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

[xanman]

I'm not one for posting to these boards much, but this has been bugging me so I have to or I won't be able to sleep tonight. If you use shredded material from around the house and you use a strip shredder be VERY careful about how you put the paper into the shredder. The strips can be wide enough to hold your entire address or social security number. We use a lot of packing material at work and use shredded paper, but had to switch to a crosscut shredder when we realized that it was too easy for sensitive information to be inadverdently released. The confetti works fine, no customers have complained, and private info stays private. If you use the strip shredder just make sure and put the paper in so that the strips cut through your address etc.

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by Kajunswty
The person who one my auction (the only one who bid) is a new user very new with only 1 feedback. I would like to cancel the auction since he has not contacted me and it has been 3 days. I had that listed in the auction.

How do I cancel the auction and when I do will he still be able to leave feedback?

thanks!!

Since the auction has already been completed you can not "cancel" the auction. Go to your "My Ebay" page and send the buyer a reminder. If by Day 7 you have not heard from them you can then begin the NPB process, which requires you to wait an additional 10 days for payment. If after the additional 10 days for the NPB you still do not receive payment, you will then be able to file for your Final Value Fees and relist the item.

I ask that the buyer contact me within 48 hours, asking that they pay within 7 days. Well there are always going to be those slow to pay people regardless of what you put in your terms of service on your auctions. That is why Ebay has guidelines in place.

 

[Leader of the Club]

Originally posted by jcemom
Well...I kept reading here about half.com and decided to list some of my hardcover books (fiction) for sale. I was thrilled to have sold 3 already this week...until I decided to check out the transaction details! Half.com charges 3.25 set shipping, which I thought was fair -- 2.00-2.50 postage plus the cost of the bubble envy -- BUT they are only giving me 2.33!!!! I emailed them for an explanation and can't wait to see what they have to say! They also deduct their fee. So, after losing 1.00 per sale, I am not quite so thrilled. Some of the books that sell for higher prices I don't mind losing that dollar, but on books that only sell for a couple of bucks...I'd rather keep the book than give it away -- which is what it amounts to after the shipping loss and the fee!!

Anyone else who sells through half.com have this experience???

I used to sell books on half.com all of the time. I was running into the same problem over and over. If you list your book at a higher price to cover your shipping materials etc., it gets bumped so far down the list that no one can find it. And most of my listing are new items and I wanted them to arrive in that condition, so that takes extra care in packing.

I still have a ton of stuff listed with them, but have been "on vacation" for quite some time. Not sure whether to "return from vacation", list on ebay, or just give the stuff away.

G.

 

[Kajunswty]

thanks for the reply christa,
that's what I was afraid of. I shouldn't have put it up this week. I am concerned that I will get bad feedback from this guy because I am leaving for a cruise tomorrow and will be gone a week. I was hoping whoever won would have contacted me quickly so I could have sent if off already. Also, the item will have to be sent Fed x or UPS because of the weight.

I just emailed him again and asked that he contact me asap and tell me his payment and shipping choice. If he doesn't contact me before tomorrow morning ~ I will have to deal with what happens I guess.

 

[DznyDreams]

Guys, I am SO PSYCHED! I listed my 1st four items up for bid on ebay last weekend, and all items have bids now!! One item has more than 5 bids and I'm still several hours away from closing! YAY!!

I am so grateful that I started reading this thread!!

Now, I have asked a question a time or 2 that so far has never been answered, so let me approach it from a different angle....

Have any of you bought stuff at garage sales and then sold it on ebay for a profit? Does this work well? I'm trying to figure out ways I can utilize ebay as a money-maker, but as I've said before, I'm going to run out of stuff to sell soon. I may make it for a month or two with misc. items from around my house, but I moved over the summer and my household "clutter" had already been thinned out greatly. Still hoping for some helpful suggestions....if you've got 'em, share 'em. You can email me if you'd like: dianerowe68@juno.com

Thank you!!!

