Archive for the ‘Product Help’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been trying to figure out when the best time was to list boutique children’s clothing. I’ve done quite a bit of research, and I thought I would share it with you and your readers.

I notice that even though I searched best match, the top listings were for items ending within an hour or so. Therefore you want your listings to end on days and the best time of day when the most people are on eBay. You would not believe how many people don’t realize this. There are so many people that are working on their auction listings at ten o’clock in the evening and just launch it then. That way, the auction ends 3, to 10 days later at that exact time.

You need to be careful about what time you list things.  For instance, if you live in Kansas, and list something at 8:00am that is 9:00am on the East coast and 6:00am on the West coast.  How many people do you think are on eBay at that time? There are nowhere near as many as later in the day or evening, but still some.

I’ve done quite a bit of research, and here’s what I came up with.

• Mondays seem like an excellent day to have your items list. There are lots of people surfing eBay at work. After the weekend they need their “eBay fix.” Monday is statistically the best day to end an auction-especially in the early evening. (3-6PM) Pacific Time.
• Tuesdays are the worst days in my opinion.  According to my statistics and that of TeraPeak and Hammer Tap, Tuesday’s receives the lowest number of bids on eBay.
• Wednesdays are fair and not quite as bad as Tuesday.
• Thursday seems to be about the same as Wednesday
• Friday: I like Fridays as long as it’s before 5:00 PM (Pacific).
• Saturdays aren’t the best days for me.
• Sundays are excellent, with the evening being the best time for items to end.

Different types of people shop at different times. I try not to have anything end during popular television shows, because my sales are affected negatively then.  I hope my eBay OCD has helped someone out!

OCD Oscar; Oklahoma

Dear Oscar:

I usually list auctions on Sunday evenings and Monday afternoons.  When it comes to fixed price, I list whenever I can, as the item is on for 30days, and is not affected by listing times.

Thank you for sharing your listing time secrets with us!

Dear eBay Queen:

I wanted your help selling a pair of brand new unused boots on the eBay auction site. I recently signed up on the eBay website and I am now ready to start selling my first item on eBay.

I have a pair of brand new pair of safety boots. These boots were ordered last week and just got here a couple of days ago. The boots are 1 size larger, so they don’t really fit me. The boots are Super Safety Boots – Size 10. Selling price is $300.

How do I word it in the eBay description page? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Josh

Dear Josh:

I did a little checking on your boots, and I didn’t find any with the brand name “Super Safety”, but I did find 214 boots currently on eBay with the term “Super Safety”.   If this were my item, I would make sure to include the brand name, if they have one.

I am going to assume, since the price of these boots is in the $300.00 range, these are Danner Boots.  For a title, I would do something like this: “New Men’s Danner Super Safety Black Work Boots sz 10.”  My description would be something like this:

Up for auction is a brand new pair of men’s Danner Super Safety Black work boots.  Brand new never worn.  I ordered these and they came in the wrong size.  My loss is your gain.

• Color
• Boot name (from the manufacture)
• What’s it made of? Leather, vinyl?
• Men’s Size 10
• Man Made?
• New in the Box or just new
• Retail price: (?)
• Measurements from heel to toe on the bottom of the boot
•  Does it have a steel toe?
•  How much you are charging for shipping, OR how much the item weighs.

Good luck with your boots!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 220870022893 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you remember your first Halloween Costume? Do you still have it? Check out this 1966 Ben Cooper Marvel Ironman Halloween Costume MIB Iron Man SOLD $500.00 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 accidently send out a bed in the bag set and it was the wrong color. The buyer (whose address was in NY, opened a dispute for $114. I sent him a free return shipping label,  and I would send him a for a replacement. I then get an email saying he cannot return the item because he lives outside of the US.  He said it would cost $30 to send it back to the NY address and then another $30 to send the correct one to him. I had no idea he was sending this somewhere else. I can’t just refund him $114 without getting the item back! I sure hope PayPal doesn’t go and refund this money without the item being sent back.  Do you think they will?

Also, I am a dumpster diver.  I found a really cool Star Wars R2D2 interactive droid with a table mounted on it, (and it came with batteries!) out behind a grocery store dumpster.  It’s about 17″ tall and moves on command. It’s made by Hasbro and came out in 2002.  I hope to be putting that on eBay soon.  Do you have any ideas how to ship it?

