Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 10.04.24 @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 dave@ebay and anita@ebay. Between us, we have knowledge in Buying, Selling, Fulfilment, 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

[anita@ebay]

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@douglaspuglas wrote:

Hi Dave & Anita,

There has been conflicting advice whether joint current bank accounts are acceptable or not for recieving private sellers payouts on ebay.

Trying to add a joint account been quoted as the reason a private sellers bank account can't pass verification.

The seller in this thread thinks being unable to verify their bank account must have been linked to it being a joint account. 

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Payments/Cannot-verify-bank-account/m-p/7595896#M14434 

However my linked bank account is a joint one and was verified ok by Trustly.

But that was when managed payments first came in.

Has something changed since then? 

EBay bank verification info only states that the first and last names should match on eBay and the bank account.

It doesn't say the bank account has to be in the private sellers sole name only.

Can you clarify this please.

This is a screenshot of what eBay says. 

Please don't just cut and paste it as the reply because it won't answer the question.

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Hi @douglaspuglas, thanks for your post.

I'm happy to check this with our Payments team to clarify for sure and will update this thread once I have a confirmation.

Thanks,

Anita

[community-team@ebay]

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@chilloutgames wrote:

I wondered why we have been experiencing a significant amount of spam emails. On checking our eBay listings, our company email address is in plain text under  "Business Seller Information" https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266679203648

So, this will be an easy scrape for any email spammers.

If you have to show our email address, can you put the email in a photo instead to deter spammers? I did this on our website 20 years ago and it does the trick.

---

Hi @chilloutgames 

There is a requirement to have this info on the listings as you know.  I don't know if its is possible to move some of it into an image. The info is stored as text and used on other parts of the site. I will definitely forward the suggestion to the site team. It may be something they can implement as an option.

Thanks,

Dave

[douglaspuglas]

Hi Anita I have another question.

The eBay app on my tablet updated.

When I log in now it puts up a "sign in faster with passkeys" page.

I'm not doing that so I pressed skip and it took me straight into my ebay account without needing any text code verification sent to my mobile.

Can you tell me if this bypass of security a glitch or deliberate?

[anita@ebay]

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@keelinge wrote:

Can you confirm what categories will be included for private seller free clothing offer? Ie will it include shoes, accessories or purely clothing? Does it include clothing listing under sporting or baby categories for example or just that in the main clothing category? 

---

@keelinge, great question.

This will include all items in the main Clothing category of all condition grades (excluding sneakers, watches, handbags and jewellery).

Thanks,
Anita

[bravergrace]

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community-team@ebay wrote:

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@bravergrace wrote:

Many of us who sell in the clothing category have suffered for years because of unregistered business sellers, who typically refuse returns, and whose listings are endorsed by eBay “Registered as a private seller.  Thereby, consumer rights stemming from EU consumer protection law do not apply.”  This endorsement is of course untrue, because consumer rights don’t hinge on whether the seller is REGISTERED as a business, but on whether they ARE in fact selling for profit or trade.

 Now that eBay have decided that private sellers don’t have to pay fees at all, it is noticeable that the clothing category is chock-full of unregistered business sellers.

For example, one “private seller” whose listings include over 300 brand-new men’s suits, in all sizes (some of them identical suits in 30 or 40 different sizes).   Even his username makes it clear that he is trading.

Maybe eBay regards this as “saving the planet” by encouraging sellers to sell off their private collection of unwanted gifts.   But most legitimate businesses regard it as eBay flagrantly encouraging law-breaking businesses to deprive consumers of their rights.

We can cope with “no fees, no returns, for private sellers”, but why are you offering these “no fees, no returns” permanently” deals to businesses that are trading illegally?  It’s downright insulting to those of us who obey the law, pay our taxes, observe consumer rights and pay you a huge proportion of our takings in fees.

---

Hi @bravergrace 

I absolutely understand your frustration with this. Its something that we are very aware of lately especially with this recent announcement. We are working with HMRC to identify any sellers that are trading illegally and will take appropriate action one we have identified them . 

We continue to review reports that we are receiving through the site and there are a number of tools we have on site to identify  these sellers. 

Thanks,

Dave

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Forgive my scepticism, Dave, but if your tools cannot identify a multi-listing for brand-new suits in 48 different size combinations as "probably not a legitimate private seller", I don't think it's a very useful tool.

[anita@ebay]

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@2007dcase wrote:

Hi Anita I think it will encourage even more unregistered businesses. Is there any plan to offer incentives to registered businesses or to take any action about blatant businesses, eg those that have mutilple quantities and variations of new clothing?

---

@2007dcase, I get your point. And sellers are required to follow our policies and register as a business if they sell items they have bought to resell. Actions that do not follow our policies may result in restrictions. 

Thanks,

Anita

[community-team@ebay]

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@elcon_europe_ltd wrote:

Now that I have reached the end of my financial year, what report do you suggest running in order to obtain the VAT figure that eBay collected on my behalf via the IOSS system please?

---

Hi @elcon_europe_ltd,

You have the option to download your sales through the Seller Hub but that will just be a list of your sold items. You may need to use a 3rd party tool for bookkeeping and VAT reports.

