Are fruitcakes running rampant on eBay lately? Selling, buying, listing, feedback, etc...

[Zelgazra]

Some of you guys who've been doing this for a few years probably forget, because you achieved the benchmark so long ago.... 

 

Feedback is important to new sellers, up to that first 100 when you earn your Top Rated status and final fee discounts. I'm hovering around 40 feedback since starting last September... if I'd gotten feedback for every transaction up to this point I'd be closer to 75. There is value in achieving this benchmark. If it means hassling your lazy/once a month ebayers to leave you a positive feedback to get there, so be it. After that status is reached, I'd agree that no feedback is as good as positive feedback. But up until that point, only positive feedback is as good as positive feedback. 

If you've waited everything out (seen Delivery confirmation etc), you've given them some time, and then you message a feedback request, I don't think they've got any grounds whatsoever to leave you a Negative based on your 'hassling them'. I'm inclined to think Ebay would side with you and remove it if a case were opened. So i don't see much harm in asking. The worst they can do is refuse, but at least you tried. 

[redghostx]

4 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

Some of you guys who've been doing this for a few years probably forget, because you achieved the benchmark so long ago.... 

 

Feedback is important to new sellers, up to that first 100 when you earn your Top Rated status and final fee discounts. I'm hovering around 40 feedback since starting last September... if I'd gotten feedback for every transaction up to this point I'd be closer to 75. There is value in achieving this benchmark. If it means hassling your lazy/once a month ebayers to leave you a positive feedback to get there, so be it. After that status is reached, I'd agree that no feedback is as good as positive feedback. But up until that point, only positive feedback is as good as positive feedback. 

If you've waited everything out (seen Delivery confirmation etc), you've given them some time, and then you message a feedback request, I don't think they've got any grounds whatsoever to leave you a Negative based on your 'hassling them'. I'm inclined to think Ebay would side with you and remove it if a case were opened. So i don't see much harm in asking. The worst they can do is refuse, but at least you tried. 

You don't need 100 feedback to be a top rated seller; you need 100 sales, $1000 in sales, and good metrics over the past 12 months.

[Zelgazra]

7 minutes ago, redghostx said:

You don't need 100 feedback to be a top rated seller; you need 100 sales, $1000 in sales, and good metrics over the past 12 months.

?! Seriously?! 

i thought it was all tied to the colour of your little star, which is tied to your feedback. I can't say I've ever seen a Top Rated seller with fewer than 100 feedback. If it's indeed possible, I should be pretty darn close then!! 

Can you point me to an outline of ebay's definition of "good metrics"? Sales have flatlined the past couple weeks which can't be helping, but on average the past 4 months have been pretty consistent. Exciting news. 

[TargetZero]

Well been 9 days since my lego is pay on ebay... a 200$.. that ain't shipped, and seller dont answer me, well he did once for telling me it will be shipped by the week-end... 3 days after that... no news.. no tracking number no nothing.. this really sucks, he had good feedback and all.. maybe he,s lazy i don't know, but i hate when it does that, you don't see the lego or money for 1 month

 

 

[redghostx]

6 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

?! Seriously?! 

i thought it was all tied to the colour of your little star, which is tied to your feedback. I can't say I've ever seen a Top Rated seller with fewer than 100 feedback. If it's indeed possible, I should be pretty darn close then!! 

Can you point me to an outline of ebay's definition of "good metrics"? Sales have flatlined the past couple weeks which can't be helping, but on average the past 4 months have been pretty consistent. Exciting news. 

eBay changed the TRS program last month and I could not find the updated page on their website so the following information is based on my top rated dashboard and what information I quickly sourced.

 

You need the following for global Top Rated (Canadians)

Defect rate of 3 or less (multiple defects on the same item count as 1 defect)
Late shipment of 5% or less (10% for US sales but tracking numbers aren't required)
Cases closed with seller resolution of less than or equal to 0.30%

TRPlus earns you another 20% off of fees (7.2% fees+paypal) if you offer 1 day handling and 14 day returns but I prefer no returns for almost all of my items.

 

[randrace]

23 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

?! Seriously?! 

i thought it was all tied to the colour of your little star, which is tied to your feedback. I can't say I've ever seen a Top Rated seller with fewer than 100 feedback. If it's indeed possible, I should be pretty darn close then!! 

Can you point me to an outline of ebay's definition of "good metrics"? Sales have flatlined the past couple weeks which can't be helping, but on average the past 4 months have been pretty consistent. Exciting news. 

Go to your Seller Dashboard to see how close you are to Top Rated. Links to it are found here under My Ebay:

 

[Pseudoty]

Starting May 1, 2016, listings from Top Rated sellers must offer at least a 30-day money-back return policy to earn the Top Rated Plus discount and seal.* 

[Alpinemaps]

40 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

Starting May 1, 2016, listings from Top Rated sellers must offer at least a 30-day money-back return policy to earn the Top Rated Plus discount and seal.* 

Glad you mentioned that.  I think I only have 14 day on my listings.  I'll need to change that.

