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

I also can Consign clothing

Man of Wealth and Taste said:

Can anyone recommend a good consignment service or person? I have a half dozen or so suits I want to get rid of (mostly fashion house stuff, like Prada, Dior and Gucci - nothing really SF approved) and I take terrible pictures and have next to no ebay seller profile, so I think it makes sense for me to consign them off.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

You have a PM, but you can read more about my service here. Brianpore is a great dude and I do recommend him as well. I consigned something to him myself.
I should add, I have also consigned items to Spoo, great guy



Snoogz said:

I also can Consign clothing

Click to expand...

Brianpore said:

I should add, I have also consigned items to Spoo, great guy

Click to expand...

concealed said:

source for tissue paper?

Click to expand...

Dollar Tree

ATLnoob said:

I've consigned there and ended up with a paltry sum after the 90-day consignment period. I have shopped there as well, and did get some deals on clearance items but you have to be careful since they do sell damaged / stained items.

Click to expand...

This is the summary of my experiences with most of the consignment stores in Chicago.

I don't sell on eBay very often, but I decided to unload some decants of Tom Ford perfumes I have, since I'll never, ever go through 250mL of the stuff on my own (was gifted a bottle and bought 2 others for splits with amigos). I had 3 listings for 10mL decants up for ~3 days, sold half of them and shipped a quarter of them, when eBay abruptly canceled all three of the listings, citing their "Replica/Counterfeit Items" policy. That leaves me having paid for shipping for a bunch of them, but the PayPal payments have been canceled.

I called eBay and calmly explained to the rep that my listings stated clearly (twice) that the decants were made by me, from my bottles, each of which came from Bergdorf in New York. I also guaranteed authenticity in my listings. She then sent me to appeals, stating that also she couldn't understand why they were canceled.

The appeals guy told me the same thing and then suddenly stated "oh, well, it is against eBay policy to allow perfume decants." So I asked him "where does it say that anywhere and why did the e-mail you send me state that the listings were canceled because the products were counterfeit?" After repeating the "policy" a few times, he then explained, "it's really because you are using a trademarked name for a product not produced by the purported maker or not endorsed by the maker." Curiously, the "used cosmetics" policy was not invoked. Ok, I said, the product (the perfume itself) was produced by the purported maker. He agreed, but stated, "it's not also endorsed by the maker." Ok, but the "or" in that policy renders it illogical.

That didn't register with him, so he offered the hypothetical that a buyer could claim that the product is counterfeit because Tom Ford never produced 10mL vials. What would eBay say then? Well, I said, the listing wasn't for a Tom Ford produced 10mL vial - it was specifically for a 10mL vial made by me of original juice made by Tom Ford that, again, I clearly stated in the listing I made from retail bottles. The packaging is not the point, it's the contents. "I can provide the retail receipts (for the bottles I bought) and I'll f'ing video the decants being made." That didn't go anywhere either.

I get the gray area with this - it isn't like a Ralph Lauren polo that is whole in and of itself - but eBay needs to be clearer about it. I've since Googled the issue (never even thought it would be an issue, given the volume of decants on eBay at any given time) and I've seen similar stories, but never the "official" eBay policy. And yet...http://www.ebay.com/gds/About-Perfume-Decants/10000000002376424/g.html

/endrant

I know it's been mentioned here before about the difficulties shipping to Russia, but I still have questions. I've run into problems with things getting caught up in their customs for long periods of time. My wife's company just had a shipment returned that they had to pay a huge amount in return shipping for, and I'm afraid something like that will happen. Therefore, I've suspended shipments to Russia until I can find a workable solution.

The problem is that I suddenly have quite a few Russians bidding/buying even though shipping isn't offered. The most recent was a guy that did a buy it now and used a shipping center in the US. I was going to go through with it, but he hasn't paid/responded to messages and a case will be opened against him in a half an hour. Now, I just checked some of my auctions and I have Russian members winning them.

I don't feel comfortable shipping to Russia at the moment, but would like to offer it in the future. The last guy (the non-payer) is a member of Russian ebay, had an American address and when I sent him an invoice it went to Italian ebay. This doesn't seem right at all.

Any thoughts?

I too have suspended all Russian shipments. The last guy did finally receive his jacket. It was nearly 7 weeks. I have no idea how I convinced him to wait it out, but I did. He was pretty irate there in the middle of things. His main issue was that there was no tracking update for almost a whole month, and I couldn't help from my end at all. However, he finally got it and was happy.

All of my Russian transactions have been like that lately. I was a little disappointed to have to halt them, especially since I have also seen a marked increase in Russian sales since all the problems started. I did read the other day that buyers in Russia and Brazil are unable to leave feedback which involves length of shipping time due to the customs issues.

What is a good source for odd sized boxes? I need to ship something 36"x6"x6", but only once.

Trying to figure out specifically why eBay cancelled my listing for[FONT=Trebuchet, Trebuchet MS] "[/FONT]New in box Vans x Barbour classic CA slip-on, waxed, leather & nylon; size 10". I bought them from Barneys New York, they are new in box, say "Beacon Brand" and "Barbour" inside the shoe and on the box (not brand misrepresented).
My violation is "MC999 Listing policy violation alert: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content". Below in the spoiler is the entire message from eBay.
And here's a link to my ended auction listing. (that listing ended naturally with no one purchasing - I relisted the same ad for 30-day duration, which is the one that was cancelled - same content/wording/title & photos...)

