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Wow, what a pain! ebay doesn’t seem to have nice step by step procedures for something that is outside the normal route. I think that sometimes they lose money because their site is so clunky. They did in your case.
I have a buyer right now that wants to return something, but apparently can’t do a return request because they purchased outside of the US website. I’m not sure how that happened because we are both in the US. The ebay rep said that he needs to login to the international site to do the return (I don’t know which one he used). If not, he needs to call ebay and figure out how to do it.
The point is that I was researching the issue using help menu (that AdventureE listed) and didn’t get steps on how to do anything other than the normal return. In some cases, I’ve been able to get better information on a general Google search rather than using ebay’s help.
If ebay better educates their customer service, I think that they will be more efficient and save money. According to another post, ebay is working to upgrade their support.
You should be able to calculate Smartpost rates using the following shipping calculator through ebay (thanks Mike from Atlanta!):
http://www.ebay.com/shp/CalculatorI don’t know about the dimensions. Someone recently complained that ebay calculated shipping too low when combining several items because the package became oversized. So, that is definitely an issue.
In addition, I should mention that ebay does not provide an easy method for promoting combined purchases, at least not for only a certain category of products. So, let’s say that you want to offer 10% off if someone buys 3 or more items in your store. Even if the customer allows you to invoice them, ebay will only allow you to change the shipping cost, not reduce the purchase price. A promotion for combined purchases has to come through PayPal, which means the customer has to pay first.
I tried to come up with a way to promote multiple purchases within a certain store category of books, but the only way I can do it is through PayPal refunds.
I agree that ebay does not have a reasonable method for combining shipping. I think it worked out maybe once or twice where I gave instructions for invoicing, and it actually worked the way it is supposed to. The best method I’ve found is to refund any overage through PayPal.
I don’t know why the shipping on your second sale came out screwy. Any time someone has bought two of something, the shipping came out higher than needed. I assumed that ebay combined the weight of the two items and made the calculation off of that. The weight was based on each item plus packaging, so the total was more than required.
Steve – those dogs have the life!
This week, my biggest sale was my highest sale ever! I paid $122 for this Karastan wool rug, and it sold for $550. As I mentioned in my numbers, I was unprepared for the size of this thing when I bought it, and I don’t want to buy another one unless I have some kind of warehouse and workers to help me!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182471478557Here is the size of rug I want to sell, if I can only get the same price! Paid $2.75, sold for $31:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182710025354I read lots of news articles about how younger people don’t want silver plate these days. I personally don’t care for it much myself; however, it does sell. I recently bought an online auction lot with some very old pieces. This one is about 100 years old, and it is kind of rare. It is a bride’s basket. I’ve only ever been to one wedding where the bride walked around with a basket, and people put money in it. Paid about $2.75, sold for $79.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182839448301This came from a garage sale that wasn’t well advertised, and the lady was trying hard to get rid of stuff before she closed up shop. It’s a Silver plate Dom Perignon cork holder dated Dec 31, 1999. It sold through GSP to someone in Switzerland. Paid $0.25, sold for $26.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182776161231Happens every year: my teenage son grows out of his suit, and I have to run out and buy him one last minute. At least I can make up some of the money. This set cost me about $100 at JC Penney last year, and I was able to sell it within a week or two for $35. I did the same thing last year.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182796905214Sorry for talking your ears off, but I had a good week! Here’s the last one. This is a Stephen L. Stetson hat, the great nephew of John B. Stetson. Stephen decided to start his own hat company, but, because of a trademark lawsuit, the inside of the hat reads “NEVER CONNECTED IN ANY WAY with John B. Stetson …”. This hat was in what appeared to be unused condition. Bought for $9, sold for best offer of $130.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182498060501If you sent it priority mail, then you have insurance. First class does not, but you could argue that a mistake was made and they should cover it.
Wow, that’s a big mistake!
First, I would contact your buyer saying that the package appears to have been mis-delivered, and you are going to contact the shipping service to see what they can do.
Assuming that you used the post office, you can either call them directly or submit the issue online. To contact them directly, you can call 1-800-275-8777 or call the local office if you know it. Or, to submit online, go to USPS.com and select “Find Missing Mail” under the Help menu. From there, you can select “Start Your Missing Mail Search” and fill out the information.
I haven’t had this issue before, so I can’t tell you what to expect. However, if they cannot get the package back, you will need to make a claim and get your money refunded. And then refund the seller.
If you used a different service than the post office, check out their website and find a similar procedure.
You can try & google their company name. Twice I’ve sold to a company that offers items for sale inflight to Japanese customers. I remember one item was a vintage McDonalds mug.
Other times, it was just a transfer company. Sometimes foreign people don’t want to interface with the seller directly; either they didn’t want to deal with potential shipping issues or they didn’t want to deal with the language barrier.
Either way, it appears to be a relatively big business on ebay.
5000 square feet is pretty large for a 1904 home! What makes it a World’s Fair house?
My town has an upcycling event once a year where you can take your unwanted stuff to a large township owned parking lot. Volunteers take stuff from your car and arrange it in categories. I bring the unwanted stuff I get from auction lots.
They specifically say that you can’t take stuff for resale, but last year I took two boxes of vintage Autocad (software) manuals that I knew no one wanted. I sold both to the same person in Canada for $30-$40 each.
