Need some EBay selling advice?

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, jay4e said:

Noticed something interesting on my ebay bill this month, 

All the FedEx shipping rates for my assembly squares where 30-50% less then the estimates given by ebay.   

is this normal? its been a couple years since I have shipped anything large from ebay, but I dont recall ever seeing that significant a difference.

Did you mail via Fedex SmartPost or Ground ? I noticed the estimates for SmartPost went significantly up last month.  I would not be surprised if there was a problem with whatever eBay used to estimate the costs.

[jay4e]

21 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Did you mail via Fedex SmartPost or Ground ? I noticed the estimates for SmartPost went significantly up last month.  I would not be surprised if there was a problem with whatever eBay used to estimate the costs.

It was smartpost.  though the pricing was competitive with UPS and FedEx ground.  Oh well made and extra $10 a set.

[trstnkn]

For my own education as I'm curious how this works...

I've had an assumed drop-shipper buy a SW battle pack 2x from me in the past week.  

Today I noticed feedback on one of the purchases, but the buyer name is completely different.  How does that work?

I'm assuming it is the actual recipient, but is the drop shipper at a higher price and then funnels the sale to me?  And ironically, I'm not even the lowest price; however, I assume my 1-day shipping turnaround gets me the sale.

I've dealt with drop-shipping before when it originates from another retailer, but never within the eBay platform.  Thanks for any insights.

[iahawks550]

The drop shipper will leave the feedback. The recipient would leave feedback for the drop shipper. I'm sure I've sold to the same person. I doubt he made much money, but he also had no work to do other than type. 

[trstnkn]

6 minutes ago, iahawks550 said:

The drop shipper will leave the feedback. The recipient would leave feedback for the drop shipper. I'm sure I've sold to the same person. I doubt he made much money, but he also had no work to do other than type. 

But in this case the recipient left me feedback, not the drop shipper.

[iahawks550]

Oh. That's really strange. I'm not sure how that happens. 

[Darth_Raichu]

21 minutes ago, trstnkn said:

But in this case the recipient left me feedback, not the drop shipper.

Just to double check, the user id that left you feedback for this item is not the same as user id appearing on your order detail page for this item?

[trstnkn]

6 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Just to double check, the user id that left you feedback for this item is not the same as user id appearing on your order detail page for this item?

Correct.  On the feedback page, Buyer ID shows recipient, but when I click "view item" it shows the Buyer ID as the drop shipper.  

Normally I would not notice this, but same drop shipper bought the same item 2x - raised a red flag.  Company is DFulfillment.com I believe.

Edited May 1, 2018 by trstnkn

[Darth_Raichu]

I have to admit I have not seen that before.  Usually dropshippers do not bother to leave feedbacks

[TANV]

I just got an offer for a set on eBay but the buyer wants to do a local pick-up instead.  That isn't one of the options but his choice of location isn't actually that far from me.  I got some questions about this.

First, do I revise the listing to include local pick-up and cash for payment? I've read about people being screwed via PP and local pick-ups.

Second, if he accepts my counter-offer, that means eBay still gets a cut of the sale, correct?

Third, anyone have any other advice or words of wisdom about such sales?

[thoroakenfelder]

33 minutes ago, TANV said:

I just got an offer for a set on eBay but the buyer wants to do a local pick-up instead.  That isn't one of the options but his choice of location isn't actually that far from me.  I got some questions about this.

First, do I revise the listing to include local pick-up and cash for payment? I've read about people being screwed via PP and local pick-ups.

Second, if he accepts my counter-offer, that means eBay still gets a cut of the sale, correct?

Third, anyone have any other advice or words of wisdom about such sales?

ebay always gets a cut of offers and counter offers. If you have "require payment " checked, I think they will have to send you the money at the time of purchase. Is there a cash option?

[TANV]

14 minutes ago, thoroakenfelder said:

ebay always gets a cut of offers and counter offers. If you have "require payment " checked, I think they will have to send you the money at the time of purchase. Is there a cash option?

I don't think eBay has a cash option.

[thoroakenfelder]

1 minute ago, TANV said:

I don't think eBay has a cash option.

That's what I thought. I'm not on a network where I can access ebay at the moment. You may just have to turn off requiring immediate payment, then meet up with the buyer and exchanging for cash there. You can then come home, mark it is paid and shipped.

[RedBaron]

Of course there is not a cash option.  Ebay would not get a cut from a cash transaction.  Leave the listing as is for another buyer (unless you only have 1) and get his email address.  Then treat it like a Craigslist transaction.

