eBay

rose-dee · ‎06-19-2015

At about 9:00 pm (Atlantic Time) last night, I logged in to eBay.ca check some listings and when I clicked on "My eBay/Selling" got directed to page that said "This page is not available" (or words to that effect). I couldn't get into the discussion boards either.

I then noticed the URL -- very odd -- it started with something along the lines of: "my.ca.paradise....". What on earth was that?

I immediately logged off, but when I tried to log back on, nothing but the "not available" screen, and a similar URL with "paradise" in it. I tried the same sequences of steps on both Google and IE, with the same results. I didn't try .com, but I see some posts on another, older thread that something odd was going on there too.

Two days ago I mentioned at the Wednesday Board Hour that I'd been seeing the sign-in page flipping back and forth (two different designs at different times). Raphael didn't seem very interested, and seemed to suggest the problem was something I was doing wrong. Really???

Are we being hacked (again)? Did anyone else notice this last night? Considering the attack on the Canadian government computers yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised.

Another intrusion is all we need now to finish off eBay for good.

amya4295 · ‎06-19-2015

I had the same issue. Didn't pay a whole lot of attention to whether I had the paradise thing but blank white page with an error message or something. Came up a few times. I shut down came back an hour later, logged in and all ok! Curious though....

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-19-2015

The two different screens on the sign in page has been happening for a while and both of them work so I wouldn't associate that with whatever happened last night. I don't think that Raphael insinuated that you are doing anything wrong at all. In fact he said that he would pass the info on to another team. In the last part of his post it sounds like he was just explaining how to make sure that you aren't in a phishing situation.

007steveb16 · ‎06-19-2015

Another "hack" would be devastating for business.

Maybe this will be like last time and we'll find out months later what really happened

Shall we change our passwords again!?

007steveb16 · ‎06-19-2015

@rose-dee wrote:

Two days ago I mentioned at the Wednesday Board Hour that I'd been seeing the sign-in page flipping back and forth (two different designs at different times). Raphael didn't seem very interested, and seemed to suggest the problem was something I was doing wrong. Really???

I too have been seeing this and wondered what in the world is going on.

block36 · ‎06-19-2015

Had the same problem...

Signed off and signed in a little later... still the problem...

Got to eBay through iPad - the same problem

Years earlier we would get an explanation (or at least an attempt to explain) with apology for the inconvenience caused by system's misbehavior.

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-19-2015

When I sign into .com the bookmark takes me directly to my ebay page and from there I did not have a problem when looking any my current or sold items. But I could not use the search function for other sellers items.

On .ca my bookmark takes me to the main page and it was difficult to get to my ebay but once I did, I couldn't use search but could do other things.

I wonder if this was some sort of search update that went wrong?? They really should announce some sort of explanation.

lady.stark · ‎06-19-2015

I had the exact same problem when I tried to sign in. It brought me to a page from google search for the word "my". Very strange. Fortunately, I don't erase my browser history, so when I began to type the right URL, the rest appeared and I was able to log in by selecting it. Same problem happened when I tried to log out, so I typed directly the URL and was able to log out.

I too wonder if it was a hack or not...

gifts_of_elegance · ‎06-19-2015

Happened to me too but on eBay.com

"paradise" was in the address

femmefan1946 · ‎06-19-2015

I was looking on eBay Hong Kong, as part of a Not Received dispute for a red fedora I need for my Agent Carter cosplay, and they were down too.

Paypal was fine, so I filed through them instead.

It seemed to be down from about 18:30EDT to about 21:30 EDT

rose-dee · ‎06-19-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
"The two different screens on the sign in page has been happening for a while and both of them work so I wouldn't associate that with whatever happened last night."

Yes, they have both been working, but they've also been switching back and forth a number of times in the past week or so for no apparent reason. There is no way to be certain the two issues are not related, so I don't think we can presume they're unconnected. It's conceivable that, like the last time, hackers were trolling for passwords. It's possible that could be done on an alternate (bogus) sign-in screen.

"I don't think that Raphael insinuated that you are doing anything wrong at all. In fact he said that he would pass the info on to another team. In the last part of his post it sounds like he was just explaining how to make sure that you aren't in a phishing situation."

He said he'd pass the information on to the sign-in team and report back. However, I can't recall the last time we've had a follow-up on the open Wed. board concerning a reported glitch or site issue. This was a means of quickly disposing with an uncomfortable question to which eBay didn't have a ready answer.

