The eBay UK Bulletin

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 236

2011-12-22T00:08:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 236, 21st December 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Ireland VAT increase

2. Ouch!

3. End of year thoughts

4. Lovely spoof

5. Ask Molly – Can I make a buyer leave feedback?

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

That’s it for another year, just a case of ‘mopping up the gravy’ and then a welcome break. I will keep the shop open over the festive period as to live without a ‘ding, ding’ from the Blackberry every so often would be too weird!

Here are a couple of quick buyer questions to set the scene:

Item: Lancome - Black Glitter Cosmetic Make Up Vanity Case (30cm x 23cm x 12cm)

Question 1: Can you give me the length, width & depth please.

Question 2: Can you please tell me how deep this item is?

“Hi Molly,

I have just been asked ‘how may plates per set’ in my ‘SET OF FOUR RAINBOW PLATES’ listing.”

Giverny Gifts - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GivernyGifts?

It’s a bumper edition of the bulletin to end the year and my apologies go to all readers that I missed out.

Loads of rants and thoughts this week and to end the year on a high note I have included a copy of the latest health and safety directive issued from Molly HQ – enjoy!

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

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1. EBAY NEWS – IRELAND VAT INCREASE

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VAT rates in Ireland are increasing on 1 January 2012 to 23% - Happy New Year everybody!

Business sellers on eBay are reminded to amend their listings to include the new rates.

Full details - http://pages.ebay.ie/help/vat-increase.html

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2. OUCH!

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“Hi Molly,

I would like to thank you for trying to help with my SMALL problem I have with suspension from eBay. I am still no clearer even though I have phoned Ireland and everything I could think of.

I do know now though that there was a seller (unbeknownst to me) who sells the same items as myself, buying items from me leaving bad negative feedback (FAKE FAKE AVOID AVOID) and then I read on the community boards that his goes on all the time.

I didn't believe it as in my naivety I thought we were all sellers together! I reported it and, well, it just goes to show that following p&p is not always the right thing to do.

I have closed my shop down as I see no point in giving eBay money for an empty shop, but am unsure what to do about my account as I still owe fees. It's been frozen anyway and the money in it is just dwindling away as eBay seems to be dishing out money right left and centre every day I check it. I have been informed of nothing and now cannot even see what items were posted but I was unable to mark off as dispatched. I will now open my own web page and try my hand at selling directly.”

carol_duncan

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3. END OF YEAR THOUGHTS

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“Hi Molly,

I also think it's high time eBay stopped this dispatch/delivery fiasco - I have been banging on about it for years. I simply could not send stuff out any quicker yet it has the lowest of all my DSRs at 4.88.

Perhaps eBay could turn their attention to those sellers who charge excessive postage or don't put enough postage on the envelope as well. Often, in my experience, the two go hand in hand.

I frequently purchase items that have P&P at £2.50 or more and end up having to go to the sorting office to collect the package as the seller has put a 36p second class stamp on it and it's a large letter, not a letter.

Ends up costing me nearly £5!

‘thanks 4 the memory andrew’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Thanks-4-the-Memory-Andrew?

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“Oh my goodness Mollybol! Why does selling on eBay need to be so stressful with regards to Delivery/Despatch

It is ludicrous that our businesses' are in the hands of a handful of buyers (usually three) who rate our exemplary service on that of the carrier.

We close our shops to avoid damage to our account, we stop selling abroad to avoid damage to our account, we cross our fingers that each day we log onto eBay that carrier problems are few/none.

How can this benefit eBay if plenty of us close at Christmas for damage limitation and why on earth does eBay direct the buyer into a dispute rather than FORCE the buyer to contact us with their problem? No contact/No feedback/stars.

The buyer rating our service and impending restrictions/closure (and our livelihood/discounts/visibility) based on a third party is wrong ESPECIALLY when the buyer doesn’t contact us first (are we mind readers) eBay have set this monster in place.

I currently have a one and only neutral because Royal Mail has not delivered (I posted within 10 mins of order) and refunded in full as soon as I knew of this non-arrival. I also had a neutral feedback ages ago because I sent the item three times to a buyer who was using her landlady's name and the post was getting redirected to the landlady! I also had a low star rating for communication as the buyer said I didn't reply to her query (no message in my eBay and none in my email).

Three people is all it takes to wipe out my £50 monthly discount and, worse, my visibility - eBay has set the bar WAY too high.

I am actually fearful that my exemplary service will be in jeopardy this Christmas as I have one low for despatch, one neutral and I fear Royal Mail getting my items to the buyer in time for Christmas.

On top of everything else eBay have taken away the ability to bulk email our customers should problems arise (ash cloud, snow, anything,...).

I read on a daily basis on the Powerseller Board how stressful eBay selling is and it is evident that we all feel let down- super duper sellers who go WAY above what is required for customer service than any one of the outlets. Phew, I needed to get that off my chest.

My business should NOT be in the hands of three buyers (out of thousands of VERY happy customers)”

-----------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I am awaiting eBay’s ruling with interest on a customer who ordered an item that I no longer had in stock; they were promptly refunded.

The item was of course never shipped.

Three weeks later he is claiming it arrived in a damaged state!

I've requested he return it.

Can't wait to see what arrives.”

‘rhodiekiwi’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/rhodiekiwi

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4. LOVELY SPOOF

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This great spoof arrived at HQ and if you know somebody called Sharon who is holidaying with her family in Spain right now; it might just catch you out.

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SAD NEWS..............HELP!!!!

I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's because of the situation of things right now,I'm stuck in Madrid,Spain with family right now, we came down here on vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.

We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all. Now, our passport is in the custody of the hotel management pending when we make payment. I am sorry if i am inconveniencing you, but i have only very few people to run to now. i will be indeed very grateful if i can get a loan of €2,250 EUR from you. this will enable me to sort our hotel bills and get a flight back home. I will really appreciate whatever you can afford in assisting me with. I promise to refund it in full as soon as I return. let me know if you can be of any assistance. Please, let me know soonest.

Thanks so much.

Sharon.

----------------------------------------------------

It makes a nice change from the usual PayPal spoofs; we all enjoyed this one at HQ.

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5. ASK MOLLY – CAN I MAKE A BUYER LEAVE FEEDBACK?
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“Hello Molly,

I would like to ask you what to do if I don't receive a feedback from buyer after two months.

I know that after one month eBay will send buyer a reminder, but what to do if it doesn't help?

Also, what should I do if I receive negative feedback and the buyer doesn't want to revise it? How can I complain so it can be removed?”

Unfortunately there is no obligation on a buyer to leave feedback at all. I have now sold almost 60,000 things and the feedback is 34,000 so around 40% of buyers don't leave it.

If you do receive a negative you can ask the buyer to revise their feedback, there is a form to fill in which can be found from a link on this page - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/feedback/revision-request.html

I don't always use the system to revise feedback, I will contact the buyer and ask what went wrong as it might just be a simple refund, if they can be placated then I ask them to revise if they don't come back with more details about the problem then I just forget it. Saying that, I revised a neutral this week as it was for something I thought could not be faulty and it was in fact just a mistake.

If the buyer does not want to revise and the feedback does not breach eBay guidelines - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/inappropriate-feedback-comments.html there is not very much you can do.

If you do receive a bad feedback you can of course respond. It is best to be professional and factual in this response, I used to be very restrained but have slipped into bad practice lately, I just can't help myself. I mean why would anybody keep something they are not happy with and not ask for a refund?

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.

And that’s it for another year too. Time to put the elves on short time and lock up the shed for a day or so. There is just time for this (slightly modified) important health & safety message sent in by Simon - http://www.sbarker.co.uk/. Wise words indeed.

Elf Directives for the Festive Season

Sleigh riding:

Any Elf travelling by sleigh this year is reminded to ‘buckle up’ before commencing the journey as a repeat of last year’s chimney incident could well invalidate personal injury insurance cover.

Leaving a sleigh unattended with its keys inside on cold mornings whilst trying to defrost windscreens can result in the insurance being invalidated – if stolen this will leave YOU with the financial burden of replacing the sleigh.

Elves planning to dash through the snow in a one horse open sleigh, going over the fields and laughing all the way, are advised that a Risk Assessment will be required addressing the safety of an open sleigh for members of the public. This assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly where there are multiple passengers.

Please note that permission must also be obtained in writing from landowners before their fields may be entered.

To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

Carol singing:

Ear plugs are compulsory for all carolers and audiences as Noise Regulations require the management of risk to Elves and to the general public.

Christmas lanterns will of course require electrical (portable appliance testing) PAT tests before caroling can commence.

Snowball fights:

Elves are banned from snowball fights this year unless they can obtain full written liability disclaimers from all participants.

Additionally hardhats, goggles, respirators and chest protectors must be worn at all times. No more than three snowballs should be carried at once and all Elves must complete relevant Kinetic Lifting Technique training conforming to ‘The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992’ before commencing.

Snow Ball fight procedural checklist:

1) Stand close to the snowball and centre yourself over it with your feet shoulder width apart.

2) Tighten your abdominal muscles.

3) Keeping your back straight, bend your knees and squat down to the floor.

4) Get a good grasp on the snowball with both hands.

5) Keeping the ball close to your body use your leg muscles to stand up lifting the snowball/s off the floor.

6) Your back should remain straight throughout lifting, using only the muscles in the legs to lift the ball.

7) Do not twist your body when moving. Instead take small steps with your feet turning until you are in the correct position to throw.

Flock watching:

Benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available for collection by any Elves or shepherds planning, or required, to watch their flocks by night. Whilst provision has also been made for remote monitoring of flocks by CCTV cameras from a centrally heated shepherd observation corner of HQ, all users of this facility must familiarise themselves with escape routes and are reminded that an emergency response plan must be submitted to account for any known risks to flocks or watchers.

Following last year's well publicised case, all Elves are advised that Equal Opportunities legislation prohibits any comment with regard to the redness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from any reindeer games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence.

Decking the halls with boughs of holly will not be allowed this year due to the increased risk of personal injury from Wood dust and sap. A ‘Control of Substances Hazardous to Health’ (COSHH) assessment has been scheduled for later in the year.

Finally, whilst it is acknowledged that gift bearing is a common practice in various parts of the world, particularly the Orient, everyone is reminded that the bearing of gifts is subject to Hospitality Guidelines and the Bribery Act and therefore all gifts must be registered.

This applies regardless of the individual, even royal personages. It is particularly noted that direct gifts of currency or gold are specifically precluded, while caution is advised regarding other common gifts such as aromatic resins that may evoke allergic reactions.

Best wishes and Happy Christmas

Mollybol

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 235

2011-12-22T00:07:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 235, 9th December 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Check those invoices

2. Dispatch vs. delivery ongoing

3. Back to the future

4. Quick spoof

5. Ask Molly – Should I ship or not?

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

Christmas sales are still strong, but slowing, which is fine as I have become somewhat bored packing and wrapping. There is some good news as Molly’s feedback rating for postage has finally returned to 5.0 stars after a long uphill struggle.

Yesterday was a sad day at HQ as you will discover when you read on.

However, on a happier note read how a subscriber saved a few pounds following advice in this bulletin – it’s all part of the service.

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

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1. EBAY NEWS – CHECK THOSE INVOICES

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“Dear Molly,

Your last eBay bulletin referred specifically to the featured listing error.

I checked my fees and guess what... same error.

It is so easy to make and once it’s in your listing template it repeats.

The lady I spoke to needed a little more persuasion than yours but agreed with me in the end.

I'm going to pay fees weekly going forward and check carefully (something I am embarrassed to say I don't often do).

Thank you so much for this extremely useful info.”

‘rhodiekiwi’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/rhodiekiwi

M – it’s my pleasure, as I learn so will I share.

I do think I have found out why this particular problem occurs. During the revision process you will need to click the continue button in order to move onto page 2 of the ‘sell your item’ form.

Some browsers take some time to load, Google Chrome seems to be the worst so there is a temptation to double click (or more) the continue button. Immediately under this button on page 2 is a tick box for the ‘featured listing’ option; if the page loads halfway through the frantic clicking this box will be checked.

A warning to Elves everywhere – calm down [Ed - it's only eBay]!

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2. DISPATCH VS. DELIVERY ONGOING

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You may recall that last week I included a reader’s comments regarding the ongoing debate over the speed of delivery impacting on feedback for dispatch.

Yesterday was a dark day at Molly HQ when the whole of the USA was blocked from all Molly’s eBay items across all IDs. This has nothing to do with guys in the US, we love America in fact one of the Elves is dating a delightful chap from Long Island – nice big house! No, this is the final straw regarding dispatch vs. delivery and the eBay feedback system.

An e-mail arrived at HQ:

“Important: Improve your seller performance to avoid limits on your account.”

“Dear Mollybol,

Your seller performance is below standard under the eBay.com seller performance standards programme.

We'd like to help you improve your seller performance, so that you can continue to list at the same volume and avoid limits on your account.

Based on your ratings, we recommend that you focus on communicating promptly and professionally, and dispatching your items promptly and informing your buyers.”

I mentioned a while back that my TRS status had been removed in the US, now it has fallen below standard due to a handful of buyers marking me down for dispatch time. At HQ items are shipped the same day and often within the hour, so dispatch times are pretty good, and as eBay now send all the dispatch e-mails the buyers should be aware of the dispatch date. It is the bit in the middle that slows things down – the delivery.

Things are going to get worse in the run up to Christmas as this article in the Daily Mail suggests:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2070845/Christmas-gift-delivery-chaos-expected-Couriers-ALREADY-struggling-cope.html

So I have now blocked any sales into the US to limit further damage to my stats. This will impact on my profits and reduce revenue to eBay but enough is enough.

Please make the distinction somewhere between feedback for dispatch and buyer comments on delivery times.

The other line in the e-mail was the suggestion that I should be ‘communicating promptly and professionally’ with my buyers which did annoy the Elves a little as Molly has 100% satisfaction in the communication category.

If this fiasco continues I can see Molly becoming a domestic only seller, not ideal for a UK in need of export revenue.

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3. BACK TO THE FUTURE

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“Hi Molly,

I read with a little chuckle your story from a customer who left negative feedback because a one size only item was the wrong size. I think I have one that may give you a little chuckle too. I had an email through eBay about a week ago from a potential customer in America who asked if I would post to there as they really wanted the little soaps I was selling, I checked the Royal mail site and sent them a message saying it would cost £2.93 air mail from the UK to USA.

They then bought the item on a Sunday evening, I dispatched them on Monday at 11am and when I came back to the house to confirm they had been dispatched the seller had left me three words on the feedback "Very Slow Shipping", thankfully they added them to a positive rating. Now given that I had just left the post office some five minutes prior to post the item I thought I’d better check if my DeLorean was still outside with Michael J Fox in it and the flux capacitor in full flow!

‘morebrands4less’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Morebrands4less

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4. QUICK SPOOF

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Just space to slip in a quick PayPal spoof courtesy of ‘Greatvalue111’ - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Greatvalue111/m.html?

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From: aw-confirm@accounts.co.uk
Subject: New PayPal personal message
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:16:09 -0600

Dear Customer,

We recently have determined that different computers have logged into your account, and multiple passwords failures were present before the login. therefore your online account has been blocked.

To restore your Online account please download and fill the form attached to this e-mail.
Once opened, you will be provided with steps to restore your acces.
We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

Note: Only submit your information via this secure link.
Do not submit your information via email since this is not a secure way of sending sensitive data.
----------------------------------------------------------------

This spoof also contains an online form which when filled in should keep somebody in Nigeria smiling for quite a while.

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5. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I SHIP OR NOT?
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“Hi Molly,

I have a vintage cutlery set for sale on eBay and I have stated that I will only ship outside the UK ‘IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES’.

Someone from Sydney in Oz has asked if I would send it to them if they pay the shipping, my gut feeling is ‘no’ as they only joined yesterday with zero feedbacks.

I do not judge that as we all have to start somewhere but it is a long way if it turns out to be dodgy and it is a very valuable. I know in your book you say be very wary of these types of things.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.”

I would be tempted to leave well alone, things just don't stack up, the buyer is outside of the UK, has zero feedbacks and joined yesterday. It may be that this is just the thing they have been waiting for all these years and they joined eBay just to buy your cutlery set however I would wait for a more established buyer in the UK.

It should be fine to post within the UK using an insured carrier, but quite heavy I should think.

Imagine how you would feel if it got lost in the post or the payment was reversed, it makes me shudder just thinking about it.

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.

The subject of insurance for eBay traders crops up from time to time in this bulletin as it can be quite hard to find. In response to this Molly has asked a clever reader in the world of business insurance to put together a proposal tailored towards eBay traders.

Although still very much on the drawing board I would like to canvas opinion from you the bulletin readers to see if such a policy combining home and business insurance in one policy would have any legs.

If this is something you might consider given all the usual caveats (especially price) please let me know – mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk if enough readers think it might work we will develop the idea further.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 234

2011-12-22T00:06:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 234, 1st December 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Contact

2. Dispatch vs. delivery

3. PayPal spoof

4. Reader’s rant – Shill bidding

5. Ask Molly – How can I spend my Dollars?

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

Sales are still full steam ahead and last week included my best ever day's turnover. I have stopped adding more inventory and will probably run with my current active listings which are around 550, down from 650. A short sale in time for Christmas delivery should see all my targets hit and then time to put the old feet up for another year.

In the bulletin this week is a stark warning about your monthly eBay invoice.

Also a reader’s rant of epic proportions – kettle on first!

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

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1. EBAY NEWS – CONTACT

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Over the past five or so years the subject of contacting eBay has cropped up in this bulletin more than a few times and not always in a favourable light. Well, I must mention it again and this time from my personal experience.

It all started with a monthly invoice for one of my minor accounts of £360. I only have 400 listings active and sales for the month amounted to less than £1,000 so 400 x 10p plus 10% of £1,000 should be in the region of £140. Alarm bells started to ring.

Upon investigation of the current invoice (my eBay – account tab – right hand side/select invoice) I found four charges for ‘Featured First Fee - Special Duration’ each one costing £44.95. Regular readers will know that I am far too mean to buy any add-on features, especially for items selling at £4.99.

This listing upgrade can be selected on the final page when revising an item by ticking a box. Never do this, it just isn’t worth the money. I may from time to time forget the date, lose my way commuting to the shed and send the wrong hand cream, but I never ever get my numbers wrong.

Time to contact eBay and it worked like a dream, following the ‘contact us’ tab I was given an 0800 number with a PIN. The phone was answered within minutes even though this was a Sunday and the customer services lady looked into the problem, agreed that it was totally out of character [Ed- even the US knows how mean you are!] and initiated a credit to the account.

I was impressed so praise where praise is due (tick, V.G.)

Lessons to be learnt from this adventure:

1) Anticipate how much your monthly bill should be

2) Check your online invoice each month looking for obvious problems.

3) Contact Molly for a lend of the eBay 0800 number.

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2. DISPATCH VS. DELIVERY

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“Hi Molly,

I wanted to comment on something that was raised in the last bulletin.

I would entirely agree that eBay should do something about the dispatch/delivery issue. I always dispatch items either on the day they are purchased or at the very latest the next working day.

Although it is lovely to receive positive feedback, it often relates to my fast delivery of items. However, I don't actually deliver them - I dispatch them! If items are delayed (or even worse, lost) by the Royal Mail it is entirely outside my control.

I have raised this with eBay but it does not appear to be a priority for them. I would really welcome a change in the feedback for dispatch. Buyers might want to give a positive for dispatch time but a negative for delivery but have only the one place to give this. Maybe if eBay also included an extra section for delivery then buyers would realise there is actually a difference between the two.

‘londoner1525’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Crafting-Angels

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3. PAYPAL SPOOF

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Here’s a quick PayPal spoof currently doing the rounds. If you spot something like this, just forward it on to me and then delete.

------------------------------------------------------

12 Nov 2011 01:31:21 AEDT
Transaction ID: 3E687391972R3624O

You sent a payment of $137 AUD to eBay International AG (AU-ebay-eom-fees@ebay.com )

It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in the Recent Activity list in your Account Overview.

Merchant Instructions to merchant
eBay International AG You haven't entered any instructions
AU-ebay-eom-fees@ebay.com
+61 61282880000

Description Unit price Qty Amount

$137 AUD 1 $137 AUD

Subtotal $137 AUD

Total $137 AUD

Payment sent to AU-ebay-xxxeom-fees@ebay.com

Invoice ID: 641552839

Issues with this transaction?
If you belive this is an error please follow the link below and complete the instructions.
On the confirmation page, press the 'Cancel Payment' button to confirm. Your payment will be cancelled and the funds returned to your PayPal account.

https://www.paypal.com/xxxxxxxxxxx/helpweb?cmd=_help.

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click Help in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, log in to your PayPal account, go to your Profile, and click Notifications.

-------------------------------------------------------------

There are a couple of things to note with this spoof, firstly there is not a description of the item and secondly the word believe is spelt wrong – as usual.

If you spot a spoof, please send it in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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4. READERS RANT – SHILL BIDDING

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“Dear Molly,

The reason for my missive this time is twofold. On the one hand I was NOT amused to wake up Friday morning and find that eBay had decided I was guilty of shill bidding, had restricted my account, marked my seller dashboard with Very Low policy compliance and insisted I take a tutorial before logging into my account again.

On the other hand, however, after much gnashing of teeth and rending of clothing I did manage to get the eBay representative on the end of the chat-line to agree in writing that eBay had been wrong – YES, eBay HAD BEEN WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! – unheard of.

I have included the full conversation transcript below and if you have the time to read through it, you will notice how initially it was incredibly difficult to keep calm.

Why is it that their replies never answer your question? The moral is I feel that if you can hold off from banging your head on your desk for long enough and keep shortening your comments until they have no option other than to address them, you might actually, eventually get an answer. If you must persist, you might even get justice!

‘Tortchyboy’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Green-Light-International

eBay

Welcome to eBay Live Help. How may I help you today?

Tortchyboy

Hello, I have been accused of shill bidding which I deny. I have completed the tutorial but my policy compliance on eBay is now very low. I thought to commit shill bidding you had to bid on items, I have not done this, the only items I have bought were Buy It Now.

eBay

Hello there. I understand that you'd like to know more about your policy compliance status. I'll be happy to look into this for you. While I'm reviewing your account, are there any additional concerns you would like me to address for you today?

Tortchyboy

Yes. I have NOT committed shill bidding.

eBay

Please bear with me for a few moments while I look into this.

Tortchyboy

No problem, thank you.

eBay

Thank you for waiting. I have checked and can confirm that your policy compliance rating is Very Low due to shill bidding. This will be removed on your account on 22 Feb 2012.

Tortchyboy

I know that but you are not hearing what I am saying, I did NOT commit shill bidding.

Tortchyboy

It is unfair for eBay to just decide that I did this for no reason and punish me; it is like conviction without a trial

Tortchyboy

I completed the tutorial so I now know what eBay's shill bidding rules are and I do not believe I broke any of them

Tortchyboy

To commit shill bidding you must bid on an item, I have not

Tortchyboy

The only items I have purchased from a relative were Buy It Now; that is not shill bidding

eBay

I see that your account was restricted to listing using Buy It Now format only because of a breach of eBay's Shill Bidding policy. This restriction will last for a minimum of 14 days.

