eBay

katlover1952 · ‎11-27-2016

I am going out of the country for a week from Dec 5th to 12th. I have often seen messages across the top of listings that say something like " this seller is currently away & will not be able to ship any items until x". Not sure how this is done but assume if you have a store there is some way to do this so that it appears on all current listings.

if something sells in this time frame & gets paid for does eBay just give what would be normal times for shipping & would you risk getting defects. Am trying to determine if I should put the store on vacation like I did during the postal situation (which sales have never recovered from) or if I should use a message. Any thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks.

rose-dee · ‎12-08-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Buyers might not read but they do look at delivery estimates. That's the reason for the extended handling time.

I'm just not convinced this is enough to prevent impatient, nervous, inattentive or cranky buyers from opening an INR on Paypal or leaving negative FB -- and who wants to see that when they return from vacation? It may provide some insurance, but it isn't as foolproof as knowing that items can't be purchased if they're hidden.

The IPR point that 'recped' brought up may well explain why some sellers have reported sales of 'hidden' items, or 'pj' may be right that a bug occurred which was supposed to be fixed and never was.

As I said, we'll only really know through an experiment, since I doubt anyone at eBay Canada will be looking into this for some time now that Raphael is leaving. Anybody planning to go on vacation this week?

rose-dee · ‎12-08-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
I'd be willing to experiment with this after Christmas.

The 'hidden' feature takes hours and sometimes days to work its way into and out of the search. I cannot afford my items to be hidden in the weeks leading up to Christmas but I'd be willing to do it on Dec. 24/25 for the purposes of figuring this out. I don't often have things sell in high numbers on those days but it has been known to happen. One or two I won't miss. (Probably!)

Yes, this will be the problem for sellers with high Christmas volumes.

But you don't have to be on the seller side of the experiment, you could be the buyer. The period immediately before Christmas is always dead slow for me, so I'm planning to put my store on vacation starting Dec. 16th anyway. I usually "hide" all listings.

I can provide you with one or two item numbers (the cheapest ones, just in case), via a personal message, you can put them on your watch list, and then try to purchase during the week of the 19th. We can do this in the background if you like, then report on this thread afterward.

I'm just not able to close this week, so unfortunately we won't know until the week before Christmas, but better than not at all. I'd really like to get this resolved if we could. By the way, I don't use IPR on any of my items, so that will rule out the eBay exception on their "hidden" feature.

momcqueen · ‎12-08-2016

If you want to hide, I am happy to be the one to search and try to buy from you while you're hidden. Yes. Send me a few suggestions for items to Watch before you 'hide' them on Vacation.

rose-dee · ‎12-08-2016

Will do - check your PM shortly.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-08-2016

I agree that you or I not having any items sold while on vacation doesn't mean anything, however' other than in this thread, I don't remember reading about this happening to anyone in a long time...not even on the US boards.

There is still a chance that R will answer before he goes.

momcqueen · ‎12-08-2016

@rose-dee wrote:
Will do - check your PM shortly.

items watched. I'll check in again when your store in on Vacation and listings Hidden and then I'll see if ebay will allow me to buy them despite that. Stay tuned....

momcqueen · ‎12-19-2016

Okay, so, here is the report.

Rose-dee went on holiday with her listings hidden on Friday. Today is Monday. I had agreed in advance to watch four of her items (two listed on ebay.com and two listed on ebay.ca) and try to buy them when I shouldn't.

This morning, I try. I can see the banner on her page. It says Add to Cart, it Says Buy It now. I check both on a desktop and mobile app while logged into ebay.ca. I am dismayed to see that it looks like they are available to sell but when I click Add to Cart or Buy it Now, I get a red error message that says they aren't available to me until the seller returns.

Conclusion, hiding your listings does prevent buyers form purchasing them.

momcqueen · ‎12-19-2016

The mobile version of this error:

pocomocomputing · ‎12-19-2016

The above are for ebay.ca.What about trying to buy the ebay.ca items on ebay.com?

Repeat the above tests for the ebay.com listings. Try to buy on the ebay.com listings on ebay.com and then try to buy them on ebay.ca.

momcqueen · ‎12-19-2016

I did. There was no anomaly. They can't be bought.

momcqueen · ‎12-19-2016

cumos55 · ‎12-19-2016

A very good and bold test....of the vacation option for stores...

momcqueen · ‎12-19-2016

I am pleased to report the test was a success and demonstrated that Hidden listings cannot be purchased even from Watched items. Sellers can use that feature and rest at ease..... Until something changes.

To be extra careful, a seller can still add days of handling time to match their number of vacation days. I've never Hidden mine when using that Vacation banner, just set it and take stuff off Markdown and I find that usually dampens enthusiasm for purchasing.

rose-dee · ‎12-21-2016

@cumos55 wrote:
A very good and bold test....of the vacation option for stores...

Bold, yes, on 'mj's' part certainly, but we did agree in advance that if she were able to proceed through to an actual purchase, either I or 'mj' would cancel the purchase using "buyer mistake". So we had a Plan B.

It was well worth trying this experiment for peace of mind. We know at least how matters stand currently. I can now put my store on vacation knowing that the "hidden" feature actually does what it was intended to do, i.e. protect sellers from INR or late delivery defects.

My thanks to 'mj' for following through with this daring test!

momcqueen · ‎12-21-2016

(Plan C is to take up sewing.)

rose-dee · ‎12-21-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
I've never Hidden mine when using that Vacation banner, just set it and take stuff off Markdown and I find that usually dampens enthusiasm for purchasing.

I'm always concerned about that one person who happens to get money for Christmas and suddenly decides to pick up something that was on their watch list for months, then wonders why it doesn't show as shipped. Ever since the introduction of the on-time shipping policy, I've always preferred to use the "hidden" feature anyway.

Now that I know the feature works, it's a simple option to get complete protection.

momcqueen · ‎12-21-2016

With the handling time extended to match my vacation time, I ship it when I'm back and it still shows as shipped on-time.

rose-dee · ‎12-21-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
With the handling time extended to match my vacation time, I ship it when I'm back and it still shows as shipped on-time.

I was thinking more of INRs from over-eager buyers who don't read the listing/shipping details. If a seller is actually away and perhaps unable to stay in communication (or unable to use a tracked service when they return), this could end less than pleasantly for both parties.

I'm just happy to know that the feature eBay put in place to cover sellers 100% while away from their stores is actually functioning as it should. I see no reason now not to make use of it, mainly because it's easier to do than extending handling times then having to shorten them again upon return.