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...NOT cancelled!
That's right, we're back to our regular schedule for the Weekly Board Hour. Please start posting at your convenience, we'll see you at 1 PM Eastern.
Good morning Raphael
Could you please take a few minutes today and explain in details what are the benefits for Canadian sellers of paying eBay an extra fee to get "international visibility" when listing on either eBay.ca or eBay.com. Are the benefits different for each site?
Your fee schedules (both eBay.ca and eBay.com) read:
International site visibility
Attract buyers from other countries by showing your item in search results on other eBay websites.
Frankly that does not much to most sellers. What exactly would I get for my extra money?
Currently, if I list on eBay.com or eBay.cafr and I search on eBay.uk, eBay.fr or eBay.de (for example), I generally get to see my listings, despite the fact these sites use a different language! Some sellers have indicated they cannot see their listings.
My questions to you today are: What more would I get from eBay for giving you more money?
What more would sellers who do not see their listings get from eBay for giving you more money?
Paypal shipping includes this remark just below the planned drop-off date box:
"Note: Email message to recipient will be sent on this date; date not associated with on-time guarantee, only for email notification."
How is this in any way valid when the shipping service offered by PP Shipping does not come with a guarantee?
Why is PP Shipping offering a guarantee, to the buyer, on something that does not exist?
Good afternoon Raphael!
I’m sorry to bring this subject up again, but many of us are still trying to grasp the details of what occurred concerning the .com/.ca carts. I think it’s important to understand those details in order to make decisions on how to go forward, since we’re pretty much on our own with this problem.
My own experience suggests that the .com cart was working perfectly for my U.S. customers (I list exclusively in $US), from the point it was introduced (mid-2013??) up until about mid-summer of 2014.
During that time (i.e. prior to about July, 2014), many of my U.S. buyers made multi-item purchases that were combined in one order from their end all in one pay without my intervention, i.e. not the “BIN/Commit to Buy/Request Total” route. Even my automated promotional discount rules were being applied properly.
My first question is: Am I wrong in my belief that the .com cart was functioning properly for my U.S. buyers during this period? If so, can you please explain?
Your recent comments about the introduction of IPR on .com splitting the checkout stream and creating a problem for .com buyers purchasing from Canadians seemed (to me at least) to finally clarify why those combined automated orders stopped dead after mid-summer 2014. However, others have said the two are not connected at all because the .com cart never could take purchases from a Canadian seller.
So my other question is: Was IPR then in fact the “monkey wrench in the works” on .com that made that cart no longer compatible for .com purchases from Canadian sellers? If not, did something else occur around that time?
I know this is silly, but I made a chart that represents what I’ve been able to glean on the subject (CTB=Commit to Buy). It’s like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle with key pieces missing. Please take a look at this and correct or comment on anything that’s wrong! (I’m very fuzzy on some of the dates, so please clarify those too if you can).
I’m becoming almost demented trying to make sense of this.
It’s important to me (and probably others) to understand the genesis of the issue because it's currently the single most critical thing affecting my ability to sell.
Thanks Raphael!
Oh, apologies, a related query, and then I'm done (on this subject at least). 
Has there been any further discussion on, or decision about, removing IPR on .com? You mentioned in an earlier board hour that this suggestion had actually been considered.
Assuming eBay.com were able/willing to remove IPR on .com (I realize this is probably highly unlikely), would that enable .com buyers to purchase from Canadian sellers using the .com cart -- for both $US and $Cdn listings, or just $US listings?
@pierrelebel wrote:
Good morning Raphael
Could you please take a few minutes today and explain in details what are the benefits for Canadian sellers of paying eBay an extra fee to get "international visibility" when listing on either eBay.ca or eBay.com. Are the benefits different for each site?
Your fee schedules (both eBay.ca and eBay.com) read:
International site visibility
Attract buyers from other countries by showing your item in search results on other eBay websites.
Frankly that does not much to most sellers. What exactly would I get for my extra money?
Currently, if I list on eBay.com or eBay.cafr and I search on eBay.uk, eBay.fr or eBay.de (for example), I generally get to see my listings, despite the fact these sites use a different language! Some sellers have indicated they cannot see their listings.
My questions to you today are: What more would I get from eBay for giving you more money?
What more would sellers who do not see their listings get from eBay for giving you more money?
