Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 29.11.23 @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, katie@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

[prinkink]

Why do Ebay never act on reports of others sellers manipulating the search with 10's of thousands of duplicate listings?
One particular UK business seller going under 3 different Ebay accounts has 10's of thousands of near duplicate listings for the same items spread over all 3 accounts.
This means that for the items that we sell, this unscrupulous seller holds over 20 places on the first page of Ebay search for the same item and holds 7 out of top ten non sponsored results.
They release new duplicate listings every day at very low prices which naturally rise to the top and push away other sellers. Once the top positions are "stolen" their prices increase to over and above what the other sellers were charging.
I have reported this many times via phone, chat, Ebay reporting tools etc and always end up with a boiler plate response and no action even though the Ebay representatives all agree that this company is clearly breaking the rules.

[kempseykate]

A little while ago I used Help & Contact, 'contact agent' and eventually got the choice of a chat or call back. I chose call back and waited for 2 hours, but no call.
When I looked at my emails later there was a message a few minutes after I requested call back saying the call had failed. On that occassion, I just gave up and eventually sorted the issue myself.

This week I went the same route - but aware of the false 'call failed' message I kept my email open as well.

I tried 3 times - each time 'call failed':

We tried to contact you, but weren't able to reach you at the phone number on file, because either:

The call was not answered.
The call reached a voicemail.
The call reached a busy signal.
The number called was wrong or disconnected.

I was sat at the computer with the phone next to me - it didn't ring, and there were no missed calls.
It didn't go to voicemail.
It wasn't busy - I didn't use it, and no one rang me.
The number is the one ebay have - the one that they manage to send a message to for verification, so it's definitely the correct one.

So, why lie? Why not just give option for chat only if they can't be bothered to try and call?
It's bad enough trying to get in touch with CS anyway, this just makes it more frustrating and wastes our time.

[anita@ebay]

---

@prinkink wrote:

Why do Ebay never act on reports of others sellers manipulating the search with 10's of thousands of duplicate listings?
One particular UK business seller going under 3 different Ebay accounts has 10's of thousands of near duplicate listings for the same items spread over all 3 accounts.
This means that for the items that we sell, this unscrupulous seller holds over 20 places on the first page of Ebay search for the same item and holds 7 out of top ten non sponsored results.
They release new duplicate listings every day at very low prices which naturally rise to the top and push away other sellers. Once the top positions are "stolen" their prices increase to over and above what the other sellers were charging.
I have reported this many times via phone, chat, Ebay reporting tools etc and always end up with a boiler plate response and no action even though the Ebay representatives all agree that this company is clearly breaking the rules.

---

Hi @prinkink, thanks for your post.

I appreciate your feedback. eBay takes reports seriously, and we have teams working proactively and reactively to work as many reports as possible. I will share your feedback to the relevant team as we want to ensure violating listings are actioned accordingly.

In the meantime, if you feel that the right action hasn’t been taken after you reported it, you can also report it by selecting Contact us options here at the bottom of the page.

Thanks,

Anita

[marco@ebay]

---

@kempseykate wrote:

A little while ago I used Help & Contact, 'contact agent' and eventually got the choice of a chat or call back. I chose call back and waited for 2 hours, but no call.
When I looked at my emails later there was a message a few minutes after I requested call back saying the call had failed. On that occassion, I just gave up and eventually sorted the issue myself.

This week I went the same route - but aware of the false 'call failed' message I kept my email open as well.

I tried 3 times - each time 'call failed':

We tried to contact you, but weren't able to reach you at the phone number on file, because either:

The call was not answered.
The call reached a voicemail.
The call reached a busy signal.
The number called was wrong or disconnected.

I was sat at the computer with the phone next to me - it didn't ring, and there were no missed calls.
It didn't go to voicemail.
It wasn't busy - I didn't use it, and no one rang me.
The number is the one ebay have - the one that they manage to send a message to for verification, so it's definitely the correct one.

So, why lie? Why not just give option for chat only if they can't be bothered to try and call?
It's bad enough trying to get in touch with CS anyway, this just makes it more frustrating and wastes our time.

