Practice the following platitudes, and life will be lovely!

Do Unto Others -

If you win an auction, either pay immediately via Paypal or send the seller a message indicating how you plan to pay.

If you are the seller, either send an invoice right away, or at least send a message to the buyer thanking them and telling them when you will deliver the item.

What Goes Around, Comes Around -

If there is a disagreement or questionable refund, bend over backwards.  The few dollars it may cost you will be well worth it for the peace of mind, clear conscience, and future good will.

I have had a few problems, but I think they were all settled amicably.  When I went to ship an item I had listed, I found a very small chip.  I notified the buyer, told her of the problem and gave her a choice of accepting or rejecting the item.  She opted to reject it, I immediately refunded her price plus shipping via Paypal.  The result was mutual positive feedback.

Another time, I mixed up photos and sold an item I had sold previously.  Not realizing this, I shipped the wrong tea cup.  The buyer notified me.  I finally figured out what had happened and sent her a full refund. I also threw in extra money to cover the postage and effort for her to return it to me.

Honesty Is The Best Policy -

No matteer how faded or distressed an item, tell it as it is.  I was fearful of feedback when I listed my first item - an old Mac PowerBook 150.  The battery was past recarging, the operating system was obsolete, and it had no ports.  I also added that it came in a genuine fake leather carrying case.

To my amazement, it sold, and for a very decent price.  Now, I was really scared.  What would the buyer say?

Answer:  Great product - hard to find in excellent condition - A++ seller.

Any Further Platitudes -

I have run out of platitudes but there must be one to cover writing a personal history for family heirlooms.  Most of my descriptions contain anecdotes relating to the provenance of an item, whether they be mine or those of TA clients.  Buyers love to know where antiques and vintage items come from, and how they were used.  My heirlooms become their heirlooms, to hand down to their children.

One such sale brought tears to my eyes.  The buyer of an 1880s antique cut-out linen tablecloth wrote that she was so pleased as she had grown up in a poor family and had inherited nothing.  Now she had an heirloom to leave to her daughter.  And I was thrilled that it went to someone who would appreciate it for its history.

Anecdotes add to the lure, and because of them I have received some wonderful letters from both prospective buyers and casual viewers who simply related to the stories.

My Rx for a happy and rewarding e-Bay life has worked for me -

So,

Try It, You'll Like It!

Note to judges - I tried to format this using only the tools provided(with photos and links) but I was told several times that I had html ... I checked twice with live chat, but no one was able to help me.  I had three photos of items that were no longer listed, and links to plain areas such as tea cups and silver candlesticks.  I really thought I had a great guide, but I the html reference threw me.  I even took out all apostrophes, etc.  To bad, it was entitled Rx for a happy...Anyhow, here is the stripped viesion.  Thanks for reading it.