eBay

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

Hello everyone,

Welcome to our weekly session. The thread will remain open all day and I'll come in to respond as time permits.

Here are the issues I'm currently tracking:

Wrong tax rates applied to PayPal labels
Missing Tracked Packet destinations
Odd missing gallery picture in search results

Updates:

Estimated Delivery discrepancy between View Item page and Order Details page - Ticket open, team is investigating
Sold items going into Unsold container - need live examples to be able to troubleshoot
Hard block on non compliant images only on relist/sell similar - Selling team is on this
SYI: Form resets IS when switching currencies. - Problem identified, Dev team is working on a fix
Safari browser SYI exhibiting erratic behaviour when trying to select text in description in Revise - under investigation
Combined shipping offers not shown to international buyers- under investigation with shipping team

hlmacdon · ‎02-17-2016

@reallynicestamps wrote:
As I stated many times, there is only so much we are able to do to accommodate Canadian sellers given that there is no Canadian-specific Standards program

However, this 'third level' report is also unfair to US sellers who have no more control over USPS delivery than Canadians-- or Australians, or Germans, or Brits.

It's still a matter of opinion and it is still inaccurate.
Unless you plan to present the stats to the convention of the Universal Postal Union this fall.

US sellers have acceptance scans unless they are opting for lettermail. This is the crux of the issue for Canadian sellers, the Canadian equivalent of "first class" is light/small packet, and those shipments do not receive acceptance scans.

msmaggie060 · ‎02-17-2016

Raphael, this is copied from last weeks board hour:

msmaggie060 wrote:
Thanks for your reply Raphael. I guess I thought it was affected by the storm because it had until the 26th of January to arrive without being considered late and I thought it must have been held up during the storm period (going from Southern Ontario down to Florida).

Also, some buyers do not realize that weekends are not counted as business days, and the US MLK holiday was in there too. Yes, I do wish she had answered my message asking about the actual delivery date. I didn't send it in an accusatory (is that a word?) manner, just asked nicely I thought.

Thanks for the explanation about TRS, I just don't like having any marks against me on my dashboard!

Your answer:
You may be right about your shipment being "in the pool" since the later estimated delivery date is right in the affected dates. As such I have asked for clarification from a CS contact of mine.

The estimated delivery date shown to a buyer at Feedback should take into account holidays and weekends (eg. not count them as business days). However Pocomo raised an issue 2 weeks ago which suggests there may be a bug at play with this, this is under investigation.

My question is: did you get an answer to either of your above comments yet? Thank you!

dutchman48 · ‎02-17-2016

raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@pierrelebel wrote:
"...we are confident that the new metric works for the vast majority of Canadian sellers, even those who don't use tracking."

I wish you guys on King Street would stop for a few minutes, take a walk around the block (it is a big block), clear your mind and answer a simple question concerning Canadian sellers specifically those not using tracking:

"Where is the logic in giving a default to a seller not using tracking
- when the buyer leaves positive feedback,
- indicates the shipping by the seller was fast by posting a "5" on "shipping time" DSR
- and answering "no" to the question concerning the shipping service not delivering within the stated dates."

Again, where is the logic?
Simply put, the shipping question is binary: did the item arrive by X date. Feedback and DSRs, as it was announced, don't have any bearing on seller standards anymore. Based on our data and my own observation of the accounts of many sellers posting on these forums, I have yet to find one who will be negatively impacted by the on-time new metric.

Then get rid of feedback and DSR's if they mean nothing!

Funny thing, when we have issues we have to provide proof after the fact, but Ebay spews all kinds of comments and answers to supposed information, tests, etc and we have have to accept what ever they tell us with absolutely no proof. Same as their stupid surveys.

momcqueen · ‎02-17-2016

Good afternoon.

Regarding your anticipated meeting with Pitney Bowes last week, were you able to raise the Paypal Shipping problem where current Canada Post Tracked Packet destinations are missing? Can you tell us the outcome?

