October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Hello everyone,

 

Welcome to our weekly chat. This week, the thread will remain open until tomorrow as usual.

 

Open issues:

  • Incomplete ID History
  • Link to Community located on Feedback page points to eBay.com
  • Some Search pages show watchers, some don't
  • Items missing from combined invoice
  • Followers list not displaying properly
  • CA Shopping cart erroneously applying free shipping on multiple orders (under investigation)
  • Request Total unavailable

Updates:

  • Selling limits live items count discrepancy - We are investigating further.
  • Missing Tracked Packet destinationsstill no update from PayPal and Pitney Bowes
  • Combined shipping offers not shown to international buyers - ticket open

If anything is missing, please let me know. Thanks!

Message 1 of 26
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25 REPLIES 25

October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Good morning, Raphael.

 

I was doing a search through the ebay Stores Directory and noticed that, according to it, I have only 14 items listed for Disney Cars when I have, in fact, more than 500 listed items under Disney Cars. What is wrong here? https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/There-is-something-wrong-with-ebay-Stores-search/td-p/35...

 

Furthermore, there seems to me to be no way of telling which of my 500+ listing it has recognized as the 14 that are acknowledged so I can't try to fix anything from my end. Do you know how I might go about getting this addressed? If a potential customer is looking for me under the Stores Directory, they will never find me when it shows I have only 14 of the things they're looking for available. In reality, I am one of the top ten Disney Cars sellers (In North America if not globally) on ebay as far as selection is concerned. 

 

Thank you,

Maureen 

 

 

Message 2 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Good Morning Raphael, I had posted this to the regular discussion boards about a discussion I had with a buyer.  He brought up some interesting and concerning points that everyone felt should be brought to your (ebay's attention).  This is what I posted.  

 

I went out for breakfast and there were no seats so I asked to sit down with a guy who looked like he was almost finished.  We got to talking and he was on his phone trying to purchase something on ebay.  I told him that I sold on ebay and so our conversation got started.

 

He stated he had a couple of bad experiences recently and I asked him about it.  He said that he had ordered 4 things (all the same), 2 from 1 seller in California on Oct 10 and 2 from 2 other sellers on the same day.  The 2 from the other sellers arrived on Oct 14 and the 2 from the other seller did not arrive until Oct 19.  They were all being sent to his address in the US so there were no customs issues.  What he was upset about was the fact that ebay told him he would receive it by Oct 17 and it arrived Oct 19.  He was going to give the seller negative feedback because he was supposed to receive it by Oct 17, he was blaming the seller.  

 

I asked him who told him that he would receive it by Oct 17, was it the seller and he said that it was ebay.  I explained that ebay gives an estimated delivery based on what type of shipping the seller was using and that those were extremely tight and somewhat unrealistic.  I also explained that once it is put in the mail, the seller loses control and shouldn't be blamed for all the delays.  I also asked him about the sellers handling time and he said he didn't look at that.

 

I think that those dates that ebay provides to the buyer create an unrealistic expectation of something arriving by a certain date and that if it doesn't arrive by that date, it has created a negative experience for the buyer.  Why would you want to create such a negative experience for them, they may not come back.  I sent a CD from Vancouver to Victoria and it took 5 working days, I could have walked there faster.

 

I agree that I possibly saved the seller a negative.  But what really concerned me was this buyer felt it was a bad experience with ebay because ebay told him that he would have the item by a certain date.  The seller possibly did not create that bad experience, but ebay did.  

 

I also discussed with him the fact that if he gives a lot of sellers negatives that although he himself cannot receive a negative, some sellers will block him from buying from them.  I told him that many sellers look at what type of feedback he has given others.  I don't think that sat well with him as he didn't know a seller could do that.  He had told me that he had given others negative feedback.  I explained that a lot of the small sellers are just like me or him.  Many were seniors, people with disabilities, mothers with children at home and others trying to supplement their income or pensions.  

 

Another thing was he was working on a Samsung phone and what a dog's breakfast the ebay application is on that phone.  He tried to look up the seller to see the handling time and couldn't find the seller.  Could find the item but it wouldn't show the seller.  I even tried and what a disaster that was.  How could anyone find anything with that ebay app.  

 

We talked for over 1/2 hour all about ebay so there was much more that went on but these are the highlights.  

 

This was the discussion thread:  http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/I-had-an-interesting-conversation-with-a-buyer-today/td-p...

