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.
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@justsc92 wrote:
SEPTEMBER UPDATE ON JUST ONE COMMON COUNTERFEIT SPORTS CARD I UPDATED EBAY ABOUT ONE MONTH AGO. ”Patrick Mahomes Cracked Ice Auto” # 20 of 25.
”Patrick Mahomes Cracked Ice Auto” # 20 of 25. All # 20 of 25. Entering September 2020, 290 copies of this same # 20 of 25 have been sold on eBay. Highest sale to date over $ 700 and 43 reprints having sold for over $ 100.00 from April 2020 until Aug 2020.
In the month of September, another 65 of this same counterfeit # 20 of 25 were sold on eBay. A worthless counterfeit sold 65 times in one month, and 10 of those sold for more than $ 100.00.
The Patrick Mahomes 2017 Panini RC Optic Contenders Auto Reprint, # 103 is approaching over 1000 counterfeits sold on eBay since April.
eBay does have huge issues with sellers selling reprinted (or RP) sports cards that are counterfeited, unauthorized copies.
eBay stated a month ago that they would look into this, and sadly more eBay members have been scammed.
In all if I look at “Patrick Mahomes auto reprint” and “Patrick Mahomes auto RP” as searches in eBay, I find currently 106 counterfeit listing (all against eBay policy), and another total 167 listings (~ 197 cards) counterfeits sold in September.
I will update you again October 1 st. In the meantime, how do I contact eBay’s compliance office and eBay’s legal department regarding this issue? Can you please provide contact information. Thank You.
@justsc92 Our policy doesn't allow sellers to sell counterfeit items on our site. Using the Report Item link on a listing is the best way to alert the appropriate teams when you believe an item may be counterfeit . That team reviews every report and does take action based on their findings.
You'll find contact information for eBay headquarters here.
Thanks for joining the chat this week! It's closed from further replies but we will keep working to make sure that all questions receive a response.
Thanks!
@maxoptical wrote:
I was told by an Anchor Store rep that the 95 percent upload and verified TRS requirement was decreased to 90 percent during the pandemic. Is this true and if it is can I get a link to the documents with this new percentage.
John Norman
Max Optical LLC.
@maxoptical it sounds like you were given inaccurate information as that isn't a protection we've announced. You'll find all the temporary COVID-19 protections offered to sellers on our announcements page.
@a_c_green wrote:
Hi all,
We ran out of time last week on the topic of Shipping form problems, in particular how the package dimensions were coming into the Shipping form unlabeled and in the reverse order of how they had been entered by the user. There was also disagreement on how the dimensions were generally ordered as standard practice. I normally trim followup quotes as they can quickly get to an ungodly length here, but am including (most of) the full quote just this once in order to get us back up to speed, as I noticed today that the problem is more deep-seated than first reported, something I'll get to below:
> @mam98031 wrote:
>> @a_c_green wrote:
>>> @mam98031 wrote
>>>> @mr_lincoln wrote
>>>> [...]
>>>> Subject: New Label Flow - Dimensions
>>>>
>>>> This request is a few weeks old, can you please provide an update
>>>> from the Shipping & Handling Team on the request to correct the
>>>> dimensional order of Length x Width x Height of packages. On the
>>>> listing form and pretty much everywhere else in life we enter
>>>> L x W x H but the most recent Label Flow has it backwards when it
>>>> transfers the Listing form dimensions to the label flow ...
>>>> they are showing H x W x L ...
>>>
>>> Standard on this kind of stuff is usually width by height by depth.
>>> That is standard in so many industries and I'm not sure why they are
>>> bucking the system on this one. It only creates confusion and mistakes.
>>
>> For clarity (especially since the fields aren't even labeled on the
>> Shipping form, as seen in the screenshot, I think we should describe
>> the order of values as Longest First and Shortest Last.
>> Length x Width x Depth is also a common description, but for Girth
>> calculations (Longest dimension, followed by distance around), there
>> has to be either an assumption that the Longest value comes first, or
>> the coding has to be smart enough to see which of the three values is
>> the greatest, and then treat the other two as Width and Depth.
>>
>> Frankly, I don't trust the coding seen to date in the new Shipping form,
>> and having the dimension fields come up both unlabeled and in the reverse
>> order that they were entered by the user does not inspire confidence.
>> Can we get whoever does Shipping form coding these days to correct the
>> order of the values to be as entered by the user, and label them for
>> clarity? (I did submit this as a request via the link on the Shipping
>> form some time back, but have seen nothing in response. I also pointed
>> out some bad grammar in the form that needed fixing, and that is not
>> fixed either.)
>
> Except that would be different than the way it is often done. Even USPS
> goes width, height, depth. To do something different than that seems to
> be to add unnecessary confusion.
