Two recent reports describe a seller who was permanently suspended due to some rogue bot which determined that the account was linked to itself, beginning a downward death spiral in the computer algorithm.
Hello truenliving7,
Based on your account information and activity,
it looks like user ID truenliving7 is associated with your account. This
usually indicates that both accounts belong to the same person.
Because
the other account is restricted or otherwise not meeting minimum seller
standards, we've changed the amount you can list on eBay.
This would be bad enough, However, the bot is not done there. Since the account is being punished, the linked account must be further punished, and is given a permanent suspension.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Accepting new user agreement automatically opts seller into Global Shipping Program GSP
If you are not currently opted in to this program and you do
not accept the electronic click-through, you will not be able to take
advantage of the Global Shipping Program, but you will still be bound by
all other provisions of this User Agreement.
By accepting, you will also be acknowledging that you have read and agree to the Global Shipping Program Seller Terms and Conditions. Those terms will apply to your participation as a seller in the Global Shipping Program and to all of your eligible new and existing listings following acceptance
Clicking 'accept' will automatically opt seller in, including currently listed items.
All items will have the bid block cleared of 'buyer has a primary shipping address in countries I do not ship to'.
The mess can be cleaned up, but not for 24 hours.
By accepting, you will also be acknowledging that you have read and agree to the Global Shipping Program Seller Terms and Conditions. Those terms will apply to your participation as a seller in the Global Shipping Program and to all of your eligible new and existing listings following acceptance
Clicking 'accept' will automatically opt seller in, including currently listed items.
All items will have the bid block cleared of 'buyer has a primary shipping address in countries I do not ship to'.
The mess can be cleaned up, but not for 24 hours.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Ebay Software Defect results in accidental MC999 indefinite seller suspensions
Several cases reported during the past week, all reversed when some actual person looked the case over.
These all share a common element: cases which should not have counted.
In particular,
Apparently Ebay software has been counting almost anything as being an unresolved case, and shutting sellers down quick and hard.
Here's a comment posted by Ebay, emphasis mine:
These all share a common element: cases which should not have counted.
In particular,
- Buyer protection cases which were either won by seller or successfully resolved by seller.
- VeRO cases which were responded to properly and did not involve any actual VeRO infringement.
Apparently Ebay software has been counting almost anything as being an unresolved case, and shutting sellers down quick and hard.
Here's a comment posted by Ebay, emphasis mine:
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Customer Service recommended seller escalate a SNAD? Almost Never.
It's been reported too many times to doubt.
Naive seller encounters the SNAD dance. Seller knows the thing was as described, and makes the case to CS. CS says escalate, you will win.
Seller Escalates, loses within 1/2 hour, and calls back CS. No help now from CS.
Bottom line
Seller must never escalate a SNAD case. Almost.
If the ducks are lined, up, escalating an INR is fine, but never a SNAD.
The plan, unless seller wants to refund either in full or in part:
Reply "return for refund".
Wait for the return.
Refund when returned.
After 30 days of no refund, the case will time out.
The rare exceptions when seller might win are purely based on technicalities, not the merits of the case.
There is a zone to understand, which is when buyer submits the SNAD but doesn't actually claim anything was not as described. Says something like "I didn't approve this item". Or says "received a pair of roller skates", while the title and picture showed a pair of roller skates. Seller can win such a case, but be very careful. This is what is known as a "poorly formed SNAD dispute".
Naive seller encounters the SNAD dance. Seller knows the thing was as described, and makes the case to CS. CS says escalate, you will win.
Seller Escalates, loses within 1/2 hour, and calls back CS. No help now from CS.
Bottom line
Seller must never escalate a SNAD case. Almost.
If the ducks are lined, up, escalating an INR is fine, but never a SNAD.
The plan, unless seller wants to refund either in full or in part:
Reply "return for refund".
Wait for the return.
Refund when returned.
After 30 days of no refund, the case will time out.
The rare exceptions when seller might win are purely based on technicalities, not the merits of the case.
There is a zone to understand, which is when buyer submits the SNAD but doesn't actually claim anything was not as described. Says something like "I didn't approve this item". Or says "received a pair of roller skates", while the title and picture showed a pair of roller skates. Seller can win such a case, but be very careful. This is what is known as a "poorly formed SNAD dispute".
Paypal glitch regarding transaction being seller protection eligible
An apparently widespread glitch exists with transactions being reported as not eligible for Seller Protection.
Numerous sellers have reported that they called Paypal, and were told that the report was a glitch, that the transaction was covered after all.
At least one report exists of a seller who called Paypal, was told that the report was a glitch. When the transaction was stopped the next day, Paypal denied seller protection because the transaction had been reported ineligible. In other words, the verbal words of the Paypal rep on the line were subsequently dishonored when the protection turned out to be needed.
Some sellers have been requesting that Paypal attach some notation to the transaction to show that it was indeed covered. No reports of such a notation being dishonored have appeared.
Here's an example posted of the problem:
OK to ship
Payment Status: Completed
We recommend that you:
Ship to the buyer's address on this page
Use a shipping service with signature confirmation
Save all tracking information or other proof of shipment
>>>Seller Protection
>>>Not Eligible
>>>Not eligible for protection
Ship to address
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
Midlothian, VA 23112
United States
Confirmed
Numerous sellers have reported that they called Paypal, and were told that the report was a glitch, that the transaction was covered after all.
At least one report exists of a seller who called Paypal, was told that the report was a glitch. When the transaction was stopped the next day, Paypal denied seller protection because the transaction had been reported ineligible. In other words, the verbal words of the Paypal rep on the line were subsequently dishonored when the protection turned out to be needed.
Some sellers have been requesting that Paypal attach some notation to the transaction to show that it was indeed covered. No reports of such a notation being dishonored have appeared.
