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When we hear Amazon sellers talk about their million dollar businesses, it’s pretty impressive. They tell stories of buying tens of thousands of dolla
[See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 303: Failure of Imagination] -
The casts get better by the week.
I briefly mentioned 2 month ago I was invited by one of these large Amazon businesses to their event here in Fort Lauderdale. After the event, they send me periodic invitations for their live on line training classes.
Unfortunately I am not having time and the day of the day long event here one of my twins got really sick.
I wanted to have it since it feels I am missing opportunity. My Amazon store is a long lasting frustrated business failure.
I am quite sure they would be tackling the correct business models for Amazon stores.
I have Amazon as a regret and lost oppotunity -
Total Items in Store: etsy 415, ebay 212
Items Sold: 16 (14 etsy, 2 ebay)
Total Sales: $470.92 (89.99 ebay, 380.93 etsy)
Highest Price Sold: $65 (bracelet on ebay)
Average Price Sold: $29
Returns: 0slower week in term of $, but still decent. your second store proves that there is no getting around it–to have consistent sales you need to be consistently listing–my own ebay store has been somewhat neglected as etsy has taken over as my main sales platform (as a singleton doing this with no help I have to prioritize and concentrate my effort on where my sales are coming from.)
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Hi Guys! Love the podcast and great info!
Finally joined because of the Lucchese boots…the Tx pronunciation is LOU CASEY! Great find and sale! -
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J&R.. Just caught something you said during this podcast and now remember you saying something in another one. You have said several times that you are opted in to the “Hassel Free Returns” program and so are we. Yet you said in this podcast that you ask for a photograph and then decide to issue a return authorization – permission to return. Is that not in accordance with HFR? We got a request yesterday for a return and the HFR program automatically accepted the return and told the buyer he had 5 days to print out his label, which HFR furnishes them and return. THEN when we receive the item, we will inspect and decide on the retun amount, be that as a full round trip shipping and the item, or depending on what their claims were, we subtract our 20% restocking fee and return shipping or just skip the re-stock fee. Those we make the choice on. So HFR is exactly that, for any rhyme or reason, no questions asked, they can ask to return it for any reason [hassel free for them] and we don’t refund until we get it back and we decide how much to refund. Hassle free for us.
If you have the option turned on in the HFR area that you must approve the return first [like giving a RMA number] and you don’t want to agree and so no, isn’t that then NOT HFR for the Buyer? We used to have the ask us first option clicked on but we then did not get the Hassle Free Returns tag line copy showing in our listings.
So, I just cross checked 4 or 5 items in both of your stores and you are “NOT” sporting the “Hassle Free Program” anylonger, just a 30 day return policy. So is this a recent change and also a change of heart on the HFR program?
Just wondering. The item I am getting back is an iron and the buyer said it melted the plastic storage stand he sat it down on. Well it is a “storage stand” DDUUH! not a hot iron stand. It is supposed to cool down before you store it away. A Double DDUUHHH!!!, but the HFR program kicked in, we got a notice of the incoming return, buyer got a label and we will be waiting the 5 days to see if he ships it. The HFR program is suppose to take the whole back and forth out from buyer to seller other than his written explanation of why they are returning which is included in the Ebay memo.
So what do you recommend now? You can’t have it both ways I don’t think. In this case I would not have taken the item back due to “stupidity on how to use a hot iron”. He even said he thought the iron was dangerous. So have you decided to drop the HFR program and go back to first asking for photos. Then pointing them to the Resolution Center to open up a return claim, then you making a go – no go decision as to what amount or even if you are going to do a partial or full refund? I am sort of confused on your stance after hearing your new statement. Just curious.
BTW.. on a secondary note.. Almost all big box stores will take a return for any reason but none that I know of will give you your money back PLUS extra for the wear and tear on your car and the gas you use to bring the item back. Personally I think a return for any reason, even if a sellers fault, should be born by the buyer. But just my opinion.
mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta.-
MDC, you can set your returns preferences to auto accept or not based on the reason the buyer gives for returning. So it’s hassle free if it doesn’t fit, they changed their mind, etc. If the buyer selects “doesn’t match description”, or something like that, it won’t auto accept the return.
Ebay can’t show a “hassle free” guarantee on those, because they don’t know ahead of time why something is going to be returned. That’s why you didn’t see it on Jay and Ryanne’s store.
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Hello again… Maybe Ebay has stopped showing HFR tag line copy. I noticed there are not any showing on my listings either. So is the program even still active with Ebay? If so I thought the Hassle Free was suppose to be a come on for the Buyers?
I would love to go back to approving all of the returns to us [even though we have only had a few]. But in the case of this guy with placing a hot iron on a plastic storage stand, I would love to tell him where he can “place that hot iron” and “no, I am not taking a return”. 🙂 LMAO.. but wouldn’t do that, not professional.. but would surely love to.
mike in atl.-
We definitely opted into hassle Free Returns when it came out a while ago. Maybe all returns are “hassle free” now? All we know is that the buyer can initiate a return. If they admit they just changed their mind, it’s automatically accepted. If the say we did something wrong, we have it set so they must send us a notice before they can print out a label.
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Hey J&R and any other members .. Would like to take a Poll!!
I am rethinking my Hassle Free selections. I had all of them checked to allow Ebay to Automatically issue a return label. Then I had the choice if I would refund the whole thing, or not the return shipping or the 20% restocking fee. But all of these would allow Ebay to auto approve and issue them the email to print a return label and send back.
Out of the list below that Ebay furnishes which ones have you guys selected for Automatic Approval for Ebay to issue a return label without having you, the seller to approve before furnishing the return label to the buyer?
Doesn’t fit
Changed my mind
Found a better price
Just didn’t like it
Ordered by mistake
Doesn’t work or defective
Doesn’t match description or photos
Wrong item sent
Missing parts or pieces
Arrived damaged
Doesn’t seem authenticA friend of mine said to select them all and let the customer return for any reason, then I just choose to apply the restock fee or return shipping or not. My wife says to only allow the obvious ones and the others have to come to us for approval. But that will mean contact the buyer and going through some communication as to why, and asking for photos, etc., etc.
So interested in what all of the members here have selected.
thanks MDC Galleries in Atlanta
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automatically approve is selected for any reasson which the buyer is taking responsibility. non-auto would be if they are blaming us for the issue.
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Yep understand.. but Hassle Free program gives us those 11 choices to click on. I had them all selected. So which ones out of those 11 do you have selected-clicked on? I would like to “un-click” some of those and are you saying to do so, I need to guess which of these 11 I would think the buyer would think was a seller error?
So I guess my error and I would accept full responsibility & allow Ebay to Auto accept and furnish buyer a return label would be:
* Doesn’t work or defective ..??
* Wrong item sent .. ??
* Missing parts or pieces .. ??
* Arrived Damaged .. ??Then I don’t click the following which would mean I will have to engage the buyer, have a dialogue, ask for photos, then decide if I will or will not accept their request for a return [which will probably end in an argument for sure]
* Doesn’t fit, Changed my mind, Found better price, Just didn’t like it, ordered by mistakeIf I don’t check these then I will get an email from the buyer, they explain there situation and then I make the judgement call.
So guess the question is which of these do you have selected? It is found in your Return Preferences.
To stay out of any Hassle at all I would accept all of the 11. If only those of my fault I would only select the 4 choices as above. Ever since we opted into the program I guess all 11 have been selected to authorize an auto return. mike in atl. -
we auto-accept these (as these are buyers remorse)–
Doesn’t fit
Changed my mind
Found a better price
Just didn’t like it
Ordered by mistakewe don’t auto-accept these (as these would be considered our fault and we want to have a conversation about them)–
Doesn’t work or defective
Doesn’t match description or photos
Wrong item sent
Missing parts or pieces
Arrived damaged
Doesn’t seem authentic -
thanks.. appreciate you nailing it down dead nuts on… but am I reading this correct ?? You DO accept the first 5 and DON’T the last 6?? Do you have that reversed. I think you meant you DONT on the first group and DO on the last Group? I think so.
