Archive for July, 2010

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been selling on eBay since February 2010.  I sold a huge set of Franciscan Starburst dishes on eBay at the beginning of May 2010.  The buyer paid for the item, and I packed them and sent them out the next day.  I received this email from them:

“Hi there – I was very happy to receive my dishes today but unfortunately there was some damage that occurred in transit – they appear to have been packed well & the box that arrived didn’t seem badly damaged, but there are several dishes that have been chipped or broken – I am happy to leave positive feedback after we work this out, but wanted to contact you first with your thoughts – I can send pictures and/or more information at your request – please advise & thank you”

I apologized and asked him how many dishes were broken so I could process the claim.  It took him 3 weeks to respond, and when he finally did, he told me 4 dinner plates were broken.  I contacted the shipping company, and then refunded his money based on the 4 broken plates.  He paid 289.50 for 35 pieces.  The way I figured it UPS would pay me $8.27 per item broken item.  I refunded him $33.08 to his PayPal account.  Two weeks later he sent this email to me:

“I don’t feel you have given me the proper amount of insurance for this claim.  Please re-evaluate how you are handling this transaction.  I found 2 completed auctions with 4 plates for sale, ranging in price from $38.75 to $47.00 making the average price $42.88 per plate  – additional shipping costs are more difficult to determine but are likely to be at least another $20.00 or more – This doesn’t account for the other broken bowl, which I’m willing to forgive if you’ll remedy this matter quickly – Thank you & please call if you have questions”

His original shipping was only 18.50!  Why does he think that he should be refunded $20.00 for shipping of 4 broken plates?   The way I read his email, he feels a refund of $188.00 is what I owed for the 4 broken plates and shipping. What should I do about this?  Why does it take him WEEKS to respond to me?  What does he mean by; “This doesn’t account for the other broken bowl, which I’m willing to forgive if you’ll remedy this matter quickly.”?  Is he going to leave me negative feedback?

I look forward to your answers.

Andrew; Topeka, KS

Dear Andrew:

Sometimes there is no good reason as to why a buyer (or seller) does the things they do.  Maybe this buyer is only on the computer once a week, or checks his email at the library.

The buyer’s emails to you are nice enough, but there are hints of feedback extortion, not to mention he wants more for the broken items than he paid.  When dealing with a buyer like this, it can be kind of tricky.  His comments regarding feedback do not have enough threatening qualities to turn them into eBay for feedback extortion.  If this transaction ended at the beginning of May, it is past the time he can leave feedback.  That being said is not an excuse to not do everything within your power to make him happy.  The way I take his “broken bowl” comment, is that he isn’t going to claim insurance on the bowl or leave negative feedback if you handle this correctly.

If this were my transaction, I would email him back and let him know how UPS figures insurance claims on partially broken items, (which is exactly how you did it) and perhaps remind him how much he paid for shipping.  I think it would be ok to remind him that he wants $188.00 for 4 broken items, when he paid $289.00 for the lot of 35. It’s very important to be nice in all your correspondence.  Keep your emails upbeat,

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 140425333113 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you collect bells? Check out this Rare Antique French Bell clock. SOLD $765.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140425333113

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 was at one of your all day eBay classes at the Olathe Library not too long ago. You told a story about an antique you’d mailed to someone and once they received they were not happy with it. In that story you mentioned that you marked your item with a special pen, so when they sent the item back you knew it was your item. When I went to Staples to ask about a pen like that they looked at me like I was crazy.  The only thing they had was a counterfeit pen for money. Is that the same thing or am I looking for something different?

Thanks, I appreciate your help! I’ve enjoyed “playing” on eBay, but have found the postage and/or finding mailing boxes to be my biggest challenges so far.

~Sondra

eBay member – sondraonline

Dear Sondra;

I believe what you are looking for is a UV pen.  These are the same pens that are used for detecting counterfeit money.  I’ve always bought my UV pens on eBay, because some sellers carry a pen that is a UV pen on one side and a light (to check the UV mark with) on the other.  These range in price from .99 cents to 13.99 from various sellers. Here’s a video on how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmZz_mM3BCY

Postage and packaging can be a daunting job.  If you have any specific questions regarding those topics, I would be happy to answer them.

Dear eBay Queen:

I purchased a HUGE lot of vintage quilts, quilt tops, patterns, and sewing items from one of those storage auctions.  I’ve been selling this stuff for a month or so, without any problems.  I make sure that I take plenty of photos and describe the item correctly.  However, that did not save me from this problem!

I sold a beautiful appliquéd quilt top on June 27^th.  They paid for it and I mailed it off on June 28^th.  The quilt top did not have a flaw or stain on it.  Here’s the email I received from the buyer today.  Please tell me what I should do, because I’ve never had anything like this happen.

