eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

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AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

February 07, 2008

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

By: Ina Steiner

Thu Feb 7 2008 10:26:51

eBay search and browse results are displaying the word "Free" in the shipping column for some items that do not offer free shipping & handling. Clicking on the item shows an amount in the Shipping field on the View Item page.

Perhaps this is why sellers get upset when eBay raises fees and takes a hard line with sellers. eBay glitches contribute to the tension between buyer and seller, and the seller is the one who has to deal with the consequences. And now those consequences are even greater with eBay's recent policy changes.

eBay did not report this glitch on the Systems Announcement Board, which will likely lead some buyers to think that sellers are trying to pull one over on them with a bait-and-switch tactic.

eBay's demands to sellers to clean up their act would have a lot more impact if eBay demonstrated it could clean up its own act in terms of glitches, communications, and fraud.

Comments (18) | Permalink

Readers Comments

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: JAV

Thu Feb 7 10:45:23 2008

On some listing the shipping charge is only showing the handling fee.
If you click on the listing, like you example above, you will see the correct S&H total.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: dimes

Thu Feb 7 11:17:57 2008

How can you tell it's a glitch and not a "test"?

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: JJ

Thu Feb 7 15:44:53 2008

Right! How do we know they aren't just "testing" this seller's last nerve?

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: unknown

Thu Feb 7 17:46:43 2008

Cause I emailed support about it early this morning and that was what they called it - a 'glitch' they're aware of with no ETA on a fix. The second email I got downgraded it to an 'inconvenience'' that ''should be taken care of in a relatively short period of time. This is an understood technical issue and the likely hood of someone getting suspended as a result of it is very small.''

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Kp

Thu Feb 7 19:27:44 2008

''and the likely hood of someone getting suspended as a result of it is very small.''

Right, that's probably true. However a buyer may think you're playing bait and switch on him and take it out on you in feedback or DSR stars.

But don't worry, it's only an 'inconvenience'.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Not a glitch

Thu Feb 7 19:43:57 2008

Ina, I don't believe it's really a glitch. I think they are trying to send sellers a message. I used to work in the credit card industry and I've personally seen these kinds of tactics employed there.

Every single policy change last week is directed at getting sellers to include the shipping cost within the item price, so ebay can draw profits from it within their final value fees. Your starting price for your items will go up as well, so they'll make more on inserton fees. They'll never admit it but their goal is for sellers to offer free shipping en masse. Think about it, it just makes business sense for them to feel this way. I'm not defending ebay, I'm just trying to see their true motives.

To be honest, alot of large ebay sellers out there, who have been gaming the system by relying on shipping/handling as the only profits coming from their ebay business-should have known this day would come.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: kevin

Thu Feb 7 19:47:53 2008

Wow! You and I are indeed on the same ''wavelength'', particularly with your ending statement , “eBay's demands to sellers to clean up their act would have a lot more impact if eBay demonstrated it could clean up its own act in terms of glitches, communications, and fraud.”

I’m a ten year Ebay evangelist (yes even though it sounds like I am beating up on EBay, I love them, still!) and have had a rollercoaster ride with the Safe Harbor (SH) dept.

As a buyer and seller of high end antiques, collectibles and fine art I increasingly cringe at the open fraud that continues to permeate the EBay planet . For example, autographs are one of my main areas of interest, primarily valuable historical autographs. Back in 1998 I noticed a couple of consistent, full time sellers of blatant autograph forgeries. The task of trying to get any one’s attention at Ebay, Particularly the Safe Harbor dept was well, forget about it.

So for years EBay just claimed their own version of the “fifth”, caveat emptor, “we don’t police auctions”, “we are just a vehicle for the marketplace to gather and exchange goods”. Then around 2003 EBay began to finally make an effort to control this particular example of outrageous fraud, namely by employing a number of EBay Authorized Autograph authentication services like PSA. Any autograph could be submitted to PSA for a quick opinion, if it failed it would be removed (cost $7.50 to the interested bidder).

But, not many people us ethis service and many of the forgers on EBay are clever in circumventing this. Then I was introduced to Rob Chestnut the head of SH. I was quite impressed that Rob would actually communicate with me and for the next year or so I would contact Rob about suspected sellers, he would then consult with one of the authorized autograph authenticators and MANY forgers were removed, and many potential painful sales were prevented.

One of the Rob’s last emails to me, before his exit from EBay was, “Great job, you are 100% on the mark with everything you sent us so far…”. Then Rob was gone, the communication ended and many of the e-criminals have returned to EBay.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Fruity

Thu Feb 7 20:56:11 2008

wow, look at the illegal listing with the cute ladies above it. They're just all over the place now aren't they!

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Kevin

Thu Feb 7 23:57:37 2008

As a large seller, I can tell you that this wreaked havoc on us today - we got clobbered with people wondering why shiping was free but they were charged for it, etc. We're going to get a lot of non paying bidders and negs out of this one.

Thanks eBay!