Here's an example posted of the problem:
OK to ship
Payment Status: Completed
We recommend that you:
Ship to the buyer's address on this page
Use a shipping service with signature confirmation
Save all tracking information or other proof of shipment
>>>Seller Protection
>>>Not Eligible
>>>Not eligible for protection
Ship to address
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
Midlothian, VA 23112
United States
Confirmed
Monday, October 28, 2013
Confusion over adding a handling charge
From time to time, I encounter the claim "I can't add a handling charge, Ebay must have eliminated handling charges!!".
And the answer is, you can add a handling charge. However:
1. The listing must use calculated shipping
2. The handling charge option must be selected.
On your listing, first off, check to see if the option is available. It's just below the handling time option.
If it's not there, confirm this is a calculated shipping listing.
If it's just not there, check the line which begins "Add Shipping Details". There is a link on that line to "add or remove options". Go there, and add the handling charge option.
If the handling charge option is not in the list of options which can be added using that link, then one of two things is true.
1. The listing is not calculated shipping.
2. The handling charge option is already available.
Just complicated enough to be confusing.
Note: you can use a handling charge on calculated shipping even while using a flat rate shipping service, such as Media Mail.
But be careful how high your handling charge is. Bum S/H stars are painful.
And the answer is, you can add a handling charge. However:
1. The listing must use calculated shipping
2. The handling charge option must be selected.
On your listing, first off, check to see if the option is available. It's just below the handling time option.
If it's not there, confirm this is a calculated shipping listing.
If it's just not there, check the line which begins "Add Shipping Details". There is a link on that line to "add or remove options". Go there, and add the handling charge option.
If the handling charge option is not in the list of options which can be added using that link, then one of two things is true.
1. The listing is not calculated shipping.
2. The handling charge option is already available.
Just complicated enough to be confusing.
Note: you can use a handling charge on calculated shipping even while using a flat rate shipping service, such as Media Mail.
But be careful how high your handling charge is. Bum S/H stars are painful.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Seller learns why to send cancel when buyer asks for cancel
A buyer recently purchased $300+ worth of items from me. He requested a 15% discount after the items
had ended and prior to paying. I declined. He said to just do a mutual cancelation then. I refused and
said I'd file NPB alerts to get my fees back. So (after several insulting emails), he pays and then says
he will just return the items once he receives them to get his money back and leave me negatives
for all the items (100+ items).
I contacted ebay, and spent nearly an hour on the phone with them. They read the string of emails,
acknowledged that it was extortion, but said they couldn't do anything to help me out and they wouldn't
remove the negatives if he leaves them.
Note that seller is guaranteed protection from any neg when buyer requests the cancel, seller sends the cancel, and buyer declines the cancel.
CS will also refund the fees.
had ended and prior to paying. I declined. He said to just do a mutual cancelation then. I refused and
said I'd file NPB alerts to get my fees back. So (after several insulting emails), he pays and then says
he will just return the items once he receives them to get his money back and leave me negatives
for all the items (100+ items).
I contacted ebay, and spent nearly an hour on the phone with them. They read the string of emails,
acknowledged that it was extortion, but said they couldn't do anything to help me out and they wouldn't
remove the negatives if he leaves them.
Note that seller is guaranteed protection from any neg when buyer requests the cancel, seller sends the cancel, and buyer declines the cancel.
CS will also refund the fees.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Ebay backs down (finally!)
Ebay seems to have backed down, and promises a credit for the 10 day fee, for the duration of the promotion.
Hello noveltysignguy,
Credits will be applied prior to your August invoice (either Aug. 1 or Aug. 15 depending on your billing cycle). Sellers are welcome to list in any auction duration. We will credit the listing upgrade fees for invited sellers during the promotion duration (July 14-20).
Thank you,
Alison
Selling Team
Hello noveltysignguy,
Credits will be applied prior to your August invoice (either Aug. 1 or Aug. 15 depending on your billing cycle). Sellers are welcome to list in any auction duration. We will credit the listing upgrade fees for invited sellers during the promotion duration (July 14-20).
Thank you,
Alison
Selling Team
Monday, July 15, 2013
For the record: 10 day free listing original offer, new modified offer
Modified offer, as of Monday night: Bolding shows the difference, and is not from the offer itself.
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion. Please note: 10-day auction-style listings will not be charged an insertion fee, but will continue to be subject to the listing upgrade fee.
Original offer, sent on Saturday:
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion.
Come on, Ebay. Have some self respect here. This is just dreadful how this is being handled. A seller accepts the first offer, lists some 10 day listings from Turbo Lister, and ends up with the 2nd offer? It seems almost immoral.
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion. Please note: 10-day auction-style listings will not be charged an insertion fee, but will continue to be subject to the listing upgrade fee.
Original offer, sent on Saturday:
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion.
Come on, Ebay. Have some self respect here. This is just dreadful how this is being handled. A seller accepts the first offer, lists some 10 day listings from Turbo Lister, and ends up with the 2nd offer? It seems almost immoral.
Now Ebay says the MESSAGE was in error...
Here's the message again:
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion.
10 day free listing debacle spreads to Customer Service
Having offered free 10 day listings, but not actually implementing it, Ebay created a massive jam for customer service yesterday, Sunday.
This mostly affected sellers who use Turbo Lister, and are able to list hundreds or thousands of items quickly, because they keep the listings on their home computer, waiting for free listings.
The charges for some were huge, in the $thousands.
Such sellers called Customer Service.
Some CS reps got it right. This was a software defect. They promised sellers a refund.
Here's the promotion text:
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion.
Many, maybe most CS reps got it wrong, advising sellers that they had misinterpreted the above text, and all that was free was the listing, not the 10 day 40c upgrade fee.
Why did they get it wrong? Could it have something to do with English comprehension? We're not sure, but by today, someone had come to work and started getting the mess cleaned up. The 10 day listings really were free, but software competence issues created the mess.
