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!
@michigan_tactical wrote:
how is ebay going to handle the new usps additional postage rates for larger items?
Good question @michigan_tactical! Basically, how you list shouldn't really change. They'll work similarly to the holiday surcharges buyers just experienced. If you're using calculated shipping and everything is entered accurately in the listing (dimensions/weights), then the buyer should be charged the correct amount (including any qualifying surcharge) at the time of purchase.
@gwzcomps wrote:
What I really need as a seller is ACTUAL sales numbers, shipping money collected, refunds, and cancellations broken out in a meaningful way. I don't care about how much sales tax was charged other than for sales in my state. Plus a proper breakout on fees and shipping label charges would be nice. Lumping them together doesn't help me any.
Thanks for these @gwzcomps - I'll get them sent to Payments.
@dryophelia wrote:
There seems to be more than usual, dredging up old threads.
With the constant changing of eBay policy and procedures, it seems that 6 months would be an optimal time to have all threads automatically be locked to further posts.
Is there any considerations for this or is it not a problem?
Hi @dryophelia - this is an ongoing conversation we have as a community team. Allowing enough time for conversations to occur and naturally die down is the goal, and I agree with you that 6 months is a pretty good general rule (with exceptions of course).
The broader question is a systemic one: how do we implement this in such a way that it doesn't monopolize the team's time for weeks, and with minimal impact to community performance as decades of posts get locked or archived. We are working on that still, and it is something that remains top of mind for us.
In the meantime, if you come across threads that have been dredged up from the deep, you can report it to the mod team as a 'zombie' thread and they can address it and lock it.
Thanks!
@clarkphilatelics wrote:
I have posted a several times about difficulties with capturing information from Managed Payments. I did not receive a reply to the most recent post. I have a simple request. If eBay would provide a summary for each payout showing sales, fees, postage, net amount paid, and additional categories, if necessary, into a simple summary with one line with total from individual items enumerated in the payout, all in US dollars. The suggestion that the Payouts report could be downloaded is a nonstarter. Each report requires time and some skill to import into Excel and nothing is totaled. Some entries may not be posted in US dollars. Why must eBay make everything so complicated? Please find someone who can respond substantively.
Hey @clarkphilatelics! When you click into a Payout ID from the Payouts link in the Payments tab, you can see a summary for the sales, fees, postage, net amount, and the total payment amount received.
The Reports we make available to download into Excel are so sellers can organize and use the numbers as they see fit. I'll include a few links below to help pages that discuss how to best utilize these reports though, and if you have a specific mock-up or detailed version of a report you'd like to provide us, we'd be more than happy to pass that on to the Payments team.
Seller Hub reports: here
Sales reports: here
Reconciling your eBay sales transactions: here
@clarkphilatelics wrote:
After a few months of monitoring the weekly chat, I have a couple of observations:
- Problems of a technical nature seem to go over the heads of the moderators.
- Do moderators have enough experience using eBay to create listings, fulfill orders, or capture accounting data and import it into an accounting package?
- The timing and format of the chat does not give posters enough time to post, react, or even attend. If the chat could open a few hours before eBay staff started posted responses, would moderators be able to effectively respond with thoughtful replies instead of reflexively repeated paragraphs from web documentation? How convenient is it to post in a forum that is open for only one hour each week?
Thanks for your feedback on the Community Chat @clarkphilatelics. I can definitely take this input under advisement, and I'd also be happy to share some insight with you as well:
1. Known technical issues are things we can speak to, and we do. If you are reporting a potential technical issue that is account specific, or would require account-specific troubleshooting that isn't something the weekly chat can help you with. That's why we oftentimes ask you to contact CS to report them.
2. A qualitative question like this is difficult for me to answer for you. I can tell you that the Community team both buys and sells on the platform via our personal trading ids. As to your accounting questions, I'm not certain we have experience capturing accounting data or utilizing the software packages you mention.
3. The time and format of the weekly chat is something we've discussed changing - but the reality of the situation is that there is not a single time that will work for everyone involved. The format of the chat is out of necessity. As a three person team our resources are limited.
Ultimately, the Community is a peer to peer support network, not a customer support channel. The Weekly Chat is our team's commitment to address questions that you may have about eBay, and be frank with you when the questions, concerns or comments you share with us are out of scope.
