Posted by bikerhal on Jul 1, 2009 8:31 AM Cross Promotion Question Griff: I could have sworn I posted this yesterday, June 30, but can't find it, so I'm repeating. Delete if somehow yesterday's question is in the hopper.
This is copied from eBay’s description of Cross Promotions
“Having eBay cross-promote your items is a great way to increase your sales. When a buyer shows interest in one of your items (such as by placing a bid), eBay will display your other items to the buyer. Note: Other sellers' items will not be cross-promoted in your listings.”
I’m confused. I chose cross promotions based on the last sentence that other sellers’ items will not appear. Yet, they did appear along with other items of mine on a completed sale listing. I have now opted out.
My questions:
What is the meaning of that last sentence in the quote starting with NOTE: ?
This information, which I believe you found on the My eBay page for Cross Promotions, appears to be incorrect. According to the Help page for Cross Promotions:, “…In addition, other sellers’ listings will be displayed on your pages…”
The text on the My eBay page for Cross Promotions may need to be updated. I will forward this to the appropriate My eBay person for their attention. Thanks! Can you cross promote ONLY your items on your listings without having other sellers’ items shown?
No.
Posted by mt.auctiondoctor on Jul 1, 2009 2:02 PM What to Charge for Commission? Could someone please tell me percentage I should take for selling someone else's item for them
It would depend partly on what others in your area are charging. Some eBay Trading Assistants with little or no local competition, charge up to 40% commission. Others charge less. It’s up to you to decide what your local market will bear.
Posted by di25535 on Jul 1, 2009 3:33 PM TurboLister and Picture Pak Griff, I'd like to share with you another unpleasant experience I had with Live Chat. I contacted them regarding a problem with Turbo Listers most recent update - a problem that will take me many many hours of unneeded work to address. For whatever reason, TL now defaults many categories to picture pack. Happens that it is categories I list in. ALMOST EVERY ONE OF MY LISTINGS now has picture pack checked as an option. Two problems:
1. I don't use picture pack; however I cannot leave that screen without inserting at least one photo,(which I may not even have at the time I write the decription) or unchecking the box that TL checked unbeknownst to me. I have no intention of using the feature. I have about 1100 affected listings, that can't be relisted without dealing with this.
2. Bulk edit is not an option - the picture pack option box is INSIDE the description box where I can't get at it with bulk edit.
When I contacted live chat/help about this, I was told that's the way it was, and if I didn't like it, I could use something else to list. When I requested a supervisor, I was told none was available.
Griff, you are constantly beating the drum about how we should take care of our customers. Is this an example of how eBay thinks customers should be treated? SHould I use this with my buyers??? I still have about 950 more listings to fix, plus 8000 in inventory that I'll have to fix one at a time as I can. Guess I won't be listing much this summer. WIll this be fixed, or should I just list elsewhere, as help suggested???
Please send the details directly to me in an email griff@ebay.com using your regular email, not My Messages. Include all details, for example, the categories, etc.
Posted by marsull_inla on Jul 1, 2009 3:54 PM Shipping Settings in SYI "International Shipping Settings Not Sticking on Revision"
Just a back up on the above post. I find the new SYI form very glitchy. When scheduling auctions the day flips back to the current day (which if not caught can create problems) after another has been selected. It requests different information in the international shipping details. Sometimes it wants dimensions, sometimes not. Sometimes offers First Class, sometimes not. This is with similar items (under 4 lbs, regular package or envelope) mind you.
It also insert international dimensions at random times, plucking them from previous listings.
Its so glitchy I've asked international bidders in my TOS to email to get the correct shipping amount.
I'm using Safari 3.21. and Mac OS X 10.4.11
BTW there are now 11 million + Safari users.
And I am one of them. Please feel free to send specific technical issues directly to me via email at griff@ebay.com using your regular email, not My Messages. Include all details and if possible or necessary for illustrative purposes, screen shots.
For now, if you believe the issue is related to Safari, make sure you are using the latest version (which you can download for free from Apple’s website.. Or download and try FireFox (which I use on my Mac and have not experienced the issues you are seeing.)
