Archive for August, 2010

Dear eBay Queen:

I have never had this happen to me before and I am not sure what to do.  I bought a designer jacket at Marshall’s for $26.  I put it on eBay, (which was my intention all along,) and sold it for $143.00. That’s great right?  Well, I did not know there was a tag inside the jacket that had the price I paid on it. The buyer that purchased the jacket wants me to refund the difference. She is telling me I ripped her off. We  have emailed back and forth seven times now, every time I have been very nice, trying to work things out and make  her happy but every time she keeps getting more nasty.  The last email stated she wanted a refund, or my feedback will show the rip- off, that I am doing to everyone ! Here’s her last email to me:

“Listen, I’m tired of people like you ripping off people like me. You are TOTALLY OUT OF LINE pulling this kind of scam on people. Who do you think you are trying to rip me off like that? I am tired of going back and forth with you!  You need to refund the difference immediately to my PayPal account. If you do not, I *will* make sure everyone who reads your feedback knows what kind of rip off artist you are!

Don’t contact me again about how you listed it for $35.00 and *I* bid it up to that amount. I know what the jacket is worth! I know who the maker is!  I’m not stupid. I do not think it’s fair that you took advantage of me and every other buyer out there like this!  What an embarrassment to eBay you are!

Should I refund her the money, take a loss and move on?

RipOff

Dear RipOff:

How dare you make money on your sales!  What kind of business person are you! In all seriousness, your buyer is a loon.  Since they have committed feedback extortion with the comment; “You need to refund the difference immediately to my PayPal account.  If you do not, I *will* make sure everyone who reads your feedback knows what kind of rip off artist you are!” I would report her immediately to eBay.

I don’t think I would refund her money, or communicate with her any longer.

Dear eBay Queen:

I was looking for back to school clothes for my oldest kid.  While browsing eBay, I found a seller that puts the following into EACH of their listings:

“I HAVE NO WAY TO TEST gold, silver, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, Rolex, Timex or Iron Man watches.”

In other words, the listing might be for a plastic mug with advertising, or for a yard of blouse fabric, or for a bone-and-leather necklace, but the description includes words related to fine jewelry and wristwatches.  My listing I was looking at was for a pair of new with tags girls jeans!  The seller listings keep showing up in two of my Saved Searches.  I reported a few of the items to eBay on July 8^th, and only received a copy of my report; no actual response from eBay.

This seller’s newest listings continue to include that blurb about having “no way to test……..”   Should I report the seller again, or is eBay just not enforcing its Search and Browse Manipulation Policy?  I also wonder if the people who receive these reports are located on a continent far, far away…I wonder if they really understand the policy, or the task assigned to them.

JJA: Williamsburg, KS

Dear JJA:

I completely understand your frustration.  You have a couple of options.  The seller may not understand what they are doing is wrong.  If you feel comfortable, you could email them and let them know what they are doing wrong.  If you don’t feel like it is your place to do that, I would report them again.  You could do this through the listing itself or via eBay’s reporting system.  The simplest way to report is to go to the actual listing, at the top section of the page under the “Other Item Info” box.  Click “report this item.”  There will be a few boxes to check and you are done.

Hopefully eBay will take your report seriously this time.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 180546247811 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you like the 1950’s or the TV Show MAD MEN? Check out this Mad Men Betty Draper Dress SOLD $2025.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180546247811

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 live in Australia and enjoy reading your article online. I would like some help on what I should do about a buyer who has left me negative feedback without contacting me first. The item she bought from me was a framed print which I thought I had packed quite well, bubble wrapped etc. I have sold framed prints before, and have never had a problem.

The first I knew about her problem was the negative she left, she did not contact me in anyway to discuss the broken print. The feedback she left me says:  “the picture came in a thousand pieces u could have wrapped the picture better”.

On all my items I have the following terms and conditions:

• Regular Post is your risk. Registered post can be organized if required, just ask for a quote.
• Whenever I can I use recycled materials.
• I try to ship within 24 hours of payment clearing.
• FRAGILE ITEMS – Australia Post does not offer a fragile service so items cannot be covered for damage in transit through insurance.
• All care is taken with your item to prevent damage, but once the item is in the hands of Australia Post I cannot take responsibility for lost or damaged items, but I will do my best to assist you.  Please contact me if there are any problems.

I am very upset about this as I have only recently become a PowerSeller.  I have always had 100% feedback, because of this negative it has now dropped to 99.7%.  I wasn’t even given the chance to defend myself, offer a refund or even ask for a picture of the damaged item. I have not contacted the buyer as yet or left a reply to the negative.  What I should do? I’m really upset about it.

Robyn; Australia

Dear Robyn:

I am so sorry this buyer didn’t give you a chance to correct the problem.  I know how frustrating it can be to receive a negative without any prior knowledge of a there being an issue.  Here’s what I would do.

