Ep 298 || Our Quarterly All Question and Answer Episode

[podcast_team]

Griff and Kayomi answer questions from eBay sellers, addressing topics such as sending offers to buyers, turning off autofill features on item specifics, handling missing packages, and managing inventory. Griff, Kayomi, and Georgea discuss eBay's Seller Weeks program.

Episode Links:
Shipping Discounts Help Page
Recurring Links:
eBay for Business Podcast
eBay Seller Spotlight Podcast
eBay for Business Podcast Listener Survey
eBay Seller News Announcements
eBay for Business Facebook
Community Chat with eBay Staff
eBay Seller Center
eBay Help
eBay Local Seller Events
Seller Hub
eBay Events

Kayomi: I'm Kayomi Kayoshi.

Griff: And I'm Griff, and this is the eBay for business podcast, your favorite source for the information and inspiration you need to help you start, manage, and grow a business on the world's most powerful marketplace. This is episode two ninety eight.

Kayomi: And this is also our all questions and answer episode.

Griff: Yes, indeed, it is. And we've selected questions on topics like item specifics autofill, shipping discounts, how to apply them, sending offers to ghosts, and what to do if my buyer says the package never arrived, but tracking shows that it was delivered. All that and more. But first, let's check it out. Is there any news, Kayomi?

Kayomi: Absolutely. I have news. So joining us today for some eBay news is our friend and host from the eBay Solar Spotlight series, Georgia and Georgia Mampanis. Hi, Georgia.

Georgea: That's okay. They butcher it every time. It's fine. Hi, Griff. Hi, Kayomi.

Kayomi: I'm used to it too. It's okay.

Griff: Hi, Georgia.

Georgea:Thanks for having me!

Griff: Well, so Georgia, what do you have for us today in the news?

Georgea: Yeah. So as you know, engaging with sellers is important, you know, to eBay and to us specifically. And so we have numerous channels we go through whether it's social media channels, we've got IG, we've got Facebook, we've got YouTube, We got some events, seller meetings and forums.

Griff: And the podcast.

Georgea: And the podcast. Can't forget about that. No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it last. I should have said it first. But our newest initiative, and by new, I mean, like, in the last year or so, has been to connect with sellers at our offices across the country. We call them seller weeks. The seller weeks program was designed to give sellers exposure to eBay teams and leadership while also deepening, our understanding of eBay's diverse seller community. So it's a great opportunity for us as well. Yeah.

Kayomi: Mhmm. Georgia, remind me, how many have we done so far?

Georgea: So to date, about a thousand eBay employees have engaged with around a thousand sellers. So that's, like, a one to one ratio around our offices in Austin, Salt Lake City, Portland, Bellevue, San Jose, San Francisco, and New York. Still waiting for Toronto. I don't know if that's gonna happen, but hopefully, you know, we got a bunch of sellers out there. I'm there.

Griff: So hopefully It's George's home base. So she wants to

Georgea: have it in Toronto. Although Toronto listeners, don't worry. I'm pushing. I'm pushing.

Georgea: But you know, it's been a great opportunity for us to get feedback from sellers of all different levels of selling at different categories and really understand how all aspects of eBay affect sellers. We've learned so much from our sellers and feel inspired to better help their businesses. And, you know, while I need campus, we've hosted multiple events over the few days that we've been there to make sure, you know, there's a wide range of representation across both sellers and eBay teams. So, like, if someone can't make you one day or to one event, we got something else for you. Come out.

Griff: And it's kind of reciprocal. Right? Because you've also visited a few sellers at their actual places of business, correct?

Georgea: We did. So whether it's like a brick or mortar store, some people have like an actual storefront and some people have a warehouse and we've gotten a glimpse of how they run their business, you know, their day to day eBay stores, including how they organize and store their inventory. And we see how, like, their shipping stations are set up, for example. It's really great. I myself have been to a few, and it's very fascinating to see the unique operations each of these sellers have. It's also so wonderful to meet, like, the forces behind these businesses, whether it's just like this one off seller, if they have, like, a huge team behind them, it's great to meet everyone.

Griff: And they must be so happy to see you when you show up. Right? They're proud of their businesses, and they're glad someone from eBay is there.

Georgea: I feel like a celebrity every time I walk into those doors.

Kayomi: Georgia, I remember we went to one. It was a music store when we were in Bellevue, and just being able to get that insight into this Seattle, Bellevue music scene was so special, and I loved it. I was like a music lover. I know,

Griff, we always talk about music here.