Posted by marsull_inla on Jul 1, 2009 3:59 PM New View Item Page – Full Launch Delay The planned date for moving everyone over to the New View Item Page was rolled back indefinitely due to the need for further testing. Stay tuned to the Announcement Board for any additional information as it is made available.
So some members are seeing the new version and some are not?
If it needs further testing why can't the team responsible switch the entire sight over to the older, more stable version?
Because testing of the New View Item Page at this stage can only be accomplished on the live site. What exactly is being "tested"?
I don’t know exactly. I do know that the initial 100% roll out had to be delayed for some reason. Thanks for your reply.
Posted by chopsueysisters on Jul 1, 2009 5:44 PM Buyer Promotions Griff, maybe you don't understand where I'm going with this, so I'll be direct. How do you reconcile that a certain population of ebay members gets an 8% discount off purchases and another gets a lessor amount. Do you see this as acceptable, do you see the issue? What are you going to do about it?
No, I don’t see it as an issue ( I assume you are referring to the eBay Bucks program. I am unaware of any other buyer loyalty program). When I checked with CS, it appears, based on the lack of email on the topic, that buyers don’t see it as an issue either. The eBay Bucks program is currently in Beta (not a full release) with a planned full release later this year. Some buyers are in the program now, some will be in the program later. Not sure what you mean by “what are you going to do about it.” There is nothing to be done at this point, certainly nothing that I would or could do about it.
Posted by ted_200 on Jul 2, 2009 12:39 AM SYI Issues Hi Griff,
I help a friend manage his eBay account - since he only has a BSE degree, he finds eBay too complicated to figure out. I built several listings for him in the SYI form (listing templates) about a week ago, and when I went into it tonight there were some strange things going on.
First, when I click on "manage templates" and the ten listings come up, instead of seeing everything "clickable" in blue, now I see some of it in red and some of it in brown. What is the significance of this? I see no announcements explaining the "change", and cannot figure out what it is supposed to mean. One of the templates that was red turned to brown after I revised it, but I've no idea why.
Second, the photos I uploaded to these listings were gone in many of them. This is a major PITA! Is there some time limit on how long I can expect the photos to stay in the listings before I actually list them? Or, did something happen at eBay that caused photos to be lost? (...is this a "glitch", or has something intentionally changed?).
Finally, on the return policy, I see a green asterisk indicating it is "required" and a blue question mark bubble that gives me "information" on it, but I cannot find any way to actually revise the return policy. Am I missing something?
Unfortunately, I am unable facilitate reports of technical issues here on this thread. I need more details and if possible, screen shots showing the actual issues. You can send them directly to me at griff@ebay.com using your regular email, not My Messages. Thanks
Posted by ted_200 on Jul 2, 2009 12:57 AM New View Item Page Questions and Suggestion On the New Item Listing Page...
I'll echo the previous comments that it is a real problem having both versions in play for an indeterminate amount of time. Why cannot eBay make things work properly BEFORE introducing them, and if they cannot, why cannot eBay put the old version back into service for everyone until ALL the problems are actually fixed?
Because quite frankly, it is impossible create a last stage testing environment that mimics that actual demands of the live site. This is an inescapable reality and is why we have to test features, in their final testing phase, on the live site. It is also why all changes are tested in limited roll outs (to avoid any unintended results from happening site wide). In the case of the New View Item page, the issues where behind the scenes (and not affecting transactions). Also related to the new page... the photo viewing system (while greatly improved since the beta testing of last year, and the year before that...) still leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, the inability to control the size of the image the viewer sees is problematic.
Under the old page, the size of the photo entered had some bearing on the size of the photo the viewer would see. The gallery view, and the top of listing photo, were essentially "thumbnails" that were of little use in getting a good view of the item. It was the bottom of listing photos that were used by the viewer, and they came up in one size only. The seller could manage the size of the image the viewer saw, either by loading a smaller or larger image, or by varying the amount of cropping used on the photo.
