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

Tweets · Mar 21, 2013

Anyone using the Global shipping program? Seems like a pretty decent deal, am I missing something?

TheBurnOut · Mar 21, 2013

It's pricey to the buyer.

Also, if they claim the item is not as described they are entitled to a full refund (cost + shipping to KY facility + cost to ship to them) so you could end up eating it.

capnwes · Mar 21, 2013

Tweets said:
Anyone using the Global shipping program? Seems like a pretty decent deal, am I missing something?

TheBurnOut said:
It's pricey to the buyer.

Also, if they claim the item is not as described they are entitled to a full refund (cost + shipping to KY facility + cost to ship to them) so you could end up eating it.

I've avoided it, but I'm sure at some point it will become mandatory. Apparently eBay makes a profit on it, else why would they even bother, right. I have actually had a few sellers, all from Canada, that said they would not purchase from a seller who used the global program.

VLSI · Mar 21, 2013

I didn't know that last bit... will be removing that from all my auctions promptly.

GMMcL · Mar 21, 2013

SpooPoker said:
Though, remember that big brother watches all ebay messages and you cant ask to complete the sale outside ebay through ebay messages...
Im too tired to find the USPS postal code regarding this, but thats against policy. That happened to me once and I had to look it up. If a seller has insufficient postage, they either RTS the package or the seller has to pay the diff - never the recipient.

This happened to me recently too. Biatch at the USPS (who has given me hassle before; the rest of them know me by name and like me) flagged a priority envelope because I'd taped the flap down and forced the buyer to go OOP for an additional $7, saying that the contents distorted the envelope beyond what is permitted by the flat rate guidelines. I apologized and reimbursed the guy his additional $7 plus his full original shipping. No neg feedback, but I still don't think he was happy.

suited said:
For those of you that have an ebay business on the side, it not being your primary source of income but something you do in your spare time, do you take all the deductions available to you? From what I understand, Paypal will automatically send the IRS a 1099 if you're over 20k gross & 200 transactions. I'm going to talk to one of the CPAs here at my office, but I was curious as to whether or not you guys deduct your gasoline, office supplies, COGS, etc.

I read that you stand a much greater chance of being audited when you take a home business deduction based on the square footage of your home office.

Recognizing that none of us has been retained as your accountant or your lawyer, the only thing I'd add is that it's my understanding that at some point these deductions phase out. Above a certain income level, you can deduct these things but it only counts for carry-forward losses, and doesn't actually reduce the amount of tax you owe in that year.

TheBurnOut said:
It's pricey to the buyer.
Also, if they claim the item is not as described they are entitled to a full refund (cost + shipping to KY facility + cost to ship to them) so you could end up eating it.

VLSI said:
I didn't know that last bit... will be removing that from all my auctions promptly.

Yeah, that sucks, because you don't ever get paid for it in the first place. You could end up net negative on a transaction. Are we sure this is the rule?

EDIT:
Here's the policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/seller-tnc.html
This passage is, I think, the source of the ambiguity:
"If eBay finds against you in a case stemming from your Buyer’s purchase of a GSP Item, the applicable coverage amount will include all Program Fees that your Buyer paid for the GSP Item in addition to the GSP Item price. However, you will only be responsible for the amount that has been paid to you by your Buyer consisting of the GSP Item price and the amount (if any) charged by you to ship the GSP Item to the U.S. Shipping Center. "
On a quick pass, I think the net is that you will never end up net negative. You'll have to repay everything you received, but never more.

This is the part where you tell me I missed something obvious earlier in the policy, or that I'm missing something obvious in that language.

TheBurnOut · Mar 21, 2013

That language seems to contradict itself.

Either way, I'm out.

I survive without shipping internationally, plain and simple.

The reason I don't ship internationally has nothing to do with the 'hassle' of customs forms.

It's all about how much risk you are willing to bear. If eBay doesn't like that I don't ship internationally, they can revise their policies.

Until then, I'm not even remotely interested.

GMMcL · Mar 21, 2013

TheBurnOut said:
That language seems to contradict itself.

** THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE**

I know that's how it looks, but to those trained in LegalDoubleSpeak-Foo, it's less contradictory than you might think.

At its essence, it's trying to decide to whom to allocate fairly allocate costs in the event something goes sideways. Ebay and Pitney Bowes will have incurred some costs for the program. The buyer will have paid some money into the program. Where the error is the seller's fault, they want the ability to allocate all those costs to you, but -- to their credit -- they recognize that might be a bit unfair since those costs could exceed what you were paid on the transaction, so while the costs are payable to you, they're CAPPED at your revenue from the transaction (hammer price plus shipping charge).

Of course, standard ebay policies would have required that you refund the item price plus the shipping anyway, so it would seem that the amount you'd ever have to pay to make the "program" whole (i.e., beyond what your revenue was) would be a null set. Which I suppose suggests that this language must do something other than that. But I actually don't think so. I think it's here as belt and suspenders to make sure sellers who screwed something up don't somehow receive a windfall (but by the same token aren't paying punitive damages beyond just getting to net zero.

**THE FOREGOING WAS NOT LEGAL ADVICE**

TheBurnOut · Mar 21, 2013

Ok, after rereading it I think what it says is that the buyer is protected for the delivered price but that the seller is only responsible for the purchase price and domestic shipping.

So that would leave eBay holding the bag on the international shipping cost, correct?

I asked about this specifically when they called to pitch me on the GSP and the rep told me that the seller would be responsible for the whole bit (cost + domestic shipping + international shipping)

If that is not the case then I might look into it a bit further.

suited · Mar 21, 2013

I assume most of you use quickbooks? I've been using excel but it's becoming a bit laborious, even with relatively advanced formulas doing most of the work. I'm thinking come tax time, I will thank myself if I switch to quickbooks now...

Edit: looks like 'Outright' will be all I need.

Brianpore · Mar 21, 2013

Been happening more and more, after an item ends or I take it down if it sells on SF, I get people asking if its still for sale or if they can buy it. Obviously it would still be listed if it was for sale and you should have made and offer BEFORE it was sold. Not sure why they ask now after its sold or removed. Just annoying.

GMMcL · Mar 21, 2013

Brianpore said:
Been happening more and more, after an item ends or I take it down if it sells on SF, I get people asking if its still for sale or if they can buy it. Obviously it would still be listed if it was for sale and you should have made and offer BEFORE it was sold. Not sure why they ask now after its sold or removed. Just annoying.

And people emailing me after bidding is over offering me more. FREAKING BID, PEOPLE! SNIPING IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE, SON!

(Says the reformed Ebay sniper)

Brianpore · Mar 21, 2013

GMMcL said:
Quote:

I snipe all my auctions, BUT if I really want it I make sure to put in a high enough bid that unless someone REALLY wants it and will pay way more then avg ebay prices they can have it. I see no benefit bidding during an auction to increase the price for no reason.

Didnt work out for that 50 bid RG guy did it?

Orgetorix · Mar 22, 2013

+1. Sniping is the ONLY way to buy on Ebay. Decide what your max is, set the sniper for that amount, and forget about it until the auction's over.

Bidding before the last seconds of the auction is for n00bz.

nohio · Mar 22, 2013

Is the shipping cost tax deductible if the auction includes free shipping?

Steve Smith · Mar 22, 2013

nohio said:
Is the shipping cost tax deductible if the auction includes free shipping?

Of course.

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

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