Need some EBay selling advice?

[BrickLegacy]

I have a question:
Is SmartPost still a terrible way to ship something across the country?  I haven't used smart post in a long time but it's a $14 shipping discount and that's money in my pocket but it is also an extra 2 business day wait for my buyer.  I'm leaning towards good ole USPS but any suggestions from SmartPost users (or haters) is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I use it all the time. Never had any trouble.

[LegoBro]

24 minutes ago, redghostx said:

I have a question:
Is SmartPost still a terrible way to ship something across the country?  I haven't used smart post in a long time but it's a $14 shipping discount and that's money in my pocket but it is also an extra 2 business day wait for my buyer.  I'm leaning towards good ole USPS but any suggestions from SmartPost users (or haters) is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

I used to use it. I'd say about 15 times out of every 100 sales. BUT it just took one sale to a buyer who didn't understand the shipping method for me to never use it again. The buyer messaged me over and over again..why this and why that over where it was and how long it was taking even though the estimated time was accurate on my listing. I managed to keep the buyer cool and avoid negative feedback, but that was enough for me to stop using it just to save a few dollars. I'd rather up my price a bit and just ship USPS. I had one experience where I used it to ship something about 30 miles away. It took 7 days to get the item to the customer. Sat at a fed ex warehouse in the opposite direction for a few days arghhhh. That should have been clue enough for me. Again...most times no problems...but why risk it over a few dollars. YMMV.

 

Edited June 17, 2017 by LegoBro

[Pseudoty]

1 hour ago, redghostx said:

I have a question:

Is SmartPost still a terrible way to ship something across the country?  I haven't used smart post in a long time but it's a $14 shipping discount and that's money in my pocket but it is also an extra 2 business day wait for my buyer.  I'm leaning towards good ole USPS but any suggestions from SmartPost users (or haters) is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

In the USA as a buyer and a seller I hate Smartpost. Yes it saves money when shipping items across country too large to fit in a USPS regional A or B mail box but when I see I have an inbound package coming Smartpost I cringe. Just too many hands on the package and transfer from FedEx to USPS adds another process where something can go wrong. Also here FedEx will not pickup Smartpost you have to drop it off so time and effort eats into your savings. There are times when say shipping an ISD 8 pounds from east coast to west coast 24 x 16 x 8 that it can save $25 versus USPS Priority Mail and $15 verses FedEx ground. I have had items delayed where FedEx tracking shows it has been delivered to the post office but for some reason they do not deliver it until Saturday other times where the package has gone back and forth between post offices in different states and times where FedEx sends it in a crazy route slow journey. 

[cladner]

1 hour ago, redghostx said:

I have a question:

Is SmartPost still a terrible way to ship something across the country?  I haven't used smart post in a long time but it's a $14 shipping discount and that's money in my pocket but it is also an extra 2 business day wait for my buyer.  I'm leaning towards good ole USPS but any suggestions from SmartPost users (or haters) is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

depends on time of year - during November-December I have encountered extended delays and missing items multiple years that I wouldn't even bother risking bad feedback because of a missed delivery date.  the other problem with smartpost is no easy way to get insurance or signature confirmation so for me its only good for small low value items.  like $19.99 msrp super hero sets going to cali.  it sucks that amazon doesn't give FBM sellers smartpost as an option.

Edited June 17, 2017 by cladner

[Pseudoty]

8 minutes ago, cladner said:

depends on time of year - during November-December I have encountered extended delays and missing items multiple years that I wouldn't even bother risking bad feedback because of a missed delivery date.  the other problem with smartpost is no easy way to get insurance or signature confirmation so for me its only good for small low value items.  like $19.99 msrp super hero sets going to cali.

Try USPS Priority Mail Regional Box A or B you have to order them online 25 to a bundle but they are free so you save on the cost of a box. 

[jaisonline]

USPS regional a and b boxes are sometimes great to use when selling on eBay with due to their postage discount.  Use their compare tool to compare rates. 

[minicoopers11]

Just FYI, Reg A are 2 lb rate and Reg B are 4 lb rate. I typically don't use Reg B since few sets that fit in there will exceed 3 or 4 lb. I'm a sucker for 1095 and 7.

