eBay

raphael@ebay.com · ‎07-13-2016

Hello everyone,

Welcome to our weekly chat. The thread will remain open for the next 24 hours or so, please go ahead and post at your convenience.

Open issues:

Errors when uploading more than one tracking number at a time (repeated, erroneous numbers saved)
Request Total unavailable

Updates:

Anchor Store coupon not working/only working on AU site - Issue has been identified and is being worked on between eBay and PayPal. In the meantime CS has been provided with tools to help affected sellers with a work around.
Printer friendly Order Details page missing items - Resolved - fix rolled out or to roll out soon.
Selling limits live items count discrepancy - We are investigating further.
Missing Tracked Packet destinations - still 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!

musicyouneed · ‎07-13-2016

Raphael, I am quite upset with some information that you gave me concerning drafts. I asked specifically how many drafts could I save as I didn’t want to waste my time and you responded to me that it was 5,000.

I just spent the last 3 weeks adding and revising drafts, I figured I should have about 850. When I looked there was only 250. What happened to the other 600. That is over 100 hours of work lost. Now I am spending another 100 hours revising and adding listings for the ones I lost.

I did some searching on both .com and .ca to see if I could find anything about the quantity of drafts and this is what I found on .com.

"During the July 29 and August 5 weekly chats, I queried Griff on the quantity and duration of saved drafts. He agreed to look into the matter and today he posted a detailed reply at the end of the August 5 chat (message #99).

Apparently, the maximum number of drafts is 250 and the duration is 30 days from the most recent edit. The number of "visible" drafts depends on what device you are using and whether you are using Selling Manager or not. "

So my point on all this is please check your facts before you provide them as I spent a lot of time for nothing.

momcqueen · ‎07-13-2016

Good morning, Raphael:

This past week, a seller came to the discussion board with a question about how to handle a return request on a food item they had sold. The reason for the request was cited as the buyer disliking the taste of the food they had bought. This situation resulted in conflicting advice and a lengthy debate among other ebay members about how one is obligated to handle food-related returns and what is or isn't covered by the ebay Money Back Warranty. This is the thread: http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Return-request-because-quot-Didn-t-like-it-quot/m-p/34404...

My question to you as an ebay staffer is two-fold:

1. Under the ebay Money Back Guarantee can a buyer purchase food, eat it, and then request a return and/or refund without return because he or she 'didn't care for the taste of it'? Should the seller approve the Returns request on the grounds that money will be refunded once the opened and not-resaleable is returned, or not?

2. Once a Returns case is opened and satisfactorily closed, do both parties still possess the ability to leave feedback on that transaction?

Some of us looked among the Help and Best Practices information that is published here and could not find a clear answer.

pierrelebel · ‎07-13-2016

In addition to the above post, and in fairness, it should be noted that the seller advertises on the front page of the eBay store:

30 days warranty on everything!

And the listings state: "In fact, we guarantee it. If you’re not happy with any of our products, for any reason, simply contact us by telephone call or email and we’ll make it right. "

momcqueen · ‎07-13-2016

Yes, Pierre, but 'making it right' should not necessitate losing money for no valid reason. Again, I must use the analogy of someone buying a lot of your rare stamps, licking them and using them to mail a postcard, and then contacting you to ask for a refund because 'they didn't care for the taste' of them.

You own Returns policy states: Your complete satisfaction is always unconditionally guaranteed. If you are not delighted with this item, you may return it within 30 days for full refund

Would my 'complete satisfaction' include the scenario I outlined?

My Returns policy is stated thusly: Change your mind? Order the wrong item? That’s okay. Send it back! Your purchase must be unopened in its original factory-sealed package, and returned in the shipping container (box or envelope) used to mail it to you in order to be eligible for return

mr.elmwood · ‎07-13-2016

Went looking for a supplies coupon today. Could not find it. Am I looking in the wrong place, not out yet?

