The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 224

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 224, 15th July 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – More space in the item title

2. A little note to make you smile

3. PayPal spoof

4. Ask Molly – Is 40 too old?

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The eBay UK Bulletin

More cause for celebration this week as Molly passes the 31,000 feedback mark and also clocks up the 49,000th sale; another couple of years and I will have the hang of this eBay thing.

Christmas preparations are well under way with a stockpile of toys and large folders of pictures ready to go, there are only 163 days to go!

Some interesting news for sellers this week, read on for more on this.

In a lighter vein a couple of humorous stories to pass the time.

[For details of this newsletter, please scroll down to the end.]

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1. EBAY NEWS – MORE SPACE IN THE ITEM TITLE

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At last some good news; the maximum number of characters in your item title is to be increased from 55 to 80.

Space in the title has always been a constraint; this sometimes resulted in the purchase of the sub-title upgrade, which should now be a thing of the past, thus saving a few pounds. The change takes place from September and I’ll advise more on this nearer the time.

Existing titles of active auction-style listings can be edited as long as there are no bids and you make the change at least 12 hours before the listing end time.

You can edit the titles of active fixed-price listings as long as you haven’t made any sales from that listing and there’s no pending Best Offer.

I do sympathise with the large business seller with thousands of fixed-price items who will need to amend titles in order to utilise the extra space. Not to make use of the new facility will put them at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

eBay are introducing a tool for bulk title amendments although I am not sure how this would work as most items have their own key search words and phrases.

It gets worse if you have made some sales, the only option is to cancel and relist. A costly, time-consuming process that results in all watchers being lost so repeat orders could suffer.

So a bit of a mixed bag in the short term, but good for sales in the long run.

Full details - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/august2011/space-write-better-item-titles.html#faq2


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2. A LITTLE NOTE TO MAKE YOU SMILE!

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“Hello Mollybol.

I just had to tell you this little snippet.

A customer bought two items of cosmetics then about an hour later purchased another cosmetic; all three being exactly the same. I sent her a combined invoice for the three. Then shortly I received a message from her saying that she had made a mistake and she really only wanted one. No problem to me as I could see she was a newbie and weren’t we all one of them once. I dutifully revised the invoice and cancelled two of the purchases.

Then she sent me the following message

“hi, I have received an invoice for one item as number 190522927749. I want to send it to a different address. It is on the below and I also want another item from a different seller can you send them in the same post.”

Included in the message was a new address that she wanted the item sending to and also a link to another sellers item – which she wanted to purchase but somehow she wanted me to include the other seller’s item in the same package as the item I would be sending her.

Errr! I did happen to laugh quite a bit at this. In fact I would use the word raucous to describe the laughter in this household last night and it became hysterical when I discovered the other seller was in Phoenix, Arizona.

Suffice to say I sent the lady a polite message to say I couldn’t send to any address except her registered address and tried to explain how sellers on eBay operate by selling and shipping their own items. The reply I got was this.

“thanks for your sensitiveness . then I really want to buy this items but I want them at the same post so I will look for another items. can you cancel it too please. sorry for disturbing you. I want to buy from you for an another time.”

I canceled the one item she nearly bought from me but I really think this lady is in for a long slog - buying from different sellers and expecting them to send their items together in the same package. Oh! dear.”

Lalesue - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Crystal-Treasure-by-Lalesue

Any similar experiences? Please send them in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk



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3. PAYPAL SPOOF

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I have not included a spoof for some time, this doesn’t mean that they have stopped or are any less of a problem, so as a reminder to be cautious here’s a quickie.

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Dear PayPal client,

You have received this email because you or someone had used your account from different locations. For security purpose, we are required to open an investigation into this matter.

In order to safeguard your account, we require that you confirm your details.
To help speeed up this process, please access the following link so we can complete the verification of your PayPal Account registration information.

If we do not receive the appropriate account verification within 48 hours, then we will assume this PayPal account is fraudulent and will be suspended.

The purpose of this verification is to ensure that your account has not been fraudulently used and to combat the fraud from our community.
We appreciate your support and understanding and thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Copyright © 2011 PayPal

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I would like to draw your attention to the extra letter ‘e’ in the word ‘speed’, these mistakes are common in spoofs and a good sign of a problem. The true PayPal that we all love are actually very good at spelling.


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4. ASK MOLLY – IS 40 TOO OLD?
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“Hi Molly,

I have passed my 40th birthday and really want to get off the 9-5 slog and work for myself through the internet and do something I enjoy. I have been dabbling on eBay for a few months selling mobile and I pad cases etc but my sales are still quite flat.

I was looking at getting the listings vamped up a bit with a coloured border [have been quoted £75.00 for that] and also looking at other options like the Auctovia auction scroller. I would really appreciate any ideas you have.

morebrands4less - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/More-Brands-4-Less


It is a good idea to check out the idea of an eBay business whilst still employed as it does not work out for everybody, by the way 40 is just right for undertaking the journey.

Some basic HTML could create a simple border for free and you can always upgrade in the future. I still use this option as I am far too mean to buy anything. I do have a few built in features which allow me to change the look with the seasons, take a look at this site for some guidance - http://mollybol.50megs.com/Mollyweb/home.html

I would be tempted to start in a small way with your listings, maybe just changing the background colour, adding a few HTML links, messing about with the text, etc., until you gain more confidence.

Looking at the bigger picture keep an eye on all the extra costs that accrue and cut back wherever possible, loads of hints & tips on this in the back issues of the bulletin, almost all are stored online – www.ebaybulletin.co.uk.

I would also set a minimum value for a sale, if your computer games are not worth say £3 each then lump them together and cut down on the painful process of packing and admin.


If you have a question about eBay or home working in general, please send it to: mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk - I will reply personally to every e-mail I receive and remember, there are FREE copies of my book available for the best questions, tips, or stories.


-- END NOTE --

That's all for this week. Check out www.ebaybulletin.co.uk for the latest news from Molly HQ.

Sometimes fate plays a hand and a transaction is doomed from the start - take my recent sale of a stainless steel letter box and door knocker combo. It was packed and dispatched as usual and all was well until an e-mail arrived from the buyer saying that it had not arrived.

I replied joking that it was to be expected as the new letterbox would probably not fit through their letterbox and asked them to wait a couple of days. This is an old sales trick; delay as much as possible as the item may well arrive in the morning.

Two days later the package arrived back at HQ with the usual red sticker, this time the reason was no access, I duly informed the buyer who replied:

“How ironic! I currently don't have a letter hole because I'm waiting for receipt of the letter plate.”

You just can’t make this stuff up.


Best wishes and happy eBaying

Mollybol


Author of the bestselling title, 'The eBay Business Handbook' - available direct from the publishers: www.harriman-house.com/ebaybusiness