Category Archives: eBay

In eBay News: Free Listings & Deferred Fees!

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Did you see this this letter to the eBay community?

To our seller community,

eBay is always open, and now, more than ever, small and medium sized businesses are using our platform to connect with buyers and deliver what they need most. When people shop eBay, they are supporting you and sellers like you around the country.

Despite unprecedented circumstances that involve “social distancing,” it has been incredible to see the eBay community come together and spring into action. Sellers have been jumping in to support one another – from creating web videos with tips and tricks for successful selling despite the outbreak to sellers simply offering up words of much-needed support to one another.

We’re grateful to the countless sellers who have taken the time to give us candid feedback over the past weeks; and for being crystal clear about what’s necessary to strengthen and sustain your businesses amidst COVID-19.

Based on what you told us, the following moves are being implemented for our small and medium businesses:
Deferred Fee Payments: When we asked how we could help, many of you shared that help with cash flow and flexibility with payments was top of mind. For that reason, we are deferring most selling fees for eligible Store subscribers for a full 30 days. If you could use help with your payments, check here or your email on Wednesday, March 25, for complete details and how to request support.

Seller Protections: We want to reassure you that you will not be penalized for being unable to get an item out the door as fast as usual or if you have to unexpectedly cancel an order. To this end, Seller Performance Standards will not be negatively impacted for the next 90 days. For more on this topic, check this announcement board where we post frequently.

100,000 Incremental FREE Listings: As the way we spend our time has changed – with more time at home and with family – there has been a shift in the type of items that are most in demand. Now is the perfect time to test new inventory, and I’m excited to share a new promotion for eBay Store owners. Subscribers can now list 50,000 additional fixed price listings FREE in March and 50,000 additional listings FREE in April*. Your success is our success and we want to help keep you listing and selling on eBay.

Additional Updates:
Shipping: Carriers inside the U.S. are considered essential by the government at this time and there has not been disruption to date. The team is in direct communication with USPS, UPS and FedEx – and domestic deliveries are continuing as usual, with slight variations on their signature required processes. Don’t forget you can schedule a USPS pick up if you are unable to drop off your packages.

Trusted Marketplace: Finally, we continue to take steps to ensure our marketplace remains safe and trusted. That includes removing listings that include health claims and misuse of keywords, or any inflated prices on items like face masks and hand sanitizer. We’re working as fast as possible, but if you see something that doesn’t look right then please let us know here.
Along with these actions, our government relations team continues to find ways to support our marketplace and help those most affected by COVID-19. There is also a dedicated resource center, tailored for small businesses, in response to the pandemic. Stay up to date on this information and these efforts at Main Street.

More to Come
So much continues to change due to COVID-19 and we are committed to helping you navigate the uncertainty. While we’ve had to postpone many of our UpFront events, we will continue to stay connected and share updates on our COVID-19 Community Hub, podcast and Facebook. You can also contact Customer Service with your questions. We are providing sellers who host in-person Community Events with resources to run these forums online.

As I’ve shared in the past, eBay’s top priority continues to

be the health and happiness of our community – especially our employees and you, our sellers. Please stay safe and, as always, thank you for selling on eBay.

Jordan Sweetnam
SVP and General Manager, North America

Dear eBay Queen: What Do I Do With An eBay Stalker?

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Dear eBay Queen:

I do not know what to do.  I have been selling on eBay 10 years.  I have a 100% positive feedback rating and a Top Rated Seller. I also work part time at a day care near my home.  I had a buyer purchase a lot of Vintage Barbie clothes from me in October 2019.  The total bill was 79.88 with shipping.  I insured the package and had tracking on it.

In early November the buyer contacted me and told me they did not receive the package.  I gave them the tracking number to let them know that it had shipped and was delivered and the day it was delivered.  The buyer opened a Item Not Received request.  I uploaded the tracking and 5 or so days later the buyer called eBay and eBay closed the request in MY FAVOR, but refunded the buyer anyway  with eBay funds.  The buyer promptly left me negative feedback (which was removed by eBay).  I blocked the buyer from purchasing from me, because who wants a buyer that does that?

Fast forward to December 31st.  I listed about 80 new doll and Barbie listings.  I guess my buyer figured out she was blocked because she then messaged me and was ticked she was blocked.  I didn’t know what to do, or how to respond.  I called eBay Customer support and they told me I did not have to do anything, so I did not respond.   She kept messaging me, so I finally told her this:

I am sorry you are unhappy, I don’t know what to say.  I spoke to eBay and they told me that

 ‘I can block whoever I want to.’ I don’t think it is fair that your item shows delivered, eBay gave you a refund and you left me a negative.  Please do not message me again.  I will not respond and I will report you to eBay.

I have a Linked In, Instagram and Facebook.  She stalked me ON EVERY ONE of those social media accounts.   I figured this out because Linked In sent me an message saying I had new profile views.  When I went to see who, she was one of the people.  She liked and un-liked the same photo on Instagram and Facebook.  I received a notification that she did both of those things.  The worst thing she did, is write an email to the day care I work for.  I was just called into my boss’ office and while they thought it was funny, and did not care, it was really embarrassing.  My boss offered to send a reply and I asked them not too.   Is there anything I can do?