This year, I had a family event on the day (actually earlier this month), and I wasn’t able to make it. 🙁
Week of Oct 22-28
* Total Items in Store: 1104
* Items Sold: 17
* Cost of Items Sold: $186.65 + $7 Commission
* Total Sales: $1041.17
* Highest Price Sold: $550 Karastan wool rug 12′ x 8’6”
* Average Price Sold: $61.24; $30.70 w/o rug
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $34.50 at auction
* Number of items listed this week: 28Yowza! Biggest week and biggest sale for me ever. Obviously boosted by the rug, but also I had a few other bigger sales. As far as the rug goes, I’m very happy with the sale, but it was actually a mistake to buy. It was too huge and heavy (about 75 pounds) for me to deal with, and I’ve been tripping over it for the past 8 or so months.
I also had an issue with shipping. I had the rug listed with Fed Ex Ground, but I wasn’t able to print out a label. I called ebay, and I was told that I couldn’t buy a FedEx Ground label through ebay for something over 70 pounds that goes to a residence. This was an issue because I pass on the ebay FedEx discount to the customer, which I don’t get through the FedEx website. I was told that I have to call PayPal and file a discrepancy charge in order to get a refund for the difference. I haven’t done it yet, but what a pain!
I’m trying to think of scavenging stories, but I don’t remember anything too interesting. I do remember back in my younger days, when I was a bit more carefree, I had a party where I had rented a quarter keg. I had a little left beer in the keg at the end, so I put it in a pitcher in the refrigerator. I then brought it to another party a few days later. I wasn’t aware that beer gets stale pretty easily, so, yeh, it had to be thrown out. I guess this is an unsuccessful scavenger story.
I do take lots of hand-me-down stuff. Years ago, my parents decided to sell the house I grew up in and move permanently into their FL retirement home. They shipped me lots of furniture that we really needed since we had moved into a larger house.
A few years ago, my aunt and uncle decided to get rid of my grandma’s and my uncle’s mother’s belongings that they had been keeping in storage. My cousins didn’t want anything, so my sister and I split the stuff between the two of us. My husband and I never signed up for china when we got married, but now we have a set of Noritake. We got a second set of regular dishes that have a real cool retro vibe, because they are retro, probably from the 60’s or 70’s. Lots of other stuff as well
This is why I like auctions.
In an online auction, no one knows you until you arrive at the pickup. Some of these home owners are hiring the auction company to get rid of stuff so that they can put the house for sale or close the sale of the home. If they hire a close-out company, the owners will actually get charged for the service of removing stuff. I’m helping out by moving for them, and they get something out of it.
In live auctions, everyone is a a reseller except for a few; at least in the lot section. The collectors are the ones that bid up lots much higher than the average. I went to an auction this past Thursday. Lot prices were typical, $5 to $20. One lot of vintage cameras went for some outrageous amount – somewhere between $150 to $200. That’s great for the previous owner (or heirs) and auction company. However, none of the other lots would sell if resellers weren’t there.
I realize that not everyone is comfortable at auctions, so I get it. There is one live auction I’m still uncomfortable at even though I’ve bought stuff there before.
Anyway, when I go to a garage/yard/rummage sale, they don’t really know me. People don’t see me at them regularly. I suppose I could meet up with a friend who knows what I do. Not too big of a deal, I still get most of my stuff at auction.
I should mention that I do very well with vintage electronics and software. I recently sold two zip drives with blank media to someone in the UK. He recently messaged me with his status on getting them up and running.
I wish I had saved the Atari system that my dad had bought when I was in high school!
Steve – I assume those Ford rotors were too wide for a large flat rate box?
Nice fall walk with the doggies!
My interesting sales from last week:
I purchased a vintage golf bag with the contents early in the year for $15. I thought there would be interest in the clubs, but I haven’t sold one yet. However, I did sell some NOS wood tees a few weeks ago, and these two vintage fishing rods for $28.80.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182592467121I thought that this Johnny Walker clock would sell very quickly, but I’ve had it listed for at least six months. Finally got a $45 offer. I paid a little less than $15.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182467870029I kind of realized at the time that I was paying too much for this vintage photo and frame of Hedy Lamar. I admire her because, apart from being a beautiful actress, she invented a type of RF technology that is currently used in cell phone and satellite communications. Her life story is pretty interesting. Paid $7.70, sold for $40 through the GPS to France. I wouldn’t recommend buying vintage photos of celebrities because most are reproduced by volume sellers. I was lucky to find the right buyer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182434775703About a year ago, I went “hog wild” at an online auction where I completely filled up my minivan. I bought a lot of office supplies because I wanted a few things, so I broke up the rest into several listings. I probably should have accepted some low offers I received last year, but this large lot of sheet protectors is actually the first to sell. Paid under $2, sold for $32.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182391114223It looks like three letters, but I can’t make them out. JGS? Can you get a closer photo or use a magnifying glass?
OK, I read your question again. I was definitely the confused one.
If you select the GSP, I believe you are agreeing to ship to any country that the GSP ships to. So, if you don’t want to ship to a particular country, but that country is within the GSP program, then you can’t exclude it.
