Ebay Powerseller Secrets

Having Other Sellers Selling the Same Things as You Can Actually Help Your Items Sell

2012-09-07T02:04:00.002-07:00

I know, I have wished the same thing before. We all have: "Man, I wish I was the only one on ebay selling widgets. That way everyone would have to buy from me, at any price I set my widgets at." Mmmmhmmmm, been there, thought that. But, since that is likely never going to happen, unless you are the one person on the planet able to sell moon rocks, we have to look for silver linings in such cases where there will likely be other sellers selling the same things as me. Silver linings? How can other sellers selling the same things as me possibly have a silver lining?
Well, in two ways.

First, let's say two different sellers have two completely different widgets. Completely different, but the same. By that I mean, that they're identical. Mary has one and John has one. John takes crappy pictures which are all out of focus, he writes up a completely horrible description, and sets his price at $100.

Mary, on the other hand, puts her widget on ebay, but takes plenty of excellent pictures, writes up a stellar destription, and puts in a YouTube video as well. She puts her widget at $125.

Both the widgets are exactly the same, just being sold by two different sellers. Which one would likely sell first? Probably Mary's. Mary did a much better job overall on her listing, and would likely appeal to more people looking for widgets. It could also be assumed that ebay buyers looked at both Mary's and John's widgets on ebay, and decided that Mary's was the better deal. And, going one step further, it could be argued that Mary's item will sell first precisely because John's listing was so pathetic, even they were both essential identical widets. In such a case, even though both sellers were competing for the same ebay buyer, John's pathetic listing actually helped Mary sell her widget.

In every single case, anytime you are selling on ebay, you want to be like Mary, because chances are, your widget won't be the only widget on ebay. So, use those other widgets on ebay to help you sell your widget. Make your wiget listing shine so that, when compared to the other sellers' widgets, yours simply appears like the better deal. Perception is everything on ebay!

Here's another case when competition can help you on ebay:

Suppose Amy sold a widget two weeks for $75. Same exact type widget as Mary's. A completely identical widget. Last week, because Mary did a much better job at writing her widget listing, she manages to sell hers for $125. And now, this week, it's time for you to list your widget on ebay. How much will yours sell for, if you write up a listing as good as Mary did?

You can reasonably expect to sell yours for at least $125, right? I mean, anyone can get on ebay and see how many widgets sold in the past week, and for how much. Well, the most recent widget sold for $125. Chances are, most buyers aren't really going to know what that widget is really worth, but, seeing what they sold for in the past is a fairly good barometer, and since Mary's sold last week or $125, anyone looking for widgets this week could reasonably assume that $125 is now the going rate for a widget.

In this particular example, there weren't two sellers selling the same thing at the same time. There was no real competition, here. But if Mary and I are both in the widget-selling business, her sale last week could help me sell mine this week for $125.

The whole point I am trying to make is that if everyone on ebay made a conscious effort to actually try to do things to increase the percieved value of their items, such that they sold at higher prices, that would inevitably help the people the following week selling those same things.

A few days ago I sold a vintage movie projector for $125. It's entirely possible that next week, some seller over in Idaho will list an identical model on ebay, and, while not directly competing with me, he can potentially benefit from my sale.

So what it boils down to is that it can potentially be a good thing if there are other people on ebay selling the same things you are, because the prices those other sellers are selling for will likely impact the prices you will be getting for your items.

Can I Opt to Sell Jewelry or Other Popular Items?

2012-09-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

Well, you could, but......

..... you'd better have either some pretty spectacular jewelry, some pretty unique jewelry (as in jewelry you created yourself), or you'd better be selling some pretty cheap jewelry- and lots of it. Here's why:

There is nothing wrong with selling jewelry on ebay. Or maybe your thing is women's lingerie. Or maybe you like hats. Whatever your thing is, and you want to go about selling them on ebay, I say go for it. But here's the little problem.... in doing so, you are going to be running up against some pretty stiff competition on ebay. There are sellers on ebay- myself included- who have been selling on ebay for years. While I personally don't sell jewelry, there are no doubt many sellers who do. Some of them own their own brick-and-mortar walk-in jewelry shops, and already know the business, already have a built-up client base, and already have their supplier base. They are already established in the market is what I am saying.

So, while there is nothing inherently wrong with selling such established items (jewelry, clothing, etc.) on ebay, you will be running up against some pretty tough competition. So, just be aware that your jewelry might be identical to the jewelry sold at Betty Lou's Jewelry Emporium on ebay, if she's been selling her line of jewelry (which in this case is identical or very similar to yours) since ebay began, she's already going to have astronomical feedback on the order of 100,000+, compared to your feedback of 23.

I hope I am not discouraging anyone. But, ebay is what is it. And the truth is the truth. Betty Lou is established, well-known, already has a repeat customer base, has been around forever, and has some pretty impressive feedback to show for it. Just be aware of this fact when planning on selling whatever it is you plan on selling on ebay.

Personally, I didn't want to compete with other sellers on ebay. I wanted to go where I knew I had little competition. So, I chose vintage collectibles, because, while the number of people looking for a vintage movie projector on ebay is fairly low at any given moment, so, too, are the available number of vintage movie projectors. That didn't bother me too much, because I knew I could easily one-up my competition.

While at any given moment there may be 10,000 buyers on ebay looking at faux pearl rings or necklaces, there, too, may be 5,000 established ebay sellers selling them on ebay. Plenty of competition!

I just used jewelry as an example here. There are some sellers who specialize in sheep shearers. I know, sounds crazy. But one older gentleman I knew in the Cincinnati area would make his rounds at swap meets and flea markets looking for nothing but sheep shearers. Don't ask me, 'cause I don't know either, but that was his thing. He would find them, take 'em apart, clean 'em up, basically refurbish 'em, then sell them on ebay. I don't know if there's anyone else on ebay doing the same thing, but it just goes to prove that there is a market for everyone and everything on ebay (as long as it's legitimate). And to those people looking on ebay for a good used sheep shearing device, well, he was there more than happy to sell his wares. And since I am guessing he had little competition, he likely could double, triple or even quadruple his money on ebay selling those things.

Now, I know very little about selling jewelry on ebay. I do know that it's not for me. I already mentioned the competition. Another reason is markup. Markup is the amount of profit you are tacking on to an item. If you buy something at a flea market for $10 and re-sell it on ebay for $20, ignoring the fees for just a moment, your simple markup was $10, or, in this case, 100%. You've effectively doubled your money.

While 100% markup is good, is 200% better? How about 300%? 400%? 1000%?, 3000%? Sound impossible? Not so!

I recently sold a movie projector for $125. I sold it yesterday, in fact. I paid $5 for the thing at a yard sale. If I had sold it for $10, that would have been doubling my money, or a 100% markup. If I had sold it for $20, that would have been a 300% markup. Anyone would be happy with getting a 300% return on ones' money, right? If you walked in to a bank and put a $5 bill in to a savings account, and the next day were able to walk in to the same bank and withdraw $20, well, the bank would, in effect, be paying 300% interest PER DAY. Funny, right? Will never happen, right?

Well, ebay is like a bank, of sorts. I put a $5 movie projector into ebay one day, and the next day it sold for $125. Kind of like a bank, wouldn't you say? I spent $5 of my own money, ran it through the ebay mill, and someone handed me back $125.

What's the markup on a $5 item selling for $125? Would you believe 2400%???Believe it! Read my post on figuring out markup for the formula I use to figure out my own markup.

But, back to selling jewelry. If you bought 250 gold colored rings in bulk from the Wong Dong Ring Factory in Huanzhou, China, and your paid $1250 for the lot, with the intent of selling them on ebay for profit, there's nothing wrong with that. Here's the catch: You will be competing with 100 other sellers who had that same idea last week, and another 100 sellers who have the same idea next week. So, all of a sudden, two months down the road, when all those sellers receive their boxes of Wong Dong gold colored rings, there are now 30 identical listings of rings on ebay, from 30 different sellers, all selling the same exact ring, all competing with one another. Each ring MUST sell for at least $5 for the seller to see ANY sort of profit, and that's not even factoring in the fees. Some sellers, in fact, (the larger, more established sellers) will buy 250 rings for $5 each from Wong Dong with the intent on selling them at $1 each.... Yes, LOSING MONEY on each one.... in an attempt to get people to click on the ebay listing. These are called "loss leaders". WalMart has them. KMart has them. Every major retailer uses this tactic. They'll lose money on some cheaper items, with the hope that the potential buyer will see what else the store (or ebay seller) has for sale, and hopefully the buyer will buy that ring for $1, PLUS two or three other items that the same seller is selling.... things that the seller IS making a small profit on.

Lots of things to consider when selling on ebay, isn't there?

So, that's my whole theory on selling items on ebay: Sell whatever you want, within ebay guidelines and rules, but keep in mind that other sellers (often hundreds, or even thousands of other sellers) will have the same exact idea as you.

The easiest and most sure-fire method to help increase your chances of success on ebay are to go after the limited items. Items off the beaten path. I've always had tremendous success with collectibles and vintage items, while the number of ebay buyers at any given time looking for a vintage working movie projector are admittedly few, so, too, are the number of working vintage movie projectors on ebay from which to choose. Then, it's a simple matter of making your item appear better than the competition, even if your $125 projector is the exact same thing as the next sellers' $50 projector. How do you do that? Well, if you've read my other blogs, you'll know the easiest way is to use YouTube to prove that your item works, or to help enhance your items' value. People will buy your item if they can see it in a video and pay a premium for your item, simply because you took the extra time to plug the item in and show it off in front of a camera.

But, I know that few people will ever take the time to make a 3-minute YouTube video to enhance their item. Would you, if you knew it meant the difference between selling a $50 movie projector for $125? I sure as heck would! Only about .01% of all the ebay listings ever created have some sort of video in them, promoting the item and its' functionality. The old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink!"

Step-By-Step List of Things You Need to Do

2012-09-01T19:32:00.001-07:00

I know it's all quite confusing, getting started, so I am going to write a list of things you should be considering, and in what order. You don't need to follow them exactly, of course. The list is meant only to be a guide. While I don't explicitly say so, there are some things that you will inherently need, such as a computer and internet service. I won't go in to such detail to tell you what computer cables you'll need, or what type of internet connection or carrier to use.

1. For steps 2 - 6 below, you'll need a notepad. You will want to write down the user IDs and passwords that you create for each of the websites and applications mentioned in steps 2 - 6, below. So, first, grab a pen and a notepad. Your notepad can also be used to jot down phone numbers (there will be times when you'll actually need to call up ebay, or paypal, or your bank, for that matter). You can also be writing down notes to yourself, ideas, or even questions, comments and/ or suggestions for me.

2. You can't do much online nowadays without an email address. Fortunately, email providers are plentiful, and you should have no trouble setting up an email account with either hotmail, yahoo, google, msn or any other plethora of other email providers.

3. Obviously, you will need an ebay account. If you don't have one already, go to ebay.com and register as a new user. You'll need to select a user ID (one that is not already be in use by another user), as well as a password. Ebay's customer support number is 1-866-907-3229, but, obviously this can change. Currently, they handle calls between 5am - 10pm Pacific time, seven days a week, also subject to change, and may not apply to holidays. Spend some time tinkering around, setting up your ebay account. Click on things you see in ebay. Be careful only to LOOK at other sellers' listings. Don't click on ANYTHING that says something like "Bid" or "Buy", because in doing so, you will effectively be bidding on, and potentially BUYING those items. As long as you simply LOOK, there should be no problems. Look at how other sellers have their listings set up. How do they describe their items? How much are they charging for their items? Do their pictures look decent, or do they look like they were taken by a 12-year old using an inferior cell phone camera (more about that later)? It's totally free to register and to look around on ebay, and even to buy on ebay. It's the selling on ebay where it costs you. But don't let that discourage you. Yes, there are ebay and paypal fees. But aren't fees a fact of life? If you are going to set yourself up to be making $500 - $1,000 a week on ebay, then, yes, both ebay and paypal are going to want a cut. It's just the way things work, and quite honestly, I'm kind of glad it IS this way.

4. You'll likely want a checking account at any local banking institution near you. You will link your paypal account to your checking account, and you'll easily be able to transfer funds from one to the other online. Linking one account to the other is the easiest way for you to get your earnings transferred to you. If you cannot get approved for a checking account, ask your banking representative if opening up a savings account will allow you to receive ACH deposits from sources such as paypal. The idea is to set up an easy and efficient way to transfer funds to and from your paypal account. Some people may opt to simply use paypal's debit card. it works just like a credit card, of sorts, and allows you to access your paypal funds from any ATM- for a fee. Why pay those fees if you don't have to? Set up a checking (or savings) account at your bank.

5. Same thing for paypal. You'll need a paypal account to accept instant payments from buyers. Paypal's customer service number is 1-888-221-1161. Write that down as well. Keep in mind that paypal is an ebay company. As soon as possible, transfer about $50 to $100 from your checking (or savings) acct to your paypal acct.

6. While not entirely necessary, you'll also likely want to establish a YouTube account as well. Doing so will enable you to upload videos of your items, and let me tell you, VIDEOS SELL YOUR ITEMS!!!!

Note: Keep in mind that these are very BASIC instructions. You will want to do some digging and find the contact numbers for ebay, paypal, your bank, and so on. If you have trouble in any one area, your best bet is to call up the customer service dept of any of these institutions and seek out help from their teams. Keep in mind that email providers, as well as YouTube do not give out their numbers. They do not want you calling them with problems, and prefer to handle problems via email.

7. Spend about $100 on a decent digital camera. For $100 you can get a very high quality Sony 14 mp digital. I know, your cell phone has a built-in camera, and why can't you simply use it? Well, you CAN, but do you want your pictures to end up on ebay looking like crap? The camera in your cell phone is likely crap. Buy a nice Sony and upload high quality pictures to ebay. Trust me on this one. The camera will come with a battery that only Sony cameras can use, but it will be a long-life battery that will out-perform ordinary AA and AAA batteries. The camera will also come with a means to charge that battery. The camera will NOT come with a memory chip. You will need to buy one of those as well. For $8 - $12 at WalMart, KMart or Target, you can get at least one 8 gb (gigabyte) computer memory card. Be sure you get one compatible with your camera. My Sony uses SD (secure digital cards), and I buy 16 and 32 gb capacity cards. The cards aren't much bigger than a postage stamp, but one 16 gb SD memory card can hold about 20,000 images or 3 hours worth of video. The $100 you spend today on a decent video camera should easily last you five years, and it will undoubtedly double as your personal camera for taking on vacations. Those inexpensive SD storage cards are nearly indestructible, and, considering they're so inexpensive, you might consider buying one dedicated SD card specifically for ebay. This will keep your ebay pictues and videos separate from your Florida vacation videos, and I'm guessing you won't want to inadvertently insert some raunchy vacation video into an ebay listing. Hey, it happens!