Tortchyboy

I know all this; you are not telling me anything I do not know. My point is I DID NOT DO SHILL BIDDING please address that point

Tortchyboy

I DID NOT BREACH THE E-BAY SHILL BIDDING POLICY - What do I do about that?

ebay

I can understand why you'd like more precise information. Your account was found to be involved in Shill Bidding with the following associated account: **************

Tortchyboy

I know all that but to commit shill bidding you must bid - I did not. The items I purchased were BUY IT NOW.

Tortchyboy

Am I correct? To commit shill bidding you must bid, is that right or not?

eBay

Let me check.

Tortchyboy

Thank you.

eBay

Thanks for waiting. We've checked our internal records again. While we make every effort to ensure that we only take action in cases where we have all relevant evidence, unfortunately it appears that in this case, the action on your account was taken in error. I apologise for the inconvenience.

Tortchyboy

Thank you. Does this mean that the very low policy compliance will be removed?

eBay

To assist you with this matter further, I need to get assistance from my colleagues in the relevant department. I will now send them your issue and all the information on your account to save you from having to explain again. You will receive a response from them via email.

Tortchyboy

Thank you for your help. Can you just clarify for me that the Very Low Compliance rating on my e-bay account will be removed?

eBay

You're welcome. I'm afraid we don’t have the tools to look into it in a detailed manner so I will need to refer you to our relevant team in this case.

Tortchyboy

Okay. At least you have confirmed that I did nothing wrong. Hopefully, as the Very Low Policy Compliance was imposed in error by eBay, they will decide that it is only fair they should remove it. I will wait and see.

eBay

Looking forward to have this matter resolved. Thank you for using eBay Live Help. Have a great day.

M – Wow, two full cups of coffee.

If you want to get it off your chest, feel free – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I SPEND MY DOLLARS?
------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I was wondering if you could advise me on a PayPal matter?

I have received a payment in US dollars into my PayPal account from a sale via eBay.com (I mainly sell on eBay.co.uk) and although this payment is included in my overall total amount when I come to transfer the money to my bank account this US amount is not included. Do you know how to transfer this to my primary PayPal account?

‘pennyyork’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/pennyyork

>From the main 'My Account' PayPal summary page select the 'profile' link and then 'my money' next to 'PayPal balance' is a link to 'currencies' where on the right side is a currency converter.
Select the destination currency in the drop-down menu: if the one you choose is new for your account, you will automatically create a balance in that currency.

Use this service sparingly as exchange rate conversions never make us money do they?

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.

My new packaging slips have arrived and I am very impressed, they give the impression that I actually know what I am doing.

Check out ‘bluestarprint’ - http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/bluestarprint/?

Total sales on ‘mollybol’ have now edged past 53,500; that’s a lot of packing slips!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 233

2011-12-22T00:05:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 233, 16th November 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Shareable wish list

2. Christmas so far

3. This and that

4. Reader’s rant – eBay reimbursement

5. Ask Molly – Is there still opportunity on eBay?

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

A slight lull in sales and the first thing I think of is bashing out another bulletin, life is just one big roller coaster of thrills.

Sales are speeding along and these have pushed Molly’s feedback over 33,000, with no more negs. so far.

You can catch up on the holiday season activity at HQ below.

A great reader’s rant this week; scroll down for more on this.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – SHARABLE WISH LIST

-------------------------------------

It has been operational for a couple of weeks now and I just wondered if any readers have used the new service. The Elves have updated the HQ wish list and as luck would have it their dreams came true when a delivery of assorted bubble bags was followed by three rolls of bubble wrap and an outer of sticky tape. It's going to be a great Christmas!

‘Easipack’ still seems the best value for your ‘oo’ & ‘1’ bags - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/EasiPack?

The ‘sharable wish list’ is on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie and allows you to let friends and family know what gifts are on your mind, to be bought on eBay naturally.

The three-step sharing process is:

Create: Adding an item to your eBay wish list is simple. Once you find the item you want, click ‘Add to wish list’ on the View Item or Product Detail Page.

Customise: Customise your wish list page with your choice of theme, such as holiday, birthday, or anniversary.

Share: Share your personalised eBay wish list with others through email or Facebook.

Full details: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/wish-list.html

------------------------------------------------
2. CHRISTMAS SO FAR

-------------------------------------------------

Molly was hoping for a busy Christmas period and so far things are going to plan. I am not too keen on working this hard, but as the intention is to hibernate during Q4 (actually I don’t plan to be working very much until next September) every sale counts.

Active listings are up to around 650 which is three times normal volume. Imagine a cross between Del’s flat, Arkwright’s stock room and the American Pickers’ shed and you have a picture of HQ right now.

Stock is everywhere, every so often an Elf moves it from one pile to the next and eventually it leaves by the front door.

Here are a few Molly stats to accompany your coffee time:

Month-to-month sales growth: +81%

Sold items: +53%

Unpaid item disputes running at 2.5% of sales.

eBay fees up 110%

It is the toy categories which are of most interest at the moment as most of the Elves also moonlight for Santa and might even help in their eventual delivery.

The big surprise this year has to be ‘Build A Bear’ which is flying out, even the local myHermes agent bought a bundle whilst picking up parcels – doorstep selling in reverse.

Top 5 toy sellers:

1. Thomas the Tank Engine
2. Lego
3. Polly Pocket
4. Peppa Pig
5. Fisher Price

With November sales rising even higher there’s not much time for coffee at HQ. [Ed – I don’t believe that for one moment.]

-------------------------------------------------
3. THIS AND THAT

------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly,

I have a question regarding buying stamps on eBay and using them for postage. Can I use these stamps on anything I send, even packets, or are they just used for letters and large letters and can you recommend a good seller of stamps?

Also how can I find out how many stamps to put on heavy or large items? I'm fairly new to selling on eBay and this would be a great help.”

‘flex_sales_centre’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Flex-Sales-Centre

Yes, each stamp has a value and as long as the total equals the required postage amount then any combination can be used.

First and second class stamps also have a value, second class is currently 36p, so 6 x 2nd class stamps = £2.16 which is the rate for second class post into the UK up to 500 grams.

The Royal Mail publishes postal rates on its website www.royalmail.com. Weigh your item and select the appropriate price tier for the service you want and then add up your stamps until you have enough. Watch out with small parcels as you can soon run out of room using lower value stamps.

eBay is a great source of stamps with savings around 12%, saying that I can't find anything of interest at the moment, the prices are going a bit too high because more sellers are looking for postage savings at this time of year.

Regularly use the search by ‘newly listed’ for ‘BIN’ items and you should strike lucky.
--------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Although I have only used eBay for buying, I can sympathise with the seller who recently voiced the complaint in your bulletin.

When a seller has notified me that an item has been dispatched to me quickly, but it takes a considerable time to be delivered, I make sure that this is reflected in the comments section of the feedback form. It might be something like: "Excellent service was let down by poor courier".

Perhaps it would be useful if eBay had a rating system for the performance of couriers & carriers, with criteria like efficiency, cost, speed of delivery, care of handling, etc. This would allow sellers to select ones which would be the most likely to provide satisfactory service.”
----------------------------------------

“Dear Molly,

Just writing to commiserate on your recent negative feedback - we have just got our first!

Buyer moans about wrong size sent but listing says one size only!

No communication whatsoever before giving us a negative but it can be explained, I suppose, because they only have nine feedbacks - perhaps they will understand the system more when they get more experience. I do wish eBay would make some sort of allowance for this kind of thing.”

M – Don’t get me started.

-------------------------------------------------
4. READERS RANT – EBAY REIMBURSEMENT

------------------------------------------------

“Molly,

Firstly, I had a buyer open a dispute through eBay to complain that their item had never been delivered. I find this irritating anyway when people do this rather than contacting me directly to discuss the issue - it reminds me of children running to tell their mum!

Anyway, because I just stick things in the post box I didn't have proof of postage so they found in the buyer's favour and refunded their money. Not that that is an issue as I would have refunded the buyer without quibbling if they had contacted me directly.

But then eBay sent me a reimbursement reminder telling me that I had to pay eBay for the money that they had refunded to the buyer or else my account would be suspended. It offered me a link to find out more about this but rather than telling me how to do it the link only told me why I should do this. It took about three weeks for me to finally manage to get in contact with the right section of eBay and to get a response explaining how to do this.

It was made more ridiculous because eBay only told me what I needed to reimburse in dollars but would only allow me to enter Stirling into the payment box so I had to work out what the amount should be by using a currency converter.

I received (as predicted) another eBay reminder about the reimbursement so I decided I ought to ring someone at eBay to get it sorted out once and for all.

Have you ever tried the "contact us" section on eBay? It is the most frustrating thing - sending you through loops of standard answers rather than providing you with an email or phone number to use. Eventually I clicked on an irrelevant question just so it opened up the bit that allows you to ring them.

I was on hold for about 8 minutes before it offered me the option to have them ring me back. To do them justice, they rung back within a couple of minutes. A very pleasant woman rang me and after I explained the problem she told me I was talking to the wrong part of eBay and she transferred me to the correct section, which put me back on hold.

After about 10 minutes I spoke to another American woman (are these people actually in America?!) who had to put me on hold for long periods of time to get assistance from her manager. By the time the call ended, I had been on the phone for over 40 minutes and all for the sake of £3.91 which I had already paid to eBay and just wanted to let them know that I had!

So how cost effective was all that for eBay?!

Hazels-Homegrown2 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Hazels-Homegrown

As ever your thoughts are most welcome – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – IS THERE STILL OPPORTUNITY ON EBAY?
------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I recently purchased your book. Super read, loved it!

I have been chewing over the idea of eBay for some time now but there is one thing which seems to keep coming up in all the business forums, etc. I get the feeling that every person and their dogs are jumping on the eBay bandwagon which is starting to make it very hard to make a profit.

Now I imagine that you get emails like this all the time but I can't help thinking that it would very hard to make any profit. People have this idea that 'anything' sells on eBay yet myself and others have listed things which have never even sold, or had 1 bid at say 99p (not ideal on an item worth £20).”

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Dukes-Vault

I know what you mean about eBay being oversubscribed, competition is forcing down the margins on my cosmetic sales as others join the fray.

It is still possible to grab a piece of the action, choosing the right item to sell is essential.

To counter the reduction in margins Molly has started selling a third cosmetic brand – ‘Lancome’. Again its early days as the market is full but the last 3 months have seen significant sales with the new brand hitting third place by turnover behind Estee Lauder and Clarins.

I have now opened a small part of my shop to DIY products and in the last 90 days sold £4.5k of boys' toys, including 180 fuses worth £1,500. I am still researching the market and looking for better supply but if things continue upwards in this way then I will break the business into its own shop as it doesn't really fit with cosmetics.

Two of the Elves are at university and have their own shop selling used designer clothes. They seem to have sufficient funds to live on pizza and party most nights.

There are of course many hurdles to overcome, finding the right stock being high on the list. Find a niche market rather than go head-to-head in the DVD category

My key buzz words are 'get rich slow' and eBay is ideal as you can practice whilst working elsewhere. There are a few tricks of the trade which is where the book and 230 back issues of the bulletin come in handy.

So, yes, it is still a great place to be especially as economic gloom is forcing people away from the High Street and online looking for a bargain or second-hand item. I'll be there waiting for them to visit.

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.

I am also keen to support new eBay ventures especially when I can save a few pounds along the way. This week’s ‘Molly’s best buy’ is ‘bluestarprint’ - http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/bluestarprint/? for your leaflet requirements.

I am running very low on compliments slips and prices at my usual printer have risen again. ‘bluestarprint’ will knock me up 5,000 A6 colour slips for £50 delivered (use your Quidco account and save the cost of a small latte). Not only this, but they helped with the artwork and guided yours truly through the process which was no mean feat!

If you need packing slips etc, just drop them a note at artwork@bluestarprintsolutions.co.uk and mention the bulletin. Maybe my next lot will cost me £45.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 232

2011-12-21T15:27:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 232, 3rd November 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – eBay mobile commerce to hit $5 billion

2. eBay seller of the week

3. This and that

4. Reader’s rant – feedback of course

5. Ask Molly – How can I greet my buyers?

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

Wow, I had forgotten what it is like to be busy and with baby Elf deserting me for university I need to work even harder, not even time for a coffee! OK, so I lied about the lack of coffee, but the rest is all true. Christmas has officially arrived.

It’s a bumper edition this week as I might find it tricky to put pen to paper on a regular basis over the coming weeks.

This week sees the introduction of a new bulletin section ‘eBay trader of the week’. This is dedicated to those sellers who help Molly when things go pear-shaped!

On a lighter note there is some more feedback on feedback, read on for the low down.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – EBAY MOBILE COMMERCE TO HIT $5BILLION

-------------------------------------

No, no, no, not Molly’s turnover, I can’t even fly a ‘smartphone’. This is the prediction by eBay Inc and it’s no small number. I would like to think that I helped out but it’s Mrs Molly that buys, I just sell, sell, sell.

Press release:

Angus McCarey, Retail Director for eBay UK, said:

“Mobile has fundamentally changed the way people shop and mobile sales on eBay are growing in triple digits. As mobile continues to blur the online and offline commerce environment, our focus is on enabling all commerce by helping consumers shop anytime, anywhere and with any device, and by helping retailers keep up with technological advancements.

“Retailers need to think about how to meet the demands of the connected consumer, who will soon expect a truly integrated shopping experience that flows from their phone, to the shop and to their Facebook profile.”

It’s interesting that Facebook cropped up in this statement as I recently cancelled my account, I was fed up with Anna commenting on my picture and adding graffiti to my wall.

Here’s a few mobile facts sent over by my good friends at Blue Rubicon, scroll down if you are in a hurry.

- Over 20 million people have now downloaded the core iPhone eBay app across the globe.

- eBay mobile users are visiting the mobile website 10-15 times a day.

- 300,000 new eBay shoppers made their first eBay purchase through the company’s mobile apps between January and May 2011.

- eBay mobile applications are available in more than 190 countries and eight languages.

- eBay mobile apps have been downloaded over 50 million times globally.

- Mobile shoppers on eBay.co.uk have bought more than 30 million items through iPhone and WAP since July 2008.

- There are up to 380,000 daily visits to eBay.co.uk via mobile apps, and more than 170,000 UK mobile shoppers spend over £30 with the eBay mobile app per week.

- In 2010, global eBay sales via a mobile device more than tripled, generating $2 billion in sales – up from $600m in 2009. This is set to more than double again in 2011 to over $5 billion.

- Globally an item is purchased every second using the eBay app.

------------------------------------------------
2. EBAY SELLER OF THE WEEK

-------------------------------------------------

Regular readers will know that when I make a sale I do tend to get excited and forget some of the finer details such as confirming the right item is dispatched, small things like that.

Well, par for the course I recently sold a batch of Warhammer figures for £25 to ‘thetrolltrader’. This was obviously too cheap as they sold immediately, also purchased was a model of an ‘Imperial Guard Psyker’. So far so good!

A little later I sold ‘Commissar Yarrick’ but to my horror discovered he was not there, just the sneaky Psyker staring back at me. You must remember that these metals models all look the same and I had not had enough coffee so mixed them up.

Why is this seller awarded the converted title of ‘trader of the week’ I hear you ask? Well Louis at ‘thetrolltrader’ agreed to find the missing model which is no mean feat given the amount of inventory they carry and forward it on to my buyer covering the postage and packing costs.

A couple of things are worth noting from this adventure. First, I must get some better glasses and second just how much profit was left in the £25 batch of models I sold?

For all your Warhammer needs, check out ‘thetrolltrader’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/TheTrollTrader

-------------------------------------------------
3. THIS AND THAT

------------------------------------------------

Did you notice all the uproar this week concerning the treatment of second class post by the Royal Mail? Sorting of second class mail posted on a Saturday is no longer delayed; instead all mail is sorted and shipped at the same time.

Sounds great as second class mail should arrive a little quicker, however if you pay the First Class premium but don’t get a premium service you could feel a little cheated. Also there may be a possibility that First Class mail is delayed if the total volume gets too much to handle. Given that this has been the case since July some users are a little upset.

As I have said in this bulletin many, many times, use the second class service for all packets into the UK as they will almost always be delivered the next day – except for Christmas when most mail takes almost a year to get there.

--------------------------------------

On the subject of the Royal Mail, (I love you really), here are the Christmas posting dates:

Tuesday 18th October – surface mail to USA – Oops [Ed - useful to know.]

Monday 5th December – Airmail to Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, South America etc.

Friday 9th December Eastern Europe, USA and Canada

Monday 12th December – Western Europe including Hull

Wednesday 14th December – Standard parcels

Saturday 17th - Second class (yeah right!)

Tuesday 20th - First class and second class in the same sacks

Wednesday 21st - Parcelforce 48

Thursday 22nd – Parcelforce 24

Thursday 22nd – Special delivery

Friday 23rd - SP with Saturday guarantee

Saturday 24th – Santa

----------------------------------------

The new title length is 80 characters and I would plead with all sellers to use as many as possible. However, ensure all your key info is at the front of the title.

Although all 80 characters are included in the search results only 55 are actually shown on the results page and buyers may miss your USP. Colour, size, volume, quantity etc. are probably more important than the actual item name as this is likely to have been typed in already.

----------------------------------------

This question arrived at HQ

“I am just interested to know why you are selling samples? They are free from all cosmetic counters so why are you making people pay?”

Oh dear, the capitalist ethos has passed you by, which may be no bad thing in the long run.

Of course I don’t make people pay for samples, I just put them on eBay and people buy them. I am not proud of myself and often can’t sleep at night. [Ed - Karl Marx rolls in his grave.]

-------------------------------------------------
4. READERS RANT – FEEDBACK OF COURSE

------------------------------------------------

“Dear Ed,

Molly here, is it OK if I have a rant over feedback for a change? I know I’m not usually one to complain but I did get a couple of corkers this week which I would love to share with the readers.

The first negative was for a pair of ‘Timberland Boots’, size 6 - £10 (I hate selling shoes).

“The shoes is too heavy. Slippery from in side, not fit properly, Cause fracture”

my reply:

“One has to ask why you wore shoes that didn't fit and not return for a refund!”

Would you really keep a pair of shoes that didn’t fit and not return them? Would an established trader really go to war over a £10 pair of shoes?

The second classic is a neutral for a 30ml tube of wrinkle cream, 40 of which had already sold:

“fast delivery thank u”

I asked the buyer what went wrong, the reply:

“It did state the size i know but i assumed i wld b gettin more”

Thanks Ed,

M”

It is not just me, it seems that feedback and the stars ratings are still food for thought.

“Hi Moll,

I have to agree with last week’s Reader’s rant about eBay feedback and eBay’s lack of commitment to sort unfair feedback out. Of course they know that Top Seller ratings may topple and they then gain increased revenue from the discount fees not being applicable.

We are about to lose our Top Rated Seller status as we set the eBay holiday settings for ten days which states that there will be a delay in shipping on our eBay items.

Many buyers completely ignored it and purchased products expecting their deliveries within a few days. Consequently we received a number of 1 and 2 stars for delivery time and we will be losing our TRS status and the fee discounts.

We sent an email to eBay, which promises a reply within three days... we are still waiting for a reply more than three days later. Are we surprised?”

As ever your thoughts are most welcome – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I GREET MY BUYERS?
------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

I would like to find out about a greeting to buyers which is sometimes seen in the body of the item description a bit at the top that says something like 'welcome to my item I hope it is what you're looking for' or similar.

How do I capture (presumably in HTML) and insert it in the text?”

‘fastslingshot’ - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/fastslingshot/m.html?

The salutation at the top of the description is a shop function.
Go into 'manage my shop' from 'My eBay'.

On the left side in the 'marketing tools' section select 'listing frame'. In the 'Customise your Shop listing header' select ‘Add a personalised message for buyers'.

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.

Watch out eBay, Amazon are prowling around poaching your sellers. No, I don’t mean boiling them in hot water, although thinking about it. [Ed - eggcellent gag.] I mean tempting them away with the promise of a happy life elsewhere.

The ‘red carpet’ scheme is aimed at sellers with 400 plus lines, how flattering.

“Amazon will provide free listing support, review for early ‘Buy Box’ eligibility and six months' account management to ensure that sellers receive the right amount of support to get off to a good start as an Amazon merchant.”

Sounds great. Unfortunately Amazon have chosen the worst possible time to woo new customers. All sellers with 400 plus lines are tearing their hair out trying to list, sell, pack and ship products at the moment. I took my call whilst sorting six bags of Lego, taking delivery of cardboard boxes, sending e-mails, listing new lines, feeding the dog and drinking tea (for a change).

The interesting thing is that the caller said Amazon would match the overall costs levied by eBay; this would be a neat trick as they don’t know my discount levels or PayPal Merchant costs. Maybe in the New Year guys, but don’t spend the commission just yet.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 231

2011-10-22T15:26:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 231, 20th October 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Delivery options

2. Delays in August shipping

3. Can I use a ‘style sheet’?

4. Reader’s rant – feedback stars

5. Ask Molly – How can I get extra pictures for free?

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

The big Christmas push has started at HQ with the few remaining elves rushed off their feet. Active listings are around 400 with many more items to process. Molly’s Christmas push started three weeks later this year due to other commitments so getting all inventory listed in time will be a challenge.

Some good news - the dreaded tax return is completed and dispatched, sent special delivery, the costs of which are of course… tax deductible!

This week there is still no eBay news of any consequence so instead a blatant plug for myHermes.

Also included is a super rant concerning feedback. It is always so good to let off steam.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS –DELIVERY OPTIONS

-------------------------------------

I did notice that myHermes now have their own postage service entry in the available postage options pull down menu for sellers, as opposed to being grouped with ‘other courier 3-5 days’. Love them or hate them; things have certainly taken off over the past two years.

“Hi Molly,

I've been reading your blog for almost a year now, I own your eBay business book (it's what made me get into e-commerce in the end) and I've been toying recently with the idea of using myHermes, especially with the Christmas rush coming up and we all know how Royal Mail like to go on strike.

So, my question is this, how exactly do you label your packages? I asked myHermes support directly and they told me to print it out on a piece of paper and tape it to the box. Not exactly professional or fitting for the image my company wants to project.

I own a professional Dymo 450 label printer and was hoping you or your readers can shed some light from the trenches about how it works and any possible solutions for my company.

So far we've been sending our packages by Royal Mail first class (why do people always choose first class instead of second class when offered at a much lower rate?) but with more and more of them raising above the 1.75KG weight class I feel we should be offering a more competitive delivery solution; and at £4.19 compared to £6.42 myHermes beats Royal Mail in the face with a half brick.”

‘Reddicegames’ - http://www.reddicegames.com/

It is the sticky tape for me I'm afraid, I am not aware of a higher-tech solution. There is no doubt that it works OK but as you say it does not give the most professional image. Do you get many repeat buyers? I only ask as if most only visit once then it won't make too much difference.