Thanks,

Maureen

dutchman48 · ‎02-17-2016

raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@pierrelebel wrote:
Nice words but they do not explain the logic of giving a default to a Canadian seller when the buyer clearly expressed total satisfaction with the transaction (through feedback and DSR) and may only blame the carrier (postal service) for a delay.
You're right, it doesn't. That's because we are no longer relying on buyers' opinion to measure a seller's performance.

Give me a break. When a buyer says it's late, that is their opinion only!

dutchman48 · ‎02-17-2016

raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@pierrelebel wrote:
"we are no longer relying on buyers' opinion to measure a seller's performance"

???

Logically, how does a late shipment caused entirely by the carrier measure a seller's performance correctly and fairly?

Why deny information already supplied by the buyer (feedback and DSR), available to eBay and ignore it when giving a "default" to the Canadian seller?

Why do you guys insist in creating a problem for Canadian sellers (unfair defaults) and having to solve it eventually when it could be prevented at this time?
Pierre,

As I stated many times, there is only so much we are able to do to accommodate Canadian sellers given that there is no Canadian-specific Standards program and thus, implementing Canadian-specific rules is very hard. No one insisted in creating problems for Canadian sellers, and even though we know the question to buyers as to whether the shipment arrived on time can never be as accurate as tracking data (it is, after all, the 3rd layer of proof for late shipments), we know from real life data that it works well enough for the intended purpose.

Provide proof of your statement

dutchman48 · ‎02-17-2016

@cumos55 wrote:
When the buyer is asked...

Did it arrive by a certain date?

The arrival date is based on an estimate. The critical word is ... estimated delivery date....

This may work in Canada, and then to the US...... mainly because delivery standards are followed, and that includes passage through customs from Canada to the US.

International shipping relies upon many factors, many of which can derail an expected delivery date.

---------------------------------------------------------------

With tracking the date that the parcel enters the postal system, makes estimated delivery date unnecessary... The seller is protected....

That is what makes the US situation different than Canada.....US sellers can buy a tracking option from the USPS....

What we need in Canada is an option that sellers can buy and show that the parcel has entered the postal system... not tracking for the trip from seller to buyer, but an indication that the parcel has entered the postal system.... a verification number....

The seller is in control..... the parcel has entered the postal system.... and there will no need to apply estimated delivery date, based on what a buyer says...

Ebay accepts nothing than on line tracking which is total BS for Canadians

msmaggie060 · ‎02-17-2016

@hlmacdon wrote:
raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@pierrelebel wrote:
Nice words but they do not explain the logic of giving a default to a Canadian seller when the buyer clearly expressed total satisfaction with the transaction (through feedback and DSR) and may only blame the carrier (postal service) for a delay.
You're right, it doesn't. That's because we are no longer relying on buyers' opinion to measure a seller's performance.
I can understand this to a degree, as the forthcoming changes in how ebay guides/presents buyers to the "appropriate product and seller combination" rely on objective data you can plug into an algorithm, but surely it also unnecessarily introduces buyer/seller friction in an example where the buyer is clearly satisfied with the transaction and buyer/seller relationship?

Can you comment as to whether Ebay is currently lobbying, or has plans to, Canada Post to provide acceptance scans for light/small packet shipments? Those services have barcodes implemented, and a system similar to USPS First Class international shipments that lack edelcon (they receive acceptance scans but no delivery confirmation) would address this Canadian-specific problem. This would leave only lettermail shipments as problematic, and that is an acceptable compromise as the situation is the same for US and Canadian sellers.

Actually, I believe US sellers do get edelcon with any first class shipments and that includes what we would consider Lettermail. I think it is included when purchased through PAyPal and costs 26 cents extra at the post office. That's from what I have read on the .com sellers board anyway.

hlmacdon · ‎02-17-2016

@msmaggie060 wrote:
@hlmacdon wrote:
Actually, I believe US sellers do get edelcon with any first class shipments and that includes what we would consider Lettermail. I think it is included when purchased through PAyPal and costs 26 cents extra at the post office. That's from what I have read on the .com sellers board anyway.