With the new page, there are essentially two photo sizes available for every photo. To have the gallery photo big enough to be of any use, you have to crop it fairly close. This results in a fairly large image in the photo seen when the page is opened, and a colossal image when the "enlarge" feature is used. The problem is, a certain size photo is appropriate for a certain item. A coin, or a ring, or other small item (if viewable in the gallery photo) ends up being displayed in a 10 in. by 10 in. photo using the "enlarge" feature. This makes the tiniest of defects looks like a huge gash in the "enlarge" view - the level of magnification is just ridiculous, and inappropriate for many items.
The point is this: Sellers need some way to control the size of the image the viewer is seeing. With the gallery view, the regular view, and the "enlarge" view, one or more of these images will almost always be useless or counterproductive. (Finally, the question...) Is there any way the page can be fixed to address this concern, to allow sellers to control the size of the images presented?
Thank you for this suggestion. I will forward it to the team in charge for their consideration.
Posted by snappyauctions14 on Jul 2, 2009 7:01 AM Management Access Could someone please tell me percentage I should take for selling someone else's item for them?
Mt.auctiondoctor: You can find some great discussions on this topic on the Trading Assistant board.
Back in January when you started this thread format, you indicated that a time would come 'soon' when Sr. Management would make themselves available to answer seller concerns. It is now July. We've seen no announcement to this effect since. Recognizing you have limited control over eBay actions despite your good intent to help pass along issues you can't directly answer, we have a question in two parts:
A) Can you provide any amplification on what either you or eBay means by 'soon', and –
Senior executives like Dinesh Lathi, Lorrie Norrington, John Donahoe, etc have made themselves available through channels like our reoccurring Town Halls and our expanding seller events roster (more on that in a week or so). In addition, John Donahoe made his first hour long appearance on eBay Radio (and took calls) and he will be on our eBay Radio show once a month from here on, as will other marketplace executive. However, I want to make it clear that at no time did I pledge executive participation here on the discussion boards (which, with a few exceptions, are intended primarily as a member-to-member community forum). B) Noting you regularly pass along seller concerns you can't answer to the various departments responsible for those issues, we also note there seems to be no mechanism in place to follow up for publishing those answers, thus, when and where will those answers be provided that you pass along up the invisible and to date, unresponsive chain?
I am not sure I understand what you mean here. There are three main types of input that sellers leave here. Questions, Suggestions and Concerns (also known as “complaints”)
Questions: When someone asks a question for which I do not have an immediate answer (or requires my hunting down an answer,) I hold off posting the answer or deleting the original post until I have the answer. This could be an explanation of a certain policy or function, any changes forthcoming to a feature or policy, etc.
Suggestions: I forward all suggestions on to the appropriate teams or person for their consideration with a caveat that I cannot guarantee that the suggestion will be adopted.
Concerns: I collect and compile general seller concerns and share them with my team (Seller Experience) and where appropriate and effective, with others across the eBay marketplace organization. These are in addition to several other input channels we use for collecting seller concerns. I would argue that the chain has not been “unresponsive.” Many of the changes announced in April (and many that will be announced at the end of this month) were driven in a large part by expressed seller concerns.
I have also used your post as an opportunity to post a clear statement about the purpose of this thread (in order to set realistic expectations). I will copy them here:
Q: What is the purpose of Ask Griff?
A: As I see it, the purpose is four-fold. To provide answers to your questions about eBay, eBay policy, features, etc; to give some perspective on the "why" of changes and decisions we make to eBay; to offer advice - when requested - for navigating and it is hoped, succeeding on eBay as a seller; and to lend an ear or give direct support via email to those sellers who require it. Thank you for your continued advocacy.
My pleasure.
Posted by wearitsatvintage on Jul 2, 2009 7:08 AM Best Match Question Hi again Griff,
I'm sorry if this has been brought up before, but if it was I didnt see it. This question is about best match.
BM is supposed to bring the better sellers who work hard at giving buyers great customer service and keep their DSR's high and just try to be the best sellers they can be. And to insure that buyers get a quality product from a reliable seller. I think I summed that up correctly.
