eBay

velvet@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

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!

Velvet,

soh.maryl · ‎12-22-2021

Is there any way at all to convince some sellers that they are not paying 20-25% in fees?

Or do we not care?

One thing I've noticed recently is that quite a few sellers figure the actual shipping cost as part of the FVF (apparently since they don't receive it in their account and figure it has to go somewhere).

Am also more than a little tired of being accused of being an eBay employee or cheerleader if I dare to oppose their contentions.

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here

valueaddedresource · ‎12-22-2021

Hi velvet@ebay - I was surprised to see that the search by image feature has been temporarily removed from the app.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Android-App/Image-search-option-in-the-latest-version-of-the-app/td-p/...

Any idea why that feature has been disabled and when we might expect to see it come back?

Are they working on updating it or was there some technical issue with it?

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here.

gwzcomps · ‎12-22-2021

I know you can't speak in specifics but is eBay planning on doing anything about the recent wave of hijacked accounts buying stuff? Based on staff and CS behavior it is clear eBay knows something is going on. I feel eBay should be taking account security more seriously. Especially if there is any truth to the article I read regarding 14 million supposed hacked eBay/Amazon accounts.

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here

velvet@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

@valueaddedresource wrote:

Hi velvet@ebay - I was surprised to see that the search by image feature has been temporarily removed from the app.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Android-App/Image-search-option-in-the-latest-version-of-the-app/td-p/...

Any idea why that feature has been disabled and when we might expect to see it come back?

Are they working on updating it or was there some technical issue with it?

Hey @valueaddedresource! I'm sorry but we don't have any additional information to provide outside of being informed that the image search functionality has been temporarily turned off for both the iOS and Android apps.

Velvet,

carlqsportscards · ‎12-22-2021

I really like the new Kraft bubble mailers from ebay shipping supplies.

Do you know if they have plans to add a smaller size? Or where I should suggest it?

The size they have is great for an order with multiple cards, but a 4x6 would be nice for single cards.

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Edit: A reply to your suggestion can be found here.

tyler@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

@soh.maryl wrote:

Is there any way at all to convince some sellers that they are not paying 20-25% in fees?

Or do we not care?

One thing I've noticed recently is that quite a few sellers figure the actual shipping cost as part of the FVF (apparently since they don't receive it in their account and figure it has to go somewhere).

Am also more than a little tired of being accused of being an eBay employee or cheerleader if I dare to oppose their contentions.

Hi @soh.maryl - this is an interesting point. I'll get a suggestion made to the payments team to see if there's something they can put together that helps make things clearer.

We expect everyone to act respectfully, whether they agree with you or not. If a post is name calling please report it to the mods so they can review and take appropriate action.

Thanks!

Tyler,

mr_lincoln · ‎12-22-2021

Happy Holidays eBay Support Team!

Subject: Multiple item return - questions & comments

I am in the middle of a multiple item return, it is the first one that I can remember doing.

Scenario:

1. Buyer purchased 2 items via winning Auctions and they were combined on ONE invoice, shipping was combined and adjusted for the Buyer. ONE invoice sent, ONE payment made by the Buyer.

2. The Buyer processed a return but TWO separate returns appeared on my account. I had to Accept them separately and Send pre-paid labels separtely

3. I advised the Buyer to use ONLY ONE of the labels if they used the original package the TWO items came in and to use BOTH labels if they were sending them back separately.

4. As of this writing I am waiting for the claim process to update that the items have been shipped back.

QUESTIONS - COMMENTS

A. Why wouldn't the Buyer's Purchase history allow them to file ONE return claim so I could issue ONE return label and avoid the potential for TWO return defects on my account?

B. Is this the new process that allows a Buyer to return "part" of a multiple purchase? If so it at least addresses the past issue where a multiple item return could NOT be broken up (all or nothing) ... if this has been in place for a while I was not aware of it ... mainly because I haven't done a multiple item return that I can remember.

C. How will eBay handle the return defect situation in this instance?

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

tyler@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

@gwzcomps wrote:

I know you can't speak in specifics but is eBay planning on doing anything about the recent wave of hijacked accounts buying stuff? Based on staff and CS behavior it is clear eBay knows something is going on. I feel eBay should be taking account security more seriously. Especially if there is any truth to the article I read regarding 14 million supposed hacked eBay/Amazon accounts.

Hi @gwzcomps - we have teams working daily to review compromised accounts and take appropriate action. This occurs both reactively and proactively based on reports from members and trends we're seeing.

