Posts Tagged ‘western union’

Dear eBay Queen:

I collect old watches and timepieces.  It seems I always run across this type of thing in the item description:

This is a really neat piece from my father’s estate. We just lost him this past July. We are selling off some of his items to raise burial expenses for him. Please bid confidently & generously, as this auction is for a GREAT cause and is really so much appreciated.

Please ask any and ALL questions prior to bidding as this is an as-is auction – All proceeds are being forwarded to the funeral home, no refunds will be possible. PLEASE see all my other auctions as we have lots and lots of items to list from his estate. Always ZERO reserve auctions!

I think this is too much.  Sorry about your Dad, lady, but really! I get so tired of seeing people mention they got this or that from grandma or found it in the house they rent.  I don’t care where they got it!  It’s completely irrelevant and unprofessional to mention these details.  I also think it’s silly to mention “estate” in a listing.  Who cares?!!!  Just makes me think they probably paid too much and their prices on eBay will be over the top.  Could you let your readers know that we don’t care about their problems and where they come from?

Philip; Joplin MO

Dear Philip;

I think the problem is less about the people you are buying from, and more about what you are buying.  I have friends that collect old watches, I contacted a couple of them and they all liked knowing where the item was from and little history about it.  In my years of selling on eBay, I have found putting the history of the item in the description helps sell the item.  I would not discourage people from doing this.

I do think a seller should be careful not to make a buyer feel guilted into buying something.  It does feel a little creepy to me that we are paying off burial expenses. It wouldn’t keep me from buying an item I wanted though.  I think it would be better if your seller would tell a little about the watch, where it came from and leave out the part how they are raising money for burial.  Perhaps a better statement would be: “All proceeds from the sale of this item go back to my father’s estate.”

Dear eBay Queen;

I sold a $760 item to a buyer in Germany. After the auction ended I received an email from the buyer stating that he didn’t have a PayPal account and could only pay with bank wire transfer. His eBay rating is 142 positives, but he has only left 80 feedbacks. None have been negatives.

There are all kinds of warning on eBay and the internet about accepting Western Union wire transfers. Do you think I should accept his wire transfer?

I remember before PayPal became the big deal it is today, many of my foreign buyers would wire money via Western Union.  I have never understood why eBay has such a low opinion of this process.  I never had any problems.   The buyer would then email the ID number for the payment, and I’d call the nearest Western Union station to confirm it was there. Then I’d go pick up the money. I had to have the ID number with me, and I think I had to show my drivers license.

What do you think eBay Queen?  Should I accept the guy’s Western Union or what?

Alan ; Topeka,KS

Dear Alan;

I would never advise a buyer to send a Western Union to someone they do not know, and especially for an eBay or other online transaction.  There is no recourse if the seller does not send your item.  You will be out the money.

I realize in this transaction, YOU are the seller. As a seller I have accepted Western Union funds from several buyers without any problems. I would imagine this would be the case with your transaction also.  I have checked around and as long as you are not accepting a fake check or money order; you should be alright.  In this particular situation, the buyer is putting his trust in you.  I know you won’t let him down.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 190435819204 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Do you like painting? How about old paint by number sets?  Check out this one! Weird-ohs Paint by Number Watercolor set 1960’s SOLD $228.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190435819204

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 accessed my eBay account today and the “alert” told me I did not meet their new April 2010 DSR standards and I better improve them.

I ship my orders well within my “three business day” selection, usually the next mail run after receiving payment.  The only way I can improve that is to ship them before they are actually bid on.

The only rating I passed on was “Communication,” so that means I fell short on all the other ratings.  I can’t seem to get access to the rating specifics and even if I can, it doesn’t matter because I can’t address any of them.  It says contact with the buyers that are rating you is forbidden, I thought that rater identity was anonymous from the get go.

My head is not so deep in the eBay sand that I can’t see offering free shipping is what eBay would like me to do.  That way they get a cut of my shipping COSTS in their FVF and in their sister site, PayPal fees as well.

eBay has steadily turned on sellers for sometime.  They have forgotten who brought them to the dance.  Sellers have been their bread and butter, because buyers do not pay invoices.

The number of eBay buyers has dropped because of the economy and some other reasons, but the matter of seller treatment is a double whammy.

