Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

by: Vegasannie

I am hoping it's just a glitch. In 7 years of selling I have not once included contact information. Today every relist shows a warning. I now have this on my dashboard:

Remove contact info from listings for Remove contact info from listings for 176 listings.

by: BuildingMyOwnSite

Ebay quote from above: ('' '' & Caps are mine).......
''This is ''FEEDBACK'' we've heard as well and we've been ''PARTNERING'' with the ''TEAM'' to see what can be done to have it ''UPDATED''.
——————————————————
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HUH !!! ??? — WHAT DOES THAT MEAN !!! ???  — WHO ARE YOU TALKING TOO !!! ???

Common Ebay / Etsy Drivel Is: ''Partnering, Trending, Stakeholders, Revenue, Teams, Feedback, Etc, Etc, Etc''.

Instead, How About:  ''We're checking this out, we will fix it, we are suspending the deadline, and we will let you know what happened.  (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, yeah.....)

by: Marie

I have received this email a couple of times and the ONLY things in SOME of my listings is a link back to my Ebay store and/or the TurboLister link at the bottom of the page if I created and posted the listing through TL.

The Mobile Friendly checker doesn't like either of these either.

by: FeelingFroggy

Just like Bayzon....Blame it on something or someone else instead of taking credit for their screw ups.

The idiots in the ivory tower are getting worst BUT karma is just around the corner,

by: Volvo351

@Building:

What? Using plain, unambiguous ENGLISH instead of made-up, trendy buzzwords? Sorry, but no one pays six figures to get an overpriced MBA just to do that! Along with the ability to sling the Bull, fast and furiously, come skills in buck-passing which the feeBay [mis-]management team is doing here, Big Time! Stalling and equivocating tactics also employed to good effect. Overall, the kind of bang-up crap that passes for Crisis Management at the San Jose Ivory Tower. The 'crisis' in question of course being the latest illustration to one and all that they haven't the slightest clue.

by: Volvo351

@Vega...

"Just" a glitch? When has the feeBay 'crack' IT Team [there's that 'team" again!] ever demonstrated the ability to cope with so much as a "glitch" in a timely and effective manner, let alone mitigate the damage done to sellers [aka the paying customers]? When has the overpaid, underworked CEO and his "Forty Thieves" [ie the various and sundry VP's For Miscellaneous Carp] ever taken a dime out of their pockets to make the victims whole? You and I both know the answer to that: Never!

by: eBay Shill Buster

Who is Devin going to blame Sellers Hub and his promoted listings abominations on after he is fired by the Board of Directors?

Hal Lawton is already gone, so Devin you had better start looking in the mirror !!!

by: RL15

good bye Devin,we will be glad to see you leave.

who would have ever thought that fleecebay would ever have a ceo worse than the Ho

by: Volvo351

@RL15 You and Buster both have faith in the BoD performing Due Diligence and oversight of management in the interest of the stockholders. In the words of a popular TV talk show guy: "Let me know how that works out for you!"

by: Snapped

''Some of the contact information emails that were sent out recently were sent in error, so checking your listings would be the best course of action.''

Cheeky.  But...um..no.  The ''best course of action'' at this point would be for eBay to take responsibility for their choice of 'carriers' (sound familiar?) and identify the errantly wounded from THEIR blunderbuss eMail.  And then take proactive steps to ensure that not only it is not repeated, but that any 'errors' made by their nazi-bots both presently, and in the future, do not cause more 'fatal' impacts than the undeserved anxiety already loosed by their carelessness.

That's what would be 'best'.  What they propose is only 'best' for THEM.  And doesn't even approach fixing anything.  

by: eBay Shill Buster

eBay executives taking responsibility?

They are still advertising sellers hub to sellers with their banner ads when there are about a thousand negative threads posted about what an abomination Seller Hub is on their own forums.

The top executives all need to be replaced..........seems they are afraid to tell Devin what a monumental flop he is so they keep pushing the company line.  

by: Silver Ice King

It seems to only be Sellers Hub users that have this issue of receiving these incorrect emails.  Its not just sellers who use third party programs who are getting these erroneous emails.  It appears that any seller who is using Sellers Hub and includes numbers in their Item Title or Description are also getting these emails.

No wonder Ebay forced business sellers to use this program, it has evidently been designed to automatically report numbers as contact information because Ebay is so sure that its Sellers selling items off of Ebay that is the reason for their lack of growth problems.  Ebay needs to wake up and finally admit that all these constant changes that they want to be known for are killing their business as buyers and sellers alike are tired of not being able to find what they want or not have their items be seen.  

Ebay has to display the Mega Sellers, Box Stores and Chinese products ahead of all others because of the contracts they give them with all the free listings and then wonder why their sales drop.  All of these sellers have their own websites and once a buyer purchases from them they include a discount coupon for 10 - 25% off purchases from their websites and low and behold, EBay loses another buyer and sales.  They are so blind as to the causes of their issues but have to always blame somebody else other than themselves, so once again the smaller sellers take the hits.

Wake up and smell the coffee Ebay, the left hand is giving away the store while the right hand is destroying the smaller sellers that made you a success in the first place.  

by: pace306

As usual, eBay is backasswards.

