Problem solving 24/7: The eBay community
Do you have questions about selling on eBay or want to know more about tools, listing optimization, marketing? Do you just want to network and exchange ideas with like-minded people? There’s a central place for that: the eBay Community. Here, sellers, eBay employees, and consulting experts come together to exchange experiences and find solutions together – around the clock and with the community’s collective knowledge.
In this episode, Oliver Mirring, Team Lead of the eBay Customer Value Creation Team, talks with host Lisa Haak about what makes the eBay Community so valuable and how sellers can benefit from it.
Oliver shares practical tips for using the platform effectively and explains which rules of conduct create a constructive and helpful atmosphere. This is how the eBay Community remains an interactive place for solving problems and finding inspiration.
Curious? Then listen in now!
**Important Links**
- eBay Community
- eBay for Business on Facebook
- eBay for Business on Instagram
- More info about the eBay podcast “Alles top. Gerne wieder!” and our podcast hosts
** Chapter markers **
- 00:00:00 to 00:02:49: Intro
- 00:02:49 to 00:07:39: What does community mean?
- 00:07:39 to 00:17:55: How does the eBay Community work?
- 00:17:55 to 00:26:56: Which topics have a place in the eBay Community?
- 00:26:56 to 00:29:29: Outro
Lisa: Whether you’re just starting out selling or have been at it for a long time. Sometimes questions come up for which there פשוט isn’t a right answer. And that’s exactly where the eBay Community comes in. It’s the place for knowledge transfer and problem solving. In this episode, you’ll find out how to get answers faster, avoid common mistakes, and use real success stories from the community for your own benefit. In short, how the community helps you sell even more successfully.
Oliver: And that’s what makes this forum, this platform, so great: you can give constructive feedback as equals, and we look at it and then, I’d say, points are really kicked off, processes are kicked off to improve the product. And that’s very, very important to me in this context. We want our sellers and buyers to be very honest, to voice their opinions.
Lisa: Welcome to Alles top. Gerne wieder! The eBay podcast all about commerce and e-commerce. I’m Lisa Haak, and today it’s all about one of the most important resources for everyone selling on eBay: the eBay Community. Today we’re talking about best practices, typical stumbling blocks, and real success stories from our community. And maybe this episode will inspire you to become part of the network yourself. For that, I naturally have a guest with me again today. Oliver Mehring. Team Lead in our Customer Value Creation Team. He knows the eBay Community inside out, because with his team he makes sure that sellers are supported as well as possible and knows exactly what challenges exist on our platform and so. Hello and a warm welcome, Oliver.
Oliver: Moin, hi.
Lisa: Hi to our listeners. I’m not going to call you Oliver. I usually call you Oli. Is that okay on this podcast too?
Oliver: In this case, yes.
Lisa: That’s great. Oli, we know each other. Did you bring a fun fact that gives our listeners a slightly better picture of who’s sitting here at the mic?
Oliver: Uh, yeah. Now you’re springing that on me. Let me think for a second. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure if you know the boxer Henry Maske? By reputation, he was a very successful boxer in the GDR. And back then, ages and ages ago. When I was still doing folk dancing in primary school, he came to us and picked me out from 20, 25 children and praised me for what a good dancer I was. I thought that was insane. Especially since I didn’t know Henry Maske at the time, of course. But when I got home and told my parents about it, they were over the moon. Yeah, if that’s already a fun fact, then I’d say.
Lisa: So many more questions and absolutely insane. Is there a photo of little Oli with Henry Maske?
Oliver: Yes, but I will never show that to you.
Lisa: Okay, then let’s get to the more important, but also insane, topics. Today it’s all about community. And when I was thinking a bit about this podcast, I started thinking about what my own definition of community actually is, and I immediately thought of it as standing for something shared. A, a sense of belonging, that it’s definitely a group of people I want to reach or where I feel I’m part of it. That was kind of my definition. But what do you do in 2025 when you’re looking for a definition? You ask ChatGPT. And that’s exactly what I did. And I came pretty close to the whole thing. Because ChatGPT says the term community refers to a group of people who share common interests, values, or goals and are often connected by social, cultural, economic, or geographic characteristics. Communities can exist in different forms, such as geographic communities, online communities, interest-based communities, cultural or ethnic communities, professional communities. And they often offer support, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to exchange resources and information. They play an important role in the social fabric and can exist in both physical and virtual spaces. And I thought, “Great,” I’ll just read that out and then we’re done.
Oliver: Yes, then I wish you a nice day.
Lisa: No, what would you say if you think of community? Also a bit from your job background? What’s your definition of community?
Oliver: Yes, you mentioned it very briefly. For me, when I hear the term community, exchange is always the defining feature, no matter where, no matter how, and especially in the eBay context, no matter when. That means when I think about the community and also the eBay Community, I know that many problems and questions are handled not only by our customer service, but also by other members, by other eBayers, who can support and are happy to help. And I think the headline for me, community, always means communication and exchange.
Lisa: Yes, I can definitely sign up to that. I think it’s important to say here once again that both of us, in our job profiles, when we’re not sitting behind these mics, have something to do with community. You with your teams—you take care of the eBay Community platform that eBay has for merchants, and I, as Head of Seller and Brand Community, take care of how we can address everyone who wants to exchange ideas with us commercially under Seller and Brand, how we can bring them together. In our team we deal a lot with events and our social media channels. And that’s kind of a double use of the term community, but it still says: everyone comes together, exchanges ideas, and above all it’s also about knowledge transfer, right?
