Archive for February, 2012

Dear eBay Queen:     

I’ve purchased several items from the same bead seller. Every order before this one was perfect. I bought some stone beads on eBay, amethyst and cherry quartz. The auctions for both indicated the beads were 16″ strands. I received the items, but they were not described. Instead of receiving a strand of beads, I received one single bead, that I think resembles cherry quartz, but is browner than what was shown in the photo.

I wrote the seller and told him that the amethyst arrived fine, but the strand of Cherry Quartz was missing. I explained I received a single bead, and if I had thought I was paying $14 for one bead, I would not have purchased it.  I stated I would like either a refund of the $14, or for them to send out the strand of quartz that I paid for.

He wrote back saying that he “double checked” his records, and that they have TWO people that check their stuff, and in fact they DID send the order that included BOTH the strand, AND a single bead.

The box arrived sealed, and the strand was not there.  So what do I do now?  He’s a Top Rated Seller and a PowerSeller, so I’m sure there is no recourse for me.

I’ve read some of your previous articles and you suggested going through PayPal, but why would I do this?  They are owned by eBay!  Do you have any other suggestions for me?  If not, I guess it cost me $14, but it will cost him word of mouth and any new sales from me.  Maybe the loss of my sales won’t hurt him because he’s a power seller.

Fran Campbell

Dear Fran:

eBay does own PayPal, but I don’t believe that is a bad thing.  Their partnership will only help your cause.  In a situation like this, I would contact your seller one more time.  Let your seller know that you are a repeat buyer, and that you would be happy to send them a photo of what you received.  Give them a day or so to respond.  If the seller doesn’t respond, I would file a complaint with PayPal.

eBay and PayPal care about your buying experience.  I would imagine that your seller cares too.

Dear eBay Queen:

I had a men’s suit up for sale that was clearly olive green and marked as olive green in the listing. For some reason, the product finder mistakenly had the color as black. This was my fault for missing that.  Before the buyer paid for the item, he tried to back out of the sale by saying he wasn’t sure it fit.  Today I received this email.

Here is the email that the buyer sent me:

“I received the suit yesterday and I have to say I am dissapointed. Quite surprisingly it fits just fine. I will need to extend the waist by an inch or so but the jacket fits beautiiful which was my main concern.

The problem is the color. Your description says black ….the pictures show beigee and the actual color is green!!

I have purchased 11 suits in 4 weeks from ebay and have perfect record of paying and feedback and have been very reasonable with the sellers..

In this case I am lost as I have 3 green suits. If you have something else I would consider it, else I would request full refund incl shipping as the item is grossly misrepresented. You have fantastic feedback and
mistakes do occur. I hope you will rect”

***Yes, he did send the email mid sentence.

Now, I disagree with him on all counts, except that I accidentally put black in the product finder, but the description and pictures are clearly not black. Also, I have no issues issuing a refund, but I want to insist upon my return terms and I most definitely do not want to pay for return shipping.  What’s your opinion on this?

Jaime

Dear Jamie:

There isn’t really anything to do except offer to accept the return.  I would email the buyer immediately and ask them to return the item.  Since there was an error in the listing, I would bend over backwards to make sure the buyer is happy.

They already mentioned your “fantastic feedback.”  While eBay won’t consider this a threat, to me the buyer is saying “hey I’ve seen your feedback and I just might leave something if you don’t do what I want.”  Keep in mind they could be being complimentary, but they are waiting, and believe that you are going to do the right thing.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 390366911972 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page. President’s day was this week!  Check out this Abraham Lincoln Autograph Signed Note.  I would have thought it would have sold for more.   Check it out HERE   SOLD $7500.00

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I received an email from PayPal yesterday, and I thought it might be a spoof email. After doing a little research, I’ve figured out that it is very real. Here is what I received:

“We’re writing to let you know about a change to your PayPal account.

The money may be available sooner if:

1. 1.      We can confirm that the item was delivered.
2. 2.      Your buyer leaves positive feedback. (Applies only to eBay items)

This change isn’t necessarily permanent. We’ll review your account every 35 days and re-evaluate if we should continue to hold your payments. If we decide to stop holding payments, we’ll email you to let you know.

PayPal”

Is this something new with PayPal?  Do I have any recourse? I have sold since 1999 and I have 100% feedback.  How would you handle this situation?

Dana

Dear Dana:

I am very sorry to tell you it is real.  I contacted PayPal about this policy.  They couldn’t comment on your case, but said there were a variety of reasons a seller would be subjected to the 21 day hold policy.   Most commonly it’s because the seller is new, sells in a high risk category or has had issues with refunds and returns in the past.  The PayPal rep even confirmed that sometimes a hold is put on funds if a sellers numbers change.