This mostly affected sellers who use Turbo Lister, and are able to list hundreds or thousands of items quickly, because they keep the listings on their home computer, waiting for free listings.
The charges for some were huge, in the $thousands.
Such sellers called Customer Service.
Some CS reps got it right. This was a software defect. They promised sellers a refund.
Here's the promotion text:
Invited sellers ("sellers") who list in the auction-style or auction-style with Buy It Now format pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein will pay no Insertion Fee per item listed ("Promotion") for up to 800,000 listings during the Promotion period as defined below. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-day listing durations are included as part of this Promotion.
Many, maybe most CS reps got it wrong, advising sellers that they had misinterpreted the above text, and all that was free was the listing, not the 10 day 40c upgrade fee.
Why did they get it wrong? Could it have something to do with English comprehension? We're not sure, but by today, someone had come to work and started getting the mess cleaned up. The 10 day listings really were free, but software competence issues created the mess.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Atrocious software quality control: charges for free 10 day auctions.
Ebay software has simply lost any self respect.
The latest: sellers who use the current free listing offer, and use 10 day auctions, are being charged 40c per listing. The offer includes 10 day listings.
The latest: sellers who use the current free listing offer, and use 10 day auctions, are being charged 40c per listing. The offer includes 10 day listings.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
UPDATED The squeeze is on: Ebay starts forcing sellers to use Global Shipping Program
UPDATE 13 July.
Ebay is again allowing sellers to opt out of the GSP. No statement from ebay, but the page will again allow opting out. Could have been some kind of foul smelling blowback.
http://www.ebay.com/prf/GspPreference
That's the page you can get to by going down account/site preferences/shipping preferences/edit GSP
If you do opt out after the forced opt in, check
1. Your live listings. I don't know if opting out will affect them or not, need to check.
2. your setting to block buyers whose primary address is in countries I do not ship to Check this both on your site preferences as well as on live listings.
--------------
Well, not quite forcing, but as close as you might imagine.
Here's how it's going down.
A new User Agreement is being presented to selling accounts. The page content says "Page Invalid", and contains stuff from ebay's web server to handle an invalid page.
Seller has to choose to accept, or to decline. Declining will end up redisplaying the same demand. Force? Yeah.
Once accepted, two things happen.
1. Seller is permanently signed up for the GSP. No way out. There is a setting which might seem to offer a way out, but it is grayed out, and does not do anything at all. Force? Yeah.
2. All of sellers current live listings are modified to accept GSP. If seller notices, seller can go back and modify the listing to not offer GSP. Force? Yeah.
3. All of sellers current live listings are modified to not block buyers whose primary address is not in countries I ship to. If seller notices, seller can go back and modify the listings to block such buyers. Force? Yeah.
Bah.
Ebay is again allowing sellers to opt out of the GSP. No statement from ebay, but the page will again allow opting out. Could have been some kind of foul smelling blowback.
http://www.ebay.com/prf/GspPreference
That's the page you can get to by going down account/site preferences/shipping preferences/edit GSP
If you do opt out after the forced opt in, check
1. Your live listings. I don't know if opting out will affect them or not, need to check.
2. your setting to block buyers whose primary address is in countries I do not ship to Check this both on your site preferences as well as on live listings.
--------------
Well, not quite forcing, but as close as you might imagine.
Here's how it's going down.
A new User Agreement is being presented to selling accounts. The page content says "Page Invalid", and contains stuff from ebay's web server to handle an invalid page.
Seller has to choose to accept, or to decline. Declining will end up redisplaying the same demand. Force? Yeah.
Once accepted, two things happen.
1. Seller is permanently signed up for the GSP. No way out. There is a setting which might seem to offer a way out, but it is grayed out, and does not do anything at all. Force? Yeah.
2. All of sellers current live listings are modified to accept GSP. If seller notices, seller can go back and modify the listing to not offer GSP. Force? Yeah.
3. All of sellers current live listings are modified to not block buyers whose primary address is not in countries I ship to. If seller notices, seller can go back and modify the listings to block such buyers. Force? Yeah.
Bah.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
The Public Ulcer: nonsensical inconsistency between Ebay and Paypal
Ebay has owed Paypal for over ten years. They're the same company.
And yet, gaps exist with potentially brutal consequences for sellers. Here are two.
1. An Ebay buyer with an issue can choose to file a dispute with Ebay or file the dispute with paypal. Why? We don't know. Lack of competence or discipline within Ebay's software engineering seems the likely best answer.
It matters because:
Occasionally something goes wrong with the Paypal payment, after the payment is made. Sometimes this is buyer fraud, usually unauthorized use of a credit card. Sometimes it is something as simple as buyer paid using a different computer than usual. In such cases, Paypal puts a hold on the payment, and tells seller not to ship. If seller ships during such a hold, seller loses seller protection, understandable. Seller should wait until after the hold is lifted, and then ship. Perhaps half are eventually lifted, after some number of days.
However,
You'd think this was the government we were discussing here, not some moderately hi tech company from Silicon Valley.
You'd think "surely these are things a seller could just call up Ebay and get sorted out", but you would find that they fully know how it works, and Customer Service refuses to fix anything.
And yet, gaps exist with potentially brutal consequences for sellers. Here are two.
1. An Ebay buyer with an issue can choose to file a dispute with Ebay or file the dispute with paypal. Why? We don't know. Lack of competence or discipline within Ebay's software engineering seems the likely best answer.
It matters because:
- If seller wins the dispute, seller is protected from negative feedback. But not if buyer filed the dispute with Paypal.
- If the transaction was over $750, buyer must have Signature Confirmation, a signed delivery, if buyer claims non-delivery. Ebay explains that in Ebay rules to Ebay sellers. But if the dispute is filed with Paypal, the number drops to $250. What a trap. Set up an attractive zone, $250->;$750, and see if seller falls in.