I use myHermes for 1 kilo+ parcels and the savings are considerable, especially as they have an 'up to 5 kilo' tier costing £5.99. The PO only have an 'up to 6 kilo' rate costing £10.34 so a 4.9 kilo parcel saves £4.35. If you are VAT registered the VAT can be claimed back from Hermes, but not yet for the PO standard parcels.

Another great feature which you will of course already know about is that pick ups can be arranged up until 10pm for next day collections. I can leave the larger parcels, concentrate on the 6pm Royal Mail post deadline, have a coffee and then process the myHermes parcels.

You comment on first class vs. second class is a valid one, especially as (almost) all packets are not sorted so the majority of second class will arrive the next day anyway. The extra cost for the perceived peace of mind is not that great for the buyer but first class is also not a guaranteed next-day delivery service.

>From a seller's point of view the implications of postage methods used extend beyond the competitiveness of price as all postage income counts towards turnover. 6,000 x 500 gram parcels a year using first class mail will add £14,880 to your turnover; second class will only add £12,960. This could well mean the difference between registering for VAT or not.

I still send 400 parcels a year with myHermes and have had no problems so far.

------------------------------------------------
2. DELAYS IN AUGUST SHIPPING?

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi mollybol,

We have been shipping internationally since we started selling on eBay and we have noticed that some parcels sent in August have still not been delivered. We are wondering if you or any of your readers have had the same problem or are able to shed any light on this.”

’Stephensonsonline’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Stephensons-Online

I have noticed long delays in shipping to the Netherlands of up to three weeks; the rest of the world seems OK. Just a quick thought about those lost parcels, isn’t it amazing that once you have refunded for a ‘lost’ parcel you never get an email from the buyer saying it finally arrived and offering to pay again!

The Royal Mail regularly updates the ‘International incident bulletin’ which can be found at:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400033&mediaId=3800088

-------------------------------------------------
3. CAN I USE A STYLE SHEET?

------------------------------------------------

“Dear mollybol,

I have recently brought your eBay book and found it most helpful. Is it possible to write your own style sheet? If you can will it be in a CSS file format and would you need to link it in via a (a href) tag?”

‘tyrosplayer16’ - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/tyrosplayer16/m.html?

Wow, great question, a little beyond my HTML knowledge though I’m afraid. I can do extra pictures and a few cross selling links, even the odd animation but so far no need to use a style sheet.

If there are any HTML techies out there who have found a use for this advanced code, please do let me know – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. READERS RANT – FEEDBACK STARS

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I am having a battle with eBay at the moment over their unfair (in my view) star rating system and would like to hear from your readers their views.

My current argument is with "Dispatch". I send every item within 24 hours of payment, quite often the same day, yet I have recently received a couple of "1 or 2" scores so I asked eBay how can this happen.

I literally cannot send my items any quicker so surely I must get 5 stars if I am dispatching within 24 hours? eBay's only response so far is that I should contact the buyer and discuss it with them! How can I do this when the scoring system is left anonymously? I also check my DSR page on a daily basis and each time I have received a low score I have checked the feedback comments and they are all good comments so there is no guessing who has left me the scores anyway!

Needless to say if a buyer leaves a positive comment, it cannot be amended anyway so this is quite a ridiculous reply from eBay (you would think they would know how their own system worked)!

99.9% of my items are tracked so I have proof that the items were sent within 24hrs. (By checking Royal Mail or courier websites.)

Surely eBay need to amend this policy as it is factually incorrect, but they seem reluctant to comment or do anything about it! I wonder why? Maybe it because they are happy for sellers to lose their Top Rated Seller status as they then do not have to give 20% discount!

When buyers leave feedback they should be asked for a date of dispatch - this can be seen on the envelope/parcel or by checking the tracking details and then the seller should automatically receive a 5 star if sent within 48 hrs, 4 stars for 2-3 days, and so on. However eBay apparently do not accept ideas from customers, in their words "please note that our company policy does not allow us to accept or consider ideas or proposals, other than those that we have specifically requested." This is not very friendly customer service really is it?

I would be grateful if you could show the above in your News Bulletin to gain the views of your readers,

An interesting link is www.leavingfeedback.com. Maybe ALL buyers should read this before leaving feedback.”

It is quite likely that buyers grade the delivery time instead of dispatch time and mark accordingly. Three low scores in the US have led to the loss of my TRS status which impacts on my sales in America and of course reduces the fees I pay to eBay – a little self-defeating to my mind.

As ever your thoughts are most welcome – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I GET EXTRA PICTURES FOR FREE?
------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly,

Your book talks about making changes to the listing description so any extra photos will appear in that area. But how do you make photos appear in other areas as in this listing - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310338644675?

I am not a stranger to HTML and so any reply will probably make sense to me if you assume an element of pre-knowledge.”

’andjendist’ - http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/andjendist

This is an odd listing, a new improvement by eBay - a multi-variation listing. This format allows one shared free picture which shows all the items and then for each individual item an extra picture can be loaded into the eBay system for free.

You can have a max of 30 variations which means 31 free pictures in total. Train track only really needs one picture per item so no need to load any more into the description.

I am moving more into this format as I can list 30 items for 10p and it is unlikely that all 230 items on this listing will sell so I can just amend the current listing as I obtain more stock. If I had, say, a junction which sold out and three months elapsed before I had any more then the listing, and photo, will have gone from the system meaning more work. This listing keeps all the details as long as one item remains unsold.

This format works well for my cosmetic ranges which come in different sizes. I can offer more bottles at a reduced price which shifts more inventory and cuts down on costs: PayPal 20p flat charges, bubble bags, stamps, time to write out envelope etc. It is worth reducing two bottles by £1.00 to save these costs.

The new 80 character title length allows me to enter all available volume options so buyers searching for 15ml, 30ml or 45ml will find the item. One final point about this listing is that the lead picture shows loads of items with a headline price of 99p, people will be curious and look - more hits usually means more sales.

A couple of quick points about multi-variation listings which you might not know:

1) Each variation title can only be 30 characters long, but eBay don’t stop you typing which is why you have incomplete variation titles on your listing.

2) The variation title is included in the search results, which means for this listing option I have 980 characters in which to place all my key search words – who needs to ‘key word spam’ anymore?

I know it’s not anything to do with HTML this time, but interesting none the less.

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.

Things don’t always go as planned and a recent sale of a stuffed bear ended up in a full refund. I knew it was a borderline item so half expected a complaint, which was sorted with no delay; it was the note from the buyer which made me smile and despair at the same time.

“hi ive just recieced the build a bear lamb which condition is very poor on its back its fredbear and has black bits o fluff on it i would like a full refund as this item is clearly not worth it x i can give this to my little girl”

Best wishes and happy eBaying

Mollybol

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 229

2011-10-22T15:23:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 229, 19th September 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Hardly any news

2. eBay trader insurance

3. PayPal spoof?

4. Reader’s rant

5. Ask Molly – Where can I find stock?

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

You may have noticed that bulletin issue 228 hit the streets twice; well we thought it was so good it deserved to be sent out for a second viewing!

Just before I start here’s the negative feedback received for a ‘Build a bear’ outfit dispatched earlier in the week: “Disappointed, the Velcro fastening broken will need repair”.

I responded offering a full refund including postage and informed the buyer they could keep the outfit. The reply “That’s very understanding, but I will still need to pay to have it repaired.”

This week a great reader’s rant that will have many readers nodding in agreement and a plea for help with stock procurement (just for a change).

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – HARDLY ANY NEWS

-------------------------------------

eBay have started to make changes to the messages system; I look forward to this with great anticipation as it is not the easiest part of the site to navigate.

They have advised us that all messages over six months old will be deleted to save space. No worries there for me as I don’t even read the ones that are two days old.

The new 80 character title is now available so it may be worth re-listing a few items to gain the extra search words. Listings which have not received any sales can be edited but those with sales will have to be ended and re-listed. I still think it's worth doing.

You will of course lose all your watchers and regular customers may have a problem finding your item. Before you end the old listing add a note in big letters with an HTML link to the new listing explaining what has happened. It won’t do any harm and you may pick up a few sales from buyers finding the old listing.

------------------------------------------------
2. EBAY TRADER INSURANCE

-------------------------------------------------

Insuring a home business can be a problem and at best is likely to cost a fortune. We had burglars last week at the Molly HQ shed; they took pity on the Elves, tidied up the place and left £20 for food before they moved on elsewhere.

“As an avid fan of your eBay Bulletin and your book, I turn to your readers for some advice.

I am looking to develop a hobby into a business on eBay and thought I was doing the right thing by contacting our insurance company to let them know.

I am sure you will not be surprised to learn that they were less than impressed, especially when I mentioned the word 'eBay'. It seems trading there is like trading with the devil himself. Apparently people that shop on eBay are all thieves waiting for the opportunity to raid your home!

After a 45 minute conversation, they stated that I could paint and restore furniture from my home but no one must collect from my home. Also, my address must never appear anywhere on eBay. There was never a discussion about me paying extra money to alleviate any risk in their eyes and the final result was the best I could negotiate. Initially they said 'no' to everything! Obviously these rules are very restricting.

I have since spent time looking for premises but this is not cost effective in many cases and I really need a business address.

Can you suggest any insurance companies who will work with eBayers? Do you have any other thoughts with regard to this problem?

I would be grateful for any advice you can possibly give me as I hear all the time of people that are setting up their own businesses in their garden shed, etc. Perhaps they just don’t tell their insurance company?”

Ah, insurance, I knew there was something I had to sort out!

Over to you readers, anybody managed to find an insurer who will work with an eBay trader (lowest of the low)? Any advice to me please – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF?

------------------------------------------------

Have you received a note from PayPal asking if you want to customise your new PayPal checkout?

You can of course do exactly this from the PayPal website, just access the 'My Selling Preferences’ section under your ‘profile’ tab and then explore and create.

An email is doing the rounds asking you to log in and update, it looks to be genuine but one can never be too sure. It is worthwhile stressing that even if an e-mail is genuine only ever log into your account directly and never via a link in an email, even this bulletin.

Many thanks to Simon at http://www.givernygifts.com for highlighting this one.

-------------------------------------------------
4. READER’S RANT

------------------------------------------------

“Mollybol,

Why are both eBay and PayPal so biased against sellers, when the sellers pay the fees?

Recently I sold a Gucci tie to a customer, who when it arrived said it was damaged. No problem. I said I would give a full refund once it was returned via "Recorded Delivery" so we both knew the tie had got back to me.

Low and behold, the buyer opened a PayPal dispute and immediately escalated it to a claim.

I wrote to the buyer via eBay saying – 'Hello. Disappointed you have opened a PayPal claim as I said I would give a FULL refund immediately the item has been received. I have written to PayPal stating - "I have told the buyer I will give the buyer a FULL refund once the item has been returned. It has not as yet been returned. In my return policy I state it must be returned via Recorded Delivery. Please give tracking number." If you have sent the tie back please give the tracking details as it has not arrived back with me. If you buy an item at M&S they only give a refund when it has been returned - I do the same.'

You guessed it. PayPal have taken the money from my account, paid the buyer and I have no returned tie. In my eyes this almost borders on theft. Why do PayPal trust the buyer to have returned the item to me, without giving a tracking number, yet part of the Seller Protection policy is that sellers give tracking numbers?

Nobody likes being ripped off and it’s especially annoying when it’s being aided and abetted by organisations that charge you fees!!”

pigley_hogg - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/pigley_hogg/m.html?

As ever, your thoughts would be most welcome – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – WHERE CAN I FIND STOCK?
------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly,

I am quite into eBay! I’ve started reading one of your books which I bought, and it is helping me along the way. I like to focus on customer service and ensure 100% positive feedback.

I would love to grow an eBay business but my main sticking point is stock - items to sell. At the moment I’m managing to sell a few bits that are in the house here and there, but I'm struggling to think of items to sell, where to get them from, and how to acquire sellable stock for eBay.

Have you got any suggestions or your best advice for me on this matter?

Sellwellsteven - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sellwellsteven/m.html?

Finding stock is a big issue although you can pick it up all over the place depending upon the kind of thing you are happy selling. I still do very well at car-boot sales and even buying from eBay to resell is a good source. Market traders often have one-off lines, discount stores, even high street shops sale items can be a good stock item.

If you check out the back issues of the bulletin - www.ebaybulletin.co.uk you will find loads of pointers re stock although there is no getting away from the fact that it is a long road. Before you embark on a new line check out other sellers and see how they are doing.

As an example of obscure product sourcing Molly has recently launched a new line in domestic household fuses; not a natural bed partner for cosmetics but they sit nicely in a corner of the shop.

eBay is of course my first love [Ed – apart from the Elves and Mrs Molly and everyone at Harriman House], but next in line is property and it was the cost of new fuse boards and breakers that got me interested in fuses. I picked up a large number for a song and contacted another eBay seller who buys them; he offered me £1.50 each which represented a good profit for me. However, a little research found that they sell for around £7.50 each so off I went again.

I now have 239 different fuses listed at prices ranging from £2.49 to £40 and have sold 133 in the last 44 days totalling £812. They will not take over as my main line but if I spot a few ending on auction at a low price I still can’t resist.

Stock can be found in the most unlikely places, just concentrate on what you know and take a few (small) risks.

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.

Another big milestone for Molly this week as feedback nudged over the 32,000 mark, although it is tempered slightly by some of the pathetic neutrals recently received. But don’t get me started on that.

OK then, since you asked, what about the guy who gave the neutral feedback ‘fine quality. the size of the shoe in the label is not real.’.

This relates to a pair of Timberland shoes which regular readers will know I have been trying to shift for years. Having sold 350 pairs with no problem this guy is suggesting they are fake. I asked him what the problem was and he said that this was the second pair he had bought from me but this pair was a little tight. It makes me weep sometimes.

On a happier note total sales also moved over the 50,000 mark, helped along by the odd domestic fuse.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 229

2011-10-22T15:22:00.002Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 228

2011-10-22T15:22:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 228, 12th September 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – No news!

2. Micro-payments – UK page

3. Top tips for Christmas selling

4. Ask Molly – How can I start home-working?

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

Before I start this week I must apologise if I have missed your note to Molly; I am not the best at managing paperwork and now have 64,000 e-mails in my inbox, hard to keep track of [Ed - that's one-fifth of what you'd have if you worked in publishing]. If I have ignored you, please do send it in again and I’ll try harder next time.

The kids are back at school and soon Mum will start thinking about Christmas and (hopefully) writing a big list, so now is the time to prepare your sales campaign. I have included a few ideas below. Saying all that, there is still time for another short break, so I’m off again. You may have noticed the irregular bulletins of late which is due to Molly taking most of the summer off, recharging the batteries in advance of the selling season.

If you are considering a change of career check out ‘Ask Molly’ below for a few ideas relating to home working in general.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – NO NEWS!

-------------------------------------

It is a very quiet time with not much news about so instead here’s a quick spoof sent in by ‘somethingsnappy’. I like this one as the title only has one ‘c’ in the word ‘account’ and an extra ‘e’ in the word ‘speed’, I guess the mistakes balance each other out.

-------------------------------------------------

Title: Acount Limited

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.

http://www.paypal.com

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

--------------------------------------------------

Of course the PayPal link takes you to a false website intent on obtaining your log-in details. If you see this note, just delete it.

Please keep them coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

------------------------------------------------
2. MICRO-PAYMENTS - UK PAGE

-------------------------------------------------

Following on from the ‘Ask Molly’ of last week concerning the PayPal micro-payments account, here’s a more direct link for UK users.

“Hi Molly!

I've managed to find the British (£) PayPal page for micro-payments and have attached a link for all your readers.”

https://www.paypal-business.co.uk/take-micropayments-with-paypal/index.htm

Camellia Designs - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Camellia-Designs

------------------------------------------------
3. TOP TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS SELLING

------------------------------------------------

With the Christmas selling period about to start gathering pace there are a few things you can do now which should help you keep ahead of the game.

1) Order enough packing materials for the duration. With one eye on cashflow and storage it does make good sense to stock up now so that you don’t have to worry about boxes and bags when you should be focused on selling. I have also noticed increased competition between packaging sellers on eBay as they fight for business. When things pick up prices might rise.

2) Photograph as much inventory as you can now and store the pictures for later use or stock your shop early.

3) Don’t sleep until December 24th, just list, sell & pack 24-7.

4) Offer more shipping options for buyers who want items quickly and are prepared to pay for the privilege.

5) Consider shorter duration listing times to get your item to the top of ‘ending soonest’ more often.

If you have a tip for the bulletin that might help us survive the holiday season, please send it in to the usual address.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I START HOME-WORKING?
------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

I was wondering if you could give me some tips on home-based work. I am determined to work from home. I have tried numerous options from the net and of course spent a fortune on all the systems out there.

I would really love to work from home for two reasons: 1) tired of my job and 2) I would love to start a family one day soon and to support a family from one income would be hard, therefore home-based work would be the solution for us. Could you please give me some tips as I am really out of ideas here?”

Good idea, who wants to work in a job they don't like? Come to think of it who wants to work at all?

There is a fantastic home-working site run by a great pal of mine - Emma Jones - http://enterprisenation.com. It is full of tips and help for the home-worker and supported by top experts in their fields as opposed to me blundering along in a shed.

My thoughts would include:

- Set aside an area for work, some people even dress up and 'go to work' as the distractions of home life can interrupt the working day.

- Start with the home working kit you already have, old PC, printer etc and invest as you grow just in case it doesn't work out.

- Keep on top of your book-keeping, I am not the world's best in this field but life is a lot easier if your accounts are up to date. I just find it so boring and would rather be selling.

- Get the family involved, pay them no wages and make them work long hours; they will thank you one day.

If you have any ‘clean’ suggestions, please send then in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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.

Well that’s it for another week, I’m off on hols again, with the laptop of course and a few choice items in case of a sales rush.

Just before I disappear I must ask if other readers are having problems with the automated dispatch e-mails sent by eBay.

Ever since eBay took over this function (which I greeted with joy at the time), I have seen an significant increase in the number of ‘Where is my item?’ e-mails. If you have any thoughts, please let me know

See ya!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 227

2011-10-22T15:21:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 227, 25th August 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – eBay catalogue expands

2. Multi-variation listings ongoing

3. Did you know?

4. Ask Molly – Should I change accounts?

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

I am so proud of the Elves, they have just become ‘Top Rated Sellers’ even though they overcharge for postage, are slow with dispatch and rude to customers; there is a lesson in there somewhere!

Inventory levels are going up in anticipation of the Christmas rush with active listing on the Mollybol site up to 360. The Elves are up to 500!

This week more news about the impending changes to the eBay catalogue and

A few facts about eBay you probably didn’t know – read on to find out more.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – EBAY CATALOGUE EXPANDS

-------------------------------------

The eBay catalogue is to be expanded again to include more electronic items which should make it easier for buyers to find specific items. Some items already need to be listed against a category entry and this is bound to gather momentum over the coming months.

Be wary though if you do use the catalogue for a listing and then ‘sell similar’ at a later date – be sure to remove or amend the catalogue reference. I refer to my recent experience listing ink cartridges.

The other observation I have in relation to using the catalogue is the use of stock pictures. When browsing through a list of items with the same ‘stock picture’ my eye is drawn to anything different. I suggest you take your own photos; it will be worth it.

The press release can be found online, but in summary:

- Sellers must, where possible, list an item against a matching product from the catalogue to ensure they avoid having their items removed.

- Items that need to be listed against a matching catalogue include Apple laptops, Apple desktops, printers, routers, hard drives, televisions and iPads.

- Cataloguing makes searching for specific items easier for buyers and helps sellers to save time when creating and adapting product listings.

- Sellers can now save time spent on listing items by taking advantage of the pre-filled product information and stock photos when matching to the eBay catalogue.

Full details: http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/august2011/electronics-catalogues-more-categories.html

------------------------------------------------
2. MULTI-VARIATION LISTINGS ONGOING

-------------------------------------------------

I am still plodding ahead switching my listings into the multi-variation format and so far it does seem to be working. One of the most interesting things is the use of a main shared picture. eBay suggest that this includes all variations:

“For your shared pictures, you can show all the variations you're selling in a single picture (such as all the colours), a pair of your items, a close-up or other alternate views.”

In the example of a batch of ‘stickle bricks’ for example, the main picture could include a huge selection from which each batch is taken. The result is that the gallery picture shows a huge amount of product against the price of one lot, this is bound to get the attention of most browsers.

Guidelines on listing in MV format - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/listing-variations.html

-------------------------------------------------
3. DID YOU KNOW?

------------------------------------------------

Founded in 1999, eBay.co.uk is the UK’s number one e-commerce site, providing a platform for 17 million unique visitors per month (Nielsen/Netratings, August 2010) to buy and sell new, unique and used items in a fun and easy way.

Far from an online auction house, eBay offers 30 million items for sale in over 13,000 categories on the UK site, with fixed-price goods accounting for the majority (60%) of items sold globally.

Sellers of all sizes, including 160,000 registered businesses and 30 high-street retailers, use eBay.co.uk to reach the UK’s largest online shopping audience.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I CHANGE ACCOUNTS?
------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I wondered if you could help me with the following:

I am just about to start taking the road of setting up a new eBay business. As you have suggested in your book (a very good and useful read by the way) and on your bulletin I plan to start small and work up.

To that end I am thinking about selling fairly low-cost items (mainly less than £10) to begin with. I understand that to cut down on the fees that I can choose to pay a smaller fixed cost with PayPal and a larger percentage (micro-payments).

In order to do this, does this mean it would make sense to have two eBay accounts with two PayPal accounts – one with micro-payments and one without?”

Yes, having both PayPal accounts is a good idea, you can still use one eBay account, just change the payment details so that funds are directed as you see fit. I use both – the small one for lipsticks, small toys and sections of train track, of all things. It does depend on your main account's rate, 3.4% being the standard rate. I have a merchant rate of 2.4% so my breakeven for using the Micro account is lower, just under £6.00.

If somebody buys two or more small items from different listings you do have the option to alter the PayPal ID when sending the combined invoice, it is just a numbers game.

Check out the Micro-payments account - https://micropayments.paypal-labs.com/

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.

On the subject of saving money several readers have suggested the site http://www.topcashback.co.uk much the same as ‘Quidco’ but with what appears to have slightly more generous terms. Again you can pick up 40% of the seller’s fee from eBay.

Have you noticed your sales to Australia are increasing? It’s all to do with the recent policy change which now displays UK listings in the default search results in Australia, USA and Canada. This used to be avaialable at a cost so few sellers opted for it. Molly’s sales to the land of kangaroos are way up, which is great news [Ed - have they bounced through the roof?]. Let’s hop it continues.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 226

2011-10-22T15:19:00.002Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 226, 15th August 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Returns policy

2. Multi-variation listings

3. PayPal spoof

4. Ask Molly – What is a me?

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

It has been a busy week at HQ, sales are subdued but activity is at fever pitch surrounding ‘multi-variation listings’. More on this later. The Elves have been busy listing ready for the Christmas rush and active listings across all accounts now exceed 800; let’s hope Christmas starts early.