Oliver: Yes, absolutely. And I think, to add to that, our common denominator is the person, or rather the seller, the buyer, or the seller, and also the buyer. I think that’s always at the forefront of every task we do here at eBay. Every day we try to do the best we can to make selling on eBay, but also buying on eBay, a little easier and better.
Lisa: What would you say, why is it so important for sellers to exchange ideas with other sellers? And what is perhaps the motivation one should have to get involved in this community?
Oliver: I think one huge advantage, both with the eBay Community and generally on community pages, is the low barrier to asking questions there. From my own experience, I know that sometimes you think, oh, I can’t call customer service now just to ask how to set something up on eBay. They’ll think I’m stupid, but I believe that’s exactly not a stupid question and absolutely a valid one. And I think if I can overcome a barrier, then it’s through our community platform. That would be point number one, and point number two is the twenty four seven approach. That means our community can always be reached. There’s always someone there reading along, writing along, and able to help. And I think that’s a great complement to the customer service we offer. Because, let’s be honest, there are so many topics on our platform and in general, and I’m also talking about regulations outside our platform, for example. And we can’t always give the 100% correct answer. And that’s always nice when my team and I look through the posts. And we’re happy every day when we see members writing great answers there. In the middle of the night, at three in the morning, whenever, and whatever the feedback ends up being in the end.
Lisa: We’ve talked more than once about the platform, the forum, or posts. Can you explain again for listeners who’ve never heard of the eBay Community what the eBay Community is?
Oliver: Yes, maybe generally it should also be said that our community page is relatively hidden on the platform. There are two ways to get there. The first way would be to go to the eBay.de homepage. Scroll all the way down and in the footer there’s the Community section, or on every eBay help page, if you scroll all the way down, there’s the option to go directly to the community. Just to say that upfront. Once I’m in there, there are several ways to take part in the community. There’s the member helps member option. That means there are certain mentors. If I ask a question, I get an answer from these mentors.
Lisa: And are those all eBay sellers?
Oliver: Exactly. And maybe, again upfront, we also have a team that works at eBay and is exclusively responsible for community posts. That would be the first case. Or the second case would be the discussion area. There, really every eBayer, everyone who has an eBay account, can take part, write answers, ask questions themselves, of course also post them there. And that’s how the exchange we all find so great ultimately comes about. On top of that, there’s not just our community team, which we can find via the eBay.de page, but also another team that looks after our social media platforms, and there we also make sure that we can provide support or answer questions directly via direct message.
Lisa: For example on Facebook or Instagram.
Oliver: Exactly.
Lisa: Yes, I think the community—and we’ll get to what topics are discussed there in a moment—shows in several areas that this seller helps seller principle works really well in the eBay Community, but also outside the community. Which is always our appeal when we talk about events, for example: that people simply network, start exchanging ideas, and among like-minded people perhaps find an answer more easily, and maybe even discuss a more specific case. And it also takes away a bit of the feeling of loneliness when dealing with your eBay business, because you might find colleagues there who are dealing with the same issues, right?
Oliver: Yes, absolutely. And I think you’re also bringing up another case right now, and I’d add to it the point, I’d say, of venting, blowing off steam. Of course, we know we’re not perfect. We work every day, as I said at the beginning, on our product, and there are certainly still problems here and there, and that’s what makes this forum, this platform, so great: you can give constructive feedback as equals, and we look at it and then, I’d say, points are really kicked off, processes are kicked off to improve the product. And that’s very, very important to me in this context. We want our sellers and buyers to be very honest, to voice their opinions. We think that’s great, because that’s the only way we can get better. Of course, that always has to be limited a bit, because it has to stay polite. That’s very, very clear. But I think this exchange, not just what you just meant, sharing knowledge and expertise, but simply saying “I don’t get any of this, I think it’s stupid, please help me,” and then we come in and are happy to help.
Lisa: I think there are two points in there. On the one hand, you used the phrase blowing off steam, and to be fair, when I sometimes see comments under our social media posts or go into the community and read along there, I do have to take a deep breath, because it’s not always nice and friendly, and it’s not always super positive. I think it doesn’t always have to be positive, but blowing off steam still has to be handled in a respectful way and follows certain rules. Are there dos and don’ts in the community, or how do you deal with it when things maybe stop being so respectful?
Oliver: Exactly. We already have what I’d call so-called netiquette. We’ll link that here in the show notes as well. We’ve included a separate link for that. Sure. I think such netiquette rules can be found on many, many platforms. What’s important to me is that it’s not meant to limit their opinion, but rather we want to use our platform to encourage everyone to be honest, as you just said. So really say where it hurts. But always, I’d say, constructively and as equals, not from above. So from either side. And that’s simply the point: if there’s a problem or, as we said, blowing off steam, then in the end we also have a proposed solution and can say, okay, totally understood, let’s work on it.
Lisa: Which may then also be shared in the community and help others again. And I think such a code of conduct, netiquette, whatever you want to call it, is super important so that the conversation in the community can continue on equal footing and remains solution-oriented, and the fronts don’t harden. And that sounds very negative now, but most threads we have in the community are very much aimed at helping and very positive. And I think we should also thank our community for that, because you mentioned mentors. That’s a super important factor for us. The community thrives on people getting involved, sharing their knowledge in the community, sharing experience reports, and without them our community wouldn’t have nearly as much substance.
