Cannot revise listing.

Vernier · 14 August 2017 at 3:26PM

When I listed an item last Friday I found I was unable to get away from eBay's new 'Advanced Listing Tool' into the old tool as I had done before. Today I found I had overestimated the weight and set the carriage cost unnnecessarily high (a courier rather than Royal Mail). The item has bids, so I knew that my options for revisions were limited to additions, but thought I should be able to add the cheaper Royal Mail options, and additional explanatory text at the end of the description.

These options appeared to be available on the 'Revise Your Listing' page, but when I tried to add the postage options (WITHOUT removing the existing service) and clicked 'Revise listing with displayed fees' it produced an error message:

It looks like there's a problem with this listing.

Portions of this listing cannot be revised if the item has bid or active Best Offers or is ending in 12 hours.
Domestic postage - Postage Service cannot be revised if the item has bid or active Best Offers or is ending in 12 hours.

I've had three phone conversations with eBay Customer Service. I thought it might work if I could return to the old listing tool, so the first person I spoke to switched me back. Unfortunately, since I'd used the new tool for the listing, I could now not even get to the 'Revise your listing' page for this item. The second person switched me back to the new tool and suggested I would just have to leave the postage and add a note to my description saying I would send an invoice to the buyer with the new postage options. This is when I found out it was not just postage options I could not add! I got an identical error. The third person I spoke to thinks there must be a glitch, and says he will look into it.

Is anyone else having a problem? I know I should be able to add a note to the description because I've seen it frequently on other listings. Am I right in thinking I should be able to add additional postage options? I've never had to try this before.

soolin · 14 August 2017 at 3:44PM

It has never been possible to change anything even postage once an item has bids. Whilst you are trying to reduce the postage to be fair to the buyer think of it the other way round, seller lists something with £1 postage and then after people have bid they make it £10.

All you can do is add a note, which buyers may or may not see, explaining that you will send a revised invoice after auction ends to reflect the lower postage and asking winner to wait to receive that before paying.

soolin · 14 August 2017 at 3:48PM

Thinking about it further, I haven't seen any additional notes on a listing for a while, so perhaps that's been done away with too. I know it was a bit abused with people trying to add disclaimers or extra terms to a current listing, so perhaps eBay now disallow any additions. Even if it was still possible it was of limited use as I don't think it was picked up on a mobile device, and was also hidden away in tiny letters well below the main description.

Tealblue · 14 August 2017 at 3:49PM

If the buyer pays before you have a chance to let them know the postage is too high, simply refund via paypal with an explanation - people are generally very happy to get money back! Also worth putting in a note with the item when you send it in case the buyer hasn't spotted the refund and marks you down for excessive postage.

soolin · 14 August 2017 at 3:59PM

Tealblue wrote: »

If the buyer pays before you have a chance to let them know the postage is too high, simply refund via paypal with an explanation - people are generally very happy to get money back! Also worth putting in a note with the item when you send it in case the buyer hasn't spotted the refund and marks you down for excessive postage.

I've done the same myself in the past, always such a shame though that eBay don't refund the FVFs on the returned postage.

Vernier · 14 August 2017 at 5:38PM

Thanks for all the replies

soolin wrote: »

It has never been possible to change anything even postage once an item has bids.

I know I can't change anything - for the reasons you mention - but I'm only trying to add alternatives. eBay Customer Service don't seem too sure themselves whether I can add additional post services, but do seem sure I ought to be able to add a note.

Both options appear to be available on the 'Revise your listing' page (not greyed out), and I can go through the motions of selecting other postage services and entering the cost and of entering a note below the existing description, it's just when I try to save the additions that it fails.

Tealblue wrote: »

If the buyer pays before you have a chance to let them know the postage is too high, simply refund via paypal with an explanation .

I may just do that - it just really bugs me having mistakes in my listings! I am very sorely tempted to cancel the listing and start it again, but I know that would be the stupidest thing to do.

soolin · 14 August 2017 at 6:34PM

Vernier wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies

I know I can't change anything - for the reasons you mention - but I'm only trying to add alternatives. eBay Customer Service don't seem too sure themselves whether I can add additional post services, but do seem sure I ought to be able to add a note.

Both options appear to be available on the 'Revise your listing' page (not greyed out), and I can go through the motions of selecting other postage services and entering the cost and of entering a note below the existing description, it's just when I try to save the additions that it fails.

I may just do that - it just really bugs me having mistakes in my listings! I am very sorely tempted to cancel the listing and start it again, but I know that would be the stupidest thing to do.

Not only will you lose your current bidder but you get to pay FVFs to ebay on the cancelled listing.

Vernier · 14 August 2017 at 7:21PM

I've had a call from eBay. They are confirming that I should be able to make these additions, but there is a glitch their end and they are looking into it. It seems to be a "don't hold your breath" job, though. I will let the listing continue. Maybe the fault will be fixed before it ends.

I'm pretty sure the problem is something to do with the new listing tool. I have not listed for a while, and the first time I encountered it was when I listed an item the previous Friday, but somehow I managed to get back to the old tool. I couldn't find my way there the second time though. It turned out in my conversations today that it is possible to opt for the old tool as default, and I certainly will be doing so.

Tealblue · 14 August 2017 at 7:53PM

Do stop agonising - it really isn't worth it for such a non-problem. Just deal with it when the listing ends.

Pierre_De_Grenoble · 14 August 2017 at 8:13PM

soolin wrote: »

I've done the same myself in the past, always such a shame though that eBay don't refund the FVFs on the returned postage.

<rant>
To be honest it's one of the things that most upsets about eBay. we have to jump hoops etc to be able to sell and eBay does nothing after years of knowing their checkout is flawed and forces people to pay separately instead of letting them request a combined invoice.

I always repay excess postage and there have been many occasions where that amount is up to £30 to £40 and of course eBay and paypal do not refund the fees.

eBay can see where a postage refund has been given on a paypal payment they could refund their 10% automatically but they don't.

They know their checkout is flawed but they don't sort it. eBay must make many 10's of £ millions on these constant overpayments.

Myself I regard it as THEFT.

<rant over>

Chrishazle · 14 August 2017 at 8:49PM

As an infrequent seller on eBay I've been caught out with the Paypal email address when listing. In May I changed my email address on eBay and Paypal from wanadoo to gmail, as EE were closing all email service (including wanadoo, fsnet, fsmail, orange etc) on 31st May.

Listed 7 or 8 items last Thursday, saw the Paypal payment option was ticked but did not notice that it was my old wanadoo address. Noticed that a few days later - bywhich time I had bids on 2 items. All the items with no bids, I was able to revise the payment address, but on the 2 with bids that option was greyed out. Ebay online chat was the proverbial chocolate fireguard, even though they'd done a security check so they knew they were talking to the account holder - me. All they could say was "Put a note on the listing telling successful bidders to wait for a Paypal invoice before paying, and explaining why".

Ebay somehow automatically added my old address to the listing when I created it, but I'm damned if I can find any mention of the old address in "My Account", so that's another glitch in their listing system!!

Wish me luck on Thursday when my listings end and 2 of my items have sold!!

Cannot revise listing.

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free