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shayward23,
I would also like to offer not to compare yourself to any other seller (in or outside of SL) or do any should of, could of, or would of’s in this process. As you will see in SL, there are highly experienced and knowledgeable sellers, those with a mid level of experience and knowledge, and those who are totally new to the process. Simply focusing on running your own race, learning as you go, and being open to what is and can happen in your personal ebay experience.I would offer to you not to worry about being a “seller” or even making sales. I would offer to approach this process objectively without emotion or expectation. Consider yourself a student learning the process of online selling and selling on eBay. Expect that you will be right on in what you do, make mistakes, have moments of understanding and awareness, have moments where you are scratching your head, and have learning opportunities presented to you that may include expenditures. I would offer to remember that selling online with eBay is just one opportunity in the vast number of opportunities that are available in the online world of selling.
Focus on answering these questions (if you have not already) for yourself and then focus on one item at a time. It would be good to start with an item (or items) around your house that you are ready to part with. This gives you a level of expertise in what you are selling as well as the ability to get rid of stuff you may no longer want. I would offer that you not create a pile to list because that might feel overwhelming. If you find a focus and put it towards one item, eventually, you will notice that you have listed 5, 10, 15 items or more. Put the highest level of quality, effort, and time into each listing when you start in order to help avoid mistakes and/or returns.
1. What do I need to know about eBay in order to list something?
2. Have I set up the details in my account properly for listing and/or shipping?
3. Will it cost me anything?
4. Are there fees?
5. How do I create a listing?
6. What happens if I do not finish a listing in one sitting?
7. Who will I go to if I have questions?
8. Have I setup a PayPal account and will that account be personal or business?
9. What one item do I have that I am ready to put the time, energy, and resources into listing and/or selling?
10. Do I have the equipment needed to list? Even though you may not sell an item overnight, you need to be prepared to do so, just in case it happens. Some equipment includes: a functioning computer and printer, a scale, something to take pictures with, a tape measure and/or ruler, what you will package the item in and with – box, envelope, wrapping, tape, etc.
11. What will buyers need to know in order to be in interested in and/or purchase my item? Try to find items without flaws at first to ease your work and reduce the possibilities of returns.
12. If I was looking for this item on eBay, what would I type in?
13. What do I need to know about listing titles?
14. What do I need to know about writing a good description?
15. Who will pay for shipping there and back (in case an item is returned).Be extremely patient with yourself and this process. The first sale is very exciting and can make you feel like you can just sit and list 100 or more items and they will all sell. And then reality will hit. The reality that listings, becoming a seller, and building a business take time, effort, energy, persistence, patience, consistency, and continued study.
Best Wishes in your new adventure into the world of eBay and selling online.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
AdventureE.
Jay,
It is only in the sharing of thought, perspective, and experience that we advance in life, practice, wisdom, and understanding, so I truly appreciate opportunities like these to dialogue with another on a topic that is rich, deep, and relevant to the practice at hand – being an eBay seller.You noted that USPS is not taking the shipping income as long as it is done correctly which I agree with. But it is due to the fact that there have been so many errors in shipping that USPS now checks shipping and either returns money to sellers for overpaying or charges them for underpaying. USPS and eBay are not going to implement fixing a problem that does not exist with veracity. This flood gate of checking has been opened. Once a flood gate is opened, it is impossible to close unless a major revision is done (by eBay) causing the flood gate to be sealed shut.
You noted that Doublythumbs stated “that eBay did not force him to give a refund to the buyer.” Of course, they would not. Unless they have some kind of concrete evidence that he did something wrong, they are not going to force any action but instead use their corporate voice (which holds weight and power) to communicate the concern with the seller. eBay’s normal statement for resolving an issue with a seller is to tell the buyer to contact the seller. It is very interesting to note that they stepped in. They know they could not force an action or accuse the seller of anything at first because that would get them entangled and possibly set them up for legal action down the line. Instead they simply stated the facts and asked the seller to work it out. If the seller had not worked out, they would have had to engage in more specific terminology and action. In my opinion, because USPS is considered to be the shipping expert and because they have a strong partnership based on necessity and economic benefit, they would not side with the seller when it is an employee of the USPS noting what the shipping cost should be.