Message 3 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


@mjwl2006 wrote:

Good morning, Raphael.

 

I was doing a search through the ebay Stores Directory and noticed that, according to it, I have only 14 items listed for Disney Cars when I have, in fact, more than 500 listed items under Disney Cars. What is wrong here? https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/There-is-something-wrong-with-ebay-Stores-search/td-p/35...

 

Furthermore, there seems to me to be no way of telling which of my 500+ listing it has recognized as the 14 that are acknowledged so I can't try to fix anything from my end. Do you know how I might go about getting this addressed? If a potential customer is looking for me under the Stores Directory, they will never find me when it shows I have only 14 of the things they're looking for available. In reality, I am one of the top ten Disney Cars sellers (In North America if not globally) on ebay as far as selection is concerned. 

 

Thank you,

Maureen  


Hi Maureen,

 

The stores directory page is very old (it was created around 1974 I think, I might be exaggerating) and has been left unmaintained for almost as long. The issue you report was brought to my attention a while back and I have been unable to find an owner for it. If I had to guess, I would say that page is more likely to get decommissioned than repaired.

 

The silver lining, if there is one, is that traffic to that page is negligible. I think pretty much only store owners go there to look for their own store. Buyers almost always find items via keyword search and sometimes by browsing categories and actual stores, if they know the seller. I'm 100% confident that you're not losing any sales due to that page being unmaintained.

Message 4 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

As you know, sellers love to discuss Best Match. We were reminded of the ebay User Agreement which states:

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

 

  • We strive to create a marketplace where buyers find what they are looking for. Therefore, the appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: 

    • buyer's location, search query, browsing site, and history;

    • item's location, listing format, price and shipping cost, terms of service, end time, history, and relevance to the user query; 

    • seller's history, including listing practices, Detailed Seller Ratings, eBay policy compliance, Feedback, and defect rate; and

    • number of listings matching the buyer's query.  

  • To drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer.  

  • Some advanced listing upgrades will only be visible on certain Services.

  • eBay's Duplicate Listing Policy may also affect whether your listing appears in search results.

Can you please explain what the statment 'to drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer' really means?

 

Thank you,

Maureen

 

p.s. The 'Followers list issues' are over as far as I can discern. Mine own at least display the proper number and actual users. 

 

 

Message 5 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


raphael@ebay.com wrote:

@mjwl2006 wrote:

Good morning, Raphael.

 

I was doing a search through the ebay Stores Directory and noticed that, according to it, I have only 14 items listed for Disney Cars when I have, in fact, more than 500 listed items under Disney Cars. What is wrong here? https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/There-is-something-wrong-with-ebay-Stores-search/td-p/35...

 

Furthermore, there seems to me to be no way of telling which of my 500+ listing it has recognized as the 14 that are acknowledged so I can't try to fix anything from my end. Do you know how I might go about getting this addressed? If a potential customer is looking for me under the Stores Directory, they will never find me when it shows I have only 14 of the things they're looking for available. In reality, I am one of the top ten Disney Cars sellers (In North America if not globally) on ebay as far as selection is concerned. 

 

Thank you,

Maureen  


Hi Maureen,

 

The stores directory page is very old (it was created around 1974 I think, I might be exaggerating) and has been left unmaintained for almost as long. The issue you report was brought to my attention a while back and I have been unable to find an owner for it. If I had to guess, I would say that page is more likely to get decommissioned than repaired.

 

The silver lining, if there is one, is that traffic to that page is negligible. I think pretty much only store owners go there to look for their own store. Buyers almost always find items via keyword search and sometimes by browsing categories and actual stores, if they know the seller. I'm 100% confident that you're not losing any sales due to that page being unmaintained.


Oh okay. That's too bad, really. When I was amassing my collection on ebay, it was the main source through which I sought sellers with deep pockets of available selection. Good times. Oh well. Thank you. 

Message 6 of 26
latest reply

October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


@musicyouneed wrote:

Good Morning Raphael, I had posted this to the regular discussion boards about a discussion I had with a buyer.  He brought up some interesting and concerning points that everyone felt should be brought to your (ebay's attention).  This is what I posted.  

 

I went out for breakfast and there were no seats so I asked to sit down with a guy who looked like he was almost finished.  We got to talking and he was on his phone trying to purchase something on ebay.  I told him that I sold on ebay and so our conversation got started.