Hello Pierre,
Since Rodney was part of the team who launched ISV, even though he can't join us today I asked him to answer your questions. Here it is:
@Anonymous wrote:
When sellers list on eBay.ca (CA or CAFR), their items always appear on both CA and CAFR.
- These items will also show on eBay.com, provided seller has indicated they will ship to USA (or North America or Worldwide).
- These items can show on other eBay sites, in international expansion (at the end of a search result set). They will not show in default search intermingled with items listed on those sites.
- Buying ISV on a specific item will make this item show up on the UK site in default search.
When sellers list on eBay.com:
- These items will show on eBay.com.
- They will also show on CA and CAFR if the seller has indicated they will ship to Canada. (Even items located in Canada will not show CA or CAFR if listed on eBay.com unless the seller ships to Canada).
- These items may show on other eBay sites in international expansion, at the end of a result set. They will not show in default search intermingled with items listed on those sites.
- Buying ISV on a specific item will make this items show up on the UK site in default search.
For Canadian or US sellers, ISV has no impact for any eBay site other than eBay.co.uk.
It may be more economical and more effective to simply list directly on eBay.co.uk for sellers who have shelf depth to do so (insertion fees with a store are less than the ISV fee).
@mr.elmwood wrote:
Paypal shipping includes this remark just below the planned drop-off date box:
"Note: Email message to recipient will be sent on this date; date not associated with on-time guarantee, only for email notification."
How is this in any way valid when the shipping service offered by PP Shipping does not come with a guarantee?
Why is PP Shipping offering a guarantee, to the buyer, on something that does not exist?
Hello mr.elmwood,
I'd like to see that email, could you send me a copy at raphael@ebay.com please?
From the line you copied on here, it sounds like this is a catch all email. We have to keep in mind that there aren't different emails generated for each different shipping service. Further, I read this as "the date we will send your buyer an email is not related to any on-time guarantees that may be associated to the shipping service you purchased." I don't think that makes any guarantees in itself, but to be sure I'd like to see the rest of the email.
Thanks!
Hi rose-dee,
@rose-dee wrote:
Good afternoon Raphael!
I’m sorry to bring this subject up again, but many of us are still trying to grasp the details of what occurred concerning the .com/.ca carts. I think it’s important to understand those details in order to make decisions on how to go forward, since we’re pretty much on our own with this problem.
My own experience suggests that the .com cart was working perfectly for my U.S. customers (I list exclusively in $US), from the point it was introduced (mid-2013??) up until about mid-summer of 2014.
During that time (i.e. prior to about July, 2014), many of my U.S. buyers made multi-item purchases that were combined in one order from their end all in one pay without my intervention, i.e. not the “BIN/Commit to Buy/Request Total” route. Even my automated promotional discount rules were being applied properly.
My first question is: Am I wrong in my belief that the .com cart was functioning properly for my U.S. buyers during this period? If so, can you please explain?
Your recent comments about the introduction of IPR on .com splitting the checkout stream and creating a problem for .com buyers purchasing from Canadians seemed (to me at least) to finally clarify why those combined automated orders stopped dead after mid-summer 2014. However, others have said the two are not connected at all because the .com cart never could take purchases from a Canadian seller.
So my other question is: Was IPR then in fact the “monkey wrench in the works” on .com that made that cart no longer compatible for .com purchases from Canadian sellers? If not, did something else occur around that time?
I know this is silly, but I made a chart that represents what I’ve been able to glean on the subject (CTB=Commit to Buy). It’s like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle with key pieces missing. Please take a look at this and correct or comment on anything that’s wrong! (I’m very fuzzy on some of the dates, so please clarify those too if you can).
I’m becoming almost demented trying to make sense of this.
Thanks Raphael!
Sorry to say you are wrong here. 🙂 The eBay.com shopping cart was never able to take any items that weren't listed on eBay.com. Before IRP was forced on BIN items under $100, eBay.com buyers were able to go through the legacy "commit to buy" flow which enabled sellers to combine items into a single order without the shopping cart. Since IPR, the cart is necessary to combine items on eBay.com.
Here is a small packet for Israel. Note near the bottom, under the date box just below the title "shipment options".
It specifically states "on time guarantee".
Of the four services listed, none have an on time guarantee from Canada Post. How then can the word guarantee be inserted when the PO specifically says there is none?
Hi pocomocomputing,
@pocomocomputing wrote:
More on ISP since Pierre brought it up.