Oliver: Absolutely. I can only underscore that. Our mentor program really includes mentors who have a lot of experience, who of course also know our netiquette rules, and with whom we also work very closely internally at eBay. Where we also say, sometimes something may get stuck because the answer didn’t come or. Also, I’d say, if a post is written, a contribution is written, and after 48 hours nothing is still happening. Then they go in again and put their finger on the wound. And I can really only encourage that. We’ll also put a link in the show notes here for applying to the mentor program, because I want to stress this again here: it’s amazing what a great job the mentors do. And it’s not something to take for granted, and it’s a benefit for everyone. So I think not only those who get answers from mentors, but the mentors themselves also benefit from it.
Lisa: You’ve now talked about mentors. Can you briefly define who the mentors are in the eBay Community?
Oliver: Yes, short and sweet: they’re basically sellers, buyers who appreciate and love the eBay product, know it very well, and simply enjoy exchanging ideas and giving support.
Lisa: And even if you don’t get involved, you definitely benefit from going into the community and reading along there too. Because we also proactively put content in there, i.e. content that we send out via social media or our emails, for example. That content also shows up in the community. I think that’s another important point. Earlier, when we were talking about how it has to happen as equals, you made a very important point about bringing topics along too. Because our product is only ever as good as the feedback we receive and the demand from the market. And that’s why it’s also important to hear what isn’t working. But can you maybe give a bit more insight into how we collect feedback from the community, how it’s taken on board? And is there perhaps something motivating about really doing it, because it then leads to results?
Oliver: Exactly. Maybe, first of all, about the point I just mentioned, which I also find great and which is often overlooked because it’s perhaps so obvious when you want to use the community. And you just said it. You don’t always necessarily have to post topics yourself. There’s the simple option of entering a search term into the search field, and then all the posts that have already been answered or written on that topic appear. You can actually filter those again by date and so on, and then you also have very current points to look at. And to your second question, or your question: How do we deal with it? It really is like this: as I said earlier, when posts are written, we sit down at least once a week and look at what the most hotly discussed posts were? Where was there a lot of feedback, where did things maybe get emotional? That was the topic of blowing off steam just now. We look at that together as a team in a weekly check-in. But the teammates on my team also proactively reach out to individual stakeholders from the team, individual contacts and groups, and ask whatever it may be—legal, regulatory, product topics. We go in there and ask, “Hey, we got a request in the community, we don’t actually know the answer right now, please help us out.” And then, as a rule, we have at most 48 hours before we get an internal answer to a question. And we pass that straight on to the community.
Lisa: I think that’s an important point, that you give that back. What I can definitely say from my own experience is that it helps in so many ways that we look at reports, things we’ve read in the community. There are reports in leadership circles that are really looked at at certain times, where the hotly discussed topics are then prepared there. So it’s super important for us here at eBay in the offices too.
Oliver: Yes, especially when I think about it again now. Last year on the roadshow. I keep hearing about topics where, for example, a seller told me, well, whether I post something there or not, nobody reads it anyway. And that is definitely not the case! We scan several hundred posts every day, look closely at what’s being written there. And certainly, as we said, we’re not perfect and we make mistakes, and sometimes one or another post slips through the cracks. But we make every effort every day to do our best and, above all, to take every single request seriously.
Lisa: So if you’re not part of the eBay Community yet, definitely take a look—it’s worth it. Oli already told you earlier. You can simply find the community all the way down in our footer on the website under the Community tab. At the bottom of every help page or if you just search for the URL eBay.de/Community. Or of course, as Olli introduced it brilliantly, we’ll put the link in our show notes. If you already have experience with the eBay Community, let us know. Either through the Q&A features in the Spotify app or, of course, through our eBay Community itself. Olli, you and your teams are in the eBay Community every day. You know the topics that keep coming up there again and again. What are the typical questions, problems, and stumbling blocks discussed in the community?
Oliver: In general, these are very different topics. We really have very, “in quotation marks,” simple questions, such as “Can someone help me again with multi-discounts or all our marketing options?” But it can also get a bit more specific, especially when it comes to account restrictions, suspensions, and I also read this very, very often, quasi personal account consultations. That means I ask a question and hope for the answer to something like I don’t know where to list a new product right now, and then the answer comes: “You can do that here and there. Oh, and I took a look at your account and noticed you definitely need to do this, this, and this so you don’t get a warning, etc.” So I just think that’s a great thing too. We have great seller programs like the Starter Program, the Pro Trader Program, the Account Management Program. They’re fantastic. But sometimes you just don’t want to take that step yet, where it’s exactly about that kind of advice. But in our case, especially in the community context, many people also make the effort and dive a bit deeper into the subject, scan the accounts, I’d say, and directly give support, even though that actually wasn’t the answer that was needed.
Lisa: An important point is also that there are already a huge number of threads. If I have a topic now and don’t necessarily want to be the first person to open it up, how do I find existing threads or answers to my problem in existing threads?
Oliver: Yes, exactly, good question. Often you don’t want to post directly and maybe expose yourself by seeing, okay, the same question was already asked yesterday, so it’s relatively simple. Through the route you described, I get to the eBay community page. If I take that route, I land on our landing page and there, as we also know from Google, among other places, there’s a search bar where I can type in a question. And once I’ve entered that, I get the answers directly in the form of posts and can also filter them again by date, etc., and then really find very up-to-date posts on it.