Jay,
It seems that there is a clear communication difficulty that is occuring. I am not sure what it is that is making you say that none of what I say is in existance. A clear difference in perspective. I am also not sure where you got that I am worried or that I think ebay is going to take the shipping profits. Shipping is obviously important to ebay. If not, they would not have taken the measures they have taken with USPS, pushed free shipping in their advertising, refused to remove negative feedback based on shipping, and contacted a seller on behalf of a customer due to the customer identifying that they had been overcharged based on the USPS calculations.Actually Jay,
It was just identified by a seller this week that a buyer had the package weighed by the post office and then contacted ebay to get their money back because they were charged 3 dollars over the amount identified by USPS. Ebay then sent a message to the seller requesting that they refund the buyer’s money. It was identified by another seller that a customer told them ahead of time that they would be having USPS weigh the package when received to make sure the postage was correct. There was also a seller who identified a buyer getting upset and leaving negative feedback because the seller used a different shipping option than the buyer paid for (and the package wound up taking longer than expected to be delivered) and ebay would not remove the negative feedback because of that.Yes, the money can go back to the buyer if somehow it is identified that what the buyer paid for does not match what was used or if it is identified that the buyer was overcharged. If ebay wishes to, they can simply contract with USPS to spot check packages and then inform sellers when there is a discrepancy and ask them to return the money to the buyer. It will then go on the seller’s record and if too many instances are documented, ebay can restrict a seller’s account and/or selling rights. With the advancements in technology today, what used to be imposssible, highly costly, and/or take way too much time to do can now be done in minutes and tracked by multiple entities.
Jay,
I disagree. I think USPS and ebay have been crunching numbers on the number of sellers who have been underpaying and overpaying for awhile which is what has lead both entities to take such a strong stance and enforce the shipping rules, policies, and costs. We do not and will not have access to any historical data they have gathered, but I do not think that undercharging (while a possible problem due to sellers intentionally mailing items using the wrong service -i.e. sending something that is not media mail as media mail in order to avoid paying the real shipping charge- or making mistakes in shipping choices and/or charges)is the only problem. I think there have been and are sellers who overcharge for shipping possibly because what they charge for shipping is more than weight and dimensions.As for free shipping, it is a seller’s choice on ebay right now and highly promoted by ebay because it is a social, economic, and market trend. Some buyers make their choice as to whether to browse and/or purchase based on shipping amount regardless of the item. Many sellers are taking part in free shipping (which is evident by just doing some browsing on ebay) in order to try to increase sales. We all know that there is no such thing as free shipping so sellers are having to find someway of assuming the costs in order to offer the service which they are hoping will lead to sales. Changes in policy, practices, and costs for shipping only gets passed onto customers if the seller charges for shipping. Otherwise, sellers will have to take any shipping costs, practices, and policies into account as they create their listings in order to avoid losing money.
Jay,
It is not a conspiracy but a reality of the times. In order to stay afloat, the key factors eBay must pay attention to is being at or above their competitor’s level, their image and how they are perceived by others, what practices they have and/or reinforce as a part of their business, and most of all being customer oriented and customer friendly. While calculated shipping is alive and well, that is not what eBay will promote because that is not the current online business practice at play. Free shipping has been around for a while and has become a mainstay for many companies who do business online. For some shoppers, free shipping will be the breaking point when deciding which platform to shop on. A company cannot have sellers successfully selling unique costly items if they do not have buyers come to their platform. eBay leaves it up to the seller but strongly promotes even calculated shipping be turned into free shipping because that is what is best for them as a company.Yes, I do think USPS and eBay are reinforcing practices that have already been in place, but I think it is because it was negatively affecting the bottom line – their revenue and their image. If shipping costs being charged to customers was not such a huge problem, they would not have addressed it with such rigor.
Nice bag and sale. It sounds like you identified what would work best for you. Yes, sometimes in shipping, these losses can occur because it takes a little more to package the item to protect from harm than originally expected. It’s probably happened to even the most seasoned sellers.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
AdventureE.
