Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:

I sell handmade jewelry and key chains. Lately I’ve noticed all kinds of problems with eBay figuring my shipping charges for buyers. Because of this, I’ve received some less than positive feedback and I’ve really taken a hit on my shipping DSR’S. I don’t pad shipping charges to make a profit. I charge actual shipping on my packages, with a $1.00 domestic and $2.00 International handling fee to cover packing materials.

On this last set of auctions I ran, eBay quoted shipping fees which were $1 to almost $5 less than the minimum fee from the post office. Not only that, but in every case my handling fees were not charged. Many of my buyers threw a fit and refuse to pay ACTUAL shipping fees so I canceled 4 sales and refunded them. Each auction I cancelled was for a $2.00- $4.00 sale so apparently these people actually expected me to pay out of my pocket to send them a free item.

I tried to contact eBay about the problem, and all I received was a strange apology and a denial of a problem with eBay shipping quotes.

I swear, eBay just isn’t for me! I can’t seem to do anything right!

Christine

Dear Christine:

Don’t give up! I think I have a solution for you. Since you sell mostly small first class items, have you considered listing your items with a flat rate shipping price? This way your handling and shipping charges are listed upfront for the buyers to see, and you are not relying on eBay to give shipping quotes to your buyer.

I have experienced these errors in shipping on eBay also, fortunately they have only happened once or twice in my 12 years on eBay.

Dear eBay Queen:

I was in the market for some Converse All Star shoes for my kids. I found a seller with TONS of new Converse and emailed them (before bidding) to see if they would combine shipping. The seller told me yes, so I happily bid on a few of their items. The auction ended, and I promptly requested an invoice.

I received my invoice and noticed they did not offer combined shipping and told me they make up the cost of the item, with their shipping. We exchanged a few message (mostly one sided) and the seller only took $1.00 off, so I ended up paying $28.00 worth of shipping. Not wanting to have a bad mark against my eBay account, I paid the seller the next day. Today, I log on and find the seller has opened a “non paying bidder case” on the 3 items I bought from him.

I don’t understand what the problem is. I have tried to contact the seller, but the only option I have seems to be pay the seller. I wanted to see if there are more options past that so I clicked the “pay now button” and got the following error:

“These items are not available for payment. They may be already paid for, over 30 days old, or just currently unavailable.”

So I couldn’t pay this seller, even if that was my only option (which I would not do AGAIN). What are my options and were do I go from here?

George K.

Dear George:

I am really sorry this seller has such poor customer service. Since you paid for the item, and PayPal shows payment was made, follow the instructions in the notification email from eBay. The notification will be responding to the non-paying bidder claim with the reference numbers from PayPal that show your payment to the seller. Your case will close very quickly and in your favor. eBay will instruct him to ship NOW.

The reason your only option right now is to contact seller or pay the seller, and the system won’t even let you pay seller, is that you already did. It won’t let you pay twice, not easily anyway. I would suggest that you email a copy of your response to the seller. The seller most likely has just made a mistake and has lost track of your payment.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 150502145713 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you call it Soda or Pop? Check out this Antique Folwers Cherry Smash Soda Fountain Dispenser. SOLD $2025.00  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;

I’m new to selling on eBay, but not to buying.  I now have a ton of things I’d like to get rid of, and I am looking into the potential of this as a side business to bring in a little extra money.  I’d really like to start out on the right foot and do things properly, but there’s so much conflicting information out there.  I checked out some books from my local library, but they’re relatively old and I assume….useless.  Can you all point me in the right direction?

Where can I find basic information on shipping options, auction management, tips for listings etc?  I’d like to find out what the best options are buy-it-now vs. auction and UPS vs. USPS for example.  I’m just trying to make this the shortest learning curve possible.

Sorry…I know it’s a pain to deal with newbies, but I appreciate any information you could give me.

Betsy

Dear Betsy;

When it comes to books about eBay, I like eBay For Dummies by Marsha Collier (6^th edition) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to eBay (2md Edition) by Skip McGrath. Both of these books were written by people that are very knowledgeable when it comes to eBay and the books were published in 2009.  They will be missing some of the new eBay rules, but for the most part be up to date.

Another place to check would be in eBay’s Learning Center http://pages.ebay.com/education/ You can watch video’s, check out the tutorials or find a class in your area.

When it comes to shipping, I have found USPS to be best for first class and items weighing 1 to 2lbs. Over 2lbs I ship with UPS.  eBay has a Shipping information page that you might find helpful. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/shippingtools.html

Let me know if I can help you on your road to becoming an eBay Seller.

Dear eBay Queen;

I’ve been searching for a Nintendo NES.  I found one on eBay, but there was no description to speak of so I wrote the seller and asked if the item worked.  The seller responded, almost immediately, and told me she had not checked the system, because she did not have a game. She said she would ask her son in law if he would bring a game over and test it out. I wrote her back and asked her to email me to let me know if it worked.  I never heard from her again.

