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How to change the language.

(45 Replies / 46,603 Views)

staerdal (3) View Listings

Feb 13, 2011 10:59 PM

I recieve all my messages from e-bay in German and I dont understand german, how do I change this?

Page: 2 of 2

Last Post

May 9, 2013 07:47 PM

by wallowingcarrion (69

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hcspain (56

) View Listings

(24 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Jun 22, 2012 07:21 AM

This problem has been a issue for years now. It just seems that Ebay don't care.

The only way to change the language of your notifications is to start a new registration in the country whose language you want your notifications in (never mind that you'll lose your hard earned gold stars).

Seems a bit backward to me in this new multinational world we're supposed to live in.

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(25 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Jun 23, 2012 10:45 AM

if you don't live in a country , you can't register in it. you'd soon be found out.

suggesting it is a violation of policy

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

blitz100atron100 (6) View Listings

(26 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Sep 12, 2012 12:58 AM

I have the same problem, but my pages are all in Chinese and I don't read, write or speak Chinese. eBay customer service was useless in fixing my problem.

I fixed it by manually editing the URL of the page that was in the wrong language. Firstly, establish which language you want by obtaining the site ID from here http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/WebHelp/wwhelp/wwhimpl/common/html/wwhelp.htm?context=eBay_XML_API&file=FieldDifferences-Site_IDs.html

Then, edit the URL in the browser address bar that is redirecting you to the page in the wrong language and find the bit that says "siteid=xxx" where xxx should be changed to the number you chose in the developer page link above. It doesn't matter if you are using a different eBay domain, the siteid hack will fix your problem.

However, any automated emails that get generated from the system to your email address will still be in the wrong language. If you go to your message box within your ebay account and use the siteid hack, you can view it in the correct language.

Would be nice to have a Chrome/Firefox plugin to do this automatically, or better still have eBay fix it properly.

blitz100atron100 (6) View Listings

(27 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Sep 12, 2012 01:08 AM

Just one more note, if you want to change something like your secret question or do stuff in your account settings, then you will have to use the same domain as the siteid. E.g. If you chose siteid=0 for US then you should log in via ebay.com, siteid=3 for UK then ebay.co.uk etc.

keys4sale (2)

View Listings

(28 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Sep 12, 2012 08:38 AM

Someone can help me?

I have Ebay.pl but Bussines in Usa, support in Poland dont accept Ein from Usa, so I cant change my account to bussines.

Someone know how can I have account on bussines Usa? this is LLc bussines

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(29 of 45)

you call ebay for concerns

Sep 12, 2012 10:41 AM

you'll have to follow the instructions ebay poland gives you.

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

keys4sale (2)

View Listings

(30 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Sep 12, 2012 10:49 AM

ebaypl cant registered my account on bussines in usa, so more qustions u have?

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(31 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Sep 14, 2012 12:26 PM

you can't register in a country you don't live in or have an established business adress

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

e-ujier (73

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(32 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Oct 15, 2012 10:12 AM

But if I now live in England, why can't I have my communications in English? Doesn't Ebay have the capacity to change this or does it simply not care? So if I open an account in China I have to have it in Chinese? Isn't this harsh for me? Aren't the emails sent to me templates after all? Why can't I choose which templates I receive. This is very annoying and disrespectful. I seem to think it is a very simple solution to (what should be) a non-existent problem

Regards,

sanu84 (154

) View Listings

(33 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Oct 16, 2012 07:59 AM

Hi, I had exactly the same issue.

I opened my account when I was living in France. Now even though I'm living in the UK I still received ebay messages in French.

I already changed my registered address to my UK address but it didn't resolve the problem.

Today I contacted Ebay and they changed my home site to eBay UK manually. All sorted.

Hope this helps.

zer01ne (2) View Listings

(34 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Oct 29, 2012 08:09 AM

I've had the same problem because I originally registered for the German eBay site.

You can not change this setting yourself, you have to call eBay to change your registered address, but only if you can supply an address in an English-speaking country. This does not have to be your own address.

The call took more than half an hour, but in the end they managed to change my address to the UK and the mails are now in English.

I know this question was asked over a year ago, but I hope it still helps others having the same problem.

