Ebay messaging not working

[garethmiller21]

I have sold two items to two differen tpeople. However i can't send them messages at all. This has never happened before. Either on my iphone or desktop it just says "oops" or "something went wrong". 

As these items are collection only it is causing a problem. I cant seem to find a way to rasie this with Ebay directly either.

[kat@ebay]

Hi @garethmiller21 ,

Thank you for your post.

Have you been able to send any messages or is it just to those two buyers? Can you try clearing cache and cookies and try from a different browser to see if that helps

Thank you,

Kat

[garethmiller21]

I have tired on my phone app, Desktop in Chrome and Safari and also in icongnito mode and no luck.

I have not been able to send any messages when looking at my "Messages" screen. When i select "Contact buyer" it takes me to this screen and it wont send once i type a message. I did have a dispute, due to not being able to contact a buyer, this takes me to a different screen and I am able to contact them this way. But it does not help with the second item i have. 

[tressygirl]

You say you have sold 2 items,  what are the messages you are now trying to send to the buyers?  If you just wish to tell them their items have been posted / dispatched,   then proceed this way:

You need to finalise the transaction now only on the Seller Hub here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sh/ovw

Go to Orders >> Awaiting Postage, click on the item then top left on View Order Details.

Far right from More Action drop down menu click on ' Mark as Dispatched' if you have it, add any tracking number there too.

@garethmiller21 

[kat@ebay]

Hi Gareth,

Sometimes messages can be blocked due to it detecting contact details within the message. This block is in place to prevent sales being taken off site.  Now you have mentioned the buyer already bought the item so it shouldn't be the case.

After checking the details I can see you reported this to customer support and they are currently following this up with tech. 

Thank you,

Kat

[garethmiller21]

Hello,

No my problem has not been resolved. I lost one sale as the other person could not contact me and I could not contact them. These items were collection only due to their size. I have been able to contact one buyer, they raised a dispute. This allows me to send a message via a different screen.

After complaining twice I was told the issue was not reported by anyone else. After a bit more of a discussion with the technical lead they admitted it was a wide issue and they were aware of the problem that is affecting a lot of users. It has been a week and no resolution so my next sale will have to be elsewhere which is a shame as i know and trust eBay.

Thank you

[cooper999steven]

Hi, has the message issue been resolved?

I am a buyer trying to contact the seller via the eBay message system, asking it to send a copy to my email account but nothing seems to happen. No sent messages in the folder and nothing in my personal email account.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

[kat@ebay]

Hi @garethmiller21 ,

From checking, there is an open ticket with the tech team for messages for users that are getting the error message " message not delivered". Your account has been added to this ticket. There is no current update on it being resolved as its still being worked on.

Thank you,

Kat

[kat@ebay]

Hi @cooper999steven ,

Thank you for your post.

There is an open ticket with tech for an issue with both buyers and sellers unable to send a message as the option to input the message is not there. This is being worked on. I will add your account to this open ticket.

Thank you,

Kat

[cooper999steven]

Hi Kat, eBay message will allow me to input text into the message box, I then click "send" for the message to be sent to the seller and a copy to my email account. Then above the message box appears a small blue circle with and letter "i" inside.
Nothing in my personal email account and nothing in the messages within eBay.

Regards

[kat@ebay]

Hi @cooper999steven ,

Thanks for the reply. 

This looks to be different than the no option to input the message. Can you try some basic steps which you may have already done but can you try clearing cache and cookies, sign out and back in again. Can you also try from a different browser.

If its still does it after these steps can you let me know what browser you use and can you screenshot your view to show the blue circle above the message just block any personal details such as buyer id and the message itself.

Thank you,

Kat

[cooper999steven]

Hi Kat, I have cleared the cache and cookies, re-booted, signed into my eBay account and tries to "contact the seller" but I got the same message as per the attached.

Hopefully my poor computer knowledge has worked and you will be able to see the attached.

