Policy Violation resolution time
Summary: wizpip faced a policy violation issue on eBay after listing a projector with a link, which was flagged as selling off-site. Despite appealing, the listing remained uneditable and unresolved. tommystrezures advised removing the link, but wizpip explained they couldn't edit the listing due to eBay's system. Eventually, wizpip discovered a way to edit and resolve the issue by navigating the system differently. They expressed frustration with eBay's user experience and joked about working there to improve it, which fribblecollectables humorously commented on.
Anyone had experience of policy violations and know how long they take to resolve?
I listed a projector four days ago with a link to a throw calculator, so buyers can see if the projector is suitable for them, but eBay has incorrectly flagged it as offering to sell offsite and a policy violation. I've tried to appeal it, but it's now been sitting in an unlisted, uneditable state for four days. The AI help is extremely unhelpful (as I'm sure you all know), just telling me that there's no given time and it'll be dealt with in a "timely" manner. I can only speak to a human if and when they ever decide to deny the appeal.
Would love to know your thoughts!
tommystrezures
·1 month agoThe violation is because you put the link in the listing. Remove that and you wont have a problem.
wizpip
OP1 month agoI have several problems with this:
1) I can't - the listing is uneditable whilst it's waiting for the review
2) The error is explicitly that I'm "selling off-site", and so whilst I'd agree that it's the link that has triggered it, either their bot or the wording is incorrect and should be rectified
3) The "Links policy" doesn't specifically exclude the type of resource I offered, but it doesn't explicitly allow it either. This means I missed it when glancing, and they also don't directly link to this when making a listing (or telling you about the violation); you'd have to manually Google to find it. As someone that works in web I can tell you that this is poor UX as it places expectation on the user to "just know".
Thanks for your answer, but it doesn't answer the question - how long is my listing going to remain locked for?
tommystrezures
·1 month agoIF you try sell similar, remove the link it should clear it, however in its current state of flux it will probably remain uneditable. Alternatively cut and paste your description in to a new listing.
wizpip
OP1 month agoI've actually managed to resolve this and I'm assuming what I was seeing was a bug - of course there's no way to report this to eBay.
In my list of selling items there was a Resolve button next to the item. Clicking this led to an overview page with three buttons at the bottom, one of which was something like "Request Review" and another one was "Edit", but they were both disabled and some wording noted that listings were uneditable whilst in review.
However, back on the list of selling items I ticked the boxed next to it and selected edit from the top menu, which actually let me edit the item. And within an hour of removing the link, it was "reviewed" and listed publicly.
I suspect the item was just stuck in a complete limbo state. I'm going to add eBay to my list of companies where I need to seek employment so I can fix their annoying UX issues.
fribblecollectables
·1 month ago"I'm going to add eBay to my list of companies where I need to seek employment so I can fix their annoying UX issues."
You will start on the lowest rung of the ladder I'm afraid.
You will spend at least a year changing fonts on the website and adding unneeded emojis to email notifications.
wizpip
OP1 month agoWouldn't be the first time... One of the major UK telecoms companies had a naff website, thought that'd be a quick win until it turned out that between the homepage and order confirmation page you'd passed through 13 different systems all managed by their own stakeholders and third-parties. Absolute nightmare to get anything done.