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eBay Selling Advice


Legodog

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1 hour ago, stephen_rockefeller said:

It should be a given (should be) that a seller doesn't pack items like an orangutan, and if they do it will most likely be reflected in his/her feedback.

Still, there's a big difference between someone who's packaged something 'sufficiently' to someone who has packaged something 'exceptionally'. I personally try to be exceptional every time. As I'm sure most of us here do. But if you take a look at the Packaging Excellence thread it's evident that ebay sellers and giant retailers manage to fail at even 'sufficient' a lot of the time....

So if you know your track record is pretty flawless, I guess my question was, is it worth the extra time to outline it, or just let it speak for itself when it arrives at the buyer's door? Moreover, is taking that extra bit of time to outline your standards actually going to draw in more buyers at the end of the day? Hard to accurately measure without tons of sales data from both methods (with or without packing details), but it would be an interesting thing to try and track! 

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31 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

Still, there's a big difference between someone who's packaged something 'sufficiently' to someone who has packaged something 'exceptionally'. I personally try to be exceptional every time. As I'm sure most of us here do. But if you take a look at the Packaging Excellence thread it's evident that ebay sellers and giant retailers manage to fail at even 'sufficient' a lot of the time....

So if you know your track record is pretty flawless, I guess my question was, is it worth the extra time to outline it, or just let it speak for itself when it arrives at the buyer's door? Moreover, is taking that extra bit of time to outline your standards actually going to draw in more buyers at the end of the day? Hard to accurately measure without tons of sales data from both methods (with or without packing details), but it would be an interesting thing to try and track! 

Most buyers don't read the descriptions properly so why waste your time describing things they won't read? Some people like to talk about themselves too much in real life and on eBay... people hate that. You can't take the word of BP members in cases like this because this is a group, that for the most part, READS the descriptions properly so of course you'll find some who like to read about every teeny detail.

So when I list something, it's a couple lines about the set: new/used, good/very good/excellent condition of the box, etc. Then a couple lines about terms and conditions (I like to spell out that immediate payment required, I ship within 2 business days) but that's just a copy paste and _point form only_.

Exception to the above: If you're selling a set that is considered to be very collectible TODAY (not years down the road) - i.e. Cafe Corner - or a set that had a beautiful box (41999) then I insert a very short one liner to the effect of: "I will do my best to package this set with great care to try and ensure it arrives in the condition as pictured." Simple, direct, often at the very top of the listing.

Otherwise, I think you're wasting your time being too wordy... keep it stupid simple. ;)

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This has been very informative.  In particular, randrace has really opened my eyes that very short descriptions may be best for me. This is one reason I don't like the "Sell Similar" option on eBay.  It almost always includes a large, page-long generic description of the item, and/or one of those videos from that heavy-set brunette (all of which may or may not be accurate).  Whenever I'm shopping on eBay, click on an item, and one of those generic descriptions pop up, my eyes already start to blurr... I have to scan the page to see "Where does this end and the actual seller's info begin?". It's annoying.  When I'm buying, I usually want to know:  Is it really NISB and box in good condition? How fast will it ship? And is it a good seller - one who cares about whether the buyer is satisfied or not, and actually tries to make that happen.  That's all I want to know. Including terms and conditions about what you won't do will not help you sell something. And the "bad" buyers who these terms and conditions apply to most won't read them anyway. "Good buyers" (who are just looking for a good seller) will read them and see you as a "Negative Nellie". This is what I call a "bad" listing (just copied from a 1000+ feedback Lego power seller on eBay):

Description:
You are buying LEGO Set (XXXX) -RETIRED- NEW IN SEALED BOX. Message me with any questions
<wasted text... smart buyers will message you, dumb buyers won't... doesn't matter if you include this text or not>
Smoke Free Home <...so you have dogs and cats, ay?>
Check out my other items! <wasted text... who cares>
 
Be sure to add me to your favorites list! <don't tell me what to do>
 
My Stores Logo
Sign up for my email newsletters by adding my eBay Store to your Favorites
<I said, don't tell me what to do>
 
DOMESTIC SHIPPING
 
All items are shipped via USPS First Class or Priority Mail, depending on size. <So... Priority mail... unless it's not... very informative>
 
International shipping... Please message me for cost before buying thank you!  <This note applies to 1% of the people looking at your ad. Why include it? Again... a smart buyer will do this anyway... a dumb buyer won't>
 
Bidding or Buy it Now:
Please make sure you want the item before bidding or selecting the Buy it Now option. I do not cancel transactions. <The idiot buyers you are talking to here are not reading this... those who are still reading at this point are seeing a seller who is starting to sound negative.>
 
Payment
Paypal Required. <They'll figure that out when they click "Buy"> Within 2 days after Item is purchased or Auction was won. <See the note above>
 
Payment must be made is US Dollars. <Seriously?>
 
About Us... Please feel free to contact us at any time at <SELLERNAME> <Smart buyers know this... others don't care>
If there are any problems with your order, please contact us ASAP. We will be glad to help rectify any situation.
 
If you are not fully satisfied with any purchase, we do offer refunds of the full item price providing the item is returned in the same condition. Buyer does pay return shipping! <I even include a similar statement in my own listings, but I think I'm going to stop. It's unneeded text that only applies to 1% of sales, and does not help sell the item.> 
 
 
 
 
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27 minutes ago, Kenxxx said:

This has been very informative.  In particular, randrace has really opened my eyes that very short descriptions may be best for me. This is one reason I don't like the "Sell Similar" option on eBay.  It almost always includes a large, page-long generic description of the item, and/or one of those videos from that heavy-set brunette (all of which may or may not be accurate). 

