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Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions - Page 80

post #1186 of 3318
11/12/12 at 7:45am

EDIT  Oops wrong thread...

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post #1187 of 3318
11/12/12 at 7:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apollotrader View Post

I have sold less than 200 things on ebay however I have never offered or had a return. I have sold everything from a Polo shirt to a Cartier watch, no problems, only one ever dispute and 100% good feedback. I think you can make this a tad harder than it needs to be, ebay is not Nordstrom.

You realize that some of the people on this board sell over 100 items per week? Less than 200 is not enough activity to have a strong opinion.
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post #1188 of 3318
11/12/12 at 8:34am

I recently discovered the USPS pickup at you house option and think it is a godsend.  Even though, they will sometimes not pick up on the date promised. I will usually ask for another pickup the next day and they’ll usually come. I hate going to the post office and waiting on line and dealing with the clerks who would rather be doing something else than interacting with the public.

 

Anyway, I would like to start shipping internationally and would like some tips as to what countries to ship to (avoid), package size limits, with the overall goal of avoiding contact with the idiots at the USPS.  For example, if you say that anything over 3lbs or ship to <insert country name here> would require me to go stand in line, etc, that will definitely be out.  I don’t have the time with my 9-5 job.  Thanks in advance. 

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post #1189 of 3318
11/12/12 at 8:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pnutpug View Post


I think that when you make a bargain, you should keep your word, even if it is a bad bargain.

 

I 100% agree, but do you see the irony? They bargained to pay return shipping and changed the deal because they have leverage. If you try to hold them to the deal, they file with eBay and win. In essence, they have forced your hand and can ask you to do anything. If you refuse, they dispute with eBay.

 

What's worse, is eBay recognizes there are nasty buyers, but refunds them the money anyway. In my only dispute ever, the guy was clearly gaming the system, enough so that plenty of sellers left "positive" feedback to indicate so. He disputed with eBay (over the "color" of the item, of all things) and got to keep the shirt AND got a full refund. Several months later I get this message from eBay basically apologizing, but they still took my money and my shirt. I consent to EVERY return regardless of what my terms say because I am too scared to lose both again.

 

 

 

Quote: eBay message
We know you work hard to deliver great service to your customers -- and to keep the well-deserved benefits associated with your seller performance rating. That's why we have clear policies in place to make sure the system works as intended, and why we remove any impacts to your record when we know a buyer did not adhere to these policies.

We wanted you to know that in the last 2 months -- prior to your October performance evaluation now reflected in your seller dashboard -- we took the following action to benefit your account:
  • Removed 1 buyer protection cases
Note that these removals were the result of patterns identified by eBay's detection systems and/or cumulative reports from you and other sellers. They may be related to transactions that occurred any time over the past several months.

So, eBay has methods in place to track unethical buyers, but once they catch them they simply remove the "blemish" on your seller record.

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post #1190 of 3318
11/12/12 at 10:19am

FOLLOW-UP REPORT

 

These numbers are based on a comparison of sales from the months of August and October, (September was not considered since my schedule was far from normal).

 

August - Auctions were listed in my old method, list what I can, when I can...every night with 3 Day handling and free economy shipping.

 

October - Auctions were listed systematically beginning both on Thursday (10 day) or Sunday (7 day), but all ending on Sunday night between 11PM and Midnight EST, with 1 Day handling and Free Priority Shipping.

 

I have seen a 14.5% increase in my average final Selling price.

I have actually listed 10% fewer items.

The number of sold items compared to listed items has increased by 32%.

And the KICKER....my total sales are up 51% 

 

On the down side....Shipping 40 or more packages in one night can be a little much. TIP: When an item gets a bid during the week, at least prepare your box with the item in it, and a short description or item number. Saves a lot of time. Don't seal the box in case of questions, or combined shipping.

 

Oh yeah....first time I broke 10K for one month too!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnwes View Post

STUDY: Listing items every night VS. Listing on Thursday nights with 10 day duration ending on Sunday.

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

Ok, this is for whoever is interested.

 

Disclaimer:

This study is somewhat inaccurate due to the fact I have been very busy with an upcoming friend's wedding and have had much less time to run my store. I also had to temporarily switch from 1 day to 3 day handling, which seems to have had a mojor impact on my traffic patterns, possibly due to premium exposure offered for certain power seller criteria. But anyway this is my data for the last few weeks.

 

 

About 3 weeks ago I switched over to ending all (at least 95%) of my listings on Sunday nights with most of them beginning on Thursday with a 10 day duration.

 

Numbers based on the average sales of the last 3 weeks and the average sales of the 3 weeks prior:

 

I have seen a 25.2% increase in my average final selling price. (truly was 38%, but I threw out two recent sales of high dollar items I do not normally sell to make this more accurate)

Due to my hectic schedule I actually a 38.6% decrease in the number of sold items.  (I only listed about 55% of the volume I usually list.)

 

I will report back with my findings after the wedding, once I have a more reliable test study based on weeks of equal listing volume and using my normal 1 day handling.

 

But according to these numbers, It is probably safe to assume the numbers will only get better.

 

Note: I still have been shipping with 1 day handling, but am just giving myself a cushion due to the constant out of town travel.

Mondays have become insane with shipping activity, so you will definitely need to have that night free to do it this way.

 

 

Oh yeah....Thanks Spoo for the suggestion!