My Question:
Why is it that the BM criteria is so easily circumvented by lackluster seller just because they offer free shipping??????
ex. - item with 1hr 37m left from a seller with 98.1% feedback rating (over 400 feedbacks) ~ DSR's 4.9, 4.6, 4.2, 4.8
offering free shipping.
Sellers item is at mid page of page 1 of BM
Item with 1minute 20 seconds left from seller with 100% positive (1500+ feedbacks) ~ DSR's 4.8, 4.9, 4.8, 4.7
Not offering free shipping
item just closed on PAGE 3 of best match
So, would I be correct in assuming that when it comes to BM that hard work and great customer service is not relevant or needed so long as I offer free shipping???
How does ebay see this as being beneficial to buyers?
I’m afraid I cannot answer this question with only the information provided. I need to see the actual page. Were these listings auction format or Fixed Price? What were the actual items? In which category? Please feel free to take a screen shot of an example and send it to me at griff@ebay.com (using your regular email, not My Messages) and I would be happy to have someone take a look at it.
Posted by postcardsnstuff on Jul 2, 2009 8:22 AM Enlarge Image Feature Griff,
With regard to the new size of the enlarge feature. I love the new maxi size. In my category(postcards) I need my buyers to see every defect and mark. The larger the image the better. This will save us sellers from many SNAD's. I hope this feature stays even though some sellers don't like the revealing nature of this feature. Big pictures for me means -less e-mails to answer and less description for me to write. My motto is "A picture is worth a thousand words". The larger picture view was what eBay was missing, compared to other listing services. Keep it please!
Not to worry. It’s here to stay.
Posted by blackbeard1111 on Jul 2, 2009 11:03 AM Selling Locally Only Hello
How do I select to sell in the san diego area only??
Thanks
This is not (currently) possible on eBay. However, you can list locally in an eBay-like environment using Kijiji which is a free classified site.
Posted by etown99 on Jul 2, 2009 11:22 AM Tracking Number Verification Suggestion A few questions from the sell and buy side.
I recently made a purchase - buyer's ID - and never received the item.
Seller wouldn't refund, I had to escalate to INR. Seller responds to dispute stating he mailed. Proof of mailing he gave to Paypal? A fraudulent 5 digit USPS tracking number. USPS doesn't have 5 digit tracking numbers.
Question - Why doesn't Paypal's INR program automatically kick out bogus tracking numbers provided by sellers? The program should only accept USPS tracking numbers that contain:
1.) two letter/nine digit/two letter - domestic insured/registered numbers given at counter, and Intl custom numbers on the 2976 and 2976-A.
2.) Twenty digit Delivery Confirmation given at counter/net.
3.) Twenty-two digit DC online.
Because this seller turned in a fraudulent tracking number, he now gets to hang on to my funds until July 18. A cool 38 days after purchase. The INR program should automatically kick out incorrectly numbered tracking numbers that are submitted by untruthful sellers. This is the second time this situation has happened to me.
I am very sorry to hear this. I will make sure the eBay Resolutions team sees your suggestion. If you want to send me the details, I would be happy to facilitate an escalation with PayPal. Send them to me at griff@ebay.com using your regular email, not My Messages. Thanks. ____________________________________________________
On the sell side -
I recently sold an item to a buyer who coincidentally sells the exact cards from the exact year that I do, and he purchased one of these from me.
Mint card, securely packaged, emailed notifying item shipped, mailed next day, shipped at exact cost, (less than this buyer charges as a seller for same items). Buyer, who is a seller, leaves me a positive, along with 1's across the board on my DSR's. Because I'm a small seller, my 30 day DSR's plunge from 5.0, 4.9's to 4.4 through 4.5 and I'm at red - lowered visibility for the first time ever. I have raised them a lil since.
