"The selected item is no longer available." Can't view your own sold listing.

[sai83her]

As a seller who have a few hundred of item listed, I find it very annoying and irritated that I can not view my own listing that I just sold recently.  Everytime I try to click my own listing that I just sold, it would open a page stating "The selected item is no longer available.", and show someone else item that is similar to it. I have no option to even view my own item.  I have buyer who had a question about the item right after they purchase the item. However I can't even view my own item to clarify the question they have. Is this the new normal or just a temporary glitch? Anyone have any idea how to view your own item that you just sold? 

[albertabrightalberta]

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alan@ebay wrote:Thanks, @albertabrightalberta!

What steps are you taking to land on that product page? When I search for this listing by title in the sold section, I am brought to the active item that has a direct link back to the sold listing. I do not land on the product page in the first URL.

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When buyers are considering a purchase, they want to verify authenticity. But because board rules disallow the posting of links, buyers are forced to go to other websites to vet their purchases. (But that's a whole other story!)

So these listings were authentication requests that were posted on another forum. At the time of the posts, the listings were active and clicking the links brought the authenticators to the correct listing. These links were direct links to bags in question. 

But now that the listings have ended, it takes several steps to get to the original listing that was asked about.

[alan@ebay]

Thanks for the information on the links. I'll look into this more.

You can post links to items as long as the intent is not to name & shame.

[albertabrightalberta]

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alan@ebay wrote:

Thanks for the information on the links. I'll look into this more.

You can post links to items as long as the intent is not to name & shame.

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If we're allowed to have buyers post links to listings on the fashion board, I'm sure there are many posters there who would appreciate your making a post to that effect! 

[alan@ebay]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

Thanks for the information on the links. I'll look into this more.

You can post links to items as long as the intent is not to name & shame.

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If we're allowed to have buyers post links to listings on the fashion board, I'm sure there are many posters there who would appreciate your making a post to that effect! 

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Done!

[albertabrightalberta]

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alan@ebay wrote:

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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alan@ebay wrote:

Thanks for the information on the links. I'll look into this more.

You can post links to items as long as the intent is not to name & shame.

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If we're allowed to have buyers post links to listings on the fashion board, I'm sure there are many posters there who would appreciate your making a post to that effect! 

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Done!

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Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

[albertabrightalberta]

alan@ebay

I don't know if this will help in your investigation in trying to figure out what's happening here.

Here's a link to a completed/sold listing. 

1. When you click on the listing, it takes you to another (different) current listing.

2. That current listing doesn't have the blue box with the hyperlinked "listing"
3. But from the URL of that current listing, you can copy and paste the item number (401542342345) into the search box.

4. It won't be found in the current but click "completed" and it takes you to the page with that listing: 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=401542342345&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1

5. Open the completed listing and it'll again take you to the same current listing as #1 above

6. At the top of that page, there's the blue box with "The listing you’re looking for is no longer available. Check out this similar item we found for you."

Seriously, it that a user-friendly way to get there? 

[vintagechamber]

I just noticed that when I clicked on one of my older sold items it had been replaced with a different seller's active listing.  I was HORRIFIED  when I saw a poor-quality photo of something that didn't look anything like what I had sold.  For sellers like me who sell one-of-kind vintage and antique items (and take extra time to provide high quality, attractively-composed photos), this is terribly unfair.  I suspect some buyers will be confused and won't understand that what they're seeing is being offered by a different seller.  Not everyone is going to figure out that they can click on the word "listing" to get to the original item (provided it works).  In my opinion, this is absolutely the worst change eBay has ever made.  Please, please change it back before more damage is done.

[wildrose]

its a horror show

[samb15]

This problem has been a moving target.  Someone who is responsible for it does not want to "fess up" to severely damaging eBay.  It is better than it was but still not where it should be. 