Lisa: Great, thank you very much! We’ve got two clear advantages of the eBay Community that you’ve already listed. On the one hand, the community is of course available around the clock, and on the other hand, sellers help each other. How is that lived in practice? And do you see that it continues outside the community as well?
Oliver: Yes, that’s very, very interesting to observe. We see that we naturally have the discussions in the posts, sometimes more, sometimes less. But we also notice that sometimes that’s just the beginning of a development, of, I’d say, a seller relationship. That means we’ve actually seen cases where questions were answered, where support was given, and where, in a way, a friendship grew out of it and then they helped each other in business and then, “in quotation marks,” also met privately and said, “Come on, let’s do this together, I’ll show you how it works, inventory management, etc. etc.” So that’s great. Of course, we don’t see that every day, to be honest that should also be said.
Lisa: But you also have to say, we see that at our events or at our seller meetups, where we see that participants partly know each other from the community or met at a previous event. Or also in the eBay Community. It’s also part of an e-commerce community and people exchange ideas and get to know each other there in the most varied networks. And I think that’s such an important point—that you simply have to overcome that hesitation, start participating in such a community or even just read along at first, so that you can then move on and possibly also take part in some meetups or events and and exchange ideas beyond the eBay Community.
Oliver: Yes, and it’s also interesting to see that in practice, especially at events like the roadshow or trade fairs, when by chance you hear, “Oh wow, you’re Oliver or you’re seller XY, you really do exist.” You hear that often, and not “We always thought there were robots behind that or it’s outsourced and sitting somewhere, just not here in the area.” But that’s also a nice compliment, because then we see, hey, cool, we’re there, we’re on site, we’re on the product, and we’re also there for our customers and happy to help them.
Lisa: Oli, there are definitely topics that can be handled better or less well in the community. What are some standard or good topics that can be discussed in the community?
Oliver: Basically, pretty much everything. We don’t have any points where we say that’s not discussed. Every topic has actually been brought up at least once, but I think especially topics around regulations, such as the General Product Safety Regulation, the platform, the Tax Transparency Act. Those are the kinds of topics that often generate a lot of need for discussion and where we can help. But I also want to point out again that in many such cases we can only help to a limited extent because we don’t provide any advice. We’re not allowed to give legal advice, and of course we help up to the point where we’re allowed and able to help. And then, exactly, those are the most important points.
Lisa: Yes, that’s a super important point, that in some cases we simply can’t communicate further at this point as eBay because we’re not tax advisors or legal advisors. We’re happy to share all the information we have and are happy to advise. But that’s exactly where the wisdom of the crowd comes into play, which we’ve already brought up. And then the exchange of experience and, if need be, support from mentors or from other sellers becomes super, super important in order to learn more. A lively community thrives on people who get involved. I think we’ve made that point clear. We’ve gathered opinions in the community together and captured what our sellers have to say about the eBay Community. Let’s start with a voice message we received.
Uwe: My name is Uwe Döring and I mainly sell used comic magazines on eBay. The eBay Community is a place for me where I get and find answers to all topics related to eBay. I receive information and updates about eBay and can exchange ideas with other members. A community thrives on the diversity of its members. That’s why it’s interesting when new members find their way here. What matters for them first is to read everything and a lot. There are numerous topics that have already been discussed and offer a rich wealth of experience around eBay. You can find answers, but you can also bring up new questions here at any time. Experienced helpers are often and always there when needed. In the community you can be critical and address problems too. A place to let off personal frustration. But that’s not what it is. The general rules of conduct should also be mastered by new members.
Lisa: Yes, I brought a few quotes with me. For example, we have a seller here who says, and I quote, “My highlight in 2024 was the friendly users of this community. Here I was able to get to know a few nice fellow sellers with whom I enjoy exchanging ideas” or “The highlight is the community including the team, meeting many new things and people. The search function here is also great. If you search for something, you usually find exactly what you wanted to know.” Open exchange moves us all forward, and I think we can of course look at very specific topics about dedicated problems the sellers had here. But overall it still describes pretty well what it’s all about, namely the exchange we already talked about at the beginning. Because this exchange, no matter what it’s about, whether it’s smaller or bigger problems, ultimately moves us forward. And our sellers, of course, also the female sellers.
Oliver: That’s almost a nice closing line. I think you can say we know our eBay Community thrives on our sellers meeting each other at our events, on our social media platforms, or in our eBay Community, in our own forum. To wrap up, we’ll play a little round of “This or That.” I’ll give you two options and you decide quickly. Which one are you ready for?
Lisa: No. Yes.
Oliver: An unopened original Game Boy from the 90s or a limited sneaker edition?
Oliver: Game Boy! So that...
Lisa: That’s beyond question, right?
Oliver: Of course.
Lisa: Never pay shipping again or always get 10% off all purchases?
Oliver: 10% off, yes.
Lisa: So you can use that for the free-shipping offers on eBay?
Lisa: Exactly, well, it’s for peace of mind.
Lisa: Never an auction again or never Buy It Now again.
Oliver: Oh, I think never Buy It Now again, because I find auctions so exciting and I wouldn’t want to miss that thrill.
Lisa: Oli, thank you very much. I think we’ve been able to give listeners from our eBay Community a good sense here that the community is super important to us, that we draw a lot of information from it. But our big goal is also simply to create a platform where sellers can exchange ideas. And that’s exactly what we do when we want to address our community through all the topics we cover, like this podcast here, the events we create for our commercial sellers, our social media channels, and so on. Thank you for all the exciting insights into the world of the eBay Community and a little more about what your team actually does every day. And I hope we’ve highlighted the benefits of this platform and motivated lots of people to get involved in the eBay Community now. Thank you very much, Oli.
