mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. We don't have a specific topic this week, so feel free to share any general buying or selling questions you may have.
The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.
To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. The Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.
Missed the chat? Send your questions to the podcast by calling 888-723-4630 or email us at podcast@ebay.com and maybe your questions will make it on the air! Or listen to past episodes while you wait for next Wednesday!
@b86fiero wrote:eBay is losing money regarding on the shipping cost portion of final value fees by sellers choosing shipping options for some merchandise not allowed by USPS policy. To wit, coloring books, activity books, puzzle books are prohibited from being shipped at the Media mail rate. Any word on when eBay will prevent these type of listings from displaying the option of Media mail shipping?
Educational books are allowed in media mail. So while some of what you stated may very well be true, there are others in those categories that could qualify for media mail. Ebay would need to create more refined categories to do this properly.
@golfingaddict wrote:
And to add on to the return process. I found out that a buyer has 35 business days to get the return to the seller after opening a return.
This apparently is due to the Covid situation, I was told that buyers may not be able to get to the post office quickly if they are returning items.
Is this due to change anytime soon?
And why are you still showing sellers a date of 10 days or whatever, when clearly the buyer is given an additional month to return the item? The date shown is false and the buyer still had a lot of time even though the seller thinks the date shown is when the return is due back.
Thank you
@golfingaddct - Great question! The timeframes on when a case may close depend on what actions have taken place in the return. The current timeframes are here under "How long a buyer has to ship the return". To clarify though, case closure timeframes are different from the timeframe the buyer has to return the item (the 10 days).
We did adjust the timeframes for COVID over the summer, but have reverted back to standard timeframes since then. I haven't heard any plans to change these again.
@golfingaddict wrote:
Do you have any information about tracking returns (as a seller) when the buyer does not use a label that is generated from ebay?
I had someone that wanted to return an item due to fit. The information in the return process did not show that the return was shipped and then it suddenly appeared in my mailbox!
As a seller that does not receive mail at my residence, I need to know that packages are coming back especially given ebay's stict refund deadline (2 days)
Why can't the buyer input the tracking on the returns when they do not use the ebay provided label?
Thank you
@golfingaddict if an eBay label is offered then the system will understandably assume the buyer will use it, so the option to provide a different label/tracking number isn't provided. However, the buyer can have customer service input their tracking number if they choose to use their own label. The buyer should be able to send a message with the tracking number as well.
Thanks for joining the chat this week! It's now closed from further questions but we will continue to work through and address any outstanding questions.
@mcdougle4248 wrote:
I realize the dedicated PM board just closed yesterday, however, I was wondering when the new handle Sheila was speaking about will be revealed?
@mcdougle4248 my understanding is that you'll start seeing the new handle posting on the Payments board as early as tomorrow, so keep an eye on that board 🙂
@papermoneyforme wrote:
Sorry to report, but I have been through the same thing got an email that CS tried to call and no answer.
My phone shows all numbers calling in and I have an answering machine also. No record of any calls from Ebay period.
CS outright lies, even in cases.
Hi @papermoneyforme - If this has happened recently (within the last 3 months) I'm happy to have this looked into further. Feel free to tag me to a thread with approximate dates and I can get it reported.
Thanks!
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
A couple things about "Time Away":
On this week's podcast, Harry talked about confusion surrounding the start time. The "Time Away" landing page states "Schedule Time Away", which has led some sellers to believe they could not activate it to start immediately. And the wording (which is apparently a suggestion, not a requirement) under "Start Date" says: "To give yourself time to ship any last minute orders, set your start date a couple days before you head out." But, according to Harry, if I choose the date shown as the default date (today's date) my Time Away will begin immediately. Which is great for some situations. BUT it is really unclear.
I'd like to suggest that ebay make it absolutely clear that choosing today's date starts the Time Away immediately, and that the statement "To give yourself time to ship any last minute orders, set your start date a couple days before you head out." is a recommendation, not a requirement.
