eBay Hides Item Descriptions from Shoppers

by: Ming the Merciless

Ebafia WANTS returns.

Ebafia wants buyers to file SNAD cases against sellers.

Items that sell, are returned, and sell again all count on their rigged GMV -- the more the better from ebafia's viewpoint

Increased SNADS can and probably do mean decreased TRS.

The more returns, the more ebafia makes on shipping labels.

The more returns and resales, the more money PayPal makes when they retain the $.30 surcharge(s).

And so on ad nauseum.

by: eXtinctBay

I wonder if this is strictly happening to listings that have active content still on the description, or at random.

Maybe this is the end result eBay promised if the active content warning was not heeded.

If they do show all the code in a listing with non-compliant links, their servers are not equipped to handle the load.

When this mess is cleared up, will eBay still have selling limits and rolling blackouts??

by: angryllama

I just stumbled on this NEW HELL literally 5 minutes ago.  I was setting up my Pull List for all my Saturday Shipment sales and just as the PHOTO for one of my sales didn't ring a bell I clicked on that SOLD listing.  BAM ... it hit me right between the eyes to see an OUTLINED BOX near the bottom with See full description .  OH NO MR.BILL! Bad enough that MOBILE has that sort of screw-up but to JACK UP the Main Site, too?  If I'm being to subtle... I  HATE  the mobile app.  The mobile app needs to be improved not to HOBBLE the Main Site to make it NO BETTER than the screwball Mobile. My best simile is that it is like FORCING GM to put no more than 150 HP 4 cylinder engines in ALL their cars... just for GRINS not because of fuel economy but to make cars EQUALLY BAD.  I see nothing at all GOOD about this change and I especially don't like the way when one lists a BRAND NEW item the only opportunity for an HONEST SELLER to state cosmetic flaws in a NEW item (example snag in the STILL INTACT cellophane OR crack in the  styrene plastic jewel-box on a CD) is to note this in the DETAILS.  More and more I think that eBay has an intelligence test they make all new employees take and if they PASS... they're NOT HIRED.

by: FeelingFroggy

If you have to click on the little button to read the description I would hardly CALL IT EBAY HIDING THE DESCRIPTION.


ITS MORE LIKE BUYERS TO LAZY TO READ ENTIRE AUCTION...

by: ignatz

OF COURSE IT'S HIDING THE DESCRIPTION.

Hiding it BEHIND a "little button."

Which > 50% of shoppers WON'T NOTICE.

by: Duke

It's happened to my listings as of this morning.  All of the actual information that a buyer needs (measurements, details, etc.) is stripped out.  All that shows are parts of several sentences strung together into a string of nonsense.  

by: dans parts

I checked a couple of my auctions (~3800 live at the moment), and they are ok.  Only thing "missing" is the flash cross-sell scrolling at the bottom of the description area, provided by my 3rd-party lister.  I knew that was going to disappear.

I was looking at a couple of other people's auctions in the last couple days (to buy) and there was simply NO description at all.  Totally blank white space.  And a lot of it.  Miles of scrolling.  And no button to click.

This is in a category where people seem to be lazy/uninformed and mostly eBay newbies.  Their description is often just a link to a site where technical information is given on the product, instead of copying and pasting the text.

Pasting a link may be their downfall.

by: Bidderboy

When I think about the time and effort I put into my descriptions I am sickened by this. The description is the "marketing" part of selling and I have been successful because I have put care and expertise into it. We all know that there will be some prospective buyers for whom this extra click will be "too much trouble". There are days I despise eBay....  

by: jacobsenra

I have the problem using Google Chrome but Edge (which no on uses) works fine.  I spoke with eBay and they are aware of the issue but sounds like it is not intentional - just bad programming on their part.  So frustrating they can't see to get even simple things right.

by: Whatever

For the entire month of june I've been deleting GTC since ebay doesn't want "stale" listings. I've been cutting down the descriptions and lowering all my prices so I can get the hell out of ebay. They just keep getting dumber and dumber. It's like going to kindergarden - who the hell is running the ship? Wegnig should just go ahead and go work for Amazon since he loves it so much.

by: RL15

@Whatever - Amazon would not hire a clueless idiot like wegnig

by: BuildingMyOwnSite

What Ming Said.

Plus.  These guys continue to INSIST on leaving absolutely NO REASON for any normal seller, to EVER try to sell on Ebay again.

by: OnlyPollyPocket

I am seeing it in Chrome but, quick look, not in Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer nor Chromium.  Sure hope all of my buyers are using browsers other than Chrome!  

by: TomH

Also what Ming said plus:

eBay has been striving and is continuing to strive to be a commodity platform only. Mainly Chinese.

They increasingly demonstrate a ''could care less'' attitude in their actions in regard to anything actually unique, old, or requiring detailed description.  

by: toolguy

A perfect example of:

A picture is worth a thousand words!

by: Snapped

There are many notible venues that 'tab' item attributes seperately from a listing 'landing' page.  

Those venues typically sell retail, maintain ownership of the items offered (or are clearly identified dropshippers), and rely on buyer discrimination to achieve purchase satisfaction.  They also have a financial stake in ensuring tahat satisfaction, so their presentation platforms tend to be stable, and actually work across devices and OSs.  

eBay has no such financial stake, except in the voodoo accounting associated, already well noted.  eBay is also everything but stable, and there's never a clue how they will be presented across OSs, much less different devices.  

Crown jewels for the 'look and feel' from their 'marketing' to 'their lipstick', but nary a maintenance dime for their engine.

eBay is a fascade.  They'd prefer you not look too deeply.

by: hopeforthebest

Probably why I'm getting so many stupid questions asking things that are in the listing details lately.

by: yesmikan

This is one of the most braindead decisions I have seen from a frequently-braindead eBay lately. They really must WANT customers to return as much shit as possible on the seller's dime.

by: Beanie

Sure Ebay, you've hid everything else, so yes, by all means, go ahead hide the descriptions and make buyers have to click another button. These goobers running, I mean ruining Ebay NEVER cease to disappoint buyers AND sellers.

by: thebobman

>For the entire month of june I've been deleting GTC

Just this morning I sold something for $65 on a GTC listing thats been active for 8 years this month (I have sold about 2000 units, including the ones before GTC was a thing, and it has 68 watchers and 18,000 views)