Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

[mjt73106]

At what point do you consider a buyer as a non-payer?

I've got 2 items that ended on 8/1 - - almost 3 weeks ago - - and unpaid (my listings ask for payment within 7 days). I have sent 2 invoices on both.

My guess is they won't pay - no huge deal as they were not big ticket items. I just want to cancel them, get a refund for fees - and most importantly not allow them to leave any sort of feedback for me. How do I go about this? I'd prefer to also have them get an unpaid item strike, but as sellers we have to be nice even to the people who buy and never pay it seems...and I'm more concerned with keeping my seller 100% (but will add them to the communal black-list).

I have my eBay settings automatically open an unpaid case after four days. Be sure to update the SF black list as well.

 

[TheNeedMachine]

I use GarageSale for Mac. Best program ever, IMO. Check it out.
You can't file a non paying bidder case until the 4th day or so. Once thats opened, they have 3 days to respond/pay. If neither happens in the 3 days since you open it, you can close it, get your fees back, and they are unable to leave you feedback. If they respond though, they can leave feedback.

Thank you for the info - it's been 20 days since the listings closed; I have opened the unpaid cases. Don't really care if they pay or not at this point.

 

[capnwes]

I have my eBay settings automatically open an unpaid case after four days. Be sure to update the SF black list as well.

What happens in the case that the buyer is still bidding/shopping for other items in your store? Is the case closed automatically too, or do you have to do that manually? Or is the tool smart enough to see that they are still actively shopping?

 

[HansderHund]



So, I've found that staring 10-day listing thursday night is the best way to go, two weekends of exposure plus a sunday night end time (thanks Spoo).
My problem is that I tend to do social stuff thursday, and thus have things I've been meaning to list for months waiting around.
Is there a good way (like an app or program) that lets you create an auction to be officially started at a set time? I don;t mind paying the 10 cents o ebay, just wondering if there was a quicker easy way out there I'm missing.
I heard there was some sort of listing program eBay offers, but it's only for PCs.

I wouldn't worry about timing you auctions for international sales. With all of the sniping tools available they should have no problem bidding. About 20% of my sales are international but an even greater percentage is sold to buyers on the west coast so I time my listings for their convenience.

As far as timing goes, Sunday evening seems to be the best. It will also be impossible to schedule a listing to end at a convenient time for North America, Europe and Asia. I've been experimenting with my times a bit and oddly enough, it seems my auctions ending in the morning (around 9:00am) during the week do well. I get bids the night before and then I guess people bid before/at work because they get an email about the listing early (around 5:00am), so it's one of the first things they see when they check their email. I will continue to see how this works out.

I did forget to do a set time listing on a pair of shoes, so it ened at 1:00am on a Saturday. I had the auction started at €1 because it was a pair of new converse low top shoes. I expected somewhere around €20-30 and I had about 17 watchers. The auction ended at €3.50.

I look at it as a €20 mistake

 

[mjt73106]

What happens in the case that the buyer is still bidding/shopping for other items in your store? Is the case closed automatically too, or do you have to do that manually? Or is the tool smart enough to see that they are still actively shopping?

You can turn it off very easy. I have never really had an issue with anyone. I generally send out an invoice, in addition to the automatic one sent out by eBay, asking if they are still shopping. If you think 4 days is too aggressive, you can set it for a longer duration.

 

[capnwes]

You can turn it off very easy. I have never really had an issue with anyone. I generally send out an invoice, in addition to the automatic one sent out by eBay, asking if they are still shopping. If you think 4 days is too aggressive, you can set it for a longer duration.

Ok, can you set it per individual, or does it govern all of your listings at once? I usually have about 15-20 buyers in the checkout line at one time.

 

[Brianpore]

Quote: It governs everything, but you just click a button to turn it off, easy.

 

[mjt73106]

Ok, can you set it per individual, or does it govern all of your listings at once? I usually have about 15-20 buyers in the checkout line at one time.

It is a global setting. But is very easy to turn off on an individual basis if you so desire.

The point is that it will automatically open a case at whatever time that you wish rather than have you watch your A/R and open a case. The case is automatically closed when the customer pays. I sell between 150 and 200 items a month and generally never have a double digit que in awaiting payment. It has worked well for me. My goal is to sell and ship the item as quickly as possible. The faster the shipment, the higher the feedback and less returns. . . eBay knows this and that is why they are pushing the fast shipment.

BTW, just received this message from a eBay member; "O have 2 unpaid cases opened that's why I can bid it but you and in your specification you put the buyer who have 1 or 2 cases opened can't bid so can you change the description of your item please and I'll can bid if thabks" Seriously, do you want this guy to win your item?

 

[FaceOfBoh]

Anyone here ever sell things in lots on eBay?

