Mistakes on Ebay by both sellers and buyers are, unfortunately, a common occurrence daily. Sadly, most mistakes that are made could be avoided with a little patience, understanding and knowledge of how the system works.  I have tried to complete a guide that will address many common mistakes that both the buyer and seller make.

For Buyers

The number one mistake that new and old buyers on ebay make is not reading the entire auction. They read the description of the item they are thinking of bidding on and look at the pictures provided. Most, if not all, sellers have some sort of Terms Of Service (TOS) included in their auctions that buyers tend to skim with their eyes or just skip over completely. These TOS often include information that the buyer really should know before bidding such as:

SHIPPING COSTS - This is a important factor! Most bidders think they are getting a great deal when they buy a laptop computer for $20 but when they win and the seller sends them their invoice they find the shipping was $150. It is sad but true, many sellers do charge a obscene amount for shipping. (But there are just as many sellers who are honest and charge a fair amount)

HOW AND WHEN IT SHIPS - The TOS will normally tell you how and when the seller ships. Most sellers ship within 24 to 48 hours after payment is received but some sellers ship only once a week. It is also important to know how the package is being shipped. UPS and Fed-Ex will arrive anywhere between 1 and 5 days (depending on if it is 1 day shipping, 2 day shipping or ground shipping) Priority mail takes between 3 and 5 days (not guaranteed but tends to run true) and 1st class mail and parcel post can take up to two weeks to arrive. Media mail is the cheapest form of shipping but can take up to over a MONTH to arrive.

HOW FEEDBACK WILL BE LEFT - Feedback has become a power game for some sellers. I have read TOS’s where the seller states ‘Feedback will be left after buyer leaves it. Feedback will reflect buyers feedback.’ So lets take this scenario: You bid and win a old pottery vase that you just love. The auction stated that it would ship within 48 hours via priority mail. Three weeks later it finally arrives. The postmark on it is for two weeks AFTER you paid. The item is broke because the packaging was terrible. You email the seller and after a week of no responses you leave negative feedback. All of a sudden YOU have a negative! But you didn’t do anything wrong! I personally refuse to bid on auctions that have this stated in the TOS, even if its something I really want or need. Eventually someone else will come along that has another one. I am not willing to take the risk of receiving a negative because the seller has automatic feedback for me! *I should also note that you should always contact the seller first (which we did in this scenario)

PAYMENTS ACCEPTED AND WHEN IT MUST BE PAID BY - Some sellers accept Paypal, checks, and money orders. Others take just paypal or bidpay. It is important to know what they accept because if you’re the winner your going to have to pay and in the form of what the sellers TOS said. I made this mistake one of my first times as a buyer. I bid and won a jacket that I really wanted. As soon as the auction was over I went to pay with paypal so it would ship immediately. (It was winter and I wanted that jacket the day before!) Little did I know they only accepted money orders (and I didn’t know because I didn’t read the TOS) So I had to wait a day, go to the store, stand in line to buy a money order, mail it, wait a few days for them to get it, wait another day or two for them to mail it, wait for it to come in the mail and finally, almost two weeks later I received it. Had I been able to pay with paypal I would have had it within three to four days.

You also need to know when they expect payment by. Some say immediate payment required. Some three days, five days, seven days. All sellers are different.  Just make sure that you read the entire auction so you know what to expect.

ASK QUESTIONS - If the description is not clear or is missing a piece of information that you deem important ask the seller BEFORE the auction ends! Once you win the auction you are in a binding contract with the seller so know what you need to know before you bid!

BIDDING - When you bid on an item you are in a binding contract with the seller. If you win you HAVE to pay for the item. When you place your bid know that you could be sniped. Meaning someone could come in at the last second and bid it away from you. Bid to the amount that you are willing to pay. Ebay will auto bid for you if others try to outbid you.

For Sellers

Sellers make mistakes too. And often they are avoidable mistakes.

TOS - Too long TOS’s are the most common. Buyers don’t want to spend five minutes reading your terms, so keep them short and to the point. You don’t need to go into this long spiel about how you’re a single mother trying to make money for your kids and so you can only ship on Fridays and your busy and this that and the other thing! Your TOS should include shipping costs (if not already stated) how it ships, when it ships and payments accepted (read the buyers guide above) Keep it short and easy to read!

DESCRIPTIONS AND PICTURES- Too short of descriptions and bad pictures ruin a sale as well. Describe your item! The potential buyer can’t hold this item in their hand and look it over so describe it as best as you can.

This is a vase that is tall. It has no cracks. It is brown in color.

Sadly I have seen auctions like this. It tells me nothing at all about the vase that I couldn’t tell from the picture. Measure the vase, tell me its size. What is it made of? Does it have any marking on it? Is it painted? Are there signs of age? Describe, describe, describe!

Pictures that are unfocused and blurry, too dark or too bright or just plain bad don’t help with selling the item. You need clear photos that the buyer can see details on. Take a couple if you have to! Try taking your pictures outside on a sunny day if you want. The natural light makes for amazing pictures! Do NOT take your pictures on a dirty or stained surface. Small stains show big in pictures and this is not what you want a potential buyer to see. Spread a sheet on the floor if you have too!  Take a look at the pictures below, which would you bid on if this was an item you were looking for?

PACKAGING - Some sellers think that putting a item in a box, maybe stuffing some old newspaper around it and slapping on a label makes for a package ready to ship. WRONG! Take care in your packaging. This package is going to go through many hands before it reaches the buyer and you don’t know how it will be treated. Make sure the box is the right size. Too small could smash the item, too big and the item is going to bounce around. This is true even if the item is not glass or another fragile item. Plastic can snap, wood can crack, even jewelry can bust up if the package isn’t secure enough. Use sturdy boxes, reinforce with tape, wrap and wrap the item in newspaper, bubble wrap or peanuts. If you are sending more then one item in the box wrap each individually!  The picture below is of a item that was packaged with a few other items in foam peanuts.  It looked secure but the item is heavy and had settled to the bottom of the box.  The peanuts were not adequate cushioning alone.  Each item should have been wrapped individually and then placed in the peanuts. 

KEEP THE BUYER INFORMED - Some sellers send the invoice, get paid and you never hear from them again. Let the buyer know that payment was recieved, when the item shipped (or will be shipped) and a week later, if you haven’t heard from the buyer and no feedback has been left, email the buyer and ask if they have received the package and if everything was satisfactory. Good customer service will give you repeat buyers!

LEAVE FEEDBACK BASED ON TRANSACTION - Don’t leave feedback for your buyers based on the feedback they left you. If you did a poor job packaging and a poor job resolving an issue then you deserve the feedback that was left for you. The buyer doesn’t deserve a negative in retaliation unless they really deserve it too. HOWEVER, if your buyer did not contact you before leaving a negative then it is okay to leave them a NEUTRAL to warn other sellers that they do not contact seller first.

ASK QUESTIONS - Even the most seasoned seller comes across a problem that they need help with sooner or later. Ask other sellers advice on the community boards within Ebay. Sellers Central is one of the most friendly and informative boards on Ebay. If you have a problem, they will help you solve it! Check it out here: Seller Central

Ebay is basically a good place with good people, but there are some out there (sellers and buyers both) who manipulate the system and leave a bad taste in your mouth. The best way to avoid them is to READ THEIR FEEDBACK! That is the only thing I didn’t talk about above and it is very important! READ THE FEEDBACK AND HIT THE BACK BUTTON IF THEY HAVE LESS THEN 98%!! Read my other guide entitled What New Ebay Users Need To Know to learn more!  That guide can be found here: Guide For New Ebayers