Marv

Dear Marv;

I am really sorry you are experiencing this frustration with eBay policy.  There are many sellers that are in the same boat with you.  Except, it’s not a boat, it’s a 100,000 + passenger ship.  I would urge you to keep trying if you enjoy selling on eBay.  If not, have you tried Amazon, Bonanzle, Etsy, or your own webstore?

I hope that you resolve your problems with eBay, and you are back selling your wares.

Dear eBay Queen;

I listed a bunch of new auctions tonight, but two just wouldn’t list — kept getting errors for prohibited words in the titles and/or descriptions. I had NO idea what the problem was, and it took me FOREVER to figure it out!

The first problem I should have seen right away — IVORY. The name of the manufacturer of this celluloid item was IVORY PY-RA-LIN.  Had to remove the I-word and tell the shoppers to see if they can just read it on the back of the item in the photo.

But the second one was a real stumper. The only error I received was a pop up telling me a word was not allowed, but they didn’t tell me what the word was!

The description included all sorts of possibly offensive words copied straight from the documents themselves. I had to read the VERY long description over and over until I caught the problem. Its am selling a collection of very old documents, and two of the items were Western Union Telegrams. Bingo! For some reason, eBay is afraid of, or hates Western Union. So I had to change it to W. U. Telegrams (they do show in the photos).  I feel sorry for anyone who collects Western Union memorabilia.

There are currently 32 auctions with the words Western Union in the titles, and there are 83 if you search descriptions, too. I just don’t understand how the other sellers are able to list these auctions. I use a third-party program, and I suppose most of the other sellers are using eBay’s software, so you’d think I could get away with more than they can. Any ideas on how they get away with it?

PinkPosy; Lawrence, KS

Dear PinkPosy;

This is one of my pet peeves also.  It could make a person CRAZY trying to figure out what word is offensive!  I did a little research on eBay and I came up with some discussion about it here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/offensive.html . I have emailed eBay and asked them to provide a list of offensive words to help all of us comply with their policies.  I urge you to do the same also.  I don’t think they realize the time it takes trying to figure out what is wrong with a listing that will not list.

I use Blackthorne Pro (eBay Software), and I’ve received ALL kinds of error messages when listing this week, similar to the one you are describing.  I think this is an area they have just updated.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 140381385645 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): How much would you pay for your favorite discontinued shampoo? Check out Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo SOLD $50.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140381385645

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 am trying to buy a used car.  After searching, I found the car I wanted on Craig’s List.  I contacted the seller, and he sent me this email.

“The 2007 Toyota Camry LE is in a perfect working condition. My experienced tech has fully checked out the car, and gives it a special high rating.  It has a CLEAR and CLEAN TITLE, a great it’s never had any mechanical problems, safety check and pre-delivery inspection along with a fresh servicing before I ship or deliver the car.  It has 9,747 miles and the VIN# is  4T1BE46K57U621002. I have the pictures of the car hosted at the following address:
http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv154/camry07arg/

As I know that my current situation is pretty special, I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it, (for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway, I am sure that if you will be satisfied with the car.  If not, I will surely find another buyer in your area, and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.

I am located in London, and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and United Kingdom. One month ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can't register it here. Iit has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take forever. My final price on it is US $2,970. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo, so it will not cost me anything. It will be flown to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 days. Please get back to me as soon as possible if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped, so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.”

Does this sound right? I am worried it might be a scam.  I don’t understand how it works if it is one though.  I really want this car, and it’s a great price! 

LL, Ottawa; KS

Dear LL;

You know when something sounds too good to be true?  This is one of those times. This is a classic Craigslist/eBay scam.  Deals on eBay are between the seller and the buyer. Payments are not made to eBay, and no one at eBay Motors will be contacting you about this.  It is a scam, and needs to be reported. For more information about scams like this go here: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=red-flags

This type of scam usually has a member of the armed services needing to sell his or her car, at an extremely low price.  Your seller has said he is willing to ship this car for free using, the United States Military Cargo plane. I’ve never heard of the US Military shipping cargo for free.

The seller will then lull the buyer into thinking it’s all on the up and up by saying “the only way they will sell this is if they use eBay’s Buyer Protection Plan”, but eBay’s Buyer protection plan is for PayPal payments, NOT Western Union.

For more information about this type of scam from eBay go here http://answercenter.ebay.com/forum.jspa?forumID=6  

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 140261061746 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Charles Darwin was controversial scientist and world traveler. Check out his First Edition Book that Sold for: $19,1000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170415041340         

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.