 

He stated he had a couple of bad experiences recently and I asked him about it.  He said that he had ordered 4 things (all the same), 2 from 1 seller in California on Oct 10 and 2 from 2 other sellers on the same day.  The 2 from the other sellers arrived on Oct 14 and the 2 from the other seller did not arrive until Oct 19.  They were all being sent to his address in the US so there were no customs issues.  What he was upset about was the fact that ebay told him he would receive it by Oct 17 and it arrived Oct 19.  He was going to give the seller negative feedback because he was supposed to receive it by Oct 17, he was blaming the seller.  

 

I asked him who told him that he would receive it by Oct 17, was it the seller and he said that it was ebay.  I explained that ebay gives an estimated delivery based on what type of shipping the seller was using and that those were extremely tight and somewhat unrealistic.  I also explained that once it is put in the mail, the seller loses control and shouldn't be blamed for all the delays.  I also asked him about the sellers handling time and he said he didn't look at that.

 

I think that those dates that ebay provides to the buyer create an unrealistic expectation of something arriving by a certain date and that if it doesn't arrive by that date, it has created a negative experience for the buyer.  Why would you want to create such a negative experience for them, they may not come back.  I sent a CD from Vancouver to Victoria and it took 5 working days, I could have walked there faster.

 

I agree that I possibly saved the seller a negative.  But what really concerned me was this buyer felt it was a bad experience with ebay because ebay told him that he would have the item by a certain date.  The seller possibly did not create that bad experience, but ebay did.  

 

I also discussed with him the fact that if he gives a lot of sellers negatives that although he himself cannot receive a negative, some sellers will block him from buying from them.  I told him that many sellers look at what type of feedback he has given others.  I don't think that sat well with him as he didn't know a seller could do that.  He had told me that he had given others negative feedback.  I explained that a lot of the small sellers are just like me or him.  Many were seniors, people with disabilities, mothers with children at home and others trying to supplement their income or pensions.  

 

Another thing was he was working on a Samsung phone and what a dog's breakfast the ebay application is on that phone.  He tried to look up the seller to see the handling time and couldn't find the seller.  Could find the item but it wouldn't show the seller.  I even tried and what a disaster that was.  How could anyone find anything with that ebay app.  

 

We talked for over 1/2 hour all about ebay so there was much more that went on but these are the highlights.  

 

This was the discussion thread:  http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/I-had-an-interesting-conversation-with-a-buyer-today/td-p...


Hi musicyouneed,

 

Thanks for sharing that story. Let's unpack the highlights.

 

Delivery estimates

 

There are many details missing for me to accurately draw conclusions. We don't know what the seller had for handling time or whether they actually shipped within that time. More importantly, we don't know what shipping service was used on the listing vs what the seller actually shipped with. This is really the crucial part, because if the seller listed using a generic shipping service instead of the actual shipping service that was used for shipping, there is no way for eBay to provide accurate delivery estimates.

 

 

Also, it should be noted that estimated delivery dates that are shown for items listed on eBay.com are much more accurate than they are for items listed on eBay.ca. This is one of the things we have been asking the shipping team to improve for us for years actually, but never were able to get because of sparse resources. 

 

Finally, there is a part of this that rests with the buyer, as these delivery estimates are just that, estimates. We are not calling them guaranteed dates of delivery, so there should be some understanding from buyers that delays can happen.

 

Android eBay App

 

My own phone is an iPhone so I don't have much experience with the Android app, nor do I know whether the buyer you spoke to was using the Android app or their phone's web browser to access eBay. Perhaps they were using an older version of the app? I know it has been tremendously improved in the past year or so, and that it now works pretty much the same way the iPhone app does. Seller info is there but not in the same place as it is on the web, so it does require a bit of finding and discovery, which to unsavvy users can become a bit of a hurdle. I assure you though, the info is there.

Message 7 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Got a "Act now to keep your Top Rated Seller status" email from eBay today indicating my USA status had dropped (because I had less than 100 USA sales for the last 12 months).

 

So I went and looked at my Seller Dashboard for the USA details. When I open up "Your Monthly Breakdown" I see that numbers are down for the summer (no surprise), but what surprised me was seeing zero transactions for Nov/2015 (but with $ value for sales). Checked my records to see what the actual numbers were and find 9 USA transactions for that period -- so why this inaccurate information?

 

Then on a whim, I also check my Global Monthly Breakdown and find three months where I apparently had no sale transactions (but with $ sale values)  -- so why this misinformation?