Appreciate you breaking it out into “exact” details, so I will proceed to make the changes. I apologize if I took up any of your time. I know it is precious to you guys. Really appreciate everything I have taken away from you guys through the years.
mike in atl. -
key words here “auto accept”, not reject/accept. we pretty much accept all returns, it’s just that some dont need our approval. if an item does not fit, and the buyer is paying all the shipping, of course i’ll auto-accept. if the buyer says an item is from the 2nd list (our fault, damaged, not the correct item) then of course i want to have a conversation about it first before i either accept return or give a partial refund etc.
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This is the one we have: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Washlet-Toilet-Bidet-Seat-TOTO-Elongated-Heated-Dual-Action-Spray-Bathroom-/252516259972?hash=item3acb245884:g:Dl8AAOSwdzVXwtTR
There are others that are cheaper. Ryanne can speak to the ease of the install.
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as jay said we were given a Toto Washlet. it was very easy to install. although my water connection leaked but only because my toilet supply line was super old and needed replacing because the washers were shot. so we bought a new one and that solved the issue!
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Before I left the corporate world. I have worked in several call centers. And it just blows my mind that a huge company like ebay doesn’t have call logs so that any other customer service rep can see what you have called in before about. It also blows my mind that ebay’s customer service reps give out such gross miss information and you can get different answers from different reps for the same questions. It should be standard across the board. Another little pet peeve of mine is the anchor store phone line. It seems to me that they are giving better customer service to higher paying customers. Ebay wouldn’t like it if I only gave the highest quality service to the customer who only buy my high price items. Ebay expects me to give the same high quality customer service to all my customers and I expect ebay to treat their sellers the same.
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i agree with you 100%. ever since having the efficiency and consistent service with the Anchor Store reps, i feel ebay is providing very sub-par service at the other call center. for our 2nd store i have to call the regular number and it really is like night and day.
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I’ve always thought it was odd that you have to be on hold with anchor support. I just have a premium store and I use the “call me” customer service option and always get the call within 1-2 minutes. I’m generally happy with the phone support I have received from ebay. Even with the limitations, it is WAAAAYYYY better than Amazon’s support.
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Haven’t listened to this week’s episode yet, I do that on Monday’s while doing photos. Here are our numbers for the week:
Week of 3/19-3/25
Total Items in Store: 1,491
Items Sold: 78
Number of Items Listed This Week: 102
Total Sales: $2,065.55
Cost of Items Sold: $562.37
Highest Item Sold: $200 – Pair of Prada Shoes from a Phoenix sourcing trip (Troy wins this week!)Sales are still solid and continue to hold. We continue to see that making sure we are listing new items each day seems to help drive consistent sales.
We just did make our goal of listing at least 100 items per week. I will be out another two days this upcoming week doing some consulting, so my focus will be on getting a few listings done early each day, spend two full days of nothing but prep and photos, then two days of sourcing.
Veronica is getting bummed, as we keep having crappy weather on the weekends, and she has yet to do some serious garage picking! She did pretty well this weekend at the thrift stores, so she will just focus on her items, while I refill the clothing pipeline.
Got an update from eBay on our “Puerto Rico is International” problem. Looks like 5 other people have contacted eBay with the same issue. They called me on Saturday morning (15 minutes before the thrift store was opening!) to tell me they see the problem, others are complaining too, and they are planning to give me a solution or a work around in the next day or so. We hope…
Last, Veronica found this shirt while shopping this weekend. I wonder what it sold for…?
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Great podcast, guys!
As I understand the guaranteed delivery program, if the seller ships the item within one day, eBay will bear the cost if the delivery is not made in the guaranteed time. I’m not sure if that is accurate or not, but it seems like a no-brainer to opt into the program if it is.
If not, then I’ll still probably opt in because it is VERY rare that my Priority items don’t make it within the 3 day window. If I get better exposure for my items by opting in, then I’ll take that risk.
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Did a little more research and found that the answer of who pays hasn’t been fully explained. Different sources at eBay have different answers. Check out this link for more info.
The end of the article says, this:
eBay spokesperson Ryan Moore provided us with the following response last night:
“As long as sellers meet their same-day or one-day handling time commitment, eBay will cover the buyer recompense for guaranteed items that arrive late (which is either free return of the item, or reimbursement of shipping costs).
“If sellers do not meet their handling time commitment and an item arrives late, the seller will be asked to cover the buyer recompense.
“eBay will protect sellers and pay the buyer recompense in the event of delays caused by major and unexpected weather events.
“In all cases eBay will manage customer service for buyer recompense, so it will not cause a time burden for sellers.”
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3/19/17 – 3/25/17
Total Items in Store: 1212
Items Sold: 26
Cost of Items Sold: $36.07
Total Sales: $1184.88
Highest Price Sold: $200.00 (The Clash poster)
Average Price Sold: $45.57
International Sales: 2
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $43.85A new personal record for me …my first week over $1000! It was a great week with several good sales and some more cool yard sales (so happy spring is here). In addition to the poster, I sold a patch for $100 and a Pepsi hat for $120. Really hoping the hat guy pays up today. Oh, and we finally did our taxes! Hopefully I got all the eBay end of it right, as I’m not exactly the best record keeper.
At the end of the week we are headed to Portland for a family vacation, which will include a thrifting extravaganza for me! The kids will be thrilled, haha. There won’t be much room in the car, so hopefully I can find some cool little stuff. At any rate, it will be a fun change of scenery.
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3/19-25
Total items in store 775
Items sold (1 bonanza). 21
Total sales. $177.89
Average sale. $8.47
COGS. $22.89
Returns-0, unpaid-1
$ spent on new inventory. $9.46
# of new items listed. 39
Highest sale $20 pair of T-Fal fry pans (cost $2.49)About the same number of sales as last week, just no really big items. On the bright side, at least the smaller items I sold this week were replaced with listings that are much higher value. I created a sale today to run through Thursday in hopes of getting the older, less valuable items moving. I need to keep items moving out or I am going to have to curb my scavenging (which is my favorite part!)
I loved the ‘imagination’ theme on the podcast this week. I think people who become EBay entrepreneurs have to have some level of imagination, or maybe a better word is instinct, to succeed. We all have different areas of knowledge we can apply our scavenging to make the most of our businesses. I could never sell electronics at the level Steve does because I just don’t have that knowledge. I’ve shied away for art for the same reason. However, give me a room full of old linens, craft items or books and I can sell the hell out of them! That doesn’t mean I don’t try other things-and that’s probably where the imagination/instincts come into play. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s what keeps it interesting!
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Week of March 20-26.
Total Items in Store: ebay – 82
Items Sold: 10
COGS: ~$130
Total Sales: $1,947.95 (!)
Highest Price Sold: $1200 (furniture – paid $60). Second-highest: $500 (fabric lot – paid $30)
Average Price Sold: $194
Items listed this week: 3
Bought this week: 6-8 items or so.
Returns: 0I am new-to-register here but a longtime-lurking fan. I’m still trying to keep myself anonymous, so I’m avoiding some specifics. This has been my best week ever by far! I certainly would never have made this money if it wasn’t for Jay, Ryanne and the community here. I appreciate you all so very much.
I am a part-time seller with limited storage space, but your strategies still work great. Thanks to all of you, I have learned to be very selective, so I pass over items I don’t think I can make at least $50 from long tail – or $25 quickly. It depends on the item, and the storage space and shipping materials it will require.
I got lucky with my two high-dollar sales. These were items that took up a lot of space but sold fairly quickly (fabric, found at Savers, gone in a few weeks; the furniture, found at a local charity thrift, in less than a week – thank goodness, because it was a gamble and took up a lot of space).