• Contact member by phone or email.
• Apologize to them.  Ask them if by giving them a full refund will they consider removing the negative.
• If they agree then, send them the feedback retraction form.

I hope your buyer agrees to remove the negative, and you are back at 100% positive.

Dear eBay Queen:

I both buy and sell on eBay.  I purchased a dress (NWT) last week and it arrived today. It was delivered in a Tyvek plastic bag.  When I opened it, the dress had been very badly scrunched up inside bag to make it fit in the package.  The dress was damp, as if it had been packed while it was wet and the dress smelled pretty bad.  It clearly appeared from a smoking household, plus like it was mildewed or moldy.

It did arrive fast, it is washable, it did have the tags on it and it was otherwise as described.

Do I just send her an eBay message and tell her how I feel? Or do I just let her go on selling stuff this way and not leave feedback? Do I see how she reacts and leave feedback after she responds to me?

What would you do?

Rebecca

Dear Rebecca:

That is really odd the dress was so damp when you received it.  In a situation like this I would email the seller and let them know what happened.  My feedback and DSR scores I leave would reflect how she handled my initial email to her.

A couple of things to consider about this transaction:

• Is she new to eBay?
• Does she consistently sell clothing?
• I had a friend whose packages consistently smelled like smoke.  It took her a while, but she figured out her substitute postman smoked in the vehicle.

The Seller might be new to selling clothing and isn’t aware of what she is doing. I think after you receive her initial email I would give her some tips to help her transaction go better.  Sometimes people can be completely unaware that some small things they do can affect the clothes they are selling.   I hope your seller is receptive to your criticism, and she realizes how lucky she is to get a kind, compassionate buyer who gives her the benefit of the doubt BEFORE she leave feedback.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 330456848357 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Have your kids out grown their clothes from last year? How about selling them in a lot on eBay? Huge 48Pc Boys lot Fall/Winter Back to School SOLD $400.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330456848357

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:

If I list an item on eBay, NOT using a reserve, and the final winning bid is substantially lower than the real value of the item; is there any legal action that can be taken against me by the winner for not honoring the winning bid?  If the bidder sends me the money, and I  just refund the money back to the winning bidder, is there anything they can do?  I’m pretty sure the winner of the auction is going to be from a different state than I am, if that makes any difference.   I’m not concerned about feedback or ratings, or my eBay account, just the legal actions.

Thanks;

Don

Dear Don:

Your question really got under my skin.  I wasn’t sure how to answer your note without showing that I am a little angry at your blantent disregard for the buyer.  To me, it seems like you are trying to pull something off that is dishonest.  I wonder why you would not just use a reserve, or start the item at what you really wanted to get out of it.

To answer your question; No, for the most part nothing will happen to you.  Could the buyer take you to court for not honoring your contract?  Yes. Have buyers ever done that? Yes, but it’s pretty rare.  That being said, I don’t understand why you would want to do something like this in the first place.  It seems so dishonest. You say you are not concerned about feedback ratings or your eBay account, then why are you using eBay?  Why not just sell it outright on CraigsList?

My advice to you is to start this auction at the price you want, or use a reserve.  eBay should not be used in the way you are wanting to use it.Buyers are there to bid and receive their items. If you do something like this you not only are hurting your personal integrity but also making eBay look like a place for scammers.  I realize you intend to give the money back to the buyer if it does not reach the price you want.  I’m sure it doesn’t seem like stealing to you, but to many people (and your buyer), that is stealing. I can not condone this type of dishonesty.

I hope you will re-think your plan.

Dear eBay Queen:

My wife and I have been eBay sellers and customers for about 5 years now. At first, this was a great experience.  Back then we had lots of buyers and lots of very interesting and unusual stuff to look at and buy.  We lost our mojo when it comes to selling on eBay a couple of years ago.  All the rules, selling standards etc. made us crazy.

We would like to start selling again, but after doing a little research, I’m not sure our stuff would even SELL now! One example, is a Strawberry Shortcake Doll (new in the box) I listed five years ago for $9.99.  It ended for $149.99 and had over 300 visitors, a real bidding war towards the end!  I have the same item now, I listed for the same price – just over 50 visitors, two bidders,  sold for $42.50 – what a disappointment.  Should I just quit?

J&J, Overland Park, KS

Dear J&J:

If you enjoy selling on eBay, don’t quit!  There have been a lot of things that have changed eBay for the average seller.  The rules and standards are just part of the problem, the other is the economy.   I have found that eBay sales are not as good in the summer as they are in the fall and winter. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t sell in the summer, because stuff certainly does sell.  I have found that the more I pick and choose when I list certain items, the better off my sales are.  I have some friends that use Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com ) to do research on when items sell best.  Terapeak is a (mostly) free service.

I hope that you find your mojo, and are back selling on eBay soon.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 17017385685 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It’s been a little over a year since Michael Jackson’s death.  His stuff is still selling! Michael Jackson SIGNED Black Billy Jean Fedora Hat SOLD $2250.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170517385685

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.