The way it is set up right now, those facts are not really clear at all.
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques I'm happy to pass along your feedback 🙂
@maxoptical wrote:
Hello eBay,
I want to know why I get late shipment defects on my account that are sold, shipped, scanned, and verified all on the same day? Every month I have to appeal to Jesica at eBay to have the wrongly applied defect removed. This is every single month for over a year now. How can we get eBay to just fix the bigger problem and not make us sellers jump through hoops to get defects removed?
John Norman
Max Optical LLC.
Hi @maxoptical - I'd imagine that Jesica is working with leadership to report these instances for review and correction by our technical team. That is the best course of action to take.
@maxoptical wrote:
Can I get any update on eBay Alert #12409? Yesterday I had 12 of my 20 sales that would not accept tracking numbers. I can upload them but the numbers don't stick to the transaction and will cause a defect on my account. Also, the seller will not see the tracking causing a Bad Buyer Experience.
John Norman
Max Optical LLC.
Hey @maxoptical - I'm sorry to hear that's the case. The tech team is still reviewing this, so there isn't an update on when it may be fixed. I've reached out to the correct team to see what I can find out and will get back to you.
@b86fiero wrote:
eBay is losing money regarding on the shipping cost portion of final value fees by sellers choosing shipping options for some merchandise not allowed by USPS policy. To wit, coloring books, activity books, puzzle books are prohibited from being shipped at the Media mail rate. Any word on when eBay will prevent these type of listings from displaying the option of Media mail shipping?
@b86fiero there aren't any changes coming that I'm aware of. While we do try and limit which categories can use Media Mail, this is ultimately a USPS policy that they enforce themselves.
@artemisiaa wrote:
How can I increase my selling limits this month? Do I have to subscribe to a eBay store?
Hello @artemisiaa - I am excited to hear you want to grow your business!
Both @donsdetour and @lacemaker3 have given you great information in response to your question below. You'll want to contact customer service at the link @donsdetour provided here for help with your selling limits.
brian@ebay wrote:
@t*jack wrote:
Hello, and thanks for the ability to ask questions. My concern is with U.S. post office scanning issues beyond holiday & COVID causing backlog. Recently packages I’ve shipped are being scanned days & up to two weeks after I’ve mailed them. The post office said they have a ‘new’ scanning system and dependent upon what scanning device is used by them will determine the date items are initially populated into their system for tracking. This is a huge problem as packages shipped on the same day have had different scanning results! The new system has packages initially tracked as ‘origin acceptance’ rather than the typical ‘arrival at unit’ which lets buyers know what day their package was shipped. The new system, as previously stated, disallows the initial date a Seller actually mails the package. This obviously is a nightmare for any of us dealing with this and I am fearful of upset buyers who may not believe I am legitimately mailing packages when I actually have because of this date discretion. (Not to mention negative ratings and meeting ebay’s standards to keep up with timely handling when the post office is scanning so sporadically!
@t*jack I'm not aware of any changes with USPS scanning processes. I'll send your comment to our shipping team to get their insights on this and let you know what I find out.
@t*jack our shipping team hasn't heard of any changes with USPS processes that would result in origin scans taking longer that usual. It sounds like post-holiday volume and COVID related delays are likely the cause of the issues you've encountered.
@gwzcomps wrote:
Why is eBay managing payments when the company continues to prove they are too incompetent and useless to provide phone support?
Also when you randomly stick us with pointless unannounced UI changes it is frustrating. Don't change our interfaces if you aren't going to let us know what changed. It is clear eBay has no intent on fixing site issues. Maybe fire some programmers if all you are going to have them do is busy work!
@gwzcomps - Thanks for sharing your frustrations. You can request a callback from the managed payments team by going to a managed payments help page and scrolling down to the bottom of the page to select this option.
Thank you for your input on UI changed, I'll get that passed along.