Thanks,

Dave 

[ducatimondo]

Good afternoon team,

Are eBay ever going to address the amount of negative feedback good sellers get, most times without the buyer even contacting the seller to let them know something is wrong.

The eBay system, to my knowledge, used to ask the  buyer if they had contacted the seller.

Why isn't this mandatory, as most things can be sorted if the buyer would just let the seller know there is an issue?

Please don't just say you will forwarded this to the team for review in future implementation ideas, blah, blah as I know that means it will never get done.

I really want to know, why can buyers act like they want and seller have ZERO comeback?

I have chatted with eBay CS about this issue and on one, they told me they would definitely be able to get some of the feedbacks removed and would forward them to the team and it should be sorted in a few days. No surprise to me at all that this was lip service and they were not removed...

Why should we try so hard as sellers when buyers can treat us like dirt, with no consequence and eBay do NOT have our backs, even when it is clearly wrong?

I for one am sick of being a kicking post for these buyers who can trash your reputation over night, even when you have done nothing wrong.

Cheers

Russ

[community-team@ebay]

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@hatsford wrote:

Is there a way to bulk add tracking numbers, without having to open every single item one at a time? 

I have been using the sellers hub 'manage orders awaing dispatch page' and selecting a batch from here in the past, but that  link just goes to an error page now.

It really annoying if the same person has bought a number of items which are sent in the same parcel

 

---

Hi @hatsford 

You should be able to bulk edits the tracking through Seller Hub. Ive email the screenshot to the shipping team to review. 

Leave this one with me and I'll look into whats happened with the error. I'll reach out to you directly as soon as they come back to me. 

Thanks,

Dave

[anita@ebay]

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@krafty-kreations wrote:

Is there ever going to be any incentives for business sellers?

I have closed my shop down and removed my listings, I do not see the point of paying for a shop or paying to list if then the only chance I have of getting any sales is to pay to promote on top whilst you allow business sellers to use private accounts and give them 1000 free listings!!

You say business sellers remain a high priorty but I am really unsure exactly what eBAY does for business sellers?

---

Hi @krafty-kreations, thanks for your post.

We do make great investments for our business sellers and continue working on improving our selling tools to make selling even more convenient. We also have different programs to assist business sellers that is not available for Private sellers, such as Pro trader program. We also have regular Roadshows for our business sellers to help them growth and we'll share more about supporting Business sellers in the next Roadshow.

Thanks,

Anita

[contessa35]

I collect fashion dolls (figures intended for adults to display, not toys for children). I still can't buy these from the US if the seller uses eBay International Shipping (EIS), even if they want to sell to the UK. I know some other different categories are also affected. US sellers can’t fix it themselves if they still want to use EIS, which many do because of its seller protection.

eBay has said it’s an issue being worked on, but also now often says it may be due to “new import restrictions set by the UK”, though I haven’t found any announcements of relevant new UK rules and nobody I've asked who buys collectible dolls from the US on platforms other than eBay seems to have run into any problems.

I’ve asked eBay US and UK for advice, and eBay suggested the seller can use any other international shipping method except EIS. This works, but some sellers will only use EIS. As all other shipping methods work, maybe there actually aren’t any new UK restrictions?

Another reply from eBay said if a US seller wanted to use EIS, they could re-list their item in an unaffected category, but a seller I spoke to was worried it might break eBay selling rules, so we gave up. Since it was an eBay rep who suggested category change as a fix, I wonder what are the rules regarding it? Is it allowed in the case where a US seller has an unsold Buy It Now item with a UK buyer ready to buy it, but who is blocked by the current EIS situation? Would it be OK for the seller to relist that item in an unaffected category, so that the UK buyer can go ahead and complete the Buy It Now, and the seller can still use EIS as they prefer to do? Thanks for any advice.

[darth_baggins]

I asked this several months ago, but why is formatting broken in messages in the INR console? It makes us look so unprofessional.

For example if I type this message;

Hello

I'm sorry you've not received your order yet. I can confirm it was sent on xyz to following address;

A Buyer

123 Somewhere Street

A Place

A1 7XZ

Please confirm the address is correct and if you still haven't received your order by xyz please let me know.

Regards

Me

In the INR message it will be like this.

HelloI'm sorry you've not received your order yet. I can confirm it was sent on xyz to following address;A Buyer123 Somewhere StreetA PlaceA1 7XZPlease confirm the address is correct and if you still haven't received your order by xyz please let me know.RegardsMe

[anita@ebay]

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@keelinge wrote:

No, definitely not, I even allowed sales whilst away.

---

@keelinge, thanks for your reply.

When I check your listings, I do see more than 1300+ available on the site, see here, so everything looks good and this might be just a matter of time for your next sale.

Thanks,

Anita

[krafty-kreations]

We do make great investments for our business sellers and continue working on improving our selling tools to make selling even more convenient. We also have different programs to assist business sellers that is not available for Private sellers, such as Pro trader program. We also have regular Roadshows for our business sellers to help them growth and we'll share more about supporting Business sellers in the next Roadshow.

