eBay

jamjoathletics · ‎02-20-2023

Hello,

Friday my sales began to tank - after looking more into it, because I began to receive numerous emails from international buyers asking for quotes I found out the following:

- I was migrated to eBay international shipping

- I had to turn off any other international shipping option

the result: 95% of my listings no longer have the international shipping option & Customers new & past are messaging me that I no longer ship to them.

I’ve submitted 2 tickets and IT has no idea what’s going on.

As a workaround I opted out of the program - global shipping is no longer available so my only option is eBay Standard International which is a disaster and shouldn’t be used and the usps and ups options. I then opted back in, and the same items showing that they ship International under the usps and ups int’l shipping now again don’t show the option to ship internationally under this new program.

Any visibility on this ?

marnotom! · ‎04-06-2023

I'm in Canada. I can't speak to other countries, but it looks as though the import of certain baits/lures into the country could be problematic. Since the "eIS bot" only has a category to go by and not the specific bait/lure in question, a wholesale ban has likely been enacted by those with eIS. More info:

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/fpa-apa/species-especes-eng.html

colemancollection · ‎04-18-2023

My first shipment after being switched over to EIS never made it to a customer in the Netherlands. The customer let me know he did not receive the CD and the tracking showed they attempted delivery(he has a mailbox), held it for 7 days without leaving him a notice to pick it up at the nearest pickup point, not was I notified there was a delivery problem. Ebay used a company called Asendia using their ePAQ plus service and they have poor service. The customer gets his other Cd's just fine. Please avoid using this company in the Netherlands. They told me is could take up to 12 weeks to get it back. I never hada problem with USPS international shipping.

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-18-2023

The GSP is going away at some point so you can't "stick" with it forever. At some point even if you don't opt into the program if you are using the GSP eBay will unilaterally transition you into the program and modify your active listings. Some of the postings on this forum, including yours, indicate that there have been some major issues with the transition. That is the down side but I doubt it slows eBay the the EIS contractor from moving forward with completing the transition and eliminating the GSP.

The EIS program is not prohibiting you from shipping to Canada or to Europe but some algorithm is identifying what items can ship to what countries and there appear to be some issues with that software. It also does not block entire categories that I am aware of. If it was blocking a whole category you would not be able to ship your fishing lures to ANY foreign country through EIS but that is not the case with some of your listings. For example the following item can be shipped to several foreign countries.

I believe you can alter the individual listings or a bulk edit of multiple listings to remove the EIS program and choose another option although GSP is not one of them.

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-18-2023

Same problem. The new International Shipping Program has package size and weight limits which made 8 of my 13 listings no longer visible outside of the US. Agent was useless.

This appears to be the other major issue with the eBay listing modifications during the transition. If it is not eligible for shipping through EIS eBay is making a modification that provides the following instructions to the buyer. There have been a number of postings where sellers have indicated that suddenly they are getting a lot of messages from potential buyers regarding shipping an item.

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-18-2023

My first shipment after being switched over to EIS never made it to a customer in the Netherlands. The customer let me know he did not receive the CD and the tracking showed they attempted delivery(he has a mailbox), held it for 7 days without leaving him a notice to pick it up at the nearest pickup point, not was I notified there was a delivery problem. Ebay used a company called Asendia using their ePAQ plus service and they have poor service. The customer gets his other Cd's just fine. Please avoid using this company in the Netherlands. They told me is could take up to 12 weeks to get it back. I never hada problem with USPS international shipping.

The returns area of the EIS program is one of the areas that is ambiguous in the EIS program policy. When you have the item back can you please follow up on this forum and let everyone know how eBay and the EIS program handled this. Did they automatically refund the buyer or did they allow you to keep the money from the sale? If they refunded the buyer did they fully or partially refund the buyer i.e. the cost of the item - the shipping cost and fees? The error was/is eBay's or the EIS program so there is no reason the seller should have to bear the cost of eBay/EIS's mistake.

This was one of my concerns about the EIS program and moving from a world class logistics company like Pitney Bowes who ran the GSP to a foreign (Chinese) company that does not have an established track record. Indications are that some of the seller protections are working well and one of the things the EIS program professes is "All international returns and refunds will be handled on your behalf" but they are not specific as to what they mean by that or how they are doing it. For example what happens if you specify "seller does not accept returns" on your international shipping? As we know no returns does not usually equate to no refunds but will that be the same or different under EIS?

