Posts Tagged ‘eBay help’

Dear eBay Queen:

As a side job to my eBay selling, I do picture-framing.  I have hundreds of antique frames I’ve picked up over the years. It’s always been fun to find something interesting behind the print you see through the glass – something used for backing or some print or photo the former owner just decided to cover with a preferred picture. I’ve found parts of vintage posters, pieces of old boxes with advertising, family photos, rejected lithographs (misaligned colors), and so on. The other day, I disassembled a huge, c.1900 frame I’d gotten for just the frame and glass. The backing was wood and was covered with heavy white paper tacked around the edges. The print would have gone on top of that white paper. So I removed the paper to use for whatever and was delighted to find on the reverse a large, pencil-signed engraving! Fun!

I can’t read the signature. I tried a Google image search with keywords anyone would use to describe the scene, but no luck.

Do you know of a website, institution, or person who will attempt to identify works of art for free? The engraving is presumably a copy of a painting, so this would need to be an expert in Victorian-era painters.

David

Dear David:

I’ve never thought about looking behind photos or prints to see what I found.  Have you ever thought about writing a blog about your finds?  There is a really interesting blog I follow called:  http://www.missingbookmarks.com He is a book seller, and writes about the stuff he finds stuck in books.

Some good places I have found to research old prints and paintings are:

• www.artconversation.com
• ·         www.artcyclopedia.com/
• I’ve also contacted the Nelson Atkins (816) 751-1278, and they have helped me with research on old prints.

Dear eBay Queen:

I sell vintage albums, turntables etc, on eBay.  I’ve been doing this for around 5 years.  Recently, I had a buyer claim that the turntable I sent her is broken.  She threatened to leave negative feedback if I did not provide her with a full refund or a replacement but she has steadfastly refused to return the item.  I always double check my items are in good working order and condition prior to sending.  I do want to find out why there is a problem with this turntable. In my defense, I offered her a full refund once she sends the items back to me.

She opened a case with PayPal saying that the item was vitally important for her child and she needed one desperately, but went crazy once PayPal told her to return the item and then she will get her refund.  She now has admitted to me that she has 7 of these items, has received a few of them that did not work and the seller gave her a refund without returning the item. I checked out her feedback, and she has been buying these items for some time. She wants to send me a video of the console not working as proof of her claim – how am I to know if this is the console I had sent if she already has 7 others?

In her last email, she says that she wants to keep the player and still have her refund!!!  What would you do in this situation?

Colleen

Dear Colleen:

One of my crazy buyers from years ago taught me to always take a photo of the serial number of the electronics I am selling.  I don’t put this in the eBay description, but I do save the photo.  When I send electronics I put the serial number in the notes when I print the PayPal shipping. Then the buyer knows that you know which item you have sent. Then if a different one is returned it’s obvious.

I would call PayPal to talk to someone in resolutions. Ask if you can forward the emails where she says she has 7 of these and none of the other sellers made her return them.  I would also contact eBay about this.  PayPal is going to require her send the item back before receiving a refund.  You have a couple of options.

1. Let the PayPal claim expire on its own, and by doing this it will be found in your favor.
2. Escalate the claim, PayPal will investigate and find in your favor since the buyer refuses to send the item back.

The buyer could still give you negative feedback, but you can always respond: “buyer demanded to keep the item & get money back.”  This is a tough situation.  I wish eBay would put more safeguards in place for sellers when it comes to buyers.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 250992365252 How much would you pay to have Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley at your wedding? Check out this auction, Be 1st Couple Married at KISS “Hotter Than Hell” Vegas Wedding Chapel with KISS! Check it out HERE  SOLD $15,300.00

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

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:

My wife and I are buyers (11 years), not sellers.  Recently, I tried to purchase some automotive parts thru eBay Motors, using “Buy it Now”.  I found 2 clear instances of “bait and switch” by 1 seller and another instance from a 2^nd seller.

They listed merchandise that I wanted to buy.  Each listing gave the number of available items for sale, and each listing had at least 2 more days to run.  When I sent an email, asking them to confirm the fitment, the listings were pulled early and these sellers told me that the merchandise was no longer available.  They most kindly offered me alternatives that were substantially more expensive.   All communications were via eBay’s email links.  The time span for each of these email sequences was 1 or 2 hours – not days.  I saved all my emails thinking that eBay’s customer support would be interested in these cases of possible seller misbehavior.  I had difficulty finding email links to report the incidents.  (I prefer email to the telephone because I am hard of hearing and sometimes telephone conversations are not satisfactory.)  I did find email links to eBay Motors and to eBay Customer Support, but these email  tools were forms, so all they requested were  listing numbers.  There was no way that I could tell them that they needed to review my email history for each listing.  It has been several weeks with no follow-up.   I assume that eBay and eBay Motors have no interest in pursuing buyer complaints against sellers.  I am concerned about how well eBay monitors its sellers and how well it looks after its buyers.

As a footnote, I did find a 4^th seller who had the merchandise that he listed and who performed his end of the bargain very promptly.  He was a true “5 star seller” in all respects.

Dave  Sutherland

Dear Dave:

I’m glad that you found a good seller whose merchandise was exactly what you needed and most importantly exactly as they described.  What you describe is odd. In this particular situation, the best thing to do would be call eBay.  I understand that you are uncomfortable doing that, but it would be your best option and get the quickest results.

Another option would be contact eBay through their messaging system (not email).  To do this, follow these instructions:

1. Go to: http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactCS
2. Mouse over “Selling” then click on “Turbo Lister”
3. To the right you’ll see “Chat with us.”  This is an online chat form.

Once you “log on” with someone, let them know you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, and you know that you are not in the right area for your question, but you did not know what else to do.  They will get someone that will help you with your problem.  If that doesn’t work, I would email griff@eBay.com .

I’m sorry that two sellers were less than honest with you, but so happy you found the right one.

Dear eBay Queen:

I lost my Top Rated Seller status, and I have no idea why.  I figured out how to call eBay, and I talked to them about it.  The eBay representative told me to look at my “performance standards” to see when the Detailed Seller Ratings with 1’s or 2’s would fall off. I wrote it down, but I can’t figure out for the life of me how to do it.  Could you help me?

S.P.

Dear S.P.

I think it’s a little tricky to find the performance standards page myself!  Here’s how to do it:

1. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellerDashboard
2. Under your DSR ratings, you’ll see “performance standards.” click on it.
3. Choose the tab labeled “daily performance”
4. Scroll down to the bottom and click on “view 12 month trending data”
5. A screen will pop up, and you can either choose “by percentage” or “by count”, this will make it easier to narrow down who, or when your low DSR’s have been left.

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.  Have you ever wondered how much a President’s signature is worth? Check out this Bush Family Cookbook, Signed George & Barbara Bush SOLD $190.00 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