Question - Why does Ebay's DSR programming allow a positive feedback to be left along with:
1.) very innaccurately described item - 1 star
2. )not satisfied with communication - 1 star
3.) shipped very slowly - 1 star
4.) very unreasonable shipping charges. 1 star
It's a direct contradiction. Ebay should have CUSTOMER SERVICE - like Amazon - that when contacted by the seller, Amazon would have no problem determining evil intent on the buyer's (who is a seller) part, and remove the bogus detailed star ratings the buyer (who is a seller) left. Been there done that.
This sounds like it might be actionable. Did you report this to eBay? If not, you can do so using the Link A Problem hub page. If you did and you did not receive a satisfactory outcome, email the details to me and I will work on your behalf. Send them to me at griff@ebay.com using your regular email, not My Messages. Thanks. ___________________________________________________
Last one - as a buyer.
I purchased a $200+ item on Ebay - buyer's ID. I was very surprised I won the item at that price. I researched the item and found out that almost all the ungradeds are counterfeits. This item matched the counterfeit description of the signature being larger and higher up on the card.
I emailed the seller stating my concerns, with links, and offered a mutual withdraw. No response. He escalated to UPI. I responded stating my concerns to Ebay. I then receive an unpaid item strike - first ever on over 2,000 purchases solely because a seller is selling counterfeits and Ebay CUSTOMER SERVICE doesn't read UPI responses from buyers.
The UPI strike is removed after contacting security. I ask security what they are going to do about this counterfeit, and several other identicals that are currently up on Ebay for sale. "We'll take care of it."
I ask how. Again, "We'll take care of it." Asked once again, I get the same response and a big Thank You for using Ebay.
Fact is, Ebay security will do nothing. Much too profitable for Ebay capitalizing on all the counterfeits that are being sold on site. This large seller who knew this $200 counterfeit was counterfeit? Nothing will happen to him. This card graded is $1500+....but even PSA won't grade them anymore. There was nothing in his description stating there is any possibility that this card may be counterfeit. He knew.
Question: Why doesn't Ebay protect honest buyers, and reputable sellers, from their disreputable counterparts and Ebay's own, very profitable, "Hands off, we are only a marketplace" non-policing, non-customer service policies?
First, I am sorry to hear you had this experience with an eBay seller. Had you received the item and discovered that it was not as described, that is, the condition was inaccurate of the signature was not authentic, you could have filed a SNAD claim -Significantly Not As Described-. (And in order to prevent confusion about eBay policy, we only use the term “counterfeit” for trademark or copyright protected items, like luxury brand items, and not autographs.)
It seems that you determined that the item might not be what they seller claimed it to be only after you had purchased it and prior to receiving it. Without the buyer (you) receiving the item and examining it to determine that it was Significantly Not As Described, we cannot rule that the item is not as described (we do not verify claims of authenticity made by a seller). In this case, the seller filed a UPI, a strike was issued to your account and was subsequently removed. However, unless you actually purchase and examine the item, you cannot file a SNAD claim. I hope you can see why. As a seller, would you be happy with a system that allows another member to report your items as SNAD without actually examining them?
Let me make another thing very clear regarding your claim that we encourage this activity to our profit. Nothing could be farther from the truth. No one benefits from sellers on eBay misrepresenting their merchandise. In fact, said activity seriously erodes the very trust that we are committed to building and growing on eBay. It is for this very reason that repeated low ratings, negative feedback and filed complaints will, not may, will result in serious consequences for a seller.
If any buyer receives an item that is significantly not as described, they should file a SNAD report with eBay. Filed reports are the only way we can take action, for the reason I outlined above. Any seller who knowingly and repeatedly misrepresents their merchandise will eventually and sooner rather than later, find their selling ability restricted or their accounts suspended once those buyers have filed appropriate reports or left appropriate ratings and feedback.
Posted by dalorah on Jul 2, 2009 11:33 AM Request for My Comments Mr. Griffith:
Please, it’s “Griff.” Feel free to call me “Griff.” Thanks! You justify many eBay policies and changes by claiming it makes for a better buying experience – and keeping buyers happy is good for sellers. In general, I agree with the premise – happy buyers = more sales. Then, how can eBay continue to provide a Wholesale List category?