Oliver: Thank you too for having me here and thank you to you. But I’d also like to give a big thank you to my team, who do a great job every day, who put in the effort, who take the training, who are happy to share this knowledge, but also, of course. I already mentioned it earlier—to everyone who’s active in eBay’s communities, who write posts, who are happy to answer. A big thank you there too and keep it up and, yes, Alles top.
Oliver: Alles Top. Gerne wieder!
Oliver: And that’s what makes this forum, this platform, so great: you can give constructive feedback as equals, and we look at it and then, I’d say, points are really kicked off, processes are kicked off to improve the product. And that’s very, very important to me in this context. We want our sellers and buyers to be very honest, to voice their opinions.
Lisa: Welcome to Alles top. Gerne wieder! The eBay podcast all about commerce and e-commerce. I’m Lisa Haak, and today it’s all about one of the most important resources for everyone selling on eBay: the eBay Community. Today we’re talking about best practices, typical stumbling blocks, and real success stories from our community. And maybe this episode will inspire you to become part of the network yourself. For that, I naturally have a guest with me again today. Oliver Mehring. Team Lead in our Customer Value Creation Team. He knows the eBay Community inside out, because with his team he makes sure that sellers are supported as well as possible and knows exactly what challenges exist on our platform and so. Hello and a warm welcome, Oliver.
Oliver: Moin, hi.
Lisa: Hi to our listeners. I’m not going to call you Oliver. I usually call you Oli. Is that okay on this podcast too?
Oliver: In this case, yes.
Lisa: That’s great. Oli, we know each other. Did you bring a fun fact that gives our listeners a slightly better picture of who’s sitting here at the mic?
Oliver: Uh, yeah. Now you’re springing that on me. Let me think for a second. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure if you know the boxer Henry Maske? By reputation, he was a very successful boxer in the GDR. And back then, ages and ages ago. When I was still doing folk dancing in primary school, he came to us and picked me out from 20, 25 children and praised me for what a good dancer I was. I thought that was insane. Especially since I didn’t know Henry Maske at the time, of course. But when I got home and told my parents about it, they were over the moon. Yeah, if that’s already a fun fact, then I’d say.
Lisa: So many more questions and absolutely insane. Is there a photo of little Oli with Henry Maske?
Oliver: Yes, but I will never show that to you.
Lisa: Okay, then let’s get to the more important, but also insane, topics. Today it’s all about community. And when I was thinking a bit about this podcast, I started thinking about what my own definition of community actually is, and I immediately thought of it as standing for something shared. A, a sense of belonging, that it’s definitely a group of people I want to reach or where I feel I’m part of it. That was kind of my definition. But what do you do in 2025 when you’re looking for a definition? You ask ChatGPT. And that’s exactly what I did. And I came pretty close to the whole thing. Because ChatGPT says the term community refers to a group of people who share common interests, values, or goals and are often connected by social, cultural, economic, or geographic characteristics. Communities can exist in different forms, such as geographic communities, online communities, interest-based communities, cultural or ethnic communities, professional communities. And they often offer support, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to exchange resources and information. They play an important role in the social fabric and can exist in both physical and virtual spaces. And I thought, “Great,” I’ll just read that out and then we’re done.
Oliver: Yes, then I wish you a nice day.
Lisa: No, what would you say if you think of community? Also a bit from your job background? What’s your definition of community?
Oliver: Yes, you mentioned it very briefly. For me, when I hear the term community, exchange is always the defining feature, no matter where, no matter how, and especially in the eBay context, no matter when. That means when I think about the community and also the eBay Community, I know that many problems and questions are handled not only by our customer service, but also by other members, by other eBayers, who can support and are happy to help. And I think the headline for me, community, always means communication and exchange.
Lisa: Yes, I can definitely sign up to that. I think it’s important to say here once again that both of us, in our job profiles, when we’re not sitting behind these mics, have something to do with community. You with your teams—you take care of the eBay Community platform that eBay has for merchants, and I, as Head of Seller and Brand Community, take care of how we can address everyone who wants to exchange ideas with us commercially under Seller and Brand, how we can bring them together. In our team we deal a lot with events and our social media channels. And that’s kind of a double use of the term community, but it still says: everyone comes together, exchanges ideas, and above all it’s also about knowledge transfer, right?
Oliver: Yes, absolutely. And I think, to add to that, our common denominator is the person, or rather the seller, the buyer, or the seller, and also the buyer. I think that’s always at the forefront of every task we do here at eBay. Every day we try to do the best we can to make selling on eBay, but also buying on eBay, a little easier and better.
Lisa: What would you say, why is it so important for sellers to exchange ideas with other sellers? And what is perhaps the motivation one should have to get involved in this community?
Oliver: I think one huge advantage, both with the eBay Community and generally on community pages, is the low barrier to asking questions there. From my own experience, I know that sometimes you think, oh, I can’t call customer service now just to ask how to set something up on eBay. They’ll think I’m stupid, but I believe that’s exactly not a stupid question and absolutely a valid one. And I think if I can overcome a barrier, then it’s through our community platform. That would be point number one, and point number two is the twenty four seven approach. That means our community can always be reached. There’s always someone there reading along, writing along, and able to help. And I think that’s a great complement to the customer service we offer. Because, let’s be honest, there are so many topics on our platform and in general, and I’m also talking about regulations outside our platform, for example. And we can’t always give the 100% correct answer. And that’s always nice when my team and I look through the posts. And we’re happy every day when we see members writing great answers there. In the middle of the night, at three in the morning, whenever, and whatever the feedback ends up being in the end.
