💬 Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 19.04.23 @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

[gnosemalf]

Thanks for the reply but it doesn't explain how such a bad idea managed to get implemented.

If you can find a single eBay user who prefers the new stripped of anything useful Summary page, I will be shocked.

[returns_andexdisplay]

Why do ebay keep repearting that accounts are only forced to become a business account when they hit the VAT threashold of 85K. HMRC mention you become a business when you buy products to sell for a profit. There are countless accounts in catagories that I sell in, who often have mutiple accounts selling the same items (which again is meant to be against ebay polices) yet no matter how many times they get reported ebay do nothing. 

ebay keep sending messages asking sellers to pay more for permoted listings or even calling to book a account health check which was basicaly have you considered paying ebay more to list and when I was not interested lost interested and ended the call pretty quick. I would spend money on advertisting if I knew I was competing equally against competiors but many on the site get given a thousand free listings a month, lower FVF and don't have to accpet buyer remorse returns all while trading as a business. 

[rainbowtrax]

katie@ebay thankyou for the reply. I am just struggling to imagine what on earth the purpose is of a test to hide everything a buyer needs to see. This has been going on for weeks and is getting worse as ebay gradually hide more and more of the listing.

Is there any end in sight? Surely it can't go on much longer? What exactly is it that they are hoping to find out? Surely they don't need to run a test to establish that if you can't see what's for sale you're less likely to buy and more likely to return if you do? Most buyers and sellers could tell ebay that in an instant and bypass the need for ebay to wreck our listings.

[ducatimondo]

Can someone look at the bell notifications on the PC webpage
This account shows 46 items to dispatch, there is only 1 as the rest have been shipped.
Our other account shows 88 items to dispatch, there is also only 1 as the rest have been shipped.

On the app, they both show 9+ as for some reason it was only ever set up to show upto 9, then just shows 9+ if you have more or the system doesn't work and it thinks you have more.

Surely this is basic programming, how come it does not work?

Thanks
Russ

[katie@ebay]

---

@ukhaberdashery wrote:

She bought 2 item. one it seems was not an issue but the 2nd 20-09885-67025 indicated that we were to blame as per the screenshot attached

---

Thanks @ukhaberdashery , sorry I missed the second one there.

These cases are slightly different because of the timeline.

The first case we chatted about when the case was closed on the 19th the item had already arrived. So the agent could help like I mentioned.

For the other case it was closed before the item had arrived on the 18th. Therefore, the case closes with a fault to the seller as at the time of closure the item had not arrived. It does not allow for another appeal on a case, so there is no further action I can take here on the second one.

This one comes down to timing. I hope this helps to explain why they have been treated differently.

Thanks,

Katie 

[dave@ebay]

---

@darth_baggins wrote:

Please can you explain why messages in INR cases are now truncated?

Up until recently I could read the entire messages between myself and the customer but now the messages are cut off and only show the first 200 or so characters. I don't see the point in this change as sometimes I need to refer back to what was said and I now I can't.

I've attached a screenshot and redacted it but you should be able to get the gist of what I mean.

---

Hi @darth_baggins 

You should have the option to click see more at the end of any messages:

Is this option not available to you?

Thanks,

Dave.

[nakedkeg]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply.

Would I be correct in thinking that Tech are only concerned with the Bug?

Is there any indication that anyone from eBay is looking at correcting the financial detriment I have suffered?

Regards,

Neil

[katie@ebay]

---

@jckl1957 wrote:

We are still seeing almost daily posts from members who are being inconvenienced (or worse) because payments are taken twice from their bank accounts.  One payment appears in pending and does vanish after a few days and the money is not actually taken.  However, if the amount is large, and is pending, your bank will not show this as available funds and members may not be able to pay bills or purchase necessities.

I raised this on 14th december - 4 months ago.  My post and response below:

I don't know if this issue has been raised before but I see a lot of posts about double payments - Ebay take a payment from a buyer's bank account and then a duplicate, identical payment appears as pending.  The buyer doesn't have access to the money pending/on hold and, in some cases, this must cause issues.  This post from today, the member was unable to pay for his lunch.  Is Ebay aware of this longstanding issue and what is being done to fix it, please?