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pocomocomputing · ‎07-13-2016

@musicyouneed wrote:
Raphael, I am quite upset with some information that you gave me concerning drafts. I asked specifically how many drafts could I save as I didn’t want to waste my time and you responded to me that it was 5,000.

I just spent the last 3 weeks adding and revising drafts, I figured I should have about 850. When I looked there was only 250. What happened to the other 600. That is over 100 hours of work lost. Now I am spending another 100 hours revising and adding listings for the ones I lost.

I did some searching on both .com and .ca to see if I could find anything about the quantity of drafts and this is what I found on .com.

"During the July 29 and August 5 weekly chats, I queried Griff on the quantity and duration of saved drafts. He agreed to look into the matter and today he posted a detailed reply at the end of the August 5 chat (message #99).

Apparently, the maximum number of drafts is 250 and the duration is 30 days from the most recent edit. The number of "visible" drafts depends on what device you are using and whether you are using Selling Manager or not. "

So my point on all this is please check your facts before you provide them as I spent a lot of time for nothing.

Wow, 250! I have been posting the 5,000 number on eBay.com forums in a couple of replies there since I read 5,000 here. Please clarify the exact number so I can go correct my misinformation in those posts.

Perhaps it is just the migration tool that can have 5,000?

But I read in the USA forum since the drafts option came out a couple of years ago that it was in the 1,000s if you use Selling Manager. My eBay was limited to 7 or 20 from the help file that is clear and that appears true for My eBay users from what I read.

I never trusted drafts since they came out because I read in the forums that they lost listings but never read how or why for most reports. Most seem to be the 30 day limit but I read if you revised them all, the drafts were good for 30 more days. But I was too scared of losing the listings to trust the drafts. I used the old standby of scheduling listing in the future to hold listings in progress. But I only have few listings (less than 50 at most).

rose-dee · ‎07-13-2016

Hi Raphael, I have a couple of questions this time around:

1) Has there been any further information regarding the "Request Total" issue? I'm reluctant to leave any of my listings on .ca now unless I know this has been addressed. (If I list exclusively on .com I can set up automated shipping discounts that will work across all listings).

2) An item I sold and shipped on Monday (July 11th) appeared briefly on my Selling Manager page under "Awaiting Shipment", but now is completely gone. It doesn't show up under "Sold" items or "Paid and Shipped". Was this issue something other sellers were reporting to you in the last few weeks? If so, I consider it a very serious problem. I apparently now have no record of the sale or the shipment on eBay.

If you believe this is a temporary glitch resulting from a whole lot of Canadian sellers trying to get listings back up on eBay this Monday (due to the lull in the Canada Post dispute), and that it will resolve itself, please let me know. If it's a systemic problem, I'd like to ask that it be added to your list of issues.

Thanks for looking into these two items!

bunbar · ‎07-13-2016

I don't think it has anything to do with an amount. I wound up doing mine about 25 at a time so I could control what I did, and every now and then one just disappears into thin air. It says it has moved them all but it does't tell you when one doesn't work

momcqueen · ‎07-13-2016

Another question, if you please. Further to ebay's Announcement on Monday that the 72-hour lockout threat had been lifted and that "In response to this development, eBay Canada will now initiate a process to roll back the changes made to estimated delivery dates as well as the buyer-facing messaging about a possible disruption. We will reinstate these measures as necessary, pending further announcements from Canada Post and/or CUPW."

I see that the extended delivery times have been rolled back to normal. I cannot object overly to that since I never did close but I am still a bit leery about managing buyer expectation and potential seller defects. What also rolled back behind the scenes? And, more importantly, what exactly will re-trigger seller protection and manage buyer expectation with extended deliver times to be displayed again? Another 72-hour notice?

I ask because it's worrisome enough to keep monitoring the news to see what's happening with the potential postal disruption without also worrying that ebay won't adequately manage buyer expectations for us while we stay open. If it all goes pear-shaped again.

rose-dee · ‎07-13-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
The reason for the request was cited as the buyer disliking the taste of the food they had bought. This situation resulted in conflicting advice and a lengthy debate among other ebay members about how one is obligated to handle food-related returns and what is or isn't covered by the ebay Money Back Warranty.