This week sees a warning for sellers about returns and MV listings and how I am coming to love them more with each passing day.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – RETURNS POLICY

-------------------------------------

Here’s a quick reminder via eBay from the ‘Office of Fair Trading’ regarding returns policy which applies to business sellers.

“Trading Standards have asked us to bring to business sellers’ attention sections 3.41 to 3.44 of the following OFT advice on consumers’ right of return under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs). They note that many business sellers use language in their returns policy such as “do not accept returns due to hygiene” and “no returns due to hygiene”.

However, the OFT advice states that while a business may require that a consumer does not break a hygiene seal on an item, and consumers have a duty under the DSRs to take reasonable care of the goods throughout the cancellation period, the definition of “reasonable care” depends on a number of factors: “It may be reasonable for the supplier to stipulate what they consider to be reasonable care, such as not removing hygiene seals on garments or only trying out shoes indoors. But these stipulations cannot restrict a consumer’s reasonable opportunity to inspect and assess the product. Consumers have the right to cancel even if they fail to take reasonable care of the goods; however the DSRs do give suppliers a right of action against consumers for breach of the statutory duty to take reasonable care.”

This will apply to the lady who bought some ‘soft smudge black’ eye pencils from Molly and then wanted to return them saying “I’m sorry I didn’t realise they were black, I can only use brown”.

------------------------------------------------
2. MULTI-VARIATION LISTINGS

-------------------------------------------------

You may remember from a previous bulletin that I have been looking at the ‘multi-variation’ listing format to see if there is a place for it in my shop. It is ideal for clothes of different colours or shoes of different sizes, but also can be used with toys, DIY and cosmetics!

After a few false starts I have become a big fan and am currently switching many listings into this format. It all started with a desire to save money [Ed - you do surprise us!] but has turned into quite a useful tool.

The basic idea is that if you have several similar items they can be lumped together into one listing and the buyer selects from a ‘pull down’ menu of options. This saves on listing fees and those 10ps all add up!

There are some disadvantages in putting all your eggs into one basket as buyers searching by ‘ending soonest’ won’t necessarily find your single listing whereas one of several might find its way into their search results; the default ‘best match’ should be OK. MV will only allow one postage entry so each item may need re-pricing to absorb any excess postage - ideal for items that weigh the same or are all free postage. The other drawback is that you cannot have the best offer option.

I am now selling similar batches of Knex, Fisher Price figures, Stickle Bricks and even central heating programmers in this way. The way forward for me is to switch items with the same basic title into multi-variation and leave those with specific key words as they are; it seems to be working so far. When the title length is increased to 80 characters in September I should be able to consolidate even further.

I did encounter a few problems along the way such as the limit of eight characters for a variation description when using the ‘Firefox’ browser; Google Chrome overcomes this, but I have no idea why.

Switching existing listings into MV presents a problem with pictures; nobody wants to set them up again. Firefox is the answer this time as it allows you to copy the main eBay picture, it is complicated of course:

Open your item and click on the main picture to enlarge it, right click and select all, then copy. Open your e-mail and create a new message, address it to yourself and paste in the picture, send.

When the e-mail arrives you will be able to ‘save as’ to the desktop and then copy this into your new MV listing. It is convoluted but saves time resetting your pictures.

For most items such as batches of Lego, Duplo picture blocks and so on it is worth listing in MV even with only one lot as you can add a second in the future to the same listing with no listing fee.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect that I have discovered so far is that even with just one item remaining the listing will continue and when more stocks become available all the details and pictures remain. Take my ‘Thomas the Tank Engine train track’ listings: during the winter months I run out of stock and the listings end. In the Spring I get new stocks but have to re-photograph each item – a pain, so much so that I still have not listed half my inventory this year. With MV I’ll just revise and add in the new quantity – result!

Oh and did I mention that I should save around £50 a month in listing fees!

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

Here’s a short spoof currently doing the rounds. Many thanks go to ‘Cloversmum’ - http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/cloversmum for sending in this one.

If you see anything like this, just hit the delete key.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear PayPal Customer,

As a security measure, we regularly screen PayPal activity. Recently, we noticed a problem with your account.

We determined that someone may have tried to access your PayPal account without your permission.
For your protection, we have limited your account access. To lift this limitation, click here:

https://www.paypal.com/uk/xxxxxxxxxxcmd=login_actp

Reference Number: [#a07-s5yq7bkmf4#]_[#aa3f71ae23824f3caa2488d235a9ec7c#]

We've limited access to your account temporarily .We'll review the limitation once you respond with the information we've requested.

Thank you for helping to resolve this problem.
Yours sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

The PayPal service is provided by PayPal UK Pty Limited which holds an UK Financial Services Licence, number 304962.

Copyright © 1999-2011 PayPal. All rights reserved.

------------------------------------------------------------

I love the reference number in this spoof, it says ‘don’t trust this link’ in Klingon.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHAT IS A ME?
------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Just a quickie!

Why do some people have a blue m and a red e attached to their member profile? What does it mean?”

This is an 'about me' page. It is a free page on eBay that can be used to tell buyers a little about you and why you use eBay. It can also be used as a sales tool promoting your items.

It is a throw-back to the days when eBay had a stronger community spirit; I am not really sure how many people check out these pages now. I did put a counter on mine but it keeps resetting to zero so I don't know how many hits I get.

It is easy to set up - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/account/about-me.html and as it’s free everybody should have one.

The 'links policy' for a 'me' page is more relaxed so it should be possible to promote other web sites with a few exceptions.

eBay blurb:
"The eBay About Me page may be used to describe the seller's business, and may contain URLs or links to the seller's individual website. It may not specifically promote off eBay sales or sales of items prohibited on eBay, nor may it contain links to commercial web sites where goods from multiple sellers are aggregated by a common search engine."

Just click on a few 'me' links as you surf around the site and see what eBayers have to say about themselves.

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.

A quick word of warning if you use the eBay catalogue when listing. The Elves insisted on a new printer, one that can print in colour, I don’t think these will ever catch on. Anyway Molly decided to sell all the old unused cartridges and used the catalogue to describe them. This was fine for the first one, but tiredness and too little coffee meant that subsequent cartridges had the wrong entry and I awoke the next day to five violations – no more catalogue for me.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 225

2011-08-02T12:30:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 225, 1 August 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Breathing space for TRS

2. Quidco

3. Spice up your listings

4. Ask Molly – How can they sell it so cheaply?

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

All the Elves are refreshed after their short break and raring to go; it is just a pity that all the buyers have now gone on holiday.

Releasing my stock of toys early has certainly helped cash flow and enabled me to retain Gold Power Seller status which is usually lost during the summer months. The downside of course is that my stocks are depleted and Christmas is not far away.

Oh, one final thing before I start, I keep forgetting to tell you that the ‘eBay Business Handbook’ is now available in ‘Kindle’ format from Amazon – many thanks to Hh for looking after my interests [Ed – again].

In this bulletin there is good news for TRS and their discounts.

Also, sign up for online discounts, you know you want to. Details below.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – BREATHING SPACE FOR TRS

-------------------------------------

This story is a little old now, delayed due to holiday, but brought to you now as it is of great interest to all ‘Top Rated Sellers’.

“Hi Molly,

I just thought I would write about the top-seller rated grace period. Brownie points for eBay on this one! If you are a top-rated seller and you have suddenly found yourself in the above standard category for no reason, this is a god send. You now have up to four months grace to get back on track.

Earlier this year it happened to me, and I am sure many other sellers when, because of the bad weather, items were not being delivered on time, or even got lost.

Unfortunately, this happened to me two weeks before Mother's Day. As I sell greetings cards I was not best pleased. This is one of my best times of the year for selling cards.

When I challenged eBay about this, they were not interested that we trudged through 15 foot of snow to reach the PO, even though the bags may not have been collected, we were doing out 'bit' to ensure that we still provided the best service possible to our customers.

So now eBay have listened to the sellers.”

greetingscards4you - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/greetingscards4you

The grace period is allocated based on your TRS evaluation period -

http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/august2011/increased-stability-top-rated-sellers.html

As fee discounts are now only given to TRSs, dropping back to ‘above standard’ will be costly.

------------------------------------------------
2. QUIDCO

-------------------------------------------------

I have mentioned this website in the bulletin before. It is great for all kinds of discounts, particularly when using eBay. Why mention it again then? Well I started using it myself last week as my normal affiliate links were playing up and the thought of losing revenue was just too much to bear.

My purchases included:

Holiday guide book for £3.77. Cash back 24p.

A new bed for Elf number 2 who is leaving home (again) for £65. Cash back £2.17.

A kitchen for £150. Cash back £3.91.

3 rolls of bubble wrap, delivered for £26.70!. Cash back 96p.

1,000 bubble bags [Ed – hopeful then?] for £63.50. Cash back £1.96.

All good stuff and the site is dead easy to use although you have to watch your cookies. The best thing is to bookmark the site, then clear all cookies (Firefox: Tools/Options/remove cookies) and then open the Quidco site. [Ed – I can clear a plate of cookies in no time.]

Now is the time to buy packing materials in advance of Christmas. Prices seem to be lower than last year as sellers compete for reduced trade and delivery is almost next-day as the shipping companies are also not very busy.

You can sign up directly at Quidco or if you use my personalised link and make savings then I will get a referral bonus equal to a medium Costa Latte. which is not to be sniffed at.

Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------
3. SPICE UP YOUR LISTINGS

------------------------------------------------

Bulletin 224 posed the question of how to spice up listings. Many thanks to all readers who sent in suggestions. I am not sure that eBay would allow some of the ideas, but the thoughts below might be worth investigating.

“With reference to the question of how to jazz up listings, they could try ‘seller sourcebook’ - http://www.sellersourcebook.com/. I have used this for eight years on eBay and find it invaluable. Yes, it does cost, but it is well worth it.

They also host your pictures so you can place them in the listings. Or use them on promotion pages.

See for yourself how is looks - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DR-AND-AMY-POND-GENERAL-OPEN-BIRTHDAY-CARD-/170650573776?

Also, for a one-off payment, you could try ‘Zara Extreme’. I bought this for around £70. It is similar to Photoshop but A LOT easier to use. You need to attract your buyers to your site on eBay, so having a good heading helps. If you are going full-time on eBay, it pays to invest a little first.”

Wise words indeed; if you have any experience of these products, please do let me know – mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN THEY SELL IT SO CHEAPLY?
------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Whilst searching for some De-scaler for our kettle (which like yours gets a lot of use), I came across this site http://stores.ebay.co.uk/DREAMLAND-VALUE? and could not believe how cheap some of the items were, especially as they all came with free postage.

In fact some items (in particular I noticed a heavy duty padlock) I could not even post for what they are selling them for! I did ask politely what the secret was but not surprisingly they declined to comment.

Am I missing something here Molly, is there some way to post things really cheap that I do not know about?”

‘Tortchyboy’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Green-Light-International

I have checked the site and this is a (sort of) 99p store or end of line cheap shop, you know the kind of thing. They buy in large quantities that they can sell it below the purchase price for most of us. However if you read the feedback it seems the items are not of high quality - you get what you pay for.

I would think that they are using a postage account such as Royal Mail 'packet post' and probably 'packetsort'. You need to send 5000 parcels a year with a minimum of 250 per day to qualify for the highest discounts; this guy does 8000 per month. They may of course be using a similar service from another carrier, the savings are considerable.

This is a very difficult trading model to compete with, so it is best not to.

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.

The final word on the letter box story from last week is that the buyer didn’t like it in the end and cancelled the order. I have pulled the listing; selling letter boxes is just too much trouble.

Quick quote from listing 350479884801 ‘large tub of Lego’

“WEIGHS A TON, EASY 11KG PLUS”

Finally an Elf received the following request:

“Hi, i really like the dress, and was wondering if you could send a picture of it being worn, just to see how it would fit.”

Fair enough I thought, anything to make a sale. So I modelled the dress, took a picture and duly sent it. They never actually bought it though. [Ed – perhaps you should have shaved your legs first.]

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 224

2011-07-18T21:22:00.001Z

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.]

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – MORE SPACE IN THE ITEM TITLE

-------------------------------------

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

------------------------------------------------
2. A LITTLE NOTE TO MAKE YOU SMILE!

-------------------------------------------------

“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

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------

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

--------------------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – IS 40 TOO OLD?
------------------------------------------------

“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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 223

2011-07-18T21:20:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 223, 5th July 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – e-mail alerts

2. Customs & VAT – be warned

3. How did you handle the load? – your thoughts

4. Ask Molly – What about pop?

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

It has been a great week at HQ – holiday time. It should have just been me but Mrs Mollybol wanted to come and then suddenly all the Elves were available! They did look cute though outside McDonalds (using free Wi-Fi) with a bottle of Coke & a straw in one hand, bubble bag in the other and notebook on their laps. OK, so a Molly holiday is never completely without a little eBay. I was running a few mid-season sales so had an inkling of what might sell. A box of selected make-up, a few bubble bags, the stamps and we were back in business; there is no such thing as a free holiday!

I had loads of responses to Bulletin 222 so this week is pretty much dedicated to your thoughts on the various issues; ideal for me as I don’t have to type very much.

One final thing before I start and it concerns the stamp-related pun in Bulletin 222. I have had words and am assured that this kind of thing will not happen again [Ed - the pun was first class and you know it.]!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – EMAIL ALERTS

-------------------------------------

A slightly different eBay news story this week; a FREE tool which might just help you pick up that illusive bargain or valuable stock at the right price.

“Hi Molly,

You kindly featured my website for mapping eBay items a while back and I thought you might like to know about a new feature that's becoming quite popular: an email alerts feature for receiving notifications when newly listed items match a search.

You may know eBay already provide this via the "Save search" link but this has a few deficiencies. There's no way of specifying a maximum ‘total’ price (inc. p&p), making it impossible to filter out where the price is low but postage costs are high.

The emails don't include item photos and can take up to two days to arrive from the date an item is listed - so the hottest bargain ‘buy it now’s’ have often already gone when the email gets through.

The tool I mentioned doesn't have any of these issues (it sends emails every hour). An alert can be set up by pasting the link from an eBay search here: http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk/alerts

An alternative method puts links directly on the web page using the ‘Greasemonkey’ script mentioned on the home page.

Hope this helps your readers. Keep up the good work with the bulletin.”

------------------------------------------------
2. CUSTOMS AND VAT – BE WARNED!

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi Mollybol

I bought about £2000-worth of cosmetic items from a wholesaler in the US (my plan is to sell the items on eBay). At the time of paying the invoice (through PayPal of course) the wholesaler implied that any costs relating to delivery (tax, customs charges, etc., were all covered in the final invoice that was sent to me) which included their delivery charges and a 2.5% PayPal charge, etc.

Since then UPS has tried to deliver the items to my address in the UK while I was at work and then left a card to say that they had tried to deliver. To my shock, when I saw the card, the UPS delivery person had written

'£494.50 in customs charges, please have the cash or cheque available for next time we try to deliver'.

When I called UPS they said that it was customs charges that they had paid on my behalf (which obviously must have been an agreement set up between the wholesaler in the US and UPS - UPS obviously didn’t pay it for me out of the goodness of their heart!)

My first thought was 'the wholesaler was obviously aware that there are big customs charges involved and hadn’t informed me' and secondly had implied that those customs charges were included in the invoice that I paid. Nowhere in any of their paperwork/emails or website does it mention extra charges.

I was told by PayPal not to accept the items (and therefore not have to pay nearly another £500 in custom charges!) and that the items would automatically be sent back to the wholesale address (and UPS confirmed that they would be tracked if this happens) and that then I would be eligible for a refund through PayPal as I hadn’t received my items and I could prove that they had been sent back to the US.

However, after speaking to UPS, they said before sending the items back they would phone the wholesaler and ask them if they agree to the shipping costs of getting the items returned and that if the wholesaler doesn’t agree to pay the costs, the items will automatically be abandoned or gotten rid of in some way. This means I have paid £2000 plus lots of extra charges for delivery/customs, etc., for items I didn’t even receive.

If any of your readers have any experience of this and can offer advice, it would be most welcome.”

The official word:

Most goods arriving in the UK from outside the EU are liable to any or all of the following taxes:

-- customs duty
-- excise duty
-- import VAT

and must be paid whether:

-- you purchase the goods or receive them as a gift.
-- the goods are new or used (including antiques).
-- the goods are for your private use or for re-sale.

Commercial consignments of £18 or less are free from customs duty and import VAT (as of 1 November 2011 the £18 threshold will be reduced to £15). For example, goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £18, will not be charged any duty or VAT (excluding alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters).

If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT (excluding alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters).

Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 (duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9).

Full details - http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P21_2350

Any suggestions – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE LOAD? – YOUR THOUGHTS

------------------------------------------------

Why can’t I help thinking about the TV show ‘The Apprentice’ when I write this title?

This article you may recall was all about queuing to post your parcels at the Post Office.

----------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I think it's a real shame, but sadly is very common, that so many Post Offices do not seem to want eBayer's business. I am very lucky; I am two-minute walk from a sub-Post Office that is building a strong eBayer trade, attracting business customers from branches two or three miles away, who spend £100+ several times a week. She is friendly, helpful, and happy to have our business.

To cause as little disruption as possible to the other customers in this one-counter branch I:

a) try to avoid the busy times;

b) let the little old lady behind me buy her stamp before I start; and

c) pre-weigh everything so that all the items falling in the same band (e.g. 2nd class 251-500 grams) can be done in one transaction rather doing them all individually.

We're yet to train the rest of her customers to do the same, but it really does speed things up. On occasions I will even leave my parcels there, she'll process them during quiet spots through the day as cash sales. I pay the next day or leave a kitty.

Keep up the good work, after eBaying for more than five years I picked up your book whilst on maternity leave and have learnt lots of new things. Was trimming flaps on boxes one of yours? Genius! Thank you!

Pinkfizzzz - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Pink-Fizz-Handmade-Beaded-Jewellery

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[M – I forgot to mention that anybody who raves about my book is bound to get a link to their listings.]

--------------------------------------------------------

“Hi Mollybol,

If I'm the millionth person to suggest this then apologies - but wouldn't the seller be better off buying postage from Royal Mail on the internet (using the combination of Royal Mail Price Finder and Buy Postage Online), so his parcels are ready just to be handed over and posted off?

To keep the PO sweet, he then just keeps one for them to process there and then - much less time spent keeping people waiting.

Otherwise a massive thanks to you. Your tip on changing from ‘macropayments’ to PayPal ‘micropayments’ has already saved me a lot of money. No other ‘eBay expert’ has ever mentioned this one. Your eBay Business Handbook has already paid for itself - so cheers.

Juno2424 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/juno2424/m.html?

-----------------------------------------------------------

M – I know I said that I wouldn’t type much, but just can’t help myself. Don’t forget that if you use micro-payments but also have a traditional PayPal account you can alter the receiving account when sending an invoice for multiple purchases. Two low-value items plus postage could well send the deal over the break-even amount; just over-type the PayPal account e-mail address.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Molly,

In response to Oceans003 asking about how you dealt with an increasing number of parcels and queues at the post office, I would like to tell you how we deal with this.

We have a lovely postmaster at our local PO and he suggested that if we have a few parcels to send that we leave them with him, along with sufficient money to cover postage, and he will sort them out for us in his quieter moments. We collect the change and receipts from the previous day when we take parcels the next day.

He does this for a lot of his eBay customers and he gets to know how we like things done. So we use a grip seal bag with a label which has our name and the amount of money we are leaving with him on it. He then does a certificate of posting for each item and also puts the receipts in the bag.

This way, there are no people left having to stand behind us in the queue tutting while our parcels are sorted out, and Mark, our postmaster, can spread his workload throughout the day between customers. We have done this now for a couple of years and it works really well.

I realise that a lot of postmasters might not like to do it but if you put the benefits to them they might agree to give it a try!

londoner1525 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Crafting-Angels
---------------------------------------------------

That’s it, no more on this subject.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHAT ABOUT POP?
------------------------------------------------

Well, just this last thought on posting items from Oceans003 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/Oceans003/m.html? who started the whole thing.

"Thanks for the reply Molly and the mention in your bulletin! It certainly has given me food for thought. I do have a very local postal depot so that is a definitely an option for me but am a little concerned if they do not give receipts of postings - in your experience do you believe that the amount of parcels lost is so small in comparison to the extra time taken to trudge to the Post Office for a large number of parcels, it's worth doing?

Thanks again and by the way, I have really enjoyed your books! It is so refreshing to read a book that is a great read for everyone of all levels.

M - I must admit that I very seldom fill out the 'Proof of Posting' forms, it just takes so long and I don't really lose very many parcels, my item value is quite low so any loss is not dire. Although sorting offices do not provide POP they will stamp a certificate already written. Pick up a pad of forms P326 and fill them in at home, ten items per form.

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.

Just a quick question to ponder:

Item – ‘ELEMIS - Pure Zest Cleansing Soap 150gm (6 x 25g bars)’

Question: “hi, are these soaps for the face or body? thank you”

A little good news for the Elves concerning their fashion listings; existing items without the new ‘specifics’ requirements will not be affected by the new ruling. If they re-list, then the required item specific detail will be required.

The changes come into force on 20th July

Full details - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/item-specifics-fashion.html#faq5

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 222

2011-07-05T09:27:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 222, 23rd June 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Final value fee hike

2. Multi-variation listings

3. Slightly different scam – your experience

4. One to ponder

5. Ask Molly – How did you handle the load?

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

How time flies, June is almost over and Christmas starts in around three months!

First a postscript on the stamps auction mentioned last week.

“Hi Molly, Just a little update on the stamps, the buyer has opted to pay by cheque and has posted it Special Delivery costing them another £5.45, very strange behaviour.” - methleykev [Ed - I'd like to write to this seller and congratulate them on the fine result, but philately will get you nowhere.]

eBay fees (for some) are heading up again, more on this below.

Read on to discover how Molly gets it wrong and sends money all over the net; surely not!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – FINAL VALUE FEE HIKE

-------------------------------------

Fees are a funny thing, we all know that eBay needs them, but do higher or lower fees generate more revenue?

Whilst checking stock levels ready for Christmas I discovered some long lost items which as non-core lines had been put to one side. After a coffee or two I decided to finally research the market and shift them - I need the space.

These were not high-value items by any means; old mobile phone car kits, a couple of cameras and some PlayStation controllers. As the fee in the ‘technology’ category for a business seller is 3% as opposed to 10% in my usual categories they were all listed and most have now sold.

Would I have eventually sold them with a 10% fee? Well, probably, however the incentive of lower fees did entice me into action, making the eBay shareholder a little richer.

Fees are 3% for business sellers in these sub-categories:

- Computing
- Consumer electronics
- Photography
- Mobile & home phones
- Video games, excluding games

Unfortunately things are about to change for eBay.co.uk private sellers using the fixed-price format.