Actually no, USPS uses Length, Width and Height, where Length comes up first and is the longest dimension, such as in this example from their Shipping calculation form:
This is also stated in their procedure for Girth calculations, in those Shipping methods that use it:
Length-first is also the order in which they specify dimensions of their own packaging:
PayPal also uses this standard practice for package dimension ordering in their Ship-Now form:
In short, it's only the eBay Shipping form that's introducing the dimensional values unlabeled and backwards, which at best confusing and at worst misleading. In fact, the errors are slightly worse than mr_lincoln first described, which I'll get to in a moment here.
The Create Your Listing form does not label the fields either, but inspecting the form coding shows the field names to be pkgLength, pkgWidth and pkgHeight in that order. In Google Chrome, you can see this for yourself by right-clicking on each field and selecting the Inspect option from your popup menu. The relevant code will come up highlighted in a frame on the right.
Any decision process within the Shipping form that uses a Girth calculation needs to add the Length (longest distance) to the distance around the other two dimensions. For example, a package that's 48"L x 18"W x 12"H in standard notation has a Girth of 108" (48+18+18+12+12). The Shipping form would show these dimensions unlabeled as 12 x 18 x 48 instead, and any code assuming that Length comes first, which it usually does, runs the risk of overestimating the Girth as 144" (12+18+18+48+48).
Now, here in the Shipping form is where things have gone sideways, and more so than first thought. In our example above, the Shipping form will show the dimensions on-screen as 12 x 18 x 48. If we inspect the field names in this form as we did in the Listing form above, the Shipping form is actually presenting what it thinks is the Length first: that field input name is dimensions.length, even though the value it's showing came from pkgHeight in the original form. Similarly, the third field input name is dimensions.height, even though the value it's showing came from pkgLength in the original form. Somewhere along the line, the stored dimensions got transposed into the opposite order, such as Last In First Out instead of First In First Out. Any process using those values for a Girth calculation will get it wrong.
In summary, I can see how an initial oversight like this can sneak through into Beta testing, but good grief, that bit of weirdness should have leapt off the screen. We sellers spotted it right away. Yet it's been an eternity (in QA Testing time) and no one has corrected it, or even replied to you Community folks to let us know when the fix can be expected.
An umpty-bazillion-dollar entity like eBay really needs to implement basic peer-review and QA testing for its website code. Dumping a new release into the wild for users to troubleshoot is just sloppy, and failure to correspond or have any useful dialogue about how quickly a fix can be developed is inexcusable. You folks in the Weekly Chat need to put pressure on the Engineering side to get their act together and start delivering some meaningful support, in both communication and software fixes.
Hi @a_c_green - thanks for providing this additional context! I'll make sure it's also sent to the right folks on the shipping team.
@van1p_74 wrote:
eBay have underage user policy, but eBay don't check users for his age. Why? Or I am wrong? I think many people are using eBay and have below 18.
But I have another question. If the user had been registered his account when he had below 18, but the eBay didn't suspend or restricted him, what he should do when he turns 18? Close account or continue to use it? Can it be suspended further for that, or as he turned 18 age violation policy stops to act?
@van1p_74 we do check the age of members based on the birthdate provided when they create the account. If a member believes either a buyer or seller is under 18 (which does violate our underage user policy) then they can report the account to us for review.
If an account is suspended for because the user is underage then it will remain suspended even after the member reaches age 18. If an account was created while a member was under the age of 18 and this is discovered after they've reached age 18 the account will still be suspended.
Members who've had their accounts suspended for violating the underage policy can create a new account once they've reached 18 years of age.
@rock4best wrote:
We have a serious problem with USPS pick up. For this reason we put 3 days handling time. Why eBay didn't account for this and promise delivery of First Class mail on very next day after our shipping day? How we can get this situation to be fixed? Thanks.
@rock4best the estimated delivery time calculation takes into consideration your historical shipping times. For example, if a seller historically ships within 1 business day then the calculation will take this into account when estimated the delivery date. However it's important to note that sellers are protected from late shipping marks if they ship the item within their stated handling time.
@buyselljack2016 wrote:
Someone (or more) in the IT department needs to be replaced.
I get an offer on a listing.
I accept.
It shows that I can then send an invoice.
When I click on that, this appears.
OK, I'm smart enough to click on the here
Scroll down on the invoice, and see this. The account is in MP, so I don't get payments via PP, and the email displayed is not even associated with my PP anyway.
Oh well, another day in paradise.
@buyselljack2016 thanks for letting us know about this!
@maxoptical wrote:
Brian,
The problem is the return is now locked on the seller hub stating "waiting for the buyer's response" and I no longer have the ability to upload a tracking number to the return.
John Norman
Max Optical LLC.
@maxoptical it's hard to give a specific answer without seeing the return. I can email you today and get the return number then review it. Thanks!