 

-..-

 

Message 8 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Hi Raphael, the whole point of me posting was not to dissect it, but was to show what creates a negative experience for the buyer.  It is his perception that concerns me and there are probably thousands of buyers that feel the same.  This buyer felt it was a bad experience because he had been told by ebay that he would get the parcel by a certain date.  He doesn't understand that it is just an estimate, he takes it as gospel.  

Message 9 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


@ypdc_dennis wrote:

Got a "Act now to keep your Top Rated Seller status" email from eBay today indicating my USA status had dropped (because I had less than 100 USA sales for the last 12 months).

 

So I went and looked at my Seller Dashboard for the USA details. When I open up "Your Monthly Breakdown" I see that numbers are down for the summer (no surprise), but what surprised me was seeing zero transactions for Nov/2015 (but with $ value for sales). Checked my records to see what the actual numbers were and find 9 USA transactions for that period -- so why this inaccurate information?

 

Then on a whim, I also check my Global Monthly Breakdown and find three months where I apparently had no sale transactions (but with $ sale values)  -- so why this misinformation?

 

-..-

 


Hi Dennis,

 

I'll have someone from the Dashboard team investigate. Please be careful with words like misinformation. This is likely a bug, nothing more. We don't intentionally serve erroneous information to our members.

Message 10 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


raphael@ebay.com wrote:

I'll have someone from the Dashboard team investigate. Please be careful with words like misinformation. This is likely a bug, nothing more. We don't intentionally serve erroneous information to our members.


Inaccurate information caused by a bug is still misinformation.

I made no claim that this was a deliberate action by eBay.

 

Also, I see that I was Top rated for the USA with 94 US transactions during the last evaluation (which is under the 100 mark). Are the evaluation standards changing?

 

-..-

 

Message 11 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


@ypdc_dennis wrote:

raphael@ebay.com wrote:

I'll have someone from the Dashboard team investigate. Please be careful with words like misinformation. This is likely a bug, nothing more. We don't intentionally serve erroneous information to our members.


Inaccurate information caused by a bug is still misinformation.

I made no claim that this was a deliberate action by eBay.

 

Also, I see that I was Top rated for the USA with 94 US transactions during the last evaluation (which is under the 100 mark). Are the evaluation standards changing?

 

-..-

 


Thanks Dennis.

 

I have relayed your report to the owner of the Seller Dashboard, I should get news by tomorrow at latest. I'll update accordingly.

Message 12 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

The default font for the print of the order details either from My Ebay or from the Selling Manager in Ebay Canada has been changed to a very small font size. I get different results using the same browser for Ebay.ca and Ebay.com. The results on Ebay.com are normal while the ones on Ebay.ca are tiny.

 

I am attaching an example showing both.

Message 13 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Hi Raphael, 

 

Could you update us on how IPR is currently interacting with the checkout system, both the .com and .ca carts, please?  Some of us have been trying to puzzle out what we and our buyers are seeing happening.  Specifically: 

 

a)  For listings on .com, if a seller has not specifically designated IPR when preparing listings with the SYI form, I presume the internally-mandated IPR that eBay introduced back in about 2013 for items under $1000 still applies?  Or does it? 

 

b)  For the above listings on .com (no specifically designated IPR), what exactly happens when a buyer puts more than one such item in the .com cart and then wants to ask about combined shipping -- assuming the seller doesn't have automated rules set up?  Can you please describe the expected checkout flow from there?  

 

The reason I ask is that I now believe this may be related to "Request Total" not being available (see your "bugs" list).  Some of us have found, by doing experiments, that if you put say, 4 items in the U.S. cart, and attempt to ask for a total, that "Request Total" will not be available.  Obviously this is a serious problem that could lead to cart abandonment or buyers simply going elsewhere.  

 

Some of my buyers have reported this problem to me.  I've also encountered this myself when buying from a seller who I know lists on .com and I am absolutely certain does not require IPR.  So I'm beginning to wonder whether eBay has either deliberately tinkered with the automated-IPR/checkout system to remove the ability to ask for a total, or it's an unintentional bug.  Either way, this isn't good. 

 

Incidentally, when preparing new listings on .com, I recall seeing some very confusing "banner" warnings 2 or 3 months ago that seemed to suggest combined shipping discounts would no longer be applicable.  I honestly couldn't make sense of those messages, but I'm thinking now that they may have been connected to the change to the checkout system I've mentioned.  

