Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 26.11.25 @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, marco@ebay and dave@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. We understand that certain topics, such as concerns about businesses possibly using private accounts, can be frustrating and important to you. Please refrain from asking the same question repeatedly in our weekly live chats. We assure you that we carefully review all posts in the forum and ensure that your concerns are communicated to the relevant teams for appropriate action.
To maintain a constructive and community environment, posts that repeatedly breach this guideline may be removed. Continued violations could result in further action against your community account. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in helping us keep our community focused and respectful.

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

[custom-giftsuk]

Hi, I posted in the forum in regards not being able to contact ebay CS for a call back as all I get is a message saying "Sorry, we're having technical difficulties. If you try again, I should be able to help you, or you can search online help". I'm not sure if this has happened to others but I cant even contact ebay CS via chat (as chat is having issues) to raise this as a technical issue on ebay's side.

Would it be possible to raise a tech ticket in regards this please?

[cheekys-beauty-shop]

Hi

There a real big issue with how the eBay system tracks postage status of Royal mail 2nd class/business 48 and first class/business 24.

And it's actually leading to conflict with buyers.

These services are not scanned with Royal mail until the point of delivery, if scanned at all.

And the orders are showing for customers as not dispatched because they are not scanned when picked up by Royal mail.

I'm getting increasingly angry messages from buyers wanting to know when their order will be dispatched and not believing me when I say it's been dispatched.

I've even had to block buyers because of the manner of some messages.

When we dispatch orders it needs to be shown on the buyers order details like it used to be.

The issue is magnified during the Christmas period as Royal mail takes a lot longer to deliver these services and often sitting on them for many days. The estimated delivery dates also don't seem to take into account the changes to the 2nd class delivery days which happened earlier in the year,and often showing an estimated date during a weekend.

This really needs looking into as it's creating unpleasant situations for both buyers and sellers.

Is it possible this can be investigated?

Kind regards 

Adam 

[marco@ebay]

---

@custom-giftsuk wrote:

Hi, I posted in the forum in regards not being able to contact ebay CS for a call back as all I get is a message saying "Sorry, we're having technical difficulties. If you try again, I should be able to help you, or you can search online help". I'm not sure if this has happened to others but I cant even contact ebay CS via chat (as chat is having issues) to raise this as a technical issue on ebay's side.

Would it be possible to raise a tech ticket in regards this please?

---

Hi custom-giftsuk, thanks for your post. 

Yes, I saw that, I will get back to you in the original thread, but we will get that raised for you, don't worry.

Thank you,

Marco

[custom-giftsuk]

Thanks Marco!

[custom-giftsuk]

It's very quiet today 😁

[ak_craft_crazy]

Hi,

Please can someone explain why 2nd class large letter items keep getting a Late Delivery Mark against me for when Royal Mail deliver items later than your estimated delivery dates?

2nd class large letters only get a scan on delivery (most of the time this is, sometimes they get no scan) however eBay says that i dispatched this late????? However the first scan date and time is the exact same time as the delivery scan. How can i dispatch an item at the very same time it is delivered on the other end of the country? Luckily some of these are automatically removed but some stay and when i request them to be removed your AI bots just send the usually message. 

My items are collected by Royal Mail daily as we have a business account with them. So each item is not scanned as they are already bagged and tagged, unlike taking them to the post office where they can be scanned.

We provide a manifest to Royal Mail to say what is in the bags and once we do this all the items in these bags then get automatically marked as dispatched.

So why am i being held accountable for Royal Mail delivering items late? 

Sometimes it can just be best to remove the tracking barcode number on eBay to avoid the hassle.

Thanks

[chilloutgames]

Hi

I've been using the messaging api for 8 years. It allows me to reply to buyer messages with templates and order information etc with a few clicks.

Over the past, month the api is not allowing me to send replies. It gives the error message "The recipient did not ask the question that you are responding to." as the reason. I then have to visit ebay messaging and paste the same reply in there instead. It is allowed through with no error even though it is the exact same reply.

Here's an example from today attached.

Can you raise this with the IT team?

Kind regards,

Paul

Chillout Games

Here's an attached example

[dave@ebay]

---

@cheekys-beauty-shop wrote:

Hi

There a real big issue with how the eBay system tracks postage status of Royal mail 2nd class/business 48 and first class/business 24.

And it's actually leading to conflict with buyers.

These services are not scanned with Royal mail until the point of delivery, if scanned at all.

And the orders are showing for customers as not dispatched because they are not scanned when picked up by Royal mail.

