Bug when deleting listing variations, entries not actually deleting

[bobsbrickstuff]

Reposting this report as the original post has been archived

Last month it took me an hour to add one item to a listing because listing variations from years ago kept adding themselves back.

I now have to add three items to three listings and I'm actually kinda worried about how long it might take 😅

marco@ebay you replied to me about this issue before, please can you see what's going on, and if there's any kind of a workaround to delete them permanently so I don't have to keep doing every time?

 

[bobsbrickstuff]

Hi, tried again with adding the new variations, wasn't able to complete the task but got more info on the System Error message that's appearing, and it seems specific to what I'm trying to add. Of the three new variations I'm wanting to add, one of them goes through fine but the other two throw up the error. To test I've been adding a single variation to the list, clicking "Update variations", adding the price, clicking "save and close" and then *not* updating the listing. This means I've been able to test each entry from the same starting point.

What I've found is that 

"Brown Deck, White Trucks, Black Wheels" is absolutely fine, and is added to the list after clicking "Save and close"

However "Brown Deck, Silver Trucks, Green Wheels" and "Brown Deck, Silver Trucks, Pearl Wheels" both give the system error that tells me to try again later.

[ccla3379]

Were these variations being added to a fresh listing or an existing item which may have had these variations added and removed from it in the past?  (just trying to understand how to repeat the problem)

I created a test item, added a variation, saved it, then went back 3 more times to add the values shown: -

I didn't get any errors but I'm not sure that I am repeating your test situation correctly.

[bobsbrickstuff]

Hi, thanks for checking! I don't think it's that text specifically for all users, but something related to my listing.  As deleting variations is fundamentally broken on all multi-listings I'd wondered those variations have previously existed and are stuck in the system somewhere, but I'd searched my emails for each of those variations and got no results on any so no idea why those two are causing problems.

Have you also tested out the issue with the delete buttons not working?

[ccla3379]

Not specifically - last time I was having 'fun' with variations it was when I tried to tick several variations and use the delete button. This caused a modal confirm box to be placed in the center of the unscrolled div-section which could be, tantalisingly, off-screen so I couldn't get to it to click it. At the time I worked out I could down-size the webpage and once it was sufficiently tiny enough it would fit on my monitor again. Subsequently I tried at all costs to avoid modifying variations once created.

Usually buyers understand that greyed-out entries are no longer available - although it may generate queries, in the most part these are easy to handle.

I'm guessing there is a use-case which needs to churn variations I've not come across?!?

[ccla3379]

... just a thought ...

If you take your current listing which gives the errors when adjusting the variation, use this do a Sell Similar to make a fresh listing - does this 'copy' also suffer from the same error or does the copying clean-up the situation/data/problem ??

[bobsbrickstuff]

Yeah, you'll have an impossible task modifying variations... we could really do with a rename function for them. Some of my other listings have variation names that are now outdated but have watchers I don't want to lose. 

Oof, no, saying usually buyers understand greyed out listings definitely doesn't help 😅

You're not wrong (I've only had one buyer make a purchase but with a note saying they couldn't select the one they wanted from the pics so could I send that one instead), but leaving loads of out of stock items just looks terrible, and a customer shouldn't have to scroll through dozens of grey items to find what I actually have for sale! 

And yeah, the use case you're missing is shown with this listing and my minifig listings. Stock is constantly shifting, I've had around 200 different star wars minifigs come through my store but there's only 27 up now... nobody wants 170 greyed out entries 😂

And yeah copied listings still have the issue, I mainly use Sell Similar. The bug's pretty persistent. Have a test with the listing you made, it's a real frustrating problem.

[ccla3379]

 Love the customers that find a way - points for being creative I guess 😄

I appreciate the issue - Google suggests there are 1000+(?) minifigure-types in circulation and a large but ever changing set in stock and no built-in product catalogue to help.

I've tried adding and removing variations, re-adding with the same names, Deleting several via the checkbox, Deleting some with the singleton delete action and repeating all of these with photos added to each variation. No error as yet.

