Archive for the ‘eBay Store’ Category

Dear eBay Queen;

I have a couple of questions.  The first is about zero feedback buyers.  How do you handle them?  Do you let them buy from you?  Have you had any bad experiences?  I had a bad experience a couple of weeks ago.  This dude buys an item from me, pays for it right away, and then 10 minutes later I get this message:

“I’m sorry I bought the item by mistake.” The next morning I wake up to an eBay and PayPal claim for and item not received. I immediately refund him and even left good feedback in hope of getting the same in return.  This zero feedback buyer left me a negative. What did I do wrong?!

My second question involves flipping domain names.  I put up a listing for a cool domain that I own.  I listed it in the right category.  It’s been about 36 hours since I have listed, and I can’t find it anywhere!  I can see the auction via a direct link, but I can’t see it in the indexed line up on eBay.

Jerry; Kansas City, MO

Dear Jerry:

I have had a few problems here and there with zero feedback buyers.  My philosophy with first time buyers is, we’ve all been there. This bidder obviously didn’t know what they were doing, or they were just a jerk. You could try to educate them by letting them know there needs to be a legitimate reason for negative feedback. Let them know exactly what a negative means to an eBay seller. Try to get the feedback revised. If you don’t want to sell to first time buyers you can always block them.

When it comes to items showing up in search, I would do the following:

·         Clear all your cookies.

·         Write eBay and let them know your item is not showing up in search.

This probably has to do with eBay’s indexing and the rules they have for domain names.   They have a variety of rules when it comes to listing domains, designer clothing, etc. I have found this link regarding search indexing.  http://pages.ebay.com/help/search/questions/wheres-my-item.html  I hope eBay gets back to you quickly.

Dear eBay Queen:

I’m interested in selling on eBay, Amazon, and some other auction sites if I can.  I have issues going out and finding product, so I’ve been thinking about using a drop shipper.  I’ve been hesitant because I felt that I would lose control of the product, and I’ve always been concerned about the return policy. If you buy your products yourself, you can be flexible with a return policy.   If you are a drop shipper what kind of return policy can you have?

I was thinking about implementing a return policy that states: “Items must be returned 7-15 days after they were shipped.” Technically, I have 30 days to return the items to the drop shipper, but I think a 7-15 day allowance for my customers, should give me plenty of time to get it back to the shipper. Does this seem logical to you? What should I do if someone misses the deadline?

One other thing: I already have an idea of what I want to sell, but it still helps to know which items are in high demand. Is there any way a person can tell what is selling on eBay, perhaps a market research software or something?

Drop Ship It, Garnett, KS

Dear Drop:

I have not experienced the world of drop shipping.  Like you, I’ve been a little afraid of not having control of my product.  This being said, I think you might be over thinking your return policy.  A simple return policy would be:  “Returns must be made within 7 days of receiving item, less shipping, handling and insurance.  All returns must be insured.”  This way when you say within 7 days of receiving the item, your policy is based on when they receive it, not when it was shipped.  With delivery confirmations it will be easy to see when the item was delivered.

Here’s a link to eBay’s advice on return policies: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/return-policy.html

There is a service called Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com). They have a free and a fee subscription service that will help pick out items that sell well on eBay.

I know it’s hard to find the right item to sell. Good luck on your search!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 390281292832 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you collect Valentines or old advertising? Check this out: Victorian Scrapbook 380 Pcs Valentines,Cig &Advtg Cards   Check it out 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? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com

Dear eBay Queen:

Two weeks ago I listed an item. The winning bidder did not pay, so I filed a non paying bidder dispute. The case was closed with an unpaid item strike.

This morning, I got the following message from that bidder: "I am going out of town tomorrow morning for a week, which is before your action ends. If I win this item, can you wait until the week of January 24^th for me to pay for it, or do you have a buy-now price?"

The auction never had a Buy-It-Now and of course I am not going to end it early. I am really tired of this poor item getting won and not paid for. I am leaning toward just blocking this person, canceling his bid and being done with this buyer. What do you think?

Leslie

Dear Leslie:

What is your gut instinct?  Do you believe they will pay?  I know how annoying it is to have a buyer not pay.  I would probably wait it out, the auction isn’t over yet, and your newbie buyer may not even end up as the high bidder.  Most people who do not intend to pay would not communicate with you like this buyer has.  Chances are they will make good on their bid.

Dear eBay Queen:

I shipped a Priority box on the 15th (received payment Saturday; shipped Monday); tracking shows it will be delivered today, the 17th. I use third-party software to manage my transactions, so eBay never knows if I've shipped something. I sent the buyer the tracking info (via direct email) and have no reason to think there's a problem.

I know you may wonder why I don't just follow eBay's request and upload the tracking info. Well, it's not easy to explain, but I've been managing my sales on my own computer for all these years, and I like to think of my buyers as MY buyers — they seem to appreciate the personal communication and one-on-one customer service, and I think they probably get a little annoyed by eBay's/PayPal’s canned emails full of links to this and that.