You have to know that many of the listings are constructed in such a way that naïve buyers are duped into paying high dollars for a list of sources that can be easily found on the Internet through any decent search engine. We have seen time and again people paying good money for pieces of paper or a CD thinking they are getting the real thing. Here is a small sample of relevant feedback
>I thought i was bidding on a camera not a catalog. Deceptive
>I thought this was a DVD player but its a disc. U Shuld hav the pic of the CD
>THE PICTURE IS NOT THE ITEM YOU RECIEVE!!! VERY DECEIVING!!!! TERRIBLE EBAYER!!!
>>>>> READ DESCRIPTION IT SAYS YOU DON'T GET ITEM IN PICTURE YOU GET A WHOLESALE LIST
>I expected to get a trampoline and a cd at wholesale I got jacked
Do you have any comments?
Yes I do. First, there are specific policy restrictions regarding compilation items (catalogs, wholesale lists, etc) and where they can be listed. Violations of this policy are reportable through the “report this item” link on the bottom of any eBay item page. If you or anyone else discovers a listing violation of this type, report it. In addition, the buyers above can and should file SNAD claims for any transaction where the description was patently misleading. Finally, there is genuine, legitimate demand for the category and its items. The items listed in it are not, by nature, deceptive or illegal. I just made a perusal of this category and could not find one item that did not have the words “wholesale list” in its title. Blaming the existence of the category for the activity of a few individual sellers is misguided and would set an unsupportable precedent.
Posted by ted_200 on Jul 2, 2009 11:41 AM The Enlarge Feature (Follow-up, for clarification...)
I love the new maxi size. In my category(postcards) I need my buyers to see every defect and mark. The larger the image the better...Keep it please!
I am not advocating elimination of the "Enlarge" feature. I like it too, and it is quite useful for items like postcards, or comic books. What I was requesting is a way to control the image size. The goal is to present an accurate depiction of the item. I have self-hosted photos in the past to get a larger image, and if I used a too big image, I get comments back that the item is much better in-hand than pictured. This may make buyers happy, but it doesn't do much for bid levels!
For coin grading, for example, magnification levels of 3x up to maybe 10x are the industry standard. Higher levels (which result when viewing a cent in the "enlarge" mode, for example) are only used in authentication work - and are not recommended for grading purposes. A gemstone that is "eye-clean" (accepted evaluation terminology) will look horribly flawed with the extreme magnification of the "enlarge" image.
It is the equivalent (for the post card example) of having the 3/4 inch square at the bottom corner of the postcard fill the entire screen. A "fuzzy" or "slightly rounded" corner ends up looking like it is horribly mutilated!
So, don't get rid of "enlarge"! But can we have a way to control image size? Or, turn it off on a selected basis?
I will forward your suggestion/request to the appropriate team for their consideration. I do know that we are moving towards a more visual buying experience so if anything, we will be providing for more and bigger photos in the future. Related to my other post, this image issue is another problem with the two Item Listing Pages being in service together. It is impossible to know which version people will see, so we cannot provide appropriately sized images (even within the previously described issue with the new page). When will sellers know, with certainty, which Item Listing Page users will see?
Not at this time. We are still slowly moving towards a 100% rollout. In the meantime, you can safely use a photo size of approximately 800 x 800 pixels which will load and display properly for both versions of the View Item Page.
Posted by project_grad on Jul 2, 2009 5:04 PM Half.com on eBay Hi. I know it's July already, but I don't see a July thread, so...
I am starting to build up a presence on Half.com, on this ID (also occasionally used for eBay listings), and have opted in to have my Half listings show on eBay.
But I notice they only can be retrieved if the buyer enters the ISBN or UPC code. Is there any plan to give them visibility in a title search? I'm not aware that many buyers search that way.
Can you ask the Half team? They don't seem to be monitoring the Half board so I hoped you could run interference. Thanks!
I will forward your suggestion/request to them for their consideration.
Posted by pink_n_red_roses on Jul 2, 2009 5:59 PM Announcing News on Ask Griff Griff:
As the "Sellers Advocate", why didn't you tell the Sellers on this board about Paypal's newest policy?