 

c)  Is the situation the same on .ca, i.e. has "automatic" IPR now become the rule?  If not, will a buyer still be able to "Request Total" from within the .ca cart (assuming the seller hasn't deliberately stipulated IPR in the listings)?

 

d)  Do the "banner" messages I saw that seemed to be talking about combined discounts mean that the only way now that a buyer can get a shipping discount on their own (i.e. without messaging the seller) is if the seller has set them up as automated discount rules?  That seemed to be the gist of those messages, but it really wasn't very clear.  Obviously it's impossible to anticipate every size, weight and destination in advance, in order to set up automated rules in advance, especially for Canadian sellers.  If this is the case then, what are we to do? 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post, but my worry is that my buyers will browse, fill up the cart, then discover they can't find the "Request Total" button and give up and go elsewhere.  And I wouldn't blame them for being disgusted.  This is almost exactly what happened to me, because you know what the error message on the next screen says?: "This seller does not offer combined discounts".  This is really, really bad.  At the very least, the message should instruct the buyer to contact the seller directly through eBay Messages.  

 

I would be very grateful if you would look into this situation and tell us where things actually stand -- both for buyers and sellers.  (I should add, for clarity's sake with respect to my own experience, that I'm currently listing almost exclusively on .com). 

 

 

Message 14 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


@theodoreides wrote:

The default font for the print of the order details either from My Ebay or from the Selling Manager in Ebay Canada has been changed to a very small font size. I get different results using the same browser for Ebay.ca and Ebay.com. The results on Ebay.com are normal while the ones on Ebay.ca are tiny.

 

I am attaching an example showing both.


Hi theodoreides,

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have passed it to the team owning the Order Details page.

Message 15 of 26
latest reply

October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Hi rose-dee, my favourite topic! Smiley Very Happy


@rose-dee wrote:

a)  For listings on .com, if a seller has not specifically designated IPR when preparing listings with the SYI form, I presume the internally-mandated IPR that eBay introduced back in about 2013 for items under $1000 still applies?  Or does it?  


It does still apply, on items priced at $1000 or below.


@rose-dee wrote:

b)  For the above listings on .com (no specifically designated IPR), what exactly happens when a buyer puts more than one such item in the .com cart and then wants to ask about combined shipping -- assuming the seller doesn't have automated rules set up?  Can you please describe the expected checkout flow from there?  

 

The reason I ask is that I now believe this may be related to "Request Total" not being available (see your "bugs" list).  Some of us have found, by doing experiments, that if you put say, 4 items in the U.S. cart, and attempt to ask for a total, that "Request Total" will not be available.  Obviously this is a serious problem that could lead to cart abandonment or buyers simply going elsewhere.  

 

Some of my buyers have reported this problem to me.  I've also encountered this myself when buying from a seller who I know lists on .com and I am absolutely certain does not require IPR.  So I'm beginning to wonder whether eBay has either deliberately tinkered with the automated-IPR/checkout system to remove the ability to ask for a total, or it's an unintentional bug.  Either way, this isn't good. 

 

Incidentally, when preparing new listings on .com, I recall seeing some very confusing "banner" warnings 2 or 3 months ago that seemed to suggest combined shipping discounts would no longer be applicable.  I honestly couldn't make sense of those messages, but I'm thinking now that they may have been connected to the change to the checkout system I've mentioned.   


There is no doubt that the unavailability of the Request Total feature can cause buyer churn, but this is in no way connected to how many items you put in the cart. It is definitely a bug, and thankfully, it is being worked on as we speak.

 

The thing to keep in mind is that IPR and the shopping cart essentially do the same thing: they both allocate ownership of a transaction only after payment is made. In other words, IPR never kicks in when a buyer uses the shopping cart to make a purchase, because the shopping cart works by immediate payment only.

 

IPR, the shopping cart and the Request Total bug are not connected at all.


@rose-dee wrote:

c)  Is the situation the same on .ca, i.e. has "automatic" IPR now become the rule?  If not, will a buyer still be able to "Request Total" from within the .ca cart (assuming the seller hasn't deliberately stipulated IPR in the listings)? 


Forced IPR isn't enforced on eBay.ca as it is on eBay.com, and as I have explained above, there is no connection between that and the Request Total bug.