Rebecca; Olathe, KS

Dear Rebecca:

I received a few of those emails on a Sunday, when the buyer paid on Saturday!  My shipping policy is that I ship within 24 hours.  The problem with eBay’s new shipping notification system is that it doesn’t seem to recognize that 99% of all post offices are not open on Sundays.  You can turn off those notifications if you do not want to receive them.  They are generated from eBay and not by the buyer.

You are completely within your right as a seller to keep taking care of your buyers the way you always have.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, and felt much the same way you did.  I called eBay to complain about the notifications and explain to them how it would be impossible for me to ship an item on a Sunday.  The customer support person explained to me how if I would enter the tracking information for my items during that 24 hour period I promised to ship, the buyer would not be allowed to leave anything less than 5 stars on my shipping time DSR.  This little tidbit totally changed my mind, and we now package and make labels within that 24 hour promised shipping time period.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280610977454(enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): How much is an 8 year old teddy bear worth? Check out this Disney Duffy Bear 2003 Valentines Day Hidden Mickey SOLD $2550.00     http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Duffy-Bear-2003-Valentines-Day-Hidden-Mickey-/280610977454

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 made a resolution last year to buy all my Christmas gifts locally OR on eBay.  I have found it very easy for me to do, and it has really saved me lots of time. I’ve bought five things so far off of eBay, and I haven’t had any problems.  My husband told me that SOMETHING bad is going to happen if I don’t know the right way to buy on there!  Here I thought I was doing it just fine!   I don’t have a whole lot of time left to buy gifts, and I have at least 10 more to buy.  Could you give me some pointers to appease my husband and help me finish my Christmas shopping?

Tina, Emporia, KS

Dear Tina:

Congratulations on the great buys!  Here are a few tips to make sure your buys are problem free on eBay!

·         Check the seller’s feedback. What kind of negative and neutral feedback have they received?  Is all the feedback saying the same thing? If so, there could be a problem.  What type of response does the seller have for these feedbacks? Does the seller’s defense sound reasonable? Sometimes new members who buy items on eBay are paranoid and they leave a negative feedback in a rush so make sure if the seller has defended themselves in a reasonable manner. If there are too many complaints of the same nature, then it is probably true.

·         Ask the seller a question before bidding on the item. I always like to ask the seller a question if I am uncomfortable with their feedback, or if they have low feedback numbers.  All good sellers will reply promptly to questions.

·         When in doubt, call them. If you are buying something expensive, you can ask for the contact information of the seller at http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9.  You will have to login to your eBay account and send a request. You can get the seller’s address and phone number. In doing this, your address and phone number will also be emailed to the seller.

·         Check description of the item. Read the item description carefully.  Is there any damage? Does the color match the picture?  Is it a complete set?  Make sure your questions about the item are answered before you bid.  

·         Refund Policy.  eBay requires a seller to have refund policy.  Make sure your seller’s refund policy is in line with your comfort level for this transaction.

·         Always pay with PayPal. This will insure if you have a problem it will be resolved fairly.

Dear eBay Queen:

I haven’t sold on eBay in almost four years.   I’ve decided to start selling again. I’ve sold 2 items so far, and they went out of the country!  One went to Japan, the other item to Spain.  The good news is I have 3 items with bids and several watchers on the rest of my items!

Since returning to eBay, I seem to have a lot of questions.  I hope you can help me answer them.

·         When do you find the best day to end is?  What about the best time to end them?

·         I can’t seem to find a way to add insurance after the sale. I’ve looked everywhere on eBay, and I even sent a question in.  I haven’t received an answer.

·         I’ve always used the SYI or Sell Your Item Form. Is there a more simple way to list items quickly? 

 Thank you for your help. 

 Christina, Topeka, KS

Dear Christina:

Welcome back to eBay, and congratulations on the sales!  eBay has made lots of changes over the last three years.  One of the best places to read about these changes is on eBay.  Check out the eBay announcement board,  http://announcements.ebay.com/.  There you will find he current announcements and in the archives all of the stuff that happened while you were away.

·         I personally like to end my items on Sunday in the evening or Monday in the afternoon.  I know that many times it depends on what you sell.  I have a friend that sells vintage clothing and she likes to end her items on Friday night.  Terrapeak (http://www.terrapeak.com ) has a tool that will help you pick the best day to end an item based on it’s category.

·         eBay no longer allows a seller to charge insurance.  The best way to handle this is to build it into the price of the item. 

·         The Sell Your Item form is a great way to list.  If you are looking for something that is more automated, you might want to look into TurboLister, or Blackthorne Basic.

Welcome back to eBay!

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): Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all, then you visit eBay. Check out the Danbury Mint Poodle Dog Christmas Tree SOLD $1,027.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/Danbury-Mint-Poodle-Christmas-Tree-/130458904360  

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