“On 21 July 2011, the final value fee for fixed price listings (or Buy It Now) will be changed to a flat rate of 10%, up to a maximum £40. This new flat fee replaces the current tiered structure, making it simpler and easier for you to calculate up-front the fees you’ll pay. As before, you won’t pay any final value fee if your items don’t sell. The new calculations only apply to items listed or scheduled to start on or after the 21 July 2011.”

This change affects listings of private sellers in all categories except:

- Cars, Motorcycles and Vehicles
- Property
- Mobile phones with contract

Although being able to calculate up front exactly what your selling fees will be i.e 10%, it is little comfort for the private seller in the technology category who currently pays 5.25% on sales up to £30.

5% is a nice round number to remember and just as easy when calculating up front the fees you’ll pay!

------------------------------------------------
2. MULTI-VARIATION LISTINGS

-------------------------------------------------

I tried my first ever ‘multi-variation’ listing this week with a few electric fuses. I must say that setting up the first listing was a bit of a pain as I had to start from the ‘sell’ tab and it has been a while since I was there.

I did make the classic ‘bloke’ mistake and not check any of the small print detail of the listing. In this case the basic template included the PayPal address of Harriman House - publisher of this bulletin and several tomes on my behalf (I am not worthy).

You can imagine the surprise in customer services when a payment arrived for an

“ MK MCB (LN 5910 5930 5945) Circuit Breaker M6” – sorry Jennifer.

Thought of the day: Check and double check where your money is going!

Now that this particular fuse (the rare one) has sold the others on the listing remain on their own but with the key search words ‘MK 5945’ still in the title. This will undoubtedly attract buyers who will be disappointed.

Hits to the listing without a purchase are not good news for future search results under ‘best match’.

I am still not convinced that MV listings are for me, I’ll make some more coffee and think a while.

If you have any thoughts on this format, please do send them in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCAM – YOUR EXPERIENCE

------------------------------------------------

You may recall in last week’s bulletin the scam that offers you great stock with no catches. Well, several readers have contacted me about the offer and I must stress that nobody will give you something of value without a catch.

“Hi Molly. Yes indeed, the scam you described recently happened to me. Selling off some of my caravan items recently, supposedly getting my email address from eBay, THEY wanted to use my site and ID on those terms. But I thought well if eBay don’t trust them, neither am I going to and I clicked ‘em off. Keep up the good work and keep feeding the elves.”

If you want to catch up on the scam and have misplaced your copy of issue 221, fear not I have finally loaded all back issues onto the web – www.ebaybulletin.co.uk – if you are reading this on the website then just scroll down a bit.

Why do so many readers worry about the welfare of my Elves? Believe you me they can look after themselves!

-------------------------------------------------
4. ONE TO PONDER

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Here's a question for your readers to ponder, although it only really applies to registered business sellers:

Do they think that the many free listing days are harming their business and if so how do they go about overcoming it? Only general answers needed, I wouldn't want to steal anyone's closely guarded secrets.”

‘supporttechservices’ - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/supporttechservices/m.html

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE LOAD?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

In your early days as an eBay seller, how did you deal with the dispatch of ten plus packages you sold at any one time efficiently?

I have so far had only 12 in one go and it is not fun queuing up in the Post Office with all those disgruntled customers sighing and groaning at you! Even the lady in the Post Office was stroppy with me on one occasion and that was when I had only seven parcels!

Any tips on what you did then to what you do now would be greatly received!

Oceans003 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/Oceans003/m.html?

First of all let me congratulate you on getting your parcel volume up, no mean feat in this day and age.

The answer is easy. Find out where your local postal depot is - the place where you go to pick up undelivered parcels, not your main post office - and drop your parcels there.

I buy my own stamps (from eBay as they are cheaper except ‘methleykev’ who charges too much for my liking) stick them on at home and then take a sack each night to the depot, last collection is 6pm - a four-mile round trip for me or an Elf.

They just chuck the sack on the van and off it goes. Not all good though as they don't provide P.O.P. and can't take international signed for parcels.

This is great if you live near a postal depot; if not maybe a post run three times a week. Don’t forget to mention this in listings.

I use Hermes for the heavy parcels over one kilo and they are not that much more for the 'up to one kilo' tier, so collection by courier could be an option depending upon total cost of postage (petrol, time, car wear and tear, etc).

The simple answer is to sell less and then all the problems will vanish.

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.

Where has the ‘help’ tab gone? It was the source of all answers and now it’s gone!

Customer support is there instead, I don’t want support, I need help [Ed - sure do].

Don’t get me wrong I love Louise the automated agent but sometimes I just need to be alone with my problems. I now have to plough through the ‘A to Z’ menu; it’s not the same somehow.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 221

2011-06-22T16:27:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 221, 15th June 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Electronics categories listings

2. How much!!

3. Slightly different scam

4. Feedback in listings - update

5. Ask Molly – How can I increase my listings limit?

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

Congratulations to the two bulletin readers who picked up on the ‘Vicar of Dibley reference last week, I wondered if anybody would be on my wavelength – seek help [Ed - I completely missed it]!

The sun is still shining in UK, well on the East coast anyway, so eBay work is progressing slowly. On the other hand, a lot of coffee is being consumed and the Elves are busy in the garden. It’s a tough life!

The bulletin this week includes a scam with a difference; read on and watch out.

As somebody famous once said: “I don’t believe it!” See item 2 below.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – ELECTRONICS CATEGORY LISTINGS

-------------------------------------

If you are selling in the ‘Electronics’ category you should be aware that certain sub-categories have required sellers to list with a ‘matching product’ from the eBay catalogue since 17 May. Things are now getting tough as eBay start to remove non-compliant listings.

If you have listings in the following sub-categories you had best stick the kettle on and check that all your listings comply:

Mobile Phones
Digital Cameras
Camcorders
Lenses
Flashes
Tripods
Film Cameras
Video Game Systems

More items in Electronics categories will need to list with matching products in the catalogue soon, the big one is computing.

To help sellers revise existing listings and to select the right catalogue product, eBay have created a new tool which you can access from the main information page

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/201106061524352.html

Good luck!

------------------------------------------------
2. HOW MUCH!!

-------------------------------------------------

One of the golden rules of selling according to Molly is never set your ceiling price in an auction. You know the kind of thing - telling your bidders what the item costs in the shop. If you do this you are bound to end up somewhere under the retail price, surely.

As Molly tentatively moves into the ‘Lancome’ cosmetic market I found this bargain with one item sold.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320708874810

The other great listing sent in this week by bulletin reader ‘methleykev’ who is moving to PPI for postage and selling excess stamps, how fortunate that they chose the auction format!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260796888322

It just goes to show that Molly knows nothing at all about selling, now where did I put my sticky stamps?

Seen a strange auction lately? Please send it in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCAM

------------------------------------------------

We love scams and phishing e-mails at HQ, it is a sad to collect them but everybody needs a hobby. This is the latest one doing the rounds and it appears to be the answer to every eBay seller’s prayers, a source of quality stock.

If it sounds too good to be true...

“Hi Molly. I have read your book with great interest and it has really helped me this past six months get going on ebaying.

I just received these emails and thought them rather strange. I had received a similar one last week and actually responded to it out of curiosity. They sold mobile phones and high-tech stuff. I actually didn't reply a second time and then I received this one today. They say it's not a scam, but who knows.”

gulliver19200 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/gulliver19200

--------------------------------------

“Hi, I have a proposal for you I am looking for a person with seller account and some positive feedback`s to list my items on e bay . I tried my self before but everytime got suspended because of selling high rated items with no feedback . You`re one of the few sellers contacted by me who had the email address in description . If you`re interested we will do this by the most convenience way for both of us (we can discuss about payment to find the best way , I ship first so no scam here ) . Reply me back for details and we will speak about the items and your pay .

“Hello, I am very sorry for contacting you in this way ... but I have an offer to make you. I am looking for a person with e bay seller account to work with me on e bay selling my items . If you`re interested contact me so we can speak about the items and your payment and we will do this by the most convenience way for both of us . I ship items first so NO scam here , Looking forward to hear from you .”

“Hello , I got your email address from your listing and I am interested working with you on e bay . I have high rated items and I want all be sold by an experienced lister with some positive feedback`s . I will ask for payment only after the item is received by the winning bidder My items are 100% genuine, not illegal fake or counterfeit!! the winning bidder will confirm you this before sending me the money . (I ship first so No scam here) Please reply me back so I can talk with you about the items and your payment . I will wait for your response asap . Thank you”

--------------------------------------

Just ignore anything like this that pops into your email inbox and remember that nobody is going to make you rich out of the goodness of their heart.[Ed – except Molly of course.]

-------------------------------------------------
4. FEEDBACK IN LISTINGS _ UPDATE

------------------------------------------------

You may recall in the last bulletin a plea for help regarding the inclusion of active feedback within listings; here are a couple of reader responses for you to peruse:

-----------------------

“Hi Molly,

I have a scrolling 'feedback' and 'other items for sale' on the bottom of my sales pitches, I assume these are what your correspondent means.

The basic widget (as they call them) is FREE in each category they sell and can be found at this website.

http://www.supremeauction.com/widgets/

They're a bit awkward to set-up and need your user ID as they use the eBay API system but I feel are worth the struggle.

They only need to be set-up once, I seem to remember the main problem when I did it was that you could only use Internet Explorer to set them up, Firefox or Chrome wouldn't work.”

‘supporttechservices’ - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/supporttechservices/m.html

“Hi Molly

I use this software in all my listings, normally just below the title. It is called Feedback Analyzer Pro, quite easy to use, only about £5 to buy.”

http://www.feedbackanalyzer.com/

---------------------------------------

The usual caveats apply, check that this is what you want before parting with any cash.

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I INCREASE MY LISTINGS LIMIT?

------------------------------------------------

A slightly different ‘Ask Molly’ this week, a cross between a reader’s rant and comment on eBay policy. I would like to throw the question out to all readers – if you have an idea that could help, please let me know.

“Hi Molly,

Are eBay trying to stop new entrants with their listing limit policy?

Please read on.

eBay’s new account policy for business is crazy.

I contacted eBay advising them that I was a long-standing eBay member with a private account with 100% feedback.

They told me in an email that I would be free to list an unlimited number of items- well it was unlimited at 100!!!

I have listed over 1500 items using Turbo Lister and managed after some negotiation to get the limit raised to 180.

My list is all second-hand books – which requires a big inventory otherwise fees would exceed income which I confidentially expect to happen. I have over 15k books, all quality titles carefully sourced, it has blown my plans – I think I have wasted my time listing the initial 1500.

This makes the starting of a new business on eBay a non-viable option for certain products. Books require big inventories – I can understand some limits – possibly for clothing, electronics & software or from someone with no pedigree with eBay - but this make a little sense, but for second-hand books – they are unlikely to get too many entrants – which cannot be good in the longer run – eBay are powerful but I think they are misusing the power.

I will have to hope that after 90 days I will have the necessary feedback to have the limit removed- but with little likelihood of many sales and obviously feedback.

If you or a bulletin reader has any ideas how this can be overcome I would welcome the suggestion.”

The big issue here boils down to having a ‘selling account’, although most eBay sellers start off as buyers and then upgrade to selling to enjoy a limitless listing limit you must have been a registered seller for at least 90 days.

I have read the initial e-mails from eBay, they are a little ambiguous and I can see how the confusion arose.

I am not aware of a cheat that would get around the ruling, but if any readers had similar problems and found a way, please share your thoughts.

It is possible to remove the limit on your account if you have another, more established selling account on eBay. Your other account needs to meet all of these conditions:
· You've been a registered seller for at least 90 days.
· You don't have any unresolved buyer complaints.
· Your detailed seller ratings (DSRs) are at least 4.8 in all areas.

If you meet all of the above conditions, contact eBay and provide:
· The user IDs for both accounts
· Details on how your accounts are linked (for example, employer, spouse, or partner)

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.

The sun stopped shining enough last week enabling me to finish updating the eBook edition of the Business Handbook and it should be available very soon.

Is the eBook worth buying if I already have the most excellent edition three I hear you ask? The main reason to buy the eBook is of course its portability - you can take Molly on the train, bus or to the beach with you without having to carry that big paperback book.

There are not that many changes of any consequence to the content for the eBook edition from that of the 3rd edition paperback, so you might like to save your hard earned for edition four which may well be around in due course.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 220

2011-06-22T16:26:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 220, 7th June 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Free subtitles for the chosen few

2. Manage communication with buyers

3. Can you help?

4. Quick rants

5. The best ever customer email?

6. Ask Molly – How can I change my ID?

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

The hot weather in the UK is great for gardening, laying patios and building summer houses, but not that good for selling on eBay. Roll on winter.

Things at HQ are still busy as total items sold through the Mollybol ID passes 48,000. The fledgling DIY business is also doing OK with the total number of sales at 87; worth £1,337 in turnover in just over a month. The Elves are going from strength to strength but still don’t pay any fees!

It is a bumper issue this week; well it’s started raining so I can’t get outside.

Change is the main theme as eBay tinker with the system. More on this below.

Also, possibly the best correspondence ever read at HQ from a ‘dissatisfied’ buyer (not one of mine).

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – FREE SUBTITLES FOR THE CHOSEN FEW

-------------------------------------

It sounds like a great idea, something for free must be worth having especially when it comes from eBay. Well although subtitles are free for a month to all ‘Top Rated Sellers’ I won’t be partaking in this particular offer. Although they are no doubt a great aide to sales they do cost £1.05 per month normally and when the listing renews after 30 days the fees kick in.

With close to 250 active listings it is just too much hassle to amend each item and remove the subtitle.

Full details - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/promos/eTRSbonus_110601/index.html

------------------------------------------------
2. MANAGE COMMUNICATIONS WITH BUYERS

-------------------------------------------------

Things have changed again, this time eBay had buyer communications in its sights. On the whole it seems a good idea, but if you previously included a personal message to the standard e-mails then you will have to re-enter as the content was not carried over to the new format.

To make any amendments go to ‘My eBay’ – ‘Account tab’ – ‘Manage communications with buyers’. eBay will send four automatic e-mails:

1) Buyer wins auction

2) Buyer checks out

3) Order is updated with P&P information (when you check the parcel icon)

4) If your buyer hasn't left Feedback after about a month.

There is one optional e-mail, if your buyer hasn't paid after a couple of days then eBay will give them a friendly nudge.

You can add a personal message to three of these e-mails, which must be worth doing. Unfortunately the link to add a message on the auction win e-mail is broken at the moment.

Ideas for added comments:

For the first e-mail confirming the purchase add a note that you offer combined postage rates for more than one item or the payment methods you accept. It might also be worthwhile asking the buyer to wait for a combined invoice if buying multiple items as this will save you some PayPal ‘flat rate’ fees.

In the payment confirmation e-mail when the buyer ‘checks out’ add a note thanking them for their business and informing them of an expected dispatch time.

For the item dispatched e-mail a note asking that they inform you of any problems may save a poor feedback rating. It may be worthwhile adding a few words about future sales that you may be running - it won’t cost anything and might just encourage another visit.

The most important thing is to use these e-mails as a sales tool and update them regularly, including issues that impact on delivery, holidays, special offers etc. After all eBay will be doing most of the work.

-------------------------------------------------
3. CAN YOU HELP?

------------------------------------------------

My use of HTML is limited as you know. I understand enough to enhance my listings, but the whole subject is just too vast and by no means a passion of mine.

A note arrived at HQ this week asking for a recommendation or some help regarding the use of ‘live’ feedback in listings. This is not something I do and the word ‘outsource’ means parting with money, so as you can imagine I cannot advise.

“Hi Mollybol

What’s the best and or cheapest way of including customer feedback in my actual advert? I have a long selling item that’s doing fairly well but I would like to improve sales by including great feedback that I’m getting.

I’m no whiz with HTML but figure there may be a cost-effective outsource option?”

If you can help, please let me know and I’ll forward the responses – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. QUICK RANTS

------------------------------------------------

Change happenz;

There is good change and bad change; changing of the guard – “wonderful”; prawn cocktail crisps – “disaster”.

“Dear Molly

I went on to the My eBay page today only to find that eBay have removed sections from it. All I have on there now is items I’m watching. I don’t have my recent sold items or bought items.

I know I can see them by clicking within the left panel but I don’t want to do that - I want the information there in front of me, it’s what I’m used to!

Why do they change these things? It is so annoying. I don’t remember being consulted on this! No doubt you’ll get a lot of correspondence on this one.”

“Hi Molly,

I know eBay were making changes at the weekend and some involved mail templates but I seem to have lost the ability to ‘email buyer’.

There is an option to do this on the right hand side of a transaction but the option to email multiple buyers by adding tick marks and then selecting ‘email buyer’ from previously the button and more recently the pull down list shown as ‘other action’ has gone.

This means that I am unable to let my customers know that I have dispatched their parcels! Surely this isn’t an attempt by eBay to get shop owners to upgrade their account so that this process is automated?”

If you need to let off steam, feel free to abuse me – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. THE BEST EVER CUSTOMER EMAIL?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly, thanks for the newsletter.

I had the following email chain from a customer last week; does it warrant a mention in the bulletin?”

Customer: I just thought I’d write to let you know that I have paid too much for postage. I paid you £1.85 when I noticed the actual cost was £1.72. I would also like to let you know that the contents of the box arrived upside down and that the box was damaged.

Me: Hi there, the P&P charge is for postage and packaging so this includes, packing, delivery to us, fuel, stationery, labour, etc. I hope this helps to explain the charges. Please can you confirm if the actual product box was damaged or the external posting box that is used to prevent damage to the item itself?

Customer: I think the parcel just turned upside down in the post. It was the external box that was damaged.

Me: So there is nothing wrong with the product then?

Customer: No it is fine but I thought I’d let you know.

GivernyGifts - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GivernyGifts

If you have a better note from a buyer, or seller for that matter [Ed - or editor for that matter], please do send it in – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
6. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I CHANGE MY ID?

------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

Here's a query I doubt you've ever had before. I registered on eBay a very, very long time ago, but haven't yet got going. (It was so long ago that I am too embarrassed to admit how long, but think of a number and double or treble it.) My problem is this. When it came to choosing an ID name, I impulsively chose a silly, embarrassing nonsense word. I immediately decided I didn't like it and tried to change it. eBay has told me that I am registered with that name and I seem unable to do anything about it.

How do I go about changing my ID?”

You can only change your user ID every 30 days, which should be more than enough.

1. Go to My eBay and click on the 'account tab' > My Account > Personal Information.
2. Click 'Edit' to the far right of your user ID.

Oh, how the memories flood back, here are my thoughts on the selection of an eBay name dug up from the darkest corners of ‘The eBay Business Handbook’ – 3rd edition [Ed – available in all good bookshops, online and direct from the publisher]:

1. Name length

When a buyer wants to search for you by name, maybe just to browse your items, they will need to type your name into the search engines. The longer your name, the more likely they are to make a mistake when typing and never reach your items at all. Keep it short!

2. Format

Keep the format easy to type: hyphens are often forgotten; underscores require two keys to be pressed; and numbers are awkward to remember.

3. Memorable

Make your name memorable. Try to construct a name that can be pronounced – the most obvious names have been taken, but with some thought you should be able to arrive at something. A jumble of letters and numbers, maybe initials and a date of birth, such as BGH121070, will not be remembered and we want to make sure as many satisfied customers as possible come back to buy again.

4. Relevant

If you intend to focus on a specific area of sales, try to make your name relevant to the market. You may already have found some sellers who have the item they sell within their name; examples might include Nokiaman, Batteryseller, DVDshop and so on. (I have just made these up to illustrate how a name can reflect the sales activity.)

OK, so my main trading name of ‘Mollybol’ means absolutely nothing, it should be something like ‘Cosmeticsmakeuptoysdiyandgeneralstuffselleruk’. I might change it.

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.

Here’s a great excuse for not completing on a pair of size 6 Timberland boots: ‘Timberland Pro Series Safety Work Shoes New Size UK 6’

“I'm sorry. I misunderstood your shoes size, 6 is not good. I need 7”

Good news, the Business Handbook has taken one step closer to being launched on Kindle. It now rests with me to edit and update into a sort of edition 3.5. As with all things it has slipped a little, but should be out there in hyperspace soon, I’ll keep you informed. (Sorry Craig, I’ll get it done this week.)

It’s stopped raining so I’m off back into the garden, forget eBay, selling and editing books, it's coffee time!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 219

2011-06-22T16:25:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 219, 18th May 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – BMW selling direct via eBay

2. Where are the latest issues?

3. Ask seller a question

4. How can I alter ‘item location’?

5. Ask Molly – Should I have two accounts?

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

Wow, what a busy week. Sorting out the new DIY section of the shop is taking forever. I have managed to list around 60 lines and already made 34 sales totalling £671. There's still a long way to go and finding the time to expand the inventory is tricky, but Alan Sugar would be proud of me [Ed - I think you'd be hearing those two famous words at the end of episode one].

Great news if you are a BMW driver, check out the news item below.

Have you had any interesting questions lately? I’ve included a couple which might make you smile.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – BMW SELLING DIRECT VIA EBAY

-------------------------------------

As you know I am in the process of setting up a new venture on eBay. I’m not alone as BMW have opted for the same route to market. OK so their graphics are more sophisticated than mine, but apart from that we are very similar.

Here’s the press release sent in from those nice people at Racepoint PR

“BMW will start selling parts and accessories direct to owners for the first time, thanks to a new partnership with eBay, the leading online retailer. ‘BMW Direct’, now live on eBay.co.uk, will satisfy the growing demand from motor enthusiasts for purchasing original parts online.

Previously, BMW owners wanting to pick up Genuine Parts have had to place their order via one of the many dealerships. With its new store on eBay, as well as merchandise BMW fans will be able to buy genuine BMW parts and accessories such as brake discs and car care products direct from the car-maker.

This is BMW’s first venture into e-commerce and will allow the car-maker to reach those customers not accustomed to visiting a BMW dealer regularly.

BMW, the first car-maker to open a store on eBay UK, joins over 100 other well-known fashion and home brands already selling new and fixed price goods direct to their customers via eBay’s UK site. Motor parts and accessories is one of the most popular categories among eBay’s 96 million active users worldwide.

All items sold through BMW Direct are offered from stock with free postage and packaging and are covered by a full two-year BMW warranty. BMW UK will handle the shop front of BMW Direct with the processing of orders being handled by BMW Park Lane in London.

Carl Sanderson, General Manager Aftersales Development, said: “As a premium car manufacturer, we are always interested in understanding customer preferences when it comes to buying products. We recognise that there are customers who wish to buy BMW products but do not necessarily want to travel to a BMW dealer to make a purchase.

“As such we see eBay as the perfect solution for them. By embracing this modern retailing approach, we believe we can engage with and satisfy a number of additional customers through what is a new retail channel for BMW.”

Angus McCarey, UK Retail Director of eBay, said: “eBay UK is home to over 100 leading brands [M - including Mollybol] who realise the added value an eBay shop brings, whether they are already selling online or not. There are over 600,000 searches for BMW every month on eBay and BMW will now be able to access this existing, yet untapped customer base, while increasing its reach to the millions of other consumers who buy and sell on the site.”

