🗨 Welcome to the general eBay Q&A on 16/03/22 | eBay Q&A Session | eBay Germany

🗨 Welcome to the general eBay Q&A on 16/03/22 | eBay Q&A Session | eBay Germany

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eBay Q&A Session

🗨 Welcome to the general eBay Q&A on 16/03/22

Hello everyone!

Thank you very much for taking part in the eBay Q&A session with the eBay Community Team.

Since we don’t have a special topic this week, please feel free to post your general buying or selling questions here. To help us answer your questions more quickly, we ask you to post one question per post. Of course, you can post as many entries in the eBay Q&A session as you like - in fact, we want you to!

The Q&A session will remain open until 3:00 PM. After that, it will be closed for any further questions. Of course, we will continue to make sure that all questions that may still be unanswered are answered – please give us a little time for that 🙏.

To ask your question, click Reply in the bottom right corner of this post, enter your question, and click “Reply” between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. The format of the eBay Q&A session reflects the format of our community discussion forums, where all posts appear chronologically. The Community Team answers each incoming question in that order and then quotes the original question in the respective reply. This quote and the answer appear later chronologically and therefore further down.

Questions that we cannot answer directly during the hour will be handled by us with a link to the answer.

If you unfortunately missed the eBay Q&A session, we’d be happy if you posted your question directly in the Community or simply waited until the next Q&A session.

Best regards

Your eBay Community Team

community-team@ebay eBay Team

eBay Team

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Posted 4 years ago·Last reply 4 years ago

39 comments

hansjoerg1958

·4 years ago

hello,

I just have one question: how can you tell whether the seller is reputable?

best regards hansjoerg1958

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@hansjoerg1958 wrote:

hello,

I just have one question: how can you determine whether the seller is reputable?

best regards hansjoerg1958

Hello @hansjoerg1958! I recommend reading about this in our security portal. Under Safe Buying you’ll find many helpful tips that can help you assess how reputable sellers are 🙂. You are covered by our Buyer Protection if the item does not arrive, is delivered defective, or does not match the item description.

Kind regards
Miriam

bootyooty

·4 years ago

Hello 😊 the person who asked the question here

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Mitglieder-helfen-Mitgliedern/Aktualisierung-der-Nutzungsbedingungen-f%C3%BCr-die/m-p/4551691#M32902

has links in the mail that apparently don't work, do you know anything about that?

Best, booty

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@bootyooty wrote:

Hii 😊 the person asking the question here

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Mitglieder-helfen-Mitgliedern/Aktualisierung-der-Nutzungsbedingungen-f%C3%BCr-die/m-p/4551691#M32902

has links in the email that apparently don't work, do you know anything about that?

Best, booty

Thanks for the reminder, @bootyooty! We are already looking into this observation.

Here again is the link to the current version of the terms of use for payment processing at eBay.

Kind regards
Miriam

pehr-99

·4 years ago

I have a question. What happens if you don't log into your account for at least 2 years—does it get deactivated then? Because I can't get in with my username anymore.

patrick@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@pehr-99 wrote:

I have a question. What happens if someone hasn't used their account for at least 2 years—will it then be deactivated? Because I can no longer log in with my username.

Hello @pehr-99 ,

If you have received an email about deletion and do not want your account to be deleted, a login to the specified account must take place within 7 days of the email's sending date. If this does not happen and the account has been deleted, the only thing you can do is open a new account in order to continue using eBay in the future.

These are general protective measures to ensure your data and to prevent an unwanted takeover of an account.

Best regards

Patrick

passionepassato

·4 years ago

Hi Miriam, hi Patrick, and also hi to the silent readers who are following along, among whom I used to count myself too. 🙂

So my problem today is comparable to that of another seller. Namely, the defects I get slapped with because of shipping. Until recently I had a three-day processing time. Despite dropping off on time at the shop, I get a defect for almost every item because of delayed shipping.