 

[PixieMagic]

Just sold my first item. Yea! I'm $10.50 (minus e-bay fees) closer to WDW!

 

[WDWINJUNE!]

I need some advice. Just had my first big problem with a buyer. He bought a calculator and I am positive it was working before I sent it. Now I received an email saying it isn't working how it should. I'm just wondering how to deal with this, when I know it worked when I shipped it. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by WDWINJUNE!
I need some advice. Just had my first big problem with a buyer. He bought a calculator and I am positive it was working before I sent it. Now I received an email saying it isn't working how it should. I'm just wondering how to deal with this, when I know it worked when I shipped it. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

What you decided will be up to you (I personally have a no returns/refunds policy) but if you decide to refund make sure he sends the item back to you so you can verify the item is not working before you refund the money.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Originally posted by xanman
I'm not one for posting to these boards much, but this has been bugging me so I have to or I won't be able to sleep tonight. If you use shredded material from around the house and you use a strip shredder be VERY careful about how you put the paper into the shredder. The strips can be wide enough to hold your entire address or social security number. We use a lot of packing material at work and use shredded paper, but had to switch to a crosscut shredder when we realized that it was too easy for sensitive information to be inadverdently released. The confetti works fine, no customers have complained, and private info stays private. If you use the strip shredder just make sure and put the paper in so that the strips cut through your address etc.

Hi xanman,

I'm the one who posted about my new shredder recently, and I really appreciate your concern. Thanks for the warning - it is very sensible.
In my case, I won't likely be shredding anything with info that sensitive - more a way to recycle junk mail and unnecessary printed paper. But if I should shred anything that has my personal info on it, I'll pay more attention to it, thanks to you!

By the way, it looks like that was your first post on this board... welcome and glad to have you with us!

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by Kajunswty
I just emailed him again and asked that he contact me asap and tell me his payment and shipping choice. If he doesn't contact me before tomorrow morning ~ I will have to deal with what happens I guess.

If you do not hear from him before you leave, email him once more stating that you will be out of town until MM/DD and that if payment is received while you are away you will send the item as soon as you return.

I put auction items on ebay that ended I think 5 days before I left for vacation, I put in the auction that I would be away and gave the deadline of when I needed payment for the item to be mailed before I left and that all payments recieved while i was gone would be mailed upon my return.

 

[shay425]

I have a question about using Stamps.com. I know I read something about it in previous posts, but now there are way too many pages to go through. Does anyone use Stamps.com and if so, what are the pros and cons? Which plan is better, the one that is $4.95 or the $15.99? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Originally posted by DznyDreams
Guys, I am SO PSYCHED! I listed my 1st four items up for bid on ebay last weekend, and all items have bids now!! One item has more than 5 bids and I'm still several hours away from closing! YAY!!

I am so grateful that I started reading this thread!!

Now, I have asked a question a time or 2 that so far has never been answered, so let me approach it from a different angle....

Have any of you bought stuff at garage sales and then sold it on ebay for a profit? Does this work well? I'm trying to figure out ways I can utilize ebay as a money-maker, but as I've said before, I'm going to run out of stuff to sell soon. I may make it for a month or two with misc. items from around my house, but I moved over the summer and my household "clutter" had already been thinned out greatly. Still hoping for some helpful suggestions....if you've got 'em, share 'em. You can email me if you'd like: dianerowe68@juno.com

Thank you!!!

Hi, DznyDreams - good for you!

I can answer your question from my own perspective, at least. I have had some success reselling items from yard sales. Overall, I am definitely ahead, as I have found some real treasures that have paid off. On the other hand, I now have a much larger pile of junk that I need to get rid of, as there have been things I bought which have not yet sold. I'm not too worried about it, as I have a full cellar and this has prompted me to clean it out and rearrange an old desk and extra tables I wasn't using, and now I have a nice little office/shipping area set up down there. I also had to clean out a storage cabinet for storing all the Christmas merchandise I have been collecting to start reselling in November.

