eBay Draft Listings Disappearing, Not Saving Updates
UPDATE 1-13-23
A sitewide ticket for this issue has been added to the "ongoing technical issues" list in the eBay community.
Sellers are claiming all their drafts were removed only the current draft were left (January 10, 2023)
Reference ID: ALERT14357
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Sample Draft:
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eBay sellers report problems with draft listings disappearing completely or not saving updated information that is entered.
Unfortunately, I broke my edit in small numbers rule during draft edits. I started to edit the shipping for 67 drafts at 12:42 am (EST) and pressed Save for Later at 12:47 am (EST). AND POOF!!!! They are all gone! They are not active nor are they in my drafts. They are just GONE! 67 of them!!!!!! These were not old drafts as I started them yesterday and today. The ones I edited at 12:41am are still in my drafts (smaller batch). If you are editing your drafts BEWARE! I am using a windows computer and do not have WIFI issues. Of course, the call center for help is not open at this time.
Over about one hour I just lost about 90 Drafts I was working on. They just started disappearing in chunks. I am using Safari on an Apple computer, iPad app and iPhone app. All systems are current. This bleep me off and is very frustrating.
There have also been several reports on Reddit
What would make drafts delete by themselves? from eBaySellerAdvice
I’m seeing drafts disappearing after editing a few. At first, multiple disappeared after bulk editing a few. And now I’m seeing that exactly three would delete after editing one every time. I don’t see them going in another section as well. What can cause this, is it a glitch?
PSA: Double check your drafts before listing as eBay is not saving info properly from eBaySellerAdvice
This has been an issue for me for a while and I want to assume it's unintentional on eBay's part but it seems sketchy and is a PITA regardless.
I started some drafts yesterday on desktop and completed most of the textual stuff there. Then I brought up the drafts on my phone to take the photos, and saved them for today to finalize/proof on my desktop before listing.
This morning the drafts had not saved the info I had entered previously, namely my PRICE and PROMOTED LISTING RATE. The prices of some items had changed to what appears to be closer to what eBay would suggest for a recent average sale price. I had previously selected 2% as my Promoted Listing; today they are back to their default suggested higher ad rates, such as 6.2%.
I didn't notice if the change had taken place while I was using the app for photos or until I brought them up on desktop today. If I was in a rush processing listings, I would have missed these errors completely.
TL;DR: Proof your drafts before finalizing the listing process as important info like price and ad rates might not be as you initially entered them.
I’ve had this problem with the new listing tool where the page will randomly refresh while listing. When that happens, any values not auto saved are reverted, back to whatever listing values I was doing “sell similar” from. Occasionally I step away when the refresh happens and I miss it. This is so annoying and something that never happened with the old listing tool.
The promoted ad percent is wonky on PC when you put in your own sometimes it reverts to the suggested one. I had something sell and 6 percent ad rate or something and I know that wasn't my doing
Are you experiencing problems with eBay draft listings? Let us know in the comments below!
Stop the promoting. Stop the throttling. Stop the 'hiding your items'. Stop the trying to figure out for customers what they want to see or buy. Buyers are not stupid. They see right through it, get sick of scrolling down a page past a bunch of ads to see all the search results, and then they just stop wasting time & go on over to Amazon.
KISS eBay!!! The acronym, not a smooch.