Double payout frequently

Hi @jckl1957 ,

I have noticed this on posts before. It seems to happen that one payment doesn't go through and goes to a holding state.  We have reported it to be looked into so I will include this recent example from today to have it reviewed.

---

Hi @jckl1957,

Thank you for your question. This sounds like a security measure that is in place for buyers. This usually happens if it's a new account, a dormant account or a new card. We place the amount in a pending state and then send it back to the buyer typically within 24 hours.

This can be difficult for buyers as you mentioned if it is a large amount but it is a safety feature in place to prevent any issues.

I hope this helps to explain and that I have understood the situation correctly.

Let me know if not.

Thanks,

Katie 

[dave@ebay]

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@darth_baggins wrote:

Can you please explain why a buyer is allowed to open an INR case where the tracking is already uploaded to the order and shows delivery?

Surely an INR should be automatically denied if tracking is already present and shows delivery? Otherwise what's the point of having tracking?

---

Hi @darth_baggins 

The option is there in case there is something that need to be added or checked. For example, the item is delivered to the wrong address or left with a neighbour. 

I will pass your feedback the development team to see if there is a way to integrate more into the INR flow.  

Thanks,

Dave 

[2009happychap]

Hi I hope you can help, I am being houded by a seller becasue I put honest feedback on which was negatvie, he keeps contacting me to withdraw the feedback... I origally did not ask for a refund as I had used the item I have politley told him my feedback was honest so No I wont remove, he has now offered me a 50% refund.  I am not interested in the refund, I just want to be left alone and feel like i am being hounded,  I have searched to see if I can contact ebay to inform them but nothing.  Please please help  thanks Deborah

[jckl1957]

I will bear this in mind and send you links for future posts if it clearly isn't the case that it's a new or dormant account.

[ukhaberdashery]

So your saying I was lucky I was only robbed once and not twice! Ah thats good.

These were cheap items but people sending more expensive items will possibly have £100s of pounds taken from them with no recourse (as ebay does not bother sending follow up messages to try and get the item back) . Hopefully the Christmas, postal problem RM are having are now over but it seems that any problems in the postal system are ultimately paid for by the seller.

[eshopforce01]

Hello,

The research option is switching to worldwide automatically instead to default location.

It's really annoying.

Thank you

[sueg8453]

Hi

Sold a brand new graphics card on Ebay.  It had been an unwanted gift.  Buyer bid and accepted and send it off.  A week after he received it, Ebay contacted me to say that he had asked for a return due to the item being faulty.  I do not accept returns.

He said it seems be hitching and crashing which I regard as a technical issue and I have subsequently referred him to the manufacturers website where they have technical support and if the item is deemed faulty, they will arrange an RMA under its warranty.  There are many things which can cause these issues but it doesn't mean that the actual item is faulty, it could even be his own equipment not being sufficient for the card.

He was reluctant to follow this advice and said that he had done all that was reasonably possible but didn't do as I had suggested and still wants a refund.

I am reluctant to refund him as the item received by him was brand new, unopened and unused and if he returns it to me, it will no longer be in that condition and hence its value will be far less. 

My last response to him has not been replied to and that was five days ago.  I fear he may not do anything further for a while but how long do I have to wait before Ebay stop the hold on my funds?

Await your advice

Thank you

[katie@ebay]

---

@kempseykate wrote:

The message about extra Nectar points because it's 'hump day' ....

I am English, I speak English and I list/buy on ebay.co.uk, so I expect interactions with them to be in English as well.

I know of three definitions of 'hump':

a hump (like a camel's)

'in a hump', meaning annoyed with someone 

and a third one, which I can't really put into words as the mods will delete it - let's just say being really, really friendly with someone.

Apparently in America 'hump day' means Wednesday - but I'm not American,  I don't live in the US and I don't speak American-English.

So, could we just call Wednesday 'Wednesday', please?

---

Hi @kempseykate,

I can assure you this one refers to Wednesday being in the middle of the week. You're over the "hump" in the week. I'm Irish and it's a term we use here in the office too.

eBay is an American brand and this saying may have originated in the US but is used universally.