[PayPal Reserves]
A "Sellers Advocate" would have discussed this topic.
This is a Q&A thread, not a blog or an announcement board. Unsolicited announcements or discussion of topics without prior questions would be totally inappropriate here. That is why it’s titled, “Ask Griff”, not “Griff Announces and Discusses New Policies and Features.” My apologies if you believed the purpose of this thread was otherwise.
Posted by exclusively_red_tag on Jul 2, 2009 9:34 PM GoogleBase Store Connector Griff,
My question has to do with uploading our store items to Google Product Search. As I'm sure you are aware, the now-defunct GoogleBase Store Connector was widely used to upload Fixed Price and Store listings to Google Product Search. Similarly, many of us use eBay's automated xml feed to Google Product Search. This is an excellent source of free traffic for eBay and us sellers: a true win-win situation.
In June, Google announced they would require a "condition" attribute in the feeds to Google Product Search beginning July 1. My understanding at the time was that, while most sellers populate the item condition in their listing details, the eBay xml feed did not contain this data.
In the intervening month, it appears nothing has changed, as all sellers' xml Google Product Search feeds are now being rejected for lack of a condition attribute.
Does eBay have plans to update its xml feed to meet Google's condition attribute requirements, or are both us sellers and eBay losing an excellent source of free advertising?
I have no current information about this topic. I will forward your post to the appropriate team for their attention and response.
Posted by locanda on Jul 3, 2009 1:27 AM Suggestion for a New Sort Option Hi Griff.
I have a suggestion, that would be helpful to me when scanning eBay listings. In addition to Best Match, Time: Newly Listed, Time: Ending Soonest, Price:, Distance:, etc. Howz about ALPHABETICALLY?
It would be great for a lot of CD listings, Books, etc. that I want to Browse. I'm not looking for a specific artist/author (so plugging a name into the Search bar doesn't help me), but I can find stuff a lot easier if I could see most of the Britney Spears CDs together. OK, I know that a Seller can use any title they want (that's why the Yellow Pages are stuffed with businesses named AA, AAA, etc.), plus eBay wants to provide an opportunity for different sellers to get some exposure in the listings. However, couldn't I at least have that sort order as a CHOICE?
Thank you for your suggestion for a new sort order option (alphabetically). I cannot promise that there would be enough demand to result in an adoption of your suggestion but I will forward it on to the Search and Finding team for their consideration. (this is the first time in 13 years I have heard this request.)
Posted by toimanjjb on Jul 3, 2009 8:10 AM Book Listing With No Description Hello, Griff. Just want to make one comment. I was doing research on a book I want to sell by comparing to what is currently on eBay.
First auction I looked at was by a big power seller. His auction number 330331720127 .NO where on his listing did I find any information about the product. NO where does he describe the book, its contents, the photos of the historic buildings. It doesn't even show what the cover looks like. I found his listing very frustrating, hard to read.
My book will be starting this next week. I hope it meets the new standards. And this is just one item I have looked at. My wife, who does lots of research of products on eBay, has also become very frustrated with the new listings. It is not as user friendly as eBay of old.
I took a look at the listing. The seller has provided a minimal amount of information about the book. Providing little or no description of a book’s contents is not an uncommon listing practice for many eBay book sellers. I believe this is because a. the seller assumes the buyer knows what the books looks like and what it contains and b. the seller lists a huge amount of inventory (close to half a million books listed on eBay and simply has no time to include a text description or photos of the book’s contents. This is not necessarily a bad thing (and is definitely not indicative of the “new” eBay. I have been using eBay for 13 years and there have always been listings where the seller provides little or no actual item description, and in the past, no photos!)
Look at it this way. If you are able to provide photos and a description of the book’s content, that makes your listing much more appealing that the other seller’s and gives you a possible buyer advantage. That is how any marketplace works.
More responses tomorrow. Please use the new July thread for posting new questions. And be sure to read the top of the thread post (guidelines, etc).
Thanks,
Griff
Jim Griffith (not Mister!)
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