[TANV]

Just now, RedBaron said:

Of course there is not a cash option.  Ebay would not get a cut from a cash transaction.  Leave the listing as is for another buyer (unless you only have 1) and get his email address.  Then treat it like a Craigslist transaction.

Technically, doesn't that violate eBay's terms and agreements....?

[RedBaron]

Maybe, but what Ebay does not know does not violate anything.  It's just business.  If you leave the current listing, they can't really do anything.  I have turned Ebay listings into Bricklink and Paypal orders.  These were people I sent Ebay messages telling them I had more to sell than just the listings on Ebay.  

[Zelgazra]

^^ belongs in the ethics thread, but I do the same thing. In my books, local pickups should always be attempted as a private sale if the opportunity is presented.

[ISO8T0]

Post on Craigslist as well. What is against ebay policy though is inviting the buyer outside of ebay to finish the "transaction" you'll have to find a tactful way to do it like. "Sorry my listing isn't set for local pick up. Have you tried looking in your local marketplace?"

[mention=70330]TANV[/mention]

 

 

 

 

[yang]

eBay is full of scammers now, selling brand new factory sealed LEGO sets on eBay is very risky. Buyers can easily file return requests, eBay will force you to accept returns. What’s worse is sometimes scammers can manage to keep the items and get the refund!

Also, now buyers can scam you three times: eBay claim, PayPal dispute, and lastly credit card chargeback.

Currently dealing with one scammer, even if I win in the end, it’s not worth the hassle.

[exracer327]

Not sure where to put this, but it this was in my ebay in-box.  

For those living in the USA, congress is discussing adding taxes to online sales.  Apparently this would include all ebay sales as well, regardless if seller is a store or individual.  

Here is a link is you want to sign an online petition: https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/petition/internet-sales-tax-sellers?utm_campaign=2018-US-IST-Petition&utm_source=marketing-email-seller&utm_medium=email

If this is better served in another forum, please feel free to relocate.  Thanks

[Bold-Arrow]

1 minute ago, exracer327 said:

Not sure where to put this, but it this was in my ebay in-box.  

For those living in the USA, congress is discussing adding taxes to online sales.  Apparently this would include all ebay sales as well, regardless if seller is a store or individual.  

Here is a link is you want to sign an online petition: https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/petition/internet-sales-tax-sellers?utm_campaign=2018-US-IST-Petition&utm_source=marketing-email-seller&utm_medium=email

If this is better served in another forum, please feel free to relocate.  Thanks

SCOTUS is expected to make a decision on this as well. 

[TANV]

For those whom are masters of eBay returns:

I've been in contact with a buyer and we've gone back and forth. They got an electronic from me back in March which is apparently now defective with a battery that doesn't work.  I sold it to them used and it had worked at the time but it's possible that it finally just gave out.  So far we've been mostly amiable.

I got a message this morning and they asked:  "I would like to return this in order to get a full refund. Please provide me a pre-paid shipping label. Thanks and have a great day!"

Now, it's past eBay 30-day return window but I'm fine with accepting this return.  It's still under PayPal's 6 month window.  

How do I go about providing a pre-paid shipping label? Or should I ask them to send it to back to me and I'll reimburse them for the cost of shipping once I get it?  

What should be the next steps to follow?

[minicoopers11]

1 hour ago, TANV said:

For those whom are masters of eBay returns:

I've been in contact with a buyer and we've gone back and forth. They got an electronic from me back in March which is apparently now defective with a battery that doesn't work.  I sold it to them used and it had worked at the time but it's possible that it finally just gave out.  So far we've been mostly amiable.

I got a message this morning and they asked:  "I would like to return this in order to get a full refund. Please provide me a pre-paid shipping label. Thanks and have a great day!"

Now, it's past eBay 30-day return window but I'm fine with accepting this return.  It's still under PayPal's 6 month window.  

How do I go about providing a pre-paid shipping label? Or should I ask them to send it to back to me and I'll reimburse them for the cost of shipping once I get it?  

 What should be the next steps to follow?

I would just create a label and e-mail the pdf.

[Brickshopper]

If you have the buyer open a "return" in ebay it will give you the option to approve the request and will provided the buyer a label to print that will be charged to your account when it is used.

[TANV]

1 minute ago, Brickshopper said:

If you have the buyer open a "return" in ebay it will give you the option to approve the request and will provided the buyer a label to print that will be charged to your account when it is used.

Generally speaking, can they do this after the 30 day period had passed for eBay?