Deb

Dear Deb:

PayPal will require the buyer to send the item back before they refund the money.  I would make sure that you put your return shipping label tracking number so that PayPal can see that it has not been shipped back to you.  Normally, claims close within 45 days.  If your buyer doesn’t do anything in that time, your money should be back in your account in no time.

Congratulations on the great find!  If this were mine, I would box it up, making sure to put lots of padding around the toy.  Since this could end up being a  pretty large, shipping box I would consider using UPS to ship it.

Dear eBay Queen:

I wrote to a seller concerning some jewelry charms that I was interested in. The picture had a group of these charms lying on a table and it was a bit difficult to distinguish the exact detail. I wrote and asked if he/she had a picture of an individual charm. The seller’s response was “Unfortunately we do not.”I thought that was odd, so I asked if it would be possible to take a picture of just one. The response was: “Unfortunately we only sell similar items not exact ones.”I was a bit surprised! I wrote back and asked if I wanted to purchase this exact charm, would you have them. The response was simply “no.”  Now I am really perplexed! How does a seller list/sell a pictured item they don’t have on hand?? I asked the seller if this ever cause a problem with his customers and the response was:

“Our description states clearly that we sell similar items, not exact. All of our customers know this and accept that fact. Most sellers today cannot post exact items due to the manpower required in taking pictures of every single item. That would probably run us out of business. That is just how it is done on eBay and all the large sellers do it this way. ”

Wow. Okay, I re-read the description and it does say “we sell similar items not exact”. But is this truly the way all large sellers work? When I do sell on eBay, I don’t list a lot of items, just a few here and there.  I’m not sure how large sellers operate but this just sounds a little “off” to me.

Ginger

Dear Ginger:

I would bet it is the same item, but not the exact item.  I also do this, when I have multiples of the same item.  It is weird that they would not take an up-close photo for you. Are there other sellers that have the same item up for sale?  If so, I would move on to their items and leave this sellers’ stuff for someone else to purchase. I would be interested in looking at their wording. If you still have it, let me know the eBay item number.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 320761066590 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Were you a stewardess in the 1970’s?  Get out your old gear!  It’s time to sell it.  Braniff Airlines Emilio Pucci Space Bubble Helmet Rain Dome Uniform Hat. SOLD $1650.77 http://www.ebay.com/itm/320761066590?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

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 bought a cell phone for my boyfriend's birthday from someone on eBay in early December. His birthday wasn't until a week before Christmas, so he didn't open the gift until then. After opening the phone, we discovered the place where you plug in the charger was loose, and rattling around
inside the phone.

This is a high volume PowerSeller and Top Rated one as well! I called eBay about this and they only referred me to www.ic3.gov to file a complaint with law enforcement. I wrote the seller again saying I thought it was a bit extreme to report her to law enforcement. Would she just a least please respond? I even told her I sell on eBay too, and know how hectic it can get, could she just communicate with me? If not sending a phone, then a refund? No response at all!

Vivian

Dear Vivian:

This is horrible!  In this situation I would do a couple of things:

·         Contact eBay via phone.  http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactCS  select the subject you are calling about, and they will give you a phone number to contact.

·         Did you pay via credit card?  Contact your credit card company and file a complaint.

·         Contact PayPal by phone, 888-215-5506 it may not be too late to file a complaint with them.

·         Leave appropriate feedback.

·         Contact the sheriff department in the city the seller lives in.  They will make a visit to their business and at least shake them up a bit.

I’m really sorry this happened to you.  I hope that one of these things will help get your money back.

Dear eBay Queen:

I really messed up this time! Somehow the free shipping box got checked.  I have no idea how that happened. The item had 12 people watching and only one person bid at the last second.  The item sold for 9.99. The buyer lives in Washington and I am in Wisconsin.

My sales on eBay have totally STUNK and now this! I have sold since 1999 and have never had such bad sales. This year is the pits. I am almost ready to quit for good.

Free, Overland Park, KS

Dear Free:

I’ve been there before, quite a few times.  In a situation like this, the best thing to do is to eat the fees and the shipping, and send the item to the buyer.  I know it will sting a lot, but it is the right thing to do.  You entered into a contract with your buyer, and it is your responsibility to honor it. 

I would contact eBay and let them know that you never checked the Free Shipping Box.  Maybe there was a glitch and they will help you out.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 300506821324 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It’s not every day you see a religious icon in mosaic on a toilet seat.  Check out Crackhead Mary mosaic toilet seat SOLD $152.50     http://cgi.ebay.com/CRACKHEAD-MARY-mosaic-toilet-seat-/300506821324

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