I’ve learned to look for high-end or well-known brands and items in nice condition and eschew tempting items that would net me $10 or $15 but have a lot of identicals for sale. I shop nearly always at thrift stores, on weekends and on my way to or from my full-time work sometimes. My older inventory is slow to sell but I can tell by how quickly my newer items sell that I’m getting a better feel for it. It’s taken me about a year. I do all sales via Good ‘Til Cancelled/Best Offer. I’ve learned to price high and see what happens (Thanks, Ryanne!) with good success.
Congratulations on your 300+ podcasts and on your excellent adventures in eBay and the rental houses (I also listen to Shampoo and Booze – love it!).
All the best and sincerest gratitude,
-MrsKensington
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I know that you don’t want to be too specific, but what style of furniture piece was this? Antique? mid century modern?
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Regarding the Guaranteed Delivery: From what I have heard on the eBay Radio podcast in the last week, if you are in the “Handling” program”, meaning you guarantee to meet your handling deadlines that you set (ship and have a USPS scan in your stated deadlines), eBay will pay the buyer if delivery deadlines are not met. For us, this is a no brainer, as we ship 6 (and now 7) days a week, so all we need is the scan by USPS (which we get via the Scan Sheet now).
End of the day, the Guaranteed Delivery is a good thing. It is promoting to the world that we, as professional eBay businesses, can ship as good as Amazon (which is what is driving this). If you have a 1-day handling, meet that and get a USPS scan, there is no risk to us (eBay is absorbing the risk on the USPS side, so how great is that), and eBay is paying for the advertising to state to the world that eBay is reliable (like Amazon).
There is still some fear out there (like all change), but if we meet our stated handling deadlines and get a Scan from USPS, eBay covers the rest of the risk. We like it!
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From what I understood about the Guaranteed Delivery program also for those folks using the “Handling Time” program,” if the seller meets the handling time requirement, the item gets scanned by USPS on time, and the item isn’t delivered on time, eBay takes responsibility for refunding the shipping fee to the buyer, and if it was a Free Shipping item, then they will give the buyer a $5 coupon as compensation. Also, in order for eBay to offer the guarantee in the first place, they will match buyers to sellers according to geographic zones where 3 days or less is a good probability, and they will also look at shipping options offered by the seller. So, if the buyer and seller are on opposite coasts, then the First Class option might not be workable, but if the seller also offers a Priority option, then that option would be available to the buyer for the guarantee. They will also allow buyers to filter their searches for items that are available for the Guaranteed Delivery option. Sounds like a no-brainer if you’re already using a one day or better handling time. eBay Radio has covered this a lot in the last couple weeks…
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Here’s an interesting WSJ article about Amazon’s fast changing prices;
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-speed-trading-behind-your-amazon-purchase-1490532110 -
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Total Items in Store: 1,226
Items Sold: 30
Cost of Items Sold: $16
Total Sales: $944.82
Highest Price Sold: $157.20 (Vintage Motorcycle boots, came from an estate sale bag sale! So cost of about 25¢)
Average Price Sold: $31.49
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $28
Number of items listed this week: 50 (listed fewer because kids were on spring break. We also went to Louisville for the weekend for a soccer game. Also hit some great sales and found some awesome inventory.) -
Week of 3/19-3/25
Total Items in Store: 878
Items Sold: 20 (2 Amazon)
Total Sales: $502.92
Cost of Items Sold: $59
Highest Item Sold: $39.99 (Kiss Double Platinum record)
Average price sold: $25.15
Returns: 0
Money Spent on new inventory: $0
Number of Items Listed This Week: 0Just got home about an hour ago from London. I had extended handling time, so these sales are actually pretty good – just finished packing 11 items. Arrived in London on the day of the terror attacks, so that was pretty surreal. Otherwise, the trip was awesome. Our AirBnB was in an incredibly convenient location to walk to Westminister/Big Ben/Parliament/Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill, Abbey Road, etc. Short-ish trip for my wife’s birthday, but great to get away.
Sales were pretty good, although everything was low-ish dollar and/or bread & butter. That being said, COGS were also quite low right around 11% which is good for me.
Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but looking forward to hearing your voices again on the show on the way to work!
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Hi guys,
This was a great podcast this week. I really enjoyed listening, as always!Here are my numbers for the week: March 19-25, 2017
Total Items in Store: 856
Items Sold: 10
Cost of Items Sold: $21.76
Total Sales: $269.99
Highest Price Sold: $39.95 (Used Men’s Crocs)
Average Price Sold: $27
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $35.17
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Bonanza:
Sold 1 item for $37.61 (New Router)This seemed like a slow week this week – I did not have any “high dollar” sales – but not any low dollar sales either – all bread and butter shoes and shirts. I bought an excessive amount of clothes at the Goodwill Outlet this week, so I have to get busy prepping and listing it all. I also focused this week on listing very high dollar items – yet no good sales from this stuff yet – but I will report when it happens. My next goal is to reach 1000 listings… slowly but surely.
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Ebay
Total Items in Store: 9017
Items Sold: 125
Cost of Items Sold: $195
Total Sales: $2828.90
Highest Price Sold: $225 (Dr. Seuss Set)
Average Price Sold: $22.63
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $1258Top sellers was a Dr. Seuss book set for $225, Theological Lexicon book set for $145 and a Lego set for $65. No really big sellers on Amazon, highest book this week was a Myanmar-English Dictionary for $80.
Years ago we were visiting my wife’s family in rural North Carolina I made a stop into the post office to mail out stuff I had in my car. The guy behind me had a lot of packages with ebay labels. I started talking to him and it turns out he sold coffee that can only be found in a few regional stores in his area. I also saw on a forum where a guy sells shedded dear antlers and other woodsy stuff on ebay. So there is always something to find and sell.
Made a huge purchase this week, $1200 for a large lot of new toys, had to rent a 26ft uhaul truck to move it all from the thrift store back to the warehouse. Luckily they do not sell toys in their store for liability/recall reasons so they wanted to move them out at a low price due to the room it was taking up in their warehouse. Of course now it’s taking up room in my warehouse.When I was in China I fell in love with their toilets, it it didn’t cost so much to run electrical and a hot water pipe over to our toilet I would install one of the fancy high end toilets.
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you just hook into the water supply to the toilet using the T-adapter that comes with it. the only weird thing is that it requires an electrical outlet next to the toilet which i’ve NEVER seen in a bathroom in the US, so we just ran a cord up to the GFI by the mirror for now. the seat is is electric and heats the water itself.
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We are redoing our bathroom (for the last 6 months) and I was considering installing one, for some reason I thought it had to have hot water. Sounds simple, its going on my Christmas list.
Our cabin has an outlet down by the toilet, I thought it was odd but now I see the genius behind it.
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We found a variety of toilets in China, from the nice sleek new Toto’s to the strange hole-in-the-floor toilets which took some getting used to. Public bathrooms often had some regular toilets and some hole-in-the-floor standing/squatting toilets. The regular ones had signs that said “Do not squat on toilet.” Sometimes you could see shoe treadmarks on the toilet seats. Maybe this is more info than you wanted. Haha
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3/19 – 3/25
Total Items in store: 386
Items sold: 6
Cost of items sold: approx. $10
Total Sales: $119
Highest price sold: $50 GM part
Average price sold: $20
Int’l sales: 0
Returns:0
Number of items listed this week: 0
Amazon disbursement – $0Full time ebay goal – was March 2018; now – ????
Ebay to Amazon – 11 sales – $1379, COGS – $561, fees – $192, profit – $626
Taxes are done and ready to ship off to the accountant.