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(35 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Oct 29, 2012 01:46 PM

seems calling ebay is one way, as long as you are registered properly

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

joaomx (17

) View Listings

(36 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 10, 2012 02:00 PM

I have the same problem.

User ‘Redbud_farm’, you keep saying the same over and over and you are not right.

When I first registered on eBay, there was no eBay in my country, so I had to register on another country/language. This is ok by eBay rules, there is no policy violation.

I found a way to send messages to the eBay contact center through the main website. Let’s see if they answer…

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(37 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 10, 2012 04:37 PM

it wasn't a policy violation back then , it is now.

and might get your id flagged

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

tomanthony7 (96

) View Listings

(38 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 25, 2012 02:54 AM

I am having the same problem. I do not understand German and Ebay malignantly sends me all the messages in German and does not let me change the language. I now changed the country I live in (not a German speaking country) and created a new account. The messages are still in German! Ebay you suck!

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(39 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 25, 2012 12:26 PM

they use the country you are legally registered in, giving false info won't help you

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

davidkoker2 (0)

View Listings

(40 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 27, 2012 10:06 PM

It's not always as straightforward as you make it sound redbud_farm... Some countries happen to be multi-lingual!

I am a permanent resident of Hong Kong, but do not read Chinese - like many residents here. Still, I cannot change my communication from ebay to English - very annoying. Even my secret question (which i registered in English!) has been changed to Chinese.

Every other website has 2 language options for Hong Kong (like there would be 3 languages for Switzerland, and 2 languages in Belgium) -- but Ebay does not.

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(41 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Nov 28, 2012 08:36 PM

it's ebay's choice not to do so, so nothing members can do

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

snookeraasripper (3) View Listings

(42 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Feb 19, 2013 04:56 AM

i dont know way to change it permanent but you can change the .de in url to .com and will show everything to english

bm_dan (12

) View Listings

(43 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Mar 25, 2013 02:06 PM

I have the same problem. I am registered in a "non eBay" country and mostly use ebay.de but I don't speak/read German on this level. Simply moving to eBay.co.uk will not do mainly because of the following 2 reasons:

1. The inter-database indexing and search between sites is a failure. Searching from .com or .co.uk will utterly fail to get your items form a non EN site if you filter. Reason: categories and item names are language different.

The alternative to browse through over 5000 hits of you vague search is not an option; so searching becomes an intricate mechanism of site switching from .co.uk to .de to .fr and filtering.

2. What about the site specifics? Just because they use the same eBay logo and almost the same layout this doesn't mean that the policies apply to all sites. .co.uk has different help pages than .de . Try reading about VAT and you'll end up on a site discussing her majesty's taxes. Not really relevant if you want to sell on eBay.de but would like to read in English.

So, my conclusion is the following: It's not that eBay ignores the problem its more that they can't fix it. There's just to much data and $ involved in order to fix the language. Think how much $ is going to be lost if they migrate the Categories from any language to ENGLISH and something goes bad. eBay sites going down means profit loss. Never forget that eBay is a business after all.

In my honest opinion, they screwed up in the very design of the whole thing and now they can't fix it. Internationalization is always a tricky business. I do hate it that they shut down global.ebay.com and left us in this predicament.

We should all give a penny or a cent to google and hope their translations will become more and more accurate.

Well... this is just my opinion... so don't kill me

redbud_farm (Private) View Listings

(44 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

Mar 25, 2013 08:22 PM

basicly they aren't going to spend the $$ as not cost effective for them

age is a measure of time , wisdom is the measure of how we used that time

wallowingcarrion (69

) View Listings

(45 of 45)

Re: How to change the language.

May 9, 2013 07:47 PM

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know I contacted ebay's staff via live chat ( http://ocsnext.ebay.co.uk/ocs/cuhome?ref=1 ) and explained my issue. A staff member asked me a few questions to verify my identity and proceeded to change my accounts registration country instantly. It took less than 15 minutes and was very straightforward. Be sure though, to remember your basic account information, and the previous address you originally registered with in the previous country.

So yes, apparently its been finally sorted. I'll wait until my next notification to see if its in English as I want them.

Good Luck all !

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