💬 Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 06.09.23 @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 marco@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

[sumnites]

I have been told there was a glitch sorted now, that is is completely random which it isnt, i have been told ebay decided too many listings were made during fvf promos which resulted in less buying! so they reduced them. All ebay have to do is a blanket fvf offer to all private sellers then if the February sellers dont get it we know there is a flaw in the system. It is too much of a coincidence that a large number of sellers have not had offers since February.

[marco@ebay]

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@petals-and-paws wrote:

Hi 🙂

Royal Mail allow 10 business days for delivery, they will not consider an item as lost until the 10 days is up - so if an item doesn't arrive within the 2 days being estimated by eBay, its still within Royal Mails delivery estimate; their 'delivery aim' might be 1 / 2 business days, depending on the service used but its 10 business days for delivery by Royal Mails timescales.

It states the following in eBays Feedback Removal Policy:

What are the guidelines?

Automatically removed

We automatically remove defects, adjust your late delivery rate, and remove Feedback when:

• The delivery estimate shown in the listing was shortened and tracking shows the item was delivered by the carrier's longest delivery estimate

Does this mean that negative / neutral feedback will be removed if the item arrives within 10 business days of being posted, if the buyer leaves negative / neutral feedback stating the item hasn't arrived by eBays estimated delivery date?

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Hi petals-and-paws, thanks for your post.

No, if the item is not delivered within the estimated delivery date shown on eBay, the feedback will probably not qualify for removal.

Thank you,

Marco

[eco-green-chicken]

Marco@ebay - I have done that almost daily hence reaching out again today.

[dave@ebay]

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@kempseykate wrote:

Some time ago on the weekly chat I suggested having a tick box for craft patterns (knitting/crochet) to show if it was original or a photocopy.

I was told the usual - no plans currently, pass it back to team for future review - but it was suggested that I could add my own item specific (not very helpful if I'm a buyer, rather than a seller!).

Out of interest I ran a search for 'original knitting patterns' the other day ... and found a load of photocopies in the return, simply because some sellers are using the IS to put 'This is a copy of my original pattern'.

How is this allowed? If it's a copy, it's a copy, using the word 'original' is keyword spamming (no point reporting, because there is no option to say what the spamming is).

Can I list a replica football shirt, as long as I put 'This is a copy of my original shirt' in the IS?
Or a bootleg DVD/CD? Or work of art?

---

Hi @kempseykate 

If you have added a specific a buyer can search for that term and they will be able to find the listing, they just cant filter by that term. 

A replica shirt may run the rick of being removed if the the rights owner does not allow replicas to be sold. This may also be the case with knitting patterns but this would be down to whoever is the rights owner for the pattern. You could reach out to the owners of the patterns and they could advise if this practice is allowed. 

Thanks,

Dave

[petals-and-paws]

Hi Marco,

Thank you for your reply.

The feedback removal policy states it would be removed if it's delivered within the carriers estimated delivery time. If the carriers estimated delivery time is 10 days and it's delivered within 9 days, why would that not qualify for removal? I appreciate that eBays estimated delivery dates would show differently, likely the next day (or same day, thanks to the dynamic EDDs) but the removal policy specifically states that it's the carriers estimate which is taken into account.

[marco@ebay]

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@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Hi,

I have to raise this again and again along with other users but the estimated delvery dates shown to buyers are unrealistic and leading to confrontation and me losing money.

Why are you showing a 2nd class item arriving on the same day as a 1st class item and also the same as a special delivery item? 

Royal mail advise 2nd class is a 2-3 working day service but you are showing 1-2 working day this is the same esimated delivery date as both 1st class and special delivery.

It is extremely unrealistic to advise buyers that a 2nd class item will arrive the next day not even Royal Mail themselves advise this so why do eBay feel the need to lie to buyers?

Do not fob me off again with this dynamic delivery rubbish as it is not a true reflection of the post, how can eBay say how another organisation is working and going to work in the next 3-4 days?

Please just put realistic delivery dates on items it makes it fairer for both the buyer and seller

---

Hi ak_craft_crazy, thank your post. 

If you are unable to meet the EDD given, we would suggest adjusting your dispatching times accordingly to prevent any potenial delays on deliveries. However, I will pass your feedback along, so this can be taken into consideration. 

