Dear eBay Queen: Help Me with The New Spring Seller Update Fees!

Dear eBay Queen:

The new spring seller updates are confusing to me.  I started selling 6 months ago, and I own a bricks and mortar store. All of  my inventory comes from the stock I do not sell, or has not sold in my store.  I currently have around 3500 items in my eBay store inventory.  I’ve been paying 179.00 a month for my eBay store + .05 cents per listing for the 1000 extra listings over the 2500 I receive for free.  This new seller update came out and I’m not sure it is worth it for me to pay that kind of money.  Could you help me figure it out?

SP


Dear SP:

You are currently paying 229.00 for your store fees and your 1000 listings that go above your free 2500.  The new store fees for your tier are: $299.95 per month for the store fee. You receive 10,000 fixed price listings and 1000 auction format listings.   You will be paying 70.00 more than what you pay for currently.  UNLESS you can list 1400 more items per month. (on top of the 3500 you currently list)

If you drop down a store tier to the Premium you will pay $59.95 a month for 1000 fixed price and 500 auction listings.  Since you list 3500, if you take 2500 x .10 per listing = 250.00  You’ll pay $309.95 in store fees.

It seems to me your best bet is to keep the Anchor store and increase the number of items you list. For more information on eBay Store Subscription fees, go here:   http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sprupd16/features-fees.html

 

Dear eBay Queen:

I sold a vintage Beastie Boy’s T-shirt that I purchased at a concert and NEVER wore.  It hung on the wall in my basement.  I took several pictures of the t-shirt.  These were not stock pics, and the description was spot on. The buyer sent a message 31 days after she received the item and stated that it was not the correct color of purple that is shown in the photo, and has to be a fake.  She sent me the following message in the return request she opened against me:

I would like a refund and do not want to go to the hassle of returning my item as it was not in my fault. I see that you do very good business and have no negative feedback. I will not leave you negative feedback if you are willing to make this right. Thank you

How should I respond to the return request?  Do I have to honor what she has asked?  I know that what she said was feedback extortion.  Besides reporting her is there anything else I should do?

Pat

Dear Pat:

The first thing I would do is call eBay. Ask them why she was able to open a return beyond the 30 days and must you honor a request on an item that has an issue because of color?  I know in the past, eBay has usually sided with the seller on items where they thought the color wasn’t right.

In this situation, I would most likely deny the return and close the case.  It has been past 30 days, and your return policy states 30 days.  Her comments are definitely feedback extortion and her language makes me think that she has done this often, and probably has received refunds without returns before.

 

Strange eBay item of the Week: Item #222077244050. Concert t-shirts are highly collectible. Some of them sell for quite a bit of money. It is definitely worth checking in the back of your closet! Vintage Iron Maiden Concert T-Shirt 1982 Texas Size L Made in USA SOLD: $1675.99.