For more information on the PayPal 21 day hold policy go here.

Dear eBay Queen:

Yesterday I had one of my Amazon buyers email me asking where he book was that he purchased on 2/5. Nice guy, not rude. I checked the tracking and it shows delivered on 2/11. So, I sent him the tracking details (which he already had access to). I looked the address up on Google and it was a single family residence w/ an individual mailbox out front.

I mentioned that given the size of his mailbox, the package would not have fit and suggested he check where other over-sized packages are left, including around his front porch behind the side bushes, etc. (Nicely, of course)

He wrote back that he had already seen the tracking info, but despite it showing as delivered, he never received it. He had received other books, but not that one. He asked if I’d call the post office.

I’m going to take the tracking number and ask the clerk when I’m there today; do you know if Amazon will do anything since they marked it as delivered? Do you know what Amazon will do if he disputes delivery with them and I provide the tracking #?

Jill Palmer, New York

Dear Jill:

I would contact Amazon immediately to let them know what is going on.  It’s been my experience that they will refund the buyer the funds out of your account, even if the item shows delivered, but by contacting them you will not receive a strike against your account.

I think you are on the right track by contacting their post office.  It could very well have been delivered to a neighbor that has forgotten to take it to them.  I hope they find your package!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 110774756328 (enter this
number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.
Any cool old photos laying around your house? Check out this Samuel
Gompers signed Photo/Founder of AFL (1850-1924) Photograph SOLD $19995.00  Check it out HERE

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I purchased a pair of Converse tennis shoes for my son.  When I received them, I realized that they were not a men’s size 8, but a women’s size 8.   They were listed by the seller in the men’s category and a size 8.  I contacted the seller and asked to return them, as they were not what I expected.  I didn’t hear back from the seller for several days, when she finally responded she sent this email:

“Hi, it’s pretty clear these are a size 8, it says so in the shoe! I don’t understand why you want to return these, as they are as described.  Go ahead and send them back, but I am not going to be happy about this.”

• I mailed the shoes January 16^th with a delivery confirmation.
• I show she received the shoes back on the 20^th of January.
• I emailed on the 22^nd.  No answer.
• I emailed again on the 27^th and 31^st.  No answer.
• I opened a claim on February 3^rd.  She finally responded with this.

“What is your problem lady? Don’t you know what patience are? You’ll get your money, when I’m ready to send it back.  Thanks a lot for wearing the shoe for a month before sending them back. I can’t wait to leave you negative feedback.”

What is she talking about?  I received the shoes on 3 days before I sent them back, and there was a weekend in those 3 days!  I’m not the best eBayer, but even I know that a seller can’t leave negative feedback for a buyer anymore!  What would you do in a situation like this?

Randy, Ottawa, Ks

Dear Randy:

I would ignore all communication outside of the PayPal with this Seller.  Has the seller responded to your PayPal claim?  They only have  a few days to respond to the claim and then you will be able to close the case in your favor.  Have you entered in your delivery confirmation # on the PayPal site so that PayPal knows your seller has received your item back?  If not, make sure you do that immediately.

I am really sorry that you’ve been treated this way.  The good news is that you will receive your money back through PayPal, and you won’t receive any kind of strike or negative feedback from this seller.   The seller however, will have a ding against their account for having a case and not responding before it was closed.

Dear eBay Queen:

I have been selling on eBay for years just here and there. I decided to come back and try to sell full time due to my husband losing his job. I’ve posted about 100 items, and my fees are over $80. I opened a store in the hopes that would help offset some of the fees.

I haven’t had any big ticket items because I just don’t have the money to buy anything that has a high return. I’ve been selling stuff around the house, but I’m not making any money. It’s all going for fees. Can you help me understand how to go about making money? I thought I was making a little profit, but I found out that I wasn’t it. I’ve put all this work into listing and I’ve got nothing to show for it. What do I need to do?

Jan

Dear Jan:

Sometimes it takes a little help to get your selling off to the right start. Are you posting 100 items a month?  If so, a store is probably not the right way to go.  Non store owners get 50 free listings a month.  Sometimes eBay even runs 2 or 3 promotional specials each month, that will give you even more free auction listings.

I have also found that for the most part items do not get multiple bids like they used to, so you need to set your start price high enough to cover your expenses and make a profit. I used to start all my items at 99 cents to reduce fees and entice bidding.  Back then I almost never took a loss, but in today’s economy it is pretty risky to do.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 180751971872 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you have any old election buttons? Check out this Franklin Roosevelt 1932 Campaign Button. SOLD $6158.92 HERE

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.