---

Hi kempseykate, thanks for your post.

I've just reviewed this for you, and I see no recent contact requests from your account. Do you know if this was requested from this account?

Thank you,

Marco

[returns_andexdisplay]

Return ID 5247168428  buyer bought a duvet then opens a not as described return for handle falling off the grill pan and shown in the pictures as well. Before realising this mistake and closing the return instantly. Why am I still hit with a service metric defect for this? I have spoken to 3 differnt agents who have all told me this will be taken off my service metrics yet it is still on there. 

It is hard enough as a small business on ebay without being punished with things like service metric defects when I have done nothing wrong. 

Will this be taken off? If so how do I get it taken off? 

[prinkink]

Same problem here too.

I was promised a call back on numerous occasions regarding an issue I posted about on Chat today.

I waited for the call, it rang once then cut off and I received the same email. It has happend a few times and also strangely during the middle of a converations with Ebay representetives when they don't want to give me answers to my questions.

[douglaspuglas]

Can you clarify something about automatic payments please.

When a buyer provides their payment method before making an offer eBay says 

"By selecting Make offer, you authorise eBay to use these payment details to collect payment from you for this item and for any future items you offer to buy or win at auction on eBay. The amount collected from you will consist of your offer or bid (up to the total entered by you) and any applicable costs."

Does this apply to all offers or just the ones where the seller is opted into requiring the buyer to provide a payment method before making their offer!

It also says it applies to auctions.

Is this the case as some UK users have said after they provided their payment method for offers they'd also had payment taken automatically as soon as an auction ended. 

[marco@ebay]

---

@prinkink wrote:

Same problem here too.

I was promised a call back on numerous occasions regarding an issue I posted about on Chat today.

I waited for the call, it rang once then cut off and I received the same email. It has happend a few times and also strangely during the middle of a converations with Ebay representetives when they don't want to give me answers to my questions.

---

Hi prinkink, thanks for your post.

I can see you did request a call back on the 24th of November. However, we couldn't get through which is why you would receive that message.

Thank you,

Marco

[mteconlineshop]

HI

Regarding the option to send sellers who have items in there watched listings how long does that offer stay live for? About 7-8 weeks ago i selected a some to send offers to but i still now still get people who were not watching at the time getting those offers, it only used to be around 3-4 days

[marco@ebay]

---

@douglaspuglas wrote:

Can you clarify something about automatic payments please.

When a buyer provides their payment method before making an offer eBay says 

"By selecting Make offer, you authorise eBay to use these payment details to collect payment from you for this item and for any future items you offer to buy or win at auction on eBay. The amount collected from you will consist of your offer or bid (up to the total entered by you) and any applicable costs."

Does this apply to all offers or just the ones where the seller is opted into requiring the buyer to provide a payment method before making their offer!

It also says it applies to auctions.

Is this the case as some UK users have said after they provided their payment method for offers they'd also had payment taken automatically as soon as an auction ended. 

---

Hi douglaspuglas, thanks for your post.

The answer would be yes, if a seller is opted in for automatic payments all offers would go through this system. If a seller doesn't wish for this to happen, they would need to opt out.

Thank you,

Marco

[prinkink]

Sorry but that's just the same old boiler plate cut and paste reponse that I always get.

Are you able to look into my case and give me a definate answer to my question please?

[anita@ebay]

---

@returns_andexdisplay wrote:

Return ID 5247168428  buyer bought a duvet then opens a not as described return for handle falling off the grill pan and shown in the pictures as well. Before realising this mistake and closing the return instantly. Why am I still hit with a service metric defect for this? I have spoken to 3 differnt agents who have all told me this will be taken off my service metrics yet it is still on there. 

It is hard enough as a small business on ebay without being punished with things like service metric defects when I have done nothing wrong. 

Will this be taken off? If so how do I get it taken off? 

---

Hi @returns_andexdisplay, thanks for your post.

I appreciate where are you are coming from, and I understand that it is upsetting when buyer opens up the case by error, which may add a service metric defect. However, this metric is measured the same way amongst all sellers and compared to other sellers selling in the same categories, meaning that other sellers' metrics are also based on the amount of open cases (including those by error).

