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

[Snoogz]

Superstitions...it's a hard business to please.
I'd just cancel it, and move on.

 

[MJMcRibb]

^^ I did. No point in fighting it. Hell, it seems like almost every time I get a return, it sells for more the second time around.

 

[Steve Smith]



On the subject of returns (although technically not one since I had yet to ship), here's what I got from a buyer yesterday. I guess he's also prohibited from watching The Masters.

Good afternoon,

If it is possible, I would like to cancel this transaction before the item ships. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. I was not aware that my wife's stepfather passed away while wearing a green colored suit. Unfortunately, I did not realize that this was the situation until I showed my wife the suit I purchased. If there is anything that can be done, I would greatly appreciate it. Again, I sincerely apologize for this situation.

Send him this message;

I will gladly take the return, but I have had a troubling thought. Have you considered that your wife's stepfather's death may have been caused not by the wearing of a green suit, but rather by his desire to own a green suit? Because depending upon your answer, you may be as good as dead already. And one more question: Was he wearing underwear when he passed away?

 

[capnwes]

On the subject of returns (although technically not one since I had yet to ship), here's what I got from a buyer yesterday. I guess he's also prohibited from watching The Masters.

Good afternoon,

If it is possible, I would like to cancel this transaction before the item ships. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. I was not aware that my wife's stepfather passed away while wearing a green colored suit. Unfortunately, I did not realize that this was the situation until I showed my wife the suit I purchased. If there is anything that can be done, I would greatly appreciate it. Again, I sincerely apologize for this situation.

At least there wasn't much preparation needed for burial. Toss him in a box and dig.

Cancel the transaction......and then send it to him anyway,

 

[Tweets]

Is there any way to search auction listings by length of auction? I would like to check listings that are on 1 & 3 day auctions.

Thanks

 

[capnwes]

Is there any way to search auction listings by length of auction? I would like to check listings that are on 1 & 3 day auctions.

Thanks

I think the best you can do is narrow by "newly listed" and then browse for the ones ending in the next day or so. Or do you mean completed listings? Then....no, I don't think so.

 

[Tweets]

I think the best you can do is narrow by "newly listed" and then browse for the ones ending in the next day or so. Or do you mean completed listings? Then....no, I don't think so.

Ahh, good idea...i can do auctions ending within 24 hours, and then sort by newly listed and get items that were listed today...I'm going to keep an eye on these and see if there are deals to be had from impatient sellers.

 

[GMMcL]



That is the workroom of a very disturbed mind... If you were anymore organized I would vomit. My area looks like it should be on an episode of Hoarders.

Srsly. Each time I pack ahead of time, my incidents of errant/crossed packages skyrockets. I don't do it anymore.

Also, I fell way behind on this threak. I just read tben's post about negging someone on here. I gotta know: was it me?

 

[idfnl]

No way I could ever pack ahead of time, too many multi-purchases. It would be a waste of packaging materials.

Also, since most of my stuff is used, I like the shipping to give me that very last pass to make sure there is no damage I missed. If I didn't take this step I'd have more returns.

 

[jebarne]

How many listings are we talking? I have about 425 listings at time and it seems it would take me a long time to find the right package that way.

How I do it....
When an item gets a bid, I pull it to a separate "sale pending" rack. Once it's paid it's packed and shipped. I have a lot of buyers that buy 3 and 4 items at a time, so I would have to unbox and rebox those items.

Have been considering (for the somewhat distant future) buying and moving my set up into an old drycleaning place and using the automated hanging rack for inventory browsing.

They make those for residential applications now. Sounds to me like it would go nicely above a 4 car garage.

 

[chiron]

Here is a list of tools i use aka "Tools of the Trade."


For loose threads and everything else. A+++




Reusable lint brush A+++



Rowenta Iron made in Germany. A good iron will save you time and give your garments a professional look. Avoid the the Rowneta Irons made in Mexico/ China as they do not deliver the same results . A+++




A 1500 watt Conair steamer (Conair) . 1500 watts of steam gets the smell out of most items .

A +++++++++




Rowenta Stem'n Press : Sucks as a garment steamer / iron but can steam / iron ties perfectly . B+



All items were thrifted for 7.99 or less. Also always use distilled water in the steamers/irons as not clog the openings.

 

[txwoodworker]

I tried that for a short while and it didn't work out. Only about half of the packaging turned out to be correct. International orders, multiple item orders, East Coast vs West Coast needing different Priority Mail boxes, etc.

Srsly. Each time I pack ahead of time, my incidents of errant/crossed packages skyrockets. I don't do it anymore.


This organization comes from necessity. As a manufacturer, streamlining processes is absolutely required for success. When you have employees and overhead you need standardized, organized processes or the money will be pissed away in wasted movement and ruined work. The first thing you learn is to handle work in process as little as possible. To pick something up to photograph it, put it back, pick it up to measure it, put it back, then pick it up to package it is crazy. The greatest books on the subject are by Eliyahu Goldratt: The Goal and It's Not Luck. These books changed my life, no exaggeration.

 

[SpooPoker]



The greatest books on the subject are by Eliyahu Goldratt: The Goal and It's Not Luck. These books changed my life, no exaggeration.

Grabbing a copy today.

Also considering "its not luck" as a new tattoo.

 

[jebarne]

Downloaded!

Originally Posted by txwoodworker

The greatest books on the subject are by Eliyahu Goldratt: The Goal and It's Not Luck. These books changed my life, no exaggeration.

 

[SeaJen]

The Goal is a great book, but I fear it won't be particularly meaningful to most. It is an allegorical book on a theory of production systems called the Theory of Constraints that boils down to the throughput of a production system is dependent upon the degree of variability in process times and the the speed of the slowest process in the system. Go any faster than that and a bottleneck will form at that process and all you do is spend money on inventory without producing saleable goods any faster.

I would say that theories that might be more interesting here would be those associated with the Toyoto Production System...Kanban, the elimination of muda, etc.