@rose-dee wrote:

d)  Do the "banner" messages I saw that seemed to be talking about combined discounts mean that the only way now that a buyer can get a shipping discount on their own (i.e. without messaging the seller) is if the seller has set them up as automated discount rules?  That seemed to be the gist of those messages, but it really wasn't very clear.  Obviously it's impossible to anticipate every size, weight and destination in advance, in order to set up automated rules in advance, especially for Canadian sellers.  If this is the case then, what are we to do? 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post, but my worry is that my buyers will browse, fill up the cart, then discover they can't find the "Request Total" button and give up and go elsewhere.  And I wouldn't blame them for being disgusted.  This is almost exactly what happened to me, because you know what the error message on the next screen says?: "This seller does not offer combined discounts".  This is really, really bad.  At the very least, the message should instruct the buyer to contact the seller directly through eBay Messages.  

 

I would be very grateful if you would look into this situation and tell us where things actually stand -- both for buyers and sellers.  (I should add, for clarity's sake with respect to my own experience, that I'm currently listing almost exclusively on .com). 

 


I have never seen the banner messages you refer to, so I cannot comment on them. Having combined discount shipping rules in place is definitely a good idea, and doesn't require to know in advance what will be the order size and destination to work. 

 

The issues with Request Total can definitely cause buyers to walk away, and we are working to resolve them. 

Message 16 of 26
latest reply

October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


raphael@ebay.com wrote:

Hi rose-dee, my favourite topic! Smiley Very Happy


@rose-dee wrote:

a)  For listings on .com, if a seller has not specifically designated IPR when preparing listings with the SYI form, I presume the internally-mandated IPR that eBay introduced back in about 2013 for items under $1000 still applies?  Or does it?  


It does still apply, on items priced at $1000 or below.


@rose-dee wrote:

b)  For the above listings on .com (no specifically designated IPR), what exactly happens when a buyer puts more than one such item in the .com cart and then wants to ask about combined shipping -- assuming the seller doesn't have automated rules set up?  Can you please describe the expected checkout flow from there?  

 

The reason I ask is that I now believe this may be related to "Request Total" not being available (see your "bugs" list).  Some of us have found, by doing experiments, that if you put say, 4 items in the U.S. cart, and attempt to ask for a total, that "Request Total" will not be available.  Obviously this is a serious problem that could lead to cart abandonment or buyers simply going elsewhere.  

 

Some of my buyers have reported this problem to me.  I've also encountered this myself when buying from a seller who I know lists on .com and I am absolutely certain does not require IPR.  So I'm beginning to wonder whether eBay has either deliberately tinkered with the automated-IPR/checkout system to remove the ability to ask for a total, or it's an unintentional bug.  Either way, this isn't good. 

 

Incidentally, when preparing new listings on .com, I recall seeing some very confusing "banner" warnings 2 or 3 months ago that seemed to suggest combined shipping discounts would no longer be applicable.  I honestly couldn't make sense of those messages, but I'm thinking now that they may have been connected to the change to the checkout system I've mentioned.   


There is no doubt that the unavailability of the Request Total feature can cause buyer churn, but this is in no way connected to how many items you put in the cart. It is definitely a bug, and thankfully, it is being worked on as we speak.

 

The thing to keep in mind is that IPR and the shopping cart essentially do the same thing: they both allocate ownership of a transaction only after payment is made. In other words, IPR never kicks in when a buyer uses the shopping cart to make a purchase, because the shopping cart works by immediate payment only.

 

IPR, the shopping cart and the Request Total bug are not connected at all.


@rose-dee wrote:

c)  Is the situation the same on .ca, i.e. has "automatic" IPR now become the rule?  If not, will a buyer still be able to "Request Total" from within the .ca cart (assuming the seller hasn't deliberately stipulated IPR in the listings)? 


Forced IPR isn't enforced on eBay.ca as it is on eBay.com, and as I have explained above, there is no connection between that and the Request Total bug.


@rose-dee wrote:

d)  Do the "banner" messages I saw that seemed to be talking about combined discounts mean that the only way now that a buyer can get a shipping discount on their own (i.e. without messaging the seller) is if the seller has set them up as automated discount rules?  That seemed to be the gist of those messages, but it really wasn't very clear.  Obviously it's impossible to anticipate every size, weight and destination in advance, in order to set up automated rules in advance, especially for Canadian sellers.  If this is the case then, what are we to do? 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post, but my worry is that my buyers will browse, fill up the cart, then discover they can't find the "Request Total" button and give up and go elsewhere.  And I wouldn't blame them for being disgusted.  This is almost exactly what happened to me, because you know what the error message on the next screen says?: "This seller does not offer combined discounts".  This is really, really bad.  At the very least, the message should instruct the buyer to contact the seller directly through eBay Messages.  