To state it very simply -- anyone who is looking at a Sold listing is doing so for a reason.   This could be to look an item he/she has bought, or sold, or is similar to one that is intended to be bought or sold (for price or detail reference).  A person who looks at a Sold is NEVER looking for hype and marketing garbage about other listings, and almost NEVER wants it, nor benefits from it.  If we, when buying, want active listings, we will search for active listings.  This is a problem of eBay's own making, out of greed, stupidity, or some combination of both.

So far, I have not had any problem getting to my own Sold items.  They come up as they should, except for some useless hype placed above the listing (which is both annoying and amzingly dumb -- I wouldn't be looking to buy some randomly suggested item at this point EVER when looking over something just sold).  Looking at a Bought item in Purchase History briefly broke, but now seems to work, in the same way as Sold items -- it's there, albeit with useless hype above it.

Searches for other Sold items (not ones that I sold) also seem to mostly work now, though with extra unnecessary convolution.  Some work correctly.  Some work after the "see original listing" is clicked.  Some go to the wrong listing, active items instead of the ones upon which I clicked.  These have the blue box, where the word "listing" goes back to the correct item.  Other than losing respect for eBay, that is the ONLY thing one would ever do upon landing on one of these.   Fortunately, in today's sold items searches, I have not been sent to the MGP (Marketing Garbage Page) from which one one cannot get to the item -- this is important and much improved.

Still, the redirections leave a very bad taste, and make me wonder if eBay can be trusted, or what will be taken from us or made more difficult in future changes, while also wondering if eBay will ever be as good as it was before June.  A clear repair and apology would go a long way in restoring confidence.  For now, I will keep using eBay, but may also explore other alternatives for my buying/selling business now that eBay seems to be an unreliable partner. 

[cbx6]

"This change was made to improve the user experience of buyers who land on a closed listings page from search engine results"

Sorry, I don't buy that.  Most people click on a closed listing because they WANT TO VIEW THE LISTING - this incredibly obnoxious change is essentially SPAM, trying to sell a few extra items at the expense of wasting everyone's time.  Those few who didn't already know the item was closed are free to search for something similar if they want to. 

This is the sort of corporate greed and disregard of customers cable TV providers have been famous for - you'll notice their business is now in steep decline as a result.

[albertabrightalberta]

Hi alan@ebay

Since you haven't come back, I assume you're still searching for an answer on why some completed listings show a hyperlink to the ended listing while others require further navigation, copying and pasting in order to get to them. 

I have a new "improvement" that is NOT an improvement, not helpful to the community and in fact makes it easier for item location misrepresentation to hidden.

The advanced search option to find a member has completely disappeared!! How is this helpful? 

BTW, the new advanced search "by seller" isn't "better" either.

[ymeagainlord]

alan@ebay
Alan, just do a solds search and select any sold listing that used the catalog and you'll find there IS no blue banner. Just the Product page for active listings with a "selected item not found" message.

No way to get to the actual sold listing.

[twillinsane]

Seems to be fixed now. I can finally view the item, no longer shows the item no longer available page.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@twillinsane wrote:
Seems to be fixed now. I can finally view the item, no longer shows the item no longer available page.

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Nope, not so. 

if you look at the link in my post  186  above and click on the listing I hyperlinked, this one, it shows as "The selected item is no longer available" and there's no hyperlink to get to the original listing. 

[figtree3]

I'm getting mixed results. Sometimes I get the link to the sold item and sometimes I don't.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to say that as a buyer, if they change this much more it will be a deal breaker for me. I carefully research the backgrounds of sellers from whom I've never purchased anything. If I'm not able to do that very well in the future I'll have to deal only with sellers with whom I'm already familiar. This means cutting back on the business I do here. I'm just one little person so eBay probably doesn't see that as a big thing, but... if others do the same, they may. 

The suggestions they come up with for related items are not useful for those of us who collect antique photographs (almost the only things I buy on this site any more). Photo collectors really want to buy images that "grab" them and technology is not good at predicting taste.

Another thing: searching for sold items is a part of what I do when helping people in the eBay community boards and groups. Many of us do that. I don't like the fact that that could become much harder to do in the future. 

Overall, this is a poor change, IMO.