Archive for May, 2010

Dear eBay Queen;

I’ve been buying on eBay for a few years now, and have never had a problem, until now.  Last week I purchased some Cricut cartridges for my die cutting machine.   I paid immediately, and the seller emailed this to me through eBay’s message system:

I have been trying to find your cartridge, and have misplaced it.  I have torn my office apart looking for it.  My daughter and her children were over here last week; maybe they were messing in my eBay office. If I can not find your cartridge in the next few days I will refund your money.  I am very sorry for messing this up, and not getting your order to you in a timely fashion.

I’ve emailed the seller to let her know that I was looking forward to receiving the cartridge; and honestly I needed that cartridge to finish work on some graduation presents I have been working on.   I’ve been trying to find another one to purchase on eBay, and haven’t had much luck.   I really don’t want to pay retail for it either.  I received my refund 2 weeks ago.  I emailed her last week to see if she found it, and received no reply.  While I was scanning for the item on eBay, I noticed she had re-listed the item.

What should I do? I haven’t left her feedback and I don’t understand why she relisted rather than shipping it to me.  Should I pay for it again? Should I email her about it?  I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell me she found it!

D. Crabtree; Pomona, KS

Dear Crabtree;

I understand your frustration as a buyer. As a seller I have lost a few things myself, and have felt the panic when I had to tell a buyer I cannot find their item.  In your case, I’m not sure why your seller did not contact you once they found the item.

If this had happened to me, I would contact the seller before leaving feedback. Let them know that you would still like the item.  Explain that you need it to finish a project and perhaps she could take it down off of the auction and let you pay for it again.  Given that a couple of weeks went by since your sale, maybe she thought you had already found a replacement and listed it again.  I would definitely give your seller a chance to explain herself before you do anything else.

If you seller doesn’t respond, or is unpleasant, I would then consider contacting eBay to let them know you did not receive your item.  If you chose to leave feedback, make sure it is factual and to the point.

Dear eBay Queen;

I have a problem.  My account was suspended for 14 days and eBay sent a message to all my buyers telling them I was suspended. I sent everything to the buyers and have tracking, but they are opening disputes anyway.  I withdrew all of the money (except for 50.00) out of my PayPal account 2 days before the suspension.  This is something I do every week, and isn’t really that unusual for me. Because of the disputes that are being opened, my PayPal account is “overdrawn”.  What should I do?

Ashamed in Kansas

Dear Ashamed;

You should contact PayPal immediately by calling them at: 888-215-5506. Explain to them what has happened.  You should know you are not the first person that has had a suspension and their buyers have opened disputes. I would also respond to the disputes with all the tracking numbers.  As soon as those items are shown as delivered the disputes will be closed.

When it comes to the money, PayPal is linked to a credit card and your checking/savings account. They are going to pull that “dispute” money out wherever they can.  Perhaps, it’s not too late to transfer the money back into your account.  During your conversation with PayPal, I would ask them what the best thing to do is.

If this had happened to me, I would bring my account back to black, and then email my buyers to let them know their items are on the way.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 370378096395 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): When I watched Jurassic Park, I never thought I would be able to buy some dinosaur eggs on eBay.  Check out Half a Nest of 13 Dinosaur Eggs SOLD $2,938.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370378096395

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.

Dear eBay Queen;

I sold a lot of GI Joe accessories.  My terms clearly state in the auction shipping will be via USPS Priority, no handling charge, actual shipping only. The buyer emails me stating he only wants 1 piece of the lot and it should only be $2 to ship first class in an envelope. He also tells me he won’t pay the Priority charge. I sent a response stating: “terms are clearly spelled out; you should not have bid if you didn’t agree.” No response yet, but I have already added him to my Blocked Bidders list. I checked his feedback, and he has given 4 negatives over the year and a bunch of neutrals that actually state negative feedback. At this point, I would just as soon cancel the sale and relist. What do you think I should do? Thanks for any advice.

Louise

Dear Louise;

If I understand your email correctly, your buyer is only purchasing part of the lot of items right?  If this is the case, I would send them the one accessory item they want first class, and relist the rest of the lot.  When it comes to problem buyers like this, I don’t think it is worth it to fight him.  I have found it takes more of my time and energy to fight with a buyer of this type, than it takes to just send the one item.

I completely understand you feel your policy should be recognized by buyers, and followed.  This type of quick to give negative/neutral buyer is not going to back down.  I would email this buyer and clarify which item he wants.  Let him know you will send the item first class mail.  Immediately after making your buyer happy, I would contact Jim Griffith at griff@ebay.com and tell him the situation with the buyer.  He will review the buyer account and see if he is abusing his rights as a buyer.

I hope this works out for you and everything ends on a positive note.