Casey; Amarillo

 

 

 

Dear Casey:

Holy Smokes.  It makes you wonder what kind of time these people have?   Have you blocked her on each of your social media accounts?  Did you report her behavior to eBay?   While you may never know what actions eBay takes, they will do something.  The last thing I know to do is pay an attorney to send her a cease and desist letter.   This might cost anywhere from $50. and $300. for the letter

The only thing I know personally about people who stalk on the internet is, if you don’t give them anything to look for, they usually stop looking.   Sometimes responding can just make it worse.  It sounds like your employer gave it the exact amount of energy you should.   I would let it go for now, but if she continues I would seriously consider asking a lawyer to step in.

Remember people stalk on the internet because it is safe for them.   You can say whatever you want because 99 percent of the time nobody is going to do anything about it.  It is a exciting for the stalker to get people’s attention, especially people the stalker thinks is more powerful than themselves.   Being mean is sometimes a byproduct of being  bored.  Always remember bored people can be very dangerous.  They put their energy toward being mean instead of selling on eBay. 😉

I’ve had my fair share of internet stalkers, some that admired me and some that disliked me.  I only had to get a restraining order one time.

I found a couple of articles about stalking.

HERE  The Difference between Internet creeping and stalking   and HERE  Prevent and Defend Internet stalking

Always remember if you feel unsafe to call 911.  I am really sorry this is happening to you.

 

Crazy eBay item of the week:  HUGE Vintage Barbie Collection Mod TNT BARBIE & Clothing, Accessories & Case Lot SOLD $1376.00  You can check it out here

What’s the Deal with Your eBay Promotions?

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I received a message on Facebook from a reader asking what I mean by “new this week promo” on  my “today’s plans” blog posts.

I am a eBay consultant for a large catalog company.  I started consulting for them in 2016.  I was going to work a couple of weeks, and that turned into years.  🙂 I’ve learned SO much with this company.  They use promotional emails with their catalog and online store.  We wondered what we would happen if we did the same for our eBay customers.  In early 2019 we started  seriously using eBay’s promoted listings and markdown manager.  This was (in my opinion) a huge game changer for this company’s account.   In October of 2019 we started our “one and only” campaign.  The one and only promos work like this.

  1. We list 6 new items, that we only have one of.
  2. They start each Monday at 9:00am
  3. They go in a special store category made just for them.  If they sell great, if not we remove them from that category on Sunday evening.
  4. These items vary in price and item type.

We’ve had pretty good success with this.  I was a bit skeptical, but I am pleased with the Monday One and Only campaigns.  We sell about 30% of those items on the first day of their offering. The draw back to me is sometimes it’s challenging to find 6 unique/special items with a WOW factor to make people want to buy.

If you are not using promoted listings, markdown manager or sending out updates to your subscribers, YOU SHOULD TRY IT.

 

Me.. out in the warehouse.

 

Dear eBay Queen: I’m Done. How Do I Sell Off Everything?

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Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve decided I am done.  I am going to sell off all my product and get out of the business of eBay. This is how I supported myself and my family.  I’m really ticked about the policy changes and all of the negativity that is happening around Good til Cancelled (GTC)   It seems that all I get out of eBay these days are non paying buyers, low-ball offers and stupid returns.  I have a store, and I’ve done nothing but lose money.

I think maybe the best thing for me is to sell everything off and get a real job. Is there anyone that will buy EVERYTHING I have in inventory?  I am on probably 10 Facebook groups and I read the eBay boards.  It doesn’t seem like anyone is doing well on eBay these days.

 

LCC: Denver

 

Dear LCC:

Here are a couple of thoughts I have when it comes to selling off your inventory.

  1. Local auction house.  Depending on how much product you have, you will either take it to them, or they can come and get it.  I would google  “auctions near me” or “local auction houses”.  Most auctioneers will charge you 25% to 40% to sell your items off.
  2. Online auction house.  Here in Kansas we have a couple of people that will sell your product in lots to their online community.
  3. Facebook Group. Maybe one of your Facebook groups will purchase your inventory from you.
  4. Estate Sale. I’m not sure how much stuff you have, but you could contact an estate sale company to see if they would sell your items in their location OR at your home.

What is your inventory like?  Is is product that you would want to buy?  Have you done your research to see if the product you have is priced right and that it is good sellable inventory?

If you have good sellable inventory priced correctly, instead of selling everything off, you should try this:

  1. List one new item or update one listing EVERYDAY.  You should see a change in your sales within a week.
  2. Offer 30 Day free returns.  If you have some heavier items, just offer returns on those.  I was super resistant to have 30 day free returns.  I found out by offering them it changed how buyers open returns and when someone wants to low ball me on a offer,   I simply state: “Since this item has free shipping, and free returns + it is already deeply discounted this is as low as I can go”  That usually turns the offer into a sale.
  3. Free Shipping.  We all know that shipping isn’t free, you have to add it in the price.
  4. Offer 1 day handling time.  Sometimes this really kicks me in the behind, but we know how important it is, so we make the changes in our lives/schedules to meet those goals.
  5. Don’t spend so much time on Facebook/eBay boards.  Depending on the board it can really affect your opinion about yourself and the work you are doing.
  6. Run promotions or use mark down manager.  I am always running a mark down manager sale on a store category, and it changes from  week to week.

Don’t buy into it’s all eBay’s fault.  This is YOUR business.  You are responsible for your inventory, you are responsible for keeping it moving.  eBay is the tool that does that.  I would hate to see you walk away from this business you’ve built.  Remember every good business has ups and downs.  A successful person adapts and changes with the business.