I have no insight into how it works but I wonder if it may be related to sold-item counts - is it possible to make this error appear on a fresh item before any sales?  

[bobsbrickstuff]

Did you go through all the steps I posted on page 2? If you have updated the listing the variations appear deleted until you go to add something new.

[bobsbrickstuff]

Yeah, so though I was sure I would have already tried (I've done a fair amount of software beta testing!) I tried with a brand new listing, all quantities set to zero. Deleted an item. Save and Close... update. It's gone. Go to edit and add a new variation, it's back. Look at the count and entries on this screeshot. It's 2 vs 3.

 

Definitely have a go at repeating the steps on page 2, there's like 15 with screenshots, I really thought it'd help get it fixed sooner 😂💀

[ccla3379]

As best I can see the number at the top of the screen (number of variations) seems to be the same as the number of rows in the combinations table at the bottom of the screen rather than the number of attribute values next to it - confusingly.  Not sure if it is meant to be but does seem to follow that pattern for me at least.

If I delete from the combinations at the bottom of the page then this count decreases as it probably should (my presumption).  

Only time when things appear more than I would like ideally is, having deleted some combinations, I decide to add a new attribute value at the top and mistakenly click Add Rows Automatically (rather than I'll Do It Myself) whereupon it manufactures ALL the missing combinations into the table at the bottom plus mucks up the item counts.   I have just learned to avoid adding rows automatically and add missing combinations manually - it saves some of my remaining hair!

I'll try to make time tomorrow to re-visit your post from the beginning and see if I can get closer to replicating it.  Did you mention which browser you were using?   Did you notice if it wasn't throwing any errors in the console window by any chance?

[bobsbrickstuff]

Yeah, sorry but I think you need to check through the steps on page 2 to get a better hold of the primary issue which is with variations, combinations aren't coming into it...

I don't see a way to add *variations* from the second page so the only option is Add Rows Automatically. Plus we should be able to click the buttons they've made and have them do what they say and not break our stock levels.

And it's not going to be a browser issue because of the way it manifests. It's an eBay system issue, tech support have acknowledged it but are kind of refusing to fix it. 

[bobsbrickstuff]

Hi marco@ebay , I think unfortunately this bug has now negatively impacted my seller performance.

Someone has bought an item that should not have been in the variations, and so I have to cancel their order as out of stock. 

I don't know what to do about this... I reported it over 18 months ago and this wouldn't have happened had they fixed the issue

[ccla3379]

Hi Bob,

Sorry I got distracted and lost the thread.

When you click Update Variations do you get these three options or only the first one?

[bobsbrickstuff]

Hi, I get the three options, but please be aware that the bug causing me the issues is not specifically there, I had to go into that page as a workaround. The issue is the delete button on the previous page not working. Can you reread the original post, and then scroll down to the comment I made last March, it's a little bit of the way down and specifically at 07-03-2025 7:13 PM. This runs you through the steps to recreate the bug.

[ccla3379]

It is coming back to me - yes, at your step 11, for an active listing never click Add Variations Automatically or it will attempt to flesh-out all the missing variations and manufacture entries in the combinations table. Why does it do this - I want to say F-knows, but I suspect it is meant for folk that receive a container of clothes from the far east in a range of sizes the same ever time, when the new stock comes in it re-populates the items with stock which has been trimmed out.

My learning over the last decade - never use the auto option. Use the I'll Do It Myself, then scroll down add a pic and scroll down and add a combination manually for the one entry I have just added (remember to save the extra row before saving the page).

I'm sure you are right, there are probably dozens of bugs software improvement opportunities but I would not hold my hat waiting for them to get fixed - and fixes can cause collateral damage.

[marco@ebay]

Hi bobsbrickstuff, thanks for your update.

I see where you are coming from, but the main issue here is that the technical team is not being able to replicate the issue. Every time they try to replicate this issue and get a better understanding, everything works/function as expected, we haven't seen any other members reporting the same issue, but I am being confirmed that this is still under review. I will try to talk to them again by the end of the week to see we can get a final/definite answer.

Thank you,

Marco