Archive for the ‘Buy it Now’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:

While I was on Thanksgiving Break at my daughter’s house, I received a bizarre email from eBay.  The email is below, and it is telling me I have a Buyer Protection case from March of 2010! What the heck is going on?

Notice: Your buyer tried to open a case. Please contact the buyer.

Dear (removed),

A buyer tried to open an eBay Buyer Protection case because the item hasn’t arrived yet. It was too soon to open a case, so we asked the buyer to contact you. If you haven’t already heard from the buyer, we recommend you get in touch with the buyer. Most issues can be worked out through email or a simple phone call.

BUYER            ID ITEM #                  LISTING TITLE CASE            ATTEMPT DATE

(removed)       270510656244                         Loving Family Doll Set                            2010-03-03

By working directly with the buyer, you’ll be able to provide good customer service, and may be able to avoid a case being opened.
Here are some ways to help avoid a case for an item not received:

• Ship with tracking (and signature confirmation for items $250 and above) and upload the tracking information right away.
• Print your shipping label on eBay or PayPal. Tracking information is automatically uploaded for you and your buyer.
• Ship within your stated handling time.
• If there’s a shipping delay, let the buyer know.

You can view a list of best practices for successful selling.

Thanks,
eBay

Please don’t reply to this email. It was sent from a mailbox that doesn’t accept incoming messages. If you have questions, please contact us.

What does this mean?  At first I thought it was a phishing email, then I checked my archives, I really did have a Loving Family Doll Set with that eBay number.  It sold, and I received positive feedback for it.  What is going on?

Amy T; Wichita, KS

Dear Amy:

I did a little checking, and there seems to have been a technical issue with eBay Resolution emails between November 17^th and November 22^nd.  Based upon the eBay boards and mailing lists I am on, there are quite a few people that have received the same kind of emails.  To be on the safe side, I would go to the eBay Resolution center just to make sure that your case mentioned above falls into eBay latest technical issue they are having.  http://resolutioncenter.ebay.com/

Dear eBay Queen:

I buy a lot of things on eBay, mostly on Buy It Now with Best Offer.  Best Offer makes me feel like I’m getting a deal while I’m spending money.  Today I received this notification from eBay while I was placing an offer.

“This is your third and last chance to make a best offer for this item. Improve your chances by setting a fair price. You have placed the maximum amount of offers allowed for this listing and cannot make another at this time. You may still Buy It Now, or wait 30 days before making another offer.”

Seriously, eBay? This is how you increase sales? Buyers can only make 3 offers and then they are shut out for 30 days unless they pay full price?  These rules have got to be made by people who know nothing about retail or eBay!

I was just about to buy some movie tickets, as I did last year when they were offering double eBay bucks. The price was $127. I offered $90, then $100, then $110. I’m guessing the next one would have done the trick. Oh well, my seller loses, I lose and so does eBay. Brilliant people who went to college, but never worked in a store!

Paige Fry

Dear Paige:

Thanks for sharing that with me!  I would say 75% of my items on eBay are Buy it Now with Best Offers.  I’ve never knew that there a warning given to buyers like that.

I think the best thing to do would be to save that little blurb and email it to the seller on your last or third offer.  If the seller realized that this was the last time in 30 days they would receive an offer from you, they might take it.

 Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 190605941442 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page. Do you like Christmas? Do you like to decorate your torso in Christmas?  Check out this Christine Foley Size SM Christmas Sweater Ornament! SOLD $287.00 HERE

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? Email: questions@asktheebayqueen.com

Dear eBay Queen:

I am really frustrated and upset.  I am a Top Rated Seller, and I am in danger of losing my much enjoyed Top Rated Seller status.  I am beside myself and can’t seem to stop crying, I feel so depressed.  I was notified yesterday that my eBay account is in jeopardy because of the new dispute policy.  I know I should have read up on this policy, but I hardly ever have a dispute, so I really didn’t think it would affect me. 

I have a customer that opened a dispute on an item that he did not pay for and I was charged with an open case. eBay customer support clearly advised me that there are zero disputes that will be removed. This customer clicked on 3 purchases and only wanted one. He opened item not received dispute and he never even paid us for the item!  eBay refused to remove it causing us to fall into a percentage of over .50 % We had another case opened where we offered to refund the customer to be nice, even though we state in our listings that there are no refunds. The customer sent it back and opened a dispute because the item got lost in the postal system, and took longer then expected to be returned to us. We finally did receive it and processed the refund.  We did nothing wrong and went above and beyond to make the customer happy, yet eBay customer support has offered me no help.  I don’t think they care that I am losing my Top Rated Seller badge.  I don’t know how I will get sales if I don’t have it!  Please tell me you have a solution to help me.  My eBay business is helping to support my family.  I don’t know what to do if I can’t sell anymore.

Embarrassed & Desperate.

Dear Embarrassed:

I completely understand your frustration.  I also lost sleep about not being a Top Rated Seller, matter of fact I’ve never been a TRS.  Am I embarrassed about it? A little bit, because really- if the eBay Queen isn’t a Top Rated Seller, what is she?  I have learned I can still sell my items on eBay without the TRS badge.  I believe that the Top Rated Seller program has a place on eBay, but I don’t think most buyers understand it, or give it much thought.

