Dear eBay Queen;
I buy lots of stuff on eBay. I've been searching for a couple of what I call, high-priced technical items. After searching for this stuff, it seems there are no standards of what is in an eBay ad. I searched everywhere on eBay and I can’t find any kind of standards on basic information to supply when selling something. What do you think of about this? Do you think there is something I can do to make this better?
Dear Standards;
You are right! There are no real standards on what a seller must include in the auction listing in order to list it on eBay. I did do a little digging and came up with this link under eBay’s Seller Central http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/bestpractices.html . It only is a guide on the best practices of how to sell on eBay.
As a seller, I like it that other sellers don’t include all the information that I include when I write up an eBay ad. It puts me in front of the pack. I completely understand as a buyer why you’d like to see some kind of standards in eBay listings. I’m not sure that eBay would be able to enforce these kinds of standards. You, as a buyer, have much more power than eBay does. You can simply not buy from that person who is not including the right information for you.
At this time, eBay is definitely a buyers market. You have your choice of sellers to buy from. When I come across a seller that is not giving me enough information in the eBay ad, I ask them a question. That usually enough of a hint to tell that seller they are not putting enough information in their ad. If you don’t receive the answers you are looking for, you can always move on to the next seller.
Dear eBay Queen;
I have a dilemma. I sold an item Tuesday night and it was paid for on Thursday with an e-Check through PayPal. The problem here is that I told the buyer if she paid me with PayPal by this weekend I'd get the package shipped to her on Monday. I'm leaving Monday for the week and I won't be back until next Sunday. Of course the payment hasn’t cleared my PayPal account yet. I promised her I would send it out, but the payment hasn’t cleared.
The buyer has a feedback of 2. She had four total with one negative for nonpayment. How does that math work? The negative cancels out a positive? She's been a member since March of 2004, but her activity only began in May of 2007. Her last transaction was June 2007. All except the negative indicate she's a good customer who pays quickly. So, what do I do? Do I write to her and tell her I’ll send it next week when I get back? Take the packed item with me and mail it when the e-Check clears or go ahead and send it today? If it were you, what would you do?
Wanda
Dear Wanda;
This is quite a predicament. You told her you’d mail it if she paid by a certain day, and she did, but the funds won’t be available until the check clears.
I think your best bet is to email the buyer and let her know what is going on. Explain to her how e-Checks are fast, but the funds are not available in your account until the check clears. I would then offer to send the item while I was away, or ask her if it is ok to send it when you get back from your trip. I’m sure your buyer will understand.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 230197327736 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) With all the ice that has hit the Mid-West I thought it would be interesting to see what a top selling “ICE” item on eBay is going for. Check out this Vintage Opco 1950’s Ice Gun SOLD $6000. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110190385285
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Can a Grandma Share some eBay Love ?
Dear eBay Queen;
Do you buy a lot of stuff on eBay? I would imagine you sell a lot, but do you buy a lot? I’ve seen the T.V. commercials, and I have friends that have been getting great deals on hard to find toys and gifts on eBay for Christmas. Do you think this Grandma can get a little shopping done without leaving her home?
I’ve registered as a buyer, what else should I do? Any tips?
Grandma to Many
Dear Grandma;
I do buy lots of stuff on eBay. I have been known to check eBay before buying an item in a store. I love the variety of unusual and hard to find items you find on eBay. I also enjoy the mystery and fun of bidding.
Here are a few buying tips:
1. Read the descriptions and review the photos. Sellers post descriptions about their products. They also use photos to illustrate the condition of the items they sell. Carefully read the terms to avoid unpleasant surprises like extra taxes, higher shipping costs, or a broken product.
2. Check out the sellers feedback before you buy. Negatives are ok, and can happen to the best seller. Read their feedback over to make sure your trading partner is a good one. If they have several negatives because they did not ship out the item, I would consider bidding on another item.
3. It’s good you’ve registered as a buyer. Do you have a PayPal account? https://www.paypal.com For me, PayPal is the only way to pay. I like the safety, speed and convenience of paying with PayPal. The money can come out of your PayPal account, credit card or checking account. PayPal offers buyer and seller protection, and they are a safe way to pay fast.
4. Remember your bid is binding. If you are looking for a Lego RC Car, and you find 5 of them, don’t bid on all of them, unless you want ALL of them. If you win all the auctions you bid on you are obligated to pay for them.
Good luck finding your grandchildren the perfect Christmas gift. I hope you find a few things for yourself too.