There are currently 14 other listings for vans barbour that have not been killed. Any clues? I suppose I could email J. Barbour & Sons Ltd directly and ask, but I doubt I'd get a reply that wasn't canned.


MC999 Listing policy violation alert: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content
From: eBay
Sent: Jul-02-13 01:18 PM
eBay sent this message to xxx (dljpdx).
Your registered name is included to show this message came from eBay. Learn more about how to tell if an email is really from eBay.

MC999 Listing policy violation alert: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content

Hello dljpdx,
After reviewing your eBay account, it appears that you have violated eBay's Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content policy. As a result, we've taken the following action on your account:
- Listings have been removed. A list of items that were removed can be viewed at the bottom of this message.
- We have credited any associated fees to your account.

Your listing was removed after receiving a report from the rights owner that your listing used their trademark without their permission. We urge you to contact the rights owner directly for more information about why they requested the removal of your listing and whether you can relist the item.

For more information on our VeRO program, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com/vero/infoforusers.html

Please be sure your current and future listings follow these guidelines, keeping in mind that additional violations of this policy could result in the suspension of your account.

We encourage you to contact J. Barbour & Sons Ltd directly if you have any questions.
You can send an email to:
[email protected]

For more information on how eBay protects Intellectual Property, or for additional information if you believe that your listing has been removed as a result of an error or misidentification, please visit the following Help page:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/programs-vero-ov.html

For more information on why eBay may remove a listing, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/questions/listing-ended.html

Please be assured that your listings have not been targeted in any way. Though there may be similar items listed on eBay, we review all listings that are reported to us by eBay members or Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program participants.

If you have additional questions, contact our policy experts:
http://ocsnext.ebay.com/ocs/home

To learn more about rules for sellers, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-rules-overview.html

Here are the listings that were removed:
200936058429 - New in box Vans x Barbour classic CA slip-on, waxed, leather & nylon; size 10


We appreciate your cooperation.

Thanks,

eBay

Please don't reply to this message. It was sent from an address that doesn't accept incoming email.

Forgot to quote:
<< What is a good source for odd sized boxes? I need to ship something 36"x6"x6", but only once. >>

Stuff like that I usually bring to UPS who will build a box around it if they don't have a box near that size in stock.
You could try UHaul, buy on of their lamp boxes. Bit bigger but sounds like it would work.



capnwes said:

I too have suspended all Russian shipments. The last guy did finally receive his jacket. It was nearly 7 weeks. I have no idea how I convinced him to wait it out, but I did. He was pretty irate there in the middle of things. His main issue was that there was no tracking update for almost a whole month, and I couldn't help from my end at all. However, he finally got it and was happy.

All of my Russian transactions have been like that lately. I was a little disappointed to have to halt them, especially since I have also seen a marked increase in Russian sales since all the problems started. I did read the other day that buyers in Russia and Brazil are unable to leave feedback which involves length of shipping time due to the customs issues.

Click to expand...

Frustrating, isn't it? I would love to offer shipping to every part of the world and I do sincerely make an attempt. However, I am really not up for risking feedback/seller status/out of pocket expenses to ship to places that are difficult. I toyed around with the idea of using a private carrier (FedEx, for example), but I think that's just asking for trouble as they collect on everything. Within a majority of the countries in the EU, I'm able to use Hermes Paket Service. It's cheap, speedy, includes €500 worth of free insurance and I can print the labels. I'm thrilled to use it.

However, I use the Austrian Post to all other destinations. My N. American and Australian customers are understanding of the time it takes. I explain to them that it's coming from Austria, it will be trackable and insured. I also let them know that it's possible it could take up to 30 days, but likely won't. I was able to offer priority service on a shirt for a Canadian for an extra €4. I haven't heard back from him, so I assume he received it, but he was happy to have the option at the time.

Having said that, I am not sure how I should proceed with Russia. I feel like there is a lot of interest from buyers, but it's been one thing after another. Mostly non-payments and things, but I don't really even like how they're going around the fact that I don't offer shipping to their country and they're bidding anyway.

I was looking at the photos used in your auction, especially the first five or six? Either you take GREAT photos or those are the stores stock photos? If that is the case that might explain why your listing was removed? Those photos are copyrighted, too. Just a thought since it otherwise makes no sense, not that anything on Ebay does.

LatinStyleLover said:

I was looking at the photos used in your auction, especially the first five or six? Either you take GREAT photos or those are the stores stock photos? If that is the case that might explain why your listing was removed? Those photos are copyrighted, too. Just a thought since it otherwise makes no sense, not that anything on Ebay does.

Click to expand...

I did use stock photos, but from the Barneys New York site, not Barbour's site...and I am 99.9% sure that Barneys takes all of their own photos - I have seen items on Barneys then gone to the manufacturer website and they have always had entirely different photos. Just talked to an eBay rep and he said Barbour didn't leave any notes/comments other than trademark infringement. The eBay rep did bring that up - the stock photos - but agreed with me that if anyone would complain it would be Barneys (who doesn't even carry them any longer)...but again that was he and I assuming Barneys has their own photos. Also wrote to Barbour - will see if I get a reply - if not, the eBay rep told me to email [email protected] in a week and they would prompt Barbour to explain. Thank you for the reply - that was the only thing that came to mind for me as well when talking to the eBay rep.
EDIT: I'm going to stop using stock photos entirely (which I only do for new items anyway) - I don't think buyers like them...