8. You are going to need a printer, if you don't already have one. I use a Brother laser printer, model HL-2040 (one of the cheaper models) for some labels (UPS), and a Dymo LabelWriter 400 for my USPS labels. You will NOT need a high-end, color laser printer for $750. Don't waste your money! If you can't afford a printer right now, don't fret. You can easily print out your labels using the library's laser printer, for about 10 cents a copy. Or, you can use a friends' printer, or look for a good used one at a yard sale or thrift store. Printers are so cheap, nowadays, that you should be able to find a decent low-cost model for under $50. Yes, printers require occasional ink cartridge replacements, but a cheaper alternative to buying new is to simply have your existing depleted cartridges refilled. Some malls have little kiosks that do this for you. You drop off your cartridges, do some shopping, then pick-up your replenished ink cartridges before you head home.

9. You'll need an inexpensive scale. You will be weighing items, and weighing boxes with items in them to figure out postage. Again, you don't need an expensive $250 scale. A $2 yard sale scale that weighs up to 10 pounds will be sufficient for smaller items, and an inexpensive used $12 baby scale (used in nurseries to weigh the babies) will be sufficient for larger items weighing up to 50 pounds. I see scales from time to time at thrift stores. Or, you can simply take your boxes to the post office or to a UPS drop-off site and have them weighed there. But, you don't want the hassle of running to the post office to weigh a box, then to run back home to print out a label, then run back out to the post office to drop the box off. KISS, remember? Keep It Simple, Silly!

10. Begin saving your old newspapers, plastic shopping bags, small boxes, etc. Never throw things out. If you can use it for padding to pad your items when you box them up, then use it! In most cases, the ONLY thing you should be spending money on on a regular basis is 2" packing tape. Most everything else can be had for free. Want a lot of free bubble wrap? Ask stores that regularly receive shipments, and which regularly put their wares on display for sale. A prime example of such a place is a Hallmark store. They are constantly getting orders for inventory, small knick-knacks and such. All that stuff comes in to the stores in boxes, and will be padded with something. The store employees are just going to throw that stuff out. Why not call up a few stores near you, ask to speak with the manager, an ask on what days do they receive their deliveries, and can you swing by for all the boxes and bubble wrap?

11. Now that you have an ebay account, a paypal account and everything else set up, now you should be starting to consider getting your "feedback" up. You do this by making a few small purchases on ebay. Look elsewhere on my blog where I go in to detail about the importance of feedback, and why you, as a seller, need to have at least SOME feedback before you start selling. It's OK to buy a few $1 - $5 here and there on ebay, and in doing so, you will be trading feedback with those sellers. That, in effect, starts you off with earning positive feedback. And, if you are going to buy some things on ebay, why not at least start out buying some things that you actually NEED? I mean, you could go to WalMart and buy six rolls of 2" packing tape. Or, you can look on ebay for 2" packing tape. Sure, you are going to have to pay for shipping, but, it's possible that you might find a price that includes shipping that is LOWER than WalMart's price. In such a case, you not only saved money, but you also saved time, you made a purchase on ebay for something you actually are going to need, AND you can trade feedback with the seller. Start getting in to the practice of looking on ebay first for things that you need: supplies, gifts, collectibles, unusual items, etc.

12. Set up a corner of one room for an ebay corner. Buy a couple white sheets, if necessary. This corner of the room is where you will take pictures of your ebay items. Use the sheets as a backdrop so people don't see the clutter in the background. You want buyers focused SQUARELY on the items you will be taking pictures of, not of the pictures hanging on the wall in the background, the dish of cat food, or the pile of shoes next to the door. Using white sheets to cover up this clutter is just so perfect. Don't have any old sheets? No doubt you can find them used at yard sales and thrift stores!

13. Head to your local bookstore or library to look for books on selling on ebay. These books are all over the place. Of course, there is on place that should have popped in your head first as a source for looking for books about selling on ebay...... EBAY ITSELF!. There must be a million books on ebay at the moment. I just did a quick search and found 241 results relating to books about selling on ebay. You can buy one or two, read them, then turn right around and SELL THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE ON EBAY, for just about the same price you paid. You will have gotten some tips and insight, as well as some feedback, both when you bought them, and then, later, when you turned right around and sold them yourself on ebay!

14. You should have, by now, been tinkering around and exploring ebay. I suspect that now, after you've made five or 10 small purchases on ebay, that you're now ready to sell on ebay. Sell what, you ask? Well, if your home is as cluttered as mine, there must literally be hundreds of items around your home to list an sell. If not, you have yard sales, thrift stores, estate sale, consignment shops and the like. When I go out "yard saling", as I call it, I am hardly ever looking for things for myself, as most other people are that I see at yard sales. Every single time I look at every item for sale at a yard sale, for example, the first thing I am asking myself, EVERY SINGLE TIME, is "How much can I sell this for on ebay?" That should be the first thing that pops in your head as well. The four criteria I asses when I am scouting for ebay items are:
   a) Is it older/ collectible / in demand / hard to find / unavailable anywhere else?
   b) Can I buy it for $5 or less?
   c) Is it in excellent shape visually? Any broken / missing parts? Any spots, stains, odors, signs of use?
     d) Is it smaller than a breadbox, and otherwise easy to ship without too much trouble?
So, it's now or never. Yank $50 - $100 out of your checking or savings and go hunting for things to sell on ebay. I've made a video of some things I found while out on a single day of yard-saling and thrift store hopping:  Click here to view the 4 1/2 minute video recorded on 9/1/2012.

15. If you've made it home with five or six things that you've found after a few hours of Saturday morning yard-saling, now you are ready to list them on ebay. But, first things, first. Take each item to the corner of the room where the white sheets are set up. The first thing we are going to do is to make videos of each item. Now, this is strictly optional, and I know very few people do this. But it takes only MINUTES of your time, and it really does WONDERS for your sales. Trust me on this! If one of your items is a toy that takes batteries, and crawls across the floor and giggles, you want to show your buyers "Hey! Check out my video! This video PROVES that this thing works! Look how clean my toy is!" You might list that toy on ebay, and there may be a dozen other toys on there just like yours, identical to yours. You have to make yours stand out. Videos make your item stand out. Read my other blog sections for more on the power of video persuasion in your listings! In addition to a video of each item, I'll also take 10 - 12 pictures of each item.

16. So, you've taken a short video of each item, along with 10 - 12 pictures of each item. Next, we are going to take the memory card out of the camera, slip it in to the slot on your laptop, and first upload the videos to YouTube. I do this first because of the time involved with uploading videos. It can take my home wifi 15 minutes to upload a 5-minute video. But, there are other things I can do while my videos are uploading (throw in a load of laundry, change the cat litter, check the mail, take a quick shower, check my email, drop of a few packages at the post office, etc.)

17. Once my videos have finished uploading, I go in and edit each video. I give each video a title, add some tags in the tag section, and in the description area, I simply type in "Ebay item #". At this point I don't have an ebay item number, as I haven't yet created the listing. Once I create the listing, then I o back in to the YouTube listing and add the ebay item number. Who knows? Maybe some random YouTuber will come across my video, then go to ebay and buy it that way! Hey, it can happen. I want to make it as easy as possible for buyers to buy my items. If they found my item on YouTube, I want to direct them to ebay with at least an ebay item # so they can make a purchase.

18. Now you are ready to start your first listing. It doesn't matter in what order you list the items. Read my other blog sections where I go in to much more detail about the best times to start listings. Check out my video series where I get extremely specific about how to create a listing. Here is the link to the first video.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

How Can I Possibly Fit Ebay in to My Already-Hectic Schedule?

2012-09-01T19:08:00.002-07:00

That's a very good question. I know some of you may already have full- or part-time jobs. But, working ebay is STILL possible. Allow me to explain how you can pull this off:

Suppose you have a M - F 9 - 5 job. I used to years ago. I more-or-less started selling on ebay as a hobby, for some extra spending cash each month. I would pull in an extra $100 or so each week. When I realized this could be an easy money-maker, as well as an easy work-at-home, full-time job, I decided I needed to find a routine that would work for me.

I decided to do most of my buying on weekends. I had more time, plus that's when the bulk of the yard sales are. Not only that, some of the thrift stores have 50% off sales on Saturdays. So, weekends were my buying days. Some weekends I did nothing all weekend. Other weekends, I'd spend the bulk of the day Saturday hitting yard sales and thrift stores. Some weekends, particularly if it was raining on the weekends, I might hit fewer thrift stores, and concentrate more on listings. Sundays were predominantly listing days for store-inventory listings. Don't get store inventory (also may be referred to as 'fixed price' listings) confused with auctions listings.

Monday - Thursdays were my auction listing days. I wanted my auctions to be 7-day auctions, starting on any day between Mon - Thurs, and in the evenings, when most of my buyers would be home in front of their computers.

Monday - Saturdays were also my shipping days. It wasn't unreasonable to get home from work for the day, log in to my ebay, see what I sold since the last time I checked in, box up my sold items and get them ready to go out in the mail either later that same day, or in the following day's mail.

This became my routine, and it worked out well for me. Then, I was able to quit my 9 - 5 and concentrate solely on listing and selling

Return Policy

2012-05-28T17:10:00.002-07:00

It used to be that ebay sellers did not need to have a return policy. Return policies were for brick-and-mortar stores like Target and WalMart. Stores that are making millions in sales every hour. But, little by little, ebay is trying to get small sellers such as ourselves in to having an iron-clad return policy for the items we sell.

I don't particularly like it, but it's something that sellers need to do- institute a return policy. I am somewhat ambivalent about it because I think it will open up a whole new can of worms and fraud against legitimate sellers such as myself. If I need to have a return policy, I'll do it, but it doesn't mean I need to necessarily make it a slam-dunk for my buyers. By that, I mean, if I have to jump through hoops to sell on ebay, then buyers will have to do the same to send me back an item for a refund.

Ebay wants sellers to offer buyers at least a 14-day return period. A return policy is pretty much silly in and of itself, at least on ebay, because buyers can return an item to a seller who doesn't even accept returns, let alone one who doesn't even have a return policy. Ebay's policy is, if a buyer returns an item purchased from an ebay seller, and if the buyer can prove that the item was returned and received by the seller, the buyer will get a refund. Period. So, it really matters little that sellers even have return policies.

I make my policy a little stricter than most. I sell predominantly older, vintage items, and I state that all the items I sell are used, and have pretty much already live a useful productive life. The value in the items I offer is in their collectability, not their operational status. As such, since my items are older and used, they can be expected to have minor defects and deficiencies here and there. I make it a point to write my descriptions so detailed, and offer so many pictures and, often times, videos to accompany my pictures that I pretty much place the onus for purchases (and the scrutiny of my items) squarely on the buyer.

Furthermore, I state the buyer needs to be fully aware of what it is he or she is buying, should exercise his or her right to ask questions and/ or to see additional pictures, and otherwise be totally in tune with what it is in my listings, and should be satisfied with my listings, descriptions, pictures and videos to make an informed decision.

I further state that I don't accept returns for items simply because a buyer didn't like it. Or that it was the wrong color. Or that it wasn't in the proper condition as I had described. The pictures and videos that I provide should more than adequately convey to the buyer the condition, shape and function of each item I list for sale. There should be no question in my buyers mind when he or she clicks on the "Buy it Now" button.

Additionally, I add that any returns will be at the expense of the buyer, and that I will only reimburse shipping costs if I had made a mistake. For example, if a buyer ordered a red shirt and I sent a blue one.

And finally, I make it known that items must me returned to me in the same condition as when it left my possession. Here, too, I have a built-in safety feature. If a buyer wishes to send me something back, and fails to insure it, or fails to add delivery confirmation, and the item gets lost or damaged in transit, do you think I am going to pay for the buyers' mistake?

I'd be crazy to. If the buyer thinks he has a legitimate claim for a return, let him take it upon himself to take the necessary precautions and add the necessary insurance and delivery confirmation. I certainly won't accept a return for an item that I shipped out in excellent collectible shape, and which was returned to me in broken condition, and I certainly won't issue a refund for such.

Of course, the buyer can always complain to ebay that he he returned it, and that I am refusing to issue a refund. In that case, I'd send ebay some pictures of the item I had been sent back, proving that the item was damaged beyond repair, or at least damaged to the point where I could not sell it, or at the very least wouldn't be able to sell it for the same price as what I had originally sold it for.

Some sellers think they need to issue a refund, no questions asked, in any and all return cases. I disagree. Once buyers get it through their head that buyers will issue a refund at the drop of a hat, where does it end? Can the prevalence of rampant fraud begin with such nilly-willy return polices?

That's precisely what I am afraid of, and precisely why I've created my return policy with some teeth. Let buyers who are looking for easy return targets seek out other sellers. They won't take advantage of me- at least not without a fight.

Some sellers with whom I've spoken are terrified of putting up a fight over a return, because they know a buyer can leave them a negative. I say, who cares? Let the buyer leave a negative. Negative feedback, while undesirable, is not the end of the world. While you, as a seller, may get a - FB from time to time, you will undoubtedly have decent DSR's to counteract such - FB. And, -FB drops off your feedback score after 12 months. So, it's possible to get a -FB, and 12 months later, return to 100% + FB once again. It's happened to me, in fact.

So, even -FB isn't as much of a tarnishing mark as it once was. While -FB is undesirable, FB as a whole is now only part of the whole picture. Your DSR's complement your feedback, and can often be seen as carrying more weight than ordinary FB.

Shipping Items

2012-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Shipping your items is the most important process of all. It seems all of the problems, and all of the things that can go wrong in a transaction happen during the shipment process. Sure, things can go wrong at any point, but shipping is where I see most problems occur. Let's discuss what can go wrong, and how to avoid those problems.

I am going to assume that you will have access to multiple carriers. Here in Cincinnati, I have the post office, of course, plus UPS, FedEx, as well as Greyhound for over-sized items. You will want to grab a notebook of some sort and create with it a sort of ebay "cheat sheet". One page with the addresses, phone numbers and business hours of all of the carriers in your area, as well as the phone numbers of customer service (usually a 1-800 number).

[On these cheat sheet lines, it'll be a good idea to write down paypal's toll-free number, 1-800-221-1161, as well as your means to contact ebay, should the need arise. If you plan to head out to thrift stores in your area for ebay-able items, you can write down all the thrift stores in your area, their addresses and phone numbers, managers' names, and dates they hold 50% off sales or other promotional sales on a regular basis, if they do so at all. You will find yourself referring to your "cheat book" often!]

In your cheat book, you are going to want to write down the websites of all the carriers, and create accounts within each. You can create accounts on USPS, UPS and FedEx in much the same way that you created accounts on ebay and paypal, and in doing so, you may open yourself up for shipping discounts just for having opened up an account. Account information is more things to write in your cheat book: log in names and passwords.

In my first sentence in this post I said shipping is the most important process of all. This is because it's the one you have absolutely the least control over. Sure, you can select which carrier to use, if you have more than one to choose from. But, once the item leaves your hands, you have totally lost full control over that item, which is now at the complete mercy of the carrier.

No carrier is totally perfect. Some are better than others. UPS is excellent in most regards. I've found that UPS is cheaper and faster than the post office for most items I ship. UPS also offers free insurance on your items, up to $100, and the ability to add additional insurance on top of that, should your item be valued at over $100.