- Disputes which are forcefully resolved by Ebay or Paypal are scored brutally against seller. However, even cases which are WON on Paypal can result in the same brutal penalty, when they are won on appeal.
Occasionally something goes wrong with the Paypal payment, after the payment is made. Sometimes this is buyer fraud, usually unauthorized use of a credit card. Sometimes it is something as simple as buyer paid using a different computer than usual. In such cases, Paypal puts a hold on the payment, and tells seller not to ship. If seller ships during such a hold, seller loses seller protection, understandable. Seller should wait until after the hold is lifted, and then ship. Perhaps half are eventually lifted, after some number of days.
However,
- if seller does NOT ship during such a hold, seller loses seller protection because they are observed by Ebay to be a "slow shipper".
- Seller is scored with a "slow shipper strike", too many of those and seller losers TRS.
- Just nonsensical brutality: having unfairly, and unknowingly lost seller protection, a seller may reply to a non-receipt dispute by showing that the item was delivered. This results in buyer being denied the refund, but seller (who can't win because he lost protection) being charged as refusing to resolve the dispute! The big whammy, the dreaded "case strike", from events almost completely beyond sellers control, and completely within Ebay's control.
You'd think this was the government we were discussing here, not some moderately hi tech company from Silicon Valley.
You'd think "surely these are things a seller could just call up Ebay and get sorted out", but you would find that they fully know how it works, and Customer Service refuses to fix anything.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Think you will be protected if bidder never pays? Read this.
I dealt with an eBay cyber terrorist for several weeks recently, and it all came to a head last week.
He bought multiple
items from 8 different sellers. And he sent them nasty, threatening
letters (which is one of the reasons why I call him a cyber terrorist.)
I was in contact with
all of the sellers ... most of which had really low feedback numbers,
and didn't know how to deal with this kind of thing.
When we filed UPI's on the guy, he left an assortment of NEGs and POS, and POS+all low DSR scores.
I THOUGHT that if the UPI's closed, eBay would remove al the feedback, but I was wrong.
On my account Ebay removed the NEG, and the POS. But they left the POS with all low scores.
Since this threaten my TRS status for June, I called Customer Support, thinking that there was a glitch, and that they would surely remove the POS with all low scores since the guy hadn't paid.
I went round and round with several CS reps, I was told "I'm sorry, but NO. Ebay has NO way to remove POS scores. PERIOD."
Finally I told the Rep
all the shenanigans the guy had been playing with the 8 sellers. They
sent a report to Trust & Safety
The guy was finally NARUed. And this was the only reason the eBay removed the Feedback.
Ebay will not remove a POS + all low scores even of the Buyer does not pay.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Ebay Global Shipping Program:SNADs as extraordinarily dangerous to seller
Ebay touts its new GSP as making life simpler for sellers, hassle free international sales.
Given that most transactions go off smoothly, for some sellers, this might well be a good idea. However, the program has some major gotchas for seller.
First understand how GSP works. Buyer pays two people, seller and the GSP program operator. Seller ships the item to Kentucky. GSP payment covers shipping from kentucky to buyer, plus prepaid customs fees to buyer's country, plus profit for the GSP operator. On a $100 item, could easily be an extra $75.
The Big #! threat. SNAD resolution.
Consider a SNAD case involving an item, $100 price, $15 shipping to Kentucky, $75 to the GSP, total $190. The item arrives broken.
Now some might focus on :who broke it, but there is a threat which is independent of that.
The only way buyer can be made whole, including the GSP money, is to file, escalate, and win the SNAD case. That will get seller's money plus the GSP money returned to buyer. It will also get a domestic SNAD case strike filed against seller, and there's nothing seller can do about it. Seller cannot resolve the issue by refunding all money seller received. Seller can't even resolve it by covering the extra $90 himself, because there is no formal association between any such refund and the case.
Doesn't seem well thought out.
Given that most transactions go off smoothly, for some sellers, this might well be a good idea. However, the program has some major gotchas for seller.
First understand how GSP works. Buyer pays two people, seller and the GSP program operator. Seller ships the item to Kentucky. GSP payment covers shipping from kentucky to buyer, plus prepaid customs fees to buyer's country, plus profit for the GSP operator. On a $100 item, could easily be an extra $75.
The Big #! threat. SNAD resolution.
Consider a SNAD case involving an item, $100 price, $15 shipping to Kentucky, $75 to the GSP, total $190. The item arrives broken.
Now some might focus on :who broke it, but there is a threat which is independent of that.
The only way buyer can be made whole, including the GSP money, is to file, escalate, and win the SNAD case. That will get seller's money plus the GSP money returned to buyer. It will also get a domestic SNAD case strike filed against seller, and there's nothing seller can do about it. Seller cannot resolve the issue by refunding all money seller received. Seller can't even resolve it by covering the extra $90 himself, because there is no formal association between any such refund and the case.
Doesn't seem well thought out.
Ebay Unpaid Item Assistant broken for two weeks now
Update: as of 18 May, the UID assistant is again filing the cases. Thank you Ebay.
It's been widely reported on the boards, but today I encounter it for the first time.
UID assistant is just not filing the UID.
It's been widely reported on the boards, but today I encounter it for the first time.
UID assistant is just not filing the UID.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Seller takes case strike on old INR case which buyer loses?
Update: Ebay has posted that this is a message glitch. Even though the message reported that the case would be counted against seller, that it was not being counted.
-------------------
Just an update to my case that was opened 3 months after payment. The buyer escalated the case after 3 days and this was eBay's decision:
-------------------
Just an update to my case that was opened 3 months after payment. The buyer escalated the case after 3 days and this was eBay's decision:
"eBay Customer Support has reviewed the case and made a final decision.The buyer is not eligible for a refund.
Decision: This case was decided in the buyer's favor. Although you won't have to reimburse your buyer for this transaction, the case will still be counted when determining your seller standing.
You can also view the details of this case in the Resolution Center."