Because of shipping from Canada I get terrible margins on shirts. A single shirt just ain't worth it for me (or, for that matter, for the buyer).

But I have thought of bundling 4 or 5 same size Eton or BB or Ben Sherman or Boss or Etro together.

Has anyone had any success doing this?

 

[SpooPoker]



Anyone here ever sell things in lots on eBay?
Because of shipping from Canada I get terrible margins on shirts. A single shirt just ain't worth it for me (or, for that matter, for the buyer).
But I have thought of bundling 4 or 5 same size Eton or BB or Ben Sherman or Boss or Etro together.
Has anyone had any success doing this?

Shirts and pants are my worst selling categories, preowned. Something about the first line of defense against the body, I suppose.

 

[capnwes]

It is a global setting. But is very easy to turn off on an individual basis if you so desire.

The point is that it will automatically open a case at whatever time that you wish rather than have you watch your A/R and open a case. The case is automatically closed when the customer pays. I sell between 150 and 200 items a month and generally never have a double digit que in awaiting payment. It has worked well for me. My goal is to sell and ship the item as quickly as possible. The faster the shipment, the higher the feedback and less returns. . . eBay knows this and that is why they are pushing the fast shipment.

BTW, just received this message from a eBay member; "O have 2 unpaid cases opened that's why I can bid it but you and in your specification you put the buyer who have 1 or 2 cases opened can't bid so can you change the description of your item please and I'll can bid if thabks" Seriously, do you want this guy to win your item?

What member? I got the same message yesterday.

Thanks for the info on the automatic cases. I don;t get a lot of non-payers, but any extra step done automatically saves me time.

 

[FaceOfBoh]

Ugh, never thought of it quite like that.

Shirts and pants are my worst selling categories, preowned. Something about the first line of defense against the body, I suppose.

 

[TheNeedMachine]

Anyone here ever sell things in lots on eBay?
Because of shipping from Canada I get terrible margins on shirts. A single shirt just ain't worth it for me (or, for that matter, for the buyer).
But I have thought of bundling 4 or 5 same size Eton or BB or Ben Sherman or Boss or Etro together.
Has anyone had any success doing this?

I sold this lot recently, and this one... Last month, sold a lot of 5 PRL's for $109, and another lot of 5 for $80. Depending on what you paid originally, it can be a way to unload a number of items for a decent return on price paid. I generally pay $3 to $5 per shirt - average $4 each, so selling for 4x or 5x what I paid does make it worthwhile for me. Just takes a while to save up enough to offer as a lot - have to be same size, preferably same brand and similar style. I've never tried mixing brands but have seen mixed lots sell if they are similar (RL with Brooks Brothers or whatnot). I have so many shirts that I need to clear out I'm thinking of trying mixed lots of same size / different maker.

 

[capnwes]

Anyone here ever sell things in lots on eBay?
Because of shipping from Canada I get terrible margins on shirts. A single shirt just ain't worth it for me (or, for that matter, for the buyer).
But I have thought of bundling 4 or 5 same size Eton or BB or Ben Sherman or Boss or Etro together.
Has anyone had any success doing this?

Sold these last night. They didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I was just trying to clear them out.
8 Pair Lot Zanella Pants 34/32 Wool Trousers Loro Piana Super 130 Lined Italy

I also personally dispise selling shirts, pants and ties, but for some reason I still pick them up from time to time. Many get re-donated eventually



Re-donating side note:

I actually just sent 2 large boxes of shirts and such to an ebay friend in Big Stone Gap, Virginia who also is a thrifter. Ebay is the family's only source of income at the moment since the local coal mine closed and put nearly the entire town out of work. She's in the middle of nowhere and there is only one thrift store in a 50-75 mile radius. She was so happy to get the stuff, and I was probably just going to redonate it eventually anyway. She was able to pay for a month of preschool tuition with it.

She is so excited to see brands she never dreamed of seeing in her area. Brooks Brothers and Burberry to her are like Brioni and Kiton to many of us. She generally only finds Aeropostale, Gap and other mall crap.

So if anyone else is in need of redonating to clear out space for fall items and would like to help them out, PM me.

Here is her store link http://stores.ebay.com/CubinesClothing77?_rdc=1

Shout out to - VLSI who also sent her some stuff to sell which she just received. (Thanks man!)
Shout out to - acosbysweater who sold me the female torso a while back to send to her. I just sent her one of my last two male torsos too.

 

[Mox C]

Do you find that there are general expectation as far as dry-cleaning goes before shipping? When I buy, anything that comes into the house will get cleaned/washed by myself before I wear it rather than trusting/expecting the seller to do it. Some of my items have the mothball smell from the thrift store, so I was wondering what you have found general buyer expectations to be. Adding a dry-cleaning bill to every item will really cut into some of the low-margin items.