Archive for May, 2008

Dear eBay Queen;

I had a seller refuse to accept my bid this weekend.  The seller said I had frequent troubles with PayPal.  My feedback has been 100% positive, and I do not understand how they knew anything about my PayPal trouble. 

Recently, I had trouble buying 3 Kewpie plates.  I bought them individually from the same seller.  After buying the last one I immediately went to PayPal to pay.  PayPal did not charge me any shipping.  I thought great, and then I received an e-mail from the seller saying that he wanted $20 for shipping.  I really thought that was too much but I tried PayPal him the $20 shipping cost using the eBay auction numbers.  That didn’t work either.  The seller wanted me to give him a credit card number so he could charge the $20 to it.   I did not do that. I finally found a phone number for Pay Pal.  The clerk there told me how to send money without using an e-bay number, and I was successful at doing that.

 I bought the items on April 28th.  The seller told me he sent them by UPS on May 15^th, and I received them on the 23^rd.  The whole experience was terrible.  I am glad this was not my first e-bay experience, I might have quit e-bay.  

 I have did leave positive feedback for this seller, but I did not feel I could leave him 5 stars for the shipping cost and the time it took for me to receive the items.  Could this transaction ruined my reputation and get me blocked from buying on eBay?    

Brenda; Waverly, KS

Dear Brenda;

There are only 3 ways for a seller to determine you are some type of risk as a buyer;

1.     They can look at the feedback you’d left or received.

2.     They have their seller preferences set to block buyers that:

a.     Are registered in countries to which they don’t ship

b.     Have a negative feedback score

c.     Have received Unpaid Item strikes

d.     Have been reported to have violated eBay policies by another user

e.     Are currently winning or have bought ’1-100′ of your items in the last 10 days

f.     Do not have a PayPal account

3.     They have you on their block bidder list.

I wish you would have included your eBay ID so I could have done a little research to see if I could figure out how the seller determined you were a “PayPal” problem.

If this had happened to me, I wouldn’t worry about it, just move on to the next seller.  Most likely this person has read some feedback comment and determined you to be high maintenance buyer.  Don’t let that get you down; I’m sure you will find a seller that would love to sell you something.

Dear eBay Queen;

I am so excited; I am going to eBay Live! I have tried and tried to get my husband to let me go, and he finally said I could this year.  Do you have any tips for me to make the most of my eBay Live experience?

Chicago Here I Come!

Dear Chicago;

You have picked a great year to go to eBay Live! http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/  This year’s convention will be in Chicago from June 19-22. eBay Live is a great way to connect with other sellers in the eBay community and talk to the eBay executives one on one.

Be prepared to start your days early and end them late! I make sure to build my education agenda first and flag the classes that I want to go to the most, and create a schedule for myself so I don’t miss a speaker or class.  The solutions floor has any and every vendor you could EVER imagine to chat with, from how to make your own bubble wrap to taking charge cards with your own terminal.  Make sure you bring a cart on wheels to drag your laptop, free swag and papers you collect through out the day. I’ll be there, so if you see me say “HI!”

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 220237589882 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the eBay homepage).  How much would you pay for Elvis’ Jogging Jacket top? SOLD $2,180.55 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP.dll?ViewItems&item=220237589882   

Dear eBay Queen;

I’ve been selling on eBay for about 2 years. I’ve only had a couple of non paying buyers, over the years, but lately it I’ve been having more and more non payers.  My husband thinks it’s the economy. People on the eBay Community boards say it is eBay changes.  What is your opinion?

I opened 3 disputes recently, and I was wondering how long it took for eBay to automatically close an "item not received" dispute? I have three UPI’s (Unpaid Items), and they closed in my favor. The three people went and opened non receipts against me as soon as the UPI’s closed.  I replied to all 3 of them, stating that I would be more than happy to send the items if I receive payment, and not before. These have been "ongoing" for almost a month now. So, my question is, since all 3 say "other party’s response needed", and have said such for almost a month, when does eBay decide enough time has passed from non-response and close the disputes?

Wanita; Grand Junction, CO

Dear Wanita;

I believe your husband is correct.  The current economy and gas prices have affected a lot of eBay sales.

I feel your pain on these claims, one of my eBay pet peeves is that a buyer can open an item not received dispute AFTER a seller has opened a non-payment dispute. I don’t know why they let them do this.  You have done the right thing, by responding to the dispute.  Since you did not open the dispute, you can not close it.  Disputes will remain open for 90 days.  The buyer can choose to close the dispute saying everything was worked out, or they can escalate the dispute and have Trust & Safety review the transaction.  If these buyers never paid for their item, you have nothing to worry about, even if it has been escalated.  http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html

Dear eBay Queen;

I really have two separate questions. I recently sold 3 pairs of shorts in one auction. The buyer emailed me today, and said there was a blue ink mark on the back of the white shorts. I only have black ink pens and check my items very carefully!!! Is this kind of thing common among buyers who buy clothes, get them, and the clothes probably didn’t fit? How should I handle this?

