand/Origin/Production Style/Production Technique have also been replaced by filters. You and buyers can now filter by the Brand/Origin/Production Style/Production Technique/Time Period Manufactured.
Postcards. The categories based on Location/Theme/Subject have been retired and replaced with two main categories for Topographical and Non-Topographical postcards. The former categories have been replaced by left-hand navigation filters in the two new main categories. For example in Topographical Postcards, you can filter by Country and Region.

Jewelry & Watches. The categories based on Main Stone and Metal Type have been retired and replaced by product-based categories under Fine Jewelry. Use the filters for Main Stone and Metal to refine your search.

---Update as of October 14th---
The work continues on this move and is progressing according to plan. We are on track and anticipate all category changes for your listings to be complete by end of day tomorrow (10.15). Thank you for your patience while our teams implement these changes.

---Update as of October 13th---

We continue to work through this change and thank you for your patience as our teams work through it. We wanted to provide answers to some top concerns and questions:

Why are Gallery Plus fees being charged for items that were previously free?

We determined that a technical issue impacted a small number of listings, which resulted in incorrect charges (including Gallery Plus, subtitles, and insertion fees) for some sellers. The issue has been fixed and we will be crediting impacted sellers as quickly as possible. No calls to Customer Service are necessary as credits will be issued automatically.

The eBay Standard Envelope shipping option is grayed out and I can’t select it. When will the issue be resolved?

The eBay Standard Envelope shipping option issue resulted from the category changes update and has been resolved. eBay Standard Envelope is now available in applicable categories if your item meets the established criteria.

Should I edit my listings if they’re in the wrong category, have been moved to another category, or have wrong or missing item specifics?

No. Recent category changes require updates to many thousands of servers and data changes to nearly every aspect of our platform. This level of adjustment takes time, which is why we asked for your patience while the process runs. We expect most data updates to be completed within 48 hours, but can they take up to a week (i.e., through Oct. 19). After that, if you have an item specific in mind that you think would work well for your listing, please consider adding it as a custom item specific.

Why isn’t my item coming up in search?

The category change update is still in process. We anticipate search issues will resolve when we complete most data updates during the next 24-48 hours.

There are more item specifics now than ever before. Do I need to fill in all of them?

No. Item specifics that you have already filled in will be maintained as the category moves are completed during the next week. In addition, new soon-to-be-required item specifics are being added and will become required by Feb 22, 2022. As always, the more item specifics you fill out, the better visibility your listing has to buyers.

For Parts & Accessories, when will fitment/compatibility charts start working again?

There was an issue with parts compatibility not working properly as the category changes rolled out that has been resolved. You should now be able to see the options to add fitment compatibility when editing your listings.

-----------------------------------------------------------

We’re updating some of our categories and item specifics to make your listings easier to find.

Starting October 12th, you’ll see updates to the following categories. Learn more about category changes →

Collectibles & Art

Jewelry

Musical Instruments

Parts & Accessories

Sporting Goods

As these updates go into effect, you may see temporary impacts to your listing experience or to the visibility of listings in the affected categories.

This is a result of listings transitioning to the updated item specifics and category structures. Your affected listings should return to normal within 48 hours, though you may see irregularities on some listings for up to a week. We recommend checking your item specifics and categories in affected listings after these updates are complete.

These updates also include new item specifics in the above categories, which will be required February 22, 2022. Starting today, these item specifics will be available as you list, with the “Required Soon” tag. Learn more →

Keep an eye on this page over the coming days—we’ll be sharing up-to-date information on affected categories and listings, and answering any questions you have.

magic*moonbeams · ‎10-12-2021

Instead of having "temporary impacts" to our listing experience, how about running all the necessary tests to look for any kinks and glitches and resolve them BEFORE launching??? The technical issues on this site are so ridiculous, if it's not one thing it's another, and it's all avoidable, unnecessary inconveniences that I would think a big company like eBay would be sure to iron out before they launch their new systems or upgrades. But no, anytime there some new "improvement", it's laden with problems from the moment you all launch it. *shakes head*

0rukidnme · ‎10-12-2021

You've removed a key field from "Item specifics" from the tire chain category. Compatible Tire Sizes was formerly a recommended item specific and now has been moved to "Additional" and no longer has the ability to add multiple entries and only has a 50-character limit.

Do you not realize that some tire chains will fit many different tire sizes? Some fit up to 70 or 80 possible different tire sizes. By not having the capability to add many different entries and only 50 characters, I'm forced to say "See item description for a list of all tire sizes." This will impact my sales, as now the list of compatible tire sizes does not appear in the eBay mobile app when opening the item. Many buyers do not look at the item description as it requires an additional click.

You've actually made my listings for tire chains harder to find. It's obvious that someone who doesn't know anything about tire chains revised this category, and I do hope someone will address it. I will keep calling eBay support until I get an answer.

neglus · ‎10-12-2021

Same problem here. I just did a mass edit (2000 listings) to change shipping back to "EBay Standard envelope" (what it was before the category change) and the system accepted it. Time will tell. It doesn't help with postcards sold and awaiting shipping now. As you said, the only choice is Media Mail which isn't even LEGAL!

d.designs1 · ‎10-12-2021

Already misallocating my listings to completely inappropriate categories right at the start of annual peak sales!

ksedar · ‎10-12-2021

I sell a lot of collectable pottery. Vases planters etc. Now they are all "plates"....omg....

chuck_finley · ‎10-12-2021

NO NO NO Your old system for postcards is how they are sold worldwide. Collectible postcards are sold to postcard collectors by sheer definition. Please bring back the old classification system otherwise my sales are dead.

kds99 · ‎10-12-2021

I only had 4 incorrect gallery fees charged today. I'm holding my breath!