purchase2much · ‎04-26-2023

WE HAVE BEEN ON EBAY FOR 24 YEARS WITH SEVERAL ACCOUNTS AND SPOTLESS FEEDBACK , WE HAVE USED GLOBAL SHIPPING FOR SEVERAL YEARS WITHOUT ANY ISSUES , BUT NOW EBAY HAS FORCED SELLERS TO USE THE NEW INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING , THE ROLLOUT IS A COMPLETE DISASTER FOR US AS WE HAVE LOST 60% OF OUR SALES , WE WERE TOLD IF WE HAD GLOBAL SHIPPING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING AND THAT IT WOULD BE A SMOOTH TRANSACTION TO THE NEW SHIPPING PROGRAM , WE FOUND THE OPPOSITE , WE HAVE BEEN ASKED BY INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS TO SEND A SHIPPING QUOTE THAT FOR SOME REASON EBAY WAS NOT PROVIDING ANYMORE , WE HAD TO RE DO ALL OF OUR LISTINGS AND NOW WE CAN'T SELL ITEMS THAT ARE 1000.00 OR MORE AS WE CANT BUY INSURANCE , WE SENT OUT OUR FIRST ITEM AND EBAY LABEL PAGE WOULD NOT OFFER EVEN SHIP COVERAGE INSURANCE WE INSURE EVERYTHING !!!!!!!!!!!! , SO WE GOT BACK ON THE PHONE AND THE REPS STREARED US THROUGH SEVERAL DOZEN PAGES BUT COULD NOT HELP US SET THE INSURANCE UP WITHOUT MAKING ANOTHER SALE ?????? THEY STATED PLEASE SHOW US A SCREENSHOT TO SHOW US THE PAGE AND THAT THEY WOULD SHOW IT TO TECHNICAL AND GET BACK TO US , OUR SHIPPING POLICY IS THAT WE SHIP 6 DAYS A WEEK AND ITEMS ARE SENT OUT THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY , IF WE TELL A CUSTOMER WE HAVE TO WAIT TO SHIP THE ITEM AND ASK THEM TO WAIT FOR EBAY TECHNICAL TO FIX THE PROBLEM , WELL FACE IT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING 5-7 YEARS FOR TECHNICAL TO FIX ISSUES THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN ADDRESSED YET , THE PROGRAM IS ANOTHER PUZZLE TO EVERYONE AS WE HAVE NOTICED THE EBAY REPS WANT TO HELP BUT CANT UNTIL EBAY GETS PROGRAMING THAT WORKS , OUR CATEGORIES' ARE FINE AND NOT A PROBLEM , THE NEW SHIPPING PROGRAM FORCES YOU TO SHIP OUT FROM THE POST OFFICE , I WENT TO THE POST OFFICE THIS MORNING WITH AN EMPTY BOX 36X28X24 AND SHOWED IT TO MY LONG TIME POST OFFICE REP AND THE BOX WAS TO BIG TO MOVE OVER THE COUNTER , SHE TOLD ME THAT PACKAGES THAT BIG ARE HARD TO HANDLE AND THAT THE POST OFFICE COULD SEND THEM BUT HAVE A HISTORY OF BEING DAMAGED DUE TO THE SIZE , WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SHE WASN'T BUSY AND BRING THEM THROUGH THE BACK DOOR , SHE ASKED WHY I STOPPED SENDING THEM THROUGH UPS AS THEY ARE 1/3 THE COST COMPARED TO THE POST OFFICE , I EXPLAINED EBAYS NEW PROGRAM REQUIRED IT AND SHE SAID WELL THAT'S TERRIBLE ! , WHILE TALKING TO THE PHONE REPS FOR THAT LAST FEW WEEKS WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THE PAGES HAVE DIFFERENT DROP DOWN LISTS AS EBAY IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY DIDN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN STARTING THE NEW SHIPPING PROGRAM , WE HAVE BEEN LOYAL SELLERS FOR A LONG , LONG TIME AND WE ARE ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF EBAYS FOUNDATION , BUT ONCE AGAIN A NEW PROGRAM WILL WIND UP COSTING US THOUSAND'S IF NOT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LOST SALES , WE HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT , BUT FOR EBAY TO ASK US TO BE A GUINEA PIG AND RISK OUR FEEDBACK AND RATINGS AND THAT THEY WILL HELP US OUT WITH CUSTOMERS WHO EXPECT THE ITEMS TO SHIP WHEN WE SAY THEY WILL , AFTER THE CUSTOMER GETS MAD FOR EXPECTING US TO DO WHAT OUR LISTING STATES , THEN THAT STARTS ANOTHER PHONE CALL TO PUT A PATCH OVER THE EXISTING PROBLEM , WE HAVE BEEN ON EBAY FOR YEARS AND WE ALL HAVE EACH OTHERS PHONE #S AND AFTER TALKING TO 5 OTHER 20-25 YEAR EBAYERS WITH 100% FEEDBACK , THEY ARE ALL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS SO 125 + YEARS OF EBAY EXPERIENCE HAS COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION , THAT THIS IS ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT WAS ROLLED OUT TO SOON AND THE USERS EXPENSE , GOOD LUCK AS WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT

ckimodog · ‎04-27-2023

@purchase2much

Your cap key seems to be stuck.

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-27-2023

While the EIS program appears to offer some excellent seller protection the unilateral transition by eBay and/or the EIS contractor has been fraught with issues. I took a look at a few of your listings and some items seem to have transitioned without any problem and some did not. This seems to be the problem a number of sellers are experiencing. In addition the EIS program has a lot of restrictions that if you are shipping internationally on your own or were using the GSP or EISD did not. A couple of your listing examples. The first appears to have transitioned without any issues the second did not.