I ship with Hermes, am absolutely satisfied with the service provider, and don’t want to switch. In the end there was a defect rate of over 30% that I’ve been working hard on, and I now ship on the same day as the sale or one day later. I’m now at 16.8%. My sales have dropped sharply since the 30%, and while customer service says I’m a great seller who does everything right, and I’d also have Top Seller since November, the shipment tracking doesn’t allow that. Even though, as I said, it’s shipped on time. I drop the parcels off myself at the shop and have them scanned there right away when I hand them over. Still, shipment tracking shows that so far I’ve only printed the label. In rare cases, tracking even only starts once it has already arrived at the customer’s. Most of my customers are happy with my shipping time too, only a few are impatient and rely on the faulty tracking. I always send them the correct drop-off date, but those few still mark delayed arrival in the rating. Yet the vast majority driving my defect rate up has been automatically imposed by eBay. If I’ve read it right, that affects the ranking somewhat, and the missing Top Seller status is also a thorn in my side. You have to wonder why you bust a gut and hop off to the Hermes shop if it’s clear anyway that defects will be counted.

As an example, the sold netsuke for €550 from 14/3. I dropped it off at the shop the following day, 15/3 at 2:37 p.m. However, it shows 16/3.

Since I’m trying to get down from 16.8%, I set the processing time to 1 day BZ to be able to sell better, and that works too — after weeks of drought, you sell a few things again.

Only now I’m getting a defect for all sales again, so exactly the opposite is happening. Instead of going down, my defects are going up.

If I raise the processing time again, I can already see the next sales drought coming my way. A vicious circle.

The defects department denies any help despite documented on-time drop-off at the shop.

You get punished because the system doesn’t work with the automated defect allocation.

And they don’t want to delete them either because the receipt isn’t taken into account; they only look at the faulty shipment status. This can’t go on like this. And if it keeps going like this, I’ll soon see myself leaving the platform below average and with my bags packed because of no sales.

They were able to help the seller with the DHL problem; I hope they can also remove the unfair defects for me with Hermes. After three refusals from customer service, you are my last hope here that I won’t completely drive the account into the wall by showing a proper, quickly implemented processing time....

Many greetings

Jeanette

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@passionepassato wrote:

Hi Miriam, hi Patrick, and also hi to the silent readers who are following along, among whom I once counted myself. 🙂

So my issue today is comparable to that of another seller. Namely, the defects I get imposed on me because of shipping. Until recently, I had a three-day processing time. Despite dropping it off at the shop on time, I get a defect for almost every item because of delayed shipping.

[...]

Hello @passionepassato! Your case requires a bit more processing time and we will discuss your matter internally after the Q&A session. As soon as there is feedback for you, I will update my reply here again > Update 23.3.2022.

If you would like to discuss this after the Q&A session (perhaps also with other like-minded people), please start a new topic, for example in the Shipping area 🙂.

Best regards
Miriam

passionepassato

·4 years ago

Thanks for taking care of this. The problem has existed since 2013. Back then I could only have the defects that were caused automatically removed by phone, 5 at a time; that no longer works nowadays. They always refer to the shipping history, and that is exactly the reason why a defect even occurs in the first place; if the dispatch were recorded after scanning, I would already be a top seller. It’s not about the discount for me, rather about moving up in the ranking like would be customary as a Toppi. I don’t need to discuss it with the others. Only you can still help there 🙂

The problem is probably with Hermes itself. According to the Hermes hotline, they would have to renew the entire technology nationwide, which isn’t possible, at least not without enormous financial effort.

The shipping time you state via Hermes (1 to 3 business days) is also absolutely unrealistic. Depending on the location, they need an average of 3 to 6 business days. Maybe that’s why the system keeps screwing me over 🙂 Do you still remember my carrot and stick? It’s still the stick 🙂

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@passionepassato wrote:

Hi Miriam, hi Patrick, and also hi to the silent lurkers reading along, among whom I once was too. 🙂

So my problem today is a similar one to that of another seller. Namely, the defects I get slapped with because of shipping. Until recently, I had a three-day processing time. Even though I drop things off at the shop on time, I get a defect for almost every item because of delayed shipping.

[...]

Update: Hello @passionepassato! We have reviewed your situation internally again, and I have to inform you that in these cases we currently unfortunately cannot remove the defects received if the customer service has issued a rejection. We are very heavily dependent here on the data provided by the shipping carriers. But rest assured that your feedback has been received, and we are currently checking whether anything can be changed in the current defect removal process.

Your criticism has been received, thank you very much for that!

Best regards
Miriam

perfect-sally

·4 years ago

eBay introduces Klarna's payment options “buy now, pay later” and “installment purchase”

We are in constant exchange with buyers at eBay and incorporate their wishes into the design of our platform. How they can pay at eBay.de is one of our priorities.