Lisa: We’ve talked more than once about the platform, the forum, or posts. Can you explain again for listeners who’ve never heard of the eBay Community what the eBay Community is?
Oliver: Yes, maybe generally it should also be said that our community page is relatively hidden on the platform. There are two ways to get there. The first way would be to go to the eBay.de homepage. Scroll all the way down and in the footer there’s the Community section, or on every eBay help page, if you scroll all the way down, there’s the option to go directly to the community. Just to say that upfront. Once I’m in there, there are several ways to take part in the community. There’s the member helps member option. That means there are certain mentors. If I ask a question, I get an answer from these mentors.
Lisa: And are those all eBay sellers?
Oliver: Exactly. And maybe, again upfront, we also have a team that works at eBay and is exclusively responsible for community posts. That would be the first case. Or the second case would be the discussion area. There, really every eBayer, everyone who has an eBay account, can take part, write answers, ask questions themselves, of course also post them there. And that’s how the exchange we all find so great ultimately comes about. On top of that, there’s not just our community team, which we can find via the eBay.de page, but also another team that looks after our social media platforms, and there we also make sure that we can provide support or answer questions directly via direct message.
Lisa: For example on Facebook or Instagram.
Oliver: Exactly.
Lisa: Yes, I think the community—and we’ll get to what topics are discussed there in a moment—shows in several areas that this seller helps seller principle works really well in the eBay Community, but also outside the community. Which is always our appeal when we talk about events, for example: that people simply network, start exchanging ideas, and among like-minded people perhaps find an answer more easily, and maybe even discuss a more specific case. And it also takes away a bit of the feeling of loneliness when dealing with your eBay business, because you might find colleagues there who are dealing with the same issues, right?
Oliver: Yes, absolutely. And I think you’re also bringing up another case right now, and I’d add to it the point, I’d say, of venting, blowing off steam. Of course, we know we’re not perfect. We work every day, as I said at the beginning, on our product, and there are certainly still problems here and there, and that’s what makes this forum, this platform, so great: you can give constructive feedback as equals, and we look at it and then, I’d say, points are really kicked off, processes are kicked off to improve the product. And that’s very, very important to me in this context. We want our sellers and buyers to be very honest, to voice their opinions. We think that’s great, because that’s the only way we can get better. Of course, that always has to be limited a bit, because it has to stay polite. That’s very, very clear. But I think this exchange, not just what you just meant, sharing knowledge and expertise, but simply saying “I don’t get any of this, I think it’s stupid, please help me,” and then we come in and are happy to help.
Lisa: I think there are two points in there. On the one hand, you used the phrase blowing off steam, and to be fair, when I sometimes see comments under our social media posts or go into the community and read along there, I do have to take a deep breath, because it’s not always nice and friendly, and it’s not always super positive. I think it doesn’t always have to be positive, but blowing off steam still has to be handled in a respectful way and follows certain rules. Are there dos and don’ts in the community, or how do you deal with it when things maybe stop being so respectful?
Oliver: Exactly. We already have what I’d call so-called netiquette. We’ll link that here in the show notes as well. We’ve included a separate link for that. Sure. I think such netiquette rules can be found on many, many platforms. What’s important to me is that it’s not meant to limit their opinion, but rather we want to use our platform to encourage everyone to be honest, as you just said. So really say where it hurts. But always, I’d say, constructively and as equals, not from above. So from either side. And that’s simply the point: if there’s a problem or, as we said, blowing off steam, then in the end we also have a proposed solution and can say, okay, totally understood, let’s work on it.
Lisa: Which may then also be shared in the community and help others again. And I think such a code of conduct, netiquette, whatever you want to call it, is super important so that the conversation in the community can continue on equal footing and remains solution-oriented, and the fronts don’t harden. And that sounds very negative now, but most threads we have in the community are very much aimed at helping and very positive. And I think we should also thank our community for that, because you mentioned mentors. That’s a super important factor for us. The community thrives on people getting involved, sharing their knowledge in the community, sharing experience reports, and without them our community wouldn’t have nearly as much substance.
Oliver: Absolutely. I can only underscore that. Our mentor program really includes mentors who have a lot of experience, who of course also know our netiquette rules, and with whom we also work very closely internally at eBay. Where we also say, sometimes something may get stuck because the answer didn’t come or. Also, I’d say, if a post is written, a contribution is written, and after 48 hours nothing is still happening. Then they go in again and put their finger on the wound. And I can really only encourage that. We’ll also put a link in the show notes here for applying to the mentor program, because I want to stress this again here: it’s amazing what a great job the mentors do. And it’s not something to take for granted, and it’s a benefit for everyone. So I think not only those who get answers from mentors, but the mentors themselves also benefit from it.
Lisa: You’ve now talked about mentors. Can you briefly define who the mentors are in the eBay Community?
Oliver: Yes, short and sweet: they’re basically sellers, buyers who appreciate and love the eBay product, know it very well, and simply enjoy exchanging ideas and giving support.