UPS, being a private entity, also has a greater stake in handling your items with care. UPS is a company, like any other, whose objective is to show a profit at the end of the year. Part of the philosophy of showing a profit is to minimize and eliminate waste and loss. That said, UPS (and FedEx, for that matter) have a reason to handle your item with care. They know that if your item arrives damaged, that they are going to be held responsible, and will be expected to pay out a loss claim for such damage or loss. For this reason, you'd better believe that UPS and FedEx are going to be on their toes about caring for your parcel and getting it to its destination in one piece, intact, and safely.

The post office, not so much. USPS lost how many billions of dollars last year? Do you think USPS is too concerned with losses? I would venture to guess that USPS will be a thing of the past in 20 years. They simply have lost their ability to do things well.

That's not to say that they are completely incompetent. They handle a billion pieces of mail daily, and most arrive at their destinations on time and intact, and for this amazing feat they deserve credit.

It should be obvious that you are going to have to place some careful consideration on just how you package your item to minimize damage in transit. There needs to be a delicate balance on packing items. Something fragile, such as a lamp, will need more padding than something like a necklace. As you are writing your listing, you'll need to be conscious of how much padding, and how big of a box you'll need to pack each item you list, because in most cases, the cost of shipping an item is a function of the items' weight, it's dimensions, and how fast it needs to be delivered.

Something fragile, such as a lamp or vase, may need to be boxed in one box, then placed inside a larger box, with foam peanuts or wadded-up newspapers filling the gap between both boxes. I've found that this measure works well. But what does this measure also do? It also adds to the weight, as well as to the full dimensions of the item, all of which adds to the shipping cost. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that buyers are going to be weighing the costs of shipping an item when making buying decisions.

You could always explain your shipping process and costs in your listings, which is what I sometimes do. This not only can instill a degree of confidence in your buyer that you've placed some thought on just how you intend to get your item to your buyer, but it can also emphasize just why the shipping estimate that they see is $22.50, when other sellers are only charging $16 to ship the same thing. Sometimes explaining the costs involved goes a long way to convince buyers your item is the best choice.

Sometimes I'll add something like this to the description of one of my more fragile items: "This vase is extremely fragile, and to ensure that it arrives to you safely, in one piece, I plan to double box the vase, and use foam padding between the two layers of cardboard. This added foam and cardboard adds protection, but it also adds to the cost of shipping the item. Please consider my efforts to get this vase to you in one piece, as well as the added costs involved, when making your buying decision." There. Simple, to-the-point, explanatory, and professional-sounding.

The discerning buyer who really wants that vase likely isn't going to be too concerned with the added costs of the extra shipping materials, anyways, and may even appreciate your conscious effort to ensure its' safe arrival.

I've already mentioned that UPS holds a special place in my heart because of their business practices, but there are times when I'll prefer the post office, instead.

For items with a total shipping weight of 13 ounces or less (a total shipping weight is the weight of the item all packaged up), USPS First Class Parcel can't be beat. It's very fast, and very economical.

And for bigger, bulkier items, USPS Parcel Post will be the way to go. Parcel Post is slower, but also more cost-effective than Priority Mail or UPS Ground.

There will be times when UPS Ground will not only be cheaper than USPS Parcel Post, but faster as well. I that's the case, why not use it? You'll save a few bucks, and your buyer will be delighted to get his item the following Monday, instead of the the following Thursday by USPS Parcel Post.

Although I don't use FedEx as much, occasionally I'll log on to the FedEx site and compare rates, particularly for larger or heavier items. I've found that in most cases FedEx's rates are comparable to UPS, and since UPS's drop-off location is closer to me than FedEx, UPS is the more logical choice. With the price of gas, you'll definitely want to be factoring in the cost of driving your parcels to the post office, UPS or FedEx, not to mention your own time involved.

I try to make sure I am at my house when my mail carrier is due to make her appearance. I can simply hand her my boxes, and save myself a trip to the post office. Same goes for UPS. With paypal, you can print ALL of your postage at home, so there is never a need to head out and stand in a line. And if a mail carrier or UPS delivery man is going to swing by my house at some point throughout the day anyway, why even waste the gas to head out to either?

I know the sounds of the UPS truck, and I run out and flag down the driver if I hear him coming down my street. My next door neighbor gets a UPS delivery every other day, it seems, making it quite convenient for me to simply run my boxes over when I see the truck parked in front of my neighbors' house.

When 5:00 rolls around and if I've missed one or the other, that's when I start making plans to make a run for the nearest UPS drop-off location or for the post office such that my items make it out on that day's pick-up. But I generally won't waste my time or gas if I don't have to, and you'd better believe, at today's gas prices, if I need to head out at all, I am going to think of two or three other stops I need to make while I'm out to make the most efficient use of my time and gas.

I can hit the post office, UPS, an ATM, drop off a movie at the movie kiosk, buy lottery tickets, fill up the car, return movies at the library and get bread and milk, all in the same trip. And since I print out all of my postage at home, there is NEVER standing in lines at my post office. It's kind of a neat feeling walking in to the post office with a dozen boxes and dropping them off at the counter, totally by-passing the line altogether, as the 12 people in line watch with amazement my efficiency and the fore-thought I had to do what they likely could have done at home, but didn't.

There may be times when you'll need to physically stand in line at the post office. I've done this on occasion, but I minimize the times when I need to do so. You'd better believe that I have the phone number for the post office stored in my cell, and if I walk in and there's a line of 18 people waiting for two clerks, I am going to be calling the branch manager and telling him, "Hi, I am in your lobby at the moment, and there are 18 people in line for two clerks...." I guarantee that works to speed things up. It's not that I am trying to be an ass, it's just that I demand just as good service from my post office as that which I am delivering to my own customers.

In most cases, your buyers are going to decide which carrier they wish for you to use to ship their item. In most cases, if your listings are set up properly, your buyer will choose your item, which shipping method they want, buy your item and pay for it, all in a matter of minutes. This is how it happens to me 99% of the time. In most cases the buyer is going to opt for the cheapest means of shipping that I offer.

A buyer may buy a toy from me for $25, and pay $9.75 for USPS Parcel Post shipping. A little bit of calculating on my end shows me that UPS Ground will ship it for $7.60. Usually I will send the buyer an email saying that "I'd be happy to upgrade to the faster UPS Ground...." I won't tell the buyer that the reason I'd be happy to do so is because is because in this case UPS is $2.15 cheaper, or else the buyer is going to want a refund. The buyer is likely going to be ecstatic to get the faster upgrade. I like to get a tacit approval from my buyer to switch carriers before I actually do so, but usually this isn't an issue- most will willingly agree for a faster upgrade for no additional cost to them.

The reason for my desire to get an approval from my buyer is simple. What if I upgrade and switch carriers, and in doing so, the switched-to carrier ends up delivering the item damaged? The buyer is going to come back with "Well, if you had shipped by the other carrier that I had originally wanted, this wouldn't have happened." Maybe. Maybe not. The other carrier is just as likely to damage the item, right?

Items getting damaged or lost in the mail is pretty much the exception rather than the rule. If you pack things well, you'll find that 99%+ of your items will arrive safely, undamaged. Sure, one or two are going to experience some sort of delay, damage, getting lost, etc. But the standard rule is that pretty much everything
you ship within the US is going to arrive safely. Just be aware that things can and do sometimes go wrong.

Shipping internationally is another issue. Here, pretty much the only shipper available is the post office. Yes, UPS does offer international shipping, but their rates are generally prohibitive. The post office's international rates simply can't be beat. Check out my post involving selling to buyer in other countries for more information.

Finally I'd like to discuss shipping over-sized items. The post office and UPS will ship things that fit within their size guidelines. They will not ship oversize items. When in doubt, call the carriers 1-800 number and ask if they can ship your wooden rocking horse to Utah, and if so, what the rate will be.

Greyhound, however, can and will ship over-sized items. And they'll do it quickly, and quite inexpensively. So that large wooden rocking horse that neither UPS, USPS nor FedEx will touch, Greyhound will accept, and at a rate that would beat the other three (if the other three did accept the item).

Should I Sell Internationally?

2012-05-27T20:52:00.003-07:00

Another good question. This is something that will be let up to your own judgement. I will mention some of the pro's and con's here and allow you to decide.

The most obvious advantage to selling overseas is an increase in your potential buyer base. Ideally you'll want to have the greatest number of buyers as possible who have the potential to buy your items. And with paypal, someone in Turkey can buy your shirt, someone in Bangkok can buy your vintage Mickey Mouse watch and someone in Argentina can buy your set of mermaid earrings.

It will not matter where the buyer lives, or what currency he uses. Paypal will convert his currency into dollars (if you are a seller living in the US). If you live in the UK and your buyer lives in Chile, your buyer will pay in Chilean pesos, and you will get paid in British pounds. Whatever the exchange rate is between the two currencies on the date of the transaction will be the standard used to make the conversion.

So, if you are a US seller, you will be paid in US dollars, regardless of what currency the buyer uses, or where he or she lives.

Expanding your customer base is about the only advantage to selling internationally.

The flip side- there is always a flip side- is that selling internationally opens up a whole new can of worms for sellers, and that can of worms is called delivery confirmation.

When I ship something from Cincinnati to any other destination in the US, I can opt for delivery confirmation (sometimes referred to as tracking) on the item. In doing so, I will know, usually within 24 hours of the delivery time, of when the parcel was delivered. And knowing this is as good as gold. A buyer cannot email me and say he never received the item, as long as delivery confirmation (DC) says that it was delivered. Oh, he can claim that he hasn't received his item, but as long as DC says he did, it's as good as your buyer having received the item. Period. There is no disputing DC.

Your US buyer can tell you he didn't receive the item, tell ebay and paypal he didn't receive your item, and plaster it on a billboard for everyone to see, but as far as ebay and paypal are concerned, if DC says it was delivered, it was delivered. Case closed.

Now, here is where it gets a little tricky. You can sell to any buyer on the planet, and ship it to your buyer anywhere on the planet that has a delivery system. Proving that the item was delivered is another story. You see, DC is pretty much only available for buyers living in Canada, the UK and in the US. I say "pretty much", because, for practically all intents and purposes, DC is pretty much impossible outside of the US, UK and Canada.

So, if you sell something to someone in Bulgaria, Bangladesh or Kenya, and ship it, how would you ever know if it was delivered?

You wouldn't.

All your buyer would have to do is email ebay and/ or paypal and say "I bought this item for $44.99 and I never received it." Ebay and paypal would contact you to see if you have DC, proving its' delivery. In most cases, you will not be able to provide this because in most cases, DC simply isn't possible. Other countries have mail service, to be sure, but do those mail carriers in all those other countries carry those little hand-held scanning devices to read the bar code DC label?

It's doubtful.

So, you are taking a big risk with selling to anyone who lives anywhere outside the US, UK and Canada.

Sure, you do have some options that will CYA. You can always add shipping insurance on parcels shipped overseas. Insurance is always an added cost, and one which you'll undoubtedly pass on to your buyers.

I always like to think that people overseas are just as honest as I am, but who's to say that your buyer over in Poland receives your item that you shipped AND then tells you that he didn't receive it? Without DC, you would have absolutely no way to know. If you shipped your item, and if your buyer received it, and you can't prove that he received it, and then files an "item not received" case with ebay, you will most certainly lose, since you can't prove otherwise, and you will be force to refund the buyers' ENTIRE purchase price.

Sure, you can try not to, but ebay will find out, and will then literally force you to refund the payment.

So, your buyer in Poland files an "item not received" case, and you have to issue a complete refund. Since you couldn't verify delivery one way or the other, if you had placed insurance on the item prior to shipment, you could try your hand at filing an insurance claim with USPS.

Insurance would pretty much be your only recourse if you have an international buyer who claims to not have received your item.

There is one other option, and it's hardly fool-proof at that. There is an obscenely-expensive form of international mail that does provide DC, and that is Global Express Mail. I'll abbreviate it a GEM. GEM is extremely expensive, quite fast, and offers DC, but again, will the delivery guy over in Poland actually scan your GEM package to indicate it was delivered?

Who knows. GEM mail has a tracking/ DC number, so, in theory, DC should be possible, but it's always a gamble.

And since GEM is so extremely expensive, you're going to have very few international buyers who will even want it. GEM is to international mailing what overnight delivery is to US parcels: it's extremely expensive, yet fast. Heck, even few US buyers will ever want something overnighted. I've only had a couple cases myself, and they were pretty much last-minute items that my buyer needed overnighted to try to beat a December 25th delivery deadline.

So, that pretty much sums up selling overseas. If you have to ship to anywhere besides Canada and the UK, you'd better include some form of insurance, because that will likely be your only recourse if the item isn't delivered (or even if it is delivered, and your buyer claims it wasn't!).

Something about the idea of someone over in Poland, Germany, Albania, Paraguay or Mongolia having received my item, then falsely claiming not to have done so, then filing a claim through ebay to get a paypal refund really rubs me the wrong way, so much so, that I pretty much refuse to ship to any address outside the US, UK or Canada. Period.

Other sellers don't care. I do. It's a matter of principle. I simply do not want to set myself up to get scammed, because it's simply going to happen. I hate to sound so negative, but I simply don't want to place myself in such situations.

When Should I Create & Submit My Listing?

2012-05-27T17:52:00.001-07:00

In the real estate business, the old saying "Location, location, location" is paramount. On ebay, it's "Timing, timing, timing."

If you are creating ebay store listings, as I generally do, timing doesn't matter much in most cases. I have my listings set up such that my listings run in 30-day long cycles, and if it doesn't sell in any given 30-day cycle, the listing simply re-cycles, or repeats for another 30-day cycle, forever, or until the item sells. I never have to worry about re-listing things after one cycle has ended. These are called "Good till Cancelled" listings because the listings will run indefinitely, or until they end up in a sale, or end up being cancelled by the seller.

Auction listings are another story. Here, timing is crucial.

Each time you are getting ready to post an auction on ebay, you'd better have one critical question in mind: Where will the bidders and buyers be when this listing is about to expire? Here is why timing is so critical: You want your listings to end when a majority of the ebay population (your potential bidders) are going to be awake, focused, at home, and on their computers. Why? Because you want them to be sitting there, at home, at their computers, watching the listing expiration countdown timer, all the while with their fingers on the "Bid Now" button, or, even better, "Increase Your Maximum Bid".

It's pretty hard for them to be at their computers bidding on your auction item if they're asleep, at work, at church or for any other reason away from their computers.

Sure, there are programs and applications that will allow savvy bidders to place bids on items hours or even days before an item is to expire, and then to have those bids cast out onto ebay ONLY at the last possible second before the listing is to end.

If you sit and watch your items' bid history as the 7-day long listing cycle progresses (I mention a 7-day as that is the most frequently-used auction format cycle, but there are longer as well as shorter durations. The whole concept of timing remains the same no matter which cycle you use), you'll notice that you may get one bid the first day, no bids on days two - four, another bid on day five, two more on day six, and seventeen on day seven, the end date. And of those 17, 15 will have been placed within the last 15 minutes of the listing.