Also in fairness, and to be clear, the relevant issue was not about seller obligations or the terms of the MBA, but the much broader and general question of how a seller should deal with a buyer where there was no hard and fast eBay policy obligating a seller to refund. And that, in the face of a specifically stated guarantee by the seller (as Pierre noted).

In other words, the question was about sellers' perception of buyers' good faith in making a "didn't like it" complaint, and sellers' choices in handling that complaint where eBay policy does not specifically apply to force a refund/return.

The heated debate was about whether the appropriate stance by the seller was to see such a buyer as a scammer or "entitled" and treat him/her accordingly. For the sake of full disclosure, I felt I'd rather give the buyer the benefit of the doubt if I had provided a personal guarantee of satisfaction. Others wanted to refund (or not) and block her. What does eBay say?

momcqueen · ‎07-13-2016

I don't think anyone claimed this was a scam, rose-Dee. The only question was whether a refund was required and, if so, with or without requesting return of the uneaten portions.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎07-13-2016

@musicyouneed wrote:

Raphael, I am quite upset with some information that you gave me concerning drafts. I asked specifically how many drafts could I save as I didn’t want to waste my time and you responded to me that it was 5,000.

I just spent the last 3 weeks adding and revising drafts, I figured I should have about 850. When I looked there was only 250. What happened to the other 600. That is over 100 hours of work lost. Now I am spending another 100 hours revising and adding listings for the ones I lost.

I did some searching on both .com and .ca to see if I could find anything about the quantity of drafts and this is what I found on .com.

"During the July 29 and August 5 weekly chats, I queried Griff on the quantity and duration of saved drafts. He agreed to look into the matter and today he posted a detailed reply at the end of the August 5 chat (message #99).

Apparently, the maximum number of drafts is 250 and the duration is 30 days from the most recent edit. The number of "visible" drafts depends on what device you are using and whether you are using Selling Manager or not. "

So my point on all this is please check your facts before you provide them as I spent a lot of time for nothing.

Hi musicyouneed,

The info I relayed (Selling Manager having a max capacity of 5000 drafts) I got directly from the owner of the Selling Manager product. Can't get closer to the source than that. What Griff wrote (that what drafts are visible depends on what device you use and whether you have Selling Manager) is also true, but in the current case, being that the device was the migration tool and that you do have Selling Manager, the 5000 should apply.

Currently you have 4 drafts in Selling Manager. I can't see at first glance what happened to your missing drafts between what you may have published yourself and what happened to any that went missing, but I can ask someone to look into it. Would you by any chance have a few item numbers from original listings in USD that the corresponding drafts went missing? Thanks.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎07-13-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:

Good morning, Raphael:

This past week, a seller came to the discussion board with a question about how to handle a return request on a food item they had sold. The reason for the request was cited as the buyer disliking the taste of the food they had bought. This situation resulted in conflicting advice and a lengthy debate among other ebay members about how one is obligated to handle food-related returns and what is or isn't covered by the ebay Money Back Warranty. This is the thread: http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Return-request-because-quot-Didn-t-like-it-quot/m-p/34404...

My question to you as an ebay staffer is two-fold:

1. Under the ebay Money Back Guarantee can a buyer purchase food, eat it, and then request a return and/or refund without return because he or she 'didn't care for the taste of it'? Should the seller approve the Returns request on the grounds that money will be refunded once the opened and not-resaleable is returned, or not?

2. Once a Returns case is opened and satisfactorily closed, do both parties still possess the ability to leave feedback on that transaction?

Some of us looked among the Help and Best Practices information that is published here and could not find a clear answer.