Thank you,

Marco

[katie@ebay]

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@bojangled wrote:

Good Afternoon 

ebay says it's committed to small business sellers, and that would be appreciated if it was more visible. 
The phrase on private sellers listings stating consumer rights is all very well. How about telling buyers who they are buying from ?
Other marketplaces promote their small business sellers with logos and the like. The 'registered as a business seller' is quite insignificant, although I understand a legality. 
I don't expect you guys to have the answer to this, I just like to ask for a more positive approach to advertising your small business sellers.

Thanks in advance.

Jo

---

Hi Jo,

Thank you, eBay are always working to promote small businesses in any way we can. We do work with small business Britain to host live events, trainings and to work with them to get more information on how to support small businesses. Small business thinking is also reflected in our advertising, and will be moving forward.

If you have a shop on eBay we recommend adding your branding to them and using promotions to do markdowns that are brand specific. 

We always want to do more in this space, so please don't hesitate to share your suggestions on the boards.

Thanks,

Katie 

[kempseykate]

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dave@ebay wrote:

---

@kempseykate wrote:

Some time ago on the weekly chat I suggested having a tick box for craft patterns (knitting/crochet) to show if it was original or a photocopy.

I was told the usual - no plans currently, pass it back to team for future review - but it was suggested that I could add my own item specific (not very helpful if I'm a buyer, rather than a seller!).

Out of interest I ran a search for 'original knitting patterns' the other day ... and found a load of photocopies in the return, simply because some sellers are using the IS to put 'This is a copy of my original pattern'.

How is this allowed? If it's a copy, it's a copy, using the word 'original' is keyword spamming (no point reporting, because there is no option to say what the spamming is).

Can I list a replica football shirt, as long as I put 'This is a copy of my original shirt' in the IS?
Or a bootleg DVD/CD? Or work of art?

---

Hi @kempseykate 

If you have added a specific a buyer can search for that term and they will be able to find the listing, they just cant filter by that term. 

A replica shirt may run the rick of being removed if the the rights owner does not allow replicas to be sold. This may also be the case with knitting patterns but this would be down to whoever is the rights owner for the pattern. You could reach out to the owners of the patterns and they could advise if this practice is allowed. 

Thanks,

Dave

---

Why are sellers able to put 'This is a copy of my original'?

I'm talking as a buyer - I want to buy ORIGINAL knitting patterns, I don't want illegal copies.

If I am searching for a first edition book, I do not expect to see something come up in my searches because the seller has put 'this is not a first edition'.

[marco@ebay]

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@sweetmeme wrote:

Hello,

I submitted applications to sell in new categories for both of my accounts, 'sweetmeme' and 'camelmocha,' over a month ago, but I haven't received any updates.

Can you assist please? Thanks!

---

Hi sweetmeme, thanks for your post. 

We wouldn't be able to take actions to speed up the process for you, but it is of my understanding that the team in charge of these applications is currently busy enough, so please allow enough time for them to get back to you with an update on your application.

Thank you,

Marco

[sumnites]

What i mean is listing stored in the unsold/ended folder. They are removed after 90 days and all details lost.  As said a timing mistake or some emergency preventing relisting or transferrig to drafts means the listings are instantly and completely lost. Deleted listing used to be retrieved if accidental but now they are completly lost. Just asking if ebay could not consider making them retrievable for up to a week or sending an email or message saying they will delete all listings in 24 hours. Mistakes happen and seems ebay do not help sellers.

[dave@ebay]

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@eco-green-chicken wrote:

@ dave@ebay  ok, how do us sellers qualify for the promotions then ? equality has to be deomnstrated to be trusted...

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Hi @eco-green-chicken 

When a promotion is announced the team will post a link to the requirements. We don't have access to the details of upcoming promotions and we usually wouldn't post the details before its live as if there were changes made some accounts may not be eligible because of the revision.

Thanks,

Dave

[katie@ebay]

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@sumnites wrote:

What i mean is listing stored in the unsold/ended folder. They are removed after 90 days and all details lost.  As said a timing mistake or some emergency preventing relisting or transferrig to drafts means the listings are instantly and completely lost. Deleted listing used to be retrieved if accidental but now they are completly lost. Just asking if ebay could not consider making them retrievable for up to a week or sending an email or message saying they will delete all listings in 24 hours. Mistakes happen and seems ebay do not help sellers.