“So, I received my quilt on July 3^rd, but I did not have time with the holiday and vacation time to contact you.  I can not believe this thing is in the condition it is in!  Where is the back? Where is the stuffing?  Where is the stitching?  I paid a lot of money for this quilt, and I expected it to be a REAL quilt.  What kind of scam are you running?  This is my 25^th eBay purchase, and I’ve never felt so cheated!  What are you going to do about this?”

So eBay Queen what should I do?  This woman is apparently certifiable. I have not emailed her back yet; I am waiting to hear what you have to say.

John; Springfield MO

Dear John:

Your buyer is upset because they didn’t read the title or description.  They thought they were getting a quilt, and not a quilt top.  This kind of thing happens frequently on eBay.  I wish I had some really good advice to give you when it comes to dealing with buyers that do not read the item descriptions.  Almost every eBay seller I know has this type of problem at one time or another.

In this situation I would double check to make sure I sent the right item, once I knew she had the correct quilt top, I would apologize and offer a refund once the item was sent back.  I know that some people would disagree with this, after all, the buyer made the mistake; but I like to think that if I make the buyer happy they will come back and shop on eBay.  In the current climate of eBay you can still be “right” and receive negative feedback with the potential of having your stars dinged.  This is something to think about when dealing with buyers.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 250661220971 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It’s hot outside! How about a vintage thermometer? Check this one out: COPPERTONE PAM 1957 THERMOMETER RARE WITH LITTLE GIRL SOLD: $1425.00  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250661220971

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’ve been selling on eBay for few years.  I would like to handle the way I take photos differently.  I think I need to upgrade my camera and maybe see if there is a better, more efficient way for me to take my photos.  Can you help me out with this?

Melanie, Topeka, KS

Dear Melanie:

To be a good eBay photographer, you don’t have to have the most expensive equipment. A basic inexpensive digital camera with macro capabilities is really all you need. Macro is the ability to focus up close on small things.  It’s also handy to have a camera that allows you to disable the flash, so you won’t end up with unattractive reflections and glares on shiny surfaces.  I also like cameras with rechargeable batteries, this way I don’t have to keep replacing them.  It’s also good to have an extra battery on hand just so I can always have one ready to go.

I have an area set up in my basement that is only used to photograph items. Before I had this set up, I used an ironing board with ivory cloth taped to my upper cabinets.  I took thousands of listings this way and no one knew the difference! Here are some of the things I believe you need to take good basic eBay photos:

• Table
• Digital camera with macro function to take detailed close-ups
• A plain white background
• A light source
• Tripod if you have a hard time holding the camera steady.

It’s important to not only have a good description but several photos to back up your description. Here are some things I do to make sure my buyers feel like they are right there examining the item:

• Make sure my lighting is good
• Photograph them from multiple angles. Front, back, side bottom.
• Show buyers important details like patterns, flaws and makers marks.
• Upload large, high-quality images at least 1000 pixels on the longest side. This way, pictures are the best quality.

I hope this helps you on your quest to take better photos.

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been selling on eBay since I was laid off from work a year ago.  I wouldn’t say I am the “eBay Expert” but I do know a little something.  I had a buyer email me yesterday berating me because I did not put the tracking in the eBay listing.  What in the name of John Wayne is she talking about? Here is her email:

“Have you sent my quilt top?  Every other item I have purchased from a seller I have received a confirmation email that they have sent my item and when I go to the eBay listing I can see the delivery confirmation number there.  The confirmation number is in blue and when I click on it, it tells me where my item is.  Do you know why it’s not like that with this transaction?”

Any idea what I can do to make this person happy?

Bruce

Dear Bruce:

Buyers have come to expect that a seller will send them an email with the tracking information on it.  It has become an industry standard practice in the online world. I believe you are setting your buyers’ expectations by keeping them in the loop when you provide tracking plus as a bonus, you’ll head off some of the “Where’s my item?” questions. Doing this would give buyers more reason to leave you high DSRs for Communication and Shipping time.

It is pretty easy to send this information.  If you don’t use the eBay label printing or print your labels using PayPal, you can manually upload tracking or Delivery Confirmation numbers by doing the following:

1. Go to “My eBay”.
2. Click “Sold,”
3. Select your item(s), and click the “Add tracking number” button.

I truly believe it is important to make this information available to your buyers.  By doing this, eBay can easily see when you ship the item, if a buyer contacts them with an issue.  If for some reason you don’t have tracking information, you can still mark items as shipped for your buyers in My eBay by clicking “Sold” and choosing “Mark as shipped” from the drop-down menu.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 200489716222 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): John Deere has been around for a long time.  Check out this Old Original John Deere Porcelain Tractor Dealer Sign. SOLD $3700.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200489716222

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.