💬 Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 01.02.23 @2pm

[community-team@ebay]

Hi everybody!

The Community Chat will open at 2pm and will remain open until 3pm on Wednesday. After that it will be closed for further questions. Of course, we will continue to take care of answering any questions that may still be unanswered—We’ll get to everything as quickly as possible. 

Please ask your questions in the thread below. In order to be able to answer your questions as quickly as possible, we ask you to have one question per post. Of course, you can make as many posts as you like in the Chat- the more the merrier!

Our eBay Community Team is made up of kat@ebay , dave@ebay  and katie@ebay . Between us, we have knowledge in Buying, Selling, ProTrader, Fulfilment, Parts & Accessories, Payments, and the Community itself. Anything we aren’t sure on we’ll know the people who will be! Please ask us any questions you may have and we’ll do all we can to support. 

To ask your question, click Reply in the lower-right corner of this post, type your question, and click Reply between 2pm and 3pm. The community team will answer each incoming question in chronological order, and will quote the original question in each answer. 

Please note that any reply without a question to the community team or discussion replies may be removed from the chat. We want to keep on track to get through as many questions as possible. We welcome all discussion to be moved to the discussion boards. 

If you missed the weekly chat time, please ask your question in the community boards and tag us or we will be back next week with another chat! 

Many thanks,

Your eBay Community Team

[williabaxte7]

Hi . Trying to open the nectar tab but all I am getting is a blank screen or a error code of 492 : 

[wildgiftsuk]

Hi - not sure if this is the right place but was after some community expertise - I was just changed to Anchor store by ebay without contacting me first, so switched back to Basic as it said I'd be billed £399 a month, on speaking to an advisor they told me to cancel basic as it was a promotion (maybe linked to support from a eBay roadshow I'd been to) - now I can't and no advisor could help, was told to use the store for the month that's left as there is no button to uncancel!!! Hugely disappointed as there was no communication and am now told nothing can be done! The Anchor store and additional help and features would have been brilliant. Can anyone advise? Can't believe that there is no way the Anchor store can be continued with the promotion & nobody is able to help.

[the-cardiff-stockroom]

Three weeks ago, I asked whether the 'low cost item' fee arrangement could be brought back. Thank you for your response and for looking into it for me.

With this morning's announcement of monthly subscription increases, I (and I'm sure, others) would welcome a review of fee arrangements for low-cost items, so that the increased costs of selling hurt less. Is there anything in the pipeline?

Many thanks for your time.

[alratact55]

Hi guys

Why is it that my funds are released instantly for some orders yet others I have to wait days before it is released from hold?

[kat@ebay]

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@williabaxte7 wrote:

Hi . Trying to open the nectar tab but all I am getting is a blank screen or a error code of 492 : 

---

Hi @williabaxte7 ,

I have just checked your account on google chrome and its opening without an error. If I click on My eBay on the top right and when that page loads select " Nectar" from the left column it is opening onto the new nectar page. Can you try clearing your browsing history and clearing cache and cookies to see if that helps.

Thank you,

Kat

[ducatimondo]

Good afternoon eBay team

Is there any way to be permanently opted out of GSP and stop eBay from opting us back in without our knowledge?
We have always opted out, but since we disabled our international shipping in our postage policies due to the Royal Mail cyber incident, eBay decided to opt us back in again.

I have been asking for help in the global shipping pinned thread and not seeming to get my queries answered, I want to be able to opt out of GSP and stay opted out until I choose differently.
That would allow me greater control of our shipping and more importantly, control the costs to sell and tax implications from those sales until my queries on the global shipping thread are resolved.

Thank you in advance

Russ

[kat@ebay]

---

@the-cardiff-stockroom wrote:

Three weeks ago, I asked whether the 'low cost item' fee arrangement could be brought back. Thank you for your response and for looking into it for me.

With this morning's announcement of monthly subscription increases, I (and I'm sure, others) would welcome a review of fee arrangements for low-cost items, so that the increased costs of selling hurt less. Is there anything in the pipeline?