It's also a bit of fun to express Wednesday in a more positive way. One of my German colleagues shared with me recently they have a similar saying "Bergfest ", which roughly translates to Mountain Party.

We're over the hump/mountain of the week! 😊

Thanks,

Katie 

[katie@ebay]

---

@rainbowtrax wrote:

katie@ebay thankyou for the reply. I am just struggling to imagine what on earth the purpose is of a test to hide everything a buyer needs to see. This has been going on for weeks and is getting worse as ebay gradually hide more and more of the listing.

Is there any end in sight? Surely it can't go on much longer? What exactly is it that they are hoping to find out? Surely they don't need to run a test to establish that if you can't see what's for sale you're less likely to buy and more likely to return if you do? Most buyers and sellers could tell ebay that in an instant and bypass the need for ebay to wreck our listings.

---

Hi @rainbowtrax,

Thanks for your reply. 

I cannot answer those questions for you with the information we have been provided in regard to the test. They are making changes with the aim of increasing sales for sellers.

We don't know when the test is running to but we have been in contact with them sharing the options you and other members have provided us here. It adds human feedback to the numbers and we appreciate that.

Thanks,

Katie 

[katie@ebay]

---

@ducatimondo wrote:

Can someone look at the bell notifications on the PC webpage
This account shows 46 items to dispatch, there is only 1 as the rest have been shipped.
Our other account shows 88 items to dispatch, there is also only 1 as the rest have been shipped.

On the app, they both show 9+ as for some reason it was only ever set up to show upto 9, then just shows 9+ if you have more or the system doesn't work and it thinks you have more.

Surely this is basic programming, how come it does not work?

Thanks
Russ

---

Hi Russ,

This is feedback I have seen and understand what aspect you are referring to. We have been informed it can take 24 hours for the prompt to reflect new actions taken on the account. So if you dispatch an item it can take up to 24 hours to remove from the prompt notifications.

We are always aiming for these features to be more real-time and they are continuing to make advances to seller hub and notifications where possible.

Thanks,

Katie 

[pg_kicks]

Could you please tell me if a customer returns an item using a label purchased from eBay if it is marked as delivered but it is not actually delivered, with no proof, how do we go from here?

The original seller can not input a claim as the label was purchased from ebays Royal Mail account and any compensation would be given to eBay, also unless eBay are willing to give account number and address a claim can not be opened, but eBay are taking delivered on Royal Mail website as enough proof, even if the post person have marked it incorrectly.

I have had the issue a few times and each time it has resulted in hours of being passed pillar to post between agents who don't have a clue. I'd like a standard across board for any future issues.

[dave@ebay]

---

@returns_andexdisplay wrote:

Why do ebay keep repearting that accounts are only forced to become a business account when they hit the VAT threashold of 85K. HMRC mention you become a business when you buy products to sell for a profit. There are countless accounts in catagories that I sell in, who often have mutiple accounts selling the same items (which again is meant to be against ebay polices) yet no matter how many times they get reported ebay do nothing. 

ebay keep sending messages asking sellers to pay more for permoted listings or even calling to book a account health check which was basicaly have you considered paying ebay more to list and when I was not interested lost interested and ended the call pretty quick. I would spend money on advertisting if I knew I was competing equally against competiors but many on the site get given a thousand free listings a month, lower FVF and don't have to accpet buyer remorse returns all while trading as a business. 

---

Hi @returns_andexdisplay 

There can be a number of reasons why request an account to upgrade to a business account. Two of the main being the account is selling more than the threshold on eBay, this amount includes the total cost of the transaction. In some cases the HMRC has reached out to eBay and provided a Business Name that needs to be VAT registered. eBay locates the eBay account related to the business and places the action on it.

Usually when a report is received, the account is reviewed and there may or may not be action taken against them depending on the findings. It might also be the case that we have reached out and asked for more information or gave the account holder time to take an action we provided them so it would appear that nothing happened on the account.

Thanks,

Dave

[ukhaberdashery]

i still dont get it she said she received them on the 18 and then you closed it .