items moved into wrong categories--do we just have to fix them all?

[magpuppie]

I mean vastly wrong, like plates in "cups", vases in "plates", rings in "necklaces" etc. Things that even just assigning categories based on the title keywords should have worked for. between several stores this is hundreds if not thousands of items, do we just have to fix this manually? wiping the 'item specifics' when we do, too, I bet. this is going to be an expensive fix, seller side. is eBay just done with their side of it? for awhile it seemed like some items were getting sorted back to their right categories, but i haven't seen any info on this since around the 19th. 

[anjie234]

High-end SNEAKERS…    sneakers, sneakers, sneakers !!!

Luxury WATCHES…      watches, watches, watches!!!

        Sneakers and Watches and Handbags…   OH MY!

I wonder if the people who are selling

sneakers and watches and handbags  (“Oh My!")

are having all these F$*(#)%  problems?!?  

I’ll bet NOT!

[anjie234]

Yesterday, I read that eBay just announced the changes that they made to the Stores LAST WEEK!!

Further, eBay said they will continue to make enhancements over the coming months!

WHAT??!!  NOoooo!

I don't have a store, so that part doesn't necessarily affect me, but for those that do... it's a mess!

It's ALL a big, fat MESS!

ALL OF THESE CHANGES... At the peak of the selling season!

         WHAT COMPANY DOES THIS?

[anjie234]

....and then, posted all around is this:

"Text JOIN to 20633"

...to stay "in the know"!!!

ARE THEY KIDDING?!?!?!?

How many ways / platforms / places

currently exist

in which to keep us informed and "in the know"?

And we DON'T KNOW #&$)#@

Sure....   text me!   NOT!

[anjie234]

Just like immediately following all these category & item specific changes,

eBay makes the following announcement:

How To Navigate The "Hard To Find"

Holiday Season

Again,

ARE THEY KIDDING?!?!

WHAT!?!

How's THAT for IN YOUR FACE?

I don't know what to make of it.

[anjie234]

And then you have to do it AGAIN  and AGAIN and AGAIN...

because they keep RE-CATEGORIZING the listings, causing the Item Specifics to go away

AGAIN  and AGAIN and AGAIN!   (ONCE is horrifying for many!)

I just don't understand.

I had worked for many years in "Corporate America" Information Technology,

and software development...

         eBay is doing SO MANY THINGS that are totally against standard protocol.

[anjie234]

That's exactly right!  Everything you just said.

And, so now eBay wants us to

"Text JOIN to 20633"

if we want to know anything!

UNBELIEVABLE!

[davenportpm1]

Yes, it took me almost a whole day to go thru all of my posting because all of sudden all items needed recommended item descriptions. I would go to the post and had to enter everything all over again. eBay has some strategy that will benefit them always.

[jitterbug2003]

Not sure where I read it but I read they were dropping categories.

[anjie234]

@cubano4u 

"I've stopped fixing them because there is no point at this time. Until eBay gets the bots under control, you will be making the same exact changes over and over. "

Yes, true...   or maybe we should at least put listings into the right category

(but leave Item Specifics alone for now),

so maybe our listings have a chance of being found?

Sure does stink, doesn't it!

[anjie234]

@glenvonnie 

" there is little logic to what they're doing.
I wrote code for 20 Years, code which made sense and was logical, it ran dangerous machinery, there was no room for mistakes."

Isn't it making you absolutely CRAZY?! 

I, too, worked in Corporate Information Systems / IT for 17 years, and have been

heavily involved in software development.  I'm actually nauseous! 

You are exactly right...   there is little logic to what they are doing!

(maybe they ONLY want to sell sneakers and watches and handbags?)

I haven't seen anyone complaining about those categories!

[anjie234]

@Anonymous

I've been dealing with the "dolls and bears" category too and I thought I had it covered as of yesterday with ONLY 11 more listings to update.  I get up this morning and there are NOW 109 wanting to be updated because they now want franchise and a name for THAT franchise.  I sell antique and vintage paper dolls where only about 10% of my items are in some sort of franchise.    I'll have to edit all of these with N/As just to get it right and those SHOULD have been there from the beginning of this horrible mess. "

Hi, (I neglected to mention in my other posts here) I also sell in the "dolls & bears" category.

Mostly clothing for the 18" doll ... and porcelain dolls.

"Franchise" has been a required field in my listings starting 10/19 (or whenever that update completed).

I wonder why it's been different for you? (I use a laptop; not the mobile app)

Also, none of my listings are in a "Franchise", so I too have been entering "n/a".

It occurred to me that choosing “Enter Your Own” for ANY item specific field

is really useless, because nobody can actually search for the thing entered   

      …. A buyer cannot enter THEIR own!  

BOTTOM LINE:   Nobody can (or would) search for  “n/a”! 

But IT'S REQUIRED that we put something in there!!    BUSY WORK!!

And it's just cluttering everything up!

[mightymouse]

"Unfortunately, Yes......you are expected to get it to the correct category."

This is so not true anymore. They don't care about categories anymore only item specifics.  I was told to just pick one category and list and just add the item specifics I need.

Currently (because of Ebay) I have dinner plates, bowls and serving items in shoes and egg cups and toast racks in wooden baskets. I feel if they want these items moved that can fix the categories to what make more sense.

What I don't understand is in pottery the category is dinner plates, item specifics is dinner plates, plates sets, round dinner plates. If the category is dinner plates WHY does the item specifics need to say dinner plates?   

[pennpicker]

Funny how that works, isn't it? 

Once you realize what's going on you start looking around for the Candid Camera crew.

[anjie234]

You are SO right!  OMG!

I am also shocked at how unprofessional they've been.

Your analogy made me laugh, though... just for a brief moment!  thanks for that!

" Imagine if you had a physical store and a vendor came in and just sideswiped all your displays right before Black Friday and then left without helping clean up, or even making eye contact, that's how this feels. "

Though it's not REALLY funny at all.  It's awful!

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I've been dealing with the "dolls and bears" category too and I thought I had it covered as of yesterday with ONLY 11 more listings to update.  I get up this morning and there are NOW 109 wanting to be updated because they now want franchise and a name for THAT franchise.  I sell antique and vintage paper dolls where only about 10% of my items are in some sort of franchise.    I'll have to edit all of these with N/As just to get it right and those SHOULD have been there from the beginning of this horrible mess.  Sales have been WAY down, as well as views since all of this started a month ago.  I am completely frustrated and about at the end of my rope.  I think you were right about not doing anymore "fixing" until eBay has decided exactly what it wants under the mandatory item specifics so we don't have to keep going back to work already done.

---

I keep coming across listings "requiring updating" that have moved to not even close categories. 99% of the specifics are blank. Trying to find "close" as become next to impossible. In theory how safe is it to move something to the category called "close enough"? I feel like someone has come into my store when I was sleeping and redecorated. EVERY MORNING. (Not yelling...Just my frustration sneaking out.)

-Lotz