Did you file a dispute against the buyer that did not pay?  Have you contacted eBay on the phone or just through email?  If you have not done these things, I would do them now.  I don’t think you’ll have much recourse on the buyer that wanted a refund.  If eBay phone support doesn’t help you, I would consider contacting griff@eBay.com , he always seems to help me when I am in a tight situation.

I know first hand that your eBay business can be tied to your self esteem. The last few years and eBay changes have been VERY hard on mine.  Please know that you can still sell on eBay and you don’t have to be a Top Rated Seller, PowerSeller or even an experienced seller.  If you put the product up there that people want, they will buy it.

Dear eBay Queen:

I had a buyer leave me a positive feedback but it was a negative statement. That one negative statement has made other buyers do the same thing.

Here’s a sample of the last three feedback I received. 

·         No packaging was used to send this. It’s Christmas time! Please use BOX

·         Christmas present arrived with the exposed item & a shipping label attached

·         Item as described, only thing is it shipped only in the clear packaging.

What should I do? I’ve never had anyone complain before!

SW Woods

Dear SW:

In a situation like this, there isn’t much you can do.  The buyers all left positive feedback for you.  In my opinion their complaint is valid, unless you said in your listing you do not use packaging. 

I’m not sure what you sell, but I would consider letting your buyers know upfront that you do not use packaging when shipping your items.  As someone who buys many of my family’s Christmas and birthday presents online, I wouldn’t be very happy if one of my kids happened to pick up the mail with their present exposed.  I would say these buyers were pretty gentle to your feedback, it could have been a lot worse.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 220700684710 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It’s almost time for a New Years Eve Dress!  Check out this vintage 1950’s Cocktail Party Dress Polka Dot SOLD $305.00     http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1950s-Cocktail-Party-Dress-PolkaDot-Bow-MINT-/250737194161

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 never bought or sold anything on eBay but I really enjoy reading your column.   My father died when I was 16, a few months after he died, I accidentally broke the last gift he bought for my mother; an old Mammy Cookie Jar.  I am now 34 and think it would be a great idea to purchase this cookie jar for my mother for her birthday in July.  I called around in 3 different states looking for this cookie jar at antique stores; each call ended with, “Have you tried eBay?”.

I’m pretty embarrassed that in this day and age of the Internet; I’ve never bought or searched for something on eBay.  Could you let me know some of the steps I should take to buy this for my mother?

Thanks;

Son of a Cookie Jar

Dear Son;

I think that is a wonderful gift to give your mother.  I’m sure she will appreciate the thought and work that went to find the cookie jar too.  I did a preliminary search for “Mammy Cookie Jar”, and found 102 items currently listed on eBay.  They range in price from $3300.00 to 13.99.  Check them out HERE: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=mammy+cookie+jar

The first step in purchasing this item for your mother is to become a registered buyer on eBay and PayPal.  It is very easy to do, and eBay will walk you through the process.  Just go to http://www.ebay.com and click on the “register now”

There will be cookie jars listed as auctions, which you will bid against other people to win, and fixed price listings that are “buy it now”. Just like it sounds, “Buy it Now” is what it says.  No waiting to win an auction.  Before bidding or buying, you will want to check your sellers’ feedback, which is the number after their name.  Click on that and review what kind of feedback other buyers have left for them.

Once you are an eBay user and have a PayPal account, you will want to find 2 or 3 potential cookie jar.   This way you are not focused on getting just one, and won’t end up paying more than you want for it.  Sometimes in auction situations that can happen.

Good Luck finding your mother’s special gift.

Dear eBay Queen;

I like to buy all of my children’s video games on eBay.  I have found I can get them cheaper there, and if my kids don’t like them it won’t matter much because I don’t have very much invested. I probably go about this the wrong way, but instead of looking for items for sale currently, I look at “completed” auctions.  When I see one that didn’t sell, I email the seller and ask if they would like to sell it for whatever I feel the game is worth.  Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.

While looking through completed listings, I saw what I thought could be a “Strange Item of the Week”. I was going to send this link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270576171808 to you, but the more research I did on this more confused I became.  Instead of getting a strange item, you are receiving a confused question! Can you tell me why this Super Mario Galaxy 2 game for the Nintendo Wii sold for $ 9,976.00?

Luigi’s Mother

Dear Luigi;

WOW!  That is a pretty good sale. I noticed that this Super Mario Galaxy Game ended on May 13^th ten days before Nintendo’s release date for it of May 23^rd.  My only explanation for this would be that someone thought they would be getting the game early, even though the listing clearly states it will be sent on May 23^rd.

I did a little research of my own, and noticed that the seller has not received feedback for that eBay number, but has received it for the same game on other listings.  Check it out here: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller&userid=craftygames&iid=-1&de=off&items=200 I don’t think the $9,000+ game transaction has been completed.

Make sure when you ask a seller if you can buy their item that has already ended, that you are not offering to buy it off eBay.  Saying something like: “I see your item didn’t sell, I would like to offer $xx.xx for it.  Please let me know if you will but it on eBay as a buy it now.”

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280505753129 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Need a new shirt? Check out this Sidney Crosby Olympic Game Worn Team Canada Jersey SOLD $37,100.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280505753129

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.