Decision: This case was decided in the buyer's favor. Although you won't have to reimburse your buyer for this transaction, the case will still be counted when determining your seller standing.
You can also view the details of this case in the Resolution Center."
So it looks like allowing buyers to open up cases after
45 days is a way to put marks on sellers accounts without going against
their terms of service and making them refund.
=========
I just don't know what to say. That is an atrocious report.
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Seller-Central/More-Disputes-Coming/5200147175?start=750
Posted by user
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Seller-Central/More-Disputes-Coming/5200147175?start=750
Posted by user
Friday, March 22, 2013
Ebay why?: combined shipping gotchas
I've learned a lot of stuff regarding ebay's combined shipping invoices during the past year.
Mostly, non-intuitive gotchas. Stuff which seems like it should work, but just doesn't work.
1. 30 days (or is it 32?) after sale, no item can be combined into an invoice. Even worse, seller can't send any invoice at all. Buyer can of course still leave feedback.
2. If the UID assistant files the UID, the item cannot be part of any combined invoice.
3. Sometimes for unknown reasons, the combined invoice created by ebay just doesn't include some items (nor does it offer the link to add more items).
===
Some suggestions to Ebay regarding combined shipping.
1. If an item is part of a combined shipment, don't lodge a tracking number strike until 24 hours after the last item in that package is paid for. That's what both buyers and sellers want.
2. All unpaid items to a particular buyer should be available for combined invoice.
3. If the UID is filed, create a way for seller to return the item to ordinary unpaid status, so that the item can be combined on an invoice.
Mostly, non-intuitive gotchas. Stuff which seems like it should work, but just doesn't work.
1. 30 days (or is it 32?) after sale, no item can be combined into an invoice. Even worse, seller can't send any invoice at all. Buyer can of course still leave feedback.
2. If the UID assistant files the UID, the item cannot be part of any combined invoice.
3. Sometimes for unknown reasons, the combined invoice created by ebay just doesn't include some items (nor does it offer the link to add more items).
===
Some suggestions to Ebay regarding combined shipping.
1. If an item is part of a combined shipment, don't lodge a tracking number strike until 24 hours after the last item in that package is paid for. That's what both buyers and sellers want.
2. All unpaid items to a particular buyer should be available for combined invoice.
3. If the UID is filed, create a way for seller to return the item to ordinary unpaid status, so that the item can be combined on an invoice.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
BIN to not be sold until paid. No more need for IPR?
Beginning in May, eligible fixed price listings and auction-style
listings purchased with Buy It Now will remain for sale until a buyer
has paid for the item. This change will be rolled out slowly over the
course of the year and will eliminate a significant number of unpaid
items on eBay by the end of 2013.
Near as I can tell, this is a solid win all the way around, because it allows seller to quote combined shipping while buyer is deciding. Buyer can "buy", but the buy isn't for real until buyer pays. And between buying and paying, buyer can request total.
There has always been a major tension between unpaid items and combined shipping. If Ebay can resolve that tension, good for them.
IPR has worked fine for single sales, but leaves a combined shipping mess.
Please, please Ebay. Don't give buyer a strike for failing to pay for this kind of item.
Lastly, we find this quote:
If you do not use the combined shipping discounts feature, buyers must also click the Request Total button in the Shopping Cart to request a new invoice reflecting their shipping discount.
This means one of two things.
1. The shopping cart will be modified to include a "Request Total" link.
2. What they're talking about is the current Request Total after buying but before paying.
Either will be fine, so long as buyer has the option of declining to proceed after learning the combined shipping.
Near as I can tell, this is a solid win all the way around, because it allows seller to quote combined shipping while buyer is deciding. Buyer can "buy", but the buy isn't for real until buyer pays. And between buying and paying, buyer can request total.
There has always been a major tension between unpaid items and combined shipping. If Ebay can resolve that tension, good for them.
IPR has worked fine for single sales, but leaves a combined shipping mess.
Please, please Ebay. Don't give buyer a strike for failing to pay for this kind of item.
Lastly, we find this quote:
If you do not use the combined shipping discounts feature, buyers must also click the Request Total button in the Shopping Cart to request a new invoice reflecting their shipping discount.
This means one of two things.
1. The shopping cart will be modified to include a "Request Total" link.
2. What they're talking about is the current Request Total after buying but before paying.
Either will be fine, so long as buyer has the option of declining to proceed after learning the combined shipping.
Feedback to be removed when seller wins dispute
Starting May 1, as part of eBay’s ongoing commitment to ensure a fair
and safe marketplace for all buyers and sellers, you’ll be protected
from feedback and detailed seller ratings on any case filed against you
that is resolved in your favor by eBay.
This seems good for sellers, but it's a two edged sword.
Sellers who lose the case get both a lost dispute strike and bad DSRs. The double whammy, with almost no way to use sympathy to get them removed.
Losing the case will become more common, as sellers pursue the victory, but fail to understand the decision process.
SNAD disputes seem particularly perilous.
Related, no protection from buyers who neg because seller refuses to pay return shipping.
This seems good for sellers, but it's a two edged sword.
Sellers who lose the case get both a lost dispute strike and bad DSRs. The double whammy, with almost no way to use sympathy to get them removed.
Losing the case will become more common, as sellers pursue the victory, but fail to understand the decision process.
SNAD disputes seem particularly perilous.
Related, no protection from buyers who neg because seller refuses to pay return shipping.
Listing fee suggestion: reward small sellers who acutally sell
I think Ebay continues to miss the boat with regards to small sellers, meaning sellers who do less than $20,000 per year of business including shipping.
They might occasionally listen to small sellers, but they don't actually experience the angst of the various fees and fears.
Suggestion: of the 50 free listings, give one back when the item sells!
That increases the attraction of Ebay's "catalog", the body of all listings, thus resulting in more buyers but most obviously it gets sellers focused on making sales rather than putting up overpriced listings.