Dear eBay Queen;
My mothers reads your article every week, and told me I should write you and ask your opinion about this eBay problem I have. I only sell a few things a month. So I’m not really a big time eBay seller. I sold a vintage Nintendo game console about three weeks ago. The buyer never contacted me or paid. I filed a non-paying bidder alert on him.
He emailed me to let me know he had sent a money order. I have not received any checks or money orders from anyone in the last month. I asked him for a receipt, and he said he did not have one. What should I do? Do I give him the benefit of the doubt? Should I send it anyway? I checked out his feedback, and he has 25 positives and 2 negatives for not paying. This really isn’t the kind of person I want buying from me. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
Johnny J.
Dear Johnny;
You have been very patient with this buyer. Waiting 4 weeks is a long time. You could block this bidder from buying from you again, http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html and you could set your buyer preferences so they exclude buyers that do not meet your requirements. This is an easy way to eliminate the riffraff from bidding on your auctions.
If this were my transaction, I would ask the buyer for a receipt for the money order again. If he doesn’t produce the receipt, and does not pay for the game console, I would follow through with the non-paying bidder process. If he produces the receipt, ask him to contact the money order company and to see if it had been cashed, and ask the name of the bank it was cashed on. That way you can see if it was your bank.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280176616086 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Here’s a Christmas Classic! Have you ever wondered what an old book would sell for? Check this out. 1879 Santa Claus or The Night Before Christmas Book SOLD $2026.01 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110190385285
Do you buy a lot of stuff on eBay? I would imagine you sell a lot, but do you buy a lot? I’ve seen the T.V. commercials, and I have friends that have been getting great deals on hard to find toys and gifts on eBay for Christmas. Do you think this Grandma can get a little shopping done without leaving her home?
I’ve registered as a buyer, what else should I do? Any tips?
Grandma to Many
Dear Grandma;
I do buy lots of stuff on eBay. I have been known to check eBay before buying an item in a store. I love the variety of unusual and hard to find items you find on eBay. I also enjoy the mystery and fun of bidding.
Here are a few buying tips:
1. Read the descriptions and review the photos. Sellers post descriptions about their products. They also use photos to illustrate the condition of the items they sell. Carefully read the terms to avoid unpleasant surprises like extra taxes, higher shipping costs, or a broken product.
2. Check out the sellers feedback before you buy. Negatives are ok, and can happen to the best seller. Read their feedback over to make sure your trading partner is a good one. If they have several negatives because they did not ship out the item, I would consider bidding on another item.
3. It’s good you’ve registered as a buyer. Do you have a PayPal account? https://www.paypal.com For me, PayPal is the only way to pay. I like the safety, speed and convenience of paying with PayPal. The money can come out of your PayPal account, credit card or checking account. PayPal offers buyer and seller protection, and they are a safe way to pay fast.
4. Remember your bid is binding. If you are looking for a Lego RC Car, and you find 5 of them, don’t bid on all of them, unless you want ALL of them. If you win all the auctions you bid on you are obligated to pay for them.
Good luck finding your grandchildren the perfect Christmas gift. I hope you find a few things for yourself too.
Dear eBay Queen;
My mothers reads your article every week, and told me I should write you and ask your opinion about this eBay problem I have. I only sell a few things a month. So I’m not really a big time eBay seller. I sold a vintage Nintendo game console about three weeks ago. The buyer never contacted me or paid. I filed a non-paying bidder alert on him.
He emailed me to let me know he had sent a money order. I have not received any checks or money orders from anyone in the last month. I asked him for a receipt, and he said he did not have one. What should I do? Do I give him the benefit of the doubt? Should I send it anyway? I checked out his feedback, and he has 25 positives and 2 negatives for not paying. This really isn’t the kind of person I want buying from me. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
Johnny J.
Dear Johnny;
You have been very patient with this buyer. Waiting 4 weeks is a long time. You could block this bidder from buying from you again, http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html and you could set your buyer preferences so they exclude buyers that do not meet your requirements. This is an easy way to eliminate the riffraff from bidding on your auctions.
If this were my transaction, I would ask the buyer for a receipt for the money order again. If he doesn’t produce the receipt, and does not pay for the game console, I would follow through with the non-paying bidder process. If he produces the receipt, ask him to contact the money order company and to see if it had been cashed, and ask the name of the bank it was cashed on. That way you can see if it was your bank.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280176616086 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Here’s a Christmas Classic! Have you ever wondered what an old book would sell for? Check this out. 1879 Santa Claus or The Night Before Christmas Book SOLD $2026.01 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110190385285
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
