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Basic Ebay for Sellers and Buyers Lessons Learned
Well I've been a member of Ebay for over 3 years now. Although I've recently started selling on Ebay, I’ve bought a few things on Ebay. This guild here is for both the seller and the buyer, but mostly for buyers. I am no expert or pro, but here are my lessons learned from my dealings on ebay.
For sellers:
1) Don't charge outrageous shipping fee's. You may not think your buyers will notice if you add an additional 10% to your shipping and handling fees, but they will. Here is how they will, they will see the same item they are bidding on from someone else that has the same price as your item and they will choose to go to the item just to save a few more bucks. So you have to ask yourself, is the over inflated shipping charge really worth it. It's better just to add the price to your listing by setting a reserve or by setting they price you want to get for your item when you listed your item.
2) Do research about your item. Just because an item sells for one price during a certain time of any given day, do go by that price just because others are getting that price. There are numerous (too many to list here) reasons why bids are high on some like items than others (time of day, pay-days, sales and alignment of the moon etc).
3) Customer satisfaction is keep. Make sure you customers are happy and satisfied. Ask yourself the following question.
1) Quality - How would I feel if the item you just paid for were in worse quality than you expected?
2) Tastefulness - How would you feel if your item was shipped in a box from the produce section of the local shopping center?
3) Appreciation - What would it mean to you if someone took 2 seconds out to send a thank you card in the packaging or afterwards?
4) Communication - How would you feel if you were a bidder and had a question and it was never replied too, no matter how silly it may have been?
5) Packaging - How would you feel if someone sent an item to you that you paid your hard earned money on and it got damaged in transit?
6) Respect - How would you feel if you made a bid on something on impulse only to find out seconds later that it wasn't what you thought because of a picture or description?
7) Honesty - How would you feel if you bid on an item won it and later found out that you didn't get what you won because the seller made a mistake with the listing?
8) Fakes/Honesty - How would you feel if you bought a $200 pair of Oakley's to find out they were fake's?
9) Feedback - How would you feel if the seller didn't leave feedback after you did?
4) Feedback is one of the most important things on Ebay. It's a tool to allow buys to see what type of seller you are. If have sold thousands of items with a 100% feedback rating (kudos’ to you) then bidders will feel very confident in their ability to get the item at a great price and as described, this leads into returning customers and more profit. Once a buyer builds a reputation with you, they will most certainly come to you first for their needs, and if a particular product is a little higher priced than most, they are more than likely to spend it at your store or on your auction because they know what to expect. They one sure why to let a seller know you were not satisfied is to leave negative feedback. But this should be used as a last resort only. Leaving bad feedback can come back to haunt you as a buy because the seller has the last word to explain why the bad feedback was left. Any time you win an auction or Buy-It-Now you should wait to leave 'Good' feedback. If you can't leave good feedback, communication is the key with the seller. The seller maybe willing to exchange, refund, give credit, reimburse shipping cost etc. As a suggestion, always reply to the seller with what you feel is acceptable to rectify the situation. But always be prepared for the seller to be on the defense just as your are, so keep a cool head and opened mind and you shouldn't have any problems working things out and still leaving positive feedback. If it's not in you to leave positive feedback, don't leave any. In my option, the only time you should leave bad feedback is you feel like you've been scammed and the seller is unwilling to do anything to help resolve the issue.
5) Fee's on Ebay and Paypal can and will rack up very rapidly. Make sure you monitor your spending and listing fees. These two companies charge you out the wazoo for every little thing they can.
6) Payments are a good indication on what type of person you are dealing with. If they are fast payers then they will typically be very good satisfied customers and you typically won't have any problems. It's been my personal exp. that bidders who drag out payments and don't communicate with you almost always want to return the item for some reason or another. That's not to say they are all this way. I've had many of customers who for whatever reason were slow payers but were excellent customers who left great feedback.