Yes, this means drop the push to get small sellers into a basic store, and replace it with a push to sell. As defined now, the basic store is a bad business proposition, just drop it.
They might occasionally listen to small sellers, but they don't actually experience the angst of the various fees and fears.
Suggestion: of the 50 free listings, give one back when the item sells!
That increases the attraction of Ebay's "catalog", the body of all listings, thus resulting in more buyers but most obviously it gets sellers focused on making sales rather than putting up overpriced listings.
Yes, this means drop the push to get small sellers into a basic store, and replace it with a push to sell. As defined now, the basic store is a bad business proposition, just drop it.
Comment on New Fee Schedule
Today, Ebay announced a new upcoming fee schedule.
Some good, but a lot of what are they thinking?
Good: for small time sellers. The now traditional 50 free listings per month can be BINs as well as Auctions. That's good, because BINs are the right way to sell some items.
WWTT: After using the 50 monthly listings, subsequent listings cost 30c. No more 10c listings of 99c auctions. Why? Presumably to drive anyone selling over 50 items per month into a store. But...
WWTT: Basic store gives 150 free listings of any time, 100 more than no store. If one is intending to list 150 items, the extra 100 cost $20 rather than $30. Given the commitment, it just doesn't seem compelling.
The Wild Card: free listings. The past 5 days have been free listing days. For the first time, free either BIN or Auction. I don't think Ebay can give them up, they really do benefit the bottom line. Offer free listings, and sales surge.
Bet on most small sellers sticking with no store, and holding on for a free listing day.
Other fee changes:
1. No more quasi-BIN auctions, with the BIN price just over auction start price. Now, the BIN has to be 30% higher. I think Ebay solved this problem (and it was a problem) with both a belt and suspenders. The free BINs would have gone a long ways.
2. FVF goes up from 9% to 10% without a store. Just to make the store 9% better in comparison. Bah.
====================================================
Some good, but a lot of what are they thinking?
Good: for small time sellers. The now traditional 50 free listings per month can be BINs as well as Auctions. That's good, because BINs are the right way to sell some items.
WWTT: After using the 50 monthly listings, subsequent listings cost 30c. No more 10c listings of 99c auctions. Why? Presumably to drive anyone selling over 50 items per month into a store. But...
WWTT: Basic store gives 150 free listings of any time, 100 more than no store. If one is intending to list 150 items, the extra 100 cost $20 rather than $30. Given the commitment, it just doesn't seem compelling.
The Wild Card: free listings. The past 5 days have been free listing days. For the first time, free either BIN or Auction. I don't think Ebay can give them up, they really do benefit the bottom line. Offer free listings, and sales surge.
Bet on most small sellers sticking with no store, and holding on for a free listing day.
Other fee changes:
1. No more quasi-BIN auctions, with the BIN price just over auction start price. Now, the BIN has to be 30% higher. I think Ebay solved this problem (and it was a problem) with both a belt and suspenders. The free BINs would have gone a long ways.
2. FVF goes up from 9% to 10% without a store. Just to make the store 9% better in comparison. Bah.
====================================================
| New Everyday Rate Plans | Subscription Fee (Subscriptions auto‑renew) | Free Listings§ | Additional Listings§ (After your monthly free listings, charges per listing) |
Final Value Fees§ (Maximum fee $250, with percentages based on the total amount of the sale) Top Rated Plus listings get a 20% discount | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Per month, with yearly subscription | No insertion fees (Auction-style or fixed price) |
Auction | Fixed price‡ | ||||||||||||||
| Standard Fees^ (no eBay Stores subscription) | N/A | N/A | Up to 50 FREE listings per month | 30¢ | 30¢ | 10% | ||||||||||||
| eBay Stores^ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Basic Store | $19.95 | $15.95 | Up to 150 FREE listings per month | 25¢ | 20¢ |
|
||||||||||||
| Premium Store | $59.95 | $49.95 | Up to 500 FREE listings per month | 15¢ | 10¢ | |||||||||||||
| Anchor Store | $199.95 | $179.95 | Up to 2500 FREE listings per month | 10¢ | 5¢ | |||||||||||||
| ‡ If you list in Books, DVDs & Movies, Music & Video Games additional listing fee is only 5¢ for fixed price. ^ The standard fees are effective April 16, 2013 and eBay Stores fees are effective May 1, 2013. Fees are subject to change. eBay Stores subscriptions automatically renew until cancelled. § Pay no insertion fees for allotted free listings per calendar month. Optional fees, including advanced listing upgrades and supplemental service fees, and final value fees still apply. Motors Vehicles, Real Estate, Heavy Equipment, Concession Trailers & Carts, Imaging & Aesthetics Equipment and Commercial Printing Presses are excluded. Terms are subject to change. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday, March 14, 2013
UPS useful to Ebay sellers at all?
Today's announcement regards a continuation of Ebay's relationship with UPS. Apparently there was a plan to discontinue.
I'm always hopeful that UPS might be useful to me, so I went to check it out. Apparently, here's as good as it gets:
Example Savings
Here is the cost for a four pound package shipped via UPS Ground from New York to San Francisco compared to Priority Mail and Parcel Post.
=====================================
You see the problem.
As good as it gets is still higher than USPS, unless you're shipping to a commercial address.
I mostly don't ship to commercial addresses.
I'm always hopeful that UPS might be useful to me, so I went to check it out. Apparently, here's as good as it gets:
Example Savings
Here is the cost for a four pound package shipped via UPS Ground from New York to San Francisco compared to Priority Mail and Parcel Post.
| Commercial Address | Residential Address | |||
| UPS Ground** | $9.64 | UPS Ground** | $12.39 | |
| USPS Priority Mail | $15.46 | USPS Priority Mail | $15.46 | |
| USPS Parcel Post | $12.09 | USPS Parcel Post | $12.09 | |
=====================================
You see the problem.
