Sunday, September 1, 2013

Ebay Etiquette

I sell things on eBay as a way to make a living and support my children.  No, I don't want to sell your things for you on eBay.  I also don't want to explain the entire selling process to you in detail so you can sell your stuff.  There are a lot of buyers who appear to have no manners, so I feel that all buyers should read this.
  • Read the listing.  This should go without saying, but I get a lot of buyers who only half-read the title if I'm lucky.  Even more don't even bother scanning over the listing and are very bothered when they receive their item with unrealistic expectations and find that it's the exact item I described six times over in the listing.
  • Email the buyer before leaving negative feedback.  A lot of us will bend over backwards for you, but once you've left a negative, we're done. 
  • If you email the buyer and don't receive an immediate response, wait 48 hours.  This is standard eBay policy.  We sellers are actual humans with lives.  Many of us have children or other jobs.  Most of us don't sit in front of the computer all day, waiting for your emails.  
  • Emailing us seven times in a row with progressively angrier messages won't get you anywhere, especially if we're not around to view these messages.  See above.
  • Things often get lost or damaged in the mail.  If you check the tracking and it says that I took it to the post office, it's out of my hands and I can't possibly control what happens  Many sellers will ship your item again if it was lost without insurance  I did not hijack a mail truck so I could steal back your nine dollar can of H2Ocean spray.  I'm not sitting behind my computer, greedily rubbing my hands together, hoping to con you out of a few bucks.  Most eBay store owners are trying to run an honest business.  We wouldn't have an eBay store if we were ripping everyone off.
  • If you're going to leave a negative feedback because were too lazy to read the item listing, please make sure to include as many expletives as the tiny space will allow.  This makes feedback removal much easier for the seller.
  • Many sellers will accept lower offers on their product.  Please be reasonable when making an offer.  Don't offer $3.00 for an item that sells for $129.00, unless you like when buyers laugh at you.  Also, don't get butthurt when a seller rejects your offer or sends a higher counteroffer.  We're not selling products to you as a hobby.  We're trying to make a profit here and can't do that if we accept every offer that gets sent.
  • Most of us accept returns.  Read the return information before clicking on the buy or bid buttons.  It will save us both a lot of headache.  Most sellers require buyers to return items IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONDITION in order to give a refund, so if you used your entire bottle of H2Ocean and then asked for a return, you're out of luck.
  • By all means, please ask reasonable questions about the item.  Read the item's description first, and if you don't have all of the information you desire, ask questions.  Most sellers are happy to answer questions from buyers.
  • Pay for your item!  You were obviously interested in purchasing this item, because you clicked "buy it now" and entered your password.  Pay for it so you can receive it. Sellers have to pay fees on each item sold, whether or not the buyer actually had to pay for it.  If you don't pay for it, don't be surprised when you get an unpaid item reminder.
  • If you bought by accident or changed your mind, contact the seller and they'll start the cancellation process.  They'll get a fee credit and you won't get a strike.
  • Check your address to make sure it's accurate before you buy the item.  Most sellers aren't psychic and therefore don't know that you have moved five states away from your previous address.

That's all I've got for now.  If you can think of something I missed, let me know in the comments section.  Now you can go and buy my stuff!

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