E-delcon is specific to first class international package and limited to a set number of participating international countries. If you ship to a country not participating in the program with first class international package, you still receive an acceptance scan (and tracking till it departs the US). First class package for domestic shipments does include tracking with electronic postage purchases and it can be added at retail level for priority mail, first class mail parcels, retail ground, and media mail.

This is why the program as it stands works perfectly fine for EBay's US market. Only sellers who are playing the machinable/not rigid lettermail game to ship cheaply are effected.

mcrlmn · ‎02-17-2016

I got penalized last week for late shipment for an order of 3 coins, in a 5 coin order, to the U.S..

The order was held from shipment for a day because the buyer decided to add 2 more and get free shipping on those coins also. I only charge S&H on the first item purchased in an order.

Unfortunately he paid for the first 3 coins and last 2 coins separately, and eBay's "Estimated delivery" times to the U.S were different.

So he dinged me 'late' for the first 3 coins, though giving me 5 stars for shipping time on all 5 coins, and "Excellent seller, fast shipping. Highly recommend to all!" for the later 2 purchases.

Even though all 5 coins were shipped together.

I have noticed that my mail to the U.S. from Vancouver has been painfully slow in 2016, and generally arriving at the bitter end of each of eBay's "Estimated delivery" times.

Without fail I always ship the same day, and have set my shipping policy to allow for 16 business days, of which eBay includes weekends, even though Canada Post and possibly the U.S. service don't work weekends.

Why is eBay including non-business days in their "Estimated delivery" business day times?

Only my first, and at 0.33%, but I also had 2 other U.S. customers contact me tlast week asking when their items might arrive.

I'm about to stop shipping to the U.S., as this is extremely unusual for me, and as this is only a retirement hobby which is quickly getting the 'fun' sucked out of it, it ain't worth the hassle particularly since PayPal started dinging me more fee to ship south.

I'd rather loose the 20% of U.S. business and the recent grief associated.

I'm a two- bit seller. I'll still make enough to pay my monthly MSP and a few trips to Timmies.

I had less grief before retirement; during 43 1/2 years in retail management with Canada Safeway.

What would I know about selling anything, PR, or shipping?

I've read every post in this week's and last week's board hour. My interpretation ts that none of the concerns have been answered to anyone's satisfaction.

2 queries are self evident in the aforementioned.

I would also like to know why shipping times in the selection drop down list provided, when creating a listing, on .ca to the U.S. from Canada are shorter than those available for shipping within Canada?

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Hello Raphael,

Last week you said:

"All programs have that 5 late orders minimum. Until there are 5 late orders recorded, the on-time shipment metric has no effect on a seller's Standards. When the count reaches 5, the target percentage comes into effect."

1. Is there going to be an announcement on this since there is no mention of it in the update or on our dashboards? In fact, I've never heard it mentioned even once on the U.S. boards so I suspect that it is not mentioned on their dashboards either. I realize that you said that a team is working on it being added to the Canadian dashboard but I am sure that there would be a few less stressed out sellers if this information was already available to them.

2. I could be wrong but I thought that at one time, we were allowed .3% with maximum of 3 cases closed without seller resolution. Is there a minimum number now? If not, that would mean that someone with 300 transactions would be below standard if they have even 1 closed case w/out resolution?

3. A top rated seller needs to have less than .5% of seller cancelled transactions/cases closed without seller resolution. A seller with top rated status would lose that status if they had more than 1 defect. Or, is there a minimum number required before the percentage kicks in.

Hi pjcdn,

1. I'm not sure there will be a separate announcement for this but the existing pages, I'm told, are supposed to get updated. Also the dashboard should reflect these minimums, that they aren't there for the Global program is a bug that's being worked on.

2. and 3. The minimum amount of defects allowed before the percentage kicks in work as follows:

US program
- minimum of 3 defects before losing TRS
- minimum of 5 defects before falling below standards
Global program
- minimum of 5 defects before losing TRS
- minimum of 8 defects before falling below standard

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@izzame wrote:

I'm sure that you are aware that ANY statistical data collected for anything can also be slanted and presented to a way that best benefits the collector of such data . ( U of A stats 101)

Ebay, spin it however you want .......