Griff: We do. Yeah.

Kayomi: That was great. Any other memorable experiences? I'm sure there are a ton you'd like to share, Georgia.

Georgea: There are. I remember there's one. Actually, I think it was the first ever seller visit I did. I mean, one of the seller weeks, and it was really interesting. The seller was so fun, so engaging. He was, like, explaining to us, you know, how organized his inventory system was, but he's like, you know what? It's one thing for me to explain it to you. And there's one thing for me to like show you how organized I am. So he kind of like started this game with us. So he sells jerseys and he's like, okay, tell me your favorite team. And I'll tell you exactly where to locate it. If you don't find it within five minutes, there's clearly a fault in my inventory system. And we're like, okay. And so I don't remember who I picked at the time. Let's just say the Toronto Maple Leafs just because I have to, whether they're my favorite team or not. Toronto Maple Leafs it was. And so he's like, okay. You're gonna find them in bin z seventy five. And I'm like, oh my god. This thing was, like, at least, you know, fifteen hundred square feet. It was massive. Bins after bins after bins. And within five minutes, I was able to find it because he just had such an organized system. Everything was labeled in an order, and I found it right away. That was a fun game to just show how he's able to access an inventory on a day to day basis. It was great. Yeah. And then another one. So my father is a mechanic, was a mechanic for sixty plus years, retired now, but I was always surrounded by cars. And so I kind of have a little bit of knowledge in cars, especially like the old ones, like how rare they are. And so we went to a seller's garage where he's also a P and A seller and there were some cars in there. And I was like, I literally, the first thing I said to him, I was like, do you mind if I take pictures and show my dad? He's gonna be so amazed. And so just seeing those was just really great because I have that, like, personal connection to cars. There's a ton other ones that stood out, but those are like the two top ones I can think of. We have visited sellers in close proximity to the office, so so we look forward to meeting more sellers across the US throughout this program. Stay tuned for where we're coming to next, but we'll be in a sitting near you, hopefully. Exciting.

Griff: I should go to one of these.

Kayomi: You should.

Griff: I should, but I probably won't, but I should.

Kayomi: They're great. Who knows? Maybe we'll have one in Southern California. That can be your pitch, Griff.

Griff: Okay. That I'd be happy to take part in that. Well, Georgia, thanks so much for stopping by. We'll see you again because we have you on next week.

Georgea: Oh, yeah. I do. Patty. Everyone knows Patty. We have a seller spotlight segment with her, so I'm really excited for that one.

Griff: Patty Whitlock for those of you who are wondering what her last name was.

Georgea: I feel like I didn't even have to say her last name. Most people know her.

Griff: It's like Madonna, Cher, Patty. Well, Georgia, thank you so much. This has been a lot of fun, and we'll see you next week.

Kayomi: Thanks, Georgia.

Georgea: Thank you.

Griff: Bye. Kayomi, you and I have some questions to answer.

Kayomi: Let's get into it. You've got questions.

Griff: We've got answers because this is our quarterly all questions episode. No guests except for you and your questions, and we selected four questions for this week.

Kayomi: And remember, you can always submit your questions either as a voice mail at eight eight eight seven two three four six three zero or an email at podcast at ebay dot com. And, Griff, correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a hunch that you'd like me to read the first one.

Griff: Really? How did you know?

Kayomi: Instinct. Sharpened it over time.

Griff: Yes.

Kayomi: So this first question is from our regular valued listener, Suzanne. Remember her?

Griff: Oh, I certainly do. Suzanne just asked us a question recently about time away, so how could I forget? And I think she was the one who said she was fearful of getting a zing.

Kayomi: I know. She makes it hard to forget. Well, she responded with the following question. Thank you for clearing up time away. It's worth the effort to make those sales. No Zings for me. Thank you very much. I'm back from Brimfield in Boukville, New York, and it was, as always, fun and profitable. There is something pretty special driving down the main street and waving to friends that I haven't seen since September, Brimfield. It's the closest thing to being in a parade. Kiyomi, you mentioned that some eBay sellers met up there. I would love to be included if there is a meetup in July and or September. Since I'm feeling very valued right now, I have another query. Every once in a while, it happened today, I received send offers to buyers. Three of the four items had no watchers. Am I sending offers to ghosts? I tried looking it up, but nothing has been noted since twenty nineteen. It's always a pleasure to make you laugh, Griff. You certainly make me laugh so much that I have to pull over if I'm driving whenever you read or respond to my email. It's much safer that way. I don't want my car to get a ding.