My best advice for you is to look for odd things that would appeal to some one collecting something very specific. The yard sale / garage sale season is ending in NH, but if I recall correctly that you are in TX, perhaps they go on year round there.

Old magazines in good condition sell well. Anything "vintage" is popular - if it is still in an original package, more than 25 years old, and no longer made or commonly sold, grab it! A few examples I've come across include a "Sweater Guard" - the gold tone chain with alligator clips that held a sweater on without buttoning it. I picked one up, new in original mint box, for 25 cents, and it sold for $7. Another item was a wall mount metal and plastic bottle opener, never opened, on a card with a photo of old 7-Up and Coke bottles. Another item for which I paid a quarter, and it sold for $2.50. Not a huge amount of money,. but any time you can make 900% profit, it's not bad. So, maybe fees brought it down to 600% profit, but it still works for me!

My best 25 cent item so far was a little silver-colored metal bell that said "Mission Inn - Riverside, Calif", which sold for $25. Look for very specific, specialized and unusual things, and people somewhere will want them!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Originally posted by shay425
I have a question about using Stamps.com. I know I read something about it in previous posts, but now there are way too many pages to go through. Does anyone use Stamps.com and if so, what are the pros and cons? Which plan is better, the one that is $4.95 or the $15.99? Thanks in advance!!

Hi Shay,

I use Stamps.com, and I use the $15.95 version, so I pay this flat rate for all my postage printing for a month. The $4.95 version is the minimum of a 10% fee for the postage you use in a month. The higher plan includes a free postal scale, which I LOVE and use constantly!
What I like about it is that I go to the P.O. with my postage all prepaid, and I just tell the Postal clerk that they are pre-paid and need to be scanned for Delivery Confirmation. I leave my stack of packages on the counter and am on my way. The P.O. is on my way to work, and it makes the shipping so easy for me to do that way. The only time I need to actually wait to pay for anything is if a package is insured. That cannot be done online as it requires an "insured" stamp on the package and for the postal worker to sign the insurance slip.

I have seen numerous posts about issues with the USPS Shipping assistant program, and I know that the instruction info is a 60+ page .pdf file. Anything that needs 60 pages of instructions is too messy for me. With Stamps.com, I downloaded the client and installed it on my PC. When I need to use it, I click my icon, enter my password, and immediately have a screen into which I paste my shipping address. I can choose the method (Priority, Parcel Post, Media Mail or 1st Class), see a comparison of the respective prices, and add DC for 13 cents. My PayPal Debit card is on file, and I purchase postage in $25 increments. Stamps.com deducts from the running total as I print my labels.

I don't know if the USPS shipping assistant will do this, but my favorite part of Stamps.com is that there is an option to "hide postage cost". So, I have that permanently checked, and when my labels are printed, there is no price printed on them. So, when I build in my .25 to .75 handling charge, the buyers do not see the actual postage rate, and there are no complaints. Most of my feedback reflects my fast shipping - it is so easy, I always ship the day after I receive payment. And the handling I build into my shipping cost pays for the Stamps.com monthly fee.

HTH!

 

[shay425]

Thanks so much Mrs. Snowgod!! I had almost made up my mind, but wanted to get feedback first. I also like the idea of hiding the postage because I do the same as you....charge .25 to .75 for handling. I'm going to go do it right now. Thanks again!

 

[DznyDreams]

Originally posted by Mrs. Snowgod
Hi, DznyDreams - good for you!.....Look for very specific, specialized and unusual things, and people somewhere will want them!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Wow! Thanks, Mrs. Snowgod! I really appreciate your input! And yes, you are right....yard/garage sales are very good this time of year in TX. I will get out and do some "hunting" next week!

Just another update from a VERY excited newbie...