Fun sale of the week – sold a Bass pro shops hat on Friday for $20, bought it for a $.25 at a yard sale. Shipped to Bass Pro Shops Headquarters. -
RR Store Week March 19-25, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1264
Items Sold: 24
Cost of Items Sold: $49.97
Total Sales: $648.57
Highest Price Sold: $79.99 (70’s Levi’s denim bell bottoms)
Average Price Sold: $27.02
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $12
Number of items listed this week: 14This week was full of distractions: doctor’s appointments, drama, car stuff…just life. I barely listed at all, and I’m shocked at my numbers. I’m closer to my weekly goal than last week, when I listed over three times as much. But that’s no excuse to slow down the listing; my death piles are dwindling, my office/storage is clean and streamlined, and the estate sales have been good.
I spent a lot of time on the phone with eBay this week removing handling time defects. So many mixed messages. A rep in the Appeals Department was able to remove two late shipment defects because the packages were delivered before their estimated arrival time. Then they sent me a report that had all my defect items’ shipping and arrival dates. If I found any that arrived early, they would remove them. There were none, including the two she removed. Say what?! So I called back for a bit of clarification, and the rep explained the 1 day handling time policy. If an item sells on Monday, I have until 11:59pm on Tuesday to get the post office scan, not just print the postage. I thought if an item sold on Monday, I had until 11:59pm on Tuesday to print postage, then it would ship the following day. I’ve been laboring under that delusion for years. So not only was the post office screwing me up by not picking up my packages on time, but I had been screwing myself up! Well, I’m slowly digging out of this hole to regain Top Rated Seller status. Put most of my store on sale to drive down the percentage of late shipments with more sales. Fingers crossed.
*Paul*
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i don’t think that’s true that it has to get scanned by Tues at midnight, you have to print the label by then. since our storage is 10 miles away at our rental house, i could set my watch by when i’m supposed to print labels because i often can’t access our storage until the next day or to. so i print my label by the deadline so as to not get a defect, but the item might not go out until the next day. never had a ding on those items. only had dings on items i either forgot to print on time or when people asked me not to ship for 7+ days.
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I didn’t think so either. But the rep said that they don’t count when postage is printed as the indicator of the item shipping, but rather the first post office scan. Which is counter to what we’ve all discussed in the past. Either way, I’ve got a bunch of dings I have to deal with. I’m just going to print the postage towards the end of the night on the day an item sells so it can ship out the next day. No more relying on that “one business day” until I get some solid info.
*Paul*
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Yeah, this is confusing. Here’s the deal: There are TWO different but frustratingly similar rules. One is what I call the On Time Delivery Seller Performance Standard. That’s the one that requires the timely acceptance scan (with two back ups: if the acceptance scan is not timely, but delivery shows it was on time, OR buyer says it was on time, then ebay will accept that. But otherwise, you need the scan.)
The other is the TRACKING requirement. That’s the one that was recently changed in the Spring Update…on time tracking must be uploaded 90% (soon to be 95%) of the time for TRS status. THAT is the one that allows you the extra time to print the label. It does NOT require an acceptance scan within the handling time, but does require a scan of some sort anywhere along the route , which is just to verify that the tracking number is real.
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Total Items in Store: 110
Items Sold: 9
Cost of Items Sold: $147
Total Sales: $451
Profit after fees and cogs:$246
Highest Price Sold: $275.00 (harmonica) paid $140 but knew it’d be and easy quick flip
Average Price Sold: $51.38
Returns:0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $20$
Number of items listed this week: 10 -
Week of Mar 19 – 25
* Total Items in Store: 744
* Items Sold: 11
* Cost of Items Sold: $12.75 + $18 Commission
* Total Sales: $243.00
* Highest Price Sold: $55 Nintendo 64 Mario Watch
* Average Price Sold: $22.10
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $30
* Number of items listed this week: 40I had a slow week. I sold only 11 items this week, but I sold 16 items per week for the last two weeks. I did have a couple higher priced sales, so my average price sold wasn’t too bad (for me, at least).
I had taken tons of photos the previous week, so I listed all of that inventory on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week was spent doing some work on the house with my husband, who took Wed-Fri off. He is also off today, but I will start photos and listing tomorrow.
I did do one online auction this week, but that is it. I need to pay off all the auctions I did in February, and I have a bit of a backlog, so I’m keeping my purchases down for now.
Great podcast – I think I’ve improved my “imagination” since starting on this eBay voyage about a year ago. I will be taking some of my slower, lower cost, learning-as-I-go-along purchases to a flea market at the beginning of May. This will make room for new inventory, which I am buying as a smarter and more imaginative (I hope) eBay seller.
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Jay & Ryanne: I just heard the podcast and your questions on Guaranteed Delivery. I have listened to the eBay Radio podcast, and they have gone in depth on how it will work. Sellers can opt in (at the item level) and sign-ups to opt in will begin in July.
Basically, it will be another way that buyers can filter their search. Right now, sellers can filter their search results by highest price, lowest price, best match, etc. There will now be another drop-down filter by “Guaranteed Delivery Date”. It will allow buyers to filter by 1, 2, and 3 day delivery. The delivery date will be based on the seller’s handling time, and the calculated delivery time for each shipping option you put on the listing (First Class, Priority, Parcel, etc).
So, for us in Colorado, if a buyer in Maine is looking for one of our shirts, and they filter by “Guaranteed 3 Day”, we will show up in their search, since we have a Priority option (and at our Priority Price). The First Class option won’t get it there, but since we put the Priority option on the listing, and we have 1-day handling, it will still be in their search.
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Just to avoid any confusion: Best Match, Ending Soonest, etc….those are NOT filters. They are “Search orders”. If a search term brings up 100 results under Best Match, it should bring up 100 results in Ending Soonest…the same results, in a different order.
eBay filters are found on the left side of the Search Results page. The available filters depend to some extent on the category (or sub-category) the buyer has chosen, but basically they will show a subset of the unfiltered search results. So if a certain brand of mens shirt has 100 results in Best Match, and the buyer now filters for “red” as a color, there might be only 20 results. And the buyer can display them in his chosen order by using the search order…best match, ending soonest, etc.
ebay has said that participation in the Delivery program will NOT effect Best Match (in other words, it is not part of the Best Match algorithm). It will only matter if the buyer uses the filter.
ebay has 20 million listings already promised to the program (presumably by large sellers). My guess is, Large Sellers of new merchandise will jump on this program , because they will see the value in it. Most of us are really competing with other small sellers of used items, and I think, initially at least, small sellers won’t embrace the program the way large sellers will. Which could give a significant competitive advantage to those who do opt in.
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Thanks for everyone who’s responded about this new Guaranteed 3-Day Shipping Program. Since we ship quickly anyway, I see no reason why we wouldnt join it.
Does anyone have a specific link on eBay./com that goes into detail of the program? I do think its weird there’s random facts quoted in different articles, but nothing from eBay itself. Their radio show doesn’t count because its also just hazy info.
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info on Guaranteed Delivery
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Thanks Nancy. I started a separate post so we can discuss this new program there.
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Looking forward to listening to the podcast. I usually listen while I’m doing housework. 🙂
Numbers this week:
March 20-26, 2017
Total items in store: 150
Items sold: 2
Cost of items sold: $1
Total sales: $19.94
Highest price sold: $14.95
Average price sold: $9.97
Returns: 0
Money spent on new inventory: $0
Number of items listed this week: 22Listing is still slow because of photographs. I spent one day rearranging the garage to re-position my photo area and it seems to be helping – more than half my listings are from after the change. However, on the positive side, it’s the highest number of items I’ve ever had in my store! I have also been working on the inventory migration to the new system. Sales are dismal, though. I do hope they pick up soon.
Sheldon is responsible for my scavenge of the week: I didn’t buy any inventory this week, but in my death piles I found a set of 4 nested pantry boxes. If it wasn’t for Sheldon’s What Sold video last week, I’d not have known what they were! Thanks, Sheldon!
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Jay, Ryanne: This is a weird thing to ask on a blog, but after you use the bidet how do you dry yourself off? I’ve never used a bidet.