Service metric defects are non-removable, and I apologize for the incorrect information given to you.

Please see this page for more info.

Thanks,

Anita

[pionelle]

Hello

I made a small purchase on ebay today, checked my Nectar page on ebay and noticed that all of my details i.e. purchases, points etc. have disappeared. I have been reading the forums and have noticed this is an ongoing issue, is there any news on this please?

[kempseykate]

---

marco@ebay wrote:

---

---

Hi kempseykate, thanks for your post.

I've just reviewed this for you, and I see no recent contact requests from your account. Do you know if this was requested from this account?

Thank you,

Marco

---

No, marco@ebay , it was my other account - the one that had reduced postage that wasn't a technical glitch.

[marco@ebay]

---

@prinkink wrote:

Sorry but that's just the same old boiler plate cut and paste reponse that I always get.

Are you able to look into my case and give me a definate answer to my question please?

---

Thanks for your reply, prinkink. 

What is your question? 

Thank you,

Marco

[darth_baggins]

Similar to another question. eBay rules state that sellers are not allowed to put text or graphics on images, yet search is absolutely flooded with gallery images with UK flags, text and other graphics all over them.

Reporting them does nothing, and please don't give me the 'we can't reveal what action has been taken' mantra, because the only suitable action would be to either remove the listing or force the seller to change the image. Either they're allowed or they aren't, there's no middle ground here.

Why bother with a rule if you don't ever enforce it and allows sellers who break the rule to gain an unfair advantage by adding extra information to their gallery image?

Policy here https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/picture-policy?id=4370

Quote

The following are not allowed:
Photos with added borders
Photos with added text, artwork or marketing material
Watermarks of any type, including those used for ownership attributions

[contessa35]

I thought I'd just mention that the issue I brought up a few weeks ago in an eBay Community chat session still exists, despite me being told by eBay representatives that there is in fact no problem(!) - in short, almost all the items listed in the Toys & Games and Dolls & Bears categories sold by US sellers (plus some other categories I'm less familiar with) on eBay.com do not have shipping to the UK (despite their sellers' intentions) if those sellers are enrolled in eBay International Shipping (which is the scheme that replaced the Global Shipping Program in the US) - and it's impossible for the sellers to add the UK back in (in fact, the sellers never removed the UK in the first place, and it even affects their previously-unaffected listings if they are auto-renewed when they remain unsold). It's been going on for several months now and got worse gradually - now it's causing all kinds of problems. In case anyone is interested, here's one large thread about it on eBay.com, which hopefully proves I'm not imagining it! I haven't participated in this thread, though I see one observant member over there did spot my original query in our Community Chat! 😁 

There are various theories about what's causing it - even if the one about safety markings proves to be the explanation, it shouldn't be happening as it is affecting items which are vintage as well as modern collectible dolls for adult collectors - these were never blocked from sale by EU regulations and the incoming UK regulations are only meant to be their equivalents as far as I know. Every workaround so far  prevents the use of eBay International Shipping, which is a shame, and many sellers and potential buyers remain unaware of the issue until it's pointed out, so they are respectively losing sales and opportunities to buy, as the issue makes it appear that sellers do not ship their items to the UK when in fact they are more than willing to do so.

Re: EIS not offering shipping to UK - Page 7 - The eBay Community

[returns_andexdisplay]

What an amazing way to treat your sellers, not only have 3 differnet agents given me the wrong information but ebay will punish sellers when they have done absoloutly nothing wrong. Potentially downgreading their account from top rated and charging more in fees. 

[marco@ebay]

---

@kempseykate wrote:

---

marco@ebay wrote:

---

---

Hi kempseykate, thanks for your post.

I've just reviewed this for you, and I see no recent contact requests from your account. Do you know if this was requested from this account?

Thank you,

Marco

---

No, marco@ebay , it was my other account - the one that had reduced postage that wasn't a technical glitch.

---

Thanks for your reply, kempseykate.

I wouldn't be able to review a different account. If you wish you can ask this question from the account in question and I will take a look for you no problem.

Thank you,

Marco