---

Hi @sumnites,

90 days is the maximum time the site can hold this information and there is no ability to extend this.

We recommend for all sellers to review their seller hub weekly and monthly for listings of this nature.

Thanks,

Katie 

[marco@ebay]

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@petals-and-paws wrote:

Hi Marco,

Thank you for your reply.

The feedback removal policy states it would be removed if it's delivered within the carriers estimated delivery time. If the carriers estimated delivery time is 10 days and it's delivered within 9 days, why would that not qualify for removal? I appreciate that eBays estimated delivery dates would show differently, likely the next day (or same day, thanks to the dynamic EDDs) but the removal policy specifically states that it's the carriers estimate which is taken into account.

---

Thanks for your reply, petals-and-paws.

As advised before, if the item is not delivered within the EDD shown on eBay, and the buyer leaves a negative feedback saying it was late, that will not qualify for removal.  

Buyers are able to express/share their thoughts and experiences with each transaction, which is what the feedback system is for, if this kind of feedback is removed every time a buyer express their experience or thoughts, the feedback system wouldn't be trustworthy, and we take the feedback system very seriously as it is a key feature for buyers when purchasing an item.

Thank you,

Marco

[ak_craft_crazy]

How dare you suggest i am not dispatching my items on time. I have a 1 working day dispatch so items are dispatched the very next day, im not sure if you know how delivery works but i don't actually deliver the items it is Royal Mail. 

So maybe if Royal Mail arent meeting the delivery dates you advise, you ask them to speed up.

Your delivery dates are unrealistic and not what Royal Mail advise, that is the issue here not me and not Royal Mail but Ebay.

I am not the only seller who raises this issue many many sellers have raised this issue but you brush it aside as you dont have to deal with the angry customers. Who's item has not arrived the next day after dispatch as this is when you say it will arrive, which is impossible when i use, display and advise it is sent 2nd class post. 

[bojangled]

Thank you Katie. 
That's all good to hear. I'm actually asking for eBay to do a little something the for me though!

Anyone can have an eBay shop, I'd like to see a small business icon next to registered business sellers listings in search results....for free I hasten add!

Jo

[ak_craft_crazy]

Dave also said last week that due to eBay having another technical error in relation to eBay not knowing about the august bank holiday that any neautral or negative feedback about late delivery, for items placed around the bank holiday, would be removed.

However this is not the case as they have stayed, when will these be removed as promised?

[petals-and-paws]

Thank you Marco.

Could I then ask in what scenario feedback would be removed, if it's delivered past eBays estimates but within the carriers estimates? It does state in your own feedback policy that this would be the case, yet you've clarified it wouldn't be removed - so perhaps the removal policy needs to be revised if this isn't actually the case?

Thank you for your help.

[katie@ebay]

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@bojangled wrote:

Thank you Katie. 
That's all good to hear. I'm actually asking for eBay to do a little something the for me though!

Anyone can have an eBay shop, I'd like to see a small business icon next to registered business sellers listings in search results....for free I hasten add!

Jo

---

Hi Jo,

Thank you for your reply. 

I love this idea, I'll pass it onto the team. It would be great to have registered small businesses from the UK marked as such on eBay. 

Thanks,

Katie 

[thesmokingrunner]

@nicme_9294  The price difference has absolutely nothing to do with eBay offering discounts. When the Tracked 48 services were introduced earlier this year POs accepted them even though there was no agreement with Royal Mail to do so (for info and in case you don't know POs receive an agreed amount for each piece of mail they handle).

An agreement was recently made whereby a PO recieves 16p for each Tracked 48 parcel handled. Whe you purchase the postage initially you pay £3.29 but that's for a RM collection: if you then drop it off at the Post Office you will be charged an additional 16p, which will be paid using your original payment source after the parcel has been dropped off.

marco@ebay Perhaps the Community Team could note the above so that they don't give out incorrect information in future?

You're welcome...

[katie@ebay]

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@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Dave also said last week that due to eBay having another technical error in relation to eBay not knowing about the august bank holiday that any neautral or negative feedback about late delivery, for items placed around the bank holiday, would be removed.

However this is not the case as they have stayed, when will these be removed as promised?

---

Hi there,

This is still due to take place and the information provided by Dave is correct. There is a large volume of defects to be removed, so these will be done by our system in batches. This process will take place as soon as possible. 

Thanks,

Katie