4somethingdifferent · ‎10-12-2021

I'm a hobbyist when it comes to eBay, but have done it for several years off and on. It's midnight, I've had a long, tough day, and I'm having to go through 160 listings, some posted just yesterday, to remove gallery photo enlargement and change categories on multiple items affected by the new changes. I've been reading through the posts about it and am very concerned about any future items that I list will be located in these huge categories such as dolls, or items like art glass and pottery that the categories no longer exist. I'll figure out how to make it work best that I can. I do have a question though.

If multitudes of vendors leave eBay for other sites, possibly new ones created to fill the niche for a well structured collector's auction, and customers leave out of the frustration of not being able to easily find their desired items, what happens to eBay stock when this hits the global media?

This could very easily turn into a media disaster for the company. Most people aren't even aware of the changes yet, they are just realizing that something is different and it's causing them individual problems either selling or finding the items that they are looking for. It's always been a thrill to find something at a yard sale and sell it at auction, I hope that it continues to thrive, but as a business manager, I am very concerned for the future of the site as the ramifications of these changes play out over the next few days, weeks and months.

This is only day one, the ripple effect has just begun. Employment sites, such as Indeed, are using AI technology that is kicking qualified job candidates aside from prospective employers for various, sometimes illogical reasons. The best example I've seen is nurses having to have computer programming on their resume. It may be time to re-look at the reasoning behind some of these changes. Thank you for your attention!

ginasthisandthat1939 · ‎10-12-2021

Yep---my plates are cups & my cups are plates or maybe vase---I dunno

just-fun-stuff-retro-n-vintage · ‎10-12-2021

WHY IS EBAY NOW STARTING TO CHARGE SELLERS FOR THE "GALLERY PLUS" LARGE PHOTO WHEN THEY NEVER DID BEFORE???

SELLERS PLEASE CHECK YOUR FINANCIAL SUMMARY PAGE FOR THESE EXTRA CHARGES EBAY IS SECRETLY ADDING TO YOUR FEES. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!!!

downunder-61 · ‎10-12-2021

In your post eBay Community Team OP >

As these updates go into effect, you may see temporary impacts to your listing experience or to the visibility of listings in the affected categories.

This is a result of listings transitioning to the updated item specifics and category structures. Your affected listings should return to normal within 48 hours, though you may see irregularities on some listings for up to a week. We recommend checking your item specifics and categories in affected listings after these updates are complete.

SO - Let the countdown begin........

Info posted on October 12th at 8.00am > Return to normal by > October 14th at 8.00am and all more minor issues fixed by October 19th at 8.00am

How much should the 'pool' start at on this happening?

********************************************************************
I have been imported from Australia and this is my posting ID

chevy_327 · ‎10-13-2021

@just-fun-stuff-retro-n-vintage wrote:
WHY IS EBAY NOW STARTING TO CHARGE SELLERS FOR THE "GALLERY PLUS" LARGE PHOTO WHEN THEY NEVER DID BEFORE???
SELLERS PLEASE CHECK YOUR FINANCIAL SUMMARY PAGE FOR THESE EXTRA CHARGES EBAY IS SECRETLY ADDING TO YOUR FEES. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!!!

That's exactly what Ebay asked but in reverse. Why are we giving them FREE large photos when we could charge for them?

Photos are the single most important thing for sellers and they know that. Unbelievable. What is going on here??

acts60 · ‎10-13-2021

Some listings may not be seen for 48 hours or a week? WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DO THIS DURING 4th QUARTER!? Yeah, lets do an update that is going to help you loose sales during the busiest time of the year, brilliant! We all know you don’t care one bit about your sellers, you prove this year after year. Why don’t you do this during the summer slow down or after the beginning of the year? No, can’t possibly to that, that makes to much sense. Unbelievable.

silverbird_graphics · ‎10-13-2021

I sell stickers, and I'm not necessarily in any of the affected categories. I sell primarily in motors/parts and accesories.../decal and vinyl. However, over the past few weeks, my sales have almost dropped by 30%, and they're continuing down like a tank.

I almost never complain about slow sales. I'm of the mind that if your sales are slow and your store isn't performing, then it's your issue to fix. However, I have promoted listings at 3-5% above suggested price, and I'm also giving a decent daily allowance to the new advanced promoted listings utilizing almost all of the suggested keywords, and even doing that my sales are extremely slow.

The worst they've been in over a year or more. I'm wondering if this change coupled with the advanced promoted listings has anything to do with my slow sales as well as others. I certainly appreciate everything Ebay does and the platform as a whole. It's just very discouraging sometimes.

gurlcat · ‎10-13-2021

Just from what I and so many other people in these forums have been saying, it HAS to have something to do with PLA. Maybe those of us who don't use it aren't having out listings down-throttled like some believe, could just be that those who jumped on board are getting so much better placement. I don't know. I just now started a new Seller thread asking if anyone who uses it would like to talk about their experience with it.
Now, here's another thing I THINK I have observed a trend of: My (and some other people's) sales experiencing a dramatic dip .....but only for "a few weeks" (hard to say because it's not like sales went from one hard number to zero) .......but then for whatever reason, picked back up again, without doing any frantic changes, increasing promoted ad rate, creating tons of new listings, or anything. Just like a fever that broke on its' own. Now what it would really suggest......pffff, beats me, but it seems like a "rolling" experience, like if you haven't experience it yet, the key word is YET. And if I'm right about that, then there would certainly seem to be some intelligent design behind it, you feel me? Like how they didn't force everybody onto Managed Payments all at once, but in batches. Can't have everybody freaking out ant once, got to have some smirking from the sides, saying it's just your imagination, nobody wants your stuff, and/or you suck at selling.
So anyway, keep an eye out for your sales to maybe just start resuming pretty soon. Fingers crossed for ya.