As good as it gets is still higher than USPS, unless you're shipping to a commercial address.
I mostly don't ship to commercial addresses.
Ebay PLEASE fix: The dreaded stale description problem
The stale description problem I've blogged multiple times before is not fixed. I've seen three incidences over the past week.
The general nature of Ebay's defect seems clear: the programmer expects the browser to present a coherent new listing back to the software.
The browser fails, for unknown reasons, to uphold this responsibility.
Ebay then creates a sell-similar listing while losing a new description.
No doubt the Ebay programmer feels that it's not Ebay's problem. Seller should be using a responsible browser. But now it's happened on multiple browsers.
Ebay, please fix.
Sequence:
1. sell similar
2. revise to create new listing, including a new description
3. post the listing.
4. look at description, find the old stale description. Worst, look at the stale description after buyer complains that what was shipped does not match the description.
The general nature of Ebay's defect seems clear: the programmer expects the browser to present a coherent new listing back to the software.
The browser fails, for unknown reasons, to uphold this responsibility.
Ebay then creates a sell-similar listing while losing a new description.
No doubt the Ebay programmer feels that it's not Ebay's problem. Seller should be using a responsible browser. But now it's happened on multiple browsers.
Ebay, please fix.
Sequence:
1. sell similar
2. revise to create new listing, including a new description
3. post the listing.
4. look at description, find the old stale description. Worst, look at the stale description after buyer complains that what was shipped does not match the description.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Ebay vs Chrome: Some speculation on the stale description problem
During 2012, by far the worst problem with Ebay software was the stale description problem.
Starting with "sell similar", then creating a new listing, the old description would sometimes return. A disastrous effect when buyer relies on the wrong description.
One of the things I stopped doing a while back was using Google Chrome. It's a memory hog almost beyond belief. The hogness may well be related to memory leaks. In any case, I got tired of it taking five full minutes to get started in the morning, and ceased to use Chrome.
No more "script can't run" or "script is taking too long" kinds of notifications. No more "Windows is increasing the size of your paging file". No more picture loader silently refuses to view a picture. No more lots of stuff. But most importantly, so far, no more stale descriptions.
We know that Ebay software engineers are not at peace with Chrome. We know that because in at least one place they strongly recommend against using Chrome.
Here's the speculation part. Ebay trusts the browser to present a coherent listing.
And, facing memory pressure, Chrome cannot be trusted. It silently drops changes. The listing presented back with a submit is missing the essential changes.
Starting with "sell similar", then creating a new listing, the old description would sometimes return. A disastrous effect when buyer relies on the wrong description.
One of the things I stopped doing a while back was using Google Chrome. It's a memory hog almost beyond belief. The hogness may well be related to memory leaks. In any case, I got tired of it taking five full minutes to get started in the morning, and ceased to use Chrome.
No more "script can't run" or "script is taking too long" kinds of notifications. No more "Windows is increasing the size of your paging file". No more picture loader silently refuses to view a picture. No more lots of stuff. But most importantly, so far, no more stale descriptions.
We know that Ebay software engineers are not at peace with Chrome. We know that because in at least one place they strongly recommend against using Chrome.
Here's the speculation part. Ebay trusts the browser to present a coherent listing.
And, facing memory pressure, Chrome cannot be trusted. It silently drops changes. The listing presented back with a submit is missing the essential changes.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Unbelievable: Ebay can't do Parcel Post any more
What 's with these guys??
No Parcel Post. And no, it's not a naming issue. Parcel Post may be becoming Parcel Select, but Ebay can't do that either. Until, um, maybe some time in March.
Sellers with Parcel Quote calculated shipping are just SOL. Basically, they have to pay Priority rate, or take their package to the Post Office, and deal with such things as DC on their own.
Unbelievable.
No Parcel Post. And no, it's not a naming issue. Parcel Post may be becoming Parcel Select, but Ebay can't do that either. Until, um, maybe some time in March.
Sellers with Parcel Quote calculated shipping are just SOL. Basically, they have to pay Priority rate, or take their package to the Post Office, and deal with such things as DC on their own.
Unbelievable.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Ebay please fix: glitch results in multiple payment with no report
Those of us who use Ebay starting around 11PM PST are used to "information not available" kinds of messages on the pages.
And, we're used to error reports when trying to pay for postage or items.
Doing maintenance, ok, they have to do that sometimes.
Sunday night I paid for two items I had purchased. Error message said "try again", so I did. Twice. Same error. Logging on to paypal showed that something was amiss. No recent transaction data was available. Ok, paypal down for maintenance. Wait until morning.
Monday morning, my items were still awaiting payment. I paid, and all seemed well.
My seller sent a message, "you might want to check your Paypal account, I was paid four times". And indeed, I had paid four times. The first three were not connected to any Ebay transaction. They were just there, payments from me to seller.
No indication from either Ebay or Paypal of any problem whatsoever. Waiting through the Paypal phone queue got the money straightened out, although they reversed the wrong payments and ended up with my Ebay purchases showing reversed Paypal transactions. I don't expect to use buyer protection, but if I did, that will no doubt take another call or two.
Makes me wonder. I can recall paying for postage in the past, and having it not go through.
Bottom line: if your paypal payment fails, check your paypal account before paying again. Expect to see where you paid, even though nothing is marked paid.
And, we're used to error reports when trying to pay for postage or items.
Doing maintenance, ok, they have to do that sometimes.
Sunday night I paid for two items I had purchased. Error message said "try again", so I did. Twice. Same error. Logging on to paypal showed that something was amiss. No recent transaction data was available. Ok, paypal down for maintenance. Wait until morning.
Monday morning, my items were still awaiting payment. I paid, and all seemed well.
My seller sent a message, "you might want to check your Paypal account, I was paid four times". And indeed, I had paid four times. The first three were not connected to any Ebay transaction. They were just there, payments from me to seller.