I'm getting increasingly angry messages from buyers wanting to know when their order will be dispatched and not believing me when I say it's been dispatched.

I've even had to block buyers because of the manner of some messages.

When we dispatch orders it needs to be shown on the buyers order details like it used to be.

The issue is magnified during the Christmas period as Royal mail takes a lot longer to deliver these services and often sitting on them for many days. The estimated delivery dates also don't seem to take into account the changes to the 2nd class delivery days which happened earlier in the year,and often showing an estimated date during a weekend.

This really needs looking into as it's creating unpleasant situations for both buyers and sellers.

Is it possible this can be investigated?

Kind regards 

Adam 

---

Hi @cheekys-beauty-shop 

Our EDDs do change based on seasonal factors so they will change as the Christmas season approaches. you can find more on how its calculated here.

The Royal Mail scans do come up from time to time and we have passed this feedback on to the shipping team.  I will as always send this post over to the guys to review. 

Thanks,

Dave

[ak_craft_crazy]

Hi,

Please can i also recommend your EDD policy be looked into as it is a complete and utter shambles.

as it says 

"

How we calculate the EDD

EDD is tailored per order based on factors you control and broader delivery signals:

• Handling time typically set by the seller (how quickly you pack and hand items to the carrier)."

but then says

"

Why the EDD can include dates within your handling time

During peak periods, buyers may receive items later; at quieter times, sooner. To avoid a one‑size‑fits‑all estimate, we adjust EDD dynamically. This can create EDD ranges that overlap with dates inside your dispatch time, especially if you’ve set longer dispatch times to manage your workload."

then at the bottom says 

"

Best practices to stay protected

• Keep handling time and carrier service details accurate in your listings.
• Dispatch on time and use the service and carrier you advertised.
• Choose tracked services and upload tracking within 24 hours of dispatch.
• Monitor eBay announcements for network disruptions (e.g., severe weather, strikes, peak backlogs like Black Friday/Cyber Monday) that may affect EDD calculations.
• If you need to update listings, see our page on revising a listing.

Final note

We continuously factor in unexpected carrier network conditions when calculating EDD (e.g., severe weather, natural disasters, strikes, and major peak backlogs) to set realistic delivery expectations and apply appropriate seller protections."

So one minute your saying it calculates on handling times, then it basically says we will ignore these handling times but then says for best practice ensure they are accurate.

How can we provide accurate handling times/processing times when you ignore them anyway?

Thanks

[kat@ebay]

---

@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Hi,

Please can someone explain why 2nd class large letter items keep getting a Late Delivery Mark against me for when Royal Mail deliver items later than your estimated delivery dates?

2nd class large letters only get a scan on delivery (most of the time this is, sometimes they get no scan) however eBay says that i dispatched this late????? However the first scan date and time is the exact same time as the delivery scan. How can i dispatch an item at the very same time it is delivered on the other end of the country? Luckily some of these are automatically removed but some stay and when i request them to be removed your AI bots just send the usually message. 

My items are collected by Royal Mail daily as we have a business account with them. So each item is not scanned as they are already bagged and tagged, unlike taking them to the post office where they can be scanned.

We provide a manifest to Royal Mail to say what is in the bags and once we do this all the items in these bags then get automatically marked as dispatched.

So why am i being held accountable for Royal Mail delivering items late? 

Sometimes it can just be best to remove the tracking barcode number on eBay to avoid the hassle.

Thanks

---

Hi @ak_craft_crazy ,

For the ones that are not being removed automatically it would be best to contact customer support to review through the callback option.

Thank you,

Kat

[dave@ebay]

---

@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Hi,

Please can i also recommend your EDD policy be looked into as it is a complete and utter shambles.

as it says 

"

How we calculate the EDD

EDD is tailored per order based on factors you control and broader delivery signals:

• Handling time typically set by the seller (how quickly you pack and hand items to the carrier)."

but then says

"

Why the EDD can include dates within your handling time

During peak periods, buyers may receive items later; at quieter times, sooner. To avoid a one‑size‑fits‑all estimate, we adjust EDD dynamically. This can create EDD ranges that overlap with dates inside your dispatch time, especially if you’ve set longer dispatch times to manage your workload."

then at the bottom says 

"

Best practices to stay protected

• Keep handling time and carrier service details accurate in your listings.
• Dispatch on time and use the service and carrier you advertised.
• Choose tracked services and upload tracking within 24 hours of dispatch.
• Monitor eBay announcements for network disruptions (e.g., severe weather, strikes, peak backlogs like Black Friday/Cyber Monday) that may affect EDD calculations.
• If you need to update listings, see our page on revising a listing.

