Elb exposes eBaying cheating tactics
(I mistakenly believed that) My comment got wiped while I attempted to post one at Enrii's blog regarding eBay Selling/ Auction tips, so I have decided to redo it here and further elaborate on it, from the perspective of a UK eBayer. Please note that I am writing this out of experience of using eBay UK for over one and a half years.
Also, please refer to Elb's guide to become a good eBay seller
What NOT to do as a seller:
1) Hidden Charges. This can come in many forms. Let me share with you how sellers do this:
i)Expensive postage. Ever wondered why one item costs 7GBP whereas another person is offering it for 24GBP? First of all, neglect variations such as location etc. Let us assume that both sellers bought it for the same price. Which means that seller B is overcharging, right? Wrong! If you take a closer look at seller A, he had set a postage price of 30 pounds whereas seller B had put his down as 6 pounds! This means that overall seller B is cheaper!
Very misleading, isn't it? It pays to look closer at the grand total instead of the item cost, you might get it cheaper! In fact if I am not mistaken, easily 60% of eBay sellers admitted inflating postage prices 'to make some extra dough'. I know of many items which should by right cost less than 1 GBP to post, going for 3GBP easily.
ii) Tax/ Customs Evasion. If you import items, you have to pay tax. Labelling items as 'gifts' is risky, and usually the onus is on the buyer to deal with the tax should the pack of Christmas gifts be discovered to contain a brand new mobile phone.
2) Use the wrong keywords. When I search for 'Canon lens', I expect to only see Canon lenses displayed on my eBay list. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE NIKON. Few things irk me more than to see the title as 'Nikon lens not Canon' when the item is clearly a Nikon product. What the fuck!
There are exceptions though, i.e. 'Nikon to Canon lens mount exchanger'. Sure, you get a higher chance of potential customers finding your product, but they will be so pissed off that you can forget any chance of a sale. Why should a Canon user buy Nikon anyway? :P
3) Advertising 'Pyramid schemes'. I'm sure you've heard of those stuff where one person gets on the list for a small fee, and when another 50 or 100 get added on, the person at the top gets an iPod Video or something. Well I'm sorry but when I want to buy an iPod and click on the item 'iPod Video unbelievable price', I expect a rebate or a sale, not one of these pyramid schemes. Label your service appropriately dammit!
Also, please refer to Elb's guide to become a good eBay seller
What NOT to do as a seller:
1) Hidden Charges. This can come in many forms. Let me share with you how sellers do this:
i)Expensive postage. Ever wondered why one item costs 7GBP whereas another person is offering it for 24GBP? First of all, neglect variations such as location etc. Let us assume that both sellers bought it for the same price. Which means that seller B is overcharging, right? Wrong! If you take a closer look at seller A, he had set a postage price of 30 pounds whereas seller B had put his down as 6 pounds! This means that overall seller B is cheaper!
Very misleading, isn't it? It pays to look closer at the grand total instead of the item cost, you might get it cheaper! In fact if I am not mistaken, easily 60% of eBay sellers admitted inflating postage prices 'to make some extra dough'. I know of many items which should by right cost less than 1 GBP to post, going for 3GBP easily.
ii) Tax/ Customs Evasion. If you import items, you have to pay tax. Labelling items as 'gifts' is risky, and usually the onus is on the buyer to deal with the tax should the pack of Christmas gifts be discovered to contain a brand new mobile phone.
2) Use the wrong keywords. When I search for 'Canon lens', I expect to only see Canon lenses displayed on my eBay list. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE NIKON. Few things irk me more than to see the title as 'Nikon lens not Canon' when the item is clearly a Nikon product. What the fuck!
There are exceptions though, i.e. 'Nikon to Canon lens mount exchanger'. Sure, you get a higher chance of potential customers finding your product, but they will be so pissed off that you can forget any chance of a sale. Why should a Canon user buy Nikon anyway? :P
3) Advertising 'Pyramid schemes'. I'm sure you've heard of those stuff where one person gets on the list for a small fee, and when another 50 or 100 get added on, the person at the top gets an iPod Video or something. Well I'm sorry but when I want to buy an iPod and click on the item 'iPod Video unbelievable price', I expect a rebate or a sale, not one of these pyramid schemes. Label your service appropriately dammit!
posted by elb at
11/24/2005 09:33:00 pm
2 Comments:
Hi elb,
This is EngLee from enrii.blog. Your comment did showed up, it's just that it has to be approved by me, for the first time you post comment in my blog. Glad to have experienced eBayers like you to drop by and share your experiences.
By
Anonymous, at Friday, November 25, 2005 1:23:00 am
englee: yup I think I did eventually realize it, just that I did not really see any notification that it would need approval. Or maybe I'm just blind :p
By
elb, at Saturday, November 26, 2005 7:04:00 pm
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