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.

[femmefan1946]

@toomuchstuffagain35 

Doesn't know 'collector plates" are a dime a dozen these days?

Anything that is sold as a "collectible" will be made and sold until the manufacturer runs out of customers.

Therefore there is not secondary market.

I noticed in one local thrift that the stacks of 'collector' plates have a sign "Not food safe. Do not use for food service. Not dishwasher safe."

So you can't even use them as a backup when you run out of dishes at the family reunion.

At least , not if you like your family.

[chapeau-noir]

What gets me is that describing is really easy, and the more one does it, the easier it gets. It takes me about a minute to write a description and I sell pre-owned clothing, which tends to be pretty intensive. And yes, thinking like a buyer is exactly right - were I shopping for something, what would I want to know?

[femmefan1946]

I agree.
I use pretty long descriptions on this account, because of the kind of products, but I also sell stamps for philatelists, and like the car parts and computer sellers, there I am able to use the hobby jargon.

You may  look at a description  Canada Scott#158 f-vfnh 1929  man on mast fresh and be confused but a collector would not need the picture to see this in their mind's eye.

(And also tell me there is no man on mast)

[chapeau-noir]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

@toomuchstuffagain35 

Doesn't know 'collector plates" are a dime a dozen these days?

Anything that is sold as a "collectible" will be made and sold until the manufacturer runs out of customers.

Therefore there is not secondary market.

I noticed in one local thrift that the stacks of 'collector' plates have a sign "Not food safe. Do not use for food service. Not dishwasher safe."

So you can't even use them as a backup when you run out of dishes at the family reunion.

At least , not if you like your family.

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Skeet shooting.

[johnrj1226]

Guess the OP answered their own question and didn't get stressed out.  Me thinks this person is merely a game player and won here own game.

[fbusoni]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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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.

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@wastingtime101 

Excellent catch... THIS is the problem.  My guess is that she does not even possess a fraction of the stuff that she is selling.

Her items run the gamut... and everything is absurdly overpriced... a Disney pillowcase for $150?  A ceramic cup made in China in 1990 (even though it looks like an antique, which it is not) selling for almost $1,000...

I do not think her objective is to sell anything on eBay, but rather to direct people to her FB page.

[fbusoni]

That assumes that her objective is to sell anything on eBay.

[itsjustasprain]

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@fbusoni wrote:

That assumes that her objective is to sell anything on eBay.

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She is certainly adding new items but (assuming that the listings are actually hers) the pricing seems to be based on wild guessing combined with a large quantity of AI gaslighting. I think it is a bit of a stretch to expect that many people would follow the breadcrumbs all the way to her FB page.

[lakefor94]

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@fbusoni wrote:

That assumes that her objective is to sell anything on eBay.

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5 sales yesterday, not too shabby. 

[chapeau-noir]

Not uncommon to both sell AND use sales to direct to a social media presence. The pricing might be whack, but I don't see a contradiction here.

And I'm still jealous of that nice lighting.

 

[gurlcat]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

I agree.
I use pretty long descriptions on this account, because of the kind of products, but I also sell stamps for philatelists, and like the car parts and computer sellers, there I am able to use the hobby jargon.

You may  look at a description  Canada Scott#158 f-vfnh 1929  man on mast fresh and be confused but a collector would not need the picture to see this in their mind's eye.

(And also tell me there is no man on mast)

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I just spent an absurd amount of time zooming and searching for the man.  HELLLLLP!!!!  🤣

[gurlcat]

Not only would someone want to know the LENGTH of a bracelet (you have only focused on the thickness, estimating a number of human hairs), but if you don't have a cheap gram scale and know how/where to check the daily-changing melt value of solid gold, you run the risk of either not being able to sell the gold
items, selling them and having them returned, or selling them for far less than they are worth.  

I wouldn't even trust that this item is really solid 14k gold (fakes often use those little connector discs, but not always).  But because of eBay's Money Back Guarantee, I wouldn't need to invest my trust.  In fact I wouldn't NEED to know the mass either.  I could just buy it for $173, weigh it and test it, to decide whether or not to return it.   If it's heavier than about 3.5 grams and real solid gold, it would be worth keeping (and reselling for profit, maybe a NICE profit if it is well over that weight,).  If it's under 3 grams and/or gold plated, I would return it.  

I'm saying "I" meaning "tons of precious metal hounds on eBay" but go ahead and block me if you're worried, lol.  I'm just trying to let you know, with gold at such an insanely high price (and rising), you cannot afford to play guessing games with it.  






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[gurlcat]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Not uncommon to both sell AND use sales to direct to a social media presence. The pricing might be whack, but I don't see a contradiction here.

And I'm still jealous of that nice lighting.

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 Do you mean in her listing photos or social media photos? 

[stuff4divas]

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@iamcara wrote:

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.

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@iamcara   even if u put every single detail on the listing description box, there will still be people who don't bother to read, who just want attention, or don't know how to navigate this site, etc etc etc

looks like u r doing ok with the method u have chosen

[fbusoni]

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@lakefor94 wrote:

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@fbusoni wrote:

That assumes that her objective is to sell anything on eBay.

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5 sales yesterday, not too shabby. 

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Not trying to beat a dead horse, but she has dropped her prices across the board, in some cases by 95%.

THAT's why she's had a few sales.