7) Returns are a very sticky subjects. Some Power-Sellers offer returns and say everyone should offer returns. Well for the little guy just getting started, this really isn't always feasible or practical due to shipping fee's, reselling the product fee's etc. So SELLER BEWARE there will always be the buyers who don't like the item they just won for whatever reason and want a return. Honestly, you don't have to return or refund them their money according to Ebay unless your add says returns etc. You should always check with your state laws first as well.
8) Chargeback’s from credit card companies are also a method buyers pull when they want their money back on an item and you as the seller is not willing to give a refund or return for whatever reason. Chargeback’s occur when a buyer pays using their CC and no longer want the item, contact you and you don't allow, they will then go to their CC and request a refund because the CC was used fraudently by a child/someone else etc. in which the CC company will contact Paypal and that amount will be frozen in your Paypal account until a resolution had been made by the CC and Paypal. Keep all emails, receipts, logs bidding history etc. because you will have to fight your case in order to keep the funds. Paypal will protect most sellers, but if you look on the internet, you will see exactly how many have been taken by this tactic.
9) It may be a good ideal to come up with a standard 'Policy' statement you can add on all your listings that says your shipping policies, returns etc.
10) Most importantly, Have FUN and make some money!!
For Buyers:
1) Don't Impulse bid! You can get yourself in trouble this way. Making a bid is a legal binding agreement that you've agreed to when signing up for ebay. This means, if you are the winning bidder, you are legally held responsible for paying for that item, even if you didn't intend to bid on it. There are special circumstances where you may be able to retract a bid (See Ebay Help for more information).
2) Do your homework. You may think an item is a great price to only find out that you made an extremely high bid in which you will win because everyone else is bidding on a much lower priced like item.
3) Read full listing to make sure you know exactly what you are bidding on. The item should be clearly listed with what it is you are bidding on, if not, try to find a like item from someone else.
4) Ask questions, you can ask question all the way and even after an auction ends. You should be clear on the listing prior to bidding.
5) Check shipping costs before placing a bid. What for the over inflated shipping costs. Make sure the item you are bidding on simply doesn't have the most expensive shipping method listed first! This is most common during the holiday season where 1 day shipping is an option. Read through the ad, and checking 'Shipping Options' prior to placing your bid. A lot of times you will be surprised that a seller will have several shipping options for you to choose from.
6) Returns and 'As-Is' Know the difference between the two. Some times the seller may only have a 7-day return policy. Remember, that the seller may have a 7-day return policy from the time the auction ends. In which case, that means by the time you pay for the auction (1 to 5 days using paypal etc) and time the item has been in the mail, you may not even see the item until the 8th day. You should ask the question prior to bidding on what the return policy is, even if clearly stated. You have to keep in mind that Ebay is a bargain-hunters paradise, so a lot of items are sold 'As-Is' which means the seller will not take a return or do anything for you if you win an item from your auction. The biggest crock of S*#T is when a buyer has buyers remorse or find the product cheaper and wants a refund because they claim item isn't as described. DON'T ASSUME OR EXPECT RETURNS TO BE HONORED.
7) Know key terms:
NIB - New in box
VHTF - Very Hard to find
HTF - Hard to find
NR - No reserve, seller willing to take any price for item
NIP - New in package
NBO - Never been opened
NU - Never used.
8) Watch out for scams. There are many scams on ebay, heartless people willing to take your money and then close shop and move on with your hard cold cash. To be honest, Ebay does very little to protect you, they do have policies. Never give out your password and username to anyone for any reason. Ebay and Paypal will never ask you for them.
9) Buyer BEWARE - Bidding on items less than $25 you must use extreme caution. I've learned this the hard way. Ebay will not really help you out much for anything under $25. Once you break the $25 threshold, Ebay will reimburse you $1 for every $25. Now this is not to say that other companies like your CREDIT CARD COMPANY or Paypal doesn't have protection for you, they do.
10) Paypal, even though this company charges outrageous fee's like Ebay, they are a must if you are bidding a must on Ebay, but monitor your fee's.
I hope this helps who ever reads it. If so, please let Ebay know by clicking on 'Was this Guide Helpful' below. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Thank You for taking the time and reading this guide.