Lisa: And even if you don’t get involved, you definitely benefit from going into the community and reading along there too. Because we also proactively put content in there, i.e. content that we send out via social media or our emails, for example. That content also shows up in the community. I think that’s another important point. Earlier, when we were talking about how it has to happen as equals, you made a very important point about bringing topics along too. Because our product is only ever as good as the feedback we receive and the demand from the market. And that’s why it’s also important to hear what isn’t working. But can you maybe give a bit more insight into how we collect feedback from the community, how it’s taken on board? And is there perhaps something motivating about really doing it, because it then leads to results?
Oliver: Exactly. Maybe, first of all, about the point I just mentioned, which I also find great and which is often overlooked because it’s perhaps so obvious when you want to use the community. And you just said it. You don’t always necessarily have to post topics yourself. There’s the simple option of entering a search term into the search field, and then all the posts that have already been answered or written on that topic appear. You can actually filter those again by date and so on, and then you also have very current points to look at. And to your second question, or your question: How do we deal with it? It really is like this: as I said earlier, when posts are written, we sit down at least once a week and look at what the most hotly discussed posts were? Where was there a lot of feedback, where did things maybe get emotional? That was the topic of blowing off steam just now. We look at that together as a team in a weekly check-in. But the teammates on my team also proactively reach out to individual stakeholders from the team, individual contacts and groups, and ask whatever it may be—legal, regulatory, product topics. We go in there and ask, “Hey, we got a request in the community, we don’t actually know the answer right now, please help us out.” And then, as a rule, we have at most 48 hours before we get an internal answer to a question. And we pass that straight on to the community.
Lisa: I think that’s an important point, that you give that back. What I can definitely say from my own experience is that it helps in so many ways that we look at reports, things we’ve read in the community. There are reports in leadership circles that are really looked at at certain times, where the hotly discussed topics are then prepared there. So it’s super important for us here at eBay in the offices too.
Oliver: Yes, especially when I think about it again now. Last year on the roadshow. I keep hearing about topics where, for example, a seller told me, well, whether I post something there or not, nobody reads it anyway. And that is definitely not the case! We scan several hundred posts every day, look closely at what’s being written there. And certainly, as we said, we’re not perfect and we make mistakes, and sometimes one or another post slips through the cracks. But we make every effort every day to do our best and, above all, to take every single request seriously.
Lisa: So if you’re not part of the eBay Community yet, definitely take a look—it’s worth it. Oli already told you earlier. You can simply find the community all the way down in our footer on the website under the Community tab. At the bottom of every help page or if you just search for the URL eBay.de/Community. Or of course, as Olli introduced it brilliantly, we’ll put the link in our show notes. If you already have experience with the eBay Community, let us know. Either through the Q&A features in the Spotify app or, of course, through our eBay Community itself. Olli, you and your teams are in the eBay Community every day. You know the topics that keep coming up there again and again. What are the typical questions, problems, and stumbling blocks discussed in the community?
Oliver: In general, these are very different topics. We really have very, “in quotation marks,” simple questions, such as “Can someone help me again with multi-discounts or all our marketing options?” But it can also get a bit more specific, especially when it comes to account restrictions, suspensions, and I also read this very, very often, quasi personal account consultations. That means I ask a question and hope for the answer to something like I don’t know where to list a new product right now, and then the answer comes: “You can do that here and there. Oh, and I took a look at your account and noticed you definitely need to do this, this, and this so you don’t get a warning, etc.” So I just think that’s a great thing too. We have great seller programs like the Starter Program, the Pro Trader Program, the Account Management Program. They’re fantastic. But sometimes you just don’t want to take that step yet, where it’s exactly about that kind of advice. But in our case, especially in the community context, many people also make the effort and dive a bit deeper into the subject, scan the accounts, I’d say, and directly give support, even though that actually wasn’t the answer that was needed.
Lisa: An important point is also that there are already a huge number of threads. If I have a topic now and don’t necessarily want to be the first person to open it up, how do I find existing threads or answers to my problem in existing threads?
Oliver: Yes, exactly, good question. Often you don’t want to post directly and maybe expose yourself by seeing, okay, the same question was already asked yesterday, so it’s relatively simple. Through the route you described, I get to the eBay community page. If I take that route, I land on our landing page and there, as we also know from Google, among other places, there’s a search bar where I can type in a question. And once I’ve entered that, I get the answers directly in the form of posts and can also filter them again by date, etc., and then really find very up-to-date posts on it.
Lisa: Great, thank you very much! We’ve got two clear advantages of the eBay Community that you’ve already listed. On the one hand, the community is of course available around the clock, and on the other hand, sellers help each other. How is that lived in practice? And do you see that it continues outside the community as well?
Oliver: Yes, that’s very, very interesting to observe. We see that we naturally have the discussions in the posts, sometimes more, sometimes less. But we also notice that sometimes that’s just the beginning of a development, of, I’d say, a seller relationship. That means we’ve actually seen cases where questions were answered, where support was given, and where, in a way, a friendship grew out of it and then they helped each other in business and then, “in quotation marks,” also met privately and said, “Come on, let’s do this together, I’ll show you how it works, inventory management, etc. etc.” So that’s great. Of course, we don’t see that every day, to be honest that should also be said.
Lisa: But you also have to say, we see that at our events or at our seller meetups, where we see that participants partly know each other from the community or met at a previous event. Or also in the eBay Community. It’s also part of an e-commerce community and people exchange ideas and get to know each other there in the most varied networks. And I think that’s such an important point—that you simply have to overcome that hesitation, start participating in such a community or even just read along at first, so that you can then move on and possibly also take part in some meetups or events and and exchange ideas beyond the eBay Community.