No indication from either Ebay or Paypal of any problem whatsoever. Waiting through the Paypal phone queue got the money straightened out, although they reversed the wrong payments and ended up with my Ebay purchases showing reversed Paypal transactions. I don't expect to use buyer protection, but if I did, that will no doubt take another call or two.
Makes me wonder. I can recall paying for postage in the past, and having it not go through.
Bottom line: if your paypal payment fails, check your paypal account before paying again. Expect to see where you paid, even though nothing is marked paid.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Ebay please fix list: early year update.
Early 2013, a review of 2012 Ebay software defects and design flaws.
1. I don't know if it's good luck or ebay fixed something, but I haven't seen the stale description defect for about a month now. This was by far the most aggravating defect of 2012. Sell similar, modify the listing, and check it over later, only to see that the sell similar source description has re-appeared.
A different variation of this defect appeared for a while. The "duplicate item" complaint. Upon completing a "sell similar", Ebay put up a message that since this item was the same as some other item, it would not be indexed for searching until the other one had a bid. However, they did not tell you which item it matched. Eventually, it became clear that what Ebay was comparing was the sell similar source and the stale copy of the modified new listing.
2. Regional Box support. No progress.
A, B labels can be printed, but the calculator can't calculate the price.
C label cannot be printed or calculated, meaning that they really cannot be offered by a seller who uses Ebay shipping labels.
3. Vacation mode allows purchase with IPR. No report of progress here.
4. Catalog matches but not quite. Ebay has _tried_ to do something about this, with that special condition box which appears right up front. What they don't of course do is to figure out what to do with actual buyer confusion, when the catalog claims it comes with a bunch of stuff which isn't included with this particular one being sold used. They leave sorting out such contradictions to seller, with seller paying any penalty.
5. Way to mark a transaction "I don't intend to leave feedback". No report of progress.
A seller dread: buyer requests "please don't leave me feedback". Dude, there ain't no way to do that except that seller personally remembers it.
6. Way to break paypal link for shipping from ebay. No report of progress.
Note that ebay got this precisely correct for their automation of purchase payment. There is a link right on the payment page which breaks the paypal-ebay account link. Such links need to be breakable from either account perspective.
7. End listing reason being ignored (they all are reported as "item no longer for sale") No report of progress.
8. Tracking number upload timing for unusual cases. No report of progress.
When buyer does a Local Pickup on an item with specified shipping, or buyer pays, then requests the item be held for combined shipping, ebay still punishes sellers for not shipping immediately. Also includes Paypal demand to not ship for fraud prevention, and cases where an immediate refund was granted by buyer request.
9. TRS qualification gotchas. It can take about 2.5 months after a seller literally qualifies for TRS until that status is actually achieved. Not sure what ebay thinks they have to gain by this aggravation.
10. Picture upload unreliability. Hard defect regarding cancelled action on picture. Intermittent defect when upload fails for no reason. No progress for over a year now.
11. Shopping cart combined shipping. Shopping cart remains useless. Cannot request combined shipping from single seller across multiple dissimilar items.
12. Seller being dunned to leave feedback after UID assistant has closed the transaction. This one would be addressed by allowing seller to say "I don't intend to leave feedback", or at least dropping the dun when seller can't leave feedback.
1. I don't know if it's good luck or ebay fixed something, but I haven't seen the stale description defect for about a month now. This was by far the most aggravating defect of 2012. Sell similar, modify the listing, and check it over later, only to see that the sell similar source description has re-appeared.
A different variation of this defect appeared for a while. The "duplicate item" complaint. Upon completing a "sell similar", Ebay put up a message that since this item was the same as some other item, it would not be indexed for searching until the other one had a bid. However, they did not tell you which item it matched. Eventually, it became clear that what Ebay was comparing was the sell similar source and the stale copy of the modified new listing.
2. Regional Box support. No progress.
A, B labels can be printed, but the calculator can't calculate the price.
C label cannot be printed or calculated, meaning that they really cannot be offered by a seller who uses Ebay shipping labels.
3. Vacation mode allows purchase with IPR. No report of progress here.
4. Catalog matches but not quite. Ebay has _tried_ to do something about this, with that special condition box which appears right up front. What they don't of course do is to figure out what to do with actual buyer confusion, when the catalog claims it comes with a bunch of stuff which isn't included with this particular one being sold used. They leave sorting out such contradictions to seller, with seller paying any penalty.
5. Way to mark a transaction "I don't intend to leave feedback". No report of progress.
A seller dread: buyer requests "please don't leave me feedback". Dude, there ain't no way to do that except that seller personally remembers it.
6. Way to break paypal link for shipping from ebay. No report of progress.
Note that ebay got this precisely correct for their automation of purchase payment. There is a link right on the payment page which breaks the paypal-ebay account link. Such links need to be breakable from either account perspective.
7. End listing reason being ignored (they all are reported as "item no longer for sale") No report of progress.
8. Tracking number upload timing for unusual cases. No report of progress.
When buyer does a Local Pickup on an item with specified shipping, or buyer pays, then requests the item be held for combined shipping, ebay still punishes sellers for not shipping immediately. Also includes Paypal demand to not ship for fraud prevention, and cases where an immediate refund was granted by buyer request.
9. TRS qualification gotchas. It can take about 2.5 months after a seller literally qualifies for TRS until that status is actually achieved. Not sure what ebay thinks they have to gain by this aggravation.
10. Picture upload unreliability. Hard defect regarding cancelled action on picture. Intermittent defect when upload fails for no reason. No progress for over a year now.
11. Shopping cart combined shipping. Shopping cart remains useless. Cannot request combined shipping from single seller across multiple dissimilar items.
12. Seller being dunned to leave feedback after UID assistant has closed the transaction. This one would be addressed by allowing seller to say "I don't intend to leave feedback", or at least dropping the dun when seller can't leave feedback.
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