The help page states (paste from the ebay.ca help page version which is identical to the ebay.com link posted by Pierre.)
Use the international site visibility listing upgrade.
You can purchase this listing upgrade for some eBay websites, to maximize your item's visibility in search results on those sites.
1. If you're eligible for this listing upgrade, you'll have the option to add it before you submit your listing. There's a separate fee for each country you choose.
2. Choose a shipping option for the US, UK, Canada, and Australia so buyers will know what international shipping will cost.Point 1 seems to imply more than one country can be chosen. As far as I know, the ISP in the ebay.ca SYI form is only for UK visibility. And of course, ebay.com USA is given ISP for free as long as you have a shipping option. The help page and previous versions of it always implied more countries would follow for years now. Is it ever going to happen?
My understanding of paying for the UK visibility will show your listings in search in UK with the main search results and not separate in the More form International sellers section that follows the main search results. Correct.
Point 2 seems to imply that having a shipping option for those four countries will let your listing show up in the main search results of that country and not in the More from international sellers section that follows the main search results. Does it work this way? What does ISP mean?
I know that a few years ago in the Fall, eBay did apparently announce that having a shipping option would show listing in main search on all 4 sites. It lasted a few weeks or months and was gone by Jan. I had a few extra sales from Australia at the time. No announcement that it was ever abandoned.
Yup, you are correct about the positioning of international items in Search. Please see Rodney's play by play explanation of ISV in my reply to Pierre. Regarding the Help page implicit inaccuracies, I'll have the Content team look at that. Likely that it hasn't been revised in a very long time.
@rose-dee wrote:
Oh, apologies, a related query, and then I'm done (on this subject at least).
Has there been any further discussion on, or decision about, removing IPR on .com? You mentioned in an earlier board hour that this suggestion had actually been considered.
Assuming eBay.com were able/willing to remove IPR on .com (I realize this is probably highly unlikely), would that enable .com buyers to purchase from Canadian sellers using the .com cart -- for both $US and $Cdn listings, or just $US listings?
Unfortunately there has been no movement on the subject of the US shopping cart, including any considerations to modify or remove the IPR enforcement on eBay.com.
raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@rose-dee wrote:Oh, apologies, a related query, and then I'm done (on this subject at least).
Has there been any further discussion on, or decision about, removing IPR on .com? You mentioned in an earlier board hour that this suggestion had actually been considered.
Assuming eBay.com were able/willing to remove IPR on .com (I realize this is probably highly unlikely), would that enable .com buyers to purchase from Canadian sellers using the .com cart -- for both $US and $Cdn listings, or just $US listings?
Unfortunately there has been no movement on the subject of the US shopping cart, including any considerations to modify or remove the IPR enforcement on eBay.com.
1. Have they looked into fixing/removing the 'add to cart' on the second screen that shows up for .ca items even though it won't work for those items? Although I haven't been that verbal on this subject I've always thought that the .com cart should never have been set up for .com items only but the recent change has made it even more confusing for some buyers.
2. There must be something else behind the refusal to remove forced IPR. For years sellers have had the option to voluntarily add that to their listings, I don't see any reason for forcing it.
Also, there are U.S. sellers who insist that they don't have IPR required and that their buyers are able to purchase items without using the cart and without having to pay for each item. These are sellers that post on the U.S. boards quite a bit and seem fairly knowledgeable so its odd that they would think that if it isn't true. When I try to purchase one of their 'non' ipr items, I am asked to pay right away so either they are wrong or....the ipr acts differently if the buyer and/or seller is not in the U.S. Is that possible? If you are not sure, could you look into it please?
Hi Maureen,
@mjwl2006 wrote:
Good afternoon,
My first question is in regards to the dimensions of photographs as they appear in our listings. It is a major source of irritation to me that there is no single optimal size to upload. On a desktop, photographs need to be perfectly square in order to appear not cropped in a way which is not pleasing to the eye. Carried over to a mobile device, square is insufficient and ridiculous-looking coloured bars appear on either side of the photograph. Could ebay please make up its mind as to what dimensions it wants its users' photographs? I have spent thousands of hours taking, editing and uploading tens of thousands of photographs to my listings. First one way and then the other.