(sigh)

-Kevin

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Mani

Fri Feb 8 00:11:18 2008

Kevin said

"One of the Rob’s last emails to me, before his exit from EBay was, “Great job, you are 100% on the mark with everything you sent us so far…”. Then Rob was gone, the communication ended and many of the e-criminals have returned to EBay. "

and some of them are running the ebay.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Ed

Fri Feb 8 05:29:20 2008

Ina
It's not just he display free P&P glitch. All our listings ship worldwide and we never upload a listing without postage displayed for every country.
In the last week, all our shop listings on eBay.com have had all shipping except to the US removed.
Multi-item shop listings that previously sold, invoiced, and shipped to UK, OZ, anywhere, now only have US postage available.
This morning we tried invoicing a repeat purchase to an Oz buyer (they had bought from the same listing previously) and we could not invoice them because the listing has had non-US shipping removed, and because of prior sales, the listing could not be edited to add the shipping back.
This means we have to end 1000+ listings mid-term, lose the prepaid fees for the rest of each listings life, and relist using a complex staggered schedule.
We therefore not only lose the existing paid period, we also have to pay an extra set of scheduling fees on 1000+ listings, and lose around a week of man-hours to do it.
Let's call this what it is - eBay is deliberately defrauding sellers of fees. No number of apologies, claims of glitches, programming errors (for which they would be legally liable to paying customers anyway), or anything else, will change this position.
Whether they are deliberately (or accidentally) creating these errors and problems, someone's head should roll - publicly and with high profile.
Remember, eBay is a corporation, therefore the "buck" stops at the CEO's desk - currently, that is still Meg Whitman, and as Chairman of he board, Pierre should be demanding answers on behalf of the community he founded.
Ed

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Rhonda

Fri Feb 8 06:29:39 2008

This "free shipping" glitch has been around for at least 2 or 3 weeks. As a buyer, I've run into it and scratched my head more than once.

Having been on eBay for 10 years, for half a second I wondered what game the seller was playing. Then I realized it was just the latest in eBay glitches.

As a seller, I haven't noticed this happening to my listings. Until last year, 99% of my online listings/sales were on eBay. In the past year, I have reduced that to about 15% or less.

One of the reasons I list less and less on eBay is the glitches and eBay's lack of owning up to them. As a seller, they have caused me problems, and as a buyer they have caused me problems. EBay so seldom announces a glitch that a few months ago when they actually did, I was shocked. Of course it was a rather minor glitch as far as eBay glitches go.

For over a year, their glitch with "my messages" has been ongoing. First they didn't admit it, then they did (on Live Help), and then they said it was fixed. Not on all MY eBay id's it's not. Not on ANY of them.

Given eBay's usual attention to glitches, I doubt this one will be fixed any time soon, if ever.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: unknown

Fri Feb 8 08:19:51 2008

One of the reasons I list less and less on eBay is the glitches and eBay's lack of owning up to them.

I would wish the media would pickup on ebay glitches more often than they do. That's the only way they get fixed. They just about never get announced under System Announcements and if they're posted anywhere, they're hidden in the 'ebay chatter blog', whatever that is.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: exit strategy

Fri Feb 8 14:53:58 2008

I just had a sale and the lady writes me wanting my $3 item shipped free of charge!!!

What a goofy world ebay is! I hope some engineer (with ethics) that works for this suckhole company sabotages ebay systems.

Then I don't mind answering letters from cutomers about ebay's goofy system failures.

If your UPS and give exceptional service (charge for it) If you've got fanatical customer service (you can charge for it) ....But, if your ebay and you've got a micky mouse, no telephone, head in the sand business then they don't deserve the kind of money they extract.

What is it now, 16-20% of the take goes to ebay corp when you pay with paypal. And that's only if your lucky enough to sell a piddly 40%.

Big, big fee decrease ebay..... This company is a joke! We need a jilted engineeer to do his majic and drop the whole site off the internet for a week and see if they'd respond??

I'd love that, I'd relish that. What goes around, comes around ebay. Anybody that does not believe that, is only kidding themselves. Ebay management must not know the rules of the universe, or doubt that it's fact.

I don't mess with the universe, nobody messes for long, it's the way of all things.

Exit right.....

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Patricia

Sun Feb 10 14:00:03 2008

There's also a glitch in MyEbayas to relisting an item. I reported the glitch several times and was told "we're evaluating it." Be aware that if you simply hit relist on an item that did not sell and is listed in MyEbay, the form comes up and has .99 as a starting price and the original price of your item as a BIN!!! I read a post on one of the ebay forums where the seller actually sold the item for .99 because she didn't want to cause trouble and get a negative. When I snooped around, I found it was not her fault but the relist form ebay gives you in MyEbay with 99 cents filled in as price.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: Jake

Tue Feb 12 03:23:34 2008

According to eBay's System Announcements today, they have resolved the problem.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: jsicolts

Tue Feb 12 03:42:11 2008

NOT fixed. and ebay has no intention of "fixing" it either. Also, Half.com ebay's ugly sister STILL REQUIRES a delivery Confirmation # to use their email service, yet states Blank Lines are ignored - NO THEY ARE NOT.
It will not process without a DC #, so we just continue to use fake numbers to use their email service.

eBay Glitch Incorrectly Displays Free S&H

by: metropilot on ebay

Wed Feb 13 14:07:42 2008

Ebay has always been notoriously inaccurate in calculating shipping, especially for USPS. As a seller you have to add to your handling fee to break even... Now one of the determining factors for incentives is the shipping and handling feedback. THIS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IF THE SHIPPING IS POSTED IN THE AUCTION ITSELF. I am a moderate volume seller (1-10k/mo)....I am now having to put disclaimers in the listing trying to explain that lightweight items in big boxes are charged based on volume, not weight.

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