Dear eBay Queen;

I don’t feel like you have explained to your readers how grave the circumstances are on eBay when it comes to these DSR rules.  I’ve been on eBay since 1996.  I’ve been a PowerSeller and a Top Rated Seller. I was one of those “Top Rated Sellers” that thought they were invincible. I am not.  If it could happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

I believe sellers need to be aware that anyone of us is just a couple of buyers away from losing our hard earned status. This is just how the new eBay works.  The reality is, if you get (3) two star or lower DSRs in one 12 month period, you will lose TRS, PS status and your fee discount. If you go to (4) two star or lower DSRs in one category, not only will you get a red warning flag on your account, but you will also lose the ability to have a Premium or Anchor Store, which could double or triple your fees.  Our fees will go from $310 a month, to almost $1000 a month at the Base Store Level.   Some of you may be thinking this can’t happen, but all of this has happened to me in 3 short weeks.

All it takes is a couple buyer mistakes, or a vindictive person, and your eBay business could be gone. I am not saying that this WILL happen, simply be aware that it all too easily COULD happen.  We all should make a contingency plan.  As sellers, you need to be aware and monitor your metrics faithfully, because this could happen faster than you think. We had excellent customer service. We can’t help it if buyers click the wrong Star (as one did) or mis-read a listing (as did the other). And those 2 mistakes cost us big time. It’s one thing to be buyer-centric, which we are. It’s another thing to put your business in the hands of complete strangers (buyers) which eBay has now done. By the way, 3 of our 4 DSR categories are (0)’s. In the category we have (4), two will roll off in the next 45 days, so technically we could be TRS PS again without lifting a finger by end of June, which just shows how the system is not effective.

Currently we are focusing on other venues, and will never again put all our eggs in eBay’s basket.

K.D. Jones

Dear K.D.;

Thank you for sharing your experience with the readers.  I hope you have as much success outside of eBay as you’ve had on eBay before the changes.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 290435229411 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Have you ever wanted to feel like Superman? Here’s your chance! 1956 Superman Costume Belt Prop George Reeves. SOLD $14,900.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290435229411

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.

Dear eBay Queen;

My eBay business has really taken off.  I think it is time for me to hire someone.  I will need them to help list, or just prepare listings for me until I proof them. I know other sellers do this, but I’m not sure how I would pay them.  Do I pay them by the hour? Should I pay them on commission, or maybe the “pay-per item” method?   What about compensation, is a .25 cents, $.50, or $1.00 per item not enough or too much?

Do you have any suggestions or experience that would be helpful to me?

Russell; Bolivar, MO

Dear Russell;

I’ll be honest; I’ve never hired anyone to work for me.  I’ve made it a policy to give birth to my employees.  In all seriousness, I do know that hiring someone else to write your eBay ads is not the easiest job to fill.  I don’t let anyone write my listings for me.  I have found that most eBay business owners are very detail oriented and it can be pretty hard to convey those feelings to another person.  If the person that writes your listings leaves out a snag or a chip, your customers will be grading your business on their attention to detail.

I would say with a new employee I would start them out testing product, stocking shelves or packing and shipping.  Once they have gotten hang of the business then start them out on writing up listings.  When it comes to pay I would say by the hour when if they are testing, stocking shelves etc.  An incentive based wage might work well once they move into writing up listings. I spoke to one of my friends that employes 6 people.  He pays the people that list his items a flat “per piece” price then an incentive on how the “as described” DSR scores are rated each quarter.  He told me his best lister averages 20-28 items per hour.

Good luck finding the right employee for your business!

Dear eBay Queen;

My second sale was a large Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  I received almost retail for the mixer and it was new in the box.  When I was making a label for the box I noticed that I could ship it for media mail for a significantly cheaper price than sending it Priority, or parcel post.

I contacted the buyer; refunded the extra money they paid, and shipped the item out.  The buyer contacted me yesterday to let me know that her item arrived, but the post office made her pay the difference between media mail and Priority mail shipping!  She was very nice to me, and explained that I could not ship a mixer this way.

What did I do wrong?  Why do they have this service if I can’t ship an item that way?

Mary Alice; Topeka, KS

Dear Mary Alice;

We have all made this mistake before.  The post office offers a variety of shipping services.  The most commonly used by eBay sellers is Priority Mail.  Priority is fast, with 2-3 days delivery time and varies in price.   Media mail is the most cost efficient way to mail books, records, recorded video tapes, printed music, CDs, DVDs, and diskettes.  Here’s some more information on Media Mail Shipping.  http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/senditwithintheus/mediamail.htm

The post office is known for opening media boxes to check to see if they are in fact media.  This is most likely what they did with your box.   You are very fortunate your buyer did not become upset with you for sending it that way.  I commend you on giving the buyer their money back for the overage on shipping.  I believe this is the reason she did not mind paying the extra money the post office charged them when they discovered the error.

This is a simple mistake that anyone could make.  The best advice I can give you is to get yourself acquainted to the shipping rules.  Good luck with your future transactions!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 160425933635  (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): I knew Lobsters were pretty pricey. Who knew Lobster plates were so expensive? Zsolnay Lobster Plate SOLD $5,500.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160425933635

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.