Archive for May, 2012

Dear eBay Queen:

I’m a part time seller and a full time buyer.  I sell mostly glassware and collectibles, but I’ve been doing some research on Barbies.  I need to sell quite a few of mine since I am downsizing and moving to a smaller home.  I hate to refer to anyone as being stupid, but I have often wondered why some people will pay the price they do for a doll they could have picked up at Wal-mart or Toys R’ Us for much less.  I don’t know, maybe they have phobias or some physical disability that keeps them from going out.  Maybe they just like the idea of bidding, winning, and getting something in the mail and don’t mind the cost; you know some people have a problem where they can’t stop spending money.

While doing research, I notice that these Direct Exclusive Barbies get bid up to nearly $200 and sometimes more right after they are released.  I don’t understand why  eBay buyers don’t just join the Barbie Fan Club so they can buy them direct from Mattel?  I’m a member, and I receive a $20 per quarter discount on purchases and usually super cheap shipping.  I’ve purchased several different Barbies from there: Halloween Haunt, Mad Men, Thanksgiving, Honey Palm Beach, Ekaterina and Glimmer of Gold Barbie all for around or less than $50.  Lots of these Barbies are going for 3 times that amount on eBay!  I understand why this would happen with an item that is sold out, but you can still get the Halloween Haunt from Mattel RIGHT NOW…. and the Mad Men, too! Bidders on don’t seem very smart.

I also thought I’d tell you, eBay sent me a warning email that I will lose my Top Rated Seller status because of their new rule changes. You’ll be happy to know that I replied with a warning to them that I will be selling less on eBay soon due to their changes.

Barbie

Dear Barbie:

Perhaps you should make some changes in what you are selling.  Instead of buying just one Barbie for you, maybe you should think about purchasing two or three to sell on eBay too!

I am not too familiar with the Barbie Fan Club.  I did a little checking, and found Mattel only allows 7500 memberships per year. Perhaps that prevents some people from buying Barbies from them?  I would also imagine there are a few people that only want a specific Barbie, not because it adds or completes their Barbie collection, but because it adds to another type of collection they have.

I wouldn’t ever refer to one of my customers as stupid.  I love enthusiastic eBay buyers.  They make my world a little more interesting.

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been reading your column for a long time, and I thought I would share my latest experience.  A few months ago, I bought a car part on eBay that was advertised as new. When I received it, it turned out it was old and rusted.  I emailed the guy, and he agreed to take the part back He promised a full refund once I returned it. I sent him the part, but he wouldn’t send my money back! I tried to file a PayPal claim or an eBay Not as Described claim.  Unfortunately I was too late to file either.

I thought and thought about what I should do, and finally came up with public humiliation.  I decided to Google his name and city. Once I had that information, I went on one of the “find people” sites and got the phone number for his mom.  I called her, and told her the story.  Mom was so mad- she promised me she would make sure I got my money back.   The dude called me back a few hours later, calling me every name in the book- “how dare you call my mom… you blank blank..”  His phone call scared me, and made me glad I didn’t live in the same state with him, but I got all my money back!  Mothers are awesome!

Mom’s Favorite

Dear Favorite:

What a brilliant way to handle a bad situation!  Thanks for sharing it with us.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 160792293757 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you like fairy tales?  There seems to be a lot of shows making a comeback with them.  Check out this classic fairy tale doll, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. SOLD $2411.9http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item256ff7b17d&item=160792293757  

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

Dear eBay Queen:

I’m shocked, I haven’t seen a single article about the Spring 2012 eBay Seller Update. Since no one has said anything, I’ll throw my two cents in.  I am very angry with these impossible new policies. Most national retailers (Wal-mart, Target, Macy’s etc) don’t even offer what this new policy is requiring of us, individual sellers. Why, because it’s near impossible and so costly to the seller. Nothing about this new policy is makes sense to me.

• 1 day handling
• 14 day money back return.  Who does that?

If I ordered something from a national retailer and needed 1 day handling, I the buyer, would have to pay for it, and I mean a lot of cash for 1 day handling!  Here on eBay there’s no charge for this service!  What’s with this 14 day refund policy?, In my opinion, it is begging to be abused in every way shape and form.  A disreputable buyer can use the NEW make-up or clothing I sell and then say it was not as described and return it all on my dime! Since I don’t have eBay representative sitting by my side, they certainly can’t make a determination if my listing was appropriate; thus, they’ll put a little check by the buyer’s name to watch them for further abuse (I assume). Meanwhile, I’ve lost not only money, but quite possibly a perfectly good item. Clothing or anything else, the principle is the same. Can you see what kind of problems this will create?  Why is eBay forcing us to pay for return shipping?  I SO dislike the new policy on automated returns.

It is my opinion eBay is imposing the latest policies to make it as near impossible to gain any reduction in our fees. (I can’t be a Top Rated Seller if I don’t have a 14 day return policy and offer 1 day handling) Clearly greed has once again reared its ugly head. I am so very curious as to who thought this was a good idea.

For once, I would love for eBay to take the side of the sellers, who are the reason they make so much money to begin with. Sellers can’t leave negative feedback, yet we are subjected to it, along with the very unfair DSR ratings. I’m so sick of getting the short end of the stick and working my butt off for a company that clearly doesn’t care for the sellers.

eBay can have my 20% Top Rated Seller discount and choke on it! Next thing I expect is some equally ridiculous PayPal policy so that that can suck what little life is left in us. Wait, what am I thinking? That happened a couple of years ago when buyers were forced to pay electronically and sellers were prohibited from accepting money orders or cash, insuring eBay/PayPal would get yet another chunk of our measly change.