I fail to see what benefit we would have to put a spin on our data in order to convince seller that they will be all right if the weren't. After all, if you don't make money, we don't make money.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@lucitabby wrote:

Hello Raphael,

Any word on the international shipping option of "Economy" yet?

I was thrilled to notice (it takes so little to thrill me on ebay) when I used "sell similar" to list a new item, the default currency was US dollars. Did ebay make a mistake in giving this back to us? Is it back to stay?

Thank you,

Judith

Hi Judith,

No news on the Economy shipping service yet.

The Sell Similar was rolled back to its original setting this week (keep its USD state when used from a USD-listed item). It will remain this way.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-17-2016

@mcrlmn wrote:
I got penalized last week for late shipment for an order of 3 coins, in a 5 coin order, to the U.S..
The order was held from shipment for a day because the buyer decided to add 2 more and get free shipping on those coins also. I only charge S&H on the first item purchased in an order.
Unfortunately he paid for the first 3 coins and last 2 coins separately, and eBay's "Estimated delivery" times to the U.S were different.

So he dinged me 'late' for the first 3 coins, though giving me 5 stars for shipping time on all 5 coins, and "Excellent seller, fast shipping. Highly recommend to all!" for the later 2 purchases.
Even though all 5 coins were shipped together.

I have noticed that my mail to the U.S. from Vancouver has been painfully slow in 2016, and generally arriving at the bitter end of each of eBay's "Estimated delivery" times.
Without fail I always ship the same day, and have set my shipping policy to allow for 16 business days, of which eBay includes weekends, even though Canada Post and possibly the U.S. service don't work weekends.
Why is eBay including non-business days in their "Estimated delivery" business day times?

Only my first, and at 0.33%, but I also had 2 other U.S. customers contact me tlast week asking when their items might arrive.
I'm about to stop shipping to the U.S., as this is extremely unusual for me, and as this is only a retirement hobby which is quickly getting the 'fun' sucked out of it, it ain't worth the hassle particularly since PayPal started dinging me more fee to ship south.
I'd rather loose the 20% of U.S. business and the recent grief associated.

I'm a two- bit seller. I'll still make enough to pay my monthly MSP and a few trips to Timmies.
I had less grief before retirement; during 43 1/2 years in retail management with Canada Safeway.
What would I know about selling anything, PR, or shipping?

I've read every post in this week's and last week's board hour. My interpretation ts that none of the concerns have been answered to anyone's satisfaction.

2 queries are self evident in the aforementioned.
I would also like to know why shipping times in the selection drop down list provided, when creating a listing, on .ca to the U.S. from Canada are shorter than those available for shipping within Canada?

If you haven't done so already, it is worth a try talking to customer service. I don't see this on th e.ca information but in the .com fall update in the faq section it states:

What should I do if a buyer asks me to delay shipment?

We know this happens sometimes, and that you’re doing the right thing by adhering to your buyer's wishes. Just make sure you have proof of your customer’s request through member-to-member communication. If your shipping performance is negatively impacted as a result of the delay in shipping, you can contact eBay Customer Support and we will review and remove the late shipment if we find that it was a result of the buyer’s request.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@reallynicestamps wrote:

As I stated many times, there is only so much we are able to do to accommodate Canadian sellers given that there is no Canadian-specific Standards program

However, this 'third level' report is also unfair to US sellers who have no more control over USPS delivery than Canadians-- or Australians, or Germans, or Brits.

It's still a matter of opinion and it is still inaccurate.

Unless you plan to present the stats to the convention of the Universal Postal Union this fall.

US sellers who ship via USPS have much better access to tracked services than we Canadians do. As long as they use tracking, which isn't as expensive as it is here and thus, can make sense for almost all US sellers, eBay doesn't rely on the on-time shipping question, we use tracking data instead which is 100% accurate and objective.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@hlmacdon wrote:

Can you comment as to whether Ebay is currently lobbying, or has plans to, Canada Post to provide acceptance scans for light/small packet shipments? Those services have barcodes implemented, and a system similar to USPS First Class international shipments that lack edelcon (they receive acceptance scans but no delivery confirmation) would address this Canadian-specific problem. This would leave only lettermail shipments as problematic, and that is an acceptable compromise as the situation is the same for US and Canadian sellers.

