March 6th, 2013 - Weekly Board Hour

[raphael@ebay.com]

Hello Canadian eBayers,

Welcome to the March 6th edition of the Weekly Board Hour. Joining me this week are fellow eBay Canada employees Rodney (Head of Product and Country Co-Manager), Bryan.ca (Country Product Manager) and Kalvin (Community Manager). The four of us are looking forward to chat with you. 🙂

We will start answering your posts at the top of the hour.

Thanks!

Raphael, Country Product Manager

[lecoffre]

Hi!

Do you know somes Best match results are not right in Electronics and cell phone categories? In my store, buy it now in first page are ending soon and in search result, best match isting (buy it now) haven't sold items on them and are all from the same seller ... ?!

[pierrelebel]

Good afternon gentlemen.

One comment and one question today.

Comment : Four gentlemen.  That is great!  However, have you considered adding a lady to this forum? 🙂

Question: It has been asked and answered before but many still find the question most confusing: FVF charged by eBay on shipping charge.

The policy: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fvf.html 

"For most categories and selling formats, the final value fee is based on a percentage of the item's total cost to the buyer. The item's total cost to the buyer includes the item price and shipping cost plus any other costs to the buyer (less any sales tax)."

When the policy was introduced two years ago, it was clearly stated by eBay staffers at the time that FVF would be charged on the lowest of the domestic shipping charge or actual charge to buyer.

However, I cannot find that statement anywhere on your help pages.

Could you please explain once again how FVF is calculated when shipping to an overseas buyer where the shipping charge is substantially above the domestic charge.

[bryan.ca@ebay.ca]

Hi!

Do you know somes Best match results are not right in Electronics and cell phone categories? In my store, buy it now in first page are ending soon and in search result, best match isting (buy it now) haven't sold items on them and are all from the same seller ... ?!

Hi Lecoffre,

Thanks for your questions. Let me break it down so we can answer your questions in order.

Q1. 'Electronics' & 'Cell Phone' results for best match are not correct - Can you please provide me either a URL or a keyword examples and the steps to replicate.

Q2. In stores  - the items in a store search should be all from the same seller. Again, if you have an example I can test please provide a URL or keyword examples and the steps to replicate.

[msmaggie060]

Good afternoon! When I am printing labels via PayPal the shipping cost does not print on the label. I know in the US they have the option of showing actual postal cost or not. Since I always charge exact or less post office shipping I would like to know if we can get that option added. With the high shipping costs I only have problems when my customers can't see the shipping cost on the label - they think I am hiding it because I am overcharging. Never a problem if I use the post office where the label shows the  shipping cost.

[pocomocomputing]

To Rodney,

Continuing my Pay on Pickup option issue I started last week. If you need to refresh your memory of the discussion, here is a link to last weeks weekly eBay session.

http://community.ebay.ca/topic/Weekly-Board-Hour/February-27th-2013/3000008655

My post 7starts the discussion and continues in the topic and Rodney replies in post 28 that he cannot recreate the problem and wants my browser info.

My browser is FireFox 18.0.2 and OS is Windows XP SP3.

I tested a bit more with two browsers and both eBay sites. I found that the Pay on Pickup option is available in Add or Remove programs in the Payments section on eBay.com but not on eBay.ca.

I checked in FF 18 and IE 8 and that appears to be the issue.

What sire did you test on last week? Can you try on ebay.ca and ebay.com?

[2noggins]

I am asking here because there is no Weekly Board Hour on ebay.com

Consider http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/questions/sell_international_requirements.html or http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/questions/sell_international_requirements.html

{You can substitute ebay.ca for ebay.com and Canada for US etc.}

Are these requirements not being strictly enforced or are these simply outdated?

It seems like non-US members without their own home site are able to list (and sell) on ebay.com and offer international shipping.

In case, the requirements are correct, how is a new member from say Croatia or Latvia or WXYZ country, that do not have their own home ebay site establish themselves as a seller?

If they cannot sell on ebay.ca or ebay.com or ebay.co.uk, in other words on major ebay sites, how do they meet the below requirements?

To sell internationally, you need to:
Earn at least 10 Feedback points from selling.
Have had your first successful sale more than 90 days ago.
Meet the selling requirements of the sites where you want your listings to appear.

Seems like a Catch-22 situation.

In other words, how would you answer: http://answercenter.ebay.com/question/Ebay/Start-Sell-Products/1000379880

I looked at eBay Australia http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/questions/sell_international_requirements.html and they don't seem to have any of these restrictive requirements.

Makes me wonder if the requirements for selling internationally on ebay.com etc. are outdated?

Could you please clarify this policy?

P.S. There are also cases where new US member-sellers list on the ebay.com site and offer to ship within the US. But sometimes a non-US member purchases. If they then complete the transaction, are they in violation of policy?

Another note: pocomocomputing pointed several missing text(s) in the the help pages/topics during past weekly hours. This is a common problem across sites, at least on ebay.ca and ebay.com

Hope you share any of the changes across sites.

Thanks.

[lecoffre]

If you try, for example, iphone 5 case or ipod touch 4 case; all buy it now listing in the "best match" results are all buy it now listings from the same seller.

I know all items in a store should be from the same seller... haha. For example, check in my store, many of my best match items haven't items sold on them... Not like usual

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Good afternoon! When I am printing labels via PayPal the shipping cost does not print on the label. I know in the US they have the option of showing actual postal cost or not. Since I always charge exact or less post office shipping I would like to know if we can get that option added. With the high shipping costs I only have problems when my customers can't see the shipping cost on the label - they think I am hiding it because I am overcharging. Never a problem if I use the post office where the label shows the  shipping cost.