Hi mjwl2006,

What an interesting edge case. I have searched the CS database and there are no specifics on how eBay should decide if for example that return case was escalated. At first glance, I want to look at this as buyer remorse, where the seller's return policy would apply. Taste is subjective and to me it's the same thing as a buyer wanting to return a sweater because they don't like the colour (different thing than it being the wrong colour). With that said, I'm curious how CS would actually handle this so I have sent an email to a trusted colleague. I'll update this post with my findings.

Update: After speaking with CS, in this particular case since the seller issued a pretty solid guarantee of satisfaction in the description and that they have a stated return policy that says 30 days money back, if the case had been escalated the return would likely have been enforced but under the seller's terms (buyer pays for return shipping). Obviously, if the seller didn't care to get the item back since it was opened, they could opt to just refund.

For your question #2, yes, even if a case is open and closed, feedback can still be given.

musicyouneed · ‎07-13-2016

I use selling manager on a desktop computer. I was going through all my listings and making new ones in drafts, so no listing number was attached. The only drafts that are in there right now are for .com.

As they PO announced that they were lifting the 72 hour lock out notice, I decided that I would list all my drafts and that is when I discovered 3/4 of them where not there. I listed all the drafts on .ca on Monday and I have been slowing revising and adding more listings since then. I can guarantee that the maximum drafts that are allowed are 250. Your selling manager person is incorrect and is providing the wrong info.

What happened was that as soon as I reached 250 drafts on .ca, and continued to list more drafts, it dropped off the oldest ones and left the current ones I was doing. How I know that is I was using a printed list of all my old listings alphabetically. I am now still in the "A"'s trying to start over revising then listing them.

I wasn't doing any conversion, I just took all my listings down because of the possible postal strike. I wanted to use that time to update my listings, review pricing, etc.

I think that the "selling manager" is confusing it with the conversion/migration tool, not just the plain drafts available to ebay sellers using selling manager.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎07-13-2016

@mr.elmwood wrote:
Went looking for a supplies coupon today. Could not find it. Am I looking in the wrong place, not out yet?

Hi mr.elmwood,

The Q3 coupons have been issued as far as I know. I have reported that you aren't seeing yours (I checked on your account and can't see it either) and the team responsible will get back to me asap.

Update: The team let me know that you should see your coupon shortly. Your store being registered on .com is the reason for the delay, something we hope to fix on the next round.

mr.elmwood · ‎07-13-2016

Thanks! I will pick 'em up in Las Vegas!

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pierrelebel · ‎07-13-2016

Hi Raphael.

How many eBay staffers/managers from eBay-Canada in Toronto will be in Las Vegas?

raphael@ebay.com · ‎07-13-2016

@rose-dee wrote:

Hi Raphael, I have a couple of questions this time around:

1) Has there been any further information regarding the "Request Total" issue? I'm reluctant to leave any of my listings on .ca now unless I know this has been addressed. (If I list exclusively on .com I can set up automated shipping discounts that will work across all listings).

2) An item I sold and shipped on Monday (July 11th) appeared briefly on my Selling Manager page under "Awaiting Shipment", but now is completely gone. It doesn't show up under "Sold" items or "Paid and Shipped". Was this issue something other sellers were reporting to you in the last few weeks? If so, I consider it a very serious problem. I apparently now have no record of the sale or the shipment on eBay.

If you believe this is a temporary glitch resulting from a whole lot of Canadian sellers trying to get listings back up on eBay this Monday (due to the lull in the Canada Post dispute), and that it will resolve itself, please let me know. If it's a systemic problem, I'd like to ask that it be added to your list of issues.

Thanks for looking into these two items!

Hi rose-dee,

1) No further information on that yet. The person I had alerted of this is on vacation I think, I'm trying to find out who took over that case in her absence. Searching work tickets, I found a few that may be related (hard to tell just by the ticket) and which have been marked as resolved. Do you know if the problem persists on your items?

2) This isn't something that has been reported to me before, and it's unlikely that the increased traffic from sellers putting their listings back up would cause this. What item number was it that disappeared?