Item Listing

[renew_life]

I really need to know, Is it ok to sell an item without making variations, and asking buyer to send a message the color or size they want through ebay when  making the payment?

[therogue-trader · Accepted solution]

You're better off not doing that since many buyers won't realize they'd have to send you a message.

[cal.international]

I think the best way is to use variables. Then the buyer will get all the detail correctly ant it will be easy for both of you to make the deal

[gwzcomps]

I remember when it was common for sellers to do that back in the past.  Caused a lot of confusion for buyers.  When there was something I wanted I just wouldn't buy it if I was expected to specify what I wanted in the purchase. 

If you don't want to do a variation you can try listing each one individually.

[mam98031]

You can but you open yourself up to all kinds of problems that aren't necessary.  Buyers don't always read our listings or any instructions you may give them on how to order something.  So they might easily overlook sending a note along with the payment to your specifications that you need.

Then if they just pay you without telling you size and color, you now have to case your buyer until you get the proper information.  

Why do you not want to do a Variation listing?  They are easy to do and you can have all your options in one listing.  It promotes multiple purchases when a buyer looks at something like a top.  They may want it in more than one color.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Setting up a listing that offers multiple items without using the Variations format is a policy violation known as a "choice listing."  It's a type of fee avoidance.

As noted in other posts, choice listings even if permitted are a risky setup.  Some buyers would take a long time to send you the information about their choice, others would never send it at all and some who don't pay attention would expect to get everything shown in the listing.

[luckythewinner]

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@renew_life wrote:

I really need to know, Is it ok to sell an item without making variations, and asking buyer to send a message the color or size they want through ebay when  making the payment?

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eBay will not punish you for doing it, but it is a terrible idea.

The moment a buyer pays for an item, the clock starts ticking for shipping time.

So if the buyer does not specify a color and does not respond to your messages, you will be stuck guessing, shipping late, or canceling the order.

On this board, sellers who have done this have reported late shipping dings, returns for the wrong color, unresponsive buyers, and negatives for canceling orders.

Oh, and buyers who expected to get one of each color 🙂

[renew_life]

Thank you so much for all your support. I will really go with variations from now on.‌‌

[mam98031]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

Setting up a listing that offers multiple items without using the Variations format is a policy violation known as a "choice listing."  It's a type of fee avoidance.

As noted in other posts, choice listings even if permitted are a risky setup.  Some buyers would take a long time to send you the information about their choice, others would never send it at all and some who don't pay attention would expect to get everything shown in the listing.

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I can see that happening in a category in which Variation listings aren't allowed.  But if a seller sets up a listing and a choice listing in a category that allows variation listings, would the penalty still apply?  They would not be avoiding any fees?  Just trying to understand.