I’d be interested to know WHICH buyers eBay is supposedly talking to??? Why aren’t the SELLERS asked whether they even want to offer this payment method??? With Klarna, even instant bank transfer doesn’t work smoothly, and yet new payment methods are supposed to be offered by this payment service provider of all companies?

patrick@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@perfect-sally wrote:

eBay introduces Klarna’s payment options “buy on account” and “installment purchase”

We are in constant exchange with buyers at eBay and take their wishes into account when designing our platform. How they can pay on eBay.de is one of our priorities.

I’d be interested to know WHICH buyers eBay is supposedly talking to here??? Why aren’t the SELLERS asked whether they even want to offer this payment method??? With Klarna, even the instant bank transfer doesn’t work smoothly, and yet new payment methods are supposed to be offered by this payment service provider of all companies?

Hello @perfect-sally ,

I’ll get back to you on this again once I have more information.

Best regards
Patrick

patrick@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@patrick@ebay wrote:

@perfect-sally wrote:

eBay is introducing Klarna’s payment options “Buy on account” and “Installment purchase”

We are in constant exchange with buyers at eBay and incorporate their wishes into the design of our platform. How they can pay on eBay.de is one of our priorities.

I’d be interested to know WHICH buyers ebay is supposedly exchanging ideas with??? Why aren’t the SELLERS asked whether they even want to offer this payment method??? With Klarna, even instant bank transfer doesn’t work smoothly, and yet new payment methods are supposed to be offered by this payment provider of all companies?

Hello @perfect-sally ,

I’ll get back to you on this once I have more information.

Best regards
Patrick

Hello @perfect-sally ,

as promised, here is an update.

Buy on account is one of the most popular payment methods in Germany. https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/So-bezahlen-Online-Shopper-am-liebsten
The introduction of the new payment options will take place gradually, with selected sellers initially offering both payment options over the coming weeks, followed by a broader rollout خلال the year.

Best regards
Patrick

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@perfect-sally wrote:
eBay introduces Klarna’s payment options “buy on account” and “installment purchase”
We are in constant communication with buyers on eBay and incorporate their wishes into the design of our platform. How they can pay on eBay.de is one of our priorities.

I’d be interested to know WHICH buyers eBay is supposedly communicating with there??? Why aren’t the SELLERS asked whether they even want to offer this payment method??? With Klarna, even Sofortüberweisung doesn’t work smoothly, and yet new payment methods are supposed to be offered by this payment service provider of all things?

The sellers didn’t offer that, eBay is doing that now!

perfect-sally

·4 years ago

What matters to me much more is the first sentence after the heading....something about constant exchange with buyers. I don't think buyers prioritize purchasing their goods via installment payments or buying on account.

In the end, that will only cause problems again, and the sellers will have to deal with it when the buyers don't meet their payment obligations. We've already seen for a long time how Klarna works, or doesn't work, as the case may be.

jogipo

·4 years ago

What happens if, despite tracking, a shipment goes missing on the way and is not delivered to the customer? I recently had a case where the Post tracking no longer continued after processing at the origin mail center. The processing at the destination mail center was not documented by the Post. After checking with the customer, fortunately he still received the goods. But what would have happened if the Post actually lost it between the origin and destination mail centers? According to the German Civil Code, as a private seller I’m "off the hook". How would you decide in such a case if the customer reports an item not received? Priority shipments aren’t insured after all...

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@jogipo wrote:

What happens if, despite tracking, a shipment gets lost in transit and isn’t delivered to the customer? I recently had a case where the postal tracking didn’t continue after processing at the origin letter center. The processing at the destination letter center was not documented by the postal service. After checking with the customer, luckily they still received the goods. But what would have happened if the post actually got lost between the origin & destination letter centers? According to the German Civil Code, I as a private seller am off the hook. How would you decide in such a case if the customer reports an item not received? Priority shipments aren’t insured, after all...

Hello @jogipo! In principle, sellers are responsible for delivering the item purchased. It must be sent to the delivery address specified in the eBay checkout process within the stated delivery time.

I’m glad the situation could be clarified; fortunately, that is the case with most eBay transactions. If this scenario happens to you, feel free to contact us so we can take a look at the specific case and find a solution.

A Priority letter is valid in eBay buyer protection cases at eBay if proof of delivery online can be provided and it contains both the status "delivered" (or similar), the delivery date, and the recipient’s address (at least city and country or postal code).