I close in 1 hour and 30 minutes, and I've already made $15+ more than I had originally hoped on the 4 items I listed!!! This is SO cool!

 

[Madi100]

When I sell items, I ALWAYS leave feedback as soon as I have received payment. If it is something that is in used condition, I hold off until I know the person has had time to receive the item and be happy with it. We all have different ideas on used. But, I don't wait to see that they have left me feedback first. I always thank them for their payment in an email and tell them I will be leaving positive feedback.

Today I received an email from someone that I BOUGHT something FROM, I was not the seller. She thanked me for my payment and told me it was shipping out today. She also told me that she would be leaving me positive feedback as soon as she had seen that I had done the same for her. This really bothers me. I don't like to be bribed into leaving feedback. This seller has no feedback reflecting selling, only buying. I really want to email her and tell her that I normally leave feedback for everyone. However, this time I won't be because I don't like conditions put on receiving it. Would this be rude? What do you do when someone puts conditions on receiving feedback?

 

[DMRick]

Kajunswty wrote

since he has not contacted me and it has been 3 days.

eBay's suggestion is 3 business days..so if your auction ended Thursday, Monday would be well within eBay's time frame. I'm often gone on weekends from Thur-Mon, so I often take advantage of the 3 business days.

Dzny Dreams wrote:

Have any of you bought stuff at garage sales and then sold it on ebay for a profit?

Oh gosh yes..you might have gotten tired of reading and missed some of the garage sale posts. Keep in mind, if you are buying from garage sales, bring along a notebook and keep good records. You will now be a reseller on eBay, and you should pay attention to income taxes payments : (

Mrs. Snowgod wrote:

Anything that needs 60 pages of instructions is too messy for me

Hmm...I didn't know the PO shipper assistant even came with instructions LOL..heck I've never needed to read them, it was so easy..at least so far!

Madi100 wrote:

She also told me that she would be leaving me positive feedback as soon as she had seen that I had done the same for her

This is a very personal choice, and has prob only been outdone with arguments about which comes first..the chicken or the egg.

I personally as a buyer, leave feedback when I receive the item and all is well..I feel that is the end of transaction.

I leave feedback as a seller (done automatically for me by vrane in response to feedback left) when I feel the transaction is completed..the person got their item, and I know all is well with them. I used to then manually leave it..but for the past year, since I use vrane.com, they need to leave it first for my program to respond. If someone writes and asks if I am going to leave them feedback, I jsut tell them I use an auto program, etc. If they aren't happy..well then they aren't happy : (
I'm not holding the feedback ransom..it's just how I have set up my business, and it's well within eBay's rules to do it that way.
Others like to leave it the day they get paid. It's however you want to do it..no right or wrong way.

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by Madi100
Today I received an email from someone that I BOUGHT something FROM, I was not the seller. She thanked me for my payment and told me it was shipping out today. She also told me that she would be leaving me positive feedback as soon as she had seen that I had done the same for her.What do you do when someone puts conditions on receiving feedback?

I absolutely hate when a seller or buyers asks for feedback. Or says feedback will only be left after it is recieved. I do say on my packing slips that feedback will be left after notified that the item was received.

I actually had a buyer ask for feedback,which I gave and then never left me feedback. UGH!

 

[lalapodip]

Originally posted by Madi100
She also told me that she would be leaving me positive feedback as soon as she had seen that I had done the same for her. This really bothers me. I don't like to be bribed into leaving feedback. This seller has no feedback reflecting selling, only buying. What do you do when someone puts conditions on receiving feedback?

I believe that eBay is forbidding "feedback restrictions" like you just received....this seller could be in for some trouble if she keeps it up!

 

[PrincessMo]

hi gang.........i just wanted to know if someone could help me figure out priority shipping to Ontario, Canada.........I had someone buy two books from me that I think I can combine in one package and ship it priority but will the rate change since I am mailng it to Canada.........thanks gang........you are all so wonderful

Have A Disney Day!!!!!!