@wooperwares wrote:
I'm critical of y'all (eBay Staff). I do however appreciate you being here and taking questions overall. Answers like this might as well just be ignored. When the user reported counterfeits multiple chats ago, you said to do the same and report it. Nothing actually happens and its a major disservice to buyers and sellers.
@wooperwares thanks for your input! I know it can be frustrating to see the same answer given, just as it can be frustrating for me to continue to have to give it. However, what I've provided is the correct way to report potential counterfeits to the appropriate team. Providing details about policy and how to report items is within the scope of what I can do in my role, while taking action on suspected counterfeit items is not. That's why I continue to educate on the proper way to report items for review. Thanks!
@nuclearomen wrote:
questions, where are the supposed "tools" we are supposed to have to help manage and optimize Promoted Listings? I was on phone with sales team and they said we are supposed to have a tool that helps optimize things like key words, but on the Promoted Listings Manager link there is no such tool or any tools at all, all it is a compiled list of listings that are promoted with option box to change the percent elected or use the slide bar. The sales rep said they were not giving any information just like sellers and have no idea where we find these so called optimization tools or if ebay simply said they we have but haven't actually given to us yet???
next question, I would to see how ebay is coming up with these new "suggested" rates on items for promotion. Meaning the actual data on sales of each item to justify the "suggested" PL rate. Because I deal in music > vinyl and been for over 20 years and I can tell you right now a lot of the rates being suggested are insanely high 8% - 9% - 12%??? on a vinyl??? Common, you have to be joking! Terra peak is that the data ebay is using to determine these suggested rates? Then for the genres I deal in, in metal category they are certainly way off because the past sales data either doesn't exist for band/title/format or there are way too few of them to justify such a high suggestion for percentage rates on Promoted Listings. It says the new rates are being determined by past sales data, but that’s just not true, I went through Terrapeak for over half my items and there is no sales data on many of them yet ebay is saying their suggested rate for many are at 8-9% so it’s more that ebay has no actual data and are just fishing to get more and more and more money.
Does ebay expect sellers to pay 11.5% + as well as $0.30 Transaction Fee + 8-9% on a sale through a promoted listing equaling 20% + total in Fees??? That is INSANE! – 20% and seems with new PL algorithm if sellers don’t promote at the suggested rate they get no sales – it’s a pay to play scam - know you will say that’s not true but it is and there is plenty of sellers who have testified that their sales went to nothing since Sep 3rd (including mine) when ebay implemented this new PL – our views, both organic and external flatlines to near nothing and sales gone the same way.
How much does ebay greed need to be before you realize that buyers will not pay such prices and just leave the site all together because sellers raising prices to pay ebay and PL percentages. Everything has a cap, it is called Fair Market Value and Competition. There needs to be a new thinking here, seriously! Items under $100 should have a cap – no matter the category of item – of no more then 4% election on Promoted Listing. Ebay will still make millions in extra un-needed fees and hopefully not drive sellers out of business! It’s just as much in ebay’s interest to keep sellers happy and in business, when your taking all the profits from merch you don’t own and sellers are leaving cause they aren’t making anything after sales, and not a just a few, what is ebay without your good sellers? This needs to change and fast!
Last thing - Shipping - Shipping time/notices on listings are wrong, they now say "3 day shipping, 4 day shipping - or Fast & Free...for any method... my media mail vinyl shiping says Fast & Free... somethings wrong.
Hi @nuclearomen - a few questions here! Let me try to extract and address them as best I can:
"where are the supposed "tools" we are supposed to have to help manage and optimize Promoted Listings?"
There are a few tools available to you, though to be clear there isn't one I'm aware of that suggests keywords or titles. One of the more recent additions is a reporting option that allows you to review X over X time comparisons, as well as adding more information about your promoted sell rate compared to organic. Both of those options should show in the Summary screen of your Promoted Listing dashboard.
In my opinion, the most powerful tool you have is access to reporting. You can download a Sales report from the link on the top right of your Promoted Listings dashboard which will take you to a seller-level report of all Promoted Listing sales (available for last 90 days). From there you can evaluate things like your Impressions, Clicks, sold as well as your Click Through Rate. Those factors can give you a good idea of how your campaigns are performing and where you can make adjustments to improve them.
For example, if your click through rate (CTR) unexpectedly drops, it can be a signal that you're receiving the same volume of impressions, but something has stopped buyers from clicking through to your listing pages. This could indicate that key buyer signals like price, shipping, and seller rating may have recently changed and is having a negative impact on your CTR.
"I would to see how ebay is coming up with these new "suggested" rates on items for promotion."
Because the suggested ad rate is tailored to each seller based on a number of factors (more on that below) I'm not certain that there is any place I can point you to that will show you what you're looking for.
The old trending rates were calculated based on ad rates for similar items sold via Promoted Listings, and only looked at listings in the same sub-category, price range and condition.