Griff: A ding.

Kayomi: Your valued regular listener, VRL, Suzanne Shearman.

Griff: Well, Suzanne, when you send offers to buyers, those offers can go to buyers who have, obviously, watched your listing. They have it in your in their watch list. But also, it's, sent to buyers who have put the item in their shopping cart, and they may not have watched the item, so you won't see them. And it also goes out to buyers who have viewed the listing a few times, usually more than once, and they may not have watched the item. So you can have an item that has no watchers, and yet there are buyers who will receive an offer for that item. So even though your item hasn't had watchers, given these, it's possible that a buyer has viewed your listing a few times, which we interpret as expressing interest. Or put the item in their cart, which we definitely interpret as expressing strong interests. So that's why that happens. Please continue to send in your questions, and thank you for pulling over to keep other drivers safe when you're listening to the podcast.

Kayomi: And, Suzanne, I'm not sure where you're located, but the seller that was out there, he hosts our Boston chapter. And so if you're interested, go to seller events dot ebay dot com and look up the Boston chapter and you'll see it.

Griff: Yeah. And we'll put a link to it in the summary for this episode.

Kayomi: Absolutely.

Griff: Now our next question was sent to podcast at ebay dot com by seller Doug who asks, hi, Kayomi and Griff. Love the info you both provide, and I'm wondering if there is a way to turn off autofill features on item specifics. I figured that I spend about twenty percent of my listing time undoing entries that eBay makes for me. If my title says new in box, it will show boxing as the subject. When listing auto repair manuals covering a range of years in the title, it'll pick a year and show show that as the model year. Star Wars figures list the patterns as stars. This really slows down the listing process. If there isn't a way to turn it off, can you pass this on to the right person as I'm sure there is a common frustration? Thanks again for all you do. Sequim Salty up in Washington. Doug Young. Oh, I love Sequim. What a great area of the world. I actually considered moving there once.

Kayomi: Oh, I'll have to make my way out there at some point.

Griff: Beautiful weather.

Kayomi: Well, Doug, thank you so much for sending your question in. I kind of got a bit of a laugh out of it. Just hearing your struggles, I think we can all commiserate with you.

Griff: Oh, yeah.

Kayomi: Alas, there is not a way at this time to turn off the item specific autofold feature.

Griff: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's true, Doug. I sometimes, I share your, frustration because I find them a little annoying as well. I do have some background as to why there is no option for shutting them off and I believe it has to do with machine learning. The engine that drives item specifics learns. It's always learning what to autofill based on specifics chosen by sellers for previous listings.

Kayomi: You know, when I was reading it, I thought, well, I was hoping that was true. I've used different AI tools and things like that where sometimes they do learn based off of past experiences and sometimes they don't. So, I mean, that would make sense, but is that factual? Are we sure about that, Greg?

Griff: But, of course, I'm not sure about that. It's pure speculation, but it sure sounds right. So, maybe in order to keep the seller input data, for item specifics robust and continuing, that might be the reason the team hasn't provided an option for shutting the autofill feature off if it's even possible. But maybe sometime in the future, they might. So who knows?

Kayomi: Yeah. Fingers crossed. And again, this was all speculation, so don't quote us, but

Griff: Well, you can quote us on the part where it says there's no option to shut it off. I mean, that's factual.

Kayomi: That is factual.

Griff: I just kinda went out on a limb when I was speculating why.

Kayomi: Exactly. And I think we're on to something. Our next question comes from eBay seller, Matt, who sent this to podcast at eBay dot com. Hello, Kayomi andGriff. I decided to get a jump start on the eBay discounted shipping rollout by offering my own discount at fifteen percent, and things were fine until I sold a book via media mail and a patch via eBay standard envelope. To my surprise, the fifteen percent discount was applied to both media mail, a non discounted service, and the eBay standard envelope, which is a flat rate. I've adjusted my business policies with these classes via the handling fee to get as close to the actual cost as possible. But I'm concerned that this discount is being applied to non discountable discountable services. Is there a plan to look into this? Matt Miles.

Griff: Well, thank you, Matt. There is a difference between passing on carrier discounts and providing your own custom shipping discount. So when you visit that page for setting up shipping discounts, you'll see there's two options, Carrier discounts, and you can just set up to pass that rate discount that you get onto your buyers, or your own custom discounts where you can set a percentage that is applied to your shipping.

