Why in the world would eBay change it so you can't research completed auctions now?

[mypalrocco]

Today I was researching completed auctions to determine which price point to list my item. Part of this research for me involves reading the completed auction description of similar items I'd like to sell to do a comparison of condition, included components, features, etc. So today, they apparently changed it so now I can see the list of completed auctions but when I click on the item to try to open the listing I get a "The selected item is no longer available" and instead, it shows an item that's still active and available for purchase. Why? What purpose does this change serve??  This was an invaluable research tool for sellers!

Now if an item sold for $2 and another similar item sold for $100, I have no idea what the differences were to affect the prices because I can't see or read the body of the completed auction. The other problem with this is that if I'm wanting to buy something at, say, a garage sale or local antique auction, to resell on eBay, I don't know what to pay for it now because I can't make appropriate comparisons. Of the things that eBay should change, THIS somebody at eBay determined needed to be changed??? I'm finding myself more and more finding other avenues to sell my stuff because of nonsense like this! If somebody from eBay ends up reading this, for crying out loud, change this back to the way it was! I've included a screenshot as an example of an item that just ended as recently as 5/26 (5 days ago) so this change has nothing to do with the auction ending a long time ago.

[berserkerplanet]

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Bidding-Buying/I-guess-eBay-just-wants-to-lose-business-by-making-it-h...

[pixzee]

Okay, I'm a psychic, right? and I did a little meditation on this and I tuned into the original planning meeting at eBay and it went something like this:


            George:
So here's an idea. My friend had bookmarked a listing and when she came back to it she was mad because it had sold. So, she went to Amazon...

...(groans heard all around)

... I know and she found the same thing there, and bought it.

            Samantha:
We know all about the A-word, so what's yer point?

            George:
Suppose that after an item sells and the user comes back to that listing, instead of telling them "sorry it's too late" we re-direct them to a live listing and tell them "You missed that item but here's a really cool thing to buy to make you feel better."

            Timothy:
But what about buyers and sellers who want to see the old listings in order to research an item's current selling point, and make an informed decision.

            Samantha:
When have we ever been concerned about what sellers and buyers want?

            George:
No, no, no. I thought about that. What if we have a blue banner across the top with a link to click to go to the old listing? Huh, guys?

            Timothy:
That works.

            Samantha:
We'll try it both ways, and see how much business we lose due to an inability to view the old listing. When I think about it, I still don't understand why we ever showed old listings when that wasn't generating any determinate income.

            Samantha leans over to George and whispers:
Timothy's just an intern, right?

(names have been changed to protect the guilty)

[myvintagegaragesale]

I can't see the listing. This has fustrated me very much for the last few days. When will eBay stop the madness? When will another auction company come around and offer the same services that eBay used to offer? eBay just keeps getting worse for buyers and sellers.

[walwalwill]

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@pixzee wrote:

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Am I missing the fine print?

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No, they're continually missing the point.

[walwalwill]

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@ted_200 wrote:

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I suspect everyone here is actually seeing what they're seeing. 

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Oh, I don't doubt that.

The problem is that a lot of people who are insisting that they aren't having this problem are doing so because, despite the clear descriptions and images in the thread, they don't understand the problem.

I've posted two links to product pages in this thread. If anyone who insists that they aren't having the problem can tell me the specific details of the specific completed listings I linked to, I'll take them at their word.

However, though plenty of people have clicked the links, nobody has been able to do so yet.

Even one of the members who was adamant that they aren't having this problem, upon clicking the links I posted, questioned whether or not the links were correct, rather than acknowledging that the listings linked were unavailable and that they got redirected (which is what this entire thread is complaining about).

Anyone can post images of the page in question, but, as the problem only applies to specific listings, that doesn't really help in the grand scheme of things. Linking, on the other hand, assures that everyone is looking at the exact same pages.

Here, again, are the two completed listings I've linked:

https://www.ebay.com/p/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-H300-20-1MP-Digital-Camera-Black/194084200?iid=1832367093...

https://www.ebay.com/p/The-Presidents-Photographer-Fifty-Years-Inside-the-Oval-Office-by-John-Bredar...

Anyone who insists that they're somehow immune to this problem is more than welcome to click those two links.

