You HAVE to try this!! EBAY your way to DISNEY!!

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by cinlee3
This is going to be a tough week I can already tell, although bids seem to be picking up and this is great.

I got a call yesterday from my grandmother who said my grandfather (92) was in the hospital. She got a call at 4:30 am requesting permission to put in on a ventilator and they did not fully explain to her that this is basically life support. Now she is faced with the decision of taking him off the ventilator. Its so hard because she is in Florida by herself - her one son won't make it there for a couple of days and my dad hasn't made the decision to go yet.

I had several things to get in the mail today and one didn't make it. It will have to go tomorrow. I'm trying to keep everything caught up in case I have to make a trip to Florida soon - which at this point seems very likely.

---------------------

So sorry to hear this.. Just make sure to email anyone you have that may be waiting for a shipment because you certainly don't want to have to deal with irate buyers on top of everything else!

I hope things turn around, but it doesn't sound good.. I'll say a prayer..

 

[C.Ann]

Okay.. I am having "the day from - "that very, very hot place"..

I have a killer migraine and it seems that everything is going wrong.. I did really, really well this week BUT - as you all know, sometimes it doesn't come without a whole bunch of problems as well.. Add to that my computer suddenly loading pages SOOOOO slowly I could SCREAM - and you get the picture..

Problem #1: Been dealing with a non-paying bidder since I don't-know-when and I have finally reached my limit.. I sent numerous emails, did the prelimainary NPB alert, sent two more emails, and NO response.. Today I sent my final offer - pay immediately with Paypal or I would go ahead and file the NPB and request my final fees. I also blocked this bidder (or at least I THINK I did) but I can't find anywhere that I can LOOK to see if I did it right? Can anyone help me on that?

Problem #2: LOTS of VERY slow payers the past 14 days.. I've sent reminders - some answered - some didn't.. What to do?

Problem #3: Two bidders from CANADA won my auctions when I specifically stated I only ship within the US. Now they're requesting "totals" and I don't know how to figure it out. Both shipments can go media mail, but I don't know if media mail can go to Canada - and if it can, how MUCH does it cost? Also, HOW should I have them pay me? I don't want any extra fees eating into my profits.. And last but not least, what do I do about DELIVERY CONFIRMATION to Canada?

I've got to say - my head is about to explode!!!!!!!

 

[epcotfan]

You don't have to honor the bids from Canada if you specifically stated you don't ship outside of the US. If you do choose to ship you could use Global priority for tracking, etc...If you go to the USPS site it should be able to calculate shipping to Canada. Shipping to Canada is easy-the only difference is a customs form.

You can have them pay you via Paypal (although all Canadian addresses show up as unconfirmed) or ask for an International Postal money order in US funds.

 

[Madi100]

When is the best times to list Halloween costumes and Christmas outfits?

 

[nelle]

DMRick you said that you don't insure for international orders because it costs more? I quoted the person from Japan $1.30 insurance is that not right? Can you do delivery conformation? I went to the PO today and got the costoms forms is there anything else? Would shipping through UPS be cheaper? right now shipping through the PO is about $42 any suggestions?
C.Ann your day sounds like my day yesterday my computer died and I had a buyer from Japan even though I state in my auctions no internationl bidders.
Hope your week gets better.
Thanks.

 

[DMRick]

I quoted the person from Japan $1.30 insurance is that not right? Can you do delivery conformation?

I don't know what the insurance cost for Japan is..I only know I can't send it through Airmail Parcel if I want it insured (I'm not sure you can send it economy if you want it insured either). I believe you would have to send Global Express to insure. Not knowing the value, I can't tell you the cost of insurance..although with Global, insurance under (I think it's this) $100 is included..but you have paid for it in the higher price of shipping. All that I have shipped to, have gone without insurance.

I believe UPS would not be cheaper..at least not on the other end. I think they charge a high price for filling out forms. One person posted her shipping was $20-40 higher (she was from Canada..I have a lot of Canadians on that board) when UPS was used..but you can always check on their site. I'm not sure if the additional charge is listed, or is added to the customs charge.

In order to have it investigated you have to fill out forms and

However they do it, I've had customs call me and question the price. One gal in particular was being charged for an item that they read as $100..and it was $10. She never got mad or acted like it was lenghty..she later emailed me and said she was glad she had the form with her...and the Cans on the Yahoo eBay list I'm on have indicated it was no big deal..and they were the ones who have told others to just bring their eBay print-outs. Those experiences are all I have to go by.