This is especially true of really hot, in-demand items.

So, let's get back to timing.

While there is no clear-cut answer as to just when you should start a listing, let's ask ourselves a couple basic questions. Where are your buyers an bidders most likely to live? When are they most likely to be at home?

The answer to the first is likely going to be a resident of the US, right? And, while I am not trying to exclude Hawaii or Alaska or any of the territories, the majority of the population lives in the lower 48 states, which gives us a four-hour window (as there are four time zones covering the lower 48). And most of your buyers and potential bidders will be home after 6 pm.

I know, I know.... I am going to catch some flak from the night-shifters and graveyard-shifters. That's why I said most buyers and bidders. When you go fishing, you want to cast your net where most of the fish are. It's impossible to catch all of them.

So, that said, it's a safe bet about 60 - 70% of your potential bidders are going to be home after 6 pm in your time zone. I live in Cincinnati, in the eastern time zone, so I would want a listing to end somewhere around 10 pm on a weeknight. This is important, because you want to give your west coast bidders a chance to get home from work, and in front of their computers, and hopefully they, too, will not have forgotten that tonight is the night your listing ends.

I wouldn't want to time one of my own listings such that it ends at 6 pm my time, because that means it will end at 3 pm Pacific time. You also don't want to list your item past 11 pm, because then your Eastern time zone bidding pool will start to doze off.

So, it's important to list your item at around 10 pm, because it is going to end seven days later, right at 10 pm, or at the same exact time you listed it seven days prior.

Now, the actual ending day is just as important as the ending time. I'd recommend a Monday - Thursday as decent ending days, which means, for a 7-day listing, you are going to start them on a Monday - Thursday. Why not a Friday or Saturday evening? It's pretty obvious: those are many people's times to go out drinking, dancing and partying. Those people likely won't spend the evening at home waiting for your listing to end to see if they've won it or not, and miss a night out of boozing and partying with their friends.

Also equally as important is if any major holiday or event is going on a week from now. For example, I likely wouldn't list an item an exact week before Thanksgiving Day or the day after Thanksgiving Day , or July 4th, or Christmas Day or New Years. I always keep a calendar handy on the wall behind my computer desk. I've actually gone through it and placed green "L" (for Listing) on every day throughout the year when I can submit an auction listing. If there is not a green "L" on any particular date, it means that for some reason (either the ending date is a Friday or Saturday night, or ends on a major holiday, for example) those are not good days to start up a 7-day auction listing.

That's not to say that I couldn't run a 3-day listing or a 10-day listing, because those are alternatives as well. It just seems that I get the most bang for my buck with a 7-day listing, and that seems to be what most people use as well.

So, to summarize, I've found the best days and times to start a 7-day listing are Monday - Thursdays at about 10 pm, assuming there isn't a major holiday or some other event on the same ending date a week later.

Things You Need to Do to CYA

2012-05-14T19:12:00.002-07:00

As a seller, you will need to continually be one step ahead of your buyers. Did you even wonder why the official rules of any game or contest can cover pretty much half of a bedroom door of tiny print? That's the contest operators' way of CYA. You need to be doing the same thing. Why? Because the minute you let your guard down, there will be someone who will try to take advantage of you.

Now, there are plenty of ways to CYA. I will list some of my tricks here.

Most of your CYAing will be done in your listing description. You will need to be extremely descriptive in your listings. Sizes, colors, dimensions, included accessories, shipping methods, whether or not you are including batteries, whether the item being listed was tested for operability, etc.

If the toy you are selling takes two AA batteries, it helps to mentioned that "this toy takes two AA batteries (not included)..."

If you are going to offer free shipping on a listing, it doesn't hurt to state something to the effect of "... Free shipping will be at the most economical rate I can find. If you need the item expedited, please be prepared to pay for an expedited means of delivery..."

If you simply were to say, "Free shipping on this item.", well, who's to say just what free shipping means? You might get a buyer who thinks free shipping means overnight delivery. Unless you specify and be extremely clear in your description, you will be opening yourself up to a whole new can of worms each and every time.

There have been times when I have listed an item, but shown two identical items in a picture. I've done this on occasion to show a buyer that the item is available in blue and red, for example. I needed to be extremely specific and had to mention "... although there are two items shown in the first picture, the listing is for ONE ITEM ONLY..."

Many times I will place a small ordinary item (a quarter, ordinary AA battery, empty can of Coke) next to the item I am selling. Doing this is an excellent way for your buyer to judge just how big or small the item is, because who, after all, doesn't know how big a quarter, AA battery or can of soda is? I have to be specific and say that such size-comparison items are shown for size-comparison only, and are not included.

Your return policy is another area where you will need to be extremely specific. Here is an exact copy of my return policy: "Returns generally only accepted if we made an egregious error in the listing (for example, if we described an item as red and we shipped a blue item). Most of our items are vintage, antique, or used, and therefore cannot be expected to be in brand new or perfect condition. Items are described to the best of our ability. It is the buyers' responsibility to ensure that the item as described meets his or her approval or requirements BEFORE purchase. It is not acceptable to return an item that we described as being in excellent condition, if the buyers' opinion differs over trivial matters. An older, vintage or antique item can reasonably be expected to have a few very minor dings or minor blemishes and still be considered to be in excellent condition overall. The buyer has every opportunity to ask questions about the condition of items and/ or ask to see additional pictures of items BEFORE making a purchase. Additionally, buyers pay for all return shipping & insurance costs. We will reimburse if we were responsible for the error. We do not accept returns on damaged or broken items, as that is what shipping insurance is for. Any non-damaged or non-broken items MUST be returned in the same condition as listed in the original listing. Any questions, please ask before purchase."

It sounds reasonable enough. The intent was to convey that I fully expect buyers to buy responsibly and think clearly and rationally before buying something. I am not WalMart. I do not want buyers buying something and returning it a week later because they didn't like it. That's WalMart's policy... not mine.

Clearly stating that the buyer will pay for return shipping unless it is my error, and in such cases I will pay for return shipping. Of all the thousands of items I've shipped, I've only had to pay for return shipping twice due to an error on my part.

Now, as of late, ebay's made some changes and kind of put us sellers in a corner by pretty much forcing us to have a return policy. And, it really doesn't even matter if you do or don't have a return policy anyways. If you say that you do not accept returns, and a buyer actually returns an item to you, and can prove that you received the item back, you will either refund the buyers' full payment, or ebay will do it for you.

Additionally, one of my stipulations is that I fully expect the item to be returned to me in the same exact condition as when it left my possession. There's no reason why any seller should expect any less. I mean, if I am going to offer a refund, the least I would expect is the item returned in the same condition such that I can re-list it and try to sell it to another buyer for the same amount as the first paid. That will be awfully hard to do if the item is returned in any less shape than when I first shipped it out.

Although it's kind of rare, you may get a buyer who's bought your nice item with the sole intent of replacing yours with his old beat up item, and then trying to send you his old beat up identical item back to you for a refund. It's happened to me. Here is where all the pictures you took of the item will come in handy. Chances are, you are going to know within 10 seconds of opening up the returned item whether or not it's the same thing you shipped out three weeks ago or not. If it clearly isn't, take lots of pictures, and get a hold of ebay, and tell them what your buyer is up to, and that you have no intention of offering a refund. They will likely want to see the pictures of the item your buyer sent back to you claiming it's the same thing you shipped out.

Always be one step ahead of your buyers, and always CYA!

Who's Responsible?

2012-05-13T21:20:00.003-07:00

Many new buyers are confused over ebay policies, and I am here to try to straighten them out for you. One of the biggest areas of confusion lies with just who is responsible for an item once it leaves your possession, and is left in the hands of the post office or UPS for delivery.

In two words, I can sum it up quite effectively: YOU ARE. Now, you may be wondering, "How on earth can I, as a seller, be held responsible for something that's not even in my possession?"

The reason is quite simple. You are ultimately responsible for an item until it ends up in the buyers' hands. Just because you drop off a box at the post office does not relieve you of responsibility of that item. Now, that's not to say that you can't protect yourself and the item while it's out of your possession. In fact, I strongly encourage it, by means of added insurance when shipping all items.

Unless you are willing to gamble on every item you ship by not adding insurance, then you are in for some big surprises.

Buying insurance for items you sell and ship transfers the economic liability for any loss or damage to the item while in transit to the buyer, but the overall responsibility still lies with the seller. You are responsible for the safe delivery of items to your buyer such that they arrive in the same condition as described in the listing. Anything can happen while an item is in transit resulting in loss or damage to an item, and your only recourse is to have had the item insured prior to shipping it.

If you sell a glass vase, and it arrives broken or in any way damaged beyond what was mentioned in the description, you'd better believe that your buyer is either going to ask for a refund or in some other way ask to be compensated. After all, why should the buyer be at a loss for the item. You may be asking yourself, "Well? Why should I?"

Exactly. Why should you, when the package was out of your possession while in the hands of the post office? The answer is, you shouldn't. That's why you insure items. Your job as a seller is to package things adequately to ensure a safe delivery and protection against most routine things that can happen and damage or destroy an item you've shipped. Likewise, another part of your job is to insure the item as well, to cover any losses that you or the buyer may incur as a result of any damage. Adding a proper amount of insurance is the only way to do this.

So, if an item arrives damaged or broken, this is pretty much what I tell a buyer: "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Please, keep the box, the item, and the shipping materials on hand. The post office (or UPS) may wish to see them. I will file a claim on my end for you and try to get this resolved for you as soon as possible."

Then, go to the website of the carrier you used, and there should be a link or drop-down menu somewhere on the page for filing a claim. Have an ebay page open as well with all your buyers' shipping information handy, because you will likely need your buyers' name & address as well as your own, possibly your buyers' phone number, and the tracking or delivery confirmation number.

You will be able to check boxes for whether the claim check should be sent to you or to your buyer. Personally, I think it's better that the check be sent to me. This is because once I've gotten the claim check for the damaged goods, I will then log in to my paypal account and reverse the payment to the buyer. The reason for this is simple: Suppose you had to pay paypal a $5 fee for the transfer of funds from the buyers' paypal account to yours on a $100 transfer. So, on a $100 transfer, paypal will get $5 and you'll get the remaining $95. Let's say that UPS was the carrier that damaged the vase that your buyer bought, and wants to send someone a $100 check. If the check comes to YOU, the seller, then you'd simply deposit the check, and then reverse the payment in your paypal account. But, here's the trick.... reversing the payment does NOT take $100 out of your paypal account. It takes the $95 you received, PLUS the $5 paypal took as it's fee, adds the two together and THEN forwards the buyer $100.

If you have UPS send the buyer the check directly, you will have effectively lost the $5 paypal fee. A payment reversal reverses the entire transaction, including any fees paypal shaved off the top.

I like UPS' claims process much more than I like the post office's antiquated system, and, paypal automatically offers up to $100 of included insurance on every shipment. If you ship an item worth $150, you simply buy an additional $50 worth of insurance.

I see on so many ebay listings something to the effect of: "... if you want this item insured, add $X.XX because once it leaves my possession, I am no longer responsible for the item..."
Nothing could be further from the truth.

In one of my other posts I mentioned what could conceivably happen if you ship an item uninsured and it arrives damaged, broken, or doesn't arrive at all. The cards are stacked overwhelmingly against you, the seller, in such cases.

Bottom line: insure everything you ship, unless you like to gamble. But as with all forms of gambling, you will get burned one of these times, and it will just so happen to be on an item worth $100 or more. Without insurance, the loss will come out of your pocket. Period.

Checks, Money Orders, Cash, and Paypal

2012-05-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ah... the big four means of payment. Which are right for you as an ebay seller? Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's review some of them, shall we? I'll start in the same order as the title, then first mention some of the advantages, verses some of the disadvantages.

Checks:

The advantages are obvious: you don't have to pay a fee on accepting a check. It's also a nice feeling walking out to the mailbox and opening it up to see five envelopes from five buyers, with five different checks.

Disadvantages: Checks are only as fast as the post office can get them to you. Sure, a buyer could overnight you a check, but who's going to do that? No one. So, there's a time delay.

Second, what happens if the buyer wrote you a bad check? You could call the issuing bank and ask if there are funds in that sellers' checking account to cover the check, but that's no guarantee that the funds will be there two days later when your bank tries to collect on the amount from the buyers' bank. If you deposit a check in to your checking account, and it bounces, your bank may try to collect on the bounced check fee from YOU! Call your bank and ask them who is responsible for a bounced check fee when you try to deposit a bad check from a buyer, you.... or the buyer?

Checks really are a bad rap, pretty much all the way around. The only real benefit to you is avoiding the paypal fee, which, in and of itself, really isn't all that much. The paypal fee is far less than what ebay is charging you!

There are a couple rare cases when I will accept a personal check. I do my primary banking at Fifth Third Bank here in Cincinnati. Fifth Third, like many major banks across the US, have branches all over, and their territory encompasses numerous states. If a buyer tells me that he wishes to write a check drawn on a Fifth Third account (or drawn on any other account associated with a bank than I have an account with), I will accept it. Then, it's a simple matter of walking in to a Fifth Third bank, for example, and cashing the check. If the check is no good, obviously it's not going to get cashed, and I will not have incurred any fees. The problem is depositing checks drawn on ANY other bank other than one with which I do business. Those are the ones I can't cash, and would otherwise be forced to deposit- and take the risks of the check being worthless.

If the check turns out to be worthless and un-cashable, I am not out a whole lot. I've only lost the time it took me to drive to the bank and back and stand in line, and the nice thing about Fifth Third banks is that they're conveniently located in many of the Kroger grocery stores I visit regularly. So, even if I did waste a trip to the bank trying to cash a worthless check, I still will make the best of it and at least grab a gallon of milk and a few other things I am low on since I'm already at the store as it is.

Besides, I can use my time standing in line at the bank productively by checking my emails on my cell phone, and seeing if I've sold anything or if I have any buyer questions since the last time I checked in. And to top it all off, even if I can't cash a worthless check, I can still hit the ATM and pull some funds out of my business checking account ('funds' are my way of calling the money I've made from the things I've sold, and have transferred from my paypal account to my business checking account), and deposit them in to my personal checking account.

See how I've really got this time management thing worked out? Use every trip, and every moment to your advantage like I do!

Money Orders (MOs):

Same advantages and disadvantages as with checks. If you decide you want to accept MOs, or have a buyer who is begging and pleading with you to accept a check or MO, I'd say accept the MO. One advantage to MOs is that the buyer pretty much has to go to someplace like a post office or a bank and actually hand money over the counter to get a MO. So, the money is there.... somewhere.

If I have a buyer who wants to send me a check or MO, I insist upon a post office MO. Here's why: First, there are plenty of post offices around. There shouldn't be too much of an issue for your buyer to locate a post office to buy a MO, then to buy a 44 cent stamp and mail you the MO right there at the post office. Second, when the MO arrives, I simply drive to my local PO and cash the MO. Third, the PO is going to tell me right there on the spot whether the MO is good or not. I don't need to take it to my bank and deposit it when the PO is going to do its' part and verify it right then and there in front of me before they cash it.