To see what is on offer at BMW Direct visit http://stores.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Direct-Store?

M – Currently BMW have 640 feedbacks, mainly for lower value items. However they do have a couple of poor comments concerning delivery, this could be the area to watch. (That will be £50 for the consultancy advice, please send funds via PayPal to ‘molly’.)

------------------------------------------------
2. WHERE ARE THE LATEST ISSUES?

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Just subscribed to your weekly newsletter on the website.

How do I get to your latest edition? I can see from the links on the side that there is an edition 219 which I'm assuming is the latest one.

When I load the bulletin up it goes to edition 211?'

I am not the world's best at updating the website, the latest issues are sitting in my tray waiting to be uploaded. I will try to manage this a bit better but when there is a choice between selling and admin... well you can guess what suffers.

-------------------------------------------------
3. ASK SELLER A QUESTION

------------------------------------------------

I love questions from potential buyers, especially those asking if I can combine items and reduce postage. These two arrived this week, it does make you smile:

“Hiya before i make a offer i was wondering what the lowest offer you would accept ? THANKS”

This question is for a £6.99 teddy bear:

“Could you maybe put the price down to £3.00 ? I know it is alot to go down by but I would really love to purchase this item.”

Please send in your questions and make us all smile – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. HOW CAN I ALTER ‘ITEM LOCATION’?

------------------------------------------------

What’s this I hear you ask, an extra ‘Ask Molly’ question? Well, yes but this one is included as it is from an old buddy at BT who is still working hard to secure my pension.

“Hi Bob, Hope you're keeping well. I called your old mobile number but you've obviously changed it ... being the celeb you are now!!

Just had a question about changing the location shown for an item being listed. I have a friend who lives in London but is selling house contents in Dorset. Clearly he has a better chance of selling big items to local people but if his location shows as London they won't find him in a local search. I'm sure it's simple but just can't find how it's done. Hope you can help.”

To be honest I don't even turn my mobile on anymore. Mrs Mollybol uses the Blackberry for business and just shouts out the sales to me.

Item location is an option during the listing process, an expandable box just under international postage. There are three options: country, postcode and city. Just use the 'sell similar' option for the next listing and the details will remain.

To modify existing listings use the 'bulk edit tool'. Go to 'my eBay' and hover over the 'activity' tab, then select 'sell'. In the 'active selling' section (towards the bottom of page) select the listings you want to change and then click 'edit'. A new page will load showing your listings. It will take some time to load if you are selling several items. Select them all and click 'edit', choose 'item location' and make changes.

Keep working hard!

------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I HAVE TWO ACCOUNTS?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Moll,

I read in your book that you sell some personal items through your shop and remove them when doing the accounts.

Is that the best way or would it be better to set up another account for personal stuff?

I am just starting so at the moment I mix but wondered if this would become a problem.”

It is certainly easier to have a separate account for personal items and I have moved towards this as standard; the main reason is that I am now selling more of my own things.

There are some advantages to using a business account - if you are a 'Top Rated seller' there will be a discount on the final value fee.

It gets a bit complicated as the personal fees have to be removed from your business costs which will mean getting the calculator out.

Trading through a business account does pose an interesting question as you would be benefiting from the business with a reduction on fees. On the other hand your personal sales would boost turnover which may result in the business hitting the next discount tier and obtaining higher discount levels. I am not exactly sure how this would be viewed by the taxman.

The most important thing is to keep full records of all your business trading; the finer points can be addressed later if required.

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.

The new fee pricing is in place and it is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I do like the 10p listing fee for ‘basic’ shop owners; this has given me around £25 per month in savings against a ‘featured’ shop. On the other hand an increased FVF for the clothing category is not good as the Elves are still heavily subsidised by yours truly.

The removal of the tiered final value fee structure does not really impact on me as my average sale price is too low to be affected. It is a sneaky little increase that made me smile and relates to the FVF charged on a £9.99 item which used to be 99p; it has now increased to £1.00 in some cases. It’s only a penny but it all helps!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 218

2011-06-22T16:24:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 218, 4th May 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – USA postage delays resolved

2. Reader’s rant – the cheek of it

3. Business account? Reader’s thoughts

4. Ask Molly – Should I pay the postage?

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

You may recall that I mentioned the recent promotion to Power-seller for the Elves; well it transpires that they went straight in at the silver level – I am so proud even if they do keep nicking my bubble wrap and stamps!

Sales hit a very low level last week as many sellers started to undercut my prices. If you are suffering then it might be time to check the competition and adjust accordingly. The hot weather doesn’t help either. Is it too early to hope for snow?

In the bulletin this week some good news if you ship to the USA and a reader’s rant that has to be read to be believed.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – USA POSTAGE DELAYS RESOLVED

-------------------------------------

Although not specific to eBay there is some good news for all sellers trading with the USA. It appears that the huge delays due to increased security measures have been reduced. You may recall I mentioned this a few weeks back and you may have linked to my info web page.

This is the latest from the Royal mail:

Update 18th April 2011:

”Further to the recent increased security measures for items carried on passenger airlines to the USA, Royal Mail has continued to work with relevant airlines and deploy a range of contingency measures and routes to get as much mail to the States as quickly as possible.

We are pleased to confirm that the vast majority of mail has now reverted back to being flown to the USA.

All items, including personal and business letters and packets, should now be delivered to the US as per the usual timescales for the chosen service. The only mail that may still experience a delay of a couple of extra days is the very low volume of mail that is unable to be sorted by our machines: these are typically round, rolled shaped or cubed items that require additional manual sorting. We are continuing to explore alternative solutions for these items, to return them to normal transit times as soon as possible.”

I have noticed that parcels are arriving in the US in good time again. I removed my large warning message from my item pages and sales picked up almost immediately.

------------------------------------------------
2. READER’S RANT – THE CHEEK OF IT

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I purchased your book a while ago and have found it interesting reading and enjoy reading your weekly email full of useful tips. I would like to share with you a recent experience, just to let off steam really.

I sell on eBay (I have only been selling in earnest for about four to five months). Through my shop and I sell beauty products, primarily Origins, but also some Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clarins when I can get them at a good price!

I have today had a dispute case opened against me with the following comment:

"I have received the item, with first class delivery but items weren't sealed, seller was explain in his description, items are original, when i using the item after 5 days my skin changes, now i have a skin problem i spoke with doctor, the only answer which I received from my DR the fact of my skin changing because of those cream which weren't original. I need full amount of my money back. I also did complain from this seller and he/she will receiving letter from my solicitors."

I have had no communication from the buyer prior to receiving this and the items were new. unopened. untested products. For Clarins 15ml pots that were not sealed my listing stated they were testers and I made no mention of seals either way.

I responded to say that I will happily refund if the products are returned to me.

The buyer emailed me the following day saying that she could not return the products as “she had used them all up” and this is why she had a skin problem! It was very tempting to say “no product no refund” but I really couldn't be doing with the additional hassle so I did refund and block her just like you would have done. It made me feel better at the time but it was unnecessary hassle.

I guess this is just one of the joys when dealing with the public!”

daveandanita7602 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/mileoakemporium

M – I have never had anybody use up the entire product and then ask for a refund. I must remember this trick when I next go out for a meal.

-------------------------------------------------
3. BUSINESS ACCOUNT? READER’S THOUGHTS

------------------------------------------------

You may recall in the last bulletin a question about the right time to become a business seller. It did stimulate quite a few responses which is always good for me as I have loads of material already typed. Here is just one thought on the subject:

“Hi Molly,

All the best sales books or self-made man books and autobiographies will say is that if you constantly analyse the situation then it's never a good time to set up a business, but if you go out and just do it then who knows you may end up owning an island in the Caribbean and a space craft.

Of course in your (made up?) example the seller is already a business in the eyes of HMRC as they are buying to sell so the answer should be you are already a business seller and should register as such. Anyway all costs of fees and postage can be covered in sales prices or offset against tax as expenses so being a business is usually a good idea.”

M - I agree with the above, I have always gone with my first feelings. I buy almost anything if it feels right and sometimes spend longer choosing from the lunch menu than buying stock, although this is not a strategy I would necessarily recommend!

You are right about the reader already being a business but you would be amazed how many people think that selling the odd item for profit doesn't count. It is actually a true story, I get so many that I don't have to make them up. You should read some of the ones that I don't include!

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I PAY THE POSTAGE?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I just stumbled upon your email address whilst looking on the eBay UK bulletin.

Just a quick question if you have a minute: I’ve bought something on ebay.co.uk from the USA for $5, which is all fine. But no postage rate was stated. They invoiced me the $5 and I paid. Now they are asking for an additional $4 for postage. What should I do? I have already refused saying that it wasn’t stated on the listing but they haven’t got back to me. Am I obliged to pay?”

markpuma3 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/markpuma3/m.html?

It sounds as though your seller just forgot to add the postage which is most strange; usually I would expect them to include it on the first invoice even if it wasn’t mentioned in the listing.

I think that if the item is of value to you I would just pay it, at about £3 it might not be worth the hassle. The likelihood is that they will just not send the item which may or may not matter to you.

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.

Cosmetic sales have suffered of late as I mentioned earlier so it is time to dig out all the toys and get listing, after all it is only four months until the Christmas rush starts (hopefully).

Selling a few toys now will help cash flow which is always a concern during the buying season. In a new and exciting development Molly is embarking on a new eBay venture. This time the target market is DIY materials; I will run a few lines through the ‘Mollybol shop’ and if all goes well break them away into their own ID.

Over the years I have built up knowledge of the DIY world, I hate doing the jobs but understand the prices of materials, particularly plumbing, so when items crop up I will buy and see how things go. I’ll report back in a few weeks.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 217

2011-06-22T16:23:00.002Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 217, 19th April 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Electronics category – major change

2. Proof of posting

3. International postage

4. Ask Molly – is this a bad time to become a business seller?

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

Molly is back after a couple of weeks painting and decorating. I'm now settling back down to some serious eBaying so the bulletin should slot back into a regular time frame [Ed - heard it all before].

Many thanks for all emails over the past fortnight, my apologies if I missed any, I am just catching up now.

Some good news and coffees all round as Molly passes the 30,000 positive feedback mark and clocks up the 47,000th sale since leaving full-time work, which is six years ago almost to the day [Ed - that's around 21 sales per day].

The bulletin this week includes important news for sellers in the electronics category, check out eBay news.

If you sell outside the UK then watch out for the hidden Royal Mail costs, more on this below.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – ELECTRONICS CATEGORY - MAJOR CHANGE

-------------------------------------

It is going to be a busy month for sellers in the electronics category as eBay extends the compulsory use of catalogue references for items listed in the following sub-categories of the Electronics main category:

Listings in MP3 players and GPS systems already have to be listed with a matching product in the catalogue. This will be extended to the following categories:

Mobile Phones
Digital Cameras
Camcorders
Lenses
Flashes
Tripods
Film Cameras
Video Game Systems

This could well result in a lot of work so check out the bulk edit tool

- Click My eBay at the top of any page and sign in.

- Click All Selling.

- Select the listings you want to revise, and then click Edit.

- Choose the Edit -> Catalogue product details option. You'll see a table that shows information about each listing you're editing.

Thankfully this is not my category so I get the week off.

Full details –

http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/product-details-catalogue.html

If you need a little more help with the changes, check out the document linked below, it might just help.

“Hi Molly

I wanted to introduce myself, I form part of eBay’s Seller Comms team at Racepoint.

I wanted to get in touch about the recently announced changes coming to electronics category sellers this May. From 17 May sellers in certain electronics categories will now have to list with a matching product from the eBay catalogue.

We thought your readers might find the following help document of interest. The document outlines how best to adapt existing listings, create new ones and the impact on buyer experience in more detail.”

http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/uk/sell/sellerupdate/pdf/110407_Seller_Electronics2011_UK_PDF_yb.pdf

------------------------------------------------
2. PROOF OF POSTING

-------------------------------------------------

“Morning Mollybol

At my P.O. the other day they said they were stopping the Certificate of Posting pads so you now needed to download or photocopy the new A4 page.

Obviously this would be at my expense of paper and printer ink as I am a little one-man band so do not have a photocopier in the house (which would still need my paper!!)

I emailed Royal Mail about this ludicrous idea and today the answer has come back stating "You may still order the Certificates of Posting free of charge by contacting our Royal Mail Logistics team on 08457 950 950". I will be on the phone to them Monday morning (opening hours 08:00-18:00).

I thought this might be of interest to other sellers as my P.O. stated they didn't know this was going to happen and they had run out of pads!!”

‘Ashtonsallsorts’ - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/ashtonsallsorts/m.html?

Molly’s thought for the day:

‘Fewer proof of posting forms equals fewer claims!’

-------------------------------------------------
3. INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE

------------------------------------------------

Boy, am I glad that I bought a load of 1st and 2nd class stamps before the price went up. For one thing I made around 13% and as I forgot to update most of the postage rates this came in very handy. It might just be coincidence but sales seem to have picked up on items with the old postage rates, maybe I am now more competitive – at least until the stamps run out.

Here’s a quick word of warning if you sell overseas. As we all know the rates have gone up, it now costs £2.07 to send a 100 gram packet to the US, an increase of 25p.

The hidden cost is attached to a packet weighing over 300 grams. At this point the Royal Mail step up in 100 gram tiers, so it costs an extra £1.11 to send a packet weighing 301 grams, a serious step up. If your packet is at the top end of a tier then the increase is not so bad, it is still £1.11 for a 390 gram packet.

It is now more important to get the packing right and cut the total weight back under the next tier, cutting the flaps off boxes works for me!

Full pricing - http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400036&mediaId=400347

Quick eBay postage news

>From May 2011 you can specify more postal options when listing an item. You can now specify up to four local (previously three) and up to five international (previously three) postal services. This gives you more flexibility to specify the correct P&P charges for different international locations.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – IS THIS A BAD TIME TO BECOME A BUSINESS SELLER?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I have been selling my own personal stuff on eBay for years, and then started seeing things at boot sales to sell last year. And then I started to buy designer dresses (listed badly) which I bought from eBay to sell on. It’s been low key - pocket money to buy stuff for the kids. I thought I could scale it up and sell a 20+ dresses a week??? I imagined it would still be a small scale business for quite a while.

Just in the last month I have looked very closely at my figures, taking into account cost of sourcing the dress's, eBay/PayPal fees and handling time. It was a real eye-opener as it turned out I pay a combined average fees of around 18% a month (as a private seller). Then I realised that eBay are actually putting up final value fees for clothes to 12% for business sellers - just as I'm about to convert! And the dreaded Royal Mail hike in prices. Yikes.

I am very confused about what my next step should be. I don't now if I will be able to make enough profit to make the effort worthwhile? Any thoughts will be very welcome.”

You are right, it is a nightmare at the moment, the Elves have also just converted to a business account.

There are some things which can't be altered, such as the eBay fees and Royal Mail pricing. Now is the time to balance these costs with other savings. I have switched to white bubble bags, for example. They work fine and save me around 3p per parcel. I am still able to pick up stamps from eBay for around 13% discount which also helps.

The Elves are selling loads of clothing, mainly from boot sales so like you their fees have risen in this category. They have increased postage for these clothes to approx £1.00 above the stamp face value - they are not too concerned with DSRs on this minor account. A higher postage cost plus the best offer option allows the buyer to fix their overall price but for a larger % weighted to P&P thus avoiding the 12% FVF.

Looking at the total family business and to further counter the price hike I am combining my small, low weight items in the cosmetics range, so two lipsticks instead of one. They still go for a large second class stamp, with only one bubble bag and one PayPal flat fee; this saves me 88p per pair which helps offset the fee hike in clothing.

The other thing to remember is that the listing fee is dropping to 10p for a basic shop; this makes a featured shop less attractive so I have downgraded mine. The 10p saving on all shop items also reduces total costs.

The way forward is to keep a private account for your own things, particularly clothing, and manage all your business listings through a basic shop looking at the bigger picture concerning total costs. Revisit your business process and if possible save time or money on other activities.

Remember that all sellers will be facing the same problems, so a lean process should help you manage prices which should result in greater turnover.

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.

Good news, the blog has reappeared, still way out of date, but I am working on that. I am not quite sure where it went, but Dr Technical at Harriman House has sorted it all out. If you are short of reading material don’t forget that (almost) all back issues of this bulletin are stored there and some actually have the odd point of interest.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 216

2011-06-22T16:23:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 216, 1st April 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Global seller performance

2. Stock levels problem - solution

3. A pair of spoofs

4. Ask Molly – How can I quit my job?

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

My apologies for the lack of bulletin last week, I just lost track of time and missed a whole week somewhere!

Good news this week as the Elves finally qualify for Power seller status, bless! The bad news is that they cannot tell anybody about the ‘P’ word and will lose ‘above standard’ discounts next month anyway.

A quick update on my blog ‘ebaybulletin.co.uk’, it seems to have disappeared. Not exactly sure where it has gone, the technical guys are trying to find it – pesky blog!

This week sees an insight into global seller performance, read on if this lights your fire.

Also, not one, but two, PaPal spoofs to watch out for; it is almost too much excitement for one bulletin to bear!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – GLOBAL SELLER PERFORMANCE

-------------------------------------

Do you follow your ‘seller performance stats? If so you will be fully aware of your performance in the UK/Ireland marketplace, along with Germany/Switzerland/Austria and the USA, these figures can be found in your seller dashboard. Prepare to be underwhelmed by more data as eBay introduce a fourth performance indicator.

Starting in May 2011, eBay are going to evaluate your global seller performance separately from your domestic activity. When you sell to buyers outside of the UK, you'll need to meet global standards based on the detailed seller ratings you receive from all of your buyers.

The good news is that the global standards allow for the extra time and cost of cross-border P&P which should help keep scores higher.

Although a low global performance score will not impact on UK TRS discounts, a good score may well improve sales overseas.

eBay top-rated seller benefits will be available in Australia, Canada, France and Italy later in 2011. They’ll include:

- Promotion in search results
- inclusion of the eBay Top-rated seller badge in search result and item pages

I can only imagine that in time eBay will find a way to incorporate these new figures into the mix that evaluates ‘top rated seller’ discounts and I can’t see them becoming more generous.

On a lighter note as I have stopped selling to most of the world due to lost parcels and outrageous delivery times the new performance scores are not likely to have much impact.

Full details - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/new-international-performance-standards.html

------------------------------------------------
2. STOCK LEVELS PROBLEM - SOLUTION

-------------------------------------------------

“Molly,

Ref: the person with a stock problem in ‘Ask Molly’ Bulletin 215.

Thought I’d send this through you as others might find it handy too.

One simple solution is Turbo Lister which is free to use – you can update stock levels (and other listing) much quicker than individual item changes with this website. If you are an eBay shop owner you can also take advantage of File Exchange which allows you to download all your listings into Excel for quick comparison against a stock spreadsheet. We use this to great effect for over 1000 listings. The only problem is it doesn’t support Variations which is a big hassle for us and why we’ve moved away from them, but for straight listings it’s very quick.

I have spreadsheets pre-formatted to compare against file exchange downloads which make use of the custom label field in listings and I’m quite happy to share them if anyone wants to drop me an e-mail.

Big Laces

Web: www.biglaces.com

Email: dave@biglaces.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. A PAIR OF SPOOFS

------------------------------------------------

Two spoofs for the price of one; if you see anything like these just hit the delete key.

“Hi Molly

Always read the bulletin with much interest. I have had a couple of e-mails from PayPal which I hope you can share with your readers.

Funnily enough they have both been sent to a very old e-mail address we used right at the beginning of when we signed up with eBay. But a warning to the not so wary!”

2SidebySide – http://shop.ebay.co.uk/2sidebyside/m.html?

--------------------------------------------------------
Subject: You have changed your PayPal email address

Dear Paypal member,

You have added vieira_meredith2@gmail.com as a new email address for your Paypal account.

If you did not authorize this change, check with family members and others who may have access to your account first. If you still feel that an unauthorized person has changed your email, submit the form attached to your email in order to keep your original email and restore your Paypal account.

If you are using Internet Explorer please allow ActiveX for scripts to perform all data transfers securely.

Thank you for using Paypal!

Please do not reply to this email.

This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The attachment actually has the cheek to ask for your Paypal ID and password, if this was not enough it goes on to ask for your Credit/Debit Card Profile and even the Card Verification Number!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Dear valued PayPal Customer,

Due to a policy update we need to verify your PayPal account.

Please download the attached file , open it using your browser ,fill in the required information and click update .

Should you decide you do not wish to accept the verification process you can notify us before 27/03/2011 to close your account immediately without incurring any additional charges.

We do hope, however, that you continue to use PayPal and enjoy the following benefits:

It's safer

When you pay with PayPal your financial details are never shared with sellers or retailers, so you?e more protected against fraud.

It's faster

You don? have to type in your card details each time you pay, so you can check out faster online. You can also get eBay items delivered more quickly, as you can pay the seller instantly.

It?'s easier

PayPal is the preferred web payment method in the world because it? a smarter, savvier way to pay online in just a few clicks. All you need is your email address and a password.

-------------------------------------------------------

As with the first spoof this one also asks you to fill out all your personal details and send it to them, cheeky!

Please keep the spoofs coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I QUIT MY JOB?

------------------------------------------------

It has been a while since I received a question about finding stock so I thought why not – for old time’s sake.

“Hi there

I've just bought your book - interesting reading so far. Myself, I am a security guard always doing weird shifts with 12 hrs a day. I have always wanted to pack it in but cannot as there are no jobs about.

I have always wanted to sell full time on eBay either as a second income or to eventually move full time, but what would you recommend to me to start selling? I do sell stuff from home but I need more stock ideas.

Would drop shipping be a good idea or buying stock wholesale, and where is the best to get stock from?”

Glad the book is of interest, don't forget to sign up for the weekly bulletin. There are technical problems at the moment, but it should be working again soon.

The great thing about eBay is that almost anything will sell; the problem is that most items are already being sold. The system rewards established sellers so breaking into a market can be tricky. Finding a niche is the key.

Drop shippers can work very well although I am not a fan. Call me old fashioned but I like to feel the quality of an item [Ed - steady Molly]. Again, you need to research exactly what you want to sell before placing an order.

Building up a good reputation is the key thing, not only the product but customer service as well. It can still be done as demonstrated by the Elves who have just reached 1800 feedbacks and become power-sellers. They sell what they understand which is designer fashion clothes mainly from boot sales and charity shops. They appear to be doing very well as I can never find one of them to write any envelopes.

I am an opportunist as you will know from the book and have somehow managed to turn over just below the VAT threshold in two main businesses - cosmetics and toys. This is enough for me, with most of the money being earned in four months (September to December). I still sell used items bought from boot sales and have found some great suppliers of new goods at these events, although you do have to sift through a lot of rubbish to find a gem.

I would advocate that you choose a line that you know and have experience of. For me toys was a natural line having lots of kids and as they are all girls the cosmetics just followed along as the next big thing.