If the letter is “simply” dropped into the mailbox, there is no posting receipt for Priority shipping, by the way; that only applies if it is handed in at the branch 👍.

Kind regards
Miriam

jogipo

·4 years ago

Hi Miriam,

thanks for the reply. I still find it very sad that private providers here are being held responsible for the shipping risk contrary to the BGB. For me, that is the biggest problem with payment processing. So what do you think about the basic shipment tracking for the new Matrix stamps?

The Prio shipment also only reflects processing at the destination mail center - NOT delivery to the customer. So basic shipment tracking has the same function and can also be stored for the "normal" letter shipments.

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@jogipo wrote:

Hi Miriam,

thanks for the response. I still find it very sad that the private providers here are being held responsible for the shipping risk, contrary to the BGB. For me, that is the biggest problem with payment processing. What is your position on the basic shipment tracking for the new Matrix stamps?

The Prio shipment also only shows the processing in the destination letter center - NOT delivery to the customer. So the basic shipment tracking has the same function and can also be stored for the "normal" letter mailings.

Thanks, @jogipo! I’d like to clarify once again where we stand on the basic shipment tracking. You’ll find a final answer here by the start of next week at the latest 🙂.

Update 23/03/2022: Unfortunately, I still haven’t received a final response. We’re continuing to follow this up, and I’ll get back to you as soon as there’s news.

Best regards
Miriam

jogipo

·4 years ago

I have been selling my parents' and parents-in-law's inherited books at a fixed price of €1 for many years now. Since it's not about making a lot of money, but about making sure the books don't end up as waste paper, I usually offer shipping below the actual postage costs. Since the switch to payment processing and the associated obligation to provide tracking, my sales in that area have dropped by over 95% (formerly 5-10 books per month, now maybe one if I'm lucky). Reason: tens of thousands of books are still being offered with the cheap Büwa shipping method. Of course, I can't compete with Maxibrief Prio on price... So as a private seller, you're now forced either to be unable to sell anything at all anymore or to offer, at your own risk, the shipping methods that aren't actually desired (but can still be selected) . That's very unsatisfactory. Do you perhaps have another suggested solution?

patrick@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@jogipo wrote:

I’ve been selling the inherited books from my parents and parents-in-law for a fixed price of €1 for many years now. Since it’s not about making a lot of money, but about making sure the books don’t end up in the waste paper bin, I usually offer shipping below the actual postage costs. Since the switch to payment processing and the associated requirement for tracking, my sales in this area have dropped by more than 95% (formerly 5-10 books per month, now maybe one if I’m lucky). Reason: there are still tens of thousands of books being offered with the cheaper shipping method Büwa. Of course I can’t compete on price with Maxibrief Prio... So as a private seller, you’re now forced either to no longer be able to sell anything at all or to offer the actually not desired (but still selectable) shipping methods at your own risk. That’s very unsatisfactory. Do you perhaps have another solution suggestion?

Hello @jogipo ,

actually, this isn’t really our area of responsibility when it comes to advice on boosting sales, etc.
But yes, tracking with proof of delivery is required. My tip: probably sell a book as a bundle instead of individually. Then shipping will probably also be worth it 😉 if you sell 5 instead of 1.

Best regards

Patrick

jogipo

·4 years ago

Hello Patrick,

thanks anyway for the reply, even if it’s not your area of work. Since it’s difficult to put together suitable bundles for the old books that would then be more popular, I probably have no choice but to look for another sales channel for the books or offer cheaper shipping methods again at my own risk... 😞

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@jogipo wrote:
I’ve been selling the inherited books from my parents and parents-in-law for a fixed price of €1 for many years now. Since I’m not trying to make a lot of money from this, but rather to keep the books from ending up as waste paper, I usually offer shipping below the actual postage cost. Since the switch to payment processing and the associated obligation to provide tracking, my sales in this area have dropped by over 95% (used to be 5-10 books per month, now maybe one if I’m lucky). Reason: there are still tens of thousands of books being offered with the cheap Büwa shipping method. Of course I can’t compete on price with Maxibrief Prio... So as a private seller, you’re now forced either not to be able to sell anything anymore or, at your own risk, to offer the shipping methods that are actually not desired (but can still be selected). That’s very unsatisfying. Do you perhaps have another solution suggestion?