I use Sell Similar all the time, but it's from one of my previous listings.  It saves all of my settings and doesn't include all that junk.  It's been pretty fool proof and I've done it for several years.  It definitely saves me from creating from scratch every time.  I briefly change the description and include any other useful information pertaining to the listing, any descriptive condition language, etc.  For items in great condition, I always use language including "may have minor shelf wear" and "contact me if you have questions over box condition".  I've never had a complaint and I've shipped stuff even Rockefeller's orangutan would even feel sorry for.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What do you do when you purchase more than one set and are selling minifigs on ebay? I have been selling for last 2 months, and listed several of the same minifigs one after the other. Got promoted to 30 listing/month now and starting to sell big boxes. I mentionned it is possible to combine multiple won minifig auctions to save on shipping.

Wondering if I should put a line in my minifig description to let know the buyer.

That i have multiple of the same minifig

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You can list it as quantity 5 (or whatever) and make it good till cancelled. When you sell 4 it will magically show "last one" as well as the 4 total sold. When it hits zero, go back and change it to 1, it will now be at 5 sold with the "last one" again. If you are going to be selling the same thing people like to know that other have bought them from you

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I havn't sold a large set yet, but....

What would happen if you got tracked signed for delivery etc and packaged your item safely, but upon delivery, the buyer claims that it was just a box full of paper or rocks? I've wondered this for a while. I've sold a couple of thousand items on Ebay (lower value) and never had this problem, but I'd be worried that out of many expensive sales, some chancer would try this on occasionally?

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2 minutes ago, BarryZola said:

I havn't sold a large set yet, but....

What would happen if you got tracked signed for delivery etc and packaged your item safely, but upon delivery, the buyer claims that it was just a box full of paper or rocks? I've wondered this for a while. I've sold a couple of thousand items on Ebay (lower value) and never had this problem, but I'd be worried that out of many expensive sales, some chancer would try this on occasionally?

Barry I reckon that could be a potential problem but I would like to think that ebay would take into account your track record and your feedback and see the obvious scam at play. I have only lost one case and even though it wasn't my fault (damage in post) ebay or at least the person dealing with the case was obviously reading from a script favoured the buyer so I had to suck it up. I wonder, like you what if you are a premium price seller on ebay, how do you protect yourself. I.e  £2000 TV ordered and delivered then 3 days later you get an email saying the buyer says you sent them an empty box. How do you work that one out?

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Thanks for pretty much confirming what I'd thought may be the case guys. Obviously when the time comes I will check out the buyers profile etc before posting anything expensive for obvious worrying signs. Other than that, like you say, probably just got to hope for the best. At least if it was someone in the same country, you may be able to pay them a friendly visit, but if it were a foreign sale, Ebay would likely just screw you over in favour of the buyer.

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  • 1 month later...

Has anyone shipped Lego from the US to Turkey through GSP? I have a potential buyer trying to buy a set but it keeps blocking him. I thought it was a setting I had but I reset everything and I dont see any reason why he wouldn't be able to buy it. Unless there is some kind of import restrictions on Lego in Turkey that I didnt see?

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On 2/11/2016 at 7:55 AM, justapilgrim said:

Amazon buyer: "I overpaid, Timmy is selling it for $5 less, I'm going to return it you greedy reseller scum" amazon refunds.

Ebay: same thing. Too bad, buyers remorse is for Amazon A-Z not ebay, read the terms

Buyers Remorse or seeking a refund in price difference is a vast difference from a buyer claiming the seller did not send the item.

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Has anyone shipped Lego from the US to Turkey through GSP? I have a potential buyer trying to buy a set but it keeps blocking him. I thought it was a setting I had but I reset everything and I dont see any reason why he wouldn't be able to buy it. Unless there is some kind of import restrictions on Lego in Turkey that I didnt see?

Just in case anyone needs it, was told by ebay csr that you cannot ship lego sets through gsp to turkey, Brazil, or south Africa from the US due to some kind of import restrictions in those countries. Had to turn buyer away

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1 hour ago, kfishe2 said:

Just in case anyone needs it, was told by ebay csr that you cannot ship lego sets through gsp to turkey, Brazil, or south Africa from the US due to some kind of import restrictions in those countries. Had to turn buyer away emoji25.png

Interesting, never heard that before.

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2 hours ago, kfishe2 said:

Just in case anyone needs it, was told by ebay csr that you cannot ship lego sets through gsp to turkey, Brazil, or south Africa from the US due to some kind of import restrictions in those countries. Had to turn buyer away emoji25.png

Now I understand why my no minifigs X-wing listing got quote requests from Turkey and 2xBrazil as soon as I listed it on BrickLink last week ...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a buyer who paid full price in PayPal for an item. Ebay account was created yesterday and has no feedback. Other than tracking info, what else can I do to make sure I'm protected? I've had no issues with any eBay sales in the past except one person who tried to claim via message an item didn't arrive but gave up after i responded about the confirmed tracking delivery. Thanks in advance!

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8 minutes ago, Sfcommando14 said:

I have a buyer who paid full price in PayPal for an item. Ebay account was created yesterday and has no feedback. Other than tracking info, what else can I do to make sure I'm protected? I've had no issues with any eBay sales in the past except one person who tried to claim via message an item didn't arrive but gave up after i responded about the confirmed tracking delivery. Thanks in advance!

Last year I sold 5-10 items to brand new ebay accounts and had NO issues what so ever. As long as you ship the item to the confirmed address you are covered.  For some of the items I sold that were larger (more expensive) I added insurance.

 

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