Well I've been a member of Ebay for over 3 years now. Although I've recently started selling on Ebay, I’ve bought a few things on Ebay. This guild here is for both the seller and the buyer, but mostly for buyers. I am no expert or pro, but here are my lessons learned from my dealings on ebay.
For sellers:
1) Don't charge outrageous shipping fee's. You may not think your buyers will notice if you add an additional 10% to your shipping and handling fees, but they will. Here is how they will, they will see the same item they are bidding on from someone else that has the same price as your item and they will choose to go to the item just to save a few more bucks. So you have to ask yourself, is the over inflated shipping charge really worth it. It's better just to add the price to your listing by setting a reserve or by setting they price you want to get for your item when you listed your item.
2) Do research about your item. Just because an item sells for one price during a certain time of any given day, do go by that price just because others are getting that price. There are numerous (too many to list here) reasons why bids are high on some like items than others (time of day, pay-days, sales and alignment of the moon etc).
3) Customer satisfaction is keep. Make sure you customers are happy and satisfied. Ask yourself the following question.
1) Quality - How would I feel if the item you just paid for were in worse quality than you expected?
2) Tastefulness - How would you feel if your item was shipped in a box from the produce section of the local shopping center?
3) Appreciation - What would it mean to you if someone took 2 seconds out to send a thank you card in the packaging or afterwards?
4) Communication - How would you feel if you were a bidder and had a question and it was never replied too, no matter how silly it may have been?
5) Packaging - How would you feel if someone sent an item to you that you paid your hard earned money on and it got damaged in transit?
6) Respect - How would you feel if you made a bid on something on impulse only to find out seconds later that it wasn't what you thought because of a picture or description?
7) Honesty - How would you feel if you bid on an item won it and later found out that you didn't get what you won because the seller made a mistake with the listing?
8) Fakes/Honesty - How would you feel if you bought a $200 pair of Oakley's to find out they were fake's?
9) Feedback - How would you feel if the seller didn't leave feedback after you did?
4) Feedback is one of the most important things on Ebay. It's a tool to allow buys to see what type of seller you are. If have sold thousands of items with a 100% feedback rating (kudos’ to you) then bidders will feel very confident in their ability to get the item at a great price and as described, this leads into returning customers and more profit. Once a buyer builds a reputation with you, they will most certainly come to you first for their needs, and if a particular product is a little higher priced than most, they are more than likely to spend it at your store or on your auction because they know what to expect. They one sure why to let a seller know you were not satisfied is to leave negative feedback. But this should be used as a last resort only. Leaving bad feedback can come back to haunt you as a buy because the seller has the last word to explain why the bad feedback was left. Any time you win an auction or Buy-It-Now you should wait to leave 'Good' feedback. If you can't leave good feedback, communication is the key with the seller. The seller maybe willing to exchange, refund, give credit, reimburse shipping cost etc. As a suggestion, always reply to the seller with what you feel is acceptable to rectify the situation. But always be prepared for the seller to be on the defense just as your are, so keep a cool head and opened mind and you shouldn't have any problems working things out and still leaving positive feedback. If it's not in you to leave positive feedback, don't leave any. In my option, the only time you should leave bad feedback is you feel like you've been scammed and the seller is unwilling to do anything to help resolve the issue.
5) Fee's on Ebay and Paypal can and will rack up very rapidly. Make sure you monitor your spending and listing fees. These two companies charge you out the wazoo for every little thing they can.
6) Payments are a good indication on what type of person you are dealing with. If they are fast payers then they will typically be very good satisfied customers and you typically won't have any problems. It's been my personal exp. that bidders who drag out payments and don't communicate with you almost always want to return the item for some reason or another. That's not to say they are all this way. I've had many of customers who for whatever reason were slow payers but were excellent customers who left great feedback.
7) Returns are a very sticky subjects. Some Power-Sellers offer returns and say everyone should offer returns. Well for the little guy just getting started, this really isn't always feasible or practical due to shipping fee's, reselling the product fee's etc. So SELLER BEWARE there will always be the buyers who don't like the item they just won for whatever reason and want a return. Honestly, you don't have to return or refund them their money according to Ebay unless your add says returns etc. You should always check with your state laws first as well.