[exciter1]

1 hour ago, Pseudoty said:

In the USA as a buyer and a seller I hate Smartpost. Yes it saves money when shipping items across country too large to fit in a USPS regional A or B mail box but when I see I have an inbound package coming Smartpost I cringe. Just too many hands on the package and transfer from FedEx to USPS adds another process where something can go wrong. Also here FedEx will not pickup Smartpost you have to drop it off so time and effort eats into your savings. There are times when say shipping an ISD 8 pounds from east coast to west coast 24 x 16 x 8 that it can save $25 versus USPS Priority Mail and $15 verses FedEx ground. I have had items delayed where FedEx tracking shows it has been delivered to the post office but for some reason they do not deliver it until Saturday other times where the package has gone back and forth between post offices in different states and times where FedEx sends it in a crazy route slow journey. 

I stopped using Smartpost several years ago. It takes away frustration from the buyer. I'll eat the $3 - $5, no biggie.

[Fenix_2k1]

So, bit of a dilemma. I've got a zero rated bidder just buy and pay for a tumbler and they only joined ebay yesterday. Paypal have verified the address and I've checked the info, it seems to be a very well to do area in Surrey (house valued at 3/4 million). Do I have faith that its someone just trying to buy a wanted present for someone and they haven't used ebay before, cancel the transaction or is there a way of getting the user to further verify who they are before sending.

It rang alarm bells immediately but would someone living in such a high end area really resort to eBay Lego fraud?

 

[Val-E]

8 minutes ago, Fenix_2k1 said:

So, bit of a dilemma. I've got a zero rated bidder just buy and pay for a tumbler and they only joined ebay yesterday. Paypal have verified the address and I've checked the info, it seems to be a very well to do area in Surrey (house valued at 3/4 million). Do I have faith that its someone just trying to buy a wanted present for someone and they haven't used ebay before, cancel the transaction or is there a way of getting the user to further verify who they are before sending.

It rang alarm bells immediately but would someone living in such a high end area really resort to eBay Lego fraud?

 

Send them a nice welcome  message asking them to provide a phone number for the shipping company and to recheck their address as a new user anti fraud measure. No reply no shipment.

[KShine]

13 minutes ago, Fenix_2k1 said:

So, bit of a dilemma. I've got a zero rated bidder just buy and pay for a tumbler and they only joined ebay yesterday. Paypal have verified the address and I've checked the info, it seems to be a very well to do area in Surrey (house valued at 3/4 million). Do I have faith that its someone just trying to buy a wanted present for someone and they haven't used ebay before, cancel the transaction or is there a way of getting the user to further verify who they are before sending.

It rang alarm bells immediately but would someone living in such a high end area really resort to eBay Lego fraud?

You sold an item, they paid, & ebay/paypal approve - send the buyer their item.

[Val-E]

32 minutes ago, Fenix_2k1 said:

So, bit of a dilemma. I've got a zero rated bidder just buy and pay for a tumbler and they only joined ebay yesterday. Paypal have verified the address and I've checked the info, it seems to be a very well to do area in Surrey (house valued at 3/4 million). Do I have faith that its someone just trying to buy a wanted present for someone and they haven't used ebay before, cancel the transaction or is there a way of getting the user to further verify who they are before sending.

It rang alarm bells immediately but would someone living in such a high end area really resort to eBay Lego fraud?

 

Another contermeasure against fraud is to put all the buyer criteria to maximum strictness and demand they go through account verification. You will lose sales and should keep an eye on the blocked sales register. For higher value items, not accepting paypal as another option, but again you will lose sales.

[Val-E]

20 minutes ago, KShine said:

You sold an item, they paid, & ebay/paypal approve - send the buyer their item.

Are paypal gonna have your back if it´s a hacked account or fraud, though? We all have to start from 0 on Ebay but due diligence is never a bad idea with 0 feedback new users for high value items. Some sellers even have that really douchey discaimer about cancelling sales and auctions to 0 feedback users.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

***** UK Only *****

Since non-VAT registered business sellers in the UK face a MASSIVE 20% increase in all eBay fees from 01AUG, have any of you managed to successfully revert from a business seller back to a private seller? The latest "Brexit Bombshell" to below-VAT-threshold business sellers is the addition of VAT meaning that fees are now 15-20% higher than private sellers along with NO OFFERS of a £1 FVF. I think eBay are going to be deluged with either sellers leaving or asking to revert to private selling (vitually impossible). I was unable to revert back so I closed my business account (23,331 feedbacks 100% positive) and opened a new private account. I've not used the new account to sell yet as eBay is still expensive, unhelpful and very unsafe for sellers. However, there will be a point when my local customer base dries up as I'll still have thousands of sets to shift.