Sounds like a lot of alphabet soup, doesn't it? For me, POMO's are pretty much all I will accept outside of paypal. One more reason for accepting POMOs is that I pretty much make a trip to the PO anyways to drop off boxes at least once every other day. It's not like a trip to the closest PO (about a mile away) is any big trouble for me, especially when I'm there several times a week as it is.

Cash:

I never accept cash from a buyer, unless it from a local buyer who wants to meet me in person and pick up the item personally to save on shipping costs. In such cases, which are fairly rare, I make the buyer sign a note that he picked up the item from me and that he inspected it on site before paying for it and driving off. This should cover your behind should he try to tell you later that "Hey! This item isn't as described!"

I have a few other stipulation that I make such local pick-up buyers follow to save me time and headaches. I covered them in my blog entitled "Help! A buyer is trying to scam me!"

About the only advantages to a cash payment is the immediacy of the payment, and the fee avoidance. But there is a downside: what if the buyer hands you a counterfeit $20, $50 or $100. Are you going to know it's counterfeit? Are you going to check it with one of those detector pens? Your call.

Paypal:

OK, the advantages: Paypal is immediate. You get your payment immediately. You can even sell something on craigslist, for example, and get paid through paypal. That's how commonplace paypal is. Another advantage: paypal is going to have a record of the transaction. If you follow paypal's guidelines for selling, paypal is going to back you up if anything goes wrong in the transaction. This is called the Seller Protection program. A third benefit is that you can easily print USPS and UPS postage from your paypal account, for free. No need to take all your packages to the post office or UPS and stand in lines and pay for postage at either place. And you'll likely get a discount for paying for your postage online rather than going to a post office. And forth, if you ever need to refund a buyer a payment for any reason, or even a partial refund, it can easily be done through paypal. No need to write out a check to a buyer for a refund.

There are probably more advantages, but these are just what I've thought of off the top of my head.

The disadvantages are few. I can only think of two. First is the paypal fee. You will never get out of paying a paypal fee. And, although you get paid immediately, in order to access your funds free of fees, you'll have to opt for an ACH transfer of funds from your paypal account to your linked checking account- a process that takes anywhere from 2 - 4 business days.

To summarize, you have a number of payment options. I hope I've been able to shed some light on the four primary means of payment, and it should be clear to you just which is the best (paypal). Yes, you will incur some additional paypal fees, but consider them to be just another cost of doing business. I am not suggesting that you are bound to taking paypal payments 100% of the time. Do whatever you wish. At least now you will know some of the pros and cons of each payment method- enough to make an informed decision which best suits you an your ebay business.

Fees

2012-05-13T16:53:00.001-07:00

Yes, fees. You didn't think you were going to get away with listing and selling on ebay for free, did you? No, nothing in life is free, and ebay is no different.

There are two main types of fees that all sellers see on a regular basis: insertion fees (I'll refer to them as IFs) and final value fees (FVFs). Generally speaking, you'll be paying these every time you list something, as well as every time something sells.

In addition, there are paypal fees, which I'll discuss after I'm done discussing all the ebay fees.

Ebay seems to be continually changing its fee structure. And that fee structure is quite complicated. Your fees will vary depending on whether you're listing a drill or a car. They will vary depending on whether you are listing in auction format, or fixed price. They may vary depending on which category you are listing under.

It would make little sense for me to list the fee structure here, as it might change tomorrow. Rather, I'll simply list the ebay page which explains the fees to you: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

As you can see, the fees are quite varied. Currently, ebay is running a promotion by which sellers can list their first 50 auction items for free, then pay an IF (insertion fee) after that point. It didn't always used to be this way. And, this promotion may end next week, who knows? That's why I am not spending a whole lot of time telling you about current fees and regulations in my blog, as they can change at any time.

Let's say you've already listed 50 auction items for free this month, and are ready to list your 51st. Here's where you will need to pay attention, because pretty much every listing decision you make from this point forward will have an affect on what you will pay ebay at the end of the month.

Suppose you have a little trinket that you picked up at a yard sale for $1. You think it might sell for $25. You can either list it in an auction format, or as a fixed price. Remember, an auction format (AF) means people will potentially be bidding on your item. I say 'potentially' because it's always possible that NO ONE will bid on it, resulting in a non-sale. You will likely want to start out your AF listing at $.99 rather than $1. That's because an auction IF is 15 cents more at $1 than it is at $.99. That's just the way it is.

You could also list it as an auction, beginning at $24.99 (not $25, because $25 starts a new pricing tier, and starting an item at $25 will cost you $.75, whereas, if you start the bidding at $24.99, the IF is only $.50. I know, it's only a matter of a quarter, but, over time, all those quarters will add up. At the end of the month, do you want to owe ebay $47.50, or $66.25? Your choice. Study the fee structure page. Print it out if you need to, and tape it to the wall in front of your computer.

Now, here's another catch at deciding what to start an item out in terms of price: Suppose you think it will ultimately sell for $25. You may be right. But, it could potentially not sell AT ALL. Suppose no one else thinks it's worth $25. Then, you'll end up still having the item, because no one bid on it. And it cost you $.50 to list it. Now, you have $1.50 invested in the item (the $1 you paid for the item at the yard sale, + the $.50 in fees you already paid to list it once on ebay.

Now, in most cases, you can re-list an unsold item on ebay once for free. Your $1 yard sale trinket that didn't sell at $24.99 may be relisted for a second run on ebay for free, meaning you won't have to pay that $.50 IF again. I italicized 'may', above, because ebay doesn't offer free relistings on everything. You'll have to do some checking on whether your item qualifies as a free relist.

So, if it didn't sell for $24.99 the first time around, do you think it'll sell a second time around for the same price? Likely not.

However, let's start all over again. Same item. Different tactics. This time we list it, but start out the bidding at $.99. Even if you only get one bid on it, you are only out $.11, right ($.10 for the listing fee, plus $.01 because you originally paid $1 for it, and you lost a penny when it sold for $.99)? Do you think your chances of it selling above $.99 are fairly good? Chances are, that it will. Suppose a week goes by and the final sale price is $16.50. Less than the $25 you wanted, but hey, it still sold, right? And, you didn't lose a cent! In fact, you made a little bit!!!

Keep in mind that once you list your item, it may not be available on all ebay's computers and servers for up to 8 hours later. I know, I don't like it either. If I am paying for a full week of an item being listed on ebay (336 hours), I want it visible to potential bidders for 336 hours, not 328. But, it's neither here nor there, as we have little control over it anyways, so why even worry about it. I generally don't worry about it too much- I only bring it up because if you list an item, and turn around five minutes later and search for it on ebay, chances are 50/50 that even you won't be able to find your own listing. It's just because it takes up to eight hours for all ebay's computers to index one another and all get on the same page.

Also, keep in mind, that, even though you may list an item on a Friday evening, and even though it's visible when you do a search for your own item, and find your own item on ebay 30 minutes later, don't get discouraged if you don't get any bids within the first hour. Or even the first 24 hours. Or even the first three or four days. You see, most activity on listings seems to take place within the last 12 hours of a listing expiring. Just is. This is especially true for hot items.

Also, people may be a little wary of bidding on your item, particularly if you are a new, untested, unproven seller. Your buyers and bidders will undoubtedly be checking out your feedback before they bid. I know I do. That's part of the reason why it helps you tremendously to have a few feedbacks under your belt from other sellers (after you yourself have made a few purchases on ebay). As your feedback continues to grow, sellers will become more and more willing to buy from you. They'll see that you have a 100% +FB score, and a page full of nice comments left by others in other transactions you've been involved with. This feedback score, and feedback history is like your credit score on ebay. As you go around the block a few times, more and more people will begin to trust you as a seller.

OK.... I've gotten off the topic of fees a little bit. I hope I am not boring you when I go off-topic. At least I am going on different tangents on things that I think will help you.

So. Your item sold for $16.50, and it will cost $8.80 to ship the item to the buyer. Buyers pay for shipping, unless you dictate otherwise, so the total cost to the buyer will be $25.30. Let's keep track of your fees and costs as we progress through this example (I say fees AND costs, because fees are just one part of your overall costs): $1 for the item at the yard sale + $.10 to list it = $1.10 so far.

Now let's go back to that ebay fee page and see what the final value fee (FVF) will be. I can see that ebay's going to slap you with a 9% fee when the item sells. It sold for a total of $25.30 in our example, including shipping, so 9% of $25.30 is $2.28. On your handy dandy pocket calculator, simply type in 25.3 x 9 % = and it should give you 2.277 as the answer. Well, that figure is a dollar amount. Round up to $2.28 as your FVF.

$1 = $.10 + $2.28 = $3.38 in costs so far. But we're not done yet.

You'll likely already have set up your paypal account, and your buyer is likely going to pay you with a paypal payment. Unless you accept checks and/ or money orders (quite rare nowadays, but it can still happen), you are going to accept paypal as a means of payment. I strongly recommend accepting paypal as a means of accepting payments.

Paypal, too, has a tiered system of fees, meaning that the fees I pay paypal are likely going to be different than yours. Payal fees are based in part upon the volume of money paypal processes for you. Paypal has different rules and criteria for determining what the paypal fee is going to be. Let's just generalize here and say that the paypal fee is going to be 4.9% of the transaction total + $.39. Weird, I know, but I didn't make up the rules.

OK, so 4.9% of $23.30 is $1.14, + $.39 = $1.53 as a paypal fee. Paypal took $1.53 right off the top, which you will NEVER see, as their fee for the transaction. In fact, paypal won't even deposit $23.30 in to your account. They will slice off their fee ($1.53 in this case), and deposit the remaining 21.77 in to your paypal account.

So, let's review ALL our costs: $1 + $.10 + $2.28 + $1.53 = $4.91.

So, let's figure out our profit. Let's take the dollar amount the item sold for, NOT INCLUDING SHIPPING: $16.50. Subtract all our costs thus far: $16.50 - $4.91 = $11.59.

Your profit on that $1 item would be approximately $11.59. Keep in mind, this is just an example. I generalized a lot here. There are plenty of other things I glossed over, but I hit all of the main points.

Can you live with a profit of $11.59 on that single item? That depends on you. But what if that $1 yard sale item ended up selling for $37.90? Or $55.15? Or $92.02? It can happen.

Here is where having a large number of item in inventory can pay off. Sure, I might only make $11.59 in profit on one item, $5 on another, $26 on a third, $18.50 on a forth, $3.95 on a fifth and $10.88 on a sixth. Add all that up. My profit for the day might be $75.92, after all six items that I listed sold. Or it could be $50. Or it could be $250.

I would venture to guesstimate that my average per-item profit is close to $25. And I am averaging selling 10 - 12 items a day. You do the math. It works out well in my favor, and the same can happen to you.

I hope this sheds a little light on the fees you'll be committed to paying day in and day out as an ebay seller. Sure, there are some ways around some of the fees. You could avoid paying the paypal fees, and only accept checks or money orders. That will save you a small sum.

But, the flip side is that you'll lose in a couple ways. Not only will you lose most of your buyers, most of whom will WANT to pay with paypal, but, what happens when you deposit a check from a buyer and it bounces? Who do you think gets charged that $37.50 bounced check fee? If your bank can't get it out of the person who wrote you the check, they are going to come after YOU for it. The bank is going to collect on that bounced check fee from someone.

Feedback

2012-05-09T16:58:00.002-07:00

Feedback. On ebay, feedback is the way buyers and sellers "rate" one another as participants in the same transaction. It used to be that buyers and sellers could EACH give the other either +FB or -FB. This policy was changed a few years back, resulting in ONLY buyers being able to leave -FB.

I was somewhat ambivalent about such a move. At first, I hated the move, but then grew to see it as largely unimportant. Of far more import are a sellers' DSR's (detailed seller ratings).

But, back to feedback. As a new ebay user, you yourself should grow accustomed to leaving feedback for the other participant in the transaction, regardless of whether you were the buyer or seller. Feedback is completely optional. There is no rule in the ebay playbook requiring either party to leave the other feedback.

As a general rule, I normally leave the other party feedback. As a buyer, I generally wait until I receive the item before leaving feedback. As a seller, I generally wait as long as possible before leaving feedback. As a seller, I can ONLY leave +FB anyways, and I don't really want to reward a buyer with +FB, who may, or who has turned right around and left me with a -FB comment. In most cases, however, I go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to service, so there really isn't any reason for a buyer to leave ME -FB, but, it still can happen.

Maybe a buyer gets me confused with another seller, and leaves me -FB that was meant for the other seller. Maybe I did everything right as a seller, and maybe the post office loses the item, or damages it in transit. Yes, these are also reasons why a seller may decide to hold you accountable and leave you with -FB, however undeserved.

I've written up a few notes about feedback as food for thought for all new ebayers:

Some people on ebay, like myself and many many others, make their living off ebay. Most ebayers are honest and trustworthy folk, presumably like yourself. We may make mistakes, but, given the opportunity, would do everything we could to correct them as best we could.

As you browse ebay, and see the feedback ratings of the sellers from whom you are considering buying, take note of a couple things:

- If that particular seller has a feedback score of 99.0% or higher, chances are you've found a reputable seller. This seller cares about his feedback rating, as well as his overall standing within the ebay community. This seller is likely going to carry high quality items, with very well-written, highly-detailed descriptions. This seller will likely also have a sound guarantee and/ or return policy. This seller will likely also strive to ensure that the things you order are shipped in a timely manner, generally within 48 hours (some make every effort to ship your item the same day!)

- As you see feedback scores drop below 96 or 97, be somewhat cautious. At 95 or below, you should start seeing red flags.

- Note what that sellers' other trading partners have said about that seller. A reputable seller is not going to want to have negative or mediocre remarks left in this feedback area. A reputable seller is going to do everything to ensure that you, the buyer, is satisfied with your purchase.

That said, if you DO happen to encounter a problem AFTER you have received anything off of ebay, the absolute WORST thing you can do is leave the seller negative feedback WITHOUT first trying to contact the seller first.

If you think you've found a reputable seller, chances are good that he/ she may not responsible for whatever it is causing your disappointment. Could the post office have delayed your delivery for some unknown reason? Could the UPS man have broken the item in transit? Could the seller have simply made an HONEST mistake and sent you a flaming red see-through neglige when you ordered a Black & Decker power drill?

ALWAYS give the seller the benefit of the doubt. There should be no exceptions to this rule! Contact the seller, via email at first, then try calling if email doesn't work. Is it possible the seller had an immediate family emergency and cannot answer emails ASAP? Is it possible the sellers' computer crashed or caught a virus, thus preventing the seller from responding immediately? Of course it is! Be reasonable when trying to contact a trading partner.

Many ebay sellers also have a FT job to pay the bills. Keep this in mind as well. Maybe your seller works 10am - 6pm and can not answer your emails immediately. That's just life.