 

 


Edited by capnwes - 11/12/12 at 11:05am
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post #1191 of 3318
11/12/12 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolfan954 View Post

I 100% agree, but do you see the irony? They bargained to pay return shipping and changed the deal because they have leverage. If you try to hold them to the deal, they file with eBay and win. In essence, they have forced your hand and can ask you to do anything. If you refuse, they dispute with eBay.

What's worse, is eBay recognizes there are nasty buyers, but refunds them the money anyway. In my only dispute ever, the guy was clearly gaming the system, enough so that plenty of sellers left "positive" feedback to indicate so. He disputed with eBay (over the "color" of the item, of all things) and got to keep the shirt AND got a full refund. Several months later I get this message from eBay basically apologizing, but they still took my money and my shirt. I consent to EVERY return regardless of what my terms say because I am too scared to lose both again.



So, eBay has methods in place to track unethical buyers, but once they catch them they simply remove the "blemish" on your seller record.

Yes, you're absolutely right, which is one reason why I took a long hiatus from eBay and only recently started up again (the arbitrary holds on funds plus listing expenses were a bigger factor, though, if truth be told). I've had better luck than most, I suppose, but with two non-paying bidders in less than a month with fewer than 25 items sold, I'm feeling the pain. Yours is a different issue, of course, but there isn't a re-course with teeth for me, either, and there should be (if you have a PP account, then eBay can, should, take funds out and get them to sellers if buyers don't pay). It's all part of buyers-can-do-no-wrong. In a perfect world, a track record would make a difference. Has to be some way of weighting things so that folks who've been doing business for years with lots of transactions don't automatically lose whenever someone stupid tries to do something stupid.
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post #1192 of 3318
11/12/12 at 12:15pm

Got a current buyer who just purchased/paid for a 40S SC. He has asked about several other items in the past, but always gets beat out at the last second at auction. He is looking for a green check tweed. I asked him if he needs 40-42 assuming he could make either work. He just told me he can fit up to a 46 as long as the shoulders are ok. Boy...to have that kind of versatility must be nice....

 

Say What??!!

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post #1193 of 3318
11/12/12 at 12:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by capnwes View Post

Got a current buyer who just purchased/paid for a 40S SC. He has asked about several other items in the past, but always gets beat out at the last second at auction. He is looking for a green check tweed. I asked him if he needs 40-42 assuming he could make either work. He just told me he can fit up to a 46 as long as the shoulders are ok. Boy...to have that kind of versatility must be nice....

Honestly, that sounds like a great buyer. If they don't know what a proper fit is, they won't be picky when it's a little off. They'll also never complain about 1/4 inch here or there in your measurements.
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post #1194 of 3318
11/12/12 at 12:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by VLSI View Post


Honestly, that sounds like a great buyer. If they don't know what a proper fit is, they won't be picky when it's a little off. They'll also never complain about 1/4 inch here or there in your measurements.

Got a reply from him regarding this. He is looking for 19-20 inch shoulders and gets everything else tailored. Seems like the hard way to do it, but I guess it makes a little sense.

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post #1195 of 3318
11/12/12 at 12:35pm
I need to list these shoes, and trying to figure out what size I should put in the title...

They measure 12" heel to toe, and 3.75" wide.

The would be an "A" width I pretty sure, or maybe AA, but I'm guessing a 9?




Thanks in advance!
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post #1196 of 3318
11/12/12 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stewie View Post

I need to list these shoes, and trying to figure out what size I should put in the title...
They measure 12" heel to toe, and 3.75" wide.
The would be an "A" width I pretty sure, or maybe AA, but I'm guessing a 9?


Thanks in advance!

Pretty sure 0/00 is a combo last A/AA (Narrow Forward, extra narrow Heel)...hard to say on the size though.

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post #1197 of 3318
11/12/12 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by capnwes View Post

Pretty sure 0/00 is a combo last A/AA (Narrow Forward, extra narrow Heel)...hard to say on the size though.

List as perforated cap toe oxford?
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post #1198 of 3318
11/12/12 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stewie View Post


List as perforated cap toe oxford?

Balmoral Perf Toe Oxford Wingtip Semi Brogue Medalion

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post #1199 of 3318
11/12/12 at 3:33pm
This one takes the cake:

Guy wins auction
Payment not forthcoming.
After 7 days I send a polite notes saying that in 3 days I open an unpaid claim.
I still give him a few days grace. I start the claim. Four days later I can cancel. I was busy but I get to it a few days later.
A few days go buy - actually 3 1/2 weeks since the auction closes. Today I get a message saying...

can pay

WTF?

Guess who's not getting a reply back? I smell trouble if I get any farther ino this.
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post #1200 of 3318
11/13/12 at 6:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FaceOfBoh View Post

This one takes the cake:
Guy wins auction
Payment not forthcoming.
After 7 days I send a polite notes saying that in 3 days I open an unpaid claim.
I still give him a few days grace. I start the claim. Four days later I can cancel. I was busy but I get to it a few days later.
A few days go buy - actually 3 1/2 weeks since the auction closes. Today I get a message saying...
can pay
WTF?
Guess who's not getting a reply back? I smell trouble if I get any farther ino this.


I had to deal with a similar situation last week.  buyer finally paid after 3 weeks of patiently waiting for her 'son-in-law' to approve her purchase etc.

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