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

[Fueco]

So, I see that I'm still on track to maintain Top Rated Plus status when the new system goes into effect. What concerns me most is the way uploaded tracking affects things. I see from the Seller Dashboard that I have 458 transactions in the past three months, yet only 95.2% of them had tracking info uploaded within my stated handling time (one day) and validated by the carrier. I think the number is a bit off, since I never fail to upload tracking info before the next business day. Which brings me to a question... If a buyer pays for something at 3:00 PM PST, and I create the label at 3:05 PST the next day, does that count against me? To me, one business day means by the end of the next business day. Does Ebay take it to mean the same time the next business day?

For what it's worth, I have more store setup so that orders received before 8:00AM will be shipped the same day, though in practice it's more like 2:00 PM or so most days.

 

[Brianpore]

Quote: You can report a seller. There is a link right on every auction. You can report for misuse of words, keyword spamming of titles, trying to get sales outside of ebay, etc. Not sure if excessive shipping is one exactly but there is an "other". From my experience even if you report it, does not matter unless a lot of people report the same item, OR you call and speak with someone if you feel that strongly about it, like if they used your photos etc.

So, I see that I'm still on track to maintain Top Rated Plus status when the new system goes into effect. What concerns me most is the way uploaded tracking affects things. I see from the Seller Dashboard that I have 458 transactions in the past three months, yet only 95.2% of them had tracking info uploaded within my stated handling time (one day) and validated by the carrier. I think the number is a bit off, since I never fail to upload tracking info before the next business day. Which brings me to a question... If a buyer pays for something at 3:00 PM PST, and I create the label at 3:05 PST the next day, does that count against me? To me, one business day means by the end of the next business day. Does Ebay take it to mean the same time the next business day?

For what it's worth, I have more store setup so that orders received before 8:00AM will be shipped the same day, though in practice it's more like 2:00 PM or so most days.

I just noticed this also!!! I'm at 91% and I ship everything the next day in the morning. Not sure how I have such a low percentage.

Update - Just got off the phone with ebay. FYI everything is based on PST. Example buyer buys and item at 1am PST (4am EST) on Monday. Tracking has to be uploaded to ebay by midnight PST on Tuesday. It is not 24 hours, it is a business day. You can also go to your seller dashboard and run a report to see what items did not meed the tracking uploaded within handeing time.

 

[Snoogz]

How do you run that report Brian? My percentage is around 92% which pisses me off!

 

[richnet12]

How is this listing for CYA proof of authenticity disclaimer?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181424999577&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

 

[suited]



Here's the situation. I sold this Kiton shirt: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231203832301?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Note the pictures of the tags, and the detailed measurements in the description.

Buyer gets it and says it doesn't fit and he wants a refund. I say: Sure, no problem. If the measurements were off, I apologize, and will process a 100% refund plus return shipping. If not, my refund policy will apply.

A series of messages ensue in which I repeat my willingness to refund in full if buyer can demonstrate that something was wrong in my listing, and he simply states that I misrepresented without offering any substance.

Buyer opens case. Buyer escalates case. I call ebay and try to explain, focusing in the fact that the tags were clearly photographed and the actual measurements provided, just in case they differed. I also pointed out that the buyer has, so far, refused to actually measure the shirt. Ebay reasons that they don't have the shirt, and can't know whether I'm lying, so they're prepared to force a return. Moreover, since I have a return policy, they're going to override my restock fee and force a 100% return. Baffled and extremely annoyed, I ask why they can't at least make the buyer prove the shirt measurements were off before sticking me with the bill for the original shipping. Finally, finally, after 2 escalations, they agree that they (ebay) will pay me for the original shipping if the buyer doesn't upload photos showing an error within 3 days.

Then comes the coup de grace. Buyer leaves feedback saying: "Misrepresented the size of the shirt refused to refund will not buy again". So I call ebay again, since it's not at all true that I refused a refund, and ebay policy is that misleading or inaccurate feedback be removed. Not so, says ebay, focusing ONLY on the "misrepresented size" language. At least a dozen times I clarify that I'm not challenging that language (though I personally believe it's inaccurate). IT's the "refused refund" part that's problematic, since it's flatly false. They refuse to remove it with no satisfactory explanation --the best they came up with was "well, you haven't provided a refund yet." NO ****! Because I don't have the damn shirt. But what I DO have is the emails where I DID offer a refund.

The sooner Ali Baba or whatever replaces ebay, the better

.

That really sucks. The inherent problem with eBay customer service is that they are following a script and have very little, if any, autonomy to make rational decisions when needed. At a minimum, they should have removed the portion of the feedback that said you refused to offer a return. Then, once the return has been processed, the rest of it should have been removed.

 

[Shoeluv]

I have a painting I am selling, in shipping I put it as variable and a $5 handling fee since I have to buy a special box and add some crush proofing to it with a ton of bubble wrap. Okay, so to ship to my town it is $10.20 +$5 handling total shipping is $15.20. So when you click on the auction it shows $15.20, but when you search for the artist, in the search results it shows $10.20 shipping. I don't want to have to explain why I am adding $5 to the shipping, this should be transparent to the user.

This is the search
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Paintings-/551/i.html?item=161321661705&_from=R40&_sac=1&_nkw=davidson

This is the title of the auction "EXCELLENT VINTAGE FRAMED SIGNED N. DAVIDSON STRETCHED CANVAS PAINTING MINIMALIST"

EDIT: Never mind, it seems to be displaying properly now.

 

[Reosymes]

How is this listing for CYA proof of authenticity disclaimer?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181424999577&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

You might want to use paragraphs. I don't know where your 'fine print' ends and the item description starts. It's all muddled.