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Total Items in Store: 345
Items Sold: 9
Cost of Items Sold: $16 thrifted + $149 RA
Total Sales: $402
Highest Price Sold: $127 (New Duvet – paid $55 on clearance 1 year ago)
Average Price Sold: $45
International Sales: 1
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $28
Items listed this week: +/- 28! (ended some stale ones too)Pretty good week for me. Kids are out of town for Spring Break and should have hit my taxes, but I just had a lovely weekend of quiet listing vintage piles and reorganizing. My fellow parent sellers know how golden that is. No grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, dr. appointments, etc. Just me and the pets and the piles. Feels really great except I’m wondering now if I’m a slow lister :(. This has me questioning whether I have the time for Etsy this year.
I’m one of the coffee mug rehab people. I felt nervous at first about shipping so I started with coffee mugs so I could get the hang of things in a controlled way. Have about 5 bankers boxes of them in the garage. However, after listing puzzling original art and pottery this weekend, those easy to list mugs sound pretty darn good. Hats off to R&J for pouring over tons of ephemera and other piles of unique items. I find myself kind of grateful for the piles so I can switch between types of items (they are largely sorted). Still focusing mainly on getting rid of larger items.
I did treat myself to two thrift store stops this week despite the challenge since I got off work early on Friday. All I purchased was a gorgeous midcentury walnut salad set and a midcentury pitcher. Paid up a bit for them but that is the plan of evolution going forward. It’s about picking the items that glow but also about leaving behind the ones that aren’t worth shipping and the time processing. Lately I’m factoring in the higher shipping costs too now that I understand that better.
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Eve, your death pile challenge has been motivational for me. I set a goal of clearing out a different death pile each week basically. Now the random garage piles are gone, which was so dreaded. I still have a table full of things there that I will take to an auction–mostly garage sale leftovers from last summer. I listed a pile of swimsuits which have been selling nicely 2-3/week. The past 2 weeks were mostly consumed with a mountain of stainless steel and mostly silverplate flatware. I had already done hours of research to identify each patter–not easy with antique pieces! I spent many more hours polishing each piece and putting same patterns in marked baggies and then listing them–some individually or in groups or lots, depending upon value. I think I never want to buy another piece of flatware! But they have already been selling, so are nice additions to the “pipeline”.
The only “piles” I have left are a huge bin of vintage embroidered linens and a lot of antique photos. I need to review Spinachetr’s interview to see if he scans his antique photos or just take a photo of each photo. And if they want a minimum of 4 photos for each ebay listing, what the heck do you photo other than the front and back. Close-ups?
I have stillbeen hitting my fav thrift shop once a week but have been listings those items, too, so there’s no excess leftover potential deathpile junk. It’s been helping me to avoid buying anything not worth my time. There’s so much available why not just skim the best. I’m so tired of low-priced sales.
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Hi ya all.
Amazon hands down, will make you more money faster than eBay, with more stability over time, IF you know how to do Amazon.
Is it sexy? Nope. Is it soulless? Yup. (Probably)We only sell books on Amazon. The books we focus on must fall within a certain rank, and fall within a certain net, or we don’t even consider flipping it.
I only buy and resell books online. I have ever never bought in bulk or by pallet. There is no need if you follow a formula and keep everything lean. (We do not want to be another Better World Books), nor do I run around Walmart or Ross scanning for Amazon.
For a very brief outline of how, after about 13 years running, I think a small Amazon bookseller in business ought to be thinking, see my response to retrodottie here
We're adapting to Amazon increases in book fees by turning to Ebay!
IMO, if u want to do Amazon for a living, long term, pick a 1-2 areas and stick with them until you know them inside and out, have your inventory system completely 100% organized, and be able to ship No later than the next business day. These are the minimum requirements to succeed on Amazon, long term.
The other is having your own, or paying for use of a good, reliable price changer. If you can’t do that. ☠️ You will not make it.
Is it as exciting as eBay? Doubtful. However it’s a good diversification strategy, and I am still able to overcome serious burn out with it to continue on.
Finally, I am very critical of those channels that encourage doing retail arbitrage on Amazon with consumer credit, or claim how great they are With their “hustle”. I have seen newbies go down in flames to financial ruin, buying to resell whatever the latest YouTube reseller trend is, as told to them by some dude who disappears in a few years or less.
Regardless of Amazon or eBay niche, reselling is a Thinker’s occupation.
Personally, that WSJ is exactly on point. Amazon is more like day trading. We keep it simple, (books, CDs) which have a lower return rate, within a certain margin, and ranking. It has served us well.
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I bet a successful Amazon business is a fun thing to have. As I said, I’m in awe of people that deal with such large quantities of items and are willing to invest heavily in their inventory.
Eve, I don;t think you’ve ever described your book business before.
–Are you buying individual books on eBay and selling on Amazon?
–How much time does it take to source enough inventory for good sales each week?
–What kind of volume are you doing each week or month?-
J & R
I have a program that crawls the web and gives me a long list of books that fit our formula. The formula changes depending on a gut feeling I have it’s not exactly a precise science, but I touch on it at that other link.
My preference is technical books, nonfiction and textbooks.
I work Amazon a total of about 3 1/2 hours a day. If you read about some of our crazy gravy days I mentioned in passing, it can be extremely lucrative. With more competition, it’s tougher, but still good. It’s the internal strife that’s caused our problems. Tornado vs. volcano.
I don’t post those numbers here but I can shoot you an email if you like.
In general, we rotate several hundred in inventory at any given time.
It’s excruciating after over a decade, but it’s ok.
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I agree with Eve, and I have said this to Jay before they started their amazon experiment. Amazon is boring, unimaginative and a soulless grind. But, its easy and pays the bills. Going on 8 years and I drag my feet listing and packing on amazon but really enjoy scavenging and listing for ebay. With amazon’s continually hike in fees I have started a slow turn away from amazon and leaning more toward ebay in the last few months. Maybe in a few years I will have amazon on passive mode just selling whatever is left in stock.
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Here are my numbers for the week:
Total Items in Store: 1615
Items Sold: 36
Total Sales: $1025.89
Cost of Items Sold: $207.26
Average Price Sold: $28.5
Average Cost of Item: $5.76
Highest Price Item Sold: $149.95 ASTRON RS-35M Linear Power Supply
Number of items listed this week: 47
Average age of items in store (in days since listing): 222
Average number of days between listing and selling this week: 108
Median age of sales (in days, between listing and selling): 91
Sell-through rate (for the week): 2.23%
# of Hats Sold: 26 (72% of sales)I had a great week. One of my best weeks ever in fact. Lots of sales, few were high dollar sales too. One of my favorite sales was a 1930s United Airlines calendar that I bought at an estate sale for a dollar or two and sold for $85.
On the weekend I went to an estate sale of a hoarder. Rooms full of mountains of stuff like boxes with every newspaper the guy had ever read in the last 20 years. I spent a couple of hours there and found a few boxes of things. No huge wins but I love digging through stuff looking for hidden gems and I’m often rewarded for my persistence.
I hope the good sales continue this week…
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3/19 – 3/25/17
Approximate # of Items in Store: 185
# of Items Sold: 3
Average Cost of Items Sold: $5.79
Total Sales: $169.98
Highest Price Sold: $75 – Belt
Average Price Sold: $56.66
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 0Thank goodness that I held over stuff that didn’t sell last summer and relisted it a few weeks ago as that’s just about all that’s selling and I’m not doing any new listings. As you can see, I continue to put in nearly zero effort and don’t see that changing anytime soon. My store inventory is falling off because I’m not relisting winter stuff that ends, not because things are selling.
Leaving tomorrow for a week long visit with my parents/family in the Chicago area and I’m going to put my store on invisible vacation rather than just leaving it open and adjusting the handling time like I usually do. Sales are so slow (totally my fault) that it’s not even worth the effort to change the handling time and then contact buyers (should there be any) to make sure they noted that it won’t be shipped until I get back.