Oliver: Yes, and it’s also interesting to see that in practice, especially at events like the roadshow or trade fairs, when by chance you hear, “Oh wow, you’re Oliver or you’re seller XY, you really do exist.” You hear that often, and not “We always thought there were robots behind that or it’s outsourced and sitting somewhere, just not here in the area.” But that’s also a nice compliment, because then we see, hey, cool, we’re there, we’re on site, we’re on the product, and we’re also there for our customers and happy to help them.
Lisa: Oli, there are definitely topics that can be handled better or less well in the community. What are some standard or good topics that can be discussed in the community?
Oliver: Basically, pretty much everything. We don’t have any points where we say that’s not discussed. Every topic has actually been brought up at least once, but I think especially topics around regulations, such as the General Product Safety Regulation, the platform, the Tax Transparency Act. Those are the kinds of topics that often generate a lot of need for discussion and where we can help. But I also want to point out again that in many such cases we can only help to a limited extent because we don’t provide any advice. We’re not allowed to give legal advice, and of course we help up to the point where we’re allowed and able to help. And then, exactly, those are the most important points.
Lisa: Yes, that’s a super important point, that in some cases we simply can’t communicate further at this point as eBay because we’re not tax advisors or legal advisors. We’re happy to share all the information we have and are happy to advise. But that’s exactly where the wisdom of the crowd comes into play, which we’ve already brought up. And then the exchange of experience and, if need be, support from mentors or from other sellers becomes super, super important in order to learn more. A lively community thrives on people who get involved. I think we’ve made that point clear. We’ve gathered opinions in the community together and captured what our sellers have to say about the eBay Community. Let’s start with a voice message we received.
Uwe: My name is Uwe Döring and I mainly sell used comic magazines on eBay. The eBay Community is a place for me where I get and find answers to all topics related to eBay. I receive information and updates about eBay and can exchange ideas with other members. A community thrives on the diversity of its members. That’s why it’s interesting when new members find their way here. What matters for them first is to read everything and a lot. There are numerous topics that have already been discussed and offer a rich wealth of experience around eBay. You can find answers, but you can also bring up new questions here at any time. Experienced helpers are often and always there when needed. In the community you can be critical and address problems too. A place to let off personal frustration. But that’s not what it is. The general rules of conduct should also be mastered by new members.
Lisa: Yes, I brought a few quotes with me. For example, we have a seller here who says, and I quote, “My highlight in 2024 was the friendly users of this community. Here I was able to get to know a few nice fellow sellers with whom I enjoy exchanging ideas” or “The highlight is the community including the team, meeting many new things and people. The search function here is also great. If you search for something, you usually find exactly what you wanted to know.” Open exchange moves us all forward, and I think we can of course look at very specific topics about dedicated problems the sellers had here. But overall it still describes pretty well what it’s all about, namely the exchange we already talked about at the beginning. Because this exchange, no matter what it’s about, whether it’s smaller or bigger problems, ultimately moves us forward. And our sellers, of course, also the female sellers.
Oliver: That’s almost a nice closing line. I think you can say we know our eBay Community thrives on our sellers meeting each other at our events, on our social media platforms, or in our eBay Community, in our own forum. To wrap up, we’ll play a little round of “This or That.” I’ll give you two options and you decide quickly. Which one are you ready for?
Lisa: No. Yes.
Oliver: An unopened original Game Boy from the 90s or a limited sneaker edition?
Oliver: Game Boy! So that...
Lisa: That’s beyond question, right?
Oliver: Of course.
Lisa: Never pay shipping again or always get 10% off all purchases?
Oliver: 10% off, yes.
Lisa: So you can use that for the free-shipping offers on eBay?
Lisa: Exactly, well, it’s for peace of mind.
Lisa: Never an auction again or never Buy It Now again.
Oliver: Oh, I think never Buy It Now again, because I find auctions so exciting and I wouldn’t want to miss that thrill.
Lisa: Oli, thank you very much. I think we’ve been able to give listeners from our eBay Community a good sense here that the community is super important to us, that we draw a lot of information from it. But our big goal is also simply to create a platform where sellers can exchange ideas. And that’s exactly what we do when we want to address our community through all the topics we cover, like this podcast here, the events we create for our commercial sellers, our social media channels, and so on. Thank you for all the exciting insights into the world of the eBay Community and a little more about what your team actually does every day. And I hope we’ve highlighted the benefits of this platform and motivated lots of people to get involved in the eBay Community now. Thank you very much, Oli.
Oliver: Thank you too for having me here and thank you to you. But I’d also like to give a big thank you to my team, who do a great job every day, who put in the effort, who take the training, who are happy to share this knowledge, but also, of course. I already mentioned it earlier—to everyone who’s active in eBay’s communities, who write posts, who are happy to answer. A big thank you there too and keep it up and, yes, Alles top.
Oliver: Alles Top. Gerne wieder!
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2 comments
s.ersatzteile
·1 year agoHello
How do I get items from the order list that were processed under pickup and the buyer can't give me the pickup code??
anatigras
·1 year ago · EditedI can no longer list any items on Ebay, Sell.
When I click on Create listing, the screen shown in the photo opens.
Now I want to create "Single offer", but then it doesn't go any further.....