Also, too much explanation regarding authenticity can sound defensive, and raises unnecessary doubt in the buyer's mind. Just a line or two would be better. 'I got it for 6 dollars...' kind of language doesn't look very appropriate as a disclaimer.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm confused why he bought a shirt with a hole in it...

 

[txwoodworker]

This would be awesome. It really bugs me that someone can leave a low score for shipping cost for items they agreed to the purchase price of INCLUDING shipping before bidding/buying. If I mark up shipping at all, it's only to cover the cost of packaging materials, which I think is fair and works out to maybe 50 cents on items that need more bubble wrap.

I think that there SHOULD be an option to give a low rating for clearly excessive shipping charges, but that should be something you are able to report without buying the item first. If I see a pair of shoes with a $60 domestic shipping charge, I'm not going to buy them. But I can't report the item, so some other dude is potentially going to buy them without noticing the shipping charge. Is that really the way it should be?

I've been digging through the seller update, and it seems that you are correct that ratings for shipping charges are either going away or are not to be considered.

Yep, I think they mention that they still consider it for the "best match" or whatever rating, so it's still important, just maybe less so. Because admittedly, you really can't complain about charges you agree to. I think this all stems from the ancient system that everyone gamed, where eBay wasn't charging fees on shipping charges, so ppl would sell stuff for $.99 and $100 shipping, so they're only charging fees on the .99. It was probably eBay's way to stem that initially.

I'm confused why he bought a shirt with a hole in it...

It's been done, I used to swear off all damage, but after selling a Kiton shirt for almost $100 with a tiny hole in the shoulder, I am reconsidering, as long as it's clearly, clearly stated. Hell, I sold 2 Kitties that week, got positive feedback on the damaged one only.

 

[Fueco]

I'm confused why he bought a shirt with a hole in it...

It's your big chance!

 

[Brianpore]

How do you run that report Brian? My percentage is around 92% which pisses me off!

I just found out "local pickups" also count against you even if you mark it shipped/local pickup as there is no official tracking being uploaded. That said, the very nice girl (who know I called in this morning asking about upload times, etc), after explaining the situation put me on hold and spoke with a manger. She said that this appears to be a flaw and that they are looking into having a button which you can click to mark the item as picked up or will be picked up in person which will null the upload/handling time and not count against you. We shall see, but hopefully before august when thse new rules really go into effect.

But how you run the report.

Click on your feedback - seller dashboard - click the green check mark next to the shipping % which opens a window. At the bottom there is a "Create a report to see which of your transactions did not meet the tracking upload requirement". Make sure to use the option for the entire period and not just the month. It takes a few hours to generate the report so run it and come back the end of the day to download it. Opens in excel and shows the sale/paid/shipping time. Very helpful.

You can also now run reports (same basic area) to see which items you had low DSR ratings on (and go block those people from future purchases

)

 

[jebarne]

I've been contemplating the high cost of shipping heavy footwear (and clothing like robes or jackets) lately as well. I've come to two possible solutions that I can live with: 1.) Use the Cost Varies by Location feature and identify within my shipping narrative I am using this function because the item is heavy and the cost is so discrepant east coast v. west coast since I am shipping from NY, or 2.) Go with a standard shipping price with the self-understanding that I am making money off my east coast ships, and lose a few bucks with the west coast sales. I tend to ignore the sales where I make $3 on shipping shoes, but man I get my panties all up in a bunch when I lose $3.

Last, but not least, on shoes that are not super expensive, and will not suffer from a bit of box cramming, I've received shoes jammed into a medium flat rate which is right around $11 for those with no additional shipping discounts.

On shoes, I went through a spell where every single pair of boots or heavy brogues went to the west coast. On shoes I switched 100% to calculated shipping. Lowered my start prices about $5. Haven't had anyone complain. Plus, If its international and they charge like $55, usually cost around $34 after discounts, I either refund the extra or ask them if they want it faster and I ship express.

On almost all other auctions, I Include shipping. But if something doesn't sell in a couple of rounds, I'll move it to BINOBO plus shipping. It protects me somewhat and I get a steady amount of BIN OBO.

 

[jebarne]

You can report a seller. There is a link right on every auction. You can report for misuse of words, keyword spamming of titles, trying to get sales outside of ebay, etc. Not sure if excessive shipping is one exactly but there is an "other". From my experience even if you report it, does not matter unless a lot of people report the same item, OR you call and speak with someone if you feel that strongly about it, like if they used your photos etc.

I just noticed this also!!! I'm at 91% and I ship everything the next day in the morning. Not sure how I have such a low percentage.

Update - Just got off the phone with ebay. FYI everything is based on PST. Example buyer buys and item at 1am PST (4am EST) on Monday. Tracking has to be uploaded to ebay by midnight PST on Tuesday. It is not 24 hours, it is a business day. You can also go to your seller dashboard and run a report to see what items did not meed the tracking uploaded within handeing time.

That's actually got a downside. If someone in Cali buys a pair of shoes BIN at 11PM PST on Monday, Its 2AM here and I'm thinking about bedtime. I get up and head to the office at 7. Get home at 7. Print and package the order and schedule a pickup.

by my count, that's one business day. But by ebay, its the 2nd business day.

Did I get that right?

 

[Brianpore]

Quote: Yes. but if you print the label on Tuesday you are set (in your mind that is the same day) but in ebays mind that is the next day. The issue would be if you came home from work, ate dinner, went to bed and then packaged the item the NEXT morning (Wednesday) thinking that it was only bought on Tuesday when in fact it was bought on Monday at 11pm so your deadline for tracking info is Tuesday and the scan has to happen by Wednesday.

 

[jdrizzy]

To folks that sell ties, where do you come up with such crazy vocabulary to describe your ties? My listing titles are just "maker name striped tie"