eBay

brilliant_stuff_deals · ‎05-21-2018

Hi9 im selling quite a lot on ebay but still havent figured out how to avoid my time being waste by scammers. I list most of my stuff as auctions for 5 days (saving me time and i know when it ends) dont have the buy it now price cause dont want it. I ve got every buyer filter under the sun but still some scammers winning my auctions (at least 5 of them a month). then once they won i get the email from ebay about suspicious buyer, auction dissapears and i cannot relist even when ebay suggests its easy to do so .. what to do how to protect myself ? wasting so much time here

a*river*runs*through*it · ‎05-21-2018

@brilliant_stuff_deals wrote:
Never missed it mate... even replied but for some strange reason my reply was removed ... If you think I should contact all of them individually do you mind finding out the right person to message for me ? Would be a great help mate

I think you misunderstood the question.

I am talking about your Ebay user avatar. The Best Buy logo.

That logo is copyrighted by Best Buy and can not be used w/o their express permission.

You would be wise to change it to something else that isn't copyrighted property.

brilliant_stuff_deals · ‎05-21-2018

Oh didn't even know it's a company ... Well spotted

fashunu4eeuh · ‎05-21-2018

There is no way to avoid 0 FB buyers, and neither should there be.

Sellers have the right to sell to whom they choose, of course. But that said, one cannot tell if a 0 Feedback buyer is a scammer based solely on that one score. By canceling those bids, you could be throwing the baby out with the bath water.

An effective way to combat scammers is to list fixed price with Immediate Payment Required. Also choosing the strictest Buyer Requirements and/or PayPal blocks can limit a seller’s exposure to scamming tactics. Below are links to those methods, if needed.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=...

https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/admin/setup-account/ (Scroll to "Block Certain Kinds of Payments.)

OP, you have 20 paragraphs of terms. It was nearly impossible to read all of it on my iPhone screen in a tiny font. I promise prospective buyers will not plow through it, but will hit the back button instead. It sends out a very negative message, "I have been burned and you won't burn me now!" Such diatribes turn shoppers off. I appreciate you having repeat customers. You are not chasing off every buyer. What i am saying is that you will have MORE customers, and MORE repeat business, if you tame your TOS into a manageable and concise paragraph.

Wishing you only success. Good luck to you.

brilliant_stuff_deals · ‎05-21-2018

Thanks very much for the links and the feedback.

As I said I'm not interested in buy it now listings at the moment.

Did you try to read the whole pages cause you had to or cause you were interested ? Would you buy from me after reading the item description and looking at the pictures? Or would you be offended by the amount of text and leave the page ?

Bare in mind I've got the item description first ... So it's not like you have to scroll down to see them. You would be surprised how many people get to to the point of reading my disclaimer about 5 feedbacks and messaging me straight away ... I'm not saying my terms and conditions are great and useful probably they are far too long. I'm still looking to improve my listings but with limited time and options that's the best way that works for me

lintbrush* · ‎05-21-2018

@brilliant_stuff_deals wrote:
Fair point. I more care about people who read the description of the item and first line of my terms and conditions rather than people who click on the page and being put off by the amount of text... you would be surprised how many happy and returning customers I get

The description should be a description of the item. If you want to include additional information not related to the actual item, your description should be at least 2/3rds about the item and no more than 1/3 of other stuff.

You're attempting to write a contract in your description and the bottom line it's not your rules but eBay's rules that matter. Your business policies should be reserved for your own website or brick & mortar - where they might be enforceable. And they wouldn't be attached to each item you have of the shelf.

You're including stuff that matters not to the listing at all - like the most recent watch sold - why do I need to know about drivers, hardware, cables, etc. Why do I need to know about heavier weight items shipping costs for a watch?

Unfortunately, while you think it's good to have all that stuff in there, it really does turn off the good buyers and does nothig to scare away the bad ones (which is ultimately what you want to do).

You know the acronym KISS? From wikipedia:

Keep it simple, stupid

KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided

I used to write a bunch of non-description stuff in my listings when I first started many moons ago - but I keep paring it down. It's getting to the bare minimum now. I mention that I ship in 1 day, via what method, and, when appropriate, if the item requires Signature delivery service.

Good luck to you.

brilliant_stuff_deals · ‎05-21-2018

Yeah definitely see the point in what you saying.

Can you tell me if there is eBay rule of how much should I put on my listing and if it should be there or not ?

Also text is not scarring any scammers off but if a person got a complaint or something terms are there to go back. Maybe one day I will change it. For now don't see a massive point to do so. Not bothered about that too much tbh

lintbrush* · ‎05-21-2018

There are some actual rules, but there are also guidelines

https://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/title_desc_ov.html

So I decided to view that MK watch on my iPhone (not a Plus)

It took 10 full screens of scroll if I had to read it all. You've got to ask yourself, "Is that user/buyer friendly?"

brilliant_stuff_deals · ‎05-21-2018

The one I've sold ages ago ?

But then the question... is there really any point for you to read it all. It's there just in case it's there if you want to go back and read it but is it necessary for you to make inform decision about the product you are buying ? The product you read description about in the listing preview and more info in the first lines of the item description ? Surely if you like what you looking at you don't have to go down and read the whole thing.

But then maybe you been scammed before and you are a coutions buyer and like to know a bit more about delivery details and return... Oh wait it's there you can read it 😉

Every seller got a different approach to selling. As you see mines is not scarring many people off.

And I got a good base of people who comes back to me... i like to provide good customer experience.

Any way the post was about the SCAMMERS and NOT about my approach to selling techniques and listing description

meoxcross · ‎05-21-2018

I don't know why they do not require buyers to be 1 week / 1 month old for some listings, it would cut out a lot of **bleep**.

femmefan1946 · ‎05-21-2018

Scammy sounding auctions attract scammy thinking bidders.

Selling iPads for $1.33 ?

No sensible honest buyer is going to fall for that one.

lintbrush* · ‎05-21-2018

@brilliant_stuff_deals wrote:

Any way the post was about the SCAMMERS and NOT about my approach to selling techniques and listing description

Well, the old listing was one I just happened to pull up (edit: and was one of the few visible from the .com site - I see more now when I go to .uk. ) And you're talking about 0 feedback bidders or those who have less than 5 needing to contact you before they place a bid. The latter is part of your T&C attached to your item description.

Of course you can do what you please. I'm just trying to let you know things from a buyer's position. Your listing isn't mobile friendly. It's pages of reading. And while you think you're being good and have happy customers, you might actually have more non-scammers (aka good buyers) without such a dissertation.

I hope you realize I'm trying to give you constructive criticism for more sales and a positive experience for you and your legitimate buyers. More good sellers mean more happy, returning customers... which means more potential buyers for me too.

centexcompsvcs · ‎05-21-2018

"And do you have written permission from that major retailer to use their logo as your avatar?"

How does this address the OP's issue?

iam_nightowl · ‎05-21-2018

Any way the post was about the SCAMMERS and NOT about my approach to selling techniques and listing description

Others have told you your terms scare good buyers away. If you had more good buyers the proportion of scammers might be less. But that's your way of doing things so no big deal, everyone has their own approach.