So what... you ordered a drill and received a red neglige. While you are waiting for a reply from your seller, try it on and see if it fits! You might like it. Barring any emergency or other uncontrollable seller circumstances, any reputable seller will reply to your email ASAP (typically within 24 hours; usually much sooner). In your initial email, explain what happened to your seller. Be specific. Mention your ebay user name, the ebay item #, how you paid, when you paid, how much you paid, and include your phone number, too.

In your email, please think twice about what you intend to write. Do NOT be abusive. Do not make threats. Do not get into petty name calling. Don't say you are going to leave the seller a negative if he doesn't refund your money by 3pm. You are not dealing with Wal-Mart or some huge online retailer. You're dealing with another human being, just like yourself. You will get far more accomplished by simply being civil.

Give that buyer the benefit of the doubt. Give him a reasonable amount of time to reply to an email. I would think three days is more than adequate. Then use ebay's contact information to get the sellers' phone number. Try calling, and, if you get a recording, leave a message.

If a week has gone by, and no reply, something is obviously wrong, but don't give a negative just yet. If the buyer has 100% positive thus far, does it make sense that NOW he is going to simply ignore YOU??? Of course not. At this point, if a week's gone by, I would assume there's been a death in the family, or that he's won the Powerball, and now, couldn't care less that you have a red neglige instead of your power drill.

After a week, I'd say it's time to get ebay involved. Ebay Live Chat can help walk you through the steps at that point.

Bottom line:

- Give the seller the benefit of the doubt if something is wrong with your received item,
- Remain civil and don't make threats or otherwise act stupid,
- Give the seller every opportunity to correct the problem, and
- Use negative feedback ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!

You and the buyer might just decide to let you keep the red neglige in lieu of the power drill because you liked how it looked on you!

(Also worth mentioning... the absolute first thing I would do after receiving a disappointing item is to first get on ebay and re-read the item listing. Maybe the problem was with ME!!! Maybe I misread or misunderstood the listing when I read it the first time. Ordinary single-item listings CANNOT be altered after a sale, so if you re-read the listing of the item you bought and see that, clearly, you misread or misunderstood the listing, then clearly the seller is not at fault!)

OK, I've Made Some Money on Some Sales. Now What?

2012-04-27T07:55:00.001-07:00

Well, assuming you've got everything lined up such that you can easily transfer money from your paypal account to your checking or savings account, you can have ready access to your profits in no time at all. Usually it takes 3 - 4 business days for the funds to show up in your bank account once the transfer has been initiated in paypal, but I've seen the funds magically appear in my own personal checking account in as few as two business days.

So, what do you do with this money? The answer??? Anything you wish!!!! It's YOUR money!

Pay off your cell phone bill. Eat out at a nice restaurant. Take the kids or grandkids to an amusement park for the day. Do whatever you want.

My own personal choice was to forgo any immediate splurges on myself. Myself being an ebay seller, I would pour nearly 100% of my profits back in to buying more and more things to list on ebay.

You see, I started with $25. I bought two or three things at some yard sales, and those items made me $40 or $50 in total profits. I used those profits and went out yard-saling the next week. I don't think yard-saling is even a word, but, what the heck.... it is now!

So, this time around, I bought five or six things. Listed and sold them off. Soon, I had $100 a week in ebay profits rolling in. Now, $100 doesn't sound like a whole lot, and it isn't really. But I know about 50 of my friends and family would could use another $100 a week to pay bills!

But, I still wasn't satisfied with just $100 a week. I had a boring factory job that I wished to replace, and to do that, I needed at least $500 a week in profits. So, week after week, I'd continue my search for new inventory. And new inventory was never hard to find. I could easily spend $100 at five yard sales in a matter of two hours and buy things that could easily bring me $200 in profits.

Soon, I was listing 50 - 100 new items a week, and selling 20 - 30 items a week. I wanted to continually be adding to and upping my inventory. Constantly two steps ahead of my buyers. Pretty soon I had 1,000 items in inventory, and was selling 50 - 100 items a week under a variety of user IDs. I'd average selling 75 items a week, and discovered I was making an average profit of $12.50 per item. I was profiting over $900 a week, on average, from ebay sales.

And this was in addition to my boring factory job. While my other factory co-workers were all vying for all the overtime they could get, paying $20 an hour for OT, I was doing everything I could to get out of working overtime! I did not want it! I used to love OT, but, I was making more on ebay, with less effort, and could make that money AT HOME! Why on earth would I want OT??

I was asking other employees if they wanted to work my OT. I begged and pleaded with the boss, who didn't give one iota of concern. His concern was factory production, and I was just another factory robot.

I had had enough, and put in my two-weeks' notice.

So that's my story.

You are free to do whatever you wish with your ebay profits. I always set some aside to pay taxes with, and set up with a local accountant to keep me legal with the IRS. But, by and large, after I'd made the house payment, paid all the bills and what not, 90% of the what was leftover went to buying more and more items to list. I was hooked!! This was so much easier than my factory job, and with all the benefits: no boss, make as much as I want simply by listing more items, work when I want, take off when I want, etc.)

So that's my recommendation: Treat yourself and the husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend or whomever to a celebratory dinner after your first sale, but from then on, for the next four - six months at least, pour every penny of profits back in to your ebay inventory. It's that large inventory that's going to afford you reliable, consistent sales, and, when that happens, you'll be more able to bank on $100, $250, $500, etc. in sales or profits week after week.

How Can I Determine Markup?

2012-04-27T07:26:00.002-07:00

Markup was one method that I used to determine just how well I was profiting from the items I was selling. Markup (or mark-up), is the percentage of profit that you tack on to the price you originally paid for the item. Every store, every factory, every business under the sun operates on some level of markup. It's this markup that translates in to the profits that businesses use to pay employees, pay bills, expand, and buy more inventory.

When you go to a grocery store and buy a gallon of milk for $2.89, there is a certain amount of markup involved in that item. The store certainly didn't pay the farmer $2.89 for that gallon of milk. I have no idea what the grocer paid for that gallon of milk, but let's assume for the sake of the argument that the grocer paid $1.50 for that gallon. So, in this example, the grocers' markup is $1.39 per gallon, or a 92% markup. Now, not all of that markup is profit. Part of that $1.39 goes towards bills (the electric bill, etc.), rent, advertising, salaries and so forth. By the time it's all said and done, of that $1.39 in markup, only $.10 may be profit.

Let's look at one of my examples of an item I sold once. I once bought a collectible 6-pack of beer for $5, and sold it for $75. Here's the formula I use to determine markup:

[(sale price - original price) / original price] x 100 = markup

Let's plug in some numbers. Ready for some algebra? Never thought you'd be using algebra in your ebay sales, did ya?

[(75 - 5) / 5] x 100, or...

[70 / 5] x 100, or...

14 x 100, or

1400% markup

Whoa! Did I just earn 1400% markup on that item? Well, yes and no. How on earth could I have earned so much?

Well, if I had sold the item at $10, that would have been a 100% markup, right? A 100% markup effectively means that I've doubled the price of what I paid, which was $5 for the six-pack.

If you have a handy pocket calculator, try typing in the following equation: 5 + 1400 % =, and what do you get? You get 75, or $75, which was my sale price. So, $5, plus 1400% markup = the $75 sale price.

So, I effectively earned 1400% markup on that single item. Again, that's not my profit. That was just my markup. Profit will always be less than markup, because things will eat in to your profits. Things like those pesty ebay and paypal fees. Shipping supplies that I had to buy to package the six-pack up with (things like 2" packing tape). Add to that the gasoline to drive to the post office. Add to that the electricity it took to power my computer. You get the idea. There will always be costs involved in any business. Costs are unavoidable, so you might as well just accept them and deal with them.

So, although my markup was 1400%, my actual profit was more like 1300% or 1350%. The packing tape I used to box the item up with didn't cost a whole lot, and neither did the little bit of gas I used to drive to post office. But, costs, they are, and they do factor in to the equation.

Perhaps the biggest costs are, yup... you guessed it, the ebay and paypal fees. The ebay fees alone on a $75 item was $4.75, and the paypal fees (the fees paypal took for transferring the money from the buyers' payal account to mine) was about $3. So, about 10% of the sale price was already eaten up by ebay and payal fees alone.

So, my profit on this one single item was: $75 sale price - approx. $10 in fees, - $5 original cost of the item, - $2 in other costs (packing tape, gasoline, electricity to power my computer, etc.) = approximately $58 in profit.

So, $58 profit on a $75 item. Not too bad, huh?

So, we've determined my markup as well as my approximate profit on this one single sale. There have been times when I've seen a near 100,000% markup on an item I sold.

Don't believe me? Using my formula above, calculate my markup on a small book I bought for 50 cents at a yard sale, and sold for $50. [(50 - .50) / .50] x 100. When I do the calculations, I get 99,900% markup, and that's close enough to a 100,000% markup for me!

When was the last time you handed someone two quarters and got back a $50 bill?

I think my all-time record was something close to 250,000% markup. I have it written down somewhere. I spent $50 on some items from a closed-down department store, and walked away with about 1,000 items. I didn't pay per-item, but, rather, paid $50 for all the collective items I carried out of there. That boiled down to paying about five cents for every item I carried off the premises.

One of those items was a 5' tall gumball machine which I sold for $125. Using the calculations, my markup was 249,900%. Again, I ask, when was the last time you handed someone a nickle and they handed you back $125?

The power of ebay!

What if I Don't Want to Stick With Used Vintage Items?

2012-04-27T06:38:00.001-07:00

Then don't!!! LOL

There is no law that requires you to do so. I was just suggesting it as an easy springboard for launching you in to the vast ocean known as ebay. You can sell almost anything on ebay.

There are, however, a number of things that you cannot sell on ebay. Yes, ebay has placed a restriction on some things that you cannot legally sell on ebay. The following ebay page lists such items that either cannot be listed (things such as explosives and machine guns), as well as things that are restricted or have strict guidelines that need to be followed. The page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html

It is up to the seller to know and follow the rules and guidelines for selling on ebay. Sure, you may make a mistake or two here and there and end up listing something you shouldn't have, or not listing something correctly or 100% by the ebay rules. We all make mistakes. Ebay reserves the right to literally remove your listing from its website if the listing is deemed not to be in accordance with its rules and regulations.

Chances are, ebay likely won't catch minor infractions. However, any ebay user can simply report any listing to ebay. Ebay reviews those listings, and if it the listing is found to contain a minor error, ebay may leave the listing as-is, and send the seller an email informing the seller of actions needed to bring the listing in to compliance. Or, ebay may yank the listing altogether, THEN inform you of their actions, and what you need to do to list the item again, this time, hopefully in accordance with ebay's policies.

Here is one example of something I listed a while ago. I acquired a couple vintage, unopened six-packs of vintage Cincinnati beer. I intended to list the six-packs on ebay as unopened collectibles. I certainly didn't want to open each can and pour the contents down the drain. The value of the collectibles rested in the unopened nature of the set, and opening each one for the sake of pouring the beer down the drain would have effectively killed the value of the six-packs. I paid $5 per each six-pack.

Ebay has the following regulations associated with selling beer on ebay: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/alcohol.html

So, pursuant to the regulations, I had to place (by means of simple copy-and-pasting) in my two six-pack listings the five stipulations mentioned on that page.

How much did I sell the six packs for? One sold for $50 and another sold for $75. Quite a nice profit on a $5 item!

So take heed of the ebay rules and regulations. They really are there for the betterment of the site, but are most likely REALLY there due to our own laws and regulations. Ebay is known for its strict adherence to laws.

So, if you prefer not to sell older vintage items, that's perfectly OK. I promise you won't hurt my feelings at all. I was merely making a suggestion in order to get your foot in the door.

You may sell almost anything under the sun on ebay- as long as you are in compliance with the rules and regulations page I listed above.

Like jewelry? Can you make your own unique style of jewelry? Why not sell them on ebay?

Are you a fashion designer? Can you sew and make clothing? Make some unique pieces and sell them on ebay.

Can you fix old cameras? Buy older broken cameras at yard sales, fix them up and sell them to collectors for a hefty profit.

Can you paint? Sell your paintings on ebay.

One gentleman I know goes around to local brick-and-mortar jewelry shops and buys up the clearanced jewelry lots that these stores sell. He buys all the old un-sold inventory from these mom-and-pop stores at deep discounts, then sells the pieces individually on ebay. Seems to do quite well at it, too.

So, my point is, the sky pretty much is the limit. Sure, there will always be things you can't sell, or things that are restricted to some degree. Just do some checking around, and see what you can come up with!

How Many Listing Can I Have?

2012-04-26T18:20:00.001-07:00

The sky is the limit. I don't think ebay has any set limit. Heck, they want you to run as many as you want. Some store sellers have upwards of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000+ concurrent listings on ebay. You can have as many as you want.

Most sellers that I run in to typically will have 10 - 20 listings at any given time. You do what you are comfortable with.

You can sell under multiple ebay seller IDs. You don't need to have all your listings under one seller ID.

One seller I know lists her run-of-the-mill stuff under one ID, and her risque naughty lingerie items under a completely different ID. None of her buyers ever know about the other user ID, and if they do happen to stumble upon it, they would never know that all the items originate from the same seller.

Another seller I know not only lists things for himself, but also makes a little extra income by being a proxy lister. There are any number of names for the same thing, but basically you are listing other people's items for them. They rely on your professionalism, expertise and knowledge of the online selling realm to acquire for them the highest possible price such that they don't have to bother with getting on ebay and creating a seller account, writing up listings, taking pictures and shipping out things once they sold.

How Can I Find Out a Ballpark Value for my Item?

2012-04-26T17:57:00.002-07:00

Well, places such as kbb.com often seek out what prices were paid for new and used cars recently to determine, in part, the values that they post for every make & model under the sun.

There is a similar method that you can easily perform to get a ballpark idea for the item you have. You can do this for just about any item- not just an item that you'd like to list on ebay.

There are two basic methods to get an idea of an items worth using ebay. First and foremost, you can do a search for any particular item, and see what other sellers are listing their item for right now.

Suppose you have a collectible team baseball that you'd like to place a value on. You can easily do a search for such item, on ebay, of course, and see what other sellers currently have their similar or exact items priced at.

However, a more approximate determination can be made by doing a search of the same item, but not by searching through current listings, but by completed listings. If you look along the left side of the screen, you should find an entry that says, quite simply, 'Completed Listings'. Now, notice I did not say to do a search for 'Sold Items'. A completed listing is not necessarily one that ended in a sale. Plenty of listings terminate without a sale. Now, you may be thinking, "Of what use is this to me? I want to know what an item sold for to give me an idea of its' value."

Well, many things can be gleaned from unsold listings. You can review the listings of an unsold item and try to determine just why it didn't sell. Perhaps the price was too high. Perhaps it was priced just right. Perhaps it was priced too low, and it simply didn't sell because the owner made a typographical error in his listing resulting in a diminished number of viewers who actually saw the ad.