 

I would be very grateful if you would look into this situation and tell us where things actually stand -- both for buyers and sellers.  (I should add, for clarity's sake with respect to my own experience, that I'm currently listing almost exclusively on .com). 

 


I have never seen the banner messages you refer to, so I cannot comment on them. Having combined discount shipping rules in place is definitely a good idea, and doesn't require to know in advance what will be the order size and destination to work. 

 

The issues with Request Total can definitely cause buyers to walk away, and we are working to resolve them. 


Regarding the bolded part...

IPR is related in some way to the request total in the cart.  I didn't realize it before but I was doing some experimenting and if a seller specifies ipr in their listings on either site, the request total link in the cart is grayed out. I assume this is on purpose since requesting a total is the same thing as paying in that the buyer now "owns" the item and since ipr was specified they can't own in until it is paid for.  Is that. the way it supposed to work?    So basically if you are going to use ipr you should have all discounts already set up...correct?

 

Also, is it true that if a buyer specifies local pick up the automatic ipr that eBay sets up on .com will not be in effect for those listings?

Message 17 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

i also wanted to ask about the shipping estimates..it clearly states business days in the shipping estimate.. but when i ship on a Friday, anywhere, it does not start moving until Monday morning, so there is 2 days lost to Canada post not working on the weekends, but on the estimated time for delivery those 2 days are not added to the delivery estimate??

Message 18 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session


raphael@ebay.com wrote:

 

I have never seen the banner messages you refer to, so I cannot comment on them. Having combined discount shipping rules in place is definitely a good idea, and doesn't require to know in advance what will be the order size and destination to work. 

 

The issues with Request Total can definitely cause buyers to walk away, and we are working to resolve them. 


Thank you so much for your quick reply on the checkout/IPR/cart questions.  I'm glad eBay is taking the "Request Total" issue seriously. 

 

This seems like such a complex subject.  I am certain that 'pj' is correct that having IPR stipulated in a listing (i.e. not auto-IPR) will result in the "Request Total" button being inaccessible.  Some of us have experimented with this recently, and found that to be the case.  That is, unless it's a bug that's occurring for some other reason.  

 

If you have the time to do the same test(s), I'd be interested to know what you see.  For example, revise 3 of your listings to IPR that have shipping quotes on them, then have someone use another ID to put those 3 items into the cart and try to access "Request Total".  This is what we've been doing, and where we've been getting the "grayed out" Request Total button.  I don't know whether the same effect will occur on .ca as on .com, or with mixed-site listings, as I haven't tried those tests.  

 

I was also interested in the local pick-up question that 'pj' brought up.  I would hope, as a seller, that if I offered local pick-up, my buyer wouldn't be faced with IPR. 

 

I think I really need more assistance with setting up automated discounts, if these are the only way to avoid the problem with "Request Total" not being accessible.  For example, if a buyer purchases 3 patterns from me, with 3 different weights and physical dimensions, setting up a rule to reduce shipping by, say, 10% for each additional item, or perhaps free shipping for a third item, won't necessarily represent reality.  In some cases, it is in fact cheaper to ship 2 items together, in others the shipping can actually be higher if, for instance, 2 patterns go over the 2.0cm Canada Post limit for Light Packet USA (or Canada Post oversize lettermail). 

 

Or -- another example -- if a buyer purchases a dress and other item(s) from me, I can usually easily squeeze several small items into a box with one large item.  In that case, everything but the shipping for the dress would be free.  How can that be set up as an automated rule if the result must depend on the size, weight, and dimensions of the item and the box containing it?  What am I missing?

 

Can you provide any suggestions or examples?  My main concern is that I don't want my buyers to abandon their orders because they know they should be able to get a combined discount, but can't directly request it. 

 

 

Message 19 of 26
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October 26th 2016 Weekly Session

Those 2 days are already in the business days estimate.  If delivery is stated as 4 -18 business days and you sell the item and on a Friday, the earliest date that should be showing for delivery is the following Thursday.  Are you seeing an earlier day than that?  If so, you should give Raphael some real time examples do that he can look at it.

Message 20 of 26
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