What a crooked operation! Too bad I depend on the scraps I get from them.  I would be interested in how you are changing your business because of the 2012 Spring Seller Update.

Annoyed

Dear Annoyed:

I haven’t had too many complaints about the Spring Seller Update: http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/SpringUpdate2012.html I have had a couple of emails about it, that I didn’t answer here, but did answer through email, most were upset about the same thing you are upset about: The 1 day handling time and the new return policy.

I completely understand why you are upset about the new Top Rated Seller requirements. The 1 day handling time might be considered impossible for most people, and I am in agreement with you on if a large retailer was required to do that it would cost the buyer more money. I believe eBay is doing this to get away from their image of being a place where unscrupulous people sell their items and rip the buyers off.

I want to clarify one thing with the new “Automated Returns”. This is optional, and not mandatory for you to accept the new automated process.  I think it might be a good program for some, but for me it does not fit in my business plan.  If eBay made it mandatory for me to have automated returns I would not be happy. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/returns.html

Unlike most seller updates this one didn’t have to big of an effect on the way I do business.  I already had a 1 day handling time, in hopes that my handling time DSR would go up. The one thing that did take me by surprise was the 14 day return policy. We had a 3 day return policy.. now we have a 14 day return policy.  I was a little worried about this. Usually if there is something wrong, someone will notify me within 24 hours of receiving it.  I’m a little concerned with the new policy I might have some issues.  So far I have not.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 160725217003  What holds the papers down on your desk? Maybe it’s a vintage paperweight?  Large Antique Baccarat Millefiori on Lace Ten Gridels Paperweight. SOLD $2484.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item256bf82eeb&item=160725217003

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

Dear eBay Queen:

I’m shocked I haven’t seen a single article about the Spring 2012 eBay Seller Update. Since no one has said anything, I’ll throw my two cents in.  I am very angry with these impossible new policies. Most national retailers (Wal-mart, Target, Macy’s, etc) don’t even offer what this new policy is requiring of us. Why?  Because it’s near impossible and so costly to the seller. Nothing about this new policy is makes sense to me.

• 1 day handling
• 14 day money back return.  Who does that?

If I ordered something from a national retailer and needed 1 day handling, I would have to pay for it.  It takes a lot of cash for 1 day handling!  Here on eBay, there’s no charge for this service!  What’s with this 14 day refund policy?, In my opinion, it is begging to be abused in every way, shape and form.  A disreputable buyer can use the NEW make-up or clothing I sell and then say it was not as described and return it all on my dime! Since I don’t have eBay representative sitting by my side, they certainly can’t make a determination if my listing was appropriate; thus, they’ll put a little check by the buyer’s name to watch them for further abuse (I assume). Meanwhile, I’ve lost not only money, but quite possibly a perfectly good item. Clothing or anything else, the principle is the same. Can you see what kind of problems this will create?  Why is eBay forcing us to pay for return shipping?  I SO dislike the new policy on automated returns.

It is my opinion eBay is imposing the latest policies to make it as near impossible to gain any reduction in our fees. (I can’t be a Top Rated Seller if I don’t have a 14 day return policy and offer 1 day handling.) Clearly greed has once again reared its ugly head. I am so very curious as to who thought this was a good idea.

For once, I would love for eBay to take the side of the sellers.  Who are the reason they make so much money to begin with. Sellers can’t leave negative feedback, yet we are subjected to it, along with the very unfair DSR ratings. I’m so sick of getting the short end of the stick and working my butt off for a company that clearly doesn’t care for the sellers.

eBay can have my 20% Top Rated Seller discount and choke on it! Next thing I expect is some equally ridiculous PayPal policy so that that can suck what little life is left in us. Wait, what am I thinking? That happened a couple of years ago when buyers were forced to pay electronically and sellers were prohibited from accepting money orders or cash, insuring eBay/PayPal would get yet another chunk of our measly change.

What a crooked operation! Too bad I depend on the scraps I get from them.  I would be interested in how you are changing your business because of the 2012 Spring Seller Update.

Annoyed

Dear Annoyed:

I haven’t had too many complaints about the Spring Seller Update: http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/SpringUpdate2012.html I have had a couple of emails about it, that I didn’t answer here, but did answer through email.  Most were upset about the same thing you are upset about: The 1 day handling time and the new return policy.

I completely understand why you are upset about the new Top Rated Seller requirements. The 1 day handling time might be considered impossible for most people, and I am in agreement with you; if a large retailer was required to do that it would cost the buyer more money. I believe eBay is doing this to get away from their image of being a place where unscrupulous people sell their items and rip the buyers off.

I want to clarify one thing with the new “Automated Returns”. This is optional, and not mandatory for you to accept the new automated process.  I think it might be a good program for some, but for me it does not fit in my business plan.  If eBay made it mandatory for me to have automated returns I would not be happy. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/returns.html

Unlike most seller updates this one didn’t have to big of an effect on the way I do business.  I already had a 1 day handling time, in hopes that my handling time DSR would go up. The one thing that did take me by surprise was the 14 day return policy. We had a 3 day return policy.. now we have a 14 day return policy.  I was a little worried about this. Usually if there is something wrong, someone will notify me within 24 hours of receiving it.  I’m a little concerned with the new policy I might have some issues.  So far I have not.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 170836948017  You know you live in a big school district when tickets to your graduation are sold on eBay.  Check out this auction for 12 Windsor High School Graduation Seats SOLD $1000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item27c6acf431&item=170836948017

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