Regards

Steve

[bicyclz]

I have a problem simply trying to ask a seller a question about his item. I click on Contact & get only a 'Make an Offer' window.

Last week I bought an item & tried to contact the seller about the shipping. Same result. IOW I've paid for it & cannot contact the seller... What a joke. Looks like I can only contact him via Feedback.

I'm closing my account (member since 2005) when I receive my 2 currently bought items. Ebay has gone down the drain recently & there are better alternatives.

[bicyclz]

You are not alone. Ebay 'Messaging' is all awry currently. I tried to ask a seller this morning a simple Q about his listing & couldn't do it. So a loss of a potential sale there. I wouldn't want be a seller these days.

I've just given up with Ebay & all its nonsense. It's a shambles these days IMO. I managed to get through on the phone to a human being at Ebay earlier this week, but she was in Manila, Philippines & wasn't able to help, nice as she was.

[solofilms]

Ebay, when will messaging be working again??

[bicyclz]

I wouldn't count on it anytime soon. 

They are more interested in preventing buyer & seller communicating pre sale in order to prevent 'off Ebay' transactions. As a 'business seller' you can have all your communication options plain to see on your listings. Physical address, email address & your phone number there for all buyers to see, if they care to look. But, as a private seller being encouraged to go for a business account you may well have Inland Revenue checking your transactions so that you are not evading due taxes... No blame attaches to IR for doing their job.

Personally I am not 'trading' anything on Ebay, just selling odd items surplus to my hobby requirements, or odd household items. And buying odd things that interest me. As most ordinary people do. Inland Revenue are not interested in such sales & so that is the main reason for genuine private sellers to stay private.

I've been a 'Member' since 2005 & my experience is that Ebay, keen to maximise charges & profits, continually try to restrict & control member to member communications in order to make a profit. Ebay is a business after all. It's not a public service: ) But when they started charging 10% fees for postage that wised me up! It is a necessary component of all shipped sales so why should Ebay be taking their cut out of shipping costs?? They are experts at skimming every last possible fee to make more profits. I 'get' it, but I don't have to agree with it & I'm finally getting to the point where these Multinationals (Amazon is similar & there are many more. Etsy for one) are getting too greedy for me.

I'm just waiting for one item I bought in USA to be delivered (a simple sewing machine part) & I'm out of it. Had enough IOW. And I'm talking as a buyer here! Not a seller. I've not sold anything for a good while.

If they cannot get their Messaging systems working, & they are showing no signs of doing it after several weeks, what does that tell you? It's not incompetence, it's greed IMO.

I wish you luck: )

[bicyclz]

In my case I want ask a simple Q. It don't matter what message I want to send. It will not send anything except offers! No other option. Explain that please.

I don't want make an offer, I want ask the seller a simple Q.

[myriad*seller]

For collection items, as I understood it, the buyer has to pay before messages can be exchanged. Especially messages that include anything that could look like contact details. 

Paying on collection is now banned, so buyers have to pay first, then contact details can be exchanged. 

Perhaps this is the issue? 

[tressygirl]

Sorry,  I am a member like yourself so unfortunately '  cannot explain that ',  but as you can see , you are not alone.

You say it doesn't matter what message ' I wish to send ', but it does,  not that this is the case for you,  but exchanging any contact details before a purchase would be blocked.

As said , I'm not saying that's the issue you are facing , but just wanted to confirm some messaging rules.

I'll tag kat@ebay  our Community manager who is dealing with this tech issue , and  she can add your account to the open ticket , for eBay tech team to view.

@bicyclz 

[myriad*seller]

Yes, trying to send anything that includes numbers could look like you are trying to exchange telephone numbers 

And anything that might look like an address or an email address would also prevent your messages being sent as you cannot exchange any details via eBay messaging 

Even asking the town location might prevent messages being sent 

eBay block messages that the AI thinks can contain any information you are not permitted to exchange via messaging.