Dear eBay Queen:

I am kind of discouraged. I’ve just started selling a month or so ago. I took your advice, and sold stuff I had around the house. I am happy with my items that are selling; my problem is that my family doesn’t really support my new career change. They’ve even kind of made fun of me for selling. Last week though, I think that all ended when I sold some of my husband’s old jeans for $200.00!

I would really like to dig deeper in the world of eBay, and to figure out how to be taken seriously by people. I really believe after what I’ve been doing, I can make a real living at this, without having a boss! Do you have any recommendations to help me soak up a lot of information in a short time? How can I gain the respect of my family?

SPA

Dear SPA:

eBaying can be frustrating, exhilarating, maddening and downright wonderful. To keep myself from going crazy, and to always be in the know, here are some ways I stay up to date:

• eBay Radio is on Tuesday’s, 11am-2pm Pacific time and the Ask Griff and Lee show is on Thursday 11am to 1pm Pacific time. You can also listen to the archives anytime. http://www.voicemarketingradio.com/vmr/
• The eBay announcements board is a great place to stay up to date.  Any changes or sales – you can find them here: http://announcements.ebay.com/
• Seller Information Central has tutorials, selling guides, ways to build your business, how to ship and even ways to understand payments and fees. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/
• eCommerce Bytes is a great way to be in the know of everything happening in the world of internet commerce.

When it comes to gaining job respect, I have found that sometimes it never really happens. It sounds like your family is going to be on board before long. Most people do not realize that you can truly earn a living selling on eBay, and really that’s ok. You don’t need their approval. I wish you continued success on eBay!

Dear eBay Queen:

I never know what to do in this situation, and fortunately it only happens to me a couple of times a month- if even that! What do you do when a buyer doesn’t pay? Normally I send a couple of messages and ask them when they will pay, stuff like that. What do you recommend? I’ve only opened one unpaid item request, when I probably should have opened 20 or more. I’m afraid the buyer will be mad at me and leave a negative.

My most recent buyer bought 3 scrapbooking sets from me, and 4 days have gone by. I still haven’t received payment. I sent them a message about each sale, and NOTHING. Today she sent me a message and asked for me “to wait just a bit longer.” Do you think I should wait, or open an unpaid item case?

I’m so afraid of them being angry that I opened a dispute and having them leave a negative. What would you do?

Amanda

Dear Amanda:

I understand your concern regarding negative feedback. The only way the negative will stick is if they pay for the item, and the negative is related to the item they received.

I hardly ever message my buyers, if they don’t pay after 7 days, I open an unpaid item dispute, wait for them to pay, if they don’t I close the dispute after 7 days, and relist the item. Sometimes if the buyer is weird, or gives off a strange vibe, I will block them.

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