Need an expert to evaluate your listings?

eBay can be confusing and overwhelming for even experienced users. There are so many options and features, sometimes it is hard to know if you have done everything possible to make your store and your listings appealing to buyers. Remember, if shoppers don't click on your listings, they won't enter your store, and you could be missing sales. I can do a professional eBay seller critique. I will review your storefront homepage, listing pages, and your About Me page and make suggestions regarding:


Item title and use of key words
Store description
Photographs
Item Descriptions
Return policy
Shipping fees
Store category set up
About Me page
Stores policy page

As your free gift, you will also receive either my Powerseller's Guide to eBay Selling, or my Stay At Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay selling, your choice! Just let me know which one you would like when sending your Paypal payment. Suggestions and tips will be emailed back to you within 48 hours of receipt of your payment.


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Check out my book - available on Amazon.com

Outstanding Customer Service

This is more of a vent than a blog, but it's mine, so I guess that's ok.

I was on the eBay Blog recently talking about customer service with other bloggers. I was shocked and saddened by what some of the sellers were saying. The issue was about correcting seller mistakes, refunds, returns, etc. These are some direct quotes:

"NO RETURNS, NO REFUNDS. NO EXCEPTIONS. TRAIN YOUR BUYERS EARLY."

"ALL SALES FINAL. DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T SHOP HERE."

"BUYERS BEWARE. NO REFUNDS. READ LISTING BEFORE BIDDING. SHOP AT YOUR OWN RISK."

I am absolutely amazed that sellers can survive with this attitude, and with policies written in this manner. As a buyer, I wouldn't shop at these stores because the seller appears hostile and outright rude. Some of these sellers were actually powersellers and were getting positive feedback, although I don't know how. I can't see how sellers with these attitudes can last on eBay, or anywhere for that matter.

Granted, we all run across the occasional difficult customer who cannot be satisfied. But, should we set up our policies to treat all customers as if they are out to be a problem? My philosophy is to treat customers the way you would want to be treated as a customer.

Would love your input here on how you think customers should be treated.


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Use WANT IT NOW to find buyers for your items

Want It Now lets buyers post requests for hard-to-find items and allows sellers to respond to those requests with eBay listings. As a seller, you can expand your market, and find pmore buyers more buyers for your items. You can gauge demand by seeing what people are looking for. Most importantly, you can sell more items. You can save searches and check posts daily. The quicker you respond to a post, the more likely you are to get a sale. The early bird gets the worm!

Just be careful not to use WANT IT NOW inappropriately. Only reply to those posts where you have an item to offer - you don't want to send out a bunch of spam to buyers, that is not good for business.

Check out WANT IT NOW:
http://pages.ebay.com/wantitnow/


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Tips on Avoiding Unpaid Items

We have all had it happen (and if you haven't, you will). The buyer doesn't pay. Then you have to eat the listing fees and start over. But, there are steps you can take to minimize unpaid items. (From eBay HELP center.)

Creating and managing your listing

Represent the items you are selling fairly and accurately.

Clearly state your return policy in your listing.

Respond promptly to buyer questions.

Review your buyer's feedback.

Use extra caution with unknown or new buyers and unusual bidding activity

Avoid Nigerian bidders - they have become famous for "schemes"

Avoiding Unpaid Items

eBay's research has shown that following a few simple tips can significantly reduce the rate of unpaid item

Make it easy for your buyers to pay by offering PayPal. (80% of eBay users have a Paypal account.)

Include detailed shipping and handling information in the item description as well as the shipping details area.

Use eBay's Checkout feature to make it simple for buyers to pay you.

Use Immediate Payments for fixed price listings and listings using the "Buy It Now" option.

After the listing ends

Ship with a tracking number and insurance. This can help resolve disputes in cases where a buyer claims to have never received an item or received a broken item.

Maintain records of shipping receipts as proof that the item was shipped.

Keep copies of any proof of your item's authenticity.

Verify payment before shipping items (including holding checks until the checks clear).

Learn to recognize counterfeit cashier’s schemes.

Only ship items to the verified billing address on the buyer's credit card account (if applicable).

Be proactive in preventing unpaid items, and you will reduce them. Be sure to leave negative feedback for non-payers. If all the sellers do this, we can quickly eliminate non-payers from eBay before they have too many opportunities to inconvenience other sellers.

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Just for Stay-At-Home Moms

If you are a stay-at-home mom who wants to sell on eBay but aren’t sure how to get started, or you want to earn extra cash selling your kids outgrown clothes and toys, but are unfamiliar with eBay, my book is just for you. You'll learn:

How to make thousands of dollars a month using eBay
What to sell
Where to find items to sell
How to use eBay to its fullest potential
How to photograph your items
How to fit eBay into your busy, stay at home mom schedule
All about shipping
How to get started today, with no financial investment

Whether you want to sell 10 or 1,000 items a month, this book will provide valuable information to help you become a successful eBay seller from the comfort of your home, and on a schedule that works for you and your family. I did it, and so can you.

eBay has 220 million users worldwide and millions of dollars worth of merchandise is sold on eBay every day. There is room for you on eBay, too!


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Check out my book - available on Amazon.com

Watchers and no bids?

When I am doing eBay seller reviews, sellers often ask, "why do I have watchers but no bids?" Here is why:

1) They may not be ready to buy the item yet, so they are just watching the auction to learn about the process.

2) They are afraid to make a commitment and bid. They might be new to eBay and are hesitant to place a bid yet. They just want to see how it works.

3) They are watching several auctions for the same thing and are waiting to decide which one to bid on. They don't want to bid on several of the same thing at once - because they don't want to end up winning several auctions for the same thing. Kind of like price shopping.

4) They are using an auction sniper program and not placing their bid until the last minute - literally.

5) They are just curious to see how high the price will go. Maybe they are thinking of selling a similar item.

6) They are thinking about buying the product and want to add it to their watch list to check on it again later. Like bookmarking something on the internet.

Don't get frustrated or be impatient - watchers are good. They have saved your listing in their watch list. Maybe they will come back and buy the item, or visit your listing again for something else.

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Improper Use of Key Words

Keyword spamming occurs when members place brand names or other inappropriate keywords in a title or description for the purpose of gaining attention or diverting members to a listing. Keyword spamming in listings is not permitted on eBay. The searchable text sellers place in listings must be directly relevant to the item being sold. (From eBay help center.)

When doing store critiques, I have seen this tactic used many times. For example, one customer was selling handmade beaded earrings. Her title read:

"iPod Nano Wii Playstation 3 earrings LOOK"

This is a waste of your time and the customer's time. Not only is she driving customers to her listings who aren't even interested in earrings, but she isn't even targeting customers who might actually be interested in buying her product. eBay gives you 55 characters for your title - use them wisely to attract potential buyers to your listings. What good does it do you to have hundreds of page views, if the customers are searching for a product that you don't even offer?

Another example is using inappropriate brand names to describe your item. I see this one often:

"Homemade candle pillar like Yankee Candle gardenia"

This seller is using an established brand name to drive traffic to his counterfeit item. There is nothing wrong with selling homemade candles, but a seller cannot claim they are "like" an established brand name - that description is subjective and the seller's personal opinion. Stick with factual information only. You don't want to manipulate your buyer into purchasing something, and then be dissatisfied and leave you negative feedback.

Abuse of key words can lead to:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status
Spend a few minutes taking eBay's tutorial on Search and Browse Manipulation

Happy selling!

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Check out my book - available on Amazon.com


Visit my eBay store