Final note

We continuously factor in unexpected carrier network conditions when calculating EDD (e.g., severe weather, natural disasters, strikes, and major peak backlogs) to set realistic delivery expectations and apply appropriate seller protections."

So one minute your saying it calculates on handling times, then it basically says we will ignore these handling times but then says for best practice ensure they are accurate.

How can we provide accurate handling times/processing times when you ignore them anyway?

Thanks

---

Hi @ak_craft_crazy 

Thanks for your feedback. I'll pass it on to the shipping team. 

Thanks,

Dave

[marco@ebay]

---

@chilloutgames wrote:

Hi

I've been using the messaging api for 8 years. It allows me to reply to buyer messages with templates and order information etc with a few clicks.

Over the past, month the api is not allowing me to send replies. It gives the error message "The recipient did not ask the question that you are responding to." as the reason. I then have to visit ebay messaging and paste the same reply in there instead. It is allowed through with no error even though it is the exact same reply.

Here's an example from today attached.

Can you raise this with the IT team?

Kind regards,

Paul

Chillout Games

Here's an attached example

---

Hi chilloutgames, thanks for your post.

Sorry to hear about that, but unfortunately, that's not something we are able to assist with over here, as this is more from the developing side of things. If you click here, you can go through the developers for further assistance on this.

Thank you,

Marco

[pegr-834437]

Hi Dave,

Can you please get an answer as to if they take handling time (as set by the seller) or historic data of handling time as it isnt possible take into consideration both as then the starting points would be different for both. 

Also if  they take historic data of handling time into consideration why is there even a handling time feature as if I change mine to 5 days the EDD doesnt change which leads me back to the first question as they clearly dont take it into consideration even though they claim to. 

[paulblueandwhite]

Good afternoon,

Any news on bladed items and postage with Simple Delivery.  Still not possible to add age verification on listings. On eBay rules regarding this items: need to be visible on listings. But age verification option is not available. When will this be solved?

[dave@ebay]

---

@pegr-834437 wrote:

Hi Dave,

Can you please get an answer as to if they take handling time (as set by the seller) or historic data of handling time as it isnt possible take into consideration both as then the starting points would be different for both. 

Also if  they take historic data of handling time into consideration why is there even a handling time feature as if I change mine to 5 days the EDD doesnt change which leads me back to the first question as they clearly dont take it into consideration even though they claim to. 

---

Hi @pegr-834437 

It does take your past delivery performance on aspects you control (e.g., dispatch speed) into consideration as one of a number of factors. 

You can find out more on it here.

Thanks,

Dave

[dave@ebay]

---

@paulblueandwhite wrote:

Good afternoon,

Any news on bladed items and postage with Simple Delivery.  Still not possible to add age verification on listings. On eBay rules regarding this items: need to be visible on listings. But age verification option is not available. When will this be solved?

---

Hi @paulblueandwhite 

I still don't have any updates on this. I will as previously promised reach out to you as soon as I have something that I can share. 

Thanks,

Dave

[pegr-834437]

I understand the page but when I change my handling time the EDD doesnt change, so at least to me (and many other sellers) it seems like handling time plays no part in it. You cant use the seller supplied data of handling time and the historic data and come up with a working EDD.

Its a constant complaint that we (eBay sellers) have eBay claim that handling time set for the seller makes a difference but if we change it there is zero difference so I'm sorry but it clearly makes no difference. If I change it to 5 days it should add 5 days on, otherwise its designed not to work correctly or the handling time has no part to play in EDD, It can not be both, its impossible to be both.

[dave@ebay]

---

@pegr-834437 wrote:

I understand the page but when I change my handling time the EDD doesnt change, so at least to me (and many other sellers) it seems like handling time plays no part in it. You cant use the seller supplied data of handling time and the historic data and come up with a working EDD.

Its a constant complaint that we (eBay sellers) have eBay claim that handling time set for the seller makes a difference but if we change it there is zero difference so I'm sorry but it clearly makes no difference. If I change it to 5 days it should add 5 days on, otherwise its designed not to work correctly or the handling time has no part to play in EDD, It can not be both, its impossible to be both.

---

@pegr-834437 

Your past performance could possibly be playing a part in that. If for example you set your dispatch time to 5 days but you are dispatching in 3 this could be factored in to the displayed EDD. 

Thanks,

Dave