Thanks!

Tyler,

velvet@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

@carlqsportscards wrote:

I really like the new Kraft bubble mailers from ebay shipping supplies.

Do you know if they have plans to add a smaller size? Or where I should suggest it?

The size they have is great for an order with multiple cards, but a 4x6 would be nice for single cards.

We're so happy to hear you like these bubble mailers @carlqsportscards! I'll definitely pass on your request for smaller sizes.

Velvet,

somanypostcards · ‎12-22-2021

Currently when someone goes to a store there is a store Search option that says "Search all nnn items" (i.e. in the store.) Is it possible to keep this in store search on the search result pages? At present if someone does a store search, the results of the search are show and there is also only a search field for all of eBay; the in store search field has disappeared. The only way they can do another in store search is to hit the back tab. Many buyers might not know this, so a second search takes them out of the store.

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Edit: A reply to your suggestion can be found here.

gwzcomps · ‎12-22-2021

Still don't have an appropriate way to report said accounts. Especially since Trust and Safety refuses to do their job.

The bulk of these accounts in question are older unused ones. Maybe rather than being reactive eBay should be proactive. Seems like there should be some sort of verification required if a 5 year old account starts buying high risk items out of the blue. eBay is plenty fast at attacking seller accounts, but I guess eBay can't profit off fraud as easily on the selling side of things ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Edit: A reply to your comments can be found here

stuff4divas · ‎12-22-2021

Hello

On Dec 7 I had an auto approved free return shipping of gloves for reason ‘does not fit’

The buyer returned them without the retail hangtag. I messaged her about it and she told me to just return the gloves back to her instead of refunding. I did so, but there was no ‘button’ to indicate i was returning instead of refunding.

I did a chat and the agent said he would put the notation on the case for the next agent to see what I was doing and to view the buyer’s request to return instead of refund. Soon after, eBay fully refunded the buyer.

I messaged the buyer about it, she apologized and told me she’d pay me back, which she did thru a PayPal invoice (so refreshing to have an honest buyer). Tracking shows she received the gloves back.

Should I do anything else? The agent said that once the gloves showed ‘delivered’ to let them know. Do I do this? I don’t want to receive a defect.

Thank you

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Edit: A reply to your questions can be found here

tsme35 · ‎12-22-2021

Might want to pass on how expensive their supplies are getting or maybe increase the quarterly coupon amount. I get 100 - 6x4x4 boxes, they were $44 in January, checked yesterday, their $54. When the coupons 1st came out I could get 250 boxes, now I can't even get 100 without paying some.

tyler@ebay · ‎12-22-2021

@mr_lincoln wrote:

Happy Holidays eBay Support Team!

Subject: Multiple item return - questions & comments

I am in the middle of a multiple item return, it is the first one that I can remember doing.

Scenario:

1. Buyer purchased 2 items via winning Auctions and they were combined on ONE invoice, shipping was combined and adjusted for the Buyer. ONE invoice sent, ONE payment made by the Buyer.

2. The Buyer processed a return but TWO separate returns appeared on my account. I had to Accept them separately and Send pre-paid labels separtely

3. I advised the Buyer to use ONLY ONE of the labels if they used the original package the TWO items came in and to use BOTH labels if they were sending them back separately.

4. As of this writing I am waiting for the claim process to update that the items have been shipped back.

QUESTIONS - COMMENTS

A. Why wouldn't the Buyer's Purchase history allow them to file ONE return claim so I could issue ONE return label and avoid the potential for TWO return defects on my account?

B. Is this the new process that allows a Buyer to return "part" of a multiple purchase? If so it at least addresses the past issue where a multiple item return could NOT be broken up (all or nothing) ... if this has been in place for a while I was not aware of it ... mainly because I haven't done a multiple item return that I can remember.

C. How will eBay handle the return defect situation in this instance?

Hi @mr_lincoln!

A. If it had been a single item number, quantity two, it would have worked that way. Combining shipment and payment isn't quite the same thing. Returns are tied to the items themselves, not the shipment.

B. As far as I am aware, that is correct (when it's a multi-item-number-order).

C. From a defect perspective there is no impact as long we aren't asked to step into the returns. From a Service Metrics perspective this would be considered 2 returns opened for not as described reasons (if that was the reason for the return). However, when it comes to your level being 'High' or 'Very High' it would be considered only 1 unique return as it pertains to the threshold.

Tyler,