But, back to the subject. The easiest way to get a ballpark idea of an items' value is to do a 'Completed Listings' search. The easiest way to do this is to click on the 'Advanced' link which is always immediately next to the blue 'Search' button on every ebay page. Clicking on the "Advanced" link takes you to the next page, where you'd enter not only a few keywords of the item you are seeking to value, but ALSO, a short ways down the page, you'd click in the box next to the words 'Completed Listings'.

A complete list of every listing that ended within the past two weeks that used the same keywords you just entered will appear. You would simply need to browse through the completed listings and try to find one or two that most closely matches the item upon which you are trying to place a value.

This means will not always be correct, and take heed.... it may also not even be accurate. You will have to use your best judgement. Suppose you have a rare baseball signed by Babe Ruth. Suppose one sold on ebay last week for $550. That number in and of itself does not necessarily represent the true market value of the baseball. It may have been worth well more than $550. $550 represents the dollar amount that the item sold at- nothing more.

Let's use a different example. Let's say you are looking for a used laptop for your kid, and see some nice used models priced at $500. Let's say the model number of the one you are interested in is ABC123. To get an idea of what some ABC123 model laptops sold for recently, you'd do a quick search of that model number in the 'Advanced' section, being sure to click on 'Completed Listings'. Let's say 44 completed listings pop up as a result of your search.

Of those 44, ten did not sell, and the lowest price of the one that did not sell was $250. The highest price, $495. Upon further investigation, you look in to the one that did not sell for $250 and discover that it had been dropped and had a damaged screen- the most likely reason why it didn't sell at all. Of the 34 that did sell, the selling prices (the prices in green) ranged from $305 - $385. You could reasonably deduce that an average ballpark range for an ABC123 laptop would be somewhere around $340 - $350. Armed with that information, you could be assured that you likely wouldn't be getting taken to the cleaners if you bought an identical model for anywhere even close to $340 - $350.

Naturally, as with anything else, you'd need to make certain you were comparing apples to apples. A used laptop with a faster processor or a higher-capacity hard drive would necessarily raise the value- and hence the price- of the laptop.

So, that's the basic method for getting a ballpark idea of an items' value using ebay. Keep in mind that ebay is not the ONLY means of price/ value determination. There are tons of websites, not to mention living-breathing carbon-based lifeforms known as appraisers who might be more apt to give you a more precise valuation. Ebay values are only ballpark reference points, and not necessarily definite values.

I like to think that values are purely subjective: the value of anything is only as high as someone is willing to pay for it. The toaster on your kitchen counter is worth about $10 new at KMart, and about $1.50 used on ebay or at any yard sale. But hey, maybe some buyer is willing to pay you $100 for your toaster on ebay.

Quite unlikely, but, anything's possible. To that buyer, the toaster is worth $100.

There is a science that I believe in, in order to help sell an item for the most amount possible, which I believe helps every ebay seller.

Imagine this scenario: Suppose I find an old clock from the 1930's at a yard sale for $30. If I were like most sellers who might buy it with the intent to re-sell on ebay, I'd likely simply cart it home, take a few pictures and put it on ebay for $75, whereupon it sells to a clock collector.

I, however, am not like most sellers. I would take it home, clean it up a bit, make a nice YouTube video to prove that it works, take 10 - 12 pictures to really show this thing off plus a well-written, in-depth, detailed listing, and THEN put it on ebay for $150 - $200. Maybe it's really only worth $100 - $150, but because of the time & effort I put in to the item as well as my listing, I literally convinced a buyer with my ebay-selling persuasion that it was worth $200, whereupon it sold to the same clock collector.

Which would you rather sell it for- $75 or $200?

Now, here is where my efforts help the NEXT seller.

Suppose someone else over in Texas finds an identical clock a week later and lists it for $200. Some different clock collector could conceivably do a search for completed listings and see that my identical clock sold for $200 a week prior. The precedence has been set. This current clock collector may reasonably deduce that the current market value for this clock is around $200, and may either buy it at that price, or may opt to make an offer to the seller, say, for $175 perhaps.

In any case, the argument could be made that my effort helped the next seller get an additional $100 for his clock, simply because mine did a week before- all because of a little more effort on my part to get the maximum price for an item.

Granted, this pricing theory will not hold true for every item. A trinket you buy at the corner dollar store and put on ebay for $25 likely won't do diddly squat. That dollar item is, essentially a 'dime a dozen'.

You may not be so eager to use the same techniques as I employ for no other reason than to help the next seller. But, why not do it for yourself? In the process, you might very well be helping the next ebay seller as well. What if you sell a clock for $200 that ordinarily would have sold for $75- and what if YOU were the second seller, cashing in on a little extra profit because of the first clock that sold?

It behooves ALL of us ebay sellers to try to use every legitimate and moral means at our disposal to maximize ones' profits. Who knows, an item that might ordinarily have sold for $75 last year might now be selling at $200 this year because every seller who's listed such an item has effectively convinced the buying public that said item is now worth $200.

Maybe next year the same thing will be selling for $250 or $300. All it takes is a little effort to get such a ball rolling!

Listings

2012-04-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

All of our preparation up to this point has finally led to this one single moment of truth: the listing. This is where most people have the most trouble, because it is the most intensely-computer involved segment of all.

There are many things to consider, many questions to answer, and plenty of t's that need crossed and i's that need dotted. You will, for all intents and purposes, effectively be creating a legal-binding agreement. You will effectively be saying to the world, "I have this item for sale. I am guaranteeing that it is in this good of a condition, that it weighs so-and-so, and that the shipping charges will be so-and-so. I will also be able to ship your item within this number of days after having received your payment, etc., etc."

Everything you enter here within your listing must be as true as you can honestly say, because if for any reason the item that your buyer receives differs from what you said it was, or how you described it in the listing, your buyer can return it (as his, or potentially at YOUR expense), your buyer can grow frustrated with you and leave you low DSRs (detailed seller ratings- basically your report card as to how well of a seller you are), and, just as bad, leave you -FB (negative feedback).

So, it's extremely important to be as accurate and as precise as possible when writing up a listing. If there is something about which you are unsure, you can ski over it until you've had time to do some research, then come back at a later time and fill-in the necessary information.

You may have seen my 6-part YouTube segment on listing, where I take the viewer on a nearly 1 1/2 hour tour of the ebay listing process, from beginning to end.

Picture & Video Taking

2012-04-22T14:13:00.002-07:00

OK. By now I presume you've more-or-less gotten most of your ducks in a row. You've gotten registered on ebay and paypal, have a YouTube account, have a 7 or 8 mp digital camera, peeked around on ebay and gotten a little familiar with the site.

You may have even gotten in to your urban tank and hit the yard sales, thrift stores or raided your closets and/ or basement in search of tidbits to start selling on ebay.

You may also have given some thought to which format(s) you'd like to use to sell your items (auction, fixed-price, store inventory). You are not bound by one format only. You can choose to run one item as an auction, your next item as a fixed-price, and so on. You can do it any way you like.

I will expand a little here and tell how I go about getting my items ready to go.

Allow me to stop for a moment and try to discourage you from using your cell phone to take pictures of your items. Cell phones are, for the most part, inferior to standard full-function digital cameras. Sure, they're fine for taking pictures of the baby and sending to everyone. But, for items you'll be putting on ebay i the hopes of selling, you'll want pictures and videos that are extremely high-quality, and in that regard, cameras win hands down over cell phones.

I pretty much have one area of the home where I take a majority of my pictures and videos. I try to find the quietest, most-orderly spot in the house, which typically is my living room, although on occasion I'll use my kitchen. The kitchen counter is nice for small items: books, collectible coffee mugs, belt buckles, things of that sort. I like to have plenty of light when I take my pictures as well, so, frequently, I'll try to take pictures in the middle of the day to take advantage of the sunlight streaming in the windows. I keep a lamp nearby for auxillary lighting on overcast days, or evening-time picture-taking. I also keep some batteries handy for those items that I bought that take batteries, so I can make a video later, as well.

I gather all the things I plan on listing, and start taking pictures. Some people are content with taking just one picture of the item, and putting that single picture up on ebay for all to see. But in most cases ebay will allow you to upload up to 12 per listing, at least, and even MORE for vehicles. So, why not take advantage of this, and take up to 12 pictures per item? You can take one primary picture, of course, then several others in close-up mode to capture more detail. Show off your items! If you can clean your items up a bit before taking pictures, even better. You can always upload MORE than 12 pictures per item, but, the first 12 are free, whereas each additional one costs 15 cents extra, I believe. I never pay for additional pictures, especially if I can simply throw a video in to the listing for FREE!

If your item is electronic in nature, open up the battery compartment and try to get a close-up of the sticker or area that shows the model number. You get the idea. You might as well take as many pictures as necessary to show off your item, right? Not only will buyers appreciate it, but it will likely eliminate the buyer who emails you three weeks later to ask if you can send a few more pictures and email them to him. Better to just to do it right the first time.

When taking your pictures, it should be obvious that you ONLY want sharp, in-focus pictures. Fuzzy or out-of-focus pictures are pretty much worthless. Fortunately, you'll be able to know immediately by looking at the camera display whether the picture you just took is decent or not. If it looks lousy, simply delete it on the spot and re-take it. You always want to avoid uploading bad, inferior, shaky, out-of-focus or over-exposed pictures to ebay. They will really make for a bad impression amongst your buyers. Also, try to eliminate as much as you can background clutter from your pictures. If the area you've selected for pictures has a coffee maker, dish detergent and pictures of grandma and granddad, use a sheet or a towel and simply cover them up for the 30 - 45 minutes while you'll be taking pictures.

OK. Now, while we've got the camera in our hands, and our item being photographed right in front of us, we might as well take another 30 - 60 seconds and make a video of it, too, right? Making videos for uploading to YouTube is strictly optional. You do NOT have to do this. But I can tell you it helps tremendously when selling items- particularly items that are powered. It's sort of like making your own TV commercial for the world to see.

Your camera will have the ability to easily switch between still pictures and video mode. I will generally take 8 - 12 pictures of an item, then a video, then move on to the next item. For me, this process, in this order, just goes so smoothly for me.

OK, I'll be assuming as I type this that you are making at least some videos for some of your items. I don't make videos for ALL my items- just the ones I think a video will help sell better or faster, or ones for which a video can more easily demonstrate the items' value or abilities.

Let's assume you bought five items at yard sales yesterday, and now you just took a total of 60 pictures and five videos. Next, I would carry those five things to my laptop, along with my camera, as well as a tape measure and a small scale. You are going to want to be able to tell people that this beautiful vase is 13" tall and weighs one and a half pounds. Remember, the object in your descriptions is to be as descriptive as possible.

The first thing you are going to want to do is to take the computer chip from your camera, insert in in to the slot on your laptop, find the folder with those images and videos, and then log on to YouTube with your account information. Those five videos that you took, you want to now upload those to YouTube first. This is because the uploading videos process ordinarily takes the longest. A 1-minute long video can take 4 - 5 minutes to upload, so those five videos can take upwards of half an hour. Once you get in to the hang of uploading videos, you'll get a feel for how long it will take. You will also want to label each video as well: "Mickey Mouse Watch"; "Donald Duck Toy". You don't need anything more elaborate right now as far as a video title.

Next, while those videos are uploading, you'll want to map out the 60-or-so images on a piece of paper. When I say "map out", here's what I mean. Your camera will assign each picture a different number. Let's say the first picture is file # 000001. It'll probably be a little more complex than that (probably more like SLR00001 or some similar type of identifier using a combination of letters and numbers), but we'll use # 000001 to simplify things. Let's say that the first picture, #000001 is of your Mickey Mouse watch. Proceed through your ebay pictures until you get to the LAST Mickey Mouse watch picture. It might be something like # 000014, assuming you deleted a few because they were out-of-focus or what have you.

So, on your piece of paper you would write something like #000001 - 000014, Mickey Mouse watch, or, for simplicity sake, #1 - 14, Mickey Mouse watch. If picture #15 begins your series of Donald Duck toy pictures, and ends with #25: #15 - 25, Donald Duck toy.

You get the idea. You want to know ahead of time which pictures go to which ebay item you plan to list. It will make finding and rounding them up quicker when it comes time to actually upload them to ebay.

OK, so you've made a list of all your pictures, and you've uploaded your YouTube videos. Keep your YouTube window open, and open up a new web browser window, and log in to ebay. Until you get them memorized, it may help to write all these log-in's down to make it easier so you don't forget them. Just make a list of your ebay, paypal and YouTube user IDs and passwords and keep them somewhere safe. You are going to need them pretty much every time you log in to these sites.

So now we've takes all our pictures and videos, uploaded our pictures, and are now sitting in front of our laptop ready to begin our first listing.

We are ready to proceed to the next post, entitled, simply, 'Listings'.

What type of listing?

2012-04-20T18:18:00.001-07:00

One of the main complexities of ebay is trying to sort through the types of listing formats available on ebay, and which is most suitable for you.

There is no correct answer to this dilemma. Some ebayers swear by the tried-and-true auction format, which is the bread-and-butter of ebay's whole operation. Auctions are as old as the hills. Ebay just happened to come along at just the right time and add an electronic twist to the whole thing.

Regular auctions have their advantages and disadvantages. I'll list a few of them here. For advantages, buyers get a real sense of "Oh gee! I know this watch is worth at least $295, but it's current bid is only $75.50, with two hours let in the listing." Most people would certainly jump on a bargain. Are you any different? When a bargain is spotted, it tends to create a stir like the smell of blood in shark-infested waters. A bidding war can potentially ensue, and, in the excitement of the moment, a number of bidders can potentially bid the item above and beyond it's actual street value of $295. This is especially true of rare and collectible items, when collectors from all over the US, North America, or even the world zero in on this one listing, all vying and trying to outbid the other for the sole purpose of winning the thing.

But, regular auctions also have their disadvantages.What if the person who would have bid $500 for that watch was on vacation at the time, and lost out on the opportunity. His loss, some would say.

The alternative to an auction-style format is the fixed-price listing. The item still lists on ebay, but people can't place bis on it. The person who walks away with a FP listing is the one who pays the seller the asking price... whatever the asking price is. The asking price is "fixed", meaning it isn't flexible, and doesn't rise like an auction price tends to rise. FP listings tend to annoy some buyers- those buyers who are looking for a bargain. For the seller, it's a way to get a specific amount for an item. A buyer and seller can still haggle a little over the price by sending messages to one another.

One main advantage to the FP listing from a buyers' point of view is the lack of waiting for an auction to end. A regular auction can run for 3, 7 or 10 days, and the winning bidder has to wait til the actual end of this time frame to even know if he's won the item. On the other hand, there is no waiting for a FP listing to end, because it technically ends when a buyer "buys it now", hence the term 'buy it now', or BIN.

One nice thing about FP listings, from a sellers' point of view, is that the seller has more control over the price he gets for his items. For me, this was always my primary reasoning for using FP listings. I almost use FP exclusively, because I like to be in charge of the pricing. I know that may people will walk away from my listing because they think the price is too high, and that is fine. One advantage of running a FP listing is that I can always raise or lower my asking price at ANY time.