8) Chargeback’s from credit card companies are also a method buyers pull when they want their money back on an item and you as the seller is not willing to give a refund or return for whatever reason. Chargeback’s occur when a buyer pays using their CC and no longer want the item, contact you and you don't allow, they will then go to their CC and request a refund because the CC was used fraudently by a child/someone else etc. in which the CC company will contact Paypal and that amount will be frozen in your Paypal account until a resolution had been made by the CC and Paypal. Keep all emails, receipts, logs bidding history etc. because you will have to fight your case in order to keep the funds. Paypal will protect most sellers, but if you look on the internet, you will see exactly how many have been taken by this tactic.
9) It may be a good ideal to come up with a standard 'Policy' statement you can add on all your listings that says your shipping policies, returns etc.
10) Most importantly, Have FUN and make some money!!
For Buyers:
1) Don't Impulse bid! You can get yourself in trouble this way. Making a bid is a legal binding agreement that you've agreed to when signing up for ebay. This means, if you are the winning bidder, you are legally held responsible for paying for that item, even if you didn't intend to bid on it. There are special circumstances where you may be able to retract a bid (See Ebay Help for more information).
2) Do your homework. You may think an item is a great price to only find out that you made an extremely high bid in which you will win because everyone else is bidding on a much lower priced like item.
3) Read full listing to make sure you know exactly what you are bidding on. The item should be clearly listed with what it is you are bidding on, if not, try to find a like item from someone else.
4) Ask questions, you can ask question all the way and even after an auction ends. You should be clear on the listing prior to bidding.
5) Check shipping costs before placing a bid. What for the over inflated shipping costs. Make sure the item you are bidding on simply doesn't have the most expensive shipping method listed first! This is most common during the holiday season where 1 day shipping is an option. Read through the ad, and checking 'Shipping Options' prior to placing your bid. A lot of times you will be surprised that a seller will have several shipping options for you to choose from.
6) Returns and 'As-Is' Know the difference between the two. Some times the seller may only have a 7-day return policy. Remember, that the seller may have a 7-day return policy from the time the auction ends. In which case, that means by the time you pay for the auction (1 to 5 days using paypal etc) and time the item has been in the mail, you may not even see the item until the 8th day. You should ask the question prior to bidding on what the return policy is, even if clearly stated. You have to keep in mind that Ebay is a bargain-hunters paradise, so a lot of items are sold 'As-Is' which means the seller will not take a return or do anything for you if you win an item from your auction. The biggest crock of S*#T is when a buyer has buyers remorse or find the product cheaper and wants a refund because they claim item isn't as described. DON'T ASSUME OR EXPECT RETURNS TO BE HONORED.
7) Know key terms:
NIB - New in box
VHTF - Very Hard to find
HTF - Hard to find
NR - No reserve, seller willing to take any price for item
NIP - New in package
NBO - Never been opened
NU - Never used.
8) Watch out for scams. There are many scams on ebay, heartless people willing to take your money and then close shop and move on with your hard cold cash. To be honest, Ebay does very little to protect you, they do have policies. Never give out your password and username to anyone for any reason. Ebay and Paypal will never ask you for them.
9) Buyer BEWARE - Bidding on items less than $25 you must use extreme caution. I've learned this the hard way. Ebay will not really help you out much for anything under $25. Once you break the $25 threshold, Ebay will reimburse you $1 for every $25. Now this is not to say that other companies like your CREDIT CARD COMPANY or Paypal doesn't have protection for you, they do.
10) Paypal, even though this company charges outrageous fee's like Ebay, they are a must if you are bidding a must on Ebay, but monitor your fee's.
I hope this helps who ever reads it. If so, please let Ebay know by clicking on 'Was this Guide Helpful' below. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Thank You for taking the time and reading this guide.
Guide created: 12/05/06 (updated 10/14/09)
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