Just how lengthy are you talking about? I'm going to post this over on that board, and ask what they are doing differently. Not that it's been a big problem..just something that happens here and there. How many times has it happened to you?

 

[DMRick]

I also blocked this bidder (or at least I THINK I did) but I can't find anywhere that I can LOOK to see if I did it right?

Look under MYeBay...they are listed there. When you file for final fees back, eBay offers you the choice to block also.

I've never sent anything Media mail overseas, and I've never seen it offered. I think the slow boat would prob be the cheapest (I think they have another type of library media, but if I remember right, you have to be sending a lot of paper to get the low price).

As far as the Canadian bidders..you could refuse to sell to them..but they'll still get to leave feedback, which is so very unfair.

 

[cinlee3]

I also have a Canadian bidder who won one of my auctions. I heard from her 3 days after the auction ended. She wanted to know how much postage would be and that she was going out of town and that she would settle up on Friday. Friday has come and gone and no word.

If you chose not to honor someone's bid because the of the TOS - can they leave you feedback? How does that work.?

 

[DMRick]

If you chose not to honor someone's bid because the of the TOS - can they leave you feedback? How does that work.?

Once someone has won an auction..the feedback is open for them to leave. The only neg (out of almost 2000) I have is from a non payer. eBay's feedback system is flawed, and this is just one example. You can respond to their neg (if they leave you one) and say they didn't follow TOS, but you still have the neg : (

 

[cinlee3]

Would the same go for an International bidder winning and me not wanting to ship international? Not sure if I am understanding that. Can you still get a neg in that case.

 

[DMRick]

Would the same go for an International bidder winning and me not wanting to ship international? Not sure if I am understanding that. Can you still get a neg in that case.

As soon as someone wins a bid, they get the right to leave feedback. In a perfect world, once you tell them they weren't suppose to bid, they would NOT leave feedback. Bad or otherwise. But eBay's crummy feedback system leaves the way open for them to leave feedback. I would like to assume they would not leave a neg, but if they are not happy that you won't accept their bid, they may : (

You can ask eBay to remove it..and if you happen to get a really genereous person answering your email, you may luck out and they will. If someone bids when they shouldn't and you hope to ask eBay to remove the feedback (which only happens occasionally) be sure you don't respond..even by saying that they disregarded your TOS, until eBay makes a decision about if they will remove it or not.

I had asked eBay to remove my neg, since the person had never responded to me or paid, but they said no, that that I could respond and that's the best they could do. It's why I don't care for eBay's feedback system..it just doesn't work right most of hte time. Although others feel different..I will no longer leave a neg for a non payer. Instead I file for my fees back, hope others will, and after three strikes they are out.

 

[momof2OH]

Question for all ebayers: If you bid on an item and win and you think the shipping they are charging is too high...what can you do if anything?

I won an item and I think they are charging way too much for the shipping. (I have checked the shipping prices myself)

The problem occured because I was dumb. I e-mailed the person to get the shipping amt. and they never e-mailed me back. I went ahead and bid anyhow, but never thought the shipping would be as high as it is.

Just curious what anyone else would do it this situation. Thanks!!!

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by momof2OH
Question for all ebayers: If you bid on an item and win and you think the shipping they are charging is too high...what can you do if anything?

I won an item and I think they are charging way too much for the shipping. (I have checked the shipping prices myself)

The problem occured because I was dumb. I e-mailed the person to get the shipping amt. and they never e-mailed me back. I went ahead and bid anyhow, but never thought the shipping would be as high as it is.

Just curious what anyone else would do it this situation. Thanks!!!

Well, that is why we know have the postage calculator in all our auctions.. and they pay actual price, and not any more.

We were tired of guessing. Sometime we were short, and sometime we were under,but it was only by 50 cents or less.


All, I can say, is maybe they are charging for time, packing materials, bubble envelopes, boxes, etc. Sometimes carriers do charge more than the post office as well.

But some seller do try to "make a killing" off shipping. That is what kills me as well. We try to send everything priority plus DC so even if our shipping rates are "tad bit higher", our feedback has many people pleased that the priority gets there quickely.

 

[momof2OH]

That's what I do. I know exactly how much the item weighs and charge exact shipping. This person is almost charging me double what the shipping should be. I bid on it so I am going to pay for it, but it just makes me mad. I guess my lesson is I won't bid on anything unless I know what shipping is.

Thanks!!

 

[lilsonicfan]

Yeah i think being advised about the exact shipping cost is not to be underestimated.... i just bought an item where the shipping cost was listed as $10 US, $11 Canada - and the package arrived with a shipping cost of $2.10. oh well.... i knew beforehand at least.

