What do I do when a buyers wants other services related to an item sold

[jcaddraft]

New to selling house plans 2nd try on trying to reach community ... when customers buy house plans they sometimes want other services to help them get the permits they are looking for. For example..they may need plan check help...they may need different materials then what has been specified...they may need someone to work with their engineer...they may need design changes, they may need plot plans... etc etc....I of course want to stay in the ebay format..but want to offer and accept offers for these services .... I saw something called private offers..is that the correct method I should use?

I am kind of a new seller to this type of format...

[soh.maryl]

Uh, no.  You are selling house plans, not all those additional services.  (Don't see any current listings for you.) 

[soh.maryl]

PS:  Did you read the answer you received when you asked about this yesterday?  

[chapeau-noir]

Private offers just means you send an offer directly to an interested buyer.  It involves the item itself, not extra services (which presumably you would charge for).

Selling your house plans with extra services would need to have those services detailed in a variations listing (i.e., house plans with engineering consultation; house plans with permitting service, etc.) and the amount for that extra service detailed.  I'm not sure if offering add-on intangibles is legal here or not.

[a_c_green]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I'm not sure if offering add-on intangibles is legal here or not.

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I wouldn't do it. I would just sell the plans outright, and then maybe include contact info for other related services with the shipment. Once you have an existing business relationship via a properly listed and completed transaction on eBay, you're free to conduct other business directly with your buyer going forward. 

What I see being described as future work by the OP looks to be almost all professional services, not products to be sold (like the plans themselves), so I would not expect any of those activities to be future eBay sales of some kind, or even to be tied to the original house-plan sale.

[lepke1979]

Even if you wanted to offer extra services like that. I wouldn't. Just asking for future headaches trying to deal with state, county, and local regulations for permitting and whatnot.

Heck, if I were able to. I'd not even sell the plans to people asking because it tells me they're in over their head already.

Sell the plans. If they want any info beyond that. Tell them they'll have to talk to their city or contractor.

[jcaddraft]

Hi Soh.maryl ... I did not..I didn't check the email button yesterday...thats why I resent today...thanks for responding..if you did yesterday..I don't know if i can access yesterdays answers..

[jcaddraft]

The plans are not physically sent...the PDF is sent via email...would I just add an extra page with other services offered as part of the plans ..I am good with ebay charging fees as part of selling theses services for the plan that was offered...what do you think..would that be ok? ...or would it be ok if I offer services in a pdf that would come with the plans?

[jcaddraft]

just starting out ... and I am gathering plans that I have drawn..there is more money on addtional services then there is on the plans because of the competition ..and what they are doing..

[jcaddraft]

I work with contractors and engineers all the time..been drawing plans for 25 years...the price the competition is offering and they way they are flooding market I need a competive edge ..and these services could create that edge and I know how to do this...just want to do it so not to upset EBAY.....and would like to stay in the ebay format and don't mind if they get their percentage ...I really appreciate the input...

[fab_finds4u]

Are you an architect selling your own  stamped plans? Do your listings state that most drawings and building plans will require a locally licensed architect to stamp the plans?

My husband was an architect and he wouldn't stamp plans a random person bought to him to stamp in order to get a permit to build. None of his colleagues would  either.

[jcaddraft]

Thanks for the input ... that is the issue with buying on line plans... the professional code in almost every state allows anyone to light frame designing that doesn't require an engineer or an architect...2 stories and a basement...under 50 lbs snow load and D2 siesmic...my clients are the designer and I am their drafter..totally legit..I tell all me clients they should get an engineer ..I work with engineers that take responsibilty for the design and can sign design all pages (not including plot plans unless grading is required) but many of my contractors don't need the engineer  .. I also have worked with architects... but like you said if a random person shows up with plans thats a different issue...

[lacemaker3]

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@jcaddraft wrote:

The plans are not physically sent...the PDF is sent via email...would I just add an extra page with other services offered as part of the plans ..I am good with ebay charging fees as part of selling theses services for the plan that was offered...what do you think..would that be ok? ...or would it be ok if I offer services in a pdf that would come with the plans?

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@jcaddraft,

If you are talking digital files, then they would NOT be appropriate for selling on eBay.

eBay is set up for sales of tangible items, not virtual/digital items. You're not allowed to sell digital/virtual items unless you have been pre-approved by eBay. But, there's no process to get approved, eBay chose the existing sellers that they wanted to approve when they set that requirement. It's more for things like NFTs and digital sports cards, not a niche market like yours.

Honestly, this just isn't a good market for your items. Very risky, you could lose your money, and selling digital items is a good way to get a permanent ban from selling on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/electronically-delivered-items-policy...

[a_c_green]

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@jcaddraft wrote:

The plans are not physically sent...the PDF is sent via email...would I just add an extra page with other services offered as part of the plans ..I am good with ebay charging fees as part of selling theses services for the plan that was offered...what do you think..would that be ok? ...or would it be ok if I offer services in a pdf that would come with the plans?

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Yes; in fact, if you're simply selling the plans in PDF form, you should be including all the necessary metadata (e.g. what you see when you open the document and press Ctrl+D to view the Document Info) to identify you as the owner and publisher. You also might want to include document protections against editing or modification, though leave Print permission in place (obviously 😁). Set an Owner password to prevent changes to the document protection settings, but you probably don't need a Reader password, since I assume you would be allowing anyone to open and view the plans.

You can add a page with your own contact info in plain text, and list whatever services you want to offer, but again, eBay isn't really set up for ongoing services; they're more for sales transactions, one-and-done payments and shipments. I would leave professional services off eBay, and use this forum for tangible sale items only.

[chapeau-noir · Accepted solution]

You can digitize plans on physical storage (CD, jump drive, etc.) and sell that rather than a direct download, which does need approval - it's a shippable item similar to any other small media.