Making eBay REALLY Profitable

I figured that would go through E-bay-----figuring that they could monitor the messages that was being sent or received.

I doubt they are that nip-picky. As I mentioned I unsually only get a couple of checks or money orders a year. In about 12 years, been burned twice I remember. Held one check too long and buyer had closed account. Second was taking a counterfeit Western Union money order. Buyer had scanned a WU money order into their computer, than altered sales amount. I contacted the DA in thier area to file a complaint. Eventually they were charged with about dozen counts related to bad/fraudulent paymenta and spent a year in jail. Ordered to pay restitution, but I've never seen it.

I can't believe it. Today I lost my Top Rated Seller status! I'm a great seller, I work with everyone to make sure all my buyers are COMPLETLY happy! Looked under my seller dashboard and it says I'm a couple points to low under 'item description' when people leave feedback. Blah, hopefully I'll have it back by December 20th when my next assessment is. Has this ever happen to any of you other eBay sellers!?

Also, anyone else have some inspiring success stories to share? Mine this week is vintage guitars do really well! Sold 1 with minor damage and no maker name on it for $150+!

Just a suggestion.

With the number of packages I send out, my feedback rating should be going up about 25 a week. My guess is only about ten percent of buyers leave feedback.

While you can see if someone who left feedback left positive, neutral or negative feedback, you cannot see how they rated you in the stars portion.

Go back say two months. Contact those who left you less than glowing feedback and politely ask them why.

I haven't sold for quite some time now, several years. BUT...when I was selling, I started out selling porcelain dinnerware, then went to old glassware. Then I stumbled over cufflinks and a rosary or several, and ended by selling "stuff".

Over all, I did best with "stuff"....low outlay, good potential profit. I figured that if it caught MY interest, it would catch someone else's, too. Best thing I ever found was a pile of the Belleek club membership newsletters & members catalogues. Crowning glory was the letter of acceptance and welcome to the new member. Over 20 years of newsletters. Sold by the year groupings and the "acceptance/welcome" letter sold alone. Bought the stack of newsletters for 75 cents, made well over $3K.

I always found the BEST things, at estate sales, in the basement, or in the back of a closet.

Cufflinks do well if they have a "theme"...maybe a horse for a horseman, musical note or staff for the musician or person who enjoys music. Men will spend LOTS for the correct cufflinks!

When I'd buy something to sell, I always had an idea what the LEAST I'd sell it for was, and to my mind, I had to make a minimum of 5 times what I paid. 'Course, you WANT to sell for more!

Good thing about buying "stuff" is, if it doesn't sell, at least you have something you like!

So, now I'll go down to the basement to gaze at my 49 star US flag, and my '72 Ford Torino lazer stripe!

Mon

True...It seems most buyers just automatically hit 4 stars when rating 'item as described'. I pride myself in taking lots of good pictures, including close ups if there is any damage I can see. And I've learned to almost never saw a item is new, instead gently used works better. I guess my level was close, and then I got these half a dozen people in a row who were just being picky and wanting partial money back, which the got, and apparently still left bad feedback. Collectors (eek!) the downfall to selling antique/vintage things...

As long as I keep up the selling level I have been, I should be ok by the 20th of December and back to Top Rated, but it just completly took me by surprise that eBay is so picky! I was 100% positive for my first 400 feedback! Now I'm at 425, at 99.8% still doing great...

Whoo, on eBay 99.8 isn't doiing great. This implies you have had some negative feedbacks, as neutrals, as far as I now, aren't counted. What happened in those other .002% feedbacks?

eBay is taking steps against knee jerk negative feedbacks. If you try to leave a negative it will require you to contact the seller first.

Every situation is different. Even when a buyer leaves negative, if you make it right, both of you can notify eBay of that and they will simply not count the rating.

I have 1 negative, because the guy would rather leave it then have any refund and did this before contacting me to work anything out (I have a return policy and do partial refunds regularly). And 1 neutral, again, didn't contact me. Otherwise all positive...
I'm still a Bronze Power Seller by a looooong shot, but being Top Rated is very important to me. I work with everyone - when people have a question, they get a response within the hour, if there was a piece missing or a mark I didn't see they get a partial refund. If they want to do a return, they get their entire money back, if something is broken in shipment, they get a full refund. I KNOW I'm a great seller! I don't know what else I can do above that??!

Wow, happychick, I know I wouldn't mind buying from you! Sounds a lot better than most of my transactions and unless it was a total ripoff, I don't see leaving negative feedback. A few years back, I won an auction almost the same day someone got my card number. They stopped my card which made paypal do it as an e-check. The seller was furious and refused to send the item. Then they wouldn't respond or cancel the transaction (which was how ebay said it was supposed to be done. I finally had to file on that one, I'd much rather have been able to pay them and get my item

That's to bad CarolT! Sometimes you do get those people, wether buying or selling, that just can't be reasoned with...