Hi msmaggie060,

Great feedback, thank you! Definitely advantageous for the buyer to know you're charging exact or less for shipping.

[raphael@ebay.com]

Hello pierrelebel,

Question: It has been asked and answered before but many still find the question most confusing: FVF charged by eBay on shipping charge.

The policy: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fvf.html 

"For most categories and selling formats, the final value fee is based on a percentage of the item's total cost to the buyer. The item's total cost to the buyer includes the item price and shipping cost plus any other costs to the buyer (less any sales tax)."

When the policy was introduced two years ago, it was clearly stated by eBay staffers at the time that FVF would be charged on the lowest of the domestic shipping charge or actual charge to buyer.

However, I cannot find that statement anywhere on your help pages.

Could you please explain once again how FVF is calculated when shipping to an overseas buyer where the shipping charge is substantially above the domestic charge.

The same rule applies for all domestic and cross-border sales. Every time, we'll calculate FVF according to the lowest specified domestic shipping service on the listing. FOr example, if free domestic shipping is offered, no shipping FVF should be charged.

Regarding the shipping FVF Help page, we've actually gotten the same suggestion from pocomocomputing last week and we will be updating it with more details soon.

[pierrelebel]

"FOr example, if free domestic shipping is offered, no shipping FVF should be charged."

Thank you.  That is the way I understood the policy (although it would be nice to have it in writing in the help pages).

However, I remember a few instances where a customer asked for the item to be sent by registered mail at an extra cost.  Although all my listings offer free shipping worldwide, I was charged FVF by eBay on the added Registration charge.

It did not seem fair to me at the time but, I was told by your customer service, that is the way it is.

Since there is nothing in writing anywhere on the site, I could not fight it. 😞

[msmaggie060]

Hi msmaggie060,

Great feedback, thank you! Definitely advantageous for the buyer to know you're charging exact or less for shipping.

Hi Kalvin, so do you mean that you will try to get that option added?

Thank you!

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Hi Kalvin, so do you mean that you will try to get that option added?

Thank you!

I can't make any promises, but it's a good suggestion to put forward 🙂

[rosscd57]

Hi msmaggie060,

Great feedback, thank you! Definitely advantageous for the buyer to know you're charging exact or less for shipping.

I for one like it just the way it is. My shipping rates are in the $20 to $40 range and  I lower my flat rate shipping fees by 25% (saved by PayPal lables) and past that on to the buyers in my listing. That is the only way I can compete us US sellers. So I for one do not want to see it changed.

[Anonymous]

Hi Pocomocomputing.

I tested the add/remove Pay on Pickup option on eBay.ca last week.

I just tested it again, using 3 different browsers. Unfortunately I cannot replicate the issue that you are reporting.

We'll try getting someone in customer support to help piggyback into your account to try it. Seems very odd that this is happening just to you, and no matter which browser you select.

[msmaggie060]

One more thing before I forget. I use TL and have been using it for about 7 yrs. Recently the post office made some changes to postal codes by adding new ones. I can change my postal code to my new one in TL but it won't let me submit my listing to eBay using the new postal code. I get the message that I should enter a valid zip code. I have twice sent emails through TL but other than a message saying they have rec'd my emai I never get an answer to the problem. I'm wondering if the problem is because ebay has not updated their postal codes.

The problem is that ebay and paypal have my correct postal code address but I have no way of changing the one in TL. Could you look into this please?

[raphael@ebay.com]

Makes me wonder if the requirements for selling internationally on ebay.com etc. are outdated?

Could you please clarify this policy?

Hello 2noggins,

The international selling policy you linked to is intended for sellers selling from the country where the policy applies. For example, these requirements would apply for a Canadian seller to be able to sell internationally to buyers on an overseas eBay site (not the US site as CA-US is an open trade corridor).

The cases you observed where sellers from outside the US are able to sell on eBay.com are likely all cases where there isn't an eBay site in the seller's country (Croatia and Lativa for example). Historically, before there were country sites, all sellers from around the world could list on eBay.com as long as they respected the rules and policies of the US site. This is still true today for regions without an eBay site. 

[msmaggie060]

I for one like it just the way it is. My shipping rates are in the $20 to $40 range and  I lower my flat rate shipping fees by 25% (saved by PayPal lables) and past that on to the buyers in my listing. That is the only way I can compete us US sellers. So I for one do not want to see it changed.

rosscd57, I didn't say to change it, I asked for the option of showing the cost or not showing the cost to be added, like it is for USPS on .com.

[kalvin@ebay.com]

One more thing before I forget. I use TL and have been using it for about 7 yrs. Recently the post office made some changes to postal codes by adding new ones. I can change my postal code to my new one in TL but it won't let me submit my listing to eBay using the new postal code. I get the message that I should enter a valid zip code. I have twice sent emails through TL but other than a message saying they have rec'd my emai I never get an answer to the problem. I'm wondering if the problem is because ebay has not updated their postal codes.

The problem is that ebay and paypal have my correct postal code address but I have no way of changing the one in TL. Could you look into this please?

Hi msmaggie060,

Thanks for the report, we'll have it looked into.

[raphael@ebay.com]

"FOr example, if free domestic shipping is offered, no shipping FVF should be charged."

Thank you.  That is the way I understood the policy (although it would be nice to have it in writing in the help pages).

However, I remember a few instances where a customer asked for the item to be sent by registered mail at an extra cost.  Although all my listings offer free shipping worldwide, I was charged FVF by eBay on the added Registration charge.

It did not seem fair to me at the time but, I was told by your customer service, that is the way it is.

Since there is nothing in writing anywhere on the site, I could not fight it. 😞

If any of these cases are recent, please give me the item number, I would love to take a closer look.