Hoping I can muster the interest to list my spring/summer inventory when I return. Don’t have a whole lot of it and I’ve hardly been shopping, so if I work on it hard for a few days, I should be done.
Since I’m a clothing/shoes seller, I generally lay low with Ebay over the summer months. Since I’m a slow lister, the ASP for summer clothing generally isn’t worth my time. Have a couple of trips planned, too.
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This was a sloooow week, but sales were good on Sunday. I made more this past Sunday than I did all the previous week. I’m also really happy to report that I more than TRIPLED my sales for March compared to last year. January and February were also good to me, with sales doubled over the previous year. I am about to make the jump from a basic store to the next level.
Total items in store: 401
Items sold: 19
Total of sales: $215
Highest price sold: $25 (tied: Star Wars books/Oster Kitchen Center food processor attachment)
COGS: $35I bought a pair of men’s Merrel hiking shoes a few weeks ago, but didn’t inspect them closely enough. When I got home, they had a lot more wear than I realized. I listed them cheap, to get my money back with a tiny bit of profit, and put “Well Worn” in the title. They sold in about 10 days. No regrets, lol.
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Mar. 19 – 25
Total Items in Store: 674
Items Sold: 15
Total Sales: $522
Highest Price: $170 (Greg Mort Print Collection)
Average Price: $35
Returns: 2
Cost of Items Sold: $35
Costs of Items Purchased this Week: $50First off, welcome to the bidet club! Hands down, one of my best investments. Changed my life!
Sales sort of slumped a little bit this week, but not too bad. Unfortunately, I got two returns. One was for a set of ball casters that were NIB but didn’t fit the person’s chair. That was $30 I had to return. But the second one hurt the most. That XM Radio I sold last week for $140 had a bad rechargeable battery. I already got it back, confirmed the dead battery and ordered a replacement. I’m confident I’ll sell it again, it’s just a pain in the butt.
I’m a week into my equipment service manual selling experiment and it’s looking pretty good. I’ve sold three so far for about $50 total after fees. My next experiment came to me last night. I was taking photos of my death pile stuff when I came across an old beat up saxophone that I was dreading listing for some reason. Then I thought, what would Steve Schultz do? I check eBay and saxophone parts were selling! It took me about an hour but I disassembled the whole thing and bagged and labeled every piece. I’ll start listing them after I get through my death pile.
I had a great buy this week. A guy listed a box full of slide from the Korean War era on Letgo and I hopped on it for $40. I brought it home and found a treasure trove of glass color slides from an American soldier stationed in Korea in the early 1940s. About 200 total. Every one of them has been labeled with the date and subject which will make it very easy to list. There are several that I’ll group in lots by subject matter, but there are plenty that I’m going to try listing individually. I’ve seen single slides of the same time, place and subject go for over $100 on sold listings. I can’t wait to get started on them!
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In my weekly local Auction (I have a cap, so I look to $5 items, been super lucky, there are exceptions only when I am confident).
So I saw a batch /cache of slide carousels
Per the pics I could see they had their original boxes and were made in the old Kodak plant that existed in Rhode Island until early 70s) for a model made early 60’sSo I bet the minimum of $20
Fantastic collection of European Palaces and Castles, possibly the person was a traveler.
Hundreds
The next batch included later photos, for example the Munchen Olympic GamesAll of these revealed using Kodak material, they asked the photo revelation shop to print the details about the trips, etc
And there was at the bottom an early 60’s collection of photos (these are the ones you would buy in stores) from the Vatican
Now I need to organize, some easy bets, some more complicated
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I opted in to hassle free returns for a while. Then I got a couple of INAD returns, one in particular where the customer admitted in the details that it was buyer’s remorse. I called eBay and they said it’s set for automatic approval and they can’t retroactively change it. So I changed my settings to only allow for returns due to fit, changed mind, just didn’t like it, etc…
I thought that would be foolproof, but I was wrong.
I sold a set of Bose earbuds, new in package. In my return details, I have a general disclaimer that says, “All items must be returned in identical condition as received. If new, with all packaging and tags still in tact.” So the buyer opens them, uses them while jogging, and decides the cord makes too much noise while running. So he opens a return, and is totally willing to pay return shipping. It was automatically approved through hassle free returns. I called eBay and asked what to do, because he was returning a new item in used condition, which was contrary to my return policy. Once again, they said I had my settings to automatically approve returns on items when the buyer changed their mind and agreed to pay return shippng. They said that my fine print policy (which eBay provides a place for me to enter) is irrelevant. Hassle free return settings trump everything else. So I shut down hassle free returns altogether. Now all returns require my approval.
Oh, by the way, great story. eBay encouraged me to “work” with the earbud buyer to see if he could understand my situation of not being able to re-sell the item at full price once he returned it used. Just for kicks, I explained the situation. He said he understood initially, and changed his mind about returning and said he would just keep it and re-sell. Then later that day he emailed me again and said he wanted to return it after all. He was leaving the country soon and wouldn’t have time to sell them himself. (I was pretty much at his mercy because the return had already been approved.) But apparently, when he briefly decided to keep the earbuds and resell on his own, he closed the return case. When he tried to re-open it, there was no place to do so. He contacted me and wanted to know what I could do on my end. So I called eBay again (always the safest bet) to find out what I was obligated to do. They said once it was closed neither the buyer nor seller can re-open the case. The only thing I could do was refund him through paypal, but that was totally optional and not required or expected. They said since he closed the case I could ignore any further attempts by him to contact me and “work it out”. His final email he had a brilliant idea, LOL. This guy was sure that what I wanted most was to make him happy and take the return. So he said, “Hey, I’ve got an idea! Since we can’t do the return through eBay. How about I just re-list the earbuds using your photos. You can purchase them back from me and I’ll offer free shipping, and that way you get the earbuds back and I get my money back!” I was rolling on the floor. Thanks, buddy, but no thanks.-
Two words for you: “Restocking fee”
If you add a 20% restocking fee to your returns, it will avoid the issue of people returning opened or used items. Some sellers choose not to do it, but the restocking fee is clearly stated at purchase. It can also be waived if you feel generous.
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March 19-25
Total Items in Store: 517
Items Sold: 40
Cost of Items Sold: $85
Total Sales: $1307.36
Highest Price Sold: $133.20 (Susan Lucci Skin care set, paid $5 at yard sale)
Average Price Sold: $32.68
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $100 give or take
Number of items listed this week: 30 -
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Ryanne, eBay defines handling time here:
http://ocsnext.ebay.com/ocs/sr?&query=what+is+handling+time
If you have one-day handling time and payment clears Monday, you are supposed to get the label scanned by 11:59 PM Tuesday.
Of course if it’s scanned late but gets there on time, you won’t get dinged for a late shipment. I’ve never figured out exactly how eBay decides what counts as on-time delivery, but it seems like sometimes there is a little padding built in.
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I have always thought the dings on handling time was ridiculous. When eBay gives you until midnight Pacific Time to mail something, who has the ability to mail something after their post office closes (most close at 5 PM). I think that is changing with the new spring update where you will be able to give your specific time cut-off in your area…so if you letter carrier picks up at 3 PM at your home, I think you will be able to list 3 PM as your cut-off for your handling time.
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Hi,
What was the link to the embed code for video that you mentioned in the podcast.
Thanks, Love all you guys do!-
oops, forgot to post that!
<!-- BEGIN VIDEO --> <div style="position:relative; text-align:center; margin:auto; width:100%; max-width:600px;"> <div style="width:100%; padding-top:75%;"> <div style="position:absolute; left:0; right:0; top:0; bottom:0; margin:auto;"> <object type="text/html" allowfullscreen="true" data="http://www.youtube.com/embed/63QvK35ux28?rel=0" height="100%" width="100%"></object></div></div></div> <!-- END VIDEO -->-
Well, I just tried that new code replacing the video on a previous listing, it centered it on my computer screen but looked fine on my phone but when I checked it with the preview without active content it came up blank.