We do engage regularly with Canada Post to find ways to make the Canadian shipping experience better for our sellers. This includes ideas such as the one you brought up as well as things like rate plans and other programs. Forgive me if I can't speak to more specific things at this time, but suffice it to say they are close partners of ours in that we both want the same thing: to grow ecommerce and the associated shipping in Canada.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@msmaggie060 wrote:

Raphael, this is copied from last weeks board hour:

@msmaggie060 wrote:
Thanks for your reply Raphael. I guess I thought it was affected by the storm because it had until the 26th of January to arrive without being considered late and I thought it must have been held up during the storm period (going from Southern Ontario down to Florida).

Also, some buyers do not realize that weekends are not counted as business days, and the US MLK holiday was in there too. Yes, I do wish she had answered my message asking about the actual delivery date. I didn't send it in an accusatory (is that a word?) manner, just asked nicely I thought.

Thanks for the explanation about TRS, I just don't like having any marks against me on my dashboard!

Your answer:
You may be right about your shipment being "in the pool" since the later estimated delivery date is right in the affected dates. As such I have asked for clarification from a CS contact of mine.

The estimated delivery date shown to a buyer at Feedback should take into account holidays and weekends (eg. not count them as business days). However Pocomo raised an issue 2 weeks ago which suggests there may be a bug at play with this, this is under investigation.

My question is: did you get an answer to either of your above comments yet? Thank you!

Hi msmaggie060,

I haven't received an answer to the 1st one actually. I have reached out again.

The 2nd one, the issue raised by Pocomo, is tracked (there is a ticket open) and is under investigation.

hlmacdon · ‎02-17-2016

raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@hlmacdon wrote:
Can you comment as to whether Ebay is currently lobbying, or has plans to, Canada Post to provide acceptance scans for light/small packet shipments? Those services have barcodes implemented, and a system similar to USPS First Class international shipments that lack edelcon (they receive acceptance scans but no delivery confirmation) would address this Canadian-specific problem. This would leave only lettermail shipments as problematic, and that is an acceptable compromise as the situation is the same for US and Canadian sellers.
We do engage regularly with Canada Post to find ways to make the Canadian shipping experience better for our sellers. This includes ideas such as the one you brought up as well as things like rate plans and other programs. Forgive me if I can't speak to more specific things at this time, but suffice it to say they are close partners of ours in that we both want the same thing: to grow ecommerce and the associated shipping in Canada.

Gotcha. I know from first hand experience that changes like that won't happen overnight, but thanks for the elaboration. I know ebay is taking a lot of flack for some elements that are outside of their control, but from what I have seen in the background and what has been hinted at there are some efforts being made to address concerns on the domestic and international level with the various postal services.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@dutchman48 wrote:

Then get rid of feedback and DSR's if they mean nothing!

Feedback and DSRs still show what your buyers think of you, which could be a good thing in some cases.

@dutchman48 wrote:

Funny thing, when we have issues we have to provide proof after the fact, but Ebay spews all kinds of comments and answers to supposed information, tests, etc and we have have to accept what ever they tell us with absolutely no proof. Same as their stupid surveys.

That's not true. You aren't obligated to accept anything we say, proof or not.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎02-17-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:

Good afternoon.

Regarding your anticipated meeting with Pitney Bowes last week, were you able to raise the Paypal Shipping problem where current Canada Post Tracked Packet destinations are missing? Can you tell us the outcome?

Thanks,

Maureen

Hi Maureen,

I had a great meeting with my new contact at PB (the previous person I dealt with has left the company). I raised the TP issue with missing countries and he will look into it. First step will be to determine where the breakage happened. I'll help him figure it out. Unfortunately it's too soon to tell when it will be updated.