Many thanks for your time.

---

Hi @the-cardiff-stockroom ,

We have provided the feedback but currently we don't have any confirmation of something in the pipeline.

Thank you,

Kat

[dave@ebay]

Hi @wildgiftsuk 

The guys from the Roadshow can give a free trial for a number of months.  Just so I understand, have you cancelled the Anchor Store before the trial ended?

Thanks,

Dave

[sundae4]

Hi,

I'm searching for items near me & used to see the seller's username in the list of results, their feedback, & the distance from my postcode. I don't see these any more - is there a way to add them to what I see?
Many thanks

[wildgiftsuk]

Hi Dave, thanks for your help on this - 

the change to an Anchor store came without any warning, and the screen stated the fees for each month as £399, through there was a promotion date for the year under the subscription.  I switched to basic so as not to be charged, but was told this was a promotion by the chat advisor. The Anchor store is now set to cancel at the end of March this year, (promo was due to run to Feb '24) but I can't uncancel it and the only options available are to switch to Featured or Basic! Really gutted there was no contact regarding this as the message in eBay showed the Anchor fees as usual, no mention of promotion at first.

Regards and thanks in advance,

Will

[kat@ebay]

---

@alratact55 wrote:

Hi guys

Why is it that my funds are released instantly for some orders yet others I have to wait days before it is released from hold?

---

Hi @alratact55 ,

Funds are usually held for longer periods of time during the first few months as a seller while developing a selling history.  Funds can also be held for established sellers for transactions that have had a change in selling, prices and account performance. 

Thank you,

Kat

[dave@ebay]

---

@ducatimondo wrote:

Good afternoon eBay team

Is there any way to be permanently opted out of GSP and stop eBay from opting us back in without our knowledge?
We have always opted out, but since we disabled our international shipping in our postage policies due to the Royal Mail cyber incident, eBay decided to opt us back in again.

I have been asking for help in the global shipping pinned thread and not seeming to get my queries answered, I want to be able to opt out of GSP and stay opted out until I choose differently.
That would allow me greater control of our shipping and more importantly, control the costs to sell and tax implications from those sales until my queries on the global shipping thread are resolved.

Thank you in advance

Russ

---

Hi Russ,

At the moment the system runs a check across the site and opts in accounts. It sends a notification by mail which can sometimes be missed. As it stands, its not possible to stop this happening but we have taken the feedback from here and sent it to the shipping team to review. 

We will reach out with any updates on this when possible.

Thanks,

Dave

[mysterious_cities_of_mold]

When using the Pale Moon browser, I can no longer bid on auction style listings. When I click the “Submit Bid” button on an item listing page, a box appears which says “Oops! Looks like we're having trouble connecting to our server. Refresh your browser window to try again.” The button works normally when using other browsers.

The same error is also displayed when clicking on an email link when a seller sends you a special discount offer on an item.

This need to be fixed so it works when using the Pale Moon browser.  Pale Moon is regularly updated by its developers to ensure it is safe and secure so it is not a problem with it being "outdated".

[crawf4e]

Hi everyone 🙂 Is there anyone in Northern Ireland offering eBay fulfillment services? If not, then any recommendations for mainland GB operators? Thanks for your help.

[kat@ebay]

---

@sundae4 wrote:

Hi,

I'm searching for items near me & used to see the seller's username in the list of results, their feedback, & the distance from my postcode. I don't see these any more - is there a way to add them to what I see?
Many thanks

---

Hi @sundae4 ,

That section on the list on the right side is used to highlight features about a listing. Its randomised per listing and per user searching and there is no way to guarantee the information that shows.  You will always be able to see the sellers details by clicking further into the listing itself.

Thank you,

Kat

[contessa35]

Hello - when did the new-style eBay Nectar interface come into use? I only discovered it today. I see it is rather simplified looking, though with lots of detail on the items I earned Nectar points on. When and what I've used them on isn't at all obvious any more though, and it says I linked my card in December 2022 when it's been linked for years... All a bit strange! I'm feeling nostalgic for the tabulated points tally and the box indicating my recently generated and used Nectar coupons.