I’ve tried it on two different listings same result.
Anyone else have a similar experience?Note: the YouTube convertor for ebay I have been using has this message at the bottom of their page-
In mid 2017, eBay will change the requirements for videos, and you may need to again change your video code. As the mid 2017 deadline draws near, we will either update this tool or retire the tool and provide information on how to add videos to eBay in the new 2017 format. -
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Samnlee: Steve List provided an example in the #302 podcast comments section. Here is a link to that example. Active content example.
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My numbers for the week of 3/19/17:
Total Items in Store: 110
Items Sold: 18
Cost of Items Sold: $42
Total Sales: $551 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $60 (I had several items sell at this price. The most interesting was a vintage modern industrial desk lamp. Also sold a huge Gemmy Easter Yard Inflatable)
Average Price Sold: $30.61
Returns: 0We went to a NHL game in our area. It was “free bobblehead” night. They passed out tens of thousands of identical bobbleheads, one to each person. Listed them for $19.99 with free shipping and sold all 3 within a week! Paid for our beer and nachos at least!
Correct me where I am wrong in my thinking. Here’s what I don’t understand about the Guaranteed Delivery Program: USPS estimates (not guarantees) a 1 to 3 day delivery on both First Class and Priority Mail. I offer 1 day handling on all my items. 1 day handling + up to 3 days delivery = 4 DAYS. Four days, not “under 3”. The only ways to have packages consistently reach my customers in 3 days or less are: 1.Ship Express 2.Ship same day via 1st Class or Priority and cross fingers that USPS estimate is met (I know it usually is, but not always especially around the holidays). 3.Have 1 day handling and hope my customers are within the 2 day delivery range on the map.
I haven’t heard others express the same concern about this. Am I misunderstanding something? I know it is an opt in kind of thing. But I also know every opt in you reject puts the people who DO opt in at an advantage over you.-
Beth, this is my thinking exactly. I’m on the fence about signing up because I always ship the following morning and usually take my item directly to the post office bin on my way to work. However, there are occasions where I didn’t get a timely scan or I want to leave it in the mailbox. I might sign up for first class weight items to test it out and see if I notice an uptick in sales. I’m on the coast and often ship across the country. When I print priority mail labels it often says “3 day” right on there after it prints.
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BethGreen, I have had the same thought as well. The question will be on eBay’s calculation, and it will be on them to get this right, not you.
First, on the math, eBay will have to define “3-day” to buyers, as well as their programmers. My guess would be that the clock will have to include a “handling” day, plus 3 day’s for delivery, for a total of 4. But that is just my guess. I say that because even with Priority, there are parts of the country that take 3 days for delivery. So eBay either has to include the first day as Handling for a total of 4 to make sure that more items are shown to the buyer. Otherwise, eBay will truly mean 3 day’s total, so 1 day of Handling and 2 days for delivery, and they will filter the options to the buyer based on that information.
In the end, this is a filter that eBay is using to enhance the shopping experience of the buyer. There may be a vast majority of buyers that won’t care when it arrives, unless it is for a business need or a gift that has to arrive by a certain date. And there is no risk to you, as long as you meet your handling time. At worst, if your items are not shown to buyers because the delivery time is that important to them, and you can’t get your items to them in that time (with or without this guarantee), then that is a sale you really didn’t want to get involved with anyway.
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I guess I have always been of the mindset that is better to under-promise and exceed expectations that to over-promise and under deliver. (I often do ship same day if possible, and often upgrade shipping from Parcel Select to Priority, which is cheaper anyways with the eBay discount, and my feedback shows customers are thrilled with the speedy delivery…they got it quicker than they thought they would).
Looking at this from a customer view, does “3 days or less” ever equate to 4 days in your mind? It does not to me. And so far all info we have received on this Guaranteed Delivery program says 3 days or less. As a platform, I think it is a mistake to over promise on delivery – the reputation of the platform as a whole affects us all to a certain extent. A customer that isn’t really in a rush, but is being directly marketed to as being offered 3 day or less shipping, will suddenly be disappointed when he receives his item on day 4. And so the eBay platform as a whole (not one individual seller) gets a reputation of not making good on delivery promises. So this customer who got their item “a day later than promised” but would have been happy with 4 day delivery in the first place has had a somewhat negative experience on the platform. -
Very good points, and I agree. Personally, if I was programming, when I was displaying the filter for each day of delivery (1, 2, or 3), I would show the Expected Date that the package will arrive. That would avoid confusion. Want this on 3/31 (not 2 days or 3 days, but on 3/31). Filter by the DATE. I think they could and should (right now when you shop for items, it shows the expected delivery date – “Estimated on or before xx/xx/xx”).
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Curiosity about Bidets (or Bidê from Portuguese).
I tried my best to control the Nerd within …
As a curiosity, Bidês have been integral part of Brazilian culture ever since the Portuguese Imperial family fled from Napoleonic wars mid 1600’s. Together with the Portuguese language (lingua franca or the facto language in Brazil was Tupy Guarany), other cultural treats were pushed as dots of civilization and the Bidês (itself brought to Portuguese bourgeoisie from France).
Until recently, no house or apartment in Brazil would be made without a Bidê, see below a typical Brazilian bathroom:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Bidet_side.jpg/170px-Bidet_side.jpgMy wife says that over the last decade more and more flats are being built without bidês, but houses and apartments are never made without it. And yes, you’ve heard about the gigantic slums, they are always made with Bidês.
The so called half bathrooms (Lavabo in Portuguese) are usually made without bidês.
Could not control :0)
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Yes, many other countries have bidets as a normal part of their construction. These new electronic bidet seats are a real cool option for the US.
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The electronic versions started to be deployed in Brazilian Hotels and then modern flats about 10 years ago. So those flats I mention that do not come with the full set have these by default.
not the traditional ones though, imagine the grandpa and neighbor stories built around them.
My daughter for example returned to Brazil and moved to a modern flat very close to the maternity she was born 🙂 , her flat has this electronic, heated as default
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BethGreen: I was curious, so I re-read the official eBay page on Guaranteed Delivery to ascertain if it is “3-Day Delivery” or by a Guaranteed Date. I think it will be date. Under “Benefits to Sellers”, it states:
“eBay will prominently present your guaranteed listings for buyers, as they will be able to search and filter based on delivery date.” — <my emphasis>
It makes sense that the programing and experience to the buyer would be based on selecting a date to arrive (to avoid confusion), and that the easy marketing message is “3-Day Delivery”. We all know Amazon Prime is “2-day”, but I also know that there are times it is really 3 days, and when I buy, there is a date shown as to when it will arrive.
Again, we have to wait for proof, a written policy, and then execution, but I really believe that it will be by a date the buyer selects. Then we as sellers need to know how that algorithm is executed, so that we know whether we are showing in search (if the buyer selects the Guaranteed Shipping as an option).
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But 3 days isn’t 2 days and 4 days isn’t 3.
My reaction when I order something promised in 4 days, received in 4 days: Cool
My reaction when promised in 4 days, received in 3: Awesome
My reaction when promised in 3 days but received in 4: This was late.Unless eBay will be filtering results by zip code (thus only items shown within the 2 day delivery radius + 1 day handling), I don’t know how they are going to promise 3 day delivery when we don’t use carriers that will support that time frame. I am not as worried about this as it may appear. I know things work out and adjustments will happen. Still, seems like 4 day delivery is the only thing that can be consistently guaranteed unless your handling is same day.
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2 thoughts:
1. Did you all get new recording equipment? Jay sounds a bit different – crisper and clearer.
2. I would love to get a bidet, but my wife is convinced it is unsanitary. So uh…how does the faucet thing not get covered in what it is spraying off?