Amazon (eBays muse) just started ADDING customers phone numbers into sales, and as always Paypal has every customers emails - so the whole thing is the boy who cried wolf.

More over - will they have the cajones to tell all the big sellers to stop scraping eBay for this info? Will they make them PROMISE to not contact them directly and add them onto their email list or market to them directy?

HARDLY.

Bother desperation and perspiration stink - the latter there's deodorants for - the former ..... eBay reeks of it!  (if they were so confident of eBay being the place place ever (how YOUR color there?) this policy wouldn't look like it does.

Does anyone make a spray so I can cleanse myself of eBays stink?

by: Ming the Merciless

@Pace

eau de skunk would be an improvement

Of all the reasons why ebafia is failing, myopic very short term thinking may be the most important.

Jeff Bezos takes a long view -- far less concerned about next quarter's report to Wall Street and far more focused on long term growth.

Ebafia, on the other hand, perennially does/says whatever is necessary to make the current quarter LOOK better regardless of whether it actually is better or not.

It's a losing strategy by management greedily looking to receive their golden parachutes rather than doing what's best for ebafia in the long term.

by: BuildingMyOwnSite

@Silver Ice King: I think that's an excellent analysis of this whole mess.

Personally I think this is all about Off Site Sales, and the email thing is just another botched reaction by Ebay, while trying to get on top of it.  Even Amazon & Etsy are smart enough to leave this alone.  What these turkeys are too dumb to figger out, is that Ebay should be an EASIER place to buy, than going off to every webite in the world.  But that would require that they DON'T try to grab ALL THE SALES!!!  Best Buy is on Ebay, they have a website!!!  What the matter with ME HAVING ONE?

Myself, I think that this entire mess would be best off, if Ebay would only announce some like the following, as their new policy on: Off Site Sales:

''............ In order to improve, and enhance the Ebay experience for all,  and in keeping with our goals and stated policies relating to our selling partners, while furthering those goals along with our other stakeholders and increasingly valuable OSS (*1) resources, we are adding new updated language to clarify our TOS in the area of these assets, in order that we may effectively manage the yields and earnings on them, for all concerned.''

''These updated terms will improve our OSSID (*2) reputation and at the same time enhance stock value for them, while lubricating the needs of partners, and improving the look, feel, and position of our fantastic BOD (*3) (as always, we are standing behind you).''

''This will also increase revenue for other Ebay stakeholders and team members, while addressing recent feedback issues, as sellers will now include sales from their websites, on their regular E MOB CUT (*4), which will be submitted monthly, and we ask selling partners to include the following buyer information, Please: Full Address, Revenue, Telephone.  
AKA: ''Please FART''

*(1) OSS - (Off Site Sales)
*(2) OSSID - (Oversite Stooge Investor Dimwits)
*(3) *BOD - (Board Of Directors)
*(4) *E MOB CUT - Ebay Monthly Outside Buyers Commisions Under Tos

by: Sunflower

I got the same email and checking my listings got messages to remove "contact links". The listings were all from Seller Sourcebook and after looking closely I removed all SSB information and a tiny little "link" (I'm guessing) on the bottom of these listings. The messages have now disappeared. I loved having the convenience of SSB but stopped using them sometime ago but kept my acct. Now it appears I will have to cancel my acct. with them and just use eBay. I liked the fact that SSB kept my listings so I could always reuse the same with the pictures.  

by: Barbbie

I have been fixing the issues as ebay has been notifying me of them.  When you look at the HTML tab, this is where they are seeing the links. Look for lines that have an internet address and delete it.
For me, they have been from items that I copied something from manufacturers website and pasted in, one was a paypal verified badge, some were inkfrog templete info that inkfrog was supposed to have removed already, some were leftover links from services I no longer use.
I do not trust that ebay will not close some of my best listings over BS so I am fixing as they are identified to me.  I have not been out looking for them as these are not items that come up when you click on ''non-compliant links'' those will show no issues, when there is an issue shown there , it is usually an ebay stores link which it then supposedly fixes.

by: Rexford

Sunflower, I use SSB too.  I have been very disappointed with them as it relates to cleaning up listings.   I love their service, but I've been less than impressed with the answers that I get when it comes to getting help with cleaning up listings.

Of course in their defense I think eBay is not likely giving them the information that they need in a timely means, and as we all know, eBay wants something else removed about every month.  It just never stops.

by: Scotty

As usual, this is bad.  I received the same message yesterday allegedly related to 999 listings.  I have ZERO links, emails, phone numbers, etc. in my listings.  I use Auctiva, they have stated they are in compliance related to their tools (counter and templates).  So....what is the issue?  What makes me most nervous is the statement that these listings will be blocked from view.  How will I know if this happens?  Will they still look visible to me when I view the but not to outside users?.....AND will they still charge for non-viewable listings?  Like most of the rest of you, I have done everything to be in compliance and thought this was done.  The vague and not so warm and fuzzy...''we are working on it'' is not the least bit reassuring.  Ebay needs to communicate what the heck is going on once and for all.

by: Two Southerndivas

Ebay also flags any description that is cut and pasted from a manufacturer, or even from your own website (my mistake) It took me hours staring at my listings to figure that out.  Feebay is so afraid that they will not get their cut, that they will not even allow mention of Facebook blogs or pintrest in a listing anymore/