My second question is about feedback.  Yesterday, I had a feedback score of 124 and was 100% positive.  Today, I was browsing around and my feedback score jumped to 129 and is 98.4% positive!! No buyer left new feedback and I have NEVER had a negative rating but have had ONE neutral. Now, my feedback percentage makes me look bad! What is going on? If you hover over your feedback score, it tells you how they figured out your score, and even then the math seems odd. Honestly, it just doesn’t seem fair.

Shorty

Dear Shorty

The first problem you have is an easy one to solve, but probably not going to be easy for you to swallow. The way I see it you have 4 choices.

1. Dispute the ink spot, and risk a neutral or negative feedback
2. Ask her to send the lot back for a refund. 
3. Ask her to send just the damaged shorts back for a refund
4.  Divide the 3 pair of shorts, and refund her money for the 1 pair that is damaged.

If this were my transaction I would most likely go the route of number 4, and ask her if you refunded the money for the damaged pair if she would be ok with that.  You may very well be right and there was not an ink mark on these shorts, but it is better in today’s eBay to make the buyer happy.

I have had many people complain to me this week about the new feedback changes. Primarily the one, where eBay has made all neutral feedback equal to .67% of a negative; the neutral you received is what has dragged your percentage down so much.  The good news is, your neutral will fall off your record within a years time period, and you’ll be back to 100%.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 260235931226 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the eBay homepage).  The work is amazing on this hand made dog sculpture. Check out the Yorkshire Terrier New Design Dog Figure by Tammybears SOLD $2,024.01 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP.dll?ViewItems&item=260235931226  

Dear eBay Queen;

I’ve been selling sunglasses on eBay for about 3 years and I have over 4500 feedback. I received an email yesterday that has completely messed me up! I’m not sure how to respond, and how do I know if it is even for real?  Here’s the email:

“I am interested in purchasing the Calvin Klein Gold Skinny Aviator sunglasses but wanted to ask a few questions… I’m not sure if these are the right sunglasses for me. I have never flown an actual plane, (although I did throw up in the flight simulator at the Strategic Air and Space Command Museum in Omaha, NE,) so I’m not as concerned about the "aviator" part, but I also do not consider myself skinny. In fact, I’m a little overweight. Since these glasses are for skinny aviators, will they make me look less fat or will they actually make me look bigger? I’ve tried all the fad diets out there and they’ve never really worked (aside from learning you should never combine a laxative and a sleeping pill.)  Regardless of my size, however, I believe I am entitled to be shielded from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Please advise.”

Do you know what his real question is? How do I respond to this?

VLB; Kansas City

Dear VLB;

I haven’t laughed like that in a long time!  He’s funny.  I would say this buyer does have a legitimate question about your sunglasses, but also has a little comedian in him too. Why not respond to him in kind? If this were my buyer, I would respond like this:

“I believe these Skinny Aviator sunglasses are perfect for you. Not only are they the “it” shape for the year, but Calvin Klein is known for his waif size models. I’m sure once you put these on, all your fears of being overweight will be cast aside, and these glasses will make you feel like a skinny super model.  I have a pair just like these and wore them the last time I went to the airport; I had flight attendants and ground crew asking me for flight pointers!  I stand behind my product so if you are not feeling emaciated once you put these on, I will be happy to refund your money!”

Let’s hope your buyer is a serious about buying as he is funny!

Dear eBay Queen;

I can not believe what I am reading. Did you know about this new feedback policy coming into effect on Monday May 19^th?  I was reading the Auction Bytes blog http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/comments/2008/5/1210707187.html#1210740162 today and saw this calculator that shows what our new feedback % will be when the new feedback policy takes effect.  My feedback score went from a 99.8% to a 98.2%. 

I could not figure out how this could happen. After reading Auction Bytes I’ve learned that eBay is counting the NEUTRAL feedback in as a NEGATIVE! Apparently, only in eBay-land is a neutral comment really a negative comment.  What are they trying to do to sellers? eBay is no longer fun. I don’t want to be a part of this community anymore.   

I am hoping you have some words of advice for me, or some ray of hope that might make me feel a little better about this change. Did you know about this?   

Ticked off in Williamsburg 

Dear Ticked;

There are many people who work for eBay that believe this new system will completely make eBay stronger. I hope they are right. When listening to eBay Radio http://www.wsradio.com/internet-talk-radio.cfm/shows/eBay-Radio.html  last week, I heard Brian Burke (Director of Global Feedback) talk about this very change.  He did reassure the audience, and said that that eBay would be watching for “spread” in the system, and they would make changes accordingly.  That, to me, means that they are going to watch for feedback percents to drop, and if they do, they will adjust their standards.  

I knew about the feedback policy changes, but I never realized that the neutrals were going to be considered negatives after May 19^th.   Just like you, I am pretty upset about this.  My feedback percent is going to drop also.  My only advice is to wait it out, and know that you are not the only person who’s score is going to change.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 130221689331 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the eBay homepage) I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but I had no idea you could even buy them on eBay. What do you think 10lbs of Morel Mushrooms are worth? I bet this auction will make you want to go out and pick some! SOLD $201.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP.dll?ViewItems&item=130221689331