Ebay Feature Request - Share items to userid

[wkndshop]

On every listing page there is an option about the top right corner to share the item via Emai, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Wouldn't it be great if we could share items via Ebay UserIDs?

Instead of entering an email address, just enter the user id.

This feature seems long overdue and please forgive me if it is somehow already available.

For example :

I had a buyer send me a message about an item using Ebays message service.

I copied and pasted a link to an item that i thought would interest the buyer.

When i looked at the sent message , the link is there but it is not active, the buyer will have to copy and paste the link into her browser in order to view the item. This is an extra step in my opinion that some buyers may have trouble with. Not every one is tech savvy.

All of this could be solved with a share button Ebay users.

BTW you're welcome Ebay for this great tip, i would like a half a cent for everyone that uses this once it is implemented, please send the monthly cheque to my home address, thanks

[momcqueen]

I know you're joking about that last bit but I do recall reading somewhere that once you give an idea to ebay, you relinquish all claim to it. It might be in the user agreement. I'd have to look, unless someone else feels like citing it for me.

[recped]

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@wkndshop wrote:

On every listing page there is an option about the top right corner to share the item via Emai, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Wouldn't it be great if we could share items via Ebay UserIDs?

Instead of entering an email address, just enter the user id.

This feature seems long overdue and please forgive me if it is somehow already available.

For example :

I had a buyer send me a message about an item using Ebays message service.

I copied and pasted a link to an item that i thought would interest the buyer.

When i looked at the sent message , the link is there but it is not active, the buyer will have to copy and paste the link into her browser in order to view the item. This is an extra step in my opinion that some buyers may have trouble with. Not every one is tech savvy.

All of this could be solved with a share button Ebay users.

BTW you're welcome Ebay for this great tip, i would like a half a cent for everyone that uses this once it is implemented, please send the monthly cheque to my home address, thanks

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I get enough spam from eBay I certainly don't want a bazillion sellers "sharing" their items with me.

[wkndshop]

Thats a good point but ... once you do business with someone they have your email address and actually i get a lot of emails from sellers that have their own websites.

Ebay has no control over these outside emails. At least this sharing feature would be in-house and ebay could monitor it for abuse.

[momcqueen]

Sellers are prohibited from using your eBay data to solicit business outside eBay. So any of those sellers who take your email address from your PayPal payment and sign you up to receive their advertising by email are doing so illegally and/unethically.

[momcqueen]

It has to be done with your expressed consent.

[rose-dee]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:
Sellers are prohibited from using your eBay data to solicit business outside eBay. So any of those sellers who take your email address from your PayPal payment and sign you up to receive their advertising by email are doing so illegally and/unethically.

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No, I'm afraid this is incorrect.  There are areas of permitted use of emails within the legislation (referred to as "implied consent").  Having conducted business with someone is one of them.  

So for example, if you have sold to buyers and have obtained their email addresses in the process, you are permitted to use that email list for your own direct marketing purposes (you can't sell it or allow it to be used by third parties though).  There is no proscription against an eBay seller compiling a list of their customers' emails and using that list to solicit further business.  EBay has absolutely no lawful control over this use.  

Obviously a certain level of discretion and common sense is always prudent when using an email list of your customers.  People are swamped with promotional emails these days.  I only use mine once or twice a year, for specific and important promotions. 

An alternative for eBay sellers is the "Store Newsletter" which has been around for years, but I find few people actually bother to sign up for that feature. 

As far as the OP's suggestion goes, other sites already have this option, and make it far easier for a seller to share an internal link to a page or listing with a prospective buyer.  I've run into this frustration myself on eBay, trying to offer a buyer alternatives to consider in my listings without going through all sorts of digital contortions to do so. 

Here, for anyone interested, is the FAQs page concerning Canada's anti-spam legislation.  You can also follow the links at the left to particular topics.  http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/00304.html#q3

Under "Implied Consent" the following is included:

• Existing business relationship
  The person has made a transaction, an inquiry, an application or a written contract for the purchase or barter of products, goods or services.

[rose-dee]

One thing I would suggest to any eBay seller planning to use their customer email list for promotional purposes is to offer a courteous "opt out" in the very first marketing email you send, asking them to reply with a request for no further contact.  

In other words, allow anyone who really doesn't ever want to hear from you to have the opportunity to get off the list.  And then take them off immediately and permanently.  

[momcqueen]

I was speaking about this from the perspective of EBAY POLICY which prohibits it.

[momcqueen]

eBay itself has a feature for Stores subscribers which allows sellers to sell an eBay-sanctioned email. A seller compiling his own list of customer emails from eBay buyers is prohibited use of eBay data.

[momcqueen]

Meaning eBay as a corporate entity is the one for whom your cited legislation applies. Its individual sellers, us, don't have right to access and utilize that information for those purposes.

[momcqueen]

If we were all allowed as individual sellers to send out emails to our buyers, every buyer would get a hundred different emails each week from sellers from whom they'd made purchases on eBay over the years. It would be a major turn-off. eBay doesn't allow it.