I'm getting a loads more antiques today, see what other valuable things I find!

I am completely disgusted with Ebay and refuse to use it. I had 60 transactions when they changed their policies to favor buyers even though sellers are paying for the auction. The last 2 items I tried to sell the buyer backed out AFTER winning the auction. All Ebay said was "we'll put a strike against then". What other auction place do you know of where the winning bidder can just change their mind and walk away?

__________________
"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Thomas Jefferson

Keep in mind with eBay it is three strikes and you are out. Far as I know they don't have a reentry probabation period. Essentially it is the same for sellers now, just different criteria. It is not the positive feedback percentage (which only goes back one year anyway) but how they do on the star rating system.

Once chatted with an eBay seller who had been kicked off the system. Two employees of his wanted a particular item, so he said he would list it on eBay and they could bid against each other. Unfortunately eBay saw the listing and the bids were coming from the same computer. According to him, both employees had to provided notorized statements they were actively bidding and not running up the price.

eBay will never be a perfect world.

Hey Ken, do you know how to do freight shipping on eBay? I have a friend who wants to sell a $2,500 large exercise bike. I know I could do local pickup only, but that limits the sales quite a bit. He said he's willing to drive it to them if it's within an hour, let them pick come it up if they're more then 2 hours away, but farther then that and frieght shipping seems like a better option. However, I've never done it before and am not sure how this works??

Seems like I've seen something under eBay Shipping on freight.

I have only sent out one freight shipment. I called area trucking firm and arranged for pickup at the local Farmer's Co-op. They unloaded item off my truck, stored it overnight, then put it freight truck.

You can send up to 150 lbs UPS Ground or FedEx Ground, but would get hammered on container size. Both have freight services.

I suspect Craigslist would be a better sales outlet.

Or, as you noted, pick up or delivery (with a delivery charge).

Thanks for the lighting fast reply Ken!
Yes, I thought there was a limit for UPS...You say they have 'freight services' though, what does that mean? Is there a way I could have it shipped using UPS at all or would it have to be a separate trucking service?
I don't think it would go for as much $ on Craiglist, (less viewers). I think since I'm only 2 hours from Chicago, maybe I'll try local pickup only on eBay...I just wanted to know what my options were with freight shipping before listing.

I sell books on Ebay. Used college books that were stocked on my room. I had sold maybe 20 books in 2 months.

I have been selling on ebay since 2000. I sell lady's reproduction Civil War clothing, mostly custom made corsets and cage crinolines. I used to be able to make a good living at it, as a matter of fact, in 2002 I was actually making more money sewing part time on ebay than I did full time at my paralegal job. So, I quit the paralegal job to go full time with the sewing. Now, not so much, the economy being in the tank it's in.

Ebay has raised fees to the point that if I sell, say a corset for $135.00, by the time ebay and paypal take their fees I have already lost $20 or so of the sale. Ridiculous. So, I am phasing out of ebay and opened a storefront on etsy. I am in the Authentic Civil War Reproduction Merchants team on etsy and we are planning ad campaigns. Hopeful.

Over the years I guess I have had every type of scam out there tried on me. People can be pigs. The best recommendation I can give is to say what you will do, do what you say you will and document, document, document. CYA with paperwork, just like I did as a paralegal. As my attorney boss used to say, if there ain't a copy in the file, it didn't happen.

Also, I have a return policy, money back for purchase price only, buyer must contact me within 3 days to let me know they are returning, must receive it back within 7 days in the same condition it was in when I sent it--that is unworn (except to try on--you would be surprised the folks who will buy a $300.00 gown to wear to an event then try to return it), undamaged and unaltered.

My biggest pet peeve is autions where the seller says that after the package goes to the post office it is out of their hands and they are not responsible if it gets lost by the post office. BULL HOCKEY! As the seller, you are legally responsible to see that the customer gets their item, if the post office looses it, you have to make it right. So, biggest lesson for ebay selling is, insure everything that you cannot afford to take a lose on.

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Maggie

https://www.etsy.com/shop/alliestrunk?ref=si_shop

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php...39&ref=tn_tnmn

[[[.....how to do freight shipping on eBay?......]]]]

Isn't eBay now charging a % on the shipping amount, too? If you had a $200 freight bill, eBay would want a chunk of money for their share.

COOL! Good for you, going full time with what you love to do! I'm thinking about getting into Civil War Reenacting myself, just haven't found the time yet.

I have some items on Ebay and the time will be up later this evening. I don't know all the ins and outs of Ebay yet. A person has placed a bid, but e-mailed if she could cancel her bid. Can she cancel after she'd already placed a bid and if so, how is this handled? She's had over 300 transactions, so she isn't new to Ebay.