Kayomi: And just to be clear, there is a specific page for configuring how you handle carrier or your own shipping discounts, and you reach it by going to the My eBay, then the account tab, and then shipping preferences.

Griff: Yeah. And you'll see it there. It says discounts, and you just click the edit feature. So yeah. Thanks for that reminder, Kayomi. So, Matt, you're correct about Media Mail and eBay standard envelope. There's no discount that's applied and then you can pass on. Media mail is, of course, a nondiscounted service. It doesn't receive a discount, that you can pass on or keep. And USPS provides flat rate for the eBay standard envelope. If you select to pass carrier discounts to your buyers, there won't be any discounts for those two services. However, if you, as you said you did, opt for providing your own custom discount by a percentage and you said fifteen percent, that is a seller based discount, not a carrier based discount, and it's going to apply to all carriers and all services including Media Mail and eBay standard envelope, which is a tiered service based on weight actually. So it's not quite flat rate. It's just there's different price points depending on the weight of the envelope. So for a seller based custom discount, no services or carriers are exempt. You can read more about shipping discounts on the relevant help page. Just click help and contact on the top of any eBay page, and then use the term shipping discounts to search, and it'll pop right up.

Kayomi: Great information. Chris, just curious. Do you pass on your carrier discounts to your buyers?

Griff: Oh, I do. It keeps my shipping costs competitive, and it reduces my shipping label costs for listings where I offer free shipping. But that's just me. A seller can choose to keep or pass on those discounts at their discretion. And finally, I've seen several questions this week, both on our Facebook page and also others, and it seems to be a common question. Different variations, but the same theme. And the question goes something like this. A customer claims they never received their package. Tracking shows it was delivered to the address eBay provided. What should I do? Says the seller. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to go through the steps a seller should employ when a customer tells a seller that they've never received their item. The tracking says the item was delivered.

Kayomi: Oh my gosh, Griff. This is like rubbing salt in an open wound, I feel like. I just saw something similar like this in the community, and the seller thought they were doing a good thing by refunding them and, like, trying to work with them. So I'm glad we're clearing this up.

Griff: Not that that's not a bad thing, but the seller doesn't have to do that if tracking shows it's delivered.

Kayomi: Yeah. And I think they were trying to work it out with the buyer. I don't know. I haven't checked in on that thread in a minute. I don't know if it turned out well and they weren't on a buyer. But if tracking shows that the parcel was delivered, then you as the seller are not liable for the item. But a lot of sellers just stop at step one and tell their buyer, well, too bad because tracking shows it was delivered to your address, so I guess you're out of luck.

Griff: Yeah. And that's not the right thing to do here even though it's true. Keep in mind, you've got this buyer who hasn't received their package through not necessarily any fault of their own. So we want to at least make them feel better. So the right step is this step, step one. You wanna respond to your buyer and express your concern, but don't mention that you as a seller are not responsible once the package tracking shows as delivered. Try to avoid going there. Provide instead a link to the carrier's tracking number web page to show that the status shows it's delivered, and then provide them with some possible actions they can take. For example, is it possible that the package was delivered to a neighbor by mistake? That's happened a lot. Maybe another option would be or another possible reason would be, do they have a security camera like a ring camera showing the delivery? Is it possible that the item was delivered to an unsecured destination where it might have been swiped up by a porch pirate. We know they're out there, so that's always a possibility.

Kayomi: Yeah. Unfortunately. And next, step two, which is if the buyer responds with a no to all of your questions, then advise them to contact their carrier and inquire about the missing package. Some delivery persons will take a photo of the package, where they left it. Also, although not common, sometimes a parcel is marked delivered when it hasn't actually been delivered yet. Advise your buyer to wait a day or two to see if it arrives. If the buyer responds that the parcel still is missing or that their carrier claims it was delivered to the address on the label, then move on to step three, which is?

Griff: Step three, ask the buyer to open an Item Not Received case for the transaction. You can do this safely because the tracking shows as delivered, This case won't impact your performance metrics and or your wallet. In some cases, eBay may refund the buyer out of eBay's pocket, but eBay will never require or take a refund from the seller's account for an item not received when tracking shows that the package was delivered to the address that the buyer provided to eBay.

Kayomi: And something else to consider. As a seller, you can always add signature confirmation to your shipping label, which will require the carrier to collect a signature from someone at the address as a condition of leaving the item at that address. That way, a parcel will not be left on the porch or doorstep if no one is at the address to sign for it.