[momcqueen]

It's near the bottom under the heading titled Spam.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html

[momcqueen]

What are the guidelines?

Spam (email)
We don't allow our members to send each other spam. "Spam" is an email (or part of an email) that is both unsolicited and commercial in nature.
Unsolicited means the person who received the message didn't request it. Commercial means the message discusses buying, selling, or trading of goods or services.

Some examples of spam include:
Unsolicited email offers sent to potential buyers
Email messages sent to a member on a mailing list without that member's prior permission
Invitations to join a mailing list that aren't related to your eBay Store
Offers to buy or sell off eBay
Email sent using eBay messages (or features such as the Contact member link) to send unsolicited commercial offers

[cumos55]

Buyers can subscribe to a seller's mailing list.

A seller can only forward newsletters and more to the people on this list.

It is our responsibility as sellers to maintain the privacy of each of our buyers.

Once a transaction is completed a  buyer's information must be kept private... by law

We save the data for tax purposes  and once a specific time interval of six years has passed...the information must be destroyed 

 As of January 1, 2017  we must retain records for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016  for taxation purposes.... six years in total 

All records for 2010  and earlier must be shredded to protect the privacy of our buyers.

[cumos55]

In today's world of the internet....  keeping one's identity and associated data secure will become more critical with each passing year.

Hackers are more expert today than ever before.... and they will get better at what they do

It is my choice to keep my business life ...separate from my private life  and .... separate from my professional life.

Getting involved with something such as Facebook and Twitter can compromise  the internet security of one's business.

 On eBay a buyer knows who I am by name  and where I live....  Privacy law protects both buyer and seller

Getting involved on a social site puts one's name and associated business for almost everyone to see.

Internet security on social sites is not perfect....  so it is ... eBay seller be careful

[cumos55]

We must all understand  that eBay is linked to Paypal,  and both eBay and Paypal are linked to our bank account.

Not being careful with eBay  or on eBay  can compromise  each of these links.

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An example of an adjustment on my part relates to the answering of a question through eBay messages..

I used to add my name   at the end of each answer to a question.

Today I place on eBay ID   instead of my name.

People may ask questions just to get information about me

With a search on the internet....  my name  can lead to my address...... my location is noted on each listing..

Name... address.... telephone....  email   .

and if they use Google maps   They can "see" where I live.

Sometimes it has been necessary to confirm a buyer's address... that may look too unusual....  

and if I can do this....  with a name only .....so can others looking to "scam" me....

[cumos55]

A seller can only communicate through newsletters  with only those buyers that place their ID on that seller's mailing listing,

On eBay there is a direct consent by the buyer.....

Privacy Law protects a buyer's and a seller's identity.

eBay rules  protect a buyer from unwanted communications

[momcqueen]

What you say is true but unless a sellers ships with a rented P.O.Box as a Return Address, every buyer knows where every seller lives as soon as they receive their package.

In principle, however, I do agree with you. Nothing makes me more irate than when my personal information is used for something I didn't grant permission. It's been a deal-breaker for me with retailers, I won't shop again with any who take my data and use it for telemarketing or spam. Ever. I don't sign up or agree to anything so it's very obvious to me when it's been misused.

[rose-dee]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:
"What are the guidelines?
Spam (email)
We don't allow our members to send each other spam. "Spam" is an email (or part of an email) that is both unsolicited and commercial in nature.
Unsolicited means the person who received the message didn't request it. Commercial means the message discusses buying, selling, or trading of goods or services.

Some examples of spam include:
Unsolicited email offers sent to potential buyers
Email messages sent to a member on a mailing list without that member's prior permission
Invitations to join a mailing list that aren't related to your eBay Store
Offers to buy or sell off eBay
Email sent using eBay messages (or features such as the Contact member link) to send unsolicited commercial offers"

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I think this is where you're misunderstanding.  The rules quoted above are eBay's rules, which apply to contacts (of whatever kind) using the eBay system.  They cannot apply to outside contact.  EBay has the right, as a corporation, to set rules governing use of its site, but it has absolutely no jurisdiction over private, person-to-person contacts made from outside its own site.  In those cases, the laws of our country apply.  I wasn't suggesting email promotion be done in any way via eBay's site.  Doing so has been against eBay's rules for many years.  If I wasn't clear about that I apologize. 

Canadian law allows you, as a seller, to collect the email addresses of people with whom you've conducted a transaction and to contact them by email.  As long as you use your personal email account to send promotional messages to those former buyers, eBay has no say in the matter, provided of course the messages are not being sent to the buyer's eBay account.  In other words, it must all be done outside the purview of eBay's site.  EBay may not like it, and probably wish they could override or control laws in the countries in which they operate, but that's another kettle of fish. 

There is no discrepancy here if a seller understands and respects the distinction between eBay rules within its own narrow jurisdiction and what is permitted by Canadian law.  In other words, provided eBay's systems are not at all involved in a seller's promotion, there is no problem except (as I said earlier) common sense and courtesy.  

The one allowable exception within eBay is the Store Newsletter "subscriber list" which I find over the years has been of limited value.