However, my humble beginnings were at the local car boot sale, buying and selling a multitude of things but learning all the time.

Perhaps the most important thing is to start selling something, anything, just to get out there and begin the journey.

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.

Postage rates jump on Monday so don’t forget to stock up with 1st and 2nd class stamps as they will be worth more next week. If you do stamp your own parcels make sure you use up all the normal denomination stamps - avoid using the more valuable ones. Finally, make an extra post run tomorrow and ship as much as you can. It will cost you more on Monday.

It is the end of the tax year on 5 April so get ready for the annual stock take. I find that the easiest way to record my inventory is to run an ‘active listings’ report just after midnight on 6 April. Hopefully I will have checked listed inventory against actual available stock by then. Where are the Elves when you need them?

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 215

2011-06-22T16:22:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 215, 22nd March 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – Simplified fees or 32% hike?

2. Duplicate listings less attractive

3. Paypal spoof

4. Ask Molly – What’s wrong with my stock levels?

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

Molly finally found the time to downgrade ‘The Mollybol Shop’ to the basic level. With active listings now around 130 the ‘featured’ option no longer made sense. Added to this the announcement from eBay that basic level shop listing fees will drop to 10p from May it should add up to a few extra coffees each month in saved fees.

All the news around eBay is centred on the new pricing structure, which will of course be brought to you along with a little humour over the coming weeks; read on for my initial thoughts.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – SIMPLIFIED FEES OR 32% HIKE?

-------------------------------------

It is that time of year again, well every six months actually, when eBay help everyone out by simplifying the fee structure. It is not good news for the Elves as the new ‘simplified pricing’ is to be implemented most noticeably in the clothing category. Actually as the Elves still don’t actually pay any of their fees it is bad news for me!

>From May the ‘final value fee’ for BUSINESS SELLERS listing in the ‘Clothing, Shoes & Accessories’ category will rise from 8.75% to 12%, a nice, round, easy to remember number. This will of course make calculating your total costs a lot easier.

On an item selling for £100 the difference between £8.75 and £12.00 equates to a 32% rise, again this is an easy number to remember.

The final value fees for other categories will also change to remove the sliding scale of fees as follows:

Final value fees from May:
Tech 3%
Parts 8%
Media 9%
Collectables 10%
Clothing, Shoes & Accessories 12%
All Other Categories 10%

Come on guys, we expect prices to go up, just give it to us straight.

Note to Elves:- switch to another category or you don’t get the heating switched on in the shed!

Add to this new pricing structure the impact of competition, rising cost of cotton and other materials, postage increases, distribution costs including fuel and the UK VAT increase, and you can expect to see a lot more clothing on market stalls and not on eBay.

Oh and just one more thing – the Powerseller discount currently given to ‘Above Standard’ sellers will disappear from May. Only eBay Top-rated sellers will continue to get up to 30% discount on final value fees.

Full details - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/fee-changes.html#list3

------------------------------------------------
2. DUPLICATE LISTINGS LESS ATTRACTIVE

-------------------------------------------------

The duplicate listings policy on eBay is quite strict with only one fixed price BIN listing allowed for an item. You can, however, have up to 15 auction-style listings for the same item. The current solution to this problem is to have the listing running in ‘auction style’ with a BIN option at the same price. This costs a little more in fees but gives better coverage in search results.

Things are about to change.

“If you create an auction-style listing with Buy it now, you must have a 40% difference between the Buy it Now price and the auction-style start price. For example, if you list an item in auction with a start price of £10, you'll not be able to put a Buy it Now price lower than £14.”

Fees for this option will also increase in May

BIN Price ** (Current) ** New fee

£0.99-4.99 ** (£0.05) ** £0.08

£5.00-14.99 ** (£0.10) ** £0.15

£15.00-29.99 ** (£0.15) ** £0.22

£30.00+ ** (£0.25) ** £0.38

Duplicate fixed price listings will be automatically ended, even ones which are slightly different; this should be one to watch out for.

Find out if you have any duplicate listings by using the tool located on this page - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/duplicate-listing-policy.html . It is in the section titled ‘What are duplicate listings?’

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

I just have space to squeeze in a short PayPal spoof. This one comes in the form of a notification of payment, £179, which grabs your attention. It is structured along the lines of a real e-mail but then has this huge ‘cancel payment’ button. The idea is of course for you to disagree with the notification and try to cancel the payment.

Just ignore anything like this, for one thing PayPal will address an e-mail to you, scammers don’t know who will receive their spoof and so have to address it to ‘PayPal client’.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello PayPal Client,
You sent a payment of 179.00 GBP to RapidShre Online (sales@rapidshre.com)

If you haven't authorized this charge, press cancel payment and get a full refund.

Merchant
RapidShre Online
sales@rapidshre.com

Instructions to merchant
You haven't entered any instructions.

Shipping address - Unconfirmed
United Kingdom

Postage details
The seller hasn’t provided any postage details yet

Description

RapidShre - GBP 179.00 - Rapid Points - Unit price 179.00 GBP, QTY – 1, Amount - 179.00 GBP

Charge will appear on your credit card statement as 'PAYPAL *RAPIDSHRE'
Payment sent to sales@rapidshre.com

CANCEL PAYMENT button

PayP

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please keep the spoofs coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY STOCK LEVELS?

------------------------------------------------

“Morning Molly,

I just wondered if you had experienced, or heard of, this problem before.

We have over 100 listings on our eBay shop and we continually update our stock - when we have more items delivered, etc.

We've been experiencing HUGE problems with the stock management. We go into each listing to change the stock and then a week later, it's wrong. We don't understand how eBay cannot keep records of our stock when we adjust it. But we don't know how to make the situation better.

It's one of our biggest problems and very time-consuming. Have you or your readers any ideas at all as we're tearing our hair out.”

bymonty - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/largemensshirts?_trksid=p4340.l2563

I have not noticed this myself although my numbers are usually incorrect as inventory management is not my strong point.

I did notice that you are primarily selling in the clothing category – ouch!

If anybody out there has a solution, please contact ‘bymonty’ or Molly – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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.

A big week at HQ as the wireless broadband connection is finally replaced with a direct link to the router; it only took me six years to arrange. This simple job was beyond me even given my past in the world of telephone provision. Those readers who know me will echo the fact that I am a poor engineer, I just get bored halfway through a task and lose my

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 214

2011-06-22T16:21:00.002Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 214, 14th March 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay news – Browser problems

2. Cheap European shipping

3. Postage increase

4. Ask Molly – What’s wrong with my account?

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

Apologies for the late bulletin [Ed - from both Molly and me, as I am a day late in sending it too], a stock delivery at HQ took some time to process. I have never been very good at stock management so when buyers default I don’t often revise inventory quantities. The good news is that I now have more stock than I thought and a fairly accurate inventory ready for the end of year stock take.

Just a quick reminder - if you want to contact Molly please don’t reply to this e-mail as the mailbox is linked to a technical system at Harriman House and replies can get lost. Use Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

This week some good news if you are sending large parcels into Europe, it could soon be cheaper.

Your help is required for this week’s ‘Ask Molly’, read on for more details.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – BROWSER PROBLEMS

-------------------------------------

It seems that some eBay users are having problems with their internet browsers, here is the eBay blurb.

“Internet Explorer 6

There are increasing numbers of reports of members experiencing a variety of site-related issues recently. It appears that there are issues tied to the use of Internet Explorer 6. This is now a "known issue" and is being worked on by our Tech Support Teams.

While we do support IE 6, it is one of the older browsers out there so while it should allow members to perform all actions it does mean that it can experience problems. In the meantime we would suggest either upgrading your version of Internet Explorer or using Firefox as an alternative.”

Molly HQ uses Firefox and IE for different accounts. I do find Firefox the easiest to use, give it a try.

------------------------------------------------
2. CHEAP EUROPEAN SHIPPING

-------------------------------------------------

“Hello Molly,

I had to tell you about a new delivery service I have just found, although your readers may already know about it.

I have just sent a heavy package to a customer in Germany and the cheapest rate that I could find was with Parcelforce for £36. (Global Economy – they call it. Ha!)

My customer pointed me in the direction of myParcelDelivery.com - http://www.myparceldelivery.com . It seems that when she had won her items the message from eBay, congratulating her on her win, contained an advert for this company.

I went to the site and tried it out, expecting it to be much the same as Parcelforce but was very pleasantly surprised. The parcel dimensions were 41 x 36 x 17 cm and the weight 3.015 kilos. The price for a two-day delivery was £22.08. This includes full tracking and insurance up to £50. The service is from door to door and they have just been to collect the package.

Maybe I am deluding myself and maybe I could have got it cheaper but it is a step in the right direction.”

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

I am not sending many heavy parcels at the moment; you need a lot of lippies to make 3 kilos! If you have any experience of these delivery guys, please let me know – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
3. POSTAGE INCREASE

------------------------------------------------

This year Royal Mail will have a split Tariff with the new stamp and meter prices coming into effect on Monday 4 April 2011 and account prices in early May 2011. The headline figure is an increase of 13%!

The price of first and second class stamps for standard items weighing up to 100g will rise by 5p to 46p and 4p to 36p respectively.

The cost of a large letter stamp will rise by 9p to 75p for first class items and 7p to 58p for second class mail.

Packet prices

0-100g
First class - £1.58
Second class - £1.33

101-250g
First class - £1.96
Second class - £1.72

251-500g
First class - £2.48
Second class - £2.16

501-750g
First class - £3.05
Second class - £2.61

751-1000g
First class - £3.71
Second class - £3.15

International prices are also to be increased with a 100 gram packet sent into Europe rising from £1.31 to £1.49, for a worldwide packet the cost will be £2.07, up from £1.82. These prices are for stamped packets.

It might be an idea to start amending postage rates now.

Full pricing information –

ftp://ftp.royalmail.com/Downloads/public/ctf/rm/2011-2012_Prices_document.pdf

Don’t forget to pick up your 1st and 2nd class stamps before prices rise and manage your other costs to bridge the gap.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly - just a quick question.

For the last three weeks, I've been having problems after I've signed into my
account. I get the Homepage OK but when I want to look/buy/leave
feedback, etc., red boxes come up with 'you have not selected any items' and
then everything locks up with 'Done but with errors on the page' in the
bottom left-hand corner.

I've been buying and selling on eBay for years with nothing happening like
this before. Any idea what's wrong?”

This may well be tied in with the browser problems mentioned above. If you use IE6, download Firefox and try again.

If anybody out there in eBay land knows of this problem and has an idea how to rectify it, please let me know – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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.

It was a bubble bag week at HQ with stocks running low. I did notice that white bags, especially for size J5, are cheaper by around 3 pence each. I usually go for the brown, but these are tough times, I’ll try the white ones and let you know.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 213

2011-06-22T16:21:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 213, 7th March 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay news – Checkout update

2. Molly’s seller report

3. PayPal spoof

4. Ask Molly – What payment options should I accept?

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

Sales are steady and just about where I want them as I continue to enjoy my holiday season. However, for all car boot sale fans it is time to dig out the wellies, hat & gloves and head for your local field as most are starting up again this weekend. Molly might wander down for a bacon roll and a poke about. If you are in the Colchester, Chelmsford or Southend areas give me a wave as I pass by.

This week you can catch up on a few ‘Molly stats’ and if you use a third party to provide your eBay checkout services, read item 1 below.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – CHECKOUT UPDATE

-------------------------------------

My quarterly seller report hit the doormat this week, more on this later. One of the lead articles was all about the new ‘eBay shopping basket’. This has been proposed for some time but as the deadline is fast approaching I felt it worthy of a mention.

eBay is to standardise the ‘checkout experience’ for all buyers so if you currently use the services of a third party to complete this task expect a few sleepless nights.

As of 30th June (subject to any date slippage) eBay Checkout will be the only checkout process for buyers on eBay. I can understand this as a standard process should result in a better experience and as I only use the eBay system there is no extra work for me to do.

This change will only impact your selling process if you’re working with companies that act as service providers for eCommerce solutions and offer so called ‘third party checkout’ as one of their services to you. The change will not affect any of the inventory management and listing features that sellers currently use through that provider and eBay says it will continue to work closely with them to support these.

eBay has briefed third-party providers on this change and will be able to work with sellers to move their listings onto eBay Checkout on time. You may want to contact your provider’s account representative to determine the next steps you need to take.

Tests of the new checkout appear to have gone well with two interesting findings.

1) Fewer unpaid items were reported using the new system.
2) Buyers bought more using the new ‘shopping basket’.

Top tips to get the most out of the new process:

1) Offer combined postage options to your buyers.
2) Offer more than one postage option.
3) Offer multi-quantity and longer duration on fixed-price inventory.

I’ll provide further updates when they become available.

------------------------------------------------
2. MOLLY’S SELLER REPORT

-------------------------------------------------

My quarterly seller report arrived addressed to Ms Molly Bol, it is a strange life I lead. Anyway in the absence of any real news from HQ I thought you'd appreciate a quick run down of the highlights to accompany your coffee break.

Transactions for the last three months of 2010 totalled 3,070, with 83% sent to the UK, 11% sold into Europe and only 6% worldwide. The low percentage of worldwide sales did come as a surprise, I thought it was higher. The most interesting stat on the report is that for the last quarter Molly was ranked 5,463 on eBay.co.uk and 319th in my main category of ‘Health & Beauty’.

Average DSR scores for the period were constant at 4.9 across the board, no change on the year; I even picked up two 5.0s in December. I did collect a few low scores in DSR ratings, 14 in total, but none for P&P charges so the free postage strategy is working - you have to go back to September to find a low P&P rating on one of my transactions.

All in all not a bad report, conclusion – “Molly tries hard but should pay more attention to the detail – could do better”.

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

This PayPal spoof comes with an attachment and the e-mail content tries to entice you into opening it – don’t!

Most spoof e-mails include a link which will whisk you off to a fake site, so it makes a change to see something different.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Confirm your identity

When you will complete the document we have sent, remember to ALLOW javascript and ActiveX to run from the bar that will pop-up, otherwise we cannot verify the informations you have provided.

February 24, 2011:Valued PayPaI Member, We have reasons to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.

OPEN AND COMPLETE THE FORM ATTACHED IN THIS MESSAGE TO REGAIN ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT.

Thank you for your time and understanding, PayPal Resolution Center.

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3471 - Release Date: 02/27/11

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Never sign into PayPal, eBay or your bank account via a link in an e-mail, it could end in tears.

Please keep them coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – What payment options should I accept?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I have a quick question on methods of payment available from international buyers.
If they don't have PayPal how can they pay for an item?
I don't have visa facilities and I don't want to give out any of my bank details for them to transfer the money. This scares me a little because I don't know how secure it is.
Your advice would be much appreciated.”

Bank transfer is actually a great payment method and you need only provide bank sort code and account number, which is on all your cheques and debit cards anyway. For international transactions these numbers are called a ‘bic’ and ‘iban’. They can be found on your bank statement.

You may well find that your bank will process international cheques up to a certain value (Halifax is £30) for no fee. So you could take a personal cheque in dollars or euro and present it at your bank. Ask them first just to be sure.

To be honest most eBayers have PaPpal and most buyers outside of the UK would prefer this option. It is almost worth insisting on PayPal as the number of other methods used is very low. I probably have around six a year.

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.

Things have slowed down a bit at HQ and the shed is looking quite tidy, still covered in dust but more shelf space can be seen. The start of the boot sale season is most welcome as this source of stock still forms the mainstay of my Christmas sales. I am not keen on the early starts but look upon it as a long walk in the country once a week making a nice little profit along the way.

If you are of a similar mindset and have picked up a bargain or two, please let me know, I might start up a ‘bootsale corner’ to share success stories.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 212

2011-06-22T16:19:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 212, 21st February 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay 101 – Basic buying advice

2. USA shipping still a nightmare

3. Power seller index

4. Quick PayPal spoof

5. Ask Molly – Should I open a dispute case now?

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

Another historic milestone this week as Molly’s total sales passed the 46,000 mark. When you think of it, that’s a lot of envelopes.

As it was a free listing weekend on 12/13 February don’t forget to check auctions ending over the next few days. Given the large number of listings placed and only a limited demand there should be bargains in abundance as prices fail to reach expected levels.

The bulletin this week includes a little advice for buying on eBay.

Shipping to the US remains a problem, more on this below.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY 101 – BASIC BUYING ADVICE

-------------------------------------

No news of any worth this week so instead a quick look at a few basic buying tips as supplied by eBay themselves. It never hurts to be reminded.

- Watch out for under-priced items – if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is [M - except my Timberland shoes which are great value].

- Be extra cautious with ‘Presale’ items (e.g. concert & event tickets) – check the seller’s feedback and selling history before purchasing and don’t leave feedback until you actually receive your purchase.

- Watch out for strange item descriptions – they’re often an indicator of a fraudulent listing. Common warning signs are:

a) Differences between the location of the item on the listing page and in the item description

b) The item description language differing from the language spoken in the seller’s country

c) The item description reading as if it’s been translated by an automated translator

- If you suspect a listing is fraudulent or inappropriate you should use the “Report this item” link at the bottom of every listing page

- Don’t buy prohibited items and always report these listings to eBay.

In addition to these wise words, also watch out for the seller who offers PayPal as a means of payment and then retracts this in the listing - this is not allowed. Be very wary of ‘cash on collection’ items as others will know you are carrying cash. Don’t meet in a supermarket car park at night!

Finally, be cautious about sellers who have a postage fee limited by eBay and then add a note in the description advising of a higher postage charge. This is not allowed. If you are a seller in the same market, report them and reduce your competition!

Prohibited items - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/items-ov.html

Presale items - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/pre-sale.html

------------------------------------------------
2. USA SHIPPING STILL A NIGHTMARE

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

It was interesting to read in last week's bulletin of the US shipping delays as I'd been watching the Royal Mail site but it gave no clues as to how long parcels might really be delayed.

I sent two identical parcels to the USA, one on December 31 to Utah and one on January 6 to New York and neither had arrived.

The New York guy asked for a refund, which I reluctantly gave last week. Got an email this morning to say it had arrived and he'll pay me which is very honest of him (I'll give him a discount for his troubles).

I make that about 41 days. I assume it must have gone by boat (possibly via the Panama Canal).

Still no word on the one shipped on December 31 but there is now hope that it did not get lost. This guy has agreed to hang on a bit longer which is great as it avoids another refund and the loss of the postage charge.

I hadn't realised until I got the claim forms from the Post Office that you cannot get compensation for the actual postage when shipping abroad if you just use normal airmail, only if you pay for the extra insurance.”

speedy_mac - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ilovethisstuffshop

The Royal Mail does have a list of events impacting shipping around the globe, although it is not the easiest page to find on their website.

The shipping timescale has not got any better this week, in fact it may be slightly worse. My sales to the US have decreased in number since adding my warning about delays, which is to be expected.

I have constructed a short web page - http://mollybol.50megs.com/111Pics/AACross/bannercross.html - which I will update as things change. Readers are welcome to link to it from listings in their shop front.

’International Signed for’ is the way to go, it costs £4.95 plus the postage so not viable for small items and you need to go to a Post Office to send - local depots don't offer this service. I am more selective now with overseas shipping and to the US I include ISF on items over £50.

You were very lucky with the honest guy!

-------------------------------------------------
3. POWER SELLER INDEX

------------------------------------------------

Regular readers will know of my love for new websites that might help boost profits. A new one has just been launched and although still in its infancy it makes interesting reading.

‘myHermes’ are sponsoring a newly launched website - http://www.powersellerindex.com which has been designed to show the top individual sellers in nine of eBay’s most popular categories.

It is updated weekly so, for example, the top seller in the clothing, shoes & accessories category has completed 1,273 listings for the past seven days. The Index also calculates potential savings the sellers could have made had they used myHermes to send the eBay items rather than a competing delivery company.

The only thing to be wary of is that the stats are based on completed listings; the big boys of course keep restocking so their listings never actually end. The sales measured here represent one off items or lines that have run out.

Early days yet, I’ll keep readers updated on the development of the site.

-------------------------------------------------
4. QUICK PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

Just time to squeeze in an extra item; a short yet succinct PayPal spoof

-------------------------------------------------------

*Dear %RECIPIENTADDRESS%,*

This e-mail has been sent to you by *PayPal Inc** *to inform you that we were unable to verify your account details. This might be due to either of the following reasons:

1. A recent change in your personal information. (eg: address, phone)
2. Submitting incorrect information during register process.

Due to this, to ensure that your banking service is not interrupted, we request you to confirm and update your information today by following the link below

https://www.xxxxxxxxupdate/

If you have already confirmed your information then please disregard this message.

Regards,
PayPal member services

-------------------------------------------------------------

If you see anything like this just hit the delete key unless of course your name actually is *‘**%RECIPIENTADDRESS%’.*

Please keep them coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I OPEN A DISPUTE CASE NOW?

------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

I won an item on the 4th of February and was told it would be posted first class the next working day. I still have not received the item but the seller doesn’t want to refund me until she has claimed through Royal Mail.

Can she can do this or should I open an item not received case and get a refund that way?”

You didn’t actually say how long it has been since the item was posted, a week should be sufficient for domestic deliveries. The Royal Mail insists on 15 working days before a ‘lost’ claim can be filed.

I can understand the seller wanting to hang on as the item may just be held up in the system and some buyers may not advise the seller if it turns up after a refund has been made. If it is a large item then it may well be awaiting collection at your local depot, quite often a ‘sorry you were out’ card is not left, so make a quick visit to your local office and check.

It sounds as though you seller will be happy to make the refund at some point so the situation is not all bad. Hold on for a while before opening the case and stay in touch with the seller.

As an aside I always refund my buyer first and then maybe, eventually, claim from the PO. Admin is not my thing and usually I just write off lost items. This is not good business practice though.

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.

Reader offer:

Calling all readers with a mechanical inclination. Molly has acquired a large number of pressure gauges, some dry and some filled with glycerine in a range of different bar & psi ratings. Although lovely things they don’t sit too well in the shop next to lipsticks and blusher.

If this is your thing and you would like more details, please drop me a line, maybe we can do a deal!

No bulletin next week as Molly HQ is undergoing a revamp, which means the Elves are cleaning and painting the shed and I will be drinking coffee somewhere warm – Starbucks!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 211

2011-02-18T12:01:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 211, 11th February 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay news – Shipping delays to the USA

2. Ask Molly I – How can they offer free postage?

3. eBay spoof

4. Ask Molly II – Should I opt for 10 day listings?

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

You have got to hand it to the eBay buyer of the Harrier Jump Jet who paid £70,000, especially as they are only seven years old! The Elves get socks or deodorant and are very grateful I can tell you. The buyer is in Australia, the plane in the UK, I guess it will be sent by airmail!

There are two ‘Ask Molly’ questions this week; no extra charge.

If you are experiencing shipping problems to the US, you are not alone. Read on and weep.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – SHIPPING DELAYS TO THE USA

-------------------------------------

Everybody at Molly HQ loves the States, in fact one Elf is still studying shoes, bags and boys in an upstate New York university. The idea of not shipping to the USA is unthinkable; however the amount of grief caused by late deliveries is causing me some major headaches.