I'm already VAT registered with another business concern, but there's no way that I'm go through all that hassle, time and expense again for eBay.

As if eBay can't piss off their loyal honest sellers any more!

As long as you pay tax on all profits, it should be none of eBay's damn business what type of account you have!

Why hasn't eBay gone bust yet? They deserve to! They are the biggest fruitcake of all.

Thoughts?

Watch this space as I'll soon be offering over £100,000 of inventory at cost price to UK BP members only ;-) I've just got to get the stock check finished which is a nightmare. I really wish I'd never got started.

I'd rather sell to you guys at cost than give those greedy bastards at eBay another penny!

Edited July 17, 2017 by TabbyBoy

[Voltron]

9 hours ago, TabbyBoy said:

***** UK Only *****

Since non-VAT registered business sellers in the UK face a MASSIVE 20% increase in all eBay fees from 01AUG, have any of you managed to successfully revert from a business seller back to a private seller? The latest "Brexit Bombshell" to below-VAT-threshold business sellers is the addition of VAT meaning that fees are now 15-20% higher than private sellers along with NO OFFERS of a £1 FVF. I think eBay are going to be deluged with either sellers leaving or asking to revert to private selling (vitually impossible). I was unable to revert back so I closed my business account (23,331 feedbacks 100% positive) and opened a new private account. I've not used the new account to sell yet as eBay is still expensive, unhelpful and very unsafe for sellers. However, there will be a point when my local customer base dries up as I'll still have thousands of sets to shift.

I'm already VAT registered with another business concern, but there's no way that I'm go through all that hassle, time and expense again for eBay.

As if eBay can't piss off their loyal honest sellers any more!

As long as you pay tax on all profits, it should be none of eBay's damn business what type of account you have!

Why hasn't eBay gone bust yet? They deserve to! They are the biggest fruitcake of all.

Thoughts?

Watch this space as I'll soon be offering over £100,000 of inventory at cost price to UK BP members only ;-) I've just got to get the stock check finished which is a nightmare. I really wish I'd never got started.

I'd rather sell to you guys at cost than give those greedy bastards at eBay another penny!

If you just opened a new private account, try to sell afew items to get your feedback back up, as ebay has puts lots of selling limits for new sellers, so it would be worth your while to get the selling limits up before you start listing all of your sets again.

[John82]

As above take your time and get your private account boosted, however you do have large quantities. Selling 30 sets a month should keep you off eBays rader as a private seller, however I assume this won't be good enough for you?

You should get a good offer to begin with too, and most likely be a £1 fvf at the end of August (we usually get them on bank holidays).

If you do have a R2D2 10225 or Red Five left at cost then give me a nudge as I want them to build  I'm regretting selling my only Red Five.

Edited July 17, 2017 by John82

[hockeyweasel]

On 6/17/2017 at 2:08 PM, redghostx said:

I have a question:

Is SmartPost still a terrible way to ship something across the country?  I haven't used smart post in a long time but it's a $14 shipping discount and that's money in my pocket but it is also an extra 2 business day wait for my buyer.  I'm leaning towards good ole USPS but any suggestions from SmartPost users (or haters) is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

For me, being on the East Coast, shipping anything heavy west of the Mississippi makes SmartPost attractive.  That being said, SmartPost always makes me nervous, because if I ever get an item not received complaint, it has come from one of those shipments 90% of the time.  If you're selling a used item, something retired, or something that's a discount to them, I'd be more likely to use it.  If you're doing a quick flip of a hot item, I'd be a bit more hesitant unless you have economy shipping in the listing.  The other times where I'm a bit more apt to use it is if I have the weekend's two non-business days in the middle to help it get there "fast."

[Guest TabbyBoy]

@Mnd747 & John82... Thanks for you're replies, but my main grip is eBay's REFUSAL to convert my biggest account from business back to private as I also have an enormous amount of private non-profit items to list and the feedback would help. Too late now as I told them to stick it. Why can't they simply revert back? WTF?

