Dear eBay Queen:

I purchased a pair of Converse tennis shoes for my son.  When I received them, I realized that they were not a men’s size 8, but a women’s size 8.   They were listed by the seller in the men’s category and a size 8.  I contacted the seller and asked to return them, as they were not what I expected.  I didn’t hear back from the seller for several days, when she finally responded she sent this email:

“Hi, it’s pretty clear these are a size 8, it says so in the shoe! I don’t understand why you want to return these, as they are as described.  Go ahead and send them back, but I am not going to be happy about this.”

• I mailed the shoes January 16^th with a delivery confirmation.
• I show she received the shoes back on the 20^th of January.
• I emailed on the 22^nd.  No answer.
• I emailed again on the 27^th and 31^st.  No answer.
• I opened a claim on February 3^rd.  She finally responded with this.

“What is your problem lady? Don’t you know what patience are? You’ll get your money, when I’m ready to send it back.  Thanks a lot for wearing the shoe for a month before sending them back. I can’t wait to leave you negative feedback.”

What is she talking about?  I received the shoes on 3 days before I sent them back, and there was a weekend in those 3 days!  I’m not the best eBayer, but even I know that a seller can’t leave negative feedback for a buyer anymore!  What would you do in a situation like this?

Randy, Ottawa, Ks

Dear Randy:

I would ignore all communication outside of the PayPal with this Seller.  Has the seller responded to your PayPal claim?  They only have  a few days to respond to the claim and then you will be able to close the case in your favor.  Have you entered in your delivery confirmation # on the PayPal site so that PayPal knows your seller has received your item back?  If not, make sure you do that immediately.

I am really sorry that you’ve been treated this way.  The good news is that you will receive your money back through PayPal, and you won’t receive any kind of strike or negative feedback from this seller.   The seller however, will have a ding against their account for having a case and not responding before it was closed.

Dear eBay Queen:

I have been selling on eBay for years just here and there. I decided to come back and try to sell full time due to my husband losing his job. I’ve posted about 100 items, and my fees are over $80. I opened a store in the hopes that would help offset some of the fees.

I haven’t had any big ticket items because I just don’t have the money to buy anything that has a high return. I’ve been selling stuff around the house, but I’m not making any money. It’s all going for fees. Can you help me understand how to go about making money? I thought I was making a little profit, but I found out that I wasn’t it. I’ve put all this work into listing and I’ve got nothing to show for it. What do I need to do?

Jan

Dear Jan:

Sometimes it takes a little help to get your selling off to the right start. Are you posting 100 items a month?  If so, a store is probably not the right way to go.  Non store owners get 50 free listings a month.  Sometimes eBay even runs 2 or 3 promotional specials each month, that will give you even more free auction listings.

I have also found that for the most part items do not get multiple bids like they used to, so you need to set your start price high enough to cover your expenses and make a profit. I used to start all my items at 99 cents to reduce fees and entice bidding.  Back then I almost never took a loss, but in today’s economy it is pretty risky to do.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 180751971872 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you have any old election buttons? Check out this Franklin Roosevelt 1932 Campaign Button. SOLD $6158.92 HERE

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

Dear eBay Queen:

For years I have sent my customers an email reply to their PayPal payment in order to let them know that their package is on the way. (I know eBay has automated features for this, but I’ve always liked the more personal communication.) Now, all of a sudden, the emails are coming from service@paypal.com rather than from individual email addresses – so, I can’t reply. Is this something new? I also upgraded my store the other day (from Basic to Premium), and am curious if it had something to do with that, instead?

Dana,  Tampa, Florida

Dear Dana:

eBay has a new email policy when it comes to emailing our customers.  I don’t agree with it, and I believe it is hurting the site as a whole, but they have implemented it because a select few people are spamming our customers. Here’s a link to the email policy. http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html

On a more positive note, if you use PayPal for your shipping, eBay will automatically put the tracking number in the listing and send it to your customer.  If you don’t use PayPal for your shipping, you can still enter it into the listing and eBay will let your buyer know.

Dear eBay Queen:

HELP! I purchased a beautiful punch bowl set on eBay 5 days ago.  The person only lived 20 miles away, so I asked if I could pick the item up.  This arrangement was ok with her, and I met her in the parking lot of Target, gave her the money, and received the item.

Today, I woke up to a complaint against me on eBay!  She just put a strike against me for non- payment!  How can she do this? I met, paid ($182.99) and picked up my punch bowl.  I’ve already left positive feedback for the transaction.  I emailed the following to her, but have not heard back:

“I am wondering why you filed for an un-paided item strike against me.  Don’t you remember that we met?  I gave you $183.00 in cash.  We joked about keeping the penny!  We talked about how much you loved the bow in my daughter’s hair, and I gave you a card to my Etsy business!  What exactly is going on?  Why are you trying to ruin my reputation on eBay?  Please contact me as soon as possible so we can get this straightened out.”
Do you have any suggestions for me?  What can I do next time so that this doesn’t happen?

