Global Shipping Programme - weight and size declarations disappeared off listings.

[ett1954]

I have been investigating why my GSP sales have stopped in the last couple of weeks.  When creating a sell similar from a previous listing which was set up for GSP there was no section to include the size and weight.  Checking my existing listings which were originally set up for GSP I notice every one I have so far checked has had the size and weight settings removed with no fields for these settings now available even though the listing is still showing GSP activated.

I would add that these settings have also been removed from my drafts.  Even trying to create a sell similar from my last GSP sale was fruitless as again there was no option to add size and weights.

It appears that in the last week or so these fields have been removed from the listing form - has anyone else come across this?  It's not surprising sales via GSP have stopped and the irritating thing is I am paying for enhanced visibility in the US and Canada.

Luckily I now have other avenues available for selling as it appears the decline of eBay is accelerating and it becoming increasingly unsustainable to run a business effectively; every day presents a new challenge.

dave@ebay , kat@ebay can someone please advise what is going on?  I am not going through hundreds of GSP activated listings and resetting the weights and measurements, even if it was possible; it easier to move the listings elsewhere.  Could you also advise how I get refunded for the enhanced visibility service I am paying for when it is now not possible for items to be shipped to those countries by GSP.

I should add I am using Edge on fully updated Windows 11 laptop.

[jlovie]

eBay say they are aware of the problem.

Re: Where has the weight gone from listings - UK eBay Community

I'm finding that the weight must still be stored in listings, as I sold something I listed since the problem started, which was created using sell similar.

When I created a postage label via eBay, the weight was there, copied from the original listing.

There is a workaround using bulk editing, which accesses the weight under package details. Again, this shows the weight is still stored in the listings, just not easily accessible.

I was wondering what happens if the weight quoted by the seller is wrong for a GSP order.

e.g. if the weight quoted is 100g and the package actually weighs 2kg (an extreme example).

Would the buyer be charged shipping based on 100g? Would GSP come back to the seller or the buyer for any additional shipping costs?

[ett1954]

Thanks for the link; the usual lack of communication from eBay.  There should be a general communication bulletin to members for issues of this nature.  "we don't have an estimated fix time at the moment".  This is eBay speak for "we haven't a clue what's going on".  Unfortunately being aware of it and fixing it are two different things when it comes to eBay as it seems this happened a week ago and still no fix.

I activated 2 auctions last night via sell similar however the dimensions and weight couldn't be changed for GSP because there was no way to do it. 

"I was wondering what happens if the weight quoted by the seller is wrong for a GSP order." - The two auctions will have incorrect dimension and weight information on them and that is between eBay and GSP as far as I am concerned as there was no way I was aware of at the time to fix the problem.

[technthread]

I’d be tempted to remove GSP and offer your own international shipping. You may be able to offer a lower cost to the buyer and still make some profit on postage to cover the extra time it will take you to post. As your items are mostly consistent in size and weights you may only need a handful of pre-set business policies to select from, large letter 250g, large letter 500g and the same sort of thing for small parcels. 

[ett1954]

A good suggestion, however I already use that approach.  I have cut-off points on large letter and small parcels where it is cheaper to ship direct which I use, and the majority of my items are shipped direct internationally.  Anything where it is roughly the same or higher price I use GSP which is usually books, where unfortunately every one is different in size and weight.

The heavier items tend to be cheaper by GSP and unfortunately after April 7th with the large increases on international post announced by Royal Mail I can only see more items needed to shipped by GSP.  Therefore just about the worst time to have an issue like this when all international postage will require to be updated starting next weekend.  Will this be fixed by then? - eBay don't know!

Unfortunately these ever increasing problems with the basic functionality of the platform, in part caused by the constant changes being made to grab and ever-increasing slice of the take from each sale, is symptomatic of the failing business model of demanding and relying upon a higher proportion of each sale rather than driving a growth in sales itself.  Even the current TV advertising is 'free selling on eBay'. 

[technthread]

That’s the approach I take too, I just leave the heavier items on GSP.

It would be useful if eBay showed the GSP price to the seller behind some advanced settings search. I don’t know about anyone else but for me it is guesswork when to turn GSP on and off, I have tried to log in on .com to see what the postage cost on GSP works out at but it didn’t convert as it still knows that I am in the UK. 

I totally agree with the last paragraph. They are chopping and changing things all over the place and it becomes confusing. Maybe they should let an eBay counsel of trusted sellers beta test their design changes before they roll them out. It seems as though some changes are made by people who can’t possibly use the site to sell themselves.