[ojewellery]

As a jewellery seller on eBay can you explain why the fees in this category are going up and so much higher than other platforms and other categories on eBay?

I've seen a decline in jewellery traffic on eBay when with same stock I'm seeing expansion and sales elsewhere. 

I'm finding the cost of eBay sales was already high.  On EBay there is a necessity to have more promotions, use promoted listings and drive my own traffic to maintain reasonable sales.  As a result, the profit per sale is a few percent less on eBay than its nearest competitor.

What are you offering in return for the extra fee? 

Are you going to review the jewellery policy and have something relevant (LEGAL) for the UK and UK legislation?

Please tell me there is some exciting news about investment in the category to offset and justify this increase.

[ducatimondo]

‎25-01-2023 2:20 PM

@e-breaker wrote:

Hi Team, What are the chances of eBay making some changes to the current system not providing printable invoices from our purchase history section that include VAT information where applicable. It is a right royal pain having to request them direct from sellers who may or not respond, and it is also time consuming sending them out as a sleer when we get asked for one. I honestly don't see how it's been without such info for so long, and if things don't change then I will certainly have to start sourcing many of my supplies and miscellaneous purchases elsewhere. 

Hi @e-breaker ,

There is an option to print these showing the VAT information on orders. If you go to your purchase history and click on one of your orders " view order details". On this page there is a " printer- friendly page" icon on the top right. Click into this and it opens up the order information showing VAT details if it was applied. Then click on the printer icon on the top right of that page and it will show all the information in one page ready to print. You can print it or save it as a PDF.

Thank you,

Kat
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following on from the discussion last week where another member asked about printing VAT invoices for order when you are using eBay as a buyer, the answer from kat@ebay does not show any VAT details of the seller or the VAT rate or even if there is VAT applicable or not and also does not show a VAT breakdown.

So this is not a VAT invoice by any of the metrics HMRC require and stipulate must be present before any VAT can be reclaimed from said purchase.

I to am infuriated with how difficult it is to get a VAT invoice from some sellers, which the seller is legally obligated to provide under provision of VAT rule 700.

If the seller fails to provide a VAT invoice, there's a possibility that seller is also in breach of the Fraud Act 2006 as the link below:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/3

This, I suspect, is a lot more serious than eBay seem to show consideration for, aside how much it will stop me using the platform to place orders as it literally is not worth the hassle of trying to obtain these invoices for any orders we place.

I suspect a lot of other business buyers may be in the same situation, as they will also likely feel the same frustration and either not order or order elsewhere.

If I order on Amazon, I can go and request an invoice from the seller and I always get one.

If I use Amazon Business, they are always automatically provided without me even asking and I can just click to download or print one whenever I want, even from orders years ago.

Can eBay take this with the severity that is duly needed and sort something out, so we can either report sellers for failing to provide the information they are under a legal obligation to provide or by providing a mechanism that buyers can actually just print what you should be able to just print?

Thank you in advance

Russ

[dave@ebay]

---

@wildgiftsuk wrote:

Hi Dave, thanks for your help on this - 

the change to an Anchor store came without any warning, and the screen stated the fees for each month as £399, through there was a promotion date for the year under the subscription.  I switched to basic so as not to be charged, but was told this was a promotion by the chat advisor. The Anchor store is now set to cancel at the end of March this year, (promo was due to run to Feb '24) but I can't uncancel it and the only options available are to switch to Featured or Basic! Really gutted there was no contact regarding this as the message in eBay showed the Anchor fees as usual, no mention of promotion at first.

Regards and thanks in advance,

Will

---

Hi Will,

I can reach out to the team from the Roadshow and see what I can do to get you back up and running. Do you remember which adviser you were speaking to? Don't worry if you cant, I'll find them though I can find them. 

I'll get have to wait till after the chat here and I'll get on to the guys and PM you later today.

Thanks,

Dave