Griff: Yeah. That's true. But you have to also keep in mind that requiring the buyer to have a signature by somebody there and they're not there, the buyer may have to go to the local carrier's location to sign for and collect the package, which some buyers, myself included, might consider to be a hassle. So always make sure to alert potential buyers about the signature requirement if you put it on a listing. You can do that in your item description and any email pre purchase or post purchase. If a buyer messages you not to include signature confirmation, well, you can, at your discretion, always safely remove it when you print the label, but remind the buyer that if the parcel does not show up when tracking says it was delivered, the responsibility would be on the buyer, not the seller. Just some steps to take. And I think the overall message of these steps is to have at least some empathy for the buyer. It's not your responsibility as a seller to make sure that a buyer provides a safe drop off location for packages. That's the buyer's responsibility. But that being said, if you've ever had a package go missing or worse, a package that was taken from you from your porch or your doorstep or wherever it's left, It's a horrible feeling. You don't wanna rub it in for the buyer. You wanna show some empathy. And like you said earlier,

Kayomi, Komi, there may be some instances where a seller would say, it's a low cost item. I'll ship you out a different one. Make sure that it's delivered at a safe location. Like, if it was a ten or fifteen dollar item, I might say, yeah, I've got another one here. I'll just ship it out. But be careful about where you have your items delivered.

Kayomi: Yeah. And I would always say always double check your address if you're a buyer and make sure that it's getting sent to the right one. And just remember, you know, once the seller ships it, it's out of their hands. They're not the actual ones delivering these packages. And so I think, just have a bit of grace on both ends.

Griff: Keep in mind, though, sellers, most sellers who are experienced understand that except that if you do ship a package and it doesn't have a delivery scan and the buyer says Item Not Received, the seller could be on the hook for it. So a lot of sellers don't think that's fair. I have mixed feelings about it, but, it's that delivered scan, that indication that the package was delivered that makes all the difference. Keep that in mind. If you're a buyer, by the way, you can always add more than one address as your shipping address, and I did that. And when I would buy something and I was working in the office in San Jose, I had all my parcels shipped to the work address, which eBay encourages. We're okay they were okay to do that because then I know it goes to the mail room and it's safe. I had no idea, you know, if I'm not home during the day, somebody ships a package to my address, which I used to have in San Jose. It's just sitting there in plain view where anyone could steal it. So as a buyer, you have to take that responsibility. Anyway, that's our show for this week. Those are all the questions. Thank you to all of you who sent your questions in, and please do keep them coming. We rely on your questions to keep this show interesting.

Kayomi: Exactly. You keep us alive, and it's really so easy to send us your questions. You can either call us at eight eight eight seven two three four six three zero. Or if you're not a call on the phone person, you can always send us an email at podcast at ebay dot com. That's podcast at ebay dot com.

Griff: And before we sign off, it's time for our weekly feature called tip of the week. And our tip of the week this week comes from eBay seller, Anastasia Andrejewski, who says, buy product, list product. Don't buy, buy, buy without listing, listing, listing. It will become overwhelming and demoralizing to have tons of unlisted inventory regardless of how cheap you get it. That was sent in again by Anastasia Andrejewski, selling since nineteen ninety eight. Her store name is George's Toy Chest. Boy, is Anastasia singing my tune or what?

Kayomi: Is this ringing true for you,Griff?

Griff: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. I remember this all too well.

Kayomi: I'm sure you and countless other eBay sellers with dreaded death piles. Thankfully, I'm not like that. I try to control my spending somewhat and, like, try to balance it. I won't say I'm the best, but I don't have a death pile, I would say. Okay. Maybe, like, a little death mini mountain sounds worse, but

Griff: A lump.

Kayomi: Yeah. A death lump. Yeah. We'll say that. And don't forget to stay in the know. Check the announcement board at ebay dot com slash announcements for up to date seller news every day, and check the transcript for this and all episodes for follow-up on what you've heard and to find the links we reference during the episode.

Griff: And on our next episode, our correspondent, Georgia Mpampanis, will be back with her monthly seller spotlight segment, and her guest will be well known eBay seller and community leader down there in Florida, Patty Whitlock.

Kayomi: And we'll be back to answer more of your questions. We'd like to, again, thank everyone who sent us their questions this week.

Griff: The eBay for business podcast is produced by the eBay podcast team and distributed by Quill and cohost.