My Ebay Observations From the POV of a Power Seller: Seller discussion

Alright, so most of you probably saw my first blog on becoming a power seller, Buyer Discussion (you may not have read it because of its length, ha!) but I needed to do the same for sellers, so this is it. I do want to let people know I am going to do quite a few Ebay blogs about being a power seller, owning an Ebay store, the toils of making this a business, and even more on it.

On to the discussion though, this article is about how those of us who have become bigger sellers, selling several items a day, have to do and have a responsibility to do for our buyers. These are things that I have figured out benefit everyone involved and things that may be viewed as hard, but just really aren't.

For reference, I send out about 8 items a day (although its mostly the weekends - about to wrap up a 40 item weekend after I am done writing this.), but I have only been doing this for about 3 months. On to the discussion!

As a seller, you have a responsibility to describe your item to the best of your ability

Most of the problems with this just straight come out of Laziness for me. I generally will use the same default listing for every item - which is fine. Honestly I think consistency is good - its recognizable for people when they see your listings and they know what to expect based on your first couple of sentences.

However it is sometimes easy to get lazy, especially on used items. You figure it wont matter to mention the little tiny scratch or scuff, etc. This is important though - not just for the buyer and for your feedback, but for the principal of the matter. As a seller, my biggest complaint is that people don't read my listings. If that is really something you believe in, making your listings correct, descriptive, and generally worth reading is your responsibility to that principle.

You have the responsibility to take good pictures

I am ok with stock pictures on new items - I use them on stuff that's brand new (not sets) like minifigures, etc. because they do the same justice and my feedback and store lets people know I am legit. Used items and special items need this though. And they need a good, digital picture.

Besides the fact that this helps your own listing and protects you from SNAD cases on Ebay, it's honesty that goes a long way with buyers and it is only right we show them exactly what they are getting. And really, how hard is it? You phone probably has a 746 Megapixel camera in it. Press a damn button and upload a picture.

Leave feedback for your buyers

This is really even easier as if you start to sell a lot you can spend 3$ or so and subscribe to an APP that will auto leave feedback for you. Either way, feedback is important to buyers - because a lot of them may become sellers and they need the feedback to get going. I don't necessarily think this concept is totally sound - just because you are a good buyer doesn't mean you are a good seller - but at the same time, don't we all remember when we had 0 feedback? Getting those positives for grabbing a couple items is awesome.

It also helps if you get one of those buyers who decides to neg you because they are a d-bags.

Warn and block people when they act inappropriately or unprofessionally and let them know

Duh, right? Well besides the obvious, this is extremely important to the Ebay marketplace. Why? Because this teaches buyers they shouldn't act the way they do. I am generally nice about it, but if someone does something they shouldn't, I warn them and then block them. For example:

1. Message me about buying stuff outside of Ebay
2. Low ball offering repeatedly.
3. Leaving negative feedback without contacting the seller.
etc.

In general I find a lot of these people are younger or immature people. Some of the ones I have warned have apologized and ended up buying stuff and being good buyers. Others may not, but if they know they have been banned (and i assume some of them test it because who wouldn't) it can help say something to them.

Or at least I hope it does.

It is not hard to be responsive

This one may be controversial. I understand people are busy. But there is an Ebay app on every phone. Unless I am busy, I respond to messages within a few minutes every time. Same way with offers (unless the situation calls for otherwise). There is just no reason to not be able, with all of this technology, to simply and quickly respond to someone when they have a question or a problem. I hate doing it sometimes too, but it is a responsibility and something my buyers are happy about. I constantly get "thank you for the quick response" and as much in my feedback as well.

Price your items appropriately

This is no discussion on making deals, or where prices should be. Pricing something on the high side is fine with me - I have several items I do it for. And its totally an opinion

This is more about doing market research. I know several sellers on Ebay who clog it up (because they get free listings) with stuff that is outrageously priced. It is somewhat infuriating to people like us and people who are just buying.

I commonly get offer messages from people complaining about all the stuff jacked up on Ebay. They are mad. But I honestly don't think its at the people selling things for market value - its the people selling things for 5 times it.

Look at the Dino Defense set on Ebay - an Auction listing will go from $150-$180, a smart BIN is around $180-$200.

Unfortunately, we are looking at $250s, $300s and $350s. They don't sell and are worthless listings. To me, think if every listing has 15 that are priced high for no reason. Sure, a few may sell, but think about the 1000s of worthless listings on Ebay! Don't be a part of that.

Conclusion

These were just a few things I think sellers should know (and buyers should know about their sellers and what they should expect). In the coming week I will be putting more info out on the table, so stay tuned! Feel free to refute any of my points below as well. I would love to hear others experiences - this is solely based on mine and is definitely not final word.