Anyone had a return yet?

[jayceerichjr]

Just got a return and a big surprise.  The return process is all changed.  You no longer get to respond to anything except yes or no you will or will not acceptthe return.  I did see the 2 items she was returning and why but they only had 1 item listed and the price of it on the return.  WHAT A MESS!!!!

Carolyn

[gauntlettgems]

I thought I was noticing that as well Stuff sits dormant forever then one bid and all of a sudden it gets noticed hmmmmm

[veraohio]

This whole Ebay thing is just crazy! Do they think us sellers are Walmart, and for whatever reason buyers can return the item??? I really need to get busy and figure out the Vintage Village or some other place to sell some items.....The local Buy Sell Trade is nice for me too, but not for jewels. Sigh, just when I was getting a nice bunch of pieces.

[bluedaemon23]

I'm thinking about going diamond on TVV as well, once I sell enough to afford the fee in addition to what I'm already paying. You can promote your items on other sites as well as selling directly, and the promotion they do boosts you in ORGANIC search.

[bluedaemon23]

Carolyn, tweet 'em! I get way more page views from Twitter than I ever did from Pinterest. (And if you're on both, you can automatically tweet your pins and that gives you views too.)

[dream*peddler]

Does a return policy really matter anymore?  Last month, I was "informed" - not asked - by two buyers that the items they purchased were very nice and exactly as described but they would be returning them.  One said, "it just isn't "me," and the other said her daughter didn't care for the color, although it was perfectly represented in the pictures.  These were contacts through ebay messaging and not through cases.   Sure, I could have replied that the items were not misrepresented and therefore would not accept a return, but we all know that buyers are given certain "tools" to circumvent a denial of a return as well as a means of retribution, and once that happens a seller is out the shipping, possibly the item and maybe a defect or two.  To me, it's not worth fighting anymore.  They paid for return shipping and I got my items back, and that's a win to me in this selling climate.

I think the true source of most sellers frustrations is that THERE IS NO PLACE ELSE TO GO that offers the exposure ebay does. That creates a sense of feeling trapped while burdened with unreasonable rules and punishments.  It's fine to look into other sites, but from what I read, the sales aren't worth the effort to open up shop.  We all want to make sales, but until the tide somehow changes, these are the cards we're presently dealt and we can only do our very best to bear up under these ludicrous rules and do the best we can.  Hey, we always have each other to lean on !

[603vincent]

Hi veraohio, I am new to this group but not to ebay. This was always the time of year I would list huge jewelry lots here, but now I don't dare. I've been on Etsy for 3 years and its great. You should try it. Hopefully the scammer buyers will stay away and not follow all the sellers to Etsy as they're leaving here jn droves. But Etsy is much better to their sellers.

[603vincent]

Ebay does not have the exposure it once did. Listings are not being shown based on all sorts of whacked out criteria. Also, Google is limiting them. I am not sure why so many sellers here think that ebay is still the best place for vintage- it is not, and never will be again. Try Etsy. As long as its truly vintage you can sell it there. You only need to learn SEO to be successful.

[veraohio]

What is SEO? 

[cleio]

I listed 4 items on etsy as a test case, but they all just sat there for months with no sales. I even paid the extra fee to promote them a bit. Any suggestions?

[603vincent]

Search Engine Optimization.

[603vincent]

Cleio, you can't list on Etsy the same as other sites. You have to optimize your listing to be relevant in searches. Both Google and Etsy. They use different algorithmns. Read their articles on SEO, rework your listings accordingly, and you should notice a huge uptick in views.

[bluedaemon23]

Cleio, did you join any "teams" with those items? My Pinterest and Twitter feeds are full of Etsy teams promoting each other's items. It makes a difference in page views.

[drg642]

I agree, etsy is a viable option.  I became so disgusted with the hostile seller climate here that I moved some of my stuff to etsy, back in April.  I've listed jewelry and various collectibles, and sold about half of the things I've listed.  The listing process is easier, and I feel less worried about returns and potential problems.  But, they do have their own issues, and there are a lot of complaints about search and getting visibility for your items.  You have to very carefully word your titles and your tags in order to be found in search.

Traffic there is not what it is here, and there are many things I sell that aren't allowed on etsy or that I don't think would do well there.  But, overall, I've been satisfied, and it feels good to be a little diversified.