Has a customer ever bought something from you after asking you what the measurements of the item are

[iamcara]

I think in my short time on eBay I have run across about 10 to 20 customers who have done this, and only one of them (a repeat buyer) has bought an item after I have painstakingly looked through my inventory just to give them precise measurements of something that they will never buy.

I stopped taking measurements of items about halfway into my first 1,000 listings, because it was slowing me down too much and was causing me to lose motivation in listing items.

[wastingtime101]

>>Has a customer ever bought something from you after asking you what the measurements of the item

Yes, definitely. Although it's rare people ask me for measurements since measurements are provided in all of my listings no matter what the product. That's basic info buyers shouldn't have to ask for.

>>after I have painstakingly looked through my inventory

It should never be a painstaking process to pull an item from inventory. Save for the occasional item that gets misplaced, it should be lightning-quick to locate every piece of inventory whether it's to pull the item to fulfill an order or to answer a buyer's question.

If it's a painstaking process that speaks to a lack of an inventory management system.

There are so many tools you can use from keeping a chart to using the "add note" feature on active listings indicating the storage location. Label boxes, totes, etc with a numbering system. Any seller that doesn't have an organized way to track inventory is doing a disservice to themself.

[stainlessenginecovers]

If it's too much trouble/time to measure and state in the description (not really a big deal and most buyers don't even read descriptions anymore) then....

just continue what you're doing and measure if they ask. 

Not a big deal if they don't buy as that might just mean that the 'measurements' are not what they wanted (whether it be clothing or anything else). 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Painstaking could also be lack of storage space, necessitating moving a bunch of stuff around to get at things. I'd rather only have to do that for a sale myself lol

[robbie31415]

I know you tailor your responses.

But i think the word 'never' is a little too extreme.

[wastingtime101]

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

Painstaking could also be lack of storage space, necessitating moving a bunch of stuff around to get at things. I'd rather only have to do that for a sale myself lol

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Agreed it can sometimes be difficult to physically access an item, but the OP said "painstakingly looked through" which, to me, says they didn't know where the item was.

Accessing the item wouldn't even be an issue in this particular case if the item was measured before putting it in storage since the OP said they're getting the measurement question frequently.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Exactly. It irks me when I get a question and realise I missed putting in measurements (stuff happens).

I have to say though that I don't think measurements would make a difference with some of the stratospheric pricing I see on the OP's stuff. Doesn't know 'collector plates" are a dime a dozen these days?

[itsjustasprain]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

>>Has a customer ever bought something from you after asking you what the measurements of the item

Yes, definitely. Although it's rare people ask me for measurements since measurements are provided in all of my listings no matter what the product. That's basic info buyers shouldn't have to ask for.

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I notice that the OP has added a few more listings (6 today) - none of which offer any measurements at all - including one which is a decorative plate. There are 3 photos but not one clue despite TEN paragraphs of AI nonsense as to what its diameter is.

Was there no time during the listing process when someone could just slap a ruler across it and take a photo? No way to interrupt all the AI blather to just say what size it is?

[lakefor94]

Randomly picked WT101 for a response....

When a buyer makes an inquiry, anything I am doing work wise comes to halt and I answer their question.

Customer service starts there. Respect.

I am sure the OP will take the time to read carefully through this complete thread, more than once. Not many newbies to eBay selling get this kind of attention from this crowd. The OP should be thanking the many experienced sellers and buyers here providing solid advice. 

Saves a tremendous amount on the learning curve and these boardies have just scratched around a bit. Mainly focused on the obvious.

Good luck to you OP. 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Hardly a newbie having been here since 2014.

I doubt they'll change as their about page says "Please use your best judgement to determine size" lol

[wastingtime101]

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@lakefor94 wrote:

I am sure the OP will take the time to read carefully through this complete thread, more than once.

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I doubt that. The original poster seems pretty firm in their ways and not open to alternate viewpoints on this particular matter.

If the OP finds my advice helpful that's great, but it's not what I expect in this situation. My advice was more of a general reply geared towards any seller that's having issues as a result of not providing measurements upfront, or not having a system to be able to locate their inventory.

Sometimes we post on threads like this one because we know others that are open to advice will find the discussion in the future.

[lakefor94]

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

Hardly a newbie having been here since 2014.

I doubt they'll change as their about page says "Please use your best judgement to determine size" lol

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I saw that as well. Brutal.

Has had an account since 2014, though, definitely a newbie to the selling game.

[bgt_masters_of_tiki_d]

I almost never do this unless absolutely necessary. If something needs dimensions I usually list them. If people ask for measurements I simply explain why its not best to figure out if its what they need and request more information such as the item's model number so I can properly look up the part they actually need. I try and respond to most anyone who asks questions, first thing I do when I get a question is check their feedback left. If I don't like what I see, then I don't respond and just block them. I often find the people who ask lots of out of the ordinary questions are often hard to please and leave a high percentage of negatives. 

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@toomuchstuffagain35 

OP stated on a previous post she started selling in June of this year.

[chapeau-noir]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

>>Has a customer ever bought something from you after asking you what the measurements of the item

Yes, definitely. Although it's rare people ask me for measurements since measurements are provided in all of my listings no matter what the product. That's basic info buyers shouldn't have to ask for.

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I notice that the OP has added a few more listings (6 today) - none of which offer any measurements at all - including one which is a decorative plate. There are 3 photos but not one clue despite TEN paragraphs of AI nonsense as to what its diameter is.

Was there no time during the listing process when someone could just slap a ruler across it and take a photo? No way to interrupt all the AI blather to just say what size it is?

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I read a couple of the descriptions - they look good until you read them - it was like getting sucked into an endless recursion - the same words and phrases repeated in every paragraph with a phrase slotted in to adapt it to the header. UGH - AI is just a tool.

[adamcartwright]

@chapeau-noir 

Those AI descriptions are absurd and show me that the seller really has no interest in describing the item fully and accurately. 

Seems like the best way to list is to pretend you're a buyer and write the listing according to what you would want to know. Just your basic "do under others" applied to eBay.