[daurgo2001]

All of the last few posts should be moved to a thread made to help eBay sellers so that they were easily accessible to people who needed that info (definitely valuable)

[daurgo2001]

So... what do you guys think is for sale here:

 

[Bold-Arrow]

I'd say all, but somehow i know that's the wrong answer . 

[daurgo2001]

4 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

I'd say all, but somehow i know that's the wrong answer . 

While I can understand that laziness is a possibility/reality in life, it's definitely not the best strategy for sales...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272161197732?euid=127f645933084a58b6898abf26e82533&cp=1&exe=13926&ext=35633&sojTags=exe=exe,ext=ext

The last two lines of the description are:

 

"Looking around eBay at prices, it would appear that this entire collection would sell for over $4,300 separately. 

 

Please note, the Simpsons, Avengers & Star Wars sets that you see in my photos are NOT included in this listing. "

 

 

[Bold-Arrow]

Thats gonna end up well... Said no one on this site . 

[newbie77]

3 minutes ago, daurgo2001 said:

While I can understand that laziness is a possibility/reality in life, it's definitely not the best strategy for sales...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272161197732?euid=127f645933084a58b6898abf26e82533&cp=1&exe=13926&ext=35633&sojTags=exe=exe,ext=ext

The last two lines of the description are:

 

"Looking around eBay at prices, it would appear that this entire collection would sell for over $4,300 separately. 

 

Please note, the Simpsons, Avengers & Star Wars sets that you see in my photos are NOT included in this listing. "

 

 

funny way of saying i just want to sell

castle original and re-hash 

and LOTR

[daurgo2001]

There are two things very wrong with the lot:

1.) The picture is VERY misleading when you're browsing eBay: You see a large lot, with immediately identifiably large/valuable sets and you see a price, and think "huh. Might be a good opportunity"... and then realize half the sets in the pic aren't included.

 

2.) His projected value of the lot is way off ($4,300). According to the lot calculator here, the value of the lot is actually *just* over $3,500. (annoying to calculate because the set #'s he has listed for the battle packs are all wrong... so I had to google them a few times)

 

Since this is a BINoBO, I sent a Best Offer explaining the fact that the lot value if sold *completely individually* would be exactly 3.5k, so there's absolutely no way that I could offer him anything near that. I also mentioned that since we were 'close', we could meet up so he wouldn't have to ship everything (He's in Orlando, Fl, I'm located in Miami).

I thought: "Negotiation, start low + gas and a few hrs of driving. Lets offer 2k"... and here starts the 'fun'.

Edited March 17, 2016 by daurgo2001

[daurgo2001]

So he counters with:

 

"

The lowest I'd be willing to go would be $3,000. I agree, that after you pay all of the ebay & Paypal fees, $3,500 is probably what I would end up with in my pocket. At $3,000, there's still room for a 17% profit. Happy to meet in PSL on TPike.

"

 

 

 

 

 

 

My reply (Without an offer now... didn't want to burn through another one):

Hey again!

Sorry, but again, you are incorrect. Sales stats from all the items over the past 6 months on eBay give a value just over $3,500. Minus at least 10% in fees, if not more, and *if* they all sell well, then I'd only be making my money back. Not to mention the cost associated in getting the items (as in willing to help you save $ instead of getting you to ship them to me), plus time and effort involved in listing and shipping everything... Definitely not worth $150 (if that much)..

I haven't calculated the original value of the sets... but my original offer still stands if you're willing to reconsider it, or propose something else.
Thanks again for getting back to me,
- David

 

Quote

 

David,

I have more than $2k into these sets, and I'm not looking to lose money on them. When I pulled pricing on these, I came up with sales that totaled closer to the $4,000 mark. While I agree, markets do fluctuate, I also don't "need" to sell these today. I'd like to sell them, as it would clear up some funds for some other projects I'm pursuing, but I don't need to sell them. I didn't buy these with the intention of ever re-selling, and at less than $3,000, I'd just as soon keep them than sell them. These would be more for an enthusiast, rather than someone who is trying to re-sell each one individually; and I'd rather sell them that way.

Thank you,

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey again,

Once again, I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers, but I do believe you're over-valuing the lot. I'm getting my figures from average sales over the last six months on eBay, for NIB items. You can get the same results if you want to check for yourself. The site is called brickpicker, and they have a lot calculator. I guarantee you that the street value of your lot (minus the sets you said aren't included, which is shady btw) is just over 3,500, which is why 3k just isn't worth the effort. 

I'm a huge fan of castle, so I'm definitely interested in the sets for personal use, but in the end, it's still an investment, and I need to make sure that it's worth the $ for the whole lot.... Also, that angle of thought it even worse since opening the sets would devalue them further than the current rate we're looking at now.... And lastly, if I was looking at it from a strictly 'personal use' pov: unless I *really* wanted every single set NIB, then it would end up being much cheaper for me to pick and chose the ones I wanted and buy those off eBay individually, thus saving some extra $ in sets I don't really need/want...

Once again, just a bit of food for thought.