The suggested ad rates look at item-specific, historical and predictive data to tailor an ad rate for each of your listings. Some of these factors may include an item’s condition, price, and past organic performance, as well as the current competition in promoted listings and the seasonality for that specific item. Based on these factors, the suggested ad rate is calculated to help you find the optimal balance between cost and performance.
"Does ebay expect sellers to pay 11.5% + as well as $0.30 Transaction Fee + 8-9% on a sale through a promoted listing equaling 20% + total in Fees???"
Selling via Promoted Listing campaigns is optional and not required of you to sell on eBay. If you choose to promote an item in this way we'd expect you to pay the ad rate percentage you agreed to in addition to the Final Value Fee charged for the category (inclusive of any fees associated with managed payments if your account has been activated for that program)
"Shipping time/notices on listings are wrong, they now say "3 day shipping, 4 day shipping - or Fast & Free...for any method... my media mail vinyl shiping says Fast & Free"
'Fast and Free' is a program that takes into account your shipping method, historical averages of that shipping method as well as the viewer's location. For example - someone in the same ZIP code as your item's stated location may see 'Fast and Free' based on their distance and the average delivery time for the service, while a buyer looking at the same listing several states away may not.
Thanks!
@papermoneyforme wrote:
Hi Tyler
I closed my store and paid the prepayment penalty.
Ebay however decided to bill me until 10/15 as well as me paying the prepayment penalty which is a crock and out right stealing.
I spent 1/2 an hour on the phone with support. I was supposed to get a credit for the incorrect billing and as usually with CS nothing has happened with the credit.
Ebay makes sure they take their blood money immediately but take their own sweet time with correcting billing errors.
I have a ticket number and if you want to PM me, I will give the details.
CS is becoming a joke with their constant disservice.
It is setting a very bad example that sellers have to toe the line and yet CS can use excuse after excuse for no service.
And on top of that, the HTML error etc is still not fixed and it takes forever to post on the boards.
@papermoneyforme I'm happy to take a look at the invoice to get more insight. I'll send you an email later today. Thanks!
@glgenterprise wrote:
Another question on shipping:
Is there any progress on the issue that has been in place since at least the last two shipping module updates, where we lost the ability to change the ship from zip code? I know there is a work around where we use the PO Office address as general delivery as our return address, but this is full of problems, like when a package is returned for no or expired forwarding order, or undeliverable as addressed.
On the USPS site, they provide a checkbox that allows for a change to the ship from zip code, that rates the packages correctly and gives the correct credit to the physical PO, but does not overwrite the seller's actual return address.
The physical PO closest to me has gotten more and more crabby about the zip code not being correct if I don't change my whole return address (I had a very uncomfortable situation where I was verbally berated by a counter staff member just last week). This office has a different three digit prefix than my actual return address zip code. The difference in mileage for me to take items to the "correct" office is 30 miles round trip - which will become more challenging in the quickly approaching winter months.
Last I asked about this 6 months ago, it was pretty much dismissed.
Hi @glgenterprise - sorry, I'm not quite following you on this. You are able to set the 'Ship From' address of your choice from your Address Settings and you can then use that as a drop down in the label field. You are able to list a separate ship from and return to address without issue.
If you are shipping from your local Post Office, can you just use their address as the ship from while keeping your return to address your actual return address?
Feel free to tag me to a thread with more detail on this, sorry for my confusion!
@glgenterprise wrote:
A managed payment related question -
I had a buyer open a return request for a expensive item. Which immediately resulted in eBay putting my account in the negative to that amount. Buyer and I negotiated a small discount. Previous to MP, I could issue a partial refund and if the buyer accepted it would close the return. Now, that is not an option. I called CS to close this out yesterday morning and there is no sign of it being reviewed at the 36 hour mark. eBay had no problem immediately grabbing the funds, but releasing them is a 24-48 hour process????
Let's assume that the claim closes overnight. The sales that I have made since then that have not quite made up the negative amount will finally clear, but my deposit will not even be initiated until tomorrow night, making it Monday at the earliest before I get my funds. This will be 1 day short of two weeks that eBay will have enjoyed interest made on my funds. There has to be a faster way to get these claims to clear up.
Hi @glgenterprise - required disclaimer:
As someone who is not an expert on managed payments I may not be able to address your question in its entirety. If you have been notified to register for managed payments you are able to request a call back from a payments-trained teammate by accessing any of the Help Pages related to payments and using the 'Have us call you' feature at the bottom of the page.
The information provided is accurate as of today's date (09 30 2020) but may become outdated in the future. If you are reading this at a later date please consider checking the Help Pages or request a call back from a managed payments teammate who can provide the most up to date information.
With that out of the way, eBay does not earn interest on pending payments, payments scheduled for payout, or payments that are in the process of being paid out.
As to your return situation in detail, you'll need to speak directly with a payments trained teammate who can assist. Thanks!
