Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on ecommerce.
by Ina Steiner, Editor of EcommerceBytes.com
Fri Sept 15 2017 22:16:50

Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

By: Ina Steiner

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eBay sellers have until October to get rid of contact information in their listings, and now eBay appears to be blaming links to third-party tools for triggering "false" warning emails to sellers.

We wrote about the issue on September 7th - sellers said they received warnings from eBay despite not including their contact information in their listings. Sellers continue to voice concerns about the continued warnings and say eBay has provided little in the way of helpful answers.

Sellers raised the issue during eBay's weekly chat session on September 6th and again on September 13th. A seller said they believed that any link is triggering the warning, including URLs for eBay-approved partners. 

eBay's response: "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. Sellers can only have eBay approved links in their descriptions and if they're asking buyers to contact them, I'd also recommend including a clarifying statement of "by eBay Messages" as well. We'll share you comments on this post too and hopefully they'll be taken into consideration for updates."

And a bit later, the eBay moderator added: "eBay links should not trigger an issue and I've gotten this reported over to the appropriate teams for review. 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. Definitely know it can be frustrating to get a notification and not find anything to line up with it, as this takes time and energy on your part and can raise some concerns on if you missed something."

One of the numerous readers who've contacted us about the issue wrote today to say an eBay customer service rep told him it was possible that the listing program he used was triggering it. Here is a link to eBay's links policy that explains what is and is not allowed.

It's been an arduous year for sellers who have had to complete time-consuming tasks to change listings, templates, and photos due to eBay policies including bans on active content and restrictions around HTTP content. Now sellers are worrying about the necessity of editing listings yet again without even knowing with certainty what they need to change.

Sellers face the dilemma of trying to attempt to "fix" their listings now with incomplete information, or waiting and bumping up against the deadline.

Comments (27) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Readers Comments

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

by: Two Southerndivas This user has validated their user name.

Mon Sep 18 07:35:59 2017

in my case it was the descriptions - rather detailed, that I had cut and pasted from my own website as well as mention of Pintrest and Facebook, as well as a line that said "please contact me if there is a problem and we will do every thing we can to make it right."
It took hours to figure this out and fix all the warning letter said was "links"no other detyails.

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

This user has validated their user name. by: FEEbay

Mon Sep 18 10:07:54 2017

We use Sixbit sometimes, and their HTML logo/link is exactly what is causing this...The fix is simple..... Copy the offending HTML code in question, to a bulk edit, and find and replace that code with a .
THis isnt that big of a deal folks....It will take you less then 3 minutes to fix

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

This user has validated their user name. by: toolguy

Mon Sep 18 10:25:31 2017

I NEVER got he email. . .

Maybe because I'm one of their more TRUSTED sellers ~ ROTFLMAO

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

This user has validated their user name. by: RKTOYS

Mon Sep 18 10:56:12 2017

"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"

This, really.  I figured the special friends brands that eBay courted would take sales off site.  Yet, eBay has a contract to deliver so many sales to them on site as well.  That contract is at the root of why small sellers are hidden or distracted away from.  Well, if eBay isn't delivering enough volume to absorb the fees, what exactly do they expect small sellers to do?  I really feel for anybody trying to make an actual living selling on these venues.  A part-time job a couple of hours each week is a better return for me.  That's beyond sad.

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

by: val2525 This user has validated their user name.

Mon Sep 18 11:23:19 2017

I list/relist using the SYI form. The only links in my listings are my eBay store link (NOT the old link to the red Stores doors that many sellers still use) and a link to my template designer. So far, I have not received any notices.

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

by: maxmad This user has validated their user name.

Mon Sep 18 12:25:29 2017



We add company water marks in all our stock photos, we show detailed close-ups of our products which include logos with our company site, and we include discount coupons, contact info , website links to buy directly in every package we ship,

All good, no warnings at all for us,,,

Perminate Link for Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails   Third Party Tools Now Blamed for eBay Warning Emails

by: sickandtired This user has validated their user name.

Fri Sep 22 15:33:54 2017

I have been going crosseyed  editing over 600 listings one by one to remove a link to membership in the GPSA.  
I tried using the bulk editor every way possible to remove the offending link with no success. Call ebay c/s several times and was told the editor will not work in all cases.  Very helpful agent sent me an email which told me to go to I-Ways for help. Was told they have a tool to fix the "link" problem.
After having to register on the site (they are a 3rd party store designer in league with ebay) and finding no help, I contacted them.....waited a couple of days for an answer.  The answer is THEY DO NOT HAVE SUCH A TOOL. Surprise surprise - ebay passing out incorrect information....LOL
 

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