C.Ann, sorry to hear your day wasn't very good... as for Canadian bidders, we are usually understanding about extra shipping costs. We know that it costs more to ship to Canada.... as with everyone, we just want to pay something close to what shipping actually costs, so definitely use usps.com to calculate the rate. Though I think those bidders should have contacted you before bidding!

I've found with the new Ebay page look, it's harder to find where the seller says "Will ship to United states only" or "Will ship worldwide." Note: i didn't say it was impossible - only that it is harder, especially for ebay newbies. If you only want to ship to the US, it might be a good plan to list this in bold in the listing itself - not to say you won't get the occasional "duh...didn't read the listing" bidder. But hopefully that will help the problem a bit.

 

[bunnyfoo]

My boyfriend's sister had a similar incident ... she ordered an item and the seller charged her $20 US. When she got the item, it had a postage sticker on it that said $1.50 She knows now to ask before hand.

 

[robinb]

C.Ann:

You can double-check you Blocked Bidders list. I always go to the help section and type "Block Bidders" and that takes me to it.

I would establish a payment policy and stick to it. It will be easier for you to deal with slow and non-paying bidders. Put the terms in your auction ... communication in so many days, payment in so many days, etc. I use the eBay minimums since I once spent weeks trying to get a bidder to pay. She finally did, but I felt like I wasted too much time and energy on her. It's easier for me to stick to the minimums, send out my emails, do my NPB alerts, get my fees refunded and relist ASAP. My slow payer was waiting for the NPB alert to get off her duff and send me my money after 3-4 ignored emails. It's in my best interest to encourage a slow payer to move a little faster and if they're not going to pay at all it's also in my best interest to know that ASAP.

As for shipping to Canada ... it's really easy. Just weigh your package and then go to the USPS web site and use the International rate calculator. Tell your Canadian buyer that the charge will be that shipping plus handling. You can use the same kind of packaging that you usually use or if it's a small media item it might fit into a small Global Priority mail envelope. I use them for paperback books all the time. I think a small GP envelope is $4 to Canada. The customs forms are also really easy, just make sure to check "merchandise" and that you write down the correct value. Some international buyers will try to get you to say it's a gift, but I never do.

 

[Robinrs]

I had an amazing thing happen last week. I shipped something last week that turned out to be MORE than the shipping I charged because at the last moment I decided to double box it and the weight was more.

I just decided "oh, well" and wrote it off.

A few days later I get a notation that I got some money on PayPal. It was the buyer, who sent me TWO DOLLARS via PayPal because she read her postage!! How nice of her!

My sister buys from eBay solely and gets so angry if she if way overcharged for shipping and handling. This can cause such a problem that leads to distrust, not that some eBay sellers CARE about that! I do care but then again, I never claimed to be NORMAL!

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

This is one reason I LOVE Stamps.com.... I do increase my postage by about 25 to 75 cents (depending on the item's weight & size & value) per package to cover handling, depending what the item is. I don't feel that this is unreasonable to cover my costs. The benefit of Stamps.com as it pertains to this, is that you can opt to exclude the postage amount on the shipping label.

I clearly indicate "shipping and handling", so someone using USPS to double check my S&H cost should logically understand that I am charging a small amount for handling.
Yes, we all know logic and common sense doesn't always exist in abundance on ebay!

I realize (or presume, anyway) that most of you are referring to sellers who charge a few (or more) dollars more than the actual cost - like $5 for 60 cents of postage. That is unreasonable, but I wanted to point out the above, in case some of the newer sellers are feeling like they are doing something wrong for adding a few cents or a dollar here and there to cover the cost of packing materials.

When is the best times to list Halloween costumes and Christmas outfits?

Madi100, probably about the same time as you start seeing ads on TV or merchandise in stores... I guess mid-September for Halloween, and mid-November for Christmas. You want to be sure that people are in the mood to shop for this stuff, and in particular for kid's costumes, buyers would probably want to be sure of the size they need.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

I had an amazing thing happen last week. I shipped something last week that turned out to be MORE than the shipping I charged because at the last moment I decided to double box it and the weight was more.

I just decided "oh, well" and wrote it off.

A few days later I get a notation that I got some money on PayPal. It was the buyer, who sent me TWO DOLLARS via PayPal because she read her postage!! How nice of her!

Robinrs,

I think you are experiencing REALLY good karma!

From your many prior posts, you seem to exemplify the golden rule, and it seems to me this is coming back to you. Good for you!