Free shipping is alive and well. Not only does ebay promote it with sellers, but it is one of their main promotions on the main ebay page. They are setting the tone of free shipping letting customers know what to expect and making it clear that they are competative in the world of online business (due to the fact that free shipping is the current trend which is continuing to grow). They even have a search feature that allows one to find items based on free shipping.
Ebay would be able to have a say in shipping amounts by simple programming. They would be able to see what the weight and measurements are and have been documented as and then compare it to what they expect it should be. For example, it is easy to see that something has gone wrong when two sellers are selling the same thing and yet their shipping costs are totally different when the same starting and ending point are entered into the calculator. Since ebay is already coordinating with the post office, if they choose to go further with it, they can have packages spot checked to make sure the calculations (and therefore the costs) were correctly charged. We saw that this week with a customer having a postal agent weigh the package to determine what the shipping costs should be and then asking a seller for a refund because the amount determined by the post office was different than the seller’s amount. The post office and the buyer saying the shipping cost was wrong is a pretty powerful voice which ebay will listen to.
On another note, if you read the agreement signed when craeating a sale (which is now cross promotional only) noted under the link titled Terms and Conditions which is next to the Launch button, it specifically states that ebay may have a part in determining and/or restricting shipping costs.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/terms/pricingpromotions.html#prmngr
All items sold as part of a cross-promotional offer that provide the same
shipping service should be grouped together as a single order. eBay may, in the
future and in its discretion, limit the amount that sellers may charge for
shipping and handling of items when they are sold as part of a cross-promotional
offer. For Related Items Offers, eBay may, in its discretion, choose not to
display related listings as part of a Related Items Offer when the related
listings do not offer free shipping. For items sold as part of an Order Size
Offer, the shipping costs of individual items will be aggregated.“eBay will have the right, but not the obligation, to change the features or functionality of Promotions Manager at any time in its sole discretion, with or without prior notice.”
I think that because ebay is pushing free shipping, the cost paid for shipping is going to become more and more of an issue. I think this is going to become especially apparent when ebay enacts their clause (as noted in the cross promotional legal jargon) of being able to control shipping costs. Some sellers will find that a change has been made without realizing what happened until they go to purchase a shipping label. Ebay has made shipping charges so important that they have worked with the post office to set up a process where sellers can be charged for underpaying on shipping and reimbursed for over paying.
Some sellers specifically note in their listing what shipping charges entail because their shipping charges are based on more than just weight and dimensions. Even at that, I think if contested, ebay will side with the buyer because seller’s including other costs in their shipping charges do not coincide with how ebay calculates shipping costs.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
AdventureE.
I agree with Utahbill about getting the dimensions down. In addition, can you share what the item is so we might be able to brainstorm any other possibilities?
Technically the buyer does agree to the shipping but ebay will always side with the buyer. EBay does monitor shipping. Remember they don’t care if you sell your stuff for a penny with free shipping as long as they get paid any fees due to them. If you read the agreement when you create a sale, you will see that it automatically goes to cross promotional in which they stipulate that they may change/limit the shipping fees at some point.u
I would definitely see if there was a way to cancel the sale especially since you blocked him. I do think you are risking a return and/or negative feedback. That is on eBay because there needs to be something in place that doesn’t allow that.
I guarantee you it is not just Linda’s store having the issue because she is not the one writing the coding/files for her store pages.
The coding being referred to includes the numbers, letters, and/or symbol sequences used to write the code based on the programming language being used. Yes, there is going to be similar and different coding based on what is being done. If the coding is written wrong or processed incorrectly it will cause broken links. Incompatibility between sever and browser can also cause a problem.I would offer that ebay is supposed to be promoting our listings in the first place – we pay store fees, final values, special fees for any enhancements inside of a listing etc, fees if the number of listings exceeds the number allowed for a store etc. The promoted listings fees/percentages are just another way to make money off of sellers. As was pointed out by another seller in another thread, once the promoted listings are being used by everybody (especially if everyone accepts trending rates) everyone’s listings will be “promoted” in the same way, shape, and form causing the platform to become the same thing it was before everyone started paying extra for ebay to do what they are already supposed to do. I am sure when that happens (because there is no real way of us knowing that the platform has been saturated), I am sure that ebay will still quietly collect extra fees although there will be no extra benefit in paying the fees.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
AdventureE.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
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