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No new equipment. Maybe I was doing a better job speaking into the mic. Ryanne is always telling me I sit too far away.
The electric bidet seats have a “wand” that pushes out when you wash off. It seems to just clean itself. I’ve never seen it become dirty. It’s a toilet bowl so it’s no dirtier without the bidet.
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BethGreen: They will be using zip codes (the buyer and seller zip codes) to determine if the items can be delivered. They will be filtering results if the buyer selects by date to just the items that can arrive by that date.
So for us in Colorado, we will show up for others that are buying in CO, TX, CA, etc and the algorithm says it can arrive in time. But for a buyer in Dark Swamp, FL…no, our items won’t show up to them because it can’t get there on time. A seller in Miami, FL may show up for them, but not us.
Remember, eBay is on the hook to pay the refunded shipping if it doesn’t arrive in time, as well as having a bad experience with a buyer (so bad PR), so I believe that they will do whatever it takes to make this successful. And it is only for buyers who select the Guaranteed Delivery date. There may be few buyers that even select this option. That part is still to be seen…how many buyers care to have a guaranteed delivery date.
I would recommend listening to the eBay Radio podcasts from last week. You can hear that there are still a few details to work out, but they are setting the framework up to work for both buyers and sellers. They have to execute, no doubt, but I have to be on the Pollyanna side of this, that it will work out well, until proven painful.
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T-Satt
I agree with you 100% on looking for the good side of this. If you read some of the other forums you would think that eBay has just made sellers promise their first-born. I think with the technology that is available they should be able to accurately predict the delivery times. If not, they’re on the hook.I only wish that the shipping cost that shows on a listing would default to the cheapest method for the buyer. Another topic, but I would think entirely doable.
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Okieopie: Agree. We try to always show the cheapest option first (FedEx Smartpost if heavy but small, then Parcel) and Priority last. Seems that the default is the one you put in first. The cost that they see should show that way, and if we can ship Priority cheaper than what they paid, all the better.
For First Class items, we use a lot of flat rate pricing, since we know the scale we actually pay. No more than $4.50 for First class ($3.00 if less than 8oz), and usually $6.50 if it can fit into a Flat Rate Padded Envelope. Suits and Sport Coats are flat $9.99, as I know that is the most we will pay for a Regional A box. Keeps it simple when listing, buyer knows the cost, and generally cheaper than the calculated First Class.
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That’s what I do too. The problem enters in when calculating for different zones. Parcel Post could be $10 when shipping to a nearby area but $30 when shipping to Zone 8. FedEx Smartpost will be $16 to the nearby zone but only $24 to Zone 8. I just wish that eBay would list the cheapest method first no matter the order you have methods listed. I find that often buyers don’t even look at the other methods and will just use the default.
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T-Satt, Did you get this info of them using Zip Codes from eBay Radio? If not, where is your source of info?
Assuming that is correct, wouldn’t this new program potentially be a big boost for sellers within a close range of more densely populated areas/more buyers where the closer sellers (like closer Amazon warehouses) are or in a central location? While at the same time being bad for sellers in more remote areas who’s shipping will more often take a day or two more? I wouldn’t like it if I was a seller living in Alaska if this is the case. -
Yes, the zip code usage is based on what was stated on EBay Radio on how they will calculate the shipping time.
Yes, that may mean that the filter usage may skew to the urban areas. But it will have to mean that the buyer is in an urban area, and is choosing to use the filter. If the buyer doesn’t use the filter, all results show up.
The reselling game is already skewed towards the densely populated areas, as that is where more items can be found, and more buyers are located. This change may increase that, but the main item to be seen is how much buyers use it. If most buyers don’t care, it won’t change much. If it has an impact, we as sellers have to adjust.
My wife and I are looking to move once our boys are in college, but we have made sure to look at locations that are driving distance to large cities, so we can source. As long as reselling is our business, that is what we have to focus on.
In the end, changes will happen. Our job is to react to that change.
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To help those that have not heard the eBay Radio podcast on the Guaranteed Delivery, click on the link below. You can listen to the “EBay Radio Show”, Episode 674 – Segment 3. This was the first lengthy discussion of the program. Also listen to the “Ask Griff & Lee Show”, Episode 452 – Segment 2 (starting about 15 minutes in) and Segment 3. That provides a great review of the program, discusses a bit on how eBay will calculate the delivery time, states when eBay will refund the buyer, etc.
Some finer details seem to still being worked out (and still will between now and July), but the overall basis of what the program will be and what they are going for is laid out.
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I like this idea that Ebay takes imagination. This is something I find to be true as I’ve ventured into shopping estate sales the past year or so. At thrift stores, it is of course a random mix of objects from all households. But with estate sales, you have a very specific family with their own interests. I love viewing the estate sale listing pictures online so I can create a sort of profile in my mind of what I might expect to find that might be overlooked by the people who run the sale. Often there are sales that are too high end for me, or even might have less attractive items, but I see potential. For example, I saw an estate sale listing for a humble little house and the contents looked like nothing special. But I noticed Kellogg’s employee pins, so I went looking for something interesting that only Kellogg’s employees might have. In that house for $10 I found a standing file with cereal boxes that had never been assembled that were 40 years old. The sale had been going on for hours. I made several hundred dollars. I saw a house with very nice high end vintage clothing I knew would be too expensive for me, but I also saw there was a sewing room, and knew there was bound to be quality items in that area. I went directly to the sewing room in the basement and found a box of rare unused vintage designer Vogue patterns for only $2 each. I have many stories of finding large groups of items in one place, only because I used my imagination and did a little research. I love that Ebay allows me to use both my logic and imagination to find the overlooked items and pass them on to someone who will appreciate them.
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March 19-25 2017
• Total Items in Store: 728
• Items Sold: 14
• International 2 GSP
• Total Sales $793
• Highest Price $200 Wire recorder
• Average Price Sold: $57
• Returns: 2 1 for size, 1 changed mind
• Cost of Items Sold: $60
• Cost of items purchased this week $0-
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Same one although I do have another buried somewhere. It came with a bunch of spools I sold off right away.
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I have entered this same reply over at Shipping the Final Frontier – Delayed Shipping in regards to the ongoing discussions about buyers requesting delayed shipping. This won’t work in all instances, but its worked quite well for me.
I just notify that buyer that I will be shipping the item signature requested (I use USPS for 95% of my shipping) and tell that their item will be held by the post office for them to sign for on their return. For the $2.35 or so, it is well worth it to me in order to avoid a ding or fritter away time with more Ebay phone calls. This way the tracking shows its immediately shipped and its up to the buyer to notify their post office if they will be away for an extended period of time. So far I’ve never had a package returned under these circumstances.
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About the Quarterly voucher
Hello Friends, hope all is great with y’all this week. Halfway through the cast, just great as usual!!
In my case, I receive a message from eBay to the email address of my store letting me know the new voucher is available and how to access it.
Per my understanding from the cast it is not everyone who receives, is this right?
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About Laserdiscs
I sell Laserdiscs constantly (consider I have a ~600 items store, so nothing for me is really big), but for me Laserdiscs sell as much as any of my collectibles.
I started selling my X Files Collection (it was a 24 boxes of 6 LDs to one buyer) and now everytime I see them I look for the “sellable” ones. Differently than VHS where the famous Drama and Concerts sell super well (Sold a Prince concert for $96), Laserdiscs that sell are some Horror, SciFi. They sell in the US, but 2/3 of the sales go to Europe (which is interesting since the system would not make it work, I do not remember though if Laserdiscs had different systems).
I personally have quite a few concerts and movies in my collection.I buy them for $1 and sell them for $14.95 plus shipping. Some that belonged to me I sell for 6 plus shipping just to get rid of them (they would not sell for more).
So for the $30 level of sales it would be very rare to find.
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