This game system was in my watched items, so on the day it was to end, I went back into the listing and saw there were other questions that had been answered, which stated it did work. Because of this, I bid and won.  She said she’d mail within 4 days of payment.  I never heard a word.  So 8 days after I paid I emailed and asked if she had shipped it. She responded, stating no she had a death in her family, and she could overnight it to me or meet me half way in Lawrence.  (The seller lives in Topeka, and I live in Richmond Ks.).  I thanked her for the offer, and said mailing it would be fine.

It arrived yesterday, in a priority mail flat rate shipping box without ANY padding, newspaper or peanuts.  The post office left outside by my mailbox on the ground. I can not believe she did not make ANY effort to protect the contents of the box! When I opened up the package, the game system was so dirty!  It looked like peanut butter and jelly had been wiped ALL OVER the console!

I cleaned the NES up, and it does work.  I am wondering what kind of feedback should I give this seller. Do you think I should give her a positive or a neutral?  What about the stars for shipping time? She’s been on eBay since 2009, with 32 positive feedback and no negatives. She only has 13 DSR star points.

J Banks; Richmond, KS

Dear J;

This is one of those occasions where I would probably leave no feedback at all, but I would email them and in the kindest way let them know what was wrong with the situation.  You obviously have a new seller, and they need a little bit of guidance on how to list and ship eBay items.  One of the reasons this transaction was not the best it could be was because of the death in the sellers family.  They could have lost someone close to them and they were not really thinking properly when they sent the item to you.

Here’s hoping your next transactions are better!

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 260657104135 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you love war history? Check out these Original D-Day Maps with previously classified information! SOLD $15,000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260657104135

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:

If I list an item on eBay, NOT using a reserve, and the final winning bid is substantially lower than the real value of the item; is there any legal action that can be taken against me by the winner for not honoring the winning bid?  If the bidder sends me the money, and I  just refund the money back to the winning bidder, is there anything they can do?  I’m pretty sure the winner of the auction is going to be from a different state than I am, if that makes any difference.   I’m not concerned about feedback or ratings, or my eBay account, just the legal actions.

Thanks;

Don

Dear Don:

Your question really got under my skin.  I wasn’t sure how to answer your note without showing that I am a little angry at your blantent disregard for the buyer.  To me, it seems like you are trying to pull something off that is dishonest.  I wonder why you would not just use a reserve, or start the item at what you really wanted to get out of it.

To answer your question; No, for the most part nothing will happen to you.  Could the buyer take you to court for not honoring your contract?  Yes. Have buyers ever done that? Yes, but it’s pretty rare.  That being said, I don’t understand why you would want to do something like this in the first place.  It seems so dishonest. You say you are not concerned about feedback ratings or your eBay account, then why are you using eBay?  Why not just sell it outright on CraigsList?

My advice to you is to start this auction at the price you want, or use a reserve.  eBay should not be used in the way you are wanting to use it.Buyers are there to bid and receive their items. If you do something like this you not only are hurting your personal integrity but also making eBay look like a place for scammers.  I realize you intend to give the money back to the buyer if it does not reach the price you want.  I’m sure it doesn’t seem like stealing to you, but to many people (and your buyer), that is stealing. I can not condone this type of dishonesty.

I hope you will re-think your plan.

Dear eBay Queen:

My wife and I have been eBay sellers and customers for about 5 years now. At first, this was a great experience.  Back then we had lots of buyers and lots of very interesting and unusual stuff to look at and buy.  We lost our mojo when it comes to selling on eBay a couple of years ago.  All the rules, selling standards etc. made us crazy.

We would like to start selling again, but after doing a little research, I’m not sure our stuff would even SELL now! One example, is a Strawberry Shortcake Doll (new in the box) I listed five years ago for $9.99.  It ended for $149.99 and had over 300 visitors, a real bidding war towards the end!  I have the same item now, I listed for the same price – just over 50 visitors, two bidders,  sold for $42.50 – what a disappointment.  Should I just quit?

J&J, Overland Park, KS

Dear J&J:

If you enjoy selling on eBay, don’t quit!  There have been a lot of things that have changed eBay for the average seller.  The rules and standards are just part of the problem, the other is the economy.   I have found that eBay sales are not as good in the summer as they are in the fall and winter. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t sell in the summer, because stuff certainly does sell.  I have found that the more I pick and choose when I list certain items, the better off my sales are.  I have some friends that use Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com ) to do research on when items sell best.  Terapeak is a (mostly) free service.

I hope that you find your mojo, and are back selling on eBay soon.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 17017385685 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It’s been a little over a year since Michael Jackson’s death.  His stuff is still selling! Michael Jackson SIGNED Black Billy Jean Fedora Hat SOLD $2250.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170517385685

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.