Actually, what Raphael said in response to my question was: "Usually the best way to make sure you end up on the right site is to type the URL in the address bar yourself, or use a bookmark to get to the site you are trying to reach. This alone should ensure you get to the right place. If you access any website via a link that was sent to you, that's when things get risky."

This was a silly and meaningless reply. I wasn't asking him to help me avoid landing on a phishing site. I had already told him I was using my own bookmark, and I certainly didn't say I'd accessed the sign-in via a link. This seems to be the eBay staff's first and preferred response these days whenever any anomaly is pointed out to them -- well, you must have been doing something incorrect to get that result.

If eBay is in charge of the sign-in pages (as he claims), then why didn't they have an explanation for the constant switches? My guess: eBay either wasn't aware or didn't have an actual explanation. It was much safer to deflect the issue entirely.

I really wouldn't be surprised if we get an announcement a few days, weeks or months from now that the site was breached (yet again). That URL with "my.ca/paradise" at the beginning should simply not have been there when I accessed my sign-in to eBay.ca. It wasn't there earlier in the day when I used the same bookmark, and hasn't been there today.

lucitabby · ‎06-20-2015

I got this email from ebay today about the site problems last night.

rose-dee · ‎06-20-2015

Thanks for posting that email.

All I can say in reading that email is "Hahaha!!". I was actually thinking to myself yesterday that eBay would probably explain it as a result of something that occurred during "regularly scheduled maintenance". Ha, LOL and horsefeathers. What a silly but predictable response from eBay.

If the inability to access the site was the result of technical issues during regularly scheduled maintenance, what was that bizarre "my.ca/paradise..." URL doing there? If you believe eBay's explanation, their technical people put it there. Really???

pierrelebel · ‎06-20-2015

"This seems to be the eBay staff's first and preferred response these days whenever any anomaly is pointed out to them "

I am sorry but must disagree with you.

It is not "these days". It has been like that for the last seventeen years. Lawyers have trained the staff at eBay to never, ever, ever, accept or even imply acceptance of responsibility when something goes wrong.

Plus ca change, plus c;est la meme chose.

007steveb16 · ‎06-20-2015

Before I looked closer at that email I thought it said from "8:25PM EDT TO 8:30PM EDT"

I was like 5 mins!!! It was hellalonger that that...then I looked closer

I thought they were giving out 5mins of fee refunds LOL

rose-dee · ‎06-20-2015

Yes, it went on for quite a while that evening, right in the middle of Eastern prime time.

I can't swallow eBay's pat answer that it occurred as a result of a "regularly scheduled maintenance" period. Since when does eBay schedule maintenance that could be disruptive or risky in the middle of a weekday evening when buyer traffic is apt to be at its peak in the U.S.? And this just so happened to be on the same day that the federal government (Cdn) suffered a major hacker attack. Please!

Pierre is right, now that I reflect on it. EBay has never been forthcoming about problems, errors and site issues. And doubtless all employees are muzzled by non-disclosure agreements.

Maybe they have a bridge to sell us too...

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-20-2015

And this just so happened to be on the same day that the federal government (Cdn) suffered a major hacker attack. Please!

I agree that ebay has always tended to slant changes on the sites and have never been open about problems on the site.

But why do you associate a cyber attack on the Cdn government system on Wed. with problems on both ebay.ca and .com on Thursday? Apparently the government attack was to protest C51 and I doubt that the same group would 'attack' ebay for anything related to that.

I don't know if it was a maintenance problem or a hacker problem and none of us know the facts so it's probably best not to make any assumptions.

rose-dee · ‎06-20-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I don't know if it was a maintenance problem or a hacker problem and none of us know the facts so it's probably best not to make any assumptions.

It seems simple to me that a so-called maintenance problem doesn't create a phony URL with extremely suspicious wording in it that blocks access to important pages and makes the site even look different, even if they were foolish enough to be attempting maintenance in the middle of Eastern prime time.

What programmer at eBay (in his/her right mind) would even consider inserting such nefarious wording anywhere on the site, let alone in the primary URL (which for me was normally eBay.ca)? Bear in mind that that URL had to be created by somebody, i.e. actually typed on a keyboard. The word "paradise" doesn't just pop up by accident at the front end of a URL on eBay (and "https" was nowhere to be seen).

I'm sorry, but I find eBay's "explanation" not only disingenuous but rather insulting. Do they really think we're that gullible and stupid? Or perhaps they think the offer of a few freebies will mollify all concerns. Shame on them.

I've changed my password today, needless to say, and I think any reasonably clear-thinking person using eBay would be wise to do the same.