[mypalrocco]

I pretty much just paid no attention to those who said they weren't having a problem because if they couldn't grasp what we spelled out for them, they're not going to and I have better ways to spend my time, like counting the hairs on my neighbors dogs body.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@dma725 wrote:

I do not know if this helps or not, but when the blue bar comes up saying that this Listing is no longer available just click on the word    listing    and it will bring up the screen you can click on to  See original Listing and then you can see the details in full from the original listing.  It has worked for me, but sometimes it will pop back to the blue bar - I just hit the word listing again.

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Thank you for sharing this.  But I have to wonder, what was accomplished by hiding that info?  When there is so much to fix...

[castlemagicmemories]

How apt!  (And creative!)

[aawmiller]

I tried the link above and the first listing right now is "Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H300..." (product photo against a white & blue background) and it opens to a different product listing", white banner "!The selected item is no longer available."  and I can not find a way to see the original listing. Can anyone figgure out if there is a way to see that origional listing? Am I missing the fine print? What if the buyer wants to return it as SNAD because of details in the photo, is the buyer suppose to just use her "memory" to file the claim and let eBay and the Seller (who can't see the origional listing either) duke it out? This does not look good, people.

This is the reason Ebay wants free returns there will be no more Snad/Remorse. Its free to return for what ever reason

[vintagechamber]

I'm going to add a statement in all of my listings, and maybe in the "Condition" section too (and even try to condense it as an Item Specific) that says something like "when clicking on my sold items, ebay will redirect you to someone else's active listing and you will need to click on the word "listing" in the blue bar at the top to see my item" -- or something to that effect. It's terrible that I should have to do that, but I don't want people to think what they're seeing is one of my items, because so far the swapped image is much poorer quality than mine and not similar at all (I sell one-of-a-kind vintage clothing, jewelry, etc). Ebay customer service told me they are going to have all the sold listings converted to the new format sometime in August.

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

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https://www.ebay.com/p/The-Presidents-Photographer-Fifty-Years-Inside-the-Oval-Office-by-John-Bredar...

Anyone who insists that they're somehow immune to this problem is more than welcome to click those two links.

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@walwalwill

It's signed by photographers: Eli Reed, David Hume Kennerly, Bob McNeely and David Valdez.

I nor the seller can tell you who the 5th sig is.

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

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@walwalwill wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

I have no problem researching completed listings and going into any of them.

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I posted a link to one in post 19. You're saying that clicking that link gives you all the information on the sold listing?

Here's another link to a sold listing:

https://www.ebay.com/p/The-Presidents-Photographer-Fifty-Years-Inside-the-Oval-Office-by-John-Bredar...

Since you have no trouble accessing the details, and all I get is the same "The selected item is no longer available.", would you please be so kind as to tell me which 4 people signed it?

Thanks!

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No trouble at all here, @walwalwill

I'm not using mobile phone or ipad.

Who can't view that listing to answer the question?

[schicksales]

Personally,  think it's to cover those sellers who sell ''hot" merchandise, as you won't be able to see that a seller has sold 40 brand new food processors (for example).

Perhaps it's not deliberate, but is sure seems that way.

This was the breaking point for me....sales have been in tbe basement for months......I've been an active seller since 2000 (joined in 8/98) and I'm done. 

Good luck to all sellers, but enough is enough and too much is nasty. 

[dinpavent0]

I believe the only time you can not see the listing anymore is if it is 30 days and older. All the recent ones i click it and it says in small blue print See Original Listing.  I haven't see the message you received but I did read somewhere that someone else posted about this and ebay says its because it is either 30 or 60 days and older.

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

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@dinpavent0 wrote:

I believe the only time you can not see the listing anymore is if it is 30 days and older. All the recent ones i click it and it says in small blue print See Original Listing.  I haven't see the message you received but I did read somewhere that someone else posted about this and ebay says its because it is either 30 or 60 days and older.

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Aside of the 'stale' at 30 days matter, can you see the specific item listing wal cites in his 'challange' link to answer the question-"who signed it" in post 33 ? - https://www.ebay.com/p/The-Presidents-Photographer-Fifty-Years-Inside-the-Oval-Office-by-John-Bredar...