I generally tend to price my items at 20 - 30% higher than what my competitors are asking for the same exact thing. But, I am also only listing top-quality vintage collectibles in excellent condition, most of which are accompanied with a YouTube video showing that the item still works, or whatever, plus I've written up a very detailed description to counter the mediocre description my competitor has written up. All of this is a recipe to pretty much allow me to set my asking price for anything I am selling, and an informed or discerning buyer will pick up on this, and likely buy accordingly. I want to sell a Cadillac to a Cadillac buyer. A Ford buyer can walk buy and window shop, but if he wants a Cadillac, he'd better be prepared to pay a Cadillac price.

One important detail about running regular auctions is you'd better time when the auction ends. You want buyers- or at least a majority of your most likely potential buyers- to be at home, relaxing and sitting in front of their computers, when it comes time for the listing to end. What this means is, it generally makes more sense to have an auction end at 7 or 8pm on a Monday - Thursday, when the buying public will likely be at home after a days' work. Now, obviously, not everyone works a 9 - 5, but you can't factor everyone in to this equation. That;s why I used the term 'majority' earlier.

You generally don't want to end an auction listing at 9pm on a Friday or Saturday night, or on a Sunday morning when half of the US will be in church. Time your auctions accordingly.

Buyer Questions

2012-04-20T17:47:00.001-07:00

Questions are good. They indicate at least a degree of interest in at least some of your items. I never turn down a question- even some of the wackier-sounding ones. I once sold a vintage VCR dating from about 1977, and someone asked me if the thing was digital. Almost nothing was digital back in 1977 except maybe some new-fangled Japanese wristwatches and some enormous IBM mainframe computers of the day, but I still answered his question.

Some buyers will try to trick you in to self-doubting yourself, and your pricing strategy. They might say, "Well, that radio you have listed for $125 is really only worth $55 because I bought one just like it last week for that much." Mmmm hmmmm. Did the one last week work as good as the one I am demonstrating in my video? Was it in as good shape, or was it missing the volume knob and with a broken antenna?

One habit you should always try to get in to is answering potential buyers' questions ASAP. Here's why: If Amy sends you a question about your lovely quilt on ebay for $135, what's the next thing she's going to do immediately after she clicks that 'send' button? She's going to go back and see all the other quilts on ebay from other sellers- your competitors. You want to be able to answer Amy's question ASAP to eliminate the gap between her question and her chances to look at the next item for sale. The object is to keep her interested in your item- not to drift off in to ebay-land and look at other things to buy. Now, certainly, there are times when you simply can't be at a computer to answer every email as soon as it comes it. But it certainly helps to catch the ones you can!

Owning a web-enabled cell phone allows you to do just that. You can be at the tire shop getting new tires when you whip out your cell and answer a question sent to you 13 minutes ago about the Betty Crocker Cookbook collection you have on ebay for $50. Or at the hair salon. Getting your nails done. At junior's soccer practice. Waiting in the dentist's office. Sitting in the back pew at church during a boring sermon! LOL- I know, terrible of me!

The saying goes, 'Time is Money'. Use technology to convert some of your downtime in to sales. If nothing else, people are going to appreciate your expediency in returning emails and answering questions. In this day and age of immediate communication, people pretty much expect it. There might be three similar items on ebay to your item, and the same buyer may ask the same question to all four sellers, and may buy the item from whichever seller answers first, simply because he or she simply doesn't want to be bothered with wasting any more of his or her time dilly-dallying around with the question-and-answer ping pong game.

While I am on the subject of questions, I will make one more important point. While you never want to discount any question, you also want to try to minimize them as much as possible. I am not trying to suggest that answering buyers' questions is a waste of time, but there simply are more productive uses of ones' time. So, you will always want to try to minimize the number of questions that you receive. You can do this in one extremely important way: your listing description. What do I mean?

Your listing description is your one written opportunity to describe your item in detail. So why not make the best of it? Suppose you are selling a radio. What sorts of things could you mention about your radio in the listing description area? How about how big the radio it is? AM? or AM/FM? How many batteries does it take? What kind of batteries? Does it even work? Is it in good shape? Any damage? Does it have any unusual markings, stains, dings or odors? Can you find any identifying model number on the thing? Is there a jack for headphones or earphones? These are the sorts of details you want to mention up-front, in your listing description, before your listing even goes live. Doing so helps to ensure you don't receive as many redundant or avoidable questions down the road- questions that you'll have to stop what you're doing, possibly going to find the item to double check, and replying back to the buyer.

Get my drift? Buyers will appreciate your thoughtfulness and your thoroughness, and it will lend an air of professionalism to your listings.

Not sure about some of the features on your particular item, or what to call a certain feature or part? Look up the same item on ebay and see just how other sellers wrote up the same listing for their duplicate item. Review their listing, and look for ways to make yours BETTER. With a little practice you can be writing listing descriptions like the pro's, and avoiding avoidable questions all at the same time!

Another point about buyer questions, and, in general, ebay activity as a whole. I generally tend to get most of my questions tossed to me in the evenings, as well as most of my sales. While not everyone works a 9 - 5, the 9 - 5 seems to be the rule rather than the exception for the workforce. Likewise, the evenings are pretty much when you will generally want to try to stick around the house. This is especially true if you do not have a web-enabled cell phone. It's easier to head out in the evenings for dinner if you can carry a cell with you to answer questions if need be.

I am not saying that ebay will restrict you to be a homebody weekday evenings from 5 pm to 2 am just so you can answer emails. Life as an ebayer will allow you to do as you please. What I am saying is that an early bird gets the worm, and the earlier you can respond to questions, the better!

Storage Space?

2012-04-20T17:17:00.001-07:00

Yes, storage space. Where do you plan on storing all your ebay inventory? If you only intend on maintaining an inventory of 50 - 100 items at all times, it probably isn't too much of an issue. That's how I started. Then, I grew in to a one-man operation holding 2 - 3000 separate items in ebay inventory.

I started out by building a couple simple wooden racks out of ordinary 2x4's and plywood in one of my spare bedrooms. When I out-bought that storage space, I began renting those off-site storage rooms. At first I rented a 12 x 12 and paid monthly. Then I outgrew that. I currently rent a fairly large 20 x 40 unit, and pay annually. I know most people won't be able to pay annually, but in doing so I was able to shave off 35% off if I had paid month-to-month.

My #1 rule is take care of the customer, and #2 is take care of the bottom line. Saving 35% is almost like getting a 35% raise, of sorts. When was the last time you received a 35% raise?

Most reputable storage facilities are secured and protected with surveillance cameras, so it wasn't a big concern for me to use the ones I did. Besides, someone had better be pretty hard up to break in to a storage unit which is likely contained with such low-valued items as old bed mattresses and bags of clothes. Not too much of anything valuable is at most of the storage facilities I've been through. I never had an issue at any of my sites.

Help! A buyer is trying to scam me!

2012-04-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sadly, it happens, although ebay is trying to put a stop to it. It used to be a much bigger problem than it is now, until ebay made some changes a few years back.

But, that's not to say that some people still won't try to scam you. Believe me, they will try. And they will know you are new to ebay, or at least presume. A skilled ebayer can pick out the newbies simply by how a listing is written, or, simply by looking at someone's FB (feedback) page. A lower FB score can typify a newbie.

Let me tell you a little story about how a buyer tried to scam me- and how I diffused the situation:

I deal primarily in vintage items that are in exceptional condition. You know the reasons, if you've been reading my blog: it allows me to charge a premium on my items. One such item was a 3-record set of Christmas tunes, I believe. I collect my payment, box up the set, ship them out and all is hunky-dory... or so I thought.

A few days later the buyer emails me to tell me he is deeply disappointed. "Oh boy," I thought, "They got damaged in the mail." Well, the buyer claimed that the records he received were so badly scratched up and ruined that they wouldn't play properly, and how could I write such a misleading listing claiming my records were in pristine condition (which they were as are ALL my records sets)?"

Well, I knew right then that it wasn't an issue of damage in shipment. I had packed them quite well. And if you're as old as I am, you know that some of those older records were nearly as thick as hubcaps, and almost as indestructible. The man was clearly trying to scam me. Clearly he had a set of records just like mine. He wanted to buy my set, swap them out, claim that I had misled him with a deceptive listing, then try to return his set as mine, for a complete refund.

It was as plain as day. Just like a reputable jewelry seller is not going to believe anyone who walks in and claims that the ring he bought last week isn't real gold, I knew the guy was lying. So here's what I did:

I immediately replied back: "Oh, I'm so sorry this happened. I don't know how this happened. Please return them. We'd be happy to return them, inspect them, then offer a full refund."

Well, that was good enough for him. Music to his ears. He shipped them back, and told me that he had done so. So I sent another email: "Again, so sorry. We don't know how this happened. We'll look them over, we'll look for the mark we put on them, and if everything is in order, offer a complete refund. Again, we're so sorry."

Notice what I had italicized, above? I waited until he told me that he had shipped the records back, THEN I told him we will look for the mark we put on the records.

We never put a mark on the records. But he didn't know that. It didn't matter. He knew he was lying, and so did I. I was offering him a face-saving way out. He could still leave me a -FB which would have been worse than being scammed. I was still playing a diplomatic game of cat-and-mouse, and I had the upper hand.

Lying to me was his first mistake. His second was not returning the records with DC (delivery confirmation). Oh, I received the record set, of course.... his record set. There was not a chance in hell these were my records. They were in such deplorable shape. I would have been ashamed to sell such things. That's how bad they were.

After I'd received them, he had the gall to email back, asking if I'd received them, and when he could expect a refund. Of course I received them, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "Nope. Post office must've lost 'em. If you can provide a tracking number, I'd be happy to place a postal trace on them to try to find them." I knew exactly where they were.... in the dumpster behind my garage with the rest of the trash.

His response? "Well, I guess I'll just take the loss, but it's sellers like you who are giving ebay a bad name, selling S#!T and being deceptive about the condition. I'll never buy from you again, <expletive> <expletive>!"

I never heard from him again, not that I want to. I blocked him from ever buying from me under that user id. He never left me any feedback, either. And from that point forward, I'd learned to put some form of insignificant marking somewhere to ID an item as something I sold.

Never have had an issue since!

Some ways you can be on the lookout for scammers, and detect their games:

1) If a buyer asks you if you'll accept a Western Union payment.
2) If a buyer asks you to mail an item before a payment has cleared.
3) If a buyer asks you to mail an item, with the buyer submitting payment once the item arrives.
4) An unusually obnoxious buyer, or one desperate to get the item you are selling.
5) A buyer claiming to be an expert, skilled or knowledgeable in the area relating to an item you are selling, and also suggesting that your current asking price is way too high, that your item is definitely worth much less, and would you consider his offer for a considerably lower amount than your list price?
6) A buyer requesting that you ship an item uninsured, without delivery confirmation, or to a country that doesn't offer delivery confirmation or tracking.
7) A buyer willing to trade one of his items "of equal value" to your item.

These are just some of the ones I've heard of. Also be wary of the individuals requesting to pick up an item to save on shipping costs. This in and of itself shouldn't necessarily wave red flags, as local or nearby buyers will contact you from time to time. However, if the item in question is a $2200 ring, for example, I'd set up a meeting spot at the local police station or sheriff dept and do the exchange there.

Another note about meeting to exchange to save on shipping costs: I've made arrangements to meet people for this same very purpose, and always on low-dollar items. I'll always make an attempt to save someone a few dollars if I can, but here's where it becomes a nuisance: The first couple times I tried this, the "buyer" was a no-show. Nothing is worse than a no-show. It's a huge waste of my time and gas. So here was my solution: I'd force the buyer to pay for the item up front, on paypal, including shipping charges, plus a $10 meeting fee. If the buyer showed up on time, he got the complete shipping amount refunded, plus the $10 fee. If he was late by 10 minutes or more, I kept the $10 fee, but refunded the full shipping amount. If he was a no-show, no real tragedy. I pocketed the $10 fee, then simply shipped the item. Seemed to work out great and solved my problem instantly. Plus, I always set up the meeting spot at one of my storage units. I seemed to hit each of my storage units on a daily basis anyways, so I was pretty much killing two birds with one stone. I'd simply load up the car with a box or two of things I needed to take to storage, plus the item I'd sold, and meet the buyer. Worked out well all the way around.

Delivery Confirmation / Tracking

2012-04-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, the ever-complicated topic of delivery confirmation and tracking. I'll abbreviate these as DCT, so you'll know to what I am referring.

Just like insurance, DCT is pretty much unofficially-mandatory. Here's why:

If you sell an item, let's say, a $100 vase, you might do everything right, pack it adequately, apply a neatly-addressed label, proper postage and insurance, but no DCT, and the package never arrives, who is responsible?

If you guessed the buyer, you are wrong. If you guessed the carrier, you are wrong. You, the seller are ultimately responsible for ALL items until they are in the hands of your buyer.

So, if you ship your $100 vase, and it arrives intact, and the buyer opens up the package, inspects it, finds it to be all nice and pretty, and notices you failed to add delivery confirmation for 19 cents, do you think your buyer will not try to email you and say, "Where is my vase? It never arrived."

How would you know whether it arrived or not? You shipped it. You remember shipping it and giving it to the mail lady as she made her rounds last Thursday in that smelly USPS jeep-like van. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is whether the recipient ever received it?

You will NEVER know unless you include DCT. DCT is not mandatory. Sure, you can shave a few cents off your shipping and pocket that savings, but you will NEVER KNOW IF YOUR ITEMS EVER ARRIVE AT THEIR DESTINATION. All an unscrupulous buyer would need to do is email ebay and say, "Um, item # 13048264756264 never arrived. I need a full refund." Ebay and paypal will ask you to provide proof that it arrived. Your DCT number is the only way to prove that it ever arrived. Without that DCT proof, your item is as good as gone with an unscrupulous buyer, and be prepared to give the buyer a full refund.

Now, international shipping is a lot trickier. In most cases, the ONLY countries which provide US sellers with delivery confirmation are Canada and the UK. I can't quite figure this one out. In this digital era, neither Germany, Japan, nor any any other country besides Canada and the UK have managed to get their systems in sync with outs and deliver real-time confirmation of delivery of items.

As a result, I refuse to ship ANYTHING to ANY country other than within the US, or to Canada or the UK. Sorry to everyone else. If I shipped something to a buyer in ANY other country other than Canada or the UK, all the buyer would need to do is tell ebay the item never arrived and I'd be forced to issue a 100% refund.

Now, the one exception to this rule is shipping by the often-prohibitively-expensive GEM option: Global Express Mail. GEM is, as you can guess, exorbitantly expensive, but often provides for DCT. But, are you willing to rely on GEM DCT to some God-forsaken place like Mongolia? I wouldn't. France, Germany, Japan, yes, as well as to the rest of Europe and some of Asia- those countries most likely to have systems in place to track a GEM package.

I can count on one hand the number of buyers who have requested GEM shipping since 1997. Few outside-the-US buyers are going to opt for it considering it costs so much.

Otherwise, you're pretty much at Gods good mercy.