Before selling here with excessive fees and the risk of losing both goods and money: list it on K-, donate, flea market, library, town hall box...

jogipo

·4 years ago

Hello,

Finally I managed to make it to the Q&A session. Thanks, quarantine... 😕

For some time now, the "Sell" button in the top start bar (next to "Watchlist") has no longer taken me to the sales form, but instead to the overview page of active listings. Is that intended?

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@jogipo wrote:

Hello,

I finally made it to the Q&A session as well. Quarantine be praised... 😕

For some time now, the "Sell" button in the top start bar (next to "Watchlist") no longer leads to the sales form, but instead to the overview page of active listings. Is that intended?

Hello @jogipo and thanks for your question! I'm not aware of any change in this regard at the moment, and I can't reproduce the behavior with my private eBay account, but for accounts that have activated the Seller Hub Pro, it is indeed the case that you are redirected to "Manage active listings". Let me check; as soon as I have an answer, I'll update here 🙂.

*Update*
For quite some time now, this has been the normal click path - you can create listings in Seller Hub Pro via the blue button on the right-hand side.

We wish you a speedy recovery! 🤗

Best regards
Miriam

jogipo

·4 years ago

Hello Miriam,

Thanks very much for the reply. Does the button even make sense anymore if it no longer leads to what it was originally programmed for?

Thanks also for the get-well wishes. 🙂

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@jogipo wrote:
Hello,
finally I managed to make it to the Q&A session too. Thanks, quarantine... 😕
For some time now, the "Sell" button in the top start bar (next to "Watchlist") no longer leads to the sales form, but to the overview page of active listings. Is that intended?

I noticed that too while trying it out. At the top right you can select sales: Create listing

Single listing

Multiple listing (brings in more commission)

passionepassato

·4 years ago

Yay, first 🙂

steffi@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@passionepassato wrote:

Woohoo, first 🙂

😃

passionepassato

·4 years ago

Yay Steffi, I didn't greet you, I've always been reading Patrick and Miri. Manners are important, after all. 🙂

steffi@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@passionepassato wrote:

Yay Steffi, I didn't greet you, I'm always reading Patrick and Miri. Manners matter, after all. 🙂

No problem - that can happen sometimes ❤️.

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@passionepassato wrote:
Yay, first 🙂

Hi!

@community-team@ebay

Is something wrong with my email programs?

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Zahlungsabwicklung-bei-eBay/eBay-f%C3%BChrt-Klarnas-Zahlungsoptionen-Kauf-auf-Rechnung-und/m-p/4551647#M24074

miriam@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@Anonymous wrote:

@passionepassato wrote:

Yay, first 🙂

Hi there!

@community-team@ebay

Is something wrong with my email programs?

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Zahlungsabwicklung-bei-eBay/eBay-f%C3%BChrt-Klarnas-Zahlungsoptionen-Kauf-auf-Rechnung-und/m-p/4551647#M24074

Thanks @Anonymous - we're already looking into your report. In the meantime, you can read the terms and conditions for payment processing here 🙂.

Best regards
Miriam

passionepassato

·4 years ago

Hello my dear!! 😉

community-team@ebay

eBay Team

OP4 years ago

Welcome 🤗

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

Hello @community-team@ebay

When will eBay do something about all these cooking oil sellers?

patrick@ebay

eBay Team

Admin4 years ago

Community TeamView listings

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello @community-team@ebay

When is eBay going to do something about all these cooking oil sellers?

Hello @Anonymous ,

you’re probably already familiar with the topic: New scarce item: cooking oil or have already been following along there.
You’ll also find a reply from me there already. We have also additionally informed the responsible department and made them aware of it. What steps and processes will follow and whether they will be similar to the various coronavirus actions remains to be seen.

Best regards

Patrick

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@patrick@ebay wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello @community-team@ebay

When is eBay going to do something about all the cooking oil sellers?
Hello @Anonymous ,

you're probably already familiar with the topic: New scarce commodity: cooking oil or have already read along there.
You'll also find a reply from me there already. We have also informed and alerted the responsible department about this. Which steps and processes will follow and whether they will be similar to the various Corona actions remains to be seen.

Best regards
Patrick

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Kaufen-bei-eBay/Neue-Mangelware-Speise%C3%B6l/m-p/4551215#M14379

Most are still online or have been sold.

Anonymous User

·4 years ago

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello @community-team@ebay

When will eBay do something about all the cooking oil sellers?

Generally, the illegal sale of food items subject to monitoring by private sellers at extortionate prices, including the illegal production of the same.