Thanks,

Anita

Thank you Anita

It isn't programs we need, it is a level playing field, you would have happier business sellers if you put a stop to business sellers using private accounts and making it fair for those that do sell legally.

[ducatimondo]

I have found an issue (another issue) with the vehicle compatibility tool.

When you select all versions in the list, but ticking the left hand tick box as it fits them all that are currently there, then that is time saving and all good.

But when eBay update the list of bikes there and add some, that actually would be better added as spearate models, rather than adding to existing models, but when they are extra ones added, the eBay system auto ticks the boxes of the newly added bikes too.

Can this be sorted out?

This is the tickbox thingy

So you can see the Ducati Multistrada 1260 for example, I also have the Ducati Multistrada 1200 selected below it.

The Ducati Multistrada 1260 was made as just a 1260.

The Ducati Multistrada 1200 was made as a 1200 (technically 1198cc). 

But then the new V4 model was launched and is a totally different thing to a 1200. The V4 actually has an 1158cc engine, so is not really a 1200 anyway. But it was added to the Ducati Multistrada fitment as if it was a 1200. So when we ticked the box for fits all 1200, then eBay added the 1158 V4, eBay auto filled the fitment for the V4 models as well. That doesn't work though, as the engine is an entirely different configuration and the bike is almost entirely different in nearly every component.

So I have just been though updating the fitments for our from sprockets to try and add the 2024 models, where eBay have put them in the compatibility tool and noticed the issue where the V4 models were already ticked!!

I have noticed the same issue with the Ducati Diavel V4, that has been added to the Ducati Diavel 1200; they are not the same!!

So there are 2 clear issue here:
Bikes are merged together in compatibility that should not be in my opinion, as a vehicle specialist

When the tick box is ticked for all of that model, when the list is added to, that eBay doesn't tell anyone they are doing it, then it adds vehicles to the compatibility that have not been checked and are likely to be not compatible.

Please can someone look at this?

This maybe one for you dave@ebay 

Cheers
Russ

[anita@ebay]

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@2007dcase wrote:

Please can you also clarify what what pre-owned fashion means?

The blurb says: Pre-owned clothes are items you no longer want or need in a variety of conditions, for example an outfit that no longer fits, an unwanted gift, or vintage fashion that needs a new home. These items can be new or used.

So new with tags too?

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@2007dcase, pre-owned clothing is defined as any clothing item (e.g. dress, top, jumper, jeans, etc) which has been bought, owned or used by a previous owner in all conditions. The item could have been bought but never worn and still have the tags on, worn a couple of times for special occasions, or worn frequently.

Thaks,

Anita

[community-team@ebay]

---

@ducatimondo wrote:

Good afternoon team,

Are eBay ever going to address the amount of negative feedback good sellers get, most times without the buyer even contacting the seller to let them know something is wrong.

The eBay system, to my knowledge, used to ask the  buyer if they had contacted the seller.

Why isn't this mandatory, as most things can be sorted if the buyer would just let the seller know there is an issue?

Please don't just say you will forwarded this to the team for review in future implementation ideas, blah, blah as I know that means it will never get done.

I really want to know, why can buyers act like they want and seller have ZERO comeback?

I have chatted with eBay CS about this issue and on one, they told me they would definitely be able to get some of the feedbacks removed and would forward them to the team and it should be sorted in a few days. No surprise to me at all that this was lip service and they were not removed...

Why should we try so hard as sellers when buyers can treat us like dirt, with no consequence and eBay do NOT have our backs, even when it is clearly wrong?

I for one am sick of being a kicking post for these buyers who can trash your reputation over night, even when you have done nothing wrong.

Cheers

Russ

---

Hi @ducatimondo 

We do ask if they have contacted the seller and offer suggestions on how to resolve any issues they my have by working with the seller.

We have a number of strict policies on what a buyer can leave but feedback can be very subjective so it can be difficult for us to prove or disprove any of the feedback that was left.

Sellers have the option to reply to the any feedback that they received this allows any perspective buyers see both sides of what happened with the transaction. 

Thanks,

Dave

[vintagewatchpart]

3 weeks ago I asked if issues into the search engine on Ebay were being looked into, as discussed here:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/eBay-Search/m-p/7579236

Dave said he would read this and get back to me, no comment has been made, no reply despite repeated instances of search engine failure and manipulation being discussed on these boards, I see it every day as I run my business here. 

Please can you see if this is being looked into or if these issues are intentional within the algorithm please?

[technthread]

The pro trader programme hasn't been opened up to everybody. 

Only a limited number of people attend the  roadshows. 

Many sellers trading on a business account just see the bottom line and I fear for eBay that they won't hear about how you intend to support them. As soon as Vinted Pro goes live I hope eBay realise how many sellers will jump ship and how many are already moving to private eBay accounts for a level playing field.  

[vintagewatchpart]

Are there plans to make it easier to report business sellers masquerading as private individuals to avoid fees as I am tired of seeing them every single day avoiding ebay fees and taxes and undercutting genuine business sellers who pay their fees?