-David

 

As a side note: I only included the bit about the other sets *JUST IN CASE* he was calculating those into his total value for some reason. (And by now, this didn't seem like it was going to go anywhere...)

 

Quote

David,

It's unfortunate that you think that my post is shady. I own over 1,000 NIB sets and due to a recent move, I had most of them stacked in my office in no particular order. There's nothing shady about that, and my post is very direct as to what is included. Perhaps that seems odd to you, and if that's the case, fine. However, accusing someone of intentionally misleading people is offensive.

I'll just keep my sets, thanks and have a great day.

John

 

 

I'm not trying to be offensive, but at first glance, items not included in the auction are a huge part of the main photo. I simply think that's never good practice... You are correct that you specifically and clearly state that they're not included, but it still leaves a lightly bitter taste in one's mouth. It's called expectation management. Someone seeing your main photo expects that everything in the photo is included.

Take it as you will, it was an fyi that I simply chose to share for your benefit, not mine.
- David

 

 

Quote

 

Telling someone how to post things is offensive. Giving someone "business lessons" and talking down to them like they are completely uninformed is also highly offensive.

People like you are the reason I stopped buying and selling on eBay a long time ago. 

Thank you for reminding me why I prefer to sell through other mediums.

Cheers,

John

 

 

 

 

 

/Facepalm. That escalated quickly.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by daurgo2001

[TargetZero]

he just wont sell. who will buy that..

[edgecrusher]

I'm going to offer him $1,000 for the unlisted sets. 

[Alpinemaps]

I'm thinking the fruitcakes are turning into you guys trying to have some fun at this guys' expense.

Yes he's a fruitcake. But it sounds like your investing too much time into this.

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, daurgo2001 said:

Telling someone how to post things is offensive. Giving someone "business lessons" and talking down to them like they are completely uninformed is also highly offensive.

People like you are the reason I stopped buying and selling on eBay a long time ago. 

Thank you for reminding me why I prefer to sell through other mediums.

Cheers,

John

I can't disagree with this.  To be honest, if the intend was to get him to lower the price OP was not doing a very good job at it.

[stephen_rockefeller]

For real! If you dont like this guys listing just move with your life.

[daurgo2001]

2 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I can't disagree with this.  To be honest, if the intend was to get him to lower the price OP was not doing a very good job at it.

 

2 hours ago, stephen_rockefeller said:

For real! If you dont like this guys listing just move with your life.

 

It's not a question of not liking the listing. I had every intention of continuing the negotiation, and as I mentioned, I was only mentioning it in case he was somehow including that into the value of what he thought the lot was worth, and it quickly blew out of proportion. I replied to his first 'offended' response to try to rectify that I wasn't trying to be offensive, but was simply attempting to point something out that might help him.

 

I haven't re-replied since clearly, it's not going to help him or me... w/e. At first, I was trying negotiate. When he blew up, I just tried to explain the reasoning. He blew up again. Fine. Just venting here because I definitely think that his listing tactic was incorrect, and I think he blew it way out of proportion.

[zak001]

It's a shame, to be sure, that it's impossible to tell someone they're wrong without telling them that they're wrong.

[Darth_Raichu]

4 hours ago, daurgo2001 said:

 

 

It's not a question of not liking the listing. I had every intention of continuing the negotiation, and as I mentioned, I was only mentioning it in case he was somehow including that into the value of what he thought the lot was worth, and it quickly blew out of proportion. I replied to his first 'offended' response to try to rectify that I wasn't trying to be offensive, but was simply attempting to point something out that might help him.

 

I haven't re-replied since clearly, it's not going to help him or me... w/e. At first, I was trying negotiate. When he blew up, I just tried to explain the reasoning. He blew up again. Fine. Just venting here because I definitely think that his listing tactic was incorrect, and I think he blew it way out of proportion.

Fact of the matter is seller can put whatever price they want on their wares, that is economy 101.  It would make faster sale if his price was closer to market value, but he was NOT required to do it.  Like he said, he did not need to sell it today.

Also, I do not know how many sales you have made so far, but if someone comes to me asking to buy my $400 item for $200 by insisting over and over on how wrong my price is, there is a great chance I would put the annoying guy in my forever ban list.

3 hours ago, zak001 said:

It's a shame, to be sure, that it's impossible to tell someone they're wrong without telling them that they're wrong.

He can be correct or he can get the item for cheaper than the asking price.  It is a matter of perspective.

[dcdfan]

 

It's not a question of not liking the listing. I had every intention of continuing the negotiation, and as I mentioned, I was only mentioning it in case he was somehow including that into the value of what he thought the lot was worth, and it quickly blew out of proportion. I replied to his first 'offended' response to try to rectify that I wasn't trying to be offensive, but was simply attempting to point something out that might help him.

 

I haven't re-replied since clearly, it's not going to help him or me... w/e. At first, I was trying negotiate. When he blew up, I just tried to explain the reasoning. He blew up again. Fine. Just venting here because I definitely think that his listing tactic was incorrect, and I think he blew it way out of proportion.

Maybe he already knew what you were telling him from the get go... and if not, now he can read about it...