Yvette, Edgerton, KS

Dear Yvette:

This is a really strange thing that your seller has done.  I would imagine they have made and error and they do not realize what they have done.  Maybe they had 2 different punch bowls and filed a strike for the wrong person?  My other thought is that eBay has a program in place that they (eBay) automatically file the strikes for sellers when it shows a person has not paid.  Maybe your seller did not mark your item paid, and eBay’s automatic system started the unpaid item strike process.  I can’t think of too many other reasons a seller would file an unpaid item strike.

You did the right thing by emailing the seller.  I would go a step further and look at their completed listings to see if they maybe sold another punch bowl or similar item and were confused if they themselves filed the strike.

If you don’t hear anything from your seller in the next few days, I would contact eBay and tell them what happened.  I’m pretty sure eBay would remove the strike and contact the seller on your behalf.

I’ve never picked anything up myself, but I’ve had plenty of things picked up.  I give the person a receipt with both our signatures on it.  If the item is over more than 200.00 I ask for the person’s drivers license, and I make a photo copy of mine and theirs on the same page.  This way, if there is ever a dispute with PayPal there is proof that both of us were there and the item was received.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 200691021974 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you collect stamps? Do you like Girl Scouts? Check out this Red and Black omitted Girl Scout stamp set HERE SOLD $975.00

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

Dear eBay Queen:

I lost my job in March of 2011.  My mother in law sends me your column each week from The Ottawa Herald.  We live in Savannah Georgia and I always look forward to her envelope every week with your article in it.  I’ve been looking for a job since I lost mine, and haven’t had much luck.  I had this brilliant idea that instead of asking for gifts, I would ask for things to sell on eBay.   I think this was a pretty good idea, as I received several HUGE boxes from people containing new, used and some vintage designer clothing.  Now that I have this stuff, I’m not sure how to sell it!

I have purchased lots of items on eBay in the past 8 or so years I’ve been a member.  I was planning on using that eBay ID as it has 485 feedback on it. I did do a little research, and it amazes me how many sellers do not put measurements on clothing listings. A small in one brand is never the same inseam/waist/chest as the next small.  Do you have any pointers for me?

Laura, Savannah, Georgia

Dear Laura:

That was a great idea to ask for stuff to sell on eBay!  Clothes are pretty easy to list and ship.  Here are some tips to make sure you have good sales.

• Always include the brand name, size, style and color in your title.
• In the listing, make sure you have a photo of the front and back of the clothing.  The more photos the better.  If the item has a snag or some kind of problem, make sure you take a photo of that.
• If you can, model it on a person or maybe a mannequin or sewing form.
• When it comes to measurements, measure each item lying on a flat surface.
• Include the following measurements: underarm front, underarm back, waist, hip, inseam, rise and sleeve length.
• Use every item specific you can.  Item specifics help buyers find your items, by brand name, size, color, style and shape.

Good luck on your sales!

Dear eBay Queen:

I sold a rare game yesterday for over $380.00.  After the auction ended I sent the buyer an invoice.  They sent me an email back today, and it’s just my luck that they want to pay with a money order!  Now, what do I do?  They only have 4 feedback.  I checked out the second highest bidder, and they have over 490 feedback! The 2^nd bidder is the person that I *want* to  win this game.  I bet if he won, I would already have his money in my PayPal account!  How should I handle this?  What do I do it this person decides they can’t pay for it?  It’s just my luck!  DARN DARN DARN!

Burt, Olathe, KS

Dear Burt:

I think this will all work out.  If you don’t want to accept this guy’s money order, you do not have too.   You can let him know that you only accept PayPal.

It is a possibility that this buyer will pay, and send you a money order immediately.  You could be worried about this for nothing.  There are many sellers that have different eBay ID’s.  Your buyer with only 4 feedback may be a selective buyer who rarely buys on eBay, forgot his/her ID/password and it was easier to create a new ID. New buyers do not automatically equal someone who’s out to scam you. We were all new to eBay at one time.

If you decide to accept the money order, and you are worried it is fraudulent, I would take to the bank or Post Office and have them check it out.  No matter what happens, I would insure the package and put a signature confirmation on it.  That way you are protecting yourself in case something happens.  PayPal requires you to do this on an item over $200.00.  I hope this an easy worry free transaction for you.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 190604019372 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page. Looking for a good children’s book?  Maybe you have this one? At the Back of the North Wind 1992 Hardcover  SOLD $5,000.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Back-North-Wind-1992-Hardcover-Reprint-/190604019372

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