This is great feedback, thanks for taking the time to write it. I'll take it to the appropriate teams. I agree there is currently a disconnect between the picture expectations on the various eBay buying platforms. This is largely due to the rapid growth we've experienced on the Mobile side, causing our "multi-screen" strategy to lag a little. Sorry for not having anything better to say on this, but you should see a much better focus on that area starting to materialize in the near future.
@mjwl2006 wrote:
My second question is regarding mutual cancellations. Countless times, I have a buyer who makes a purchase and does not pay. Three days later, send me a one-sentence message along the lines of 'don't want/kid bought please cancel' and then the buyer evaporates, not acknowledging the Cancellation Request that they have just requested from me. Because that buyer is now long-gone, I have to wait TEN DAYS for ebay to close the case and my item is left in limbo that entire time, as almost two weeks have passed since it sold and was taken from the marketplace and away from the view of other potential paying buyers. My alternatives are to relist it sooner and run against the risk the original buyer will have a change of heart and pay for it after I've sold it to someone else (thereby gaining me a defect) or summarily ignore the original cancellation request and instead open an Unpaid Item Case in order to get the item back on the market in eight days instead of 14 which also leaves me at risk of aggravating the buyer and therefore open to a defect. Can ebay please expedite the Mutual Cancellation process if the buyer does not respond within a much shorter period of time such as 48 hours? Better yet: have Cancellation Requests shown in the same manner as Bid Retractions or, even better, similar to Unpaid Item Strikes.
What you describe here is the main pain point that the Immediate Payment Requirement aimed to solve on eBay.com. Adding Immediate Payment to your items would be my #1 recommendation to avoid seeing this happen any longer.
When it comes to prescribed delays for responding to transaction cancellations or unpaid items, it's really hard to strike the right balance. Sellers want it resolved immediately so their items don't get stuck in limbo, but buyers have to be given a fair chance to respond (much the same way sellers have to be given a fair amount of time to make it right if the buyer reports a problem). That's why IPR is a better solution for you.
@mjwl2006 wrote:
My third question: Why was ebay bucks discontinued in Canada and when will something be reinstated in its place? I am having precious little luck convincing my multi-item buyers to log out of ebay.com and ebay.co.uk to shop on ebay.ca in order to combine postage when ebay.ca offers nothing more exciting that a shopping cart that works.
Trust me, we were all sad to see eBay Bucks get cancelled in Canada. At the time, the plan was to retire the program everywhere else, but those plans haven't materialized. Unfortunately at this time, there are no plans to reinstate eBay Bucks in Canada or to launch a new loyalty program. With that said, it's something we would like to see happen at some point.
@rose-dee wrote:
And another question about ISV:
Is it true that a buyer on a non-English speaking site (e.g. eBay.de) will not see a Canadian seller's items if the buyer's search is done in the language of that site (in this example, in German)?
For example, in recent tests I discovered that on the .de site absolutely none of my items appeared if I entered "historische Schnittmuster" (="antique sewing pattern" in German), but several did appear if I entered the search in English.
I had always believed eBay would automatically translate a generic site search into the local site's language, but apparently not? Does this mean that if I want exposure on .de for my products, I would have to include the German words somewhere in my titles? Or in French for .fr, Italian for .it, etc. etc.?
Many western European buyers may go to .com to buy, but to those that go to their own site, it seems we're invisible unless our items have an internationally recognized name or word in the title. Is this correct?
Search works independently on each eBay site, so I can't speak to these details on sites other than eBay.ca.
In Canada, the CAFR site does have a list of corresponding keywords that hit Search in English even if the user searches in French. For example,. "auto" should surface listings that have the word "car" in the listing title. I'm not sure if the other large eBay sites work the same way for their respective languages. The German sire for example, has a large enough domestic seller base that it might not be as critical to their business as it is for CAFR, which has very few sellers and even less of them who list in French.
@mr.elmwood wrote:
Here is a small packet for Israel. Note near the bottom, under the date box just below the title "shipment options".
It specifically states "on time guarantee".
Of the four services listed, none have an on time guarantee from Canada Post. How then can the word guarantee be inserted when the PO specifically says there is none?
Unfortunately I can't see the page you're trying to link to (the PayPal site doesn't work like eBay, with unique URLs). Can you send me the email or screen shot by email please? Otherwise I can't take a look.
Also please note that I can't speak to whether PayPal makes promises that seem unfounded, but I can bring the matter to their attention and involve Canada Post as well. Thanks for your collaboration on this!
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