Anyway, I think buyers look at price more than anything so I may just list some stubborn (eg. Friends) sets at cost or a slight loss making them the cheapest on eBay by far.

When I list again, I hope to get the £1 FVF offer along with free listing (I really missed those!) and I'll have more than enough stock for lots of second-chance offers too if I list as auctions. I've been on eBay since 2000 (with hardly any scams) and it's really gone downhill over the last couple of years.

Don't worry guys, you're all going to get a nudge when I have my next big cull and there'll be some bargains too ;-)

If any eBay business sellers need to register with VAT to claim back the extra 20% in fees from 01AUG, do it now! It may not be worth it if your fees are under £250/month as it's a huge increase in paperwork and you also have to do quarterly returns along with REALLY being on HMRC's radar.

Cash is king and this is how most of my deals are done now ;-)

Edited July 17, 2017 by TabbyBoy

[John82]

17 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

@Mnd747 & John82... Thanks for you're replies, but my main grip is eBay's REFUSAL to convert my biggest account from business back to private as I also have an enormous amount of private non-profit items to list and the feedback would help. Too late now as I told them to stick it. Why can't they simply revert back? WTF?

Sorry to hear that, i thought that they would have allowed it, that is a lot of feedback history to lose, and when there is a lot of competition that feedback score is important.

Another option could be selling to Collectible Toy shops.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

27 minutes ago, John82 said:

Sorry to hear that, i thought that they would have allowed it, that is a lot of feedback history to lose, and when there is a lot of competition that feedback score is important.

Another option could be selling to Collectible Toy shops.

eBay rarely allows anything that helps loyal and trusted sellers which is why I hope they go bust soon!

If anybody is encouraged to become an eBay business seller, don't - unless it's huge volume, I mean well over the VAT threshold.

It's only eBay's anal rules and if you submit ALL profit on your HMRC tax return, there shouldn't be a problem. This is IMPORTANT as HMRC will wipe you out in an instant if you are suspected of selling for a profit. eBay can also grass you up without your knowledge. I got stung with a huge fine of over £2K a few years ago and I only made £700 profit that year!

[Will 4]

23 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

It's only eBay's anal rules and if you submit ALL profit on your HMRC tax return, there shouldn't be a problem. This is IMPORTANT as HMRC will wipe you out in an instant if you are suspected of selling for a profit. eBay can also grass you up without your knowledge. I got stung with a huge fine of over £2K a few years ago and I only made £700 profit that year!

The sad part is you probably paid more UK tax than ebay.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

23 minutes ago, Will 4 said:

The sad part is you probably paid more UK tax than ebay.

eBay have certainly made more profit out of MY sets than I did... Grrr!

[Mgip21]

 OK I sold a 9450 ninjago set last night  on eBay  and got it ready and shipped through FedEx smart post this morning. After dropping off the package the customer said the address was wrong and wanted me to change it. I was able to get the package back from FedEx.  I've asked the customer to update his address on eBay but he says he already has and it is still showing the first address. Any suggestions on how to go about this transaction? Thank you for your time  

[fuzzy_bricks]

3 minutes ago, Mgip21 said:

 OK I sold a 9450 ninjago set last night  on eBay  and got it ready and shipped through FedEx smart post this morning. After dropping off the package the customer said the address was wrong and wanted me to change it. I was able to get the package back from FedEx.  I've asked the customer to update his address on eBay but he says he already has and it is still showing the first address. Any suggestions on how to go about this transaction? Thank you for your time  

You can modify the address when you print the shipping label, but you lose the seller protection, if you value that you'll need to cancel the order and have them rebuy with the correct address.  There is no way, that I'm aware of, to change the address after they have checked out and keep seller protection.  When you cancel, you can select the reason that says there is something wrong with the buyer's address.

[Mgip21]

3 minutes ago, fuzzy_bricks said:

You can modify the address when you print the shipping label, but you lose the seller protection, if you value that you'll need to cancel the order and have them rebuy with the correct address.  There is no way, that I'm aware of, to change the address after they have checked out and keep seller protection.  When you cancel, you can select the reason that says there is something wrong with the buyer's address.

Thank you, I was afraid of that. The customer also had zero feedback at the time of the purchase so that also makes me nervous to change the address without the sellers protectionThe customer also had zero feedback at the time of the purchase so that also makes me nervous to change the address without the sellers protection