Have you seen these Rachel Ray brand "garbage" bowls? They are simple melamine bowls but they are selling like hot cakes. One woman got one at Kohl's for about 50 cents by using a $10 coupon she had from previous shopping. She listed it on eBay and it sold before she was done eating dinner!
Also keep an eye out for them at yard sales.
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Though I am based in the U.S., I have noticed some of my shipments taking longer than usual to get to the U.K. If you ship within the UK, you may have your eBay or other business affected by the Royal Mail strike.
I got a note about this service which you may want to try, myHermes at https://www.myhermes.co.uk/. I have not tried it myself, being U.S.-based, but here are the details, from a rep there:
"Hermes UK, who operate their own independent courier network delivering over 100 million parcels each year on behalf of some of the UK�s largest online retailers including Next Directory, QVC, JD Williams and Debenhams.
MyHermes is a door to door parcel delivery service, ideal for anyone who would like to save time and money on their shipping costs. No more time wasted travelling or queuing to deliver or receive a parcel, we take care of that for you and from as little as �3.99!
MyHermes will carry parcels that weigh up to 15 kilos and have a combined length and girth of 2.25m with a maximum length of 1.2m on the longest side.
Parcels are collected by a local courier (some exceptions for volume shippers) and end to end delivery is expected within 3-5 working days.
More information on the eBay offer is available here �
The eBay Sellers Challenge Winners have just been announced.The four winners, one in each of the four categories, voted on by the eBay community are:
� First-time Sellers on eBay: Tori Nichel, a first-time eBay seller who will use the site as a way to establish an e-commerce presence for her growing Brooklyn-based fashion apparel business
� Part-time Sellers on eBay: Ryan Pugh, a longtime eBay member who recently decided to make her Las Vegas-based eBay business a full-time job, selling products she believes help people to �live clean�
� Full-time Sellers on eBay: Janell Anderson-Ehrke, a full-time eBay seller who helps low-income artisans and micro-entrepreneurs in Nebraska to connect with a community of buyers on eBay
� U.S. Veterans and Service Members: Thomas Costello, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and Chicago-based eBay seller who uses eBay to take advantage of a growing market for used computer equipment
eBay sellers: Don't fall for this "Ask Seller a Question" scam. I have gotten two of these in just the last few days. It goes something like this..you get a question from a supposed interested buyer saying they want to buy it as a present but want to confirm the style is what the friend wants, and can you check this url that will show you a photo of it?
The url is a tinyurl, or shortened url, so you can't see the domain name you are going to. Then it leads to a downloadable file that is malicious. If you download and execute this file you are going to mess up your computer. The one I got let to a file with a .cpl extension. (In some cases the browser automatically downloads it for you, but fortunately the browser I use caught the file as suspicious and asked if I wanted to discard it, which I did).
Here's the email I got with the name and part of the url blacked out:
--- From: m********* To: juliawww Subject: m*********** has sent a question about item #2*********, ending on Oct-11-09 A********************************* Sent Date: Oct-05-09 13:24:13 PDT
Dear juliawww,
Hello,
I want to purchase this item as a birthday present for a family member. I think it's the style they are looking for but I'm not 100% sure. Can you open up the pic in the link and confirm? Please get back to me asap so I can know If I'll go through with the purchase or not. Here's the link http://tinyurl.com/*******
Thanks,
- m***********
----
The user id is fake..in the case I checked, the user ID showed up as "private" so I couldn't get any info. I'm not going to delve into that one for now.
But, the main point is, if you get one of these questions, ignore it and report it!
A friend of mine just told me this and I just had to share.
She bought an antique on eBay and it came wrapped in a Depends diaper: "It gave me the willies, just thinking about it�.not good marketing! I mean really, they couldn�t spring for some bubble wrap!"
Yikes! Another thing she bought once came with cobwebs on it. Well, chalk those up to the "what not to do" department in packing and shipping.
I must say, though, the things I buy on eBay 99% of the time are wrapped very well, sometimes with multiple layers of bubble wrap.
eBay's new "Top-rated seller" designation, a little gold badge and ribbon, is starting to show up under the listings in search results on the site, like so many little cherries waiting to be picked.
But will the designation really have that big an impact, such that sellers who do not have it will feel a significant detrimental effect on their business?
Of course it remains to be seen. But I am not convinced it will be that huge a deal. See the below results for a search for a red Chanel bag:
In the pic (click on it to see whole thing), the 3rd and 5th bags have the Top-rated seller icon. But notice the first two do not, nor does the fourth one. Also, these bags are all sufficiently different, such that a person who is looking for a specific type of Chanel bag in red most likely would not choose a different style just based on the icon.
Of course, this is going to depend on the types of items being searched for. If there are hundreds of black nano ipods available, and only ten have the Top-rated seller designation, I think those ten sellers are more likely to have a boost over the competition.
But for more rare and unique types of items, I am not convinced the impact will be that big. Not that the badge is not a positive thing for sellers; it is no doubt something just about all sellers would like to have.
It's one of the emails we eBay sellers most dread. "I didn't receive my item yet..when did you send it?"
Thus ensues the frantic search for postal and, in some cases, customs receipts, the inputting of a tracking number, and the mystery of what the heck happened to your item in transit.
A recent email from a reader of my Yard Salers newsletter was about just this topic. This has also happened to me a few times...in one of the most nerve-racking cases, the item finally showed up in eastern Germany after some three months. I found there is some good news, however:
- If you have the proof of delivery/tracking number, you should be eligible for PayPal seller protection. Here's what they say about it on the PayPal site:
"PayPal provides coverage to U.S. account holders for eligible transactions in the event of an unauthorized payment or item-not-received claims, chargebacks, and reversals.
To be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection:
- The transaction must be marked eligible or partially eligible for Seller Protection on the Transaction Details page.
- The item must be shipped within 7 calendar days of receiving payment to the shipping address on the Transaction Details page, and in accordance with our shipping requirements.
- In the event a buyer files a claim, you need to respond to our request for documents and other information in a timely manner.
- The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.
- Your primary residence, as listed in your PayPal account, must be in the United States.
What's not covered:
- Items picked up locally or delivered in person - Services, intangible items, and digital goods - Claims and chargebacks where the buyer says that the shipped item is significantly not as described."
Shipping requirements � "what documentation do I need?"
It's a good idea to insure any item worth more than you feel you can comfortably reimburse. eBay no longer allows sellers to charge extra for insurance, however, so make sure you state in the auction that any insurance is included in the selling price, if you do insure it.
Also, and I really think eBay did the right thing with this, if a buyer leaves unfavorable DSR's (detailed seller ratings..the 5-star system) and they are international, those DSR's won't count against your overal DSR rating. This is a good thing because so many things can go wrong with international shipments which are outside a seller's control.
What have your experiences been with items that are reported not delivered? Or with the PayPal or eBay protection process? I'd like to know...I invite you to leave a comment here.
