Some more emails from eBay Radio listeners

While preparing for this week's eBay Radio show, I went through my inbox to see what's been on listeners' minds lately. Here are a few emails, and my responses:

From: Brian
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 5:16 PM
To: Griffith, Griff
Subject: eBay auction/Buy It Now moral dilemma
Griff!

I love the show! I listen every week through the podcasts while I work my non-eBay job. I thought I'd ask for your take on a situation that has come up several times for me.

I have had auctions up (for CDs mostly) where the auction has been going for 5-6 days. I'll get an email from a potential buyer asking if they can buy the item 'now'. They are not asking to complete the transaction outside of eBay, but rather for me to add a Buy It Now price to the auction.

Sometimes these items have bids, and I will not (and probably cannot) change those, of course. Sometimes they don't, but they might have several watchers on them. I always respond to the potential buyer with something like “Sorry, I've had the auction up for a few days and don't feel right adding a Buy It Now to the listing. Feel free to put a bid up and see what happens. You may win the item for less than I'd have charged through Buy It Now.”

Now, I know that I can add a Buy It Now to a listing if there aren't any bids on it, but is this really fair? I know that if I can immediately get a profit on it by adding a Buy It Now it would be nice, but on the other hand it takes away from the bidder's fun and hope of getting a good deal and feeling good about it. Not to mention if they've been watching the item for several days at an opening bid of 99 cents with no action, and then the next time they check it's been sold (maybe for $4.99 or whatever). For some reason that just doesn't sit right with me.

It's a moral dilemma. Maybe a good discussion for the show. Would you let me know your thoughts if you get a chance?

Thanks!
Brian

Hello Brian,

We discussed your email on a recent Ask Griff show. My recommendation (and the consensus among sellers) is that you should never agree to sell an item to a bidder before the listing closes. In nearly every case I have monitored, the item has ended up bringing more than the bidder's offer. It only makes sense that if they are interested enough (and concerned enough about other bidders raising the price), that it is worth the chance of letting it go till the end when ALL bidders will have had a chance to post a bid.

In my experience, bidders on a listing which is subsequently ended to sell the item to one of the bidders or another party altogether, are invariably unhappy and will usually hesitate to bid on that seller's items in the future.

Regards,

Griff

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From: Gary
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 3:42 PM
To: Griffith, Griff
Subject: Re: Return Policy Revisions

Really appreciate you getting back to me on this. On all of my new listings I am putting "All Returns are Considered on an Individual Basis" in the Return Policy Details box. Is this OK? You can see what I mean buy going to one of my listings item # XYZ. Since I sell low-cost items it is usually not cost productive for a buyer to return the item so I usually offer them a credit if they are willing to keep it. Since I do this I have only had 1 shirt returned in the last 3 years. I hesitate to put this in the details box because I am afraid some buyers make take advantage of it

Again, thanks for getting back to me on this. It really helps explain something I have been very confused about.

Gary

Hi Gary,

As a statement, it's OK (i.e., it is in compliance with return policy) but, as a marketing strategy, it's not ideal. It sends a message to potential buyers that a return might not be forthcoming should the buyer not be happy.

I recommend to all sellers that want to compete and succeed in this marketplace, that they adopt a flat out "100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back or item replacement - buyer choice)” return policy.

Yes, it’s always possible that a buyer might take advantage of the offer. In the end, what matters is your gross sales for a period. If a generous, unambiguous return policy generates more business for you, the risk of a one-off sale where a buyer “takes advantage” of the policy (how does a seller ever know if this is the case?) is well worth absorbing.

This is the reason that every single major retail business has a reasonable –- and in some cases like Nordstroms, outrageously reasonable -– return policy. A good customer-focused business strategy works for any business, big retailer or small eBay seller. Even the person who only sells once or twice a year on eBay will benefit from employing the same business practices a big retailer uses.

Regards,

Griff

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From: Alex
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 3:42 PM
To: Griffith, Griff
Subject: Unfair negatives

I recently received 2 negatives from overseas customers. The first was for an ivory chess set. It clearly stated in my listing that ivory cannot be exported. This buyer purchased anyway and calculated his own shipping and paid by PayPal. As soon as I saw the address I contacted the buyer and refunded the entire amount thru PayPal. I still got a negative.

The second negative was from a buyer of 2 vacuum tubes. They were shipped to France and were at his Post Office and he was notified that they were there. He refused to go to the Post Office and pay the duty and wanted them delivered to his home. They were never picked up and they are supposed to be on their way back to me. This was in June. He decided to leave me a negative as well.

All my explanations to eBay have done no good. I seem to be talking to the wall that can only give "canned" answers that are in the book. As you can see by my other Feedback I try to run my eBay business as any good business should be run and bend over backwards to satisfy my customers. I hope that you can help.

Thank you in advance
Alex

Hello Alex,

For the first listing, did you use Buyer Requirements to block bidders or buyers registered in countries to which you will not ship and along with that, did you provide ONLY domestic shipping options? If not, you should do so for future listings of items that you cannot ship overseas.

For more on Buyer Requirements, click the Help link on the top of any eBay page, enter the words, “Buyer Requirements” in the Search help box and click the Search Help button.

When you list an item, indicate there are only options for Domestic shipping by unchecking any options for International Shipping.

Since you stated in your listing that the item cannot be exported, you may have a case for Feedback removal based on the current policy. Go to the Report a Problem page and select the option for Feedback Abuse.

As for the second transaction, this is less likely for removal since the buyer paid and didn't receive the item (even for the reason that they didn't pick it up at their local post office). I suspect the buyer doesn't understand English. If you are emailing the person in France using English, they may not be able to understand your emails! If you are not doing so already, try using an online translating service like Babelfish.

Finally, I checked your entire Feedback history and it is excellent. So good in fact, that even these two unfortunate negatives won't affect your online reputation on eBay.

Regards,
Griff