I don't believe EIS limits you on which carrier you can use to get the package to the EIS hub in Chicago but I have not opted into the EIS program yet. You currently have 128 items listed and while it may be a PITA you may have to do a bulk mod to your listings to get the international shipping options set correctly. Checking each one individually seems like it would be over the top.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎04-27-2023

@dbfolks166mt wrote:
While the EIS program appears to offer some excellent seller protection the unilateral transition by eBay and/or the EIS contractor has been fraught with issues. I took a look at a few of your listings and some items seem to have transitioned without any problem and some did not. This seems to be the problem a number of sellers are experiencing. In addition the EIS program has a lot of restrictions that if you are shipping internationally on your own or were using the GSP or EISD did not. A couple of your listing examples. The first appears to have transitioned without any issues the second did not.

I don't believe EIS limits you on which carrier you can use to get the package to the EIS hub in Chicago but I have not opted into the EIS program yet. You currently have 128 items listed and while it may be a PITA you may have to do a bulk mod to your listings to get the international shipping options set correctly. Checking each one individually seems like it would be over the top.

@dbfolks166mt

An observation/impression Canadian buyers have made is that there is a setting within EIS that does not require sellers to input package weight and size into each listing. (Possibly they were using a flat rate option in the past???) This may be causing whackadoodle shipping estimates to display anytime a buyer checks one of these items. What happens when bots are left in charge. Things randomly go off the rails. If anyone can confirm this could be happening, please advise.

On a personal note whenever I create a listing on dot ca if the item is strange in size I do a check on random shipping costs to make sure everything is working properly.

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

wagius2 · ‎05-05-2023

I just realized that I was opt-in automatically as well. Not sure how I feel that Ebay just decided for me to start shipping internationally. I've only shipped one or two item over seas and wasn't a big deal but for the most part I just didn't want to deal with it, custom forms and such. Well I sold an item today to someone in Lithuania and Ebay charged him $150 shipping for a 6lb box 12x12x8. Outrageous! I just looked around and found quotes in the $50 or so range. So why is Ebay charging so much? What happens if I can ship in a smaller box? What if I over weighted the item when listing to be safe? Shouldn't those extra funds be given to me? Or does Ebay refund the buyer? I have no way of knowing because when I go to ship now there is no indication of the charges Ebay placed. All I see is the normal options to ship to their hub either USPS, FedEx, UPS and their prices to ship to said hub. I can make modifications to weight and size and it changes that amount accordingly. Of course, I can keep the difference as profit (which sometimes I list at a higher weight and list a lower selling cost to offset). But where does this "over charge" now go with the international aspect? Ebay pocketing this? Where is the transparency in this? Very Fishy IMHO.

hillman_drive · ‎05-12-2023

I am waiting for a reply from IT about the following situations with the new Ebay International shipping:

-- I was told that I could see the total shipping charges by clicking on the shipping Details link in the listing, choosing 'Select' in the presented Shipping and Handling Information, and then selecting the country for the international shipment. When I choose Select, nothing happens (i.e. I can't select a country).

-- In the course of discussing the above problem with Customer Support, the agent said he checked on Ebay's Canada website and saw that none of my active listings were available for shipment to Canada (i.e. my listings weren't visible on the Ebay Canada site).

So, after being told that my account was configured correctly for the new Ebay International Shipping, it can't be used! Should be an interesting response from IT.

hillman_drive · ‎05-12-2023

I have had the same stupid Sporting Goods debate with Customer Support. I am shipping golf clubs and there is no way that such should be restricted. This is likely a programming problem in the Ebay system (equating Sporting Goods in general with the Sporting Goods - Other restricted category), but I had to ask for a supervisor because the agent blindly held to the belief that the restriction was valid. I am waiting for a response from IT, to whom the supervisor appropriately escalated the situation.

dbfolks166mt · ‎05-12-2023

I am waiting for a reply from IT about the following situations with the new Ebay International shipping:

-- I was told that I could see the total shipping charges by clicking on the shipping Details link in the listing, choosing 'Select' in the presented Shipping and Handling Information, and then selecting the country for the international shipment. When I choose Select, nothing happens (i.e. I can't select a country).

-- In the course of discussing the above problem with Customer Support, the agent said he checked on Ebay's Canada website and saw that none of my active listings were available for shipment to Canada (i.e. my listings weren't visible on the Ebay Canada site).

So, after being told that my account was configured correctly for the new Ebay International Shipping, it can't be used! Should be an interesting response from IT.

You can see the international shipping cost by changing the country but you have to look at it from a buyers perspective not by looking at your listing as the seller. I looked at one of your golf club listings and had no problem changing the country and seeing the rates.

dbfolks166mt · ‎05-12-2023

I have had the same stupid Sporting Goods debate with Customer Support. I am shipping golf clubs and there is no way that such should be restricted. This is likely a programming problem in the Ebay system (equating Sporting Goods in general with the Sporting Goods - Other restricted category), but I had to ask for a supervisor because the agent blindly held to the belief that the restriction was valid. I am waiting for a response from IT, to whom the supervisor appropriately escalated the situation.

You are not restricted I just checked several of your items and included screen shots of one of you items in my previous reply. Two of your listings are fine the other 3 indicate you are only shipping domestically.