New stringent security checks and procedures in light of recent events are causing exceptionally long delays of up to 45 days in some cases. This is far too long to wait and of course buyers are enquiring as to delivery times. So far everybody has emailed asking for an update, it is only a matter of time before a negative is left.

It seems that the US will not accept mail through their passenger airports meaning that parcels must be sent via an alternative method, probably a ship!

This is the official line:

“The United States Department of Homeland Security is continuing to require increased security measures for items carried on passenger airlines. As a result, some mail entering the US from around the world, and including the UK, that would normally be sent via passenger aircraft must now travel by other means, including ships and cargo planes.

Most items, including personal letters and cards, magazines, CDs, DVDs and lightweight packets, will be delivered in the US within a few days of posting. However, there are delays of about two weeks for some heavier packets. These delays are currently affecting stamped items, franked items, and items posted under contract, with the exception of Destination Sort and/or M-Bag* items.”

It is time to activate those hidden notice boards and inform potential US customers of the delays, also a mention on your seller Q&A page would be useful.

------------------------------------------------
2. ASK MOLLY 1 – HOW CAN THEY OFFER FREE POSTAGE?

-------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,
I have a quick question which is more of an observation really...

I went to a trade show last weekend to speak with distributors for the type of products I'd like to put on my shop. I have their trade prices and noted their SRP prices. Looking at a competitor’s eBay shop that sells the type of items I will, they offer an item (as an example) just below the SRP but with FREE Postage. Now, how they do this I'm not sure. I'd be looking at around £3.30 with MyHermes to ship this item and would lose all profit on the item if I posted at cost.

Are they doing a deal with a Courier Co. or Royal Mail whereby they get free or mega discounted postage on the amount of items they dispatch? I cannot see a further discount on the distributors trade prices being accepted, so I'm wondering if you have any ideas as to how they absorb or are deferring any postage costs to offer it as free?”

It is possible to do a deal with a courier if you ship enough items; it is certainly worth a quick phone call. I have been known to secure a discount or two from couriers which is handy, but not a huge saving as most of my parcels are less than half a kilo so the Royal Mail is the only real option for me.

Check the availability of cheaper stamps or a franking machine, eBay is around 13% cheaper for most ordinary stamps but of course you would have to stick them on yourself and use the Royal Mail.

Most high volume high turnover sellers will be top rated sellers and getting anything up to 30% discount on FVFs. This helps them no end.

Free postage might sound like an own goal as you would pay eBay fees on the full amount, an extra 50p or so on something that you would usually charge £5.00 to post. However, if your buyer buys two items then you do not have to combine and reduce postage as most buyers expect. As the postage is free buyers (even eBay buyers) do not expect you to give them money back!

I sell almost all my cosmetics with free postage to the UK; I build postage costs into my asking price (which is also governed by the marketplace). I can make a profit selling at that price even with the extra fees and postage costs.

When somebody buys two items or more then I am up on the deal as the total postage for two items is likely to be the same or only one tier up using the RM scale.

Also watch out for PayPal fixed costs. Most accounts have a flat fee of 20p and these do add up. Combining smaller items and selling in pairs cuts these costs down, this is a big drive for me at the moment.

The big sellers may be taking a hit on postage and cutting costs elsewhere, free postage also gives them a boost up the search results which will improve turnover.

Take a wider view on all aspects of your business and cut out costs wherever you can.

-------------------------------------------------
3. EBAY SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

It has been quite a while since a true eBay spoof popped into my inbox so I thought I would include one this week. It is not very sophisticated and has the usual grammatical mistakes such as no space between the words ‘account’ and ‘For’.

It is the first line that makes me smile ‘eBay sent this message to eBay’, why would they do this? The ‘go to eBay’ button is of course where the spoof link would be. The ‘Learn more’ link is just a dead end.

---------------------------------------

Subject: Important Message from eBay

*eBay sent this message to eBay .
*Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. _Learn_ _more_.

*Important Message from eBay*

* *

Hi member,

* *

I noticed the different connections from other countries on your eBay account.For security reasons we have restricted your eBay account.

Please check your eBay account!

Click the "Go to eBay" button.

Thank you,
eBay**

* *

*Email reference id: [#fbb5d36e57f6421081289260b215f54a#]*
Please don't remove this number. eBay customer support may ask you for this number, should you need assistance**

*--------------------------------------------------*

* *

Please keep sending them in mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

* *

* *

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – SHOULD I OPT FOR 10 DAY LISTINGS?

------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

After reading your eBay Business Handbook in only two sittings I’m feeling pretty inspired. Some real neat tricks and tips! [M – I just love this kind of start.]

Just a quick question if you don't mind – I run a fairly new eBay store selling Computers and Parts. Would I be better off using good till done, or, say, ten-day listing??

With one I get the advantage that the URL stays the same and it's easier to track, however with the ten-day listing, you get more exposure!”

It is really all down to personal choice. I use the ‘good ‘til cancelled’ option because of all the admin it saves. You can just list it and forget it.

To maximise exposure I don't use the variant option, but instead list several items that are almost the same at different times of the month. As regular readers will know I recently acquired a batch of Timberland boots and rather than one listing where buyers could choose the size I opted for eight listings ending at different times each with links to the other sizes.

Using this technique means that one listing was around the top of 'ending soonest' search results every 3 days or so and I could redirect buyers for other sizes from the listings.

It does fall apart a bit when sizes run out, I only have four left so sales have slowed. However, of course, I have sold numerous pairs.

The other consideration for 'good ‘til cancelled' is the way 'best match' works. Listings get a boost up the results for each sale that is made from the listing so one that has been around for a while should progress up the search results page.

On the flip side, those listings that get loads of hits but few sales slide down the rankings. I would suggest trying a few different mixes and see how things go.

If you are a featured shop then the monthly fee is only 5p per listing, an additional 10p if you opt for the ten-day duration, a basic shop will cost 20p per month using ‘good ‘til cancelled’ (40p extra to use the ten-day option). If you list 200 items it starts to add up.

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.

It’s a free listing weekend for private sellers using the auction format and the good news is that any starting price is included.

Details - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/promos/0IF_110212/index.html

Just in case I forget over the coming weeks [Ed – which is quite likely, even between the two of us] don’t forget to stock up on postage stamps. The Royal Mail is hiking the price of stamps again by around 13%! First and second class stamps will be worth this much more after the event, which is a much better return than you'll get at any bank.

As long as the couriers don’t follow suit they could become a viable alternative. MyHermes, for example, offers an ‘up to one kilo’ option for £3.30 inc VAT, the Royal Mail second class rate is currently £2.84 rising to £3.15. MyHermes offer tracking and insurance up to £25 within the price and of course VAT registered sellers can recoup some costs.

New Royal Mail pricing:

ftp://ftp.royalmail.com/Downloads/public/ctf/rm/2011-2012_Prices_document.pdf

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 210

2011-02-18T12:00:00.002Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 210, 4th February 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay 101: Narrowing your search

2. Heed the warning.

3. PayPal spoof

4. Ask Molly – Have you really only sold 58 things?

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

Another week has been and gone, but perhaps more importantly this one included a payday! Sales have been slow which is to be expected but Tuesday and Wednesday went bonkers, I even had to defrost an elf to help out with the packing.

Many thanks for all the notes about the Boots sale event and High Street sales in general, I think we all agree that pickings were not great this year. Major stores didn’t buy in too much stock which was a big disappointment. Well, it was to me anyway.

This bulletin could almost be renamed as ‘the spoof bulletin’ read on to find out why.

Only 58 sales in January, surely not; Molly knows the answer!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY 101 – NARROWING YOUR SEARCH

-------------------------------------

I have given up with eBay news for the time being, there is just nothing happening, so I am renaming this section eBay 101.

The ‘Ask Molly’ question this week has a search-related theme and this got me thinking about some of the smart ways to use the search engine when you are hunting for that elusive bargain. eBay do of course have many pages dedicated to this topic, I have just selected a few items of interest which might just aid your search.

The first thing to mention is that searches are not case-sensitive, although they are spelling sensitive so bee carefull when typeing! You can of course search for items with spelling mistakes - http://auctionlotwatch.com/newsletter/articlespell.html

The most basic search we know and love is your choice of word(s) appearing in any order in the title. To search for words in a specific order just put quotation marks around the group of words such as “eBay Q&A Paperback”.

To omit words from your search results just place a minus sign in front of the word you don’t want. When looking for shoes that are not blue or trainers use:

shoes -blue –trainers

Alternatively use brackets:

shoes –(blue,trainers) note no space after the comma**

Just keep extending the string of words until you get to a manageable level.

There is a wild card option as well, using the * sign. I have never found a use for this. If you have, please let me know. Here’s the eBay blurb for this alternative search:

“Your goal: You're looking for items that contain words starting with a particular sequence of letters.
Command: Enter the letter sequence followed by an asterisk.
Example search: chin* buddh*
Returns: Items whose titles contain words starting with "Chin," such as China, Chinese, Chinois, Chinook, and chintz, as well as words starting with "Buddh," including Buddha, Buddhas, Buddhist, Buddhism.” [Ed - I can see this is a really useful feature.]

Happy hunting!

------------------------------------------------
2. HEED THE WARNING

-------------------------------------------------

As you will know spoofs feature regularly in this bulletin as, for one thing, they fill space nicely and don’t need to be re-typed. Of course, they do cause a lot of grief to anyone who falls foul to one, so maybe it is for the benefit of the wider community that I include them [Ed – no, you just hate typing].

This one is a little special as it came accompanied by a great explanation, well worthy of inclusion.

“Hi Molly,

I thought I would forward you an example of one of the many spam emails I have been getting. It usually includes a link to a non-legitimate page (which I have removed.)

*----------------------------------------------------------*

*From:* LESLIE GAVIN [mailto:themeister@live.com]
*Sent:* 23 January 2011 01:45
*Subject:* eBay item not shipped ....I will give a negative feedback !

Hi...

I will give you a negative feedback if you don't send me the item

(this is where the link to the virus would be)

I payd for it what happend?

Thanks

------------------------------------------------------

The example above is clearly trying to get me to click into some form of tracking web site and is not genuine. I have also received many from miscellaneous people asking me to click on a link as they have had difficulty in making a purchase of one of my items. These are all easy to spot as they never include the actual item details.

This applies to me because I have my email set up on a forward from eBay into MS Outlook. I would imagine many others do the same and, therefore, there is another way to confirm any legitimacy and that is by first checking your inbox within eBay to see if the same mail has arrived there. Of course if it hasn’t the mail in Outlook is spam.

Just though it might be worth a mention as I wouldn’t want any fellow eBayers to fall into the trap from these pests – especially ones that cannot spell the words ‘paid’ or ‘happened’ [Ed - you should see Bob's spelling]!

In addition to this, I receive many emails stating that my Auctiva token is invalid and these are also illegitimate. The easy way to check here is of course log-in to your Auctiva account – again DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE EMAIL!!

Thanks again for the newsletter, always a good read.

* *

*Giverny Gifts - **http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GivernyGifts*

* *

-------------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

------------------------------------------------

Following on with the spoof theme, which developed by itself this week, a complicated PayPal example – fills lots of space this one does.

“Hi Molly

I think I have one for your bulletin, I hope this is not real as it worries me that money can be taken out without my consent.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

30 January 2011 01:31:21 AEDT

Transaction ID: *3A4715420PO63314O*

*You sent a payment of $131.7 AUD to eBay International AG (AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com) *

It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in the Recent Activity list in your Account Overview.

*Merchant*
eBay International AG* Instructions to merchant*
AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com You haven't entered any instructions
+61 61282880000

Description Unit price Qty Amount

$131.7 AUD 1 $131.7 AUD

Subtotal $131.7 AUD

*Total *$131.7 AUD

*Payment *$131.7 AUD

Payment sent to AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com

Invoice ID: 741827739

*Issues with this transaction?*
If you belive this is an error please follow the link below and complete the instructions:

https://www.paypal.com/au/xxxxxxxxxx?cmd=_help

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click *Help* in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, log in to your PayPal account, go to your Profile, and click *Notifications*.

Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved.
PayPal Email ID PP230

-----------------------------------------------------------------

No, not real, this is a spoof, the scammer wants you to click on the link (removed from the text) which would take you to a false website where you will be asked to enter your details and then they would have your password.

There are a couple of things which show up this e-mail as a fake; the first is
that your name is not included at the top because the scammer doesn't know who it will be sent to. Spelling also lets it down as the word ‘believe’ is missing an ‘e’.

There is no description of the item and no link back into eBay.

The last section is where they include the spoof link, this is how the section should
read:
-----------------------------------
Issues with this transaction?
You have 45 days from the date of the transaction to open a dispute in
the Resolution Centre.

Questions? Go to the Help Centre at: www.paypal.com/uk/help

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal
account and click *Help* in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, log in to
your PayPal account and go to your Profile to update your settings.
----------------------------
It is a clever spoof as this section is worded slightly different but still resembles the real thing.

If you receive an e-mail and are in any doubt about its authenticity, just forward it to me – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk and you may find you have a mention in next week’s edition.

-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – HAVE YOU REALLY ONLY SOLD 58 THINGS?

------------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

I bought your book and have a question.

I searched your user name ‘mollybol’ to get an idea of your completed auctions and it said you had only sold 58 products in the last 15 days, obviously that’s totally incorrect. Can you advise why?

What a great question and a great choice of book. You are right just 58 completed listings; mostly the odd toys left over from the pre-Christmas frenzy.

The majority of my sales come from fixed price BIN listings which never actually end; I just keep topping them up with extra inventory.

A completed listings search on my ID will only show items where all stock was sold, or I forgot to update the quantities due to poor management [Ed – never!]. Mind you I am in my quiet period with active listings down to around 150. They were 550 in November.

I am just working out the sales figures and items sold for the month was 596, which is not bad for a January.

If you are using the eBay search engine to research prices don’t forget to also check active listings for items you are interested in. They don’t all end when an item sells.

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.

Poor old Molly picked up a negative this week for an item which didn’t arrive. I did send a second item but that didn’t seem to help, I wonder if they have two now!

The neg has dropped my feedback down to 99.9% which surprised me as I have over 6,600 positive marks for the year and each 2,000 cancels out one negative.

Upon closer scrutiny I discover that this excludes repeat Feedback from the same member for purchases completed within the same calendar week. This drops my yearly score down to 5,700, three hundred short of the required 6,000. You learn something every day.

OK, so I keep missing off the links from readers’ articles but you must realise that I don’t always pay attention when writing and my mind wanders. Last week’s question was sent in by Judaica-Best-Gifts - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Judaica-Best-Gifts - it won’t happen again. Now where was I?

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 208

2011-02-18T12:00:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 208, 28th January 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: From across the pond

2. Saving money

3. Sellers beware – payment woes – update

4. Ask Molly – How can I move up the search?

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

Before I start this week I must just mention how poor the Boots plc sale was this year. The Elves were very disappointed and couldn’t find anything worth reselling on eBay. In contrast to past sales which have been very lucrative indeed, this one was not even worth the petrol. I shall be writing to the MD asking for better stock items next year!

A couple of quick money saving tips this week, you can tell how much free time I have.

Were you shocked by the big PayPal story from last week? Catch the update exclusively in this bulletin.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: FROM ACROSS THE POND

-------------------------------------

There is not much happening in the UK; due to the current government austerity measures most news stories have been cancelled.

Instead, a quick peek at eBay.com where there is always something newsworthy.

How about 100 ‘auction style’ listings at any start price with zero insertion fees? Pay only if your item sells? Now there’s an idea! Remind me, which well known online site operates like this? [Hint you can now pick up my book there for just £9.28!]

As you would expect there is a window of opportunity which closes 8th February (or February 8 if you live in the States). This has got to be a tempting way to pitch those unwanted Christmas gifts.

Full details - http://pages.ebay.com/promo/ListFree2011/

-------------------------------------------
2. SAVING MONEY

-------------------------------------------

The new money saving measures implemented at HQ are not going down too well. As somebody who never exercises cycling into town for a coffee to save money on petrol has come as a bit of a shock. The fuel saving is a hefty one with a litre costing in at £1.30 (that’s about US$9.40 a gallon) but there must be a less painful option.

One thing that might help is to increase your shipment timescale by a day and only drive to the post office every other day.

As sales slow and my inventory reduces my ‘featured shop’ is not as cost effective as it was, so a switch to a basic shop may cost be cost effective, therefore reducing overheads. 200 listings per month currently cost me £60 (200 x 5p plus £50 shop fee). 200 listings with a basic shop would cost £55 (200 x 20p plus £15 shop fee). I do use ‘Selling Manager Pro’, which is included in the featured shop fee but costs £5 on its own. As my current active listings are around 160 I am spending more per listing than I need to.

Featured shops do get some additional benefits:

- Advanced shop traffic reporting
- Sales Reports Plus with marketplace data

As I don’t use either of these I can remove them from the debate.

With active listings of, say, 100, swapping to a basic shop would represent a saving of £10 per month, or approximately five cappuccinos.

100 listings with no shop would cost just £45 (non-media related categories with SMP) but no shop; that would be unthinkable.

-------------------------------------------
3. SELLERS BEWARE – PAYMENT WOES – UPDATE

-------------------------------------------

For the full story checkout last week’s bulletin (207) online. Well, it will be on the web when I get round to posting it!

“Hello Molly,

Thank you for printing our story last week – we now have a quick update for the readers. Perseverance is the key, plus keeping every single piece of the jigsaw. Because I had long since had the feedback, after such a long period of time I could not find the proof of post with the tracking No. and more importantly, proof of the address posted to.

But luck was with me, I found it in two pieces, in the bottom of a bag of scrap papers waiting to go to the incinerator. Once stuck back together and up loaded to PayPal I then asked them if I met seller protection for this transaction and the next morning they put the money back even though the investigation was still ongoing.

My faith is restored but the moral of the story is to keep every shred of the transaction evidence for at least four months.

Thanks for your efforts with the bulletin, it is always interesting [Ed – but not always well written or well edited!].

Rubytyme - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/rubytyme/m.html?

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I MOVE UP THE SEARCH?

-------------------------------------------

“Dear Molly

eBay's default setting appears to list items by 'best match'.

What factors determine the order in which they are listed? In other words, what can I do to get my items nearer to the top of the list? All the items on the first few pages contain the search terms.”

Yes, ‘best match’ is the default and it would seem that not too many buyers alter this so it does make sense to do all you can to get to the top. As with the wider internet, most buyers will only check the first couple of pages of search results.

There is no single factor that will determine top placement in fixed price listings. Relevance, listing performance score (sales per impression) and a seller's performance rating all contribute to each listing's placement in the search results. Auction listings consider the end time of the auction as opposed to sales per impression.

Aim to get to 'Top Rated seller’ status. eBay top-rated sellers will have an advantage if all things are equal – a boost up the search results.

Offer free P&P. If you offer free P&P on fixed price listings, you may get an enhanced position in the search results of some categories.

Maintain high customer service stats DSRs. If you don't meet the seller performance standards, exposure to both your auction-style and fixed price listings may be limited.

The ‘listing performance score’ is worthy of a little more explanation. In most categories, Best Match assigns this score to fixed price listings based on the listing's recent sales in relation to the number of impressions it received. An impression is counted any time a buyer sees a search results page that includes your listing. Therefore, having incorrect search words in your title (key word spamming) will work against you as more buyers will see your listing title but not trade as the item is not what they expect and your item will drop away from the top.

Useful eBay page - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/searchstanding.html

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.

Running out of coffee, shivering in the freezing economic climate? Just type in ‘mcdonalds vouchers’ into any eBay search box and pick up coffee coupons for around 45p each. Coffee at McDonalds is very good, its just the 11 mile return cycle ride which lets it down!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 207

2011-02-18T11:59:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 207, 21st January 2011

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: Dispatch DSR

2. Sellers beware – payment woes.

3. Buyer disputes

4. Ask Molly – Why don’t you use extra pictures?

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

I must thank kel-loggs - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Kels-Store for sending in the article last week re. ‘housekeeping’, I forgot to add the link.

Another small reason for celebration at HQ this week as Molly stepped over 29,000 positive feedbacks; the Elves are also doing OK – their shop now has 1500 +ve feedbacks. Bless them!

Here’s a great note in this week from a confused buyer:

“I didn’t realise that if I made an offer it would mean that if you accepted it I would be the winner of item. I wish to cancel my order, sorry I didn’t no how the offer thing worked.”

You just can’t make this stuff up!

This week sees a warning to all sellers about potential charge-backs from four months ago.

Molly has been caught out ‘not practising as preached’, see ask Molly for the torrid details.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: DISPATCH DSR

-------------------------------------

The bad weather in the UK during December is still causing major delays to parcels, particularly to the US. This is not helped by the increased security measures now in place for inbound packets. I have eight late/lost parcels destined for the States posted over four weeks ago. The good news is that every couple of days another one makes it. Managing customer expectations is the tricky bit.

For sellers in this position it is some comfort that eBay has recognised this and since December, have been monitoring the impact on Detailed Seller Ratings.

eBay actions have included:

- Reminding buyers on the leave feedback page that deliveries could be delayed due to bad weather.
- Providing winter weather warnings on the home page.
- Placing announcements on various websites reminding sellers to advise buyers about potential delays.

More good news from eBay:

“Whilst there isn’t a need to review all sellers, we will be intervening in a limited number of cases where eBay Top-rated sellers are at risk from losing their status, due to low ratings on dispatch time that are inconsistent with their previous selling history.”

I am not sure if eBay will decide when to intervene or if they need to be prompted, I will certainly be checking my figures for ‘dispatch time’, which are higher at 0.33% against the target of 0.5% – getting close!

“For all other sellers who feel they’ve been unduly affected by bad winter weather and have proof to support your position, you can request an account review after the evaluation of your seller performance.”

As the evaluation date was yesterday, it might be worth an e-mail.

Finally on the subject, weather warnings will continue to appear on the feedback reminder page until the end of January.

-------------------------------------------
2. SELLERS BEWARE – PAYMENT WOES

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

How's this for trickery. On September 20th 2010 I sold an item to a US buyer. The buyer paid by PayPal straightaway, £285 + £10 postage. I posted with Airsure fully tracked. I received positive feedback on October 1st 2010. Job done you might think. Not so. On January 6th 2011, a full 116 days after payment and 106 days after feedback, PayPal took the money back. 'Chargeback because of unauthorised credit card use' is the reason.

"It is fairly common knowledge that when there are no funds in a buyer's account, PayPal will extract the money from buyer's registered credit card and pay into your account. What is not so common knowledge is PayPal deem that card transaction is between you and the card co., not PayPal and the card company.

"Now, the buyer has up to 120 days (yes, four whole months) to contact their card company to tell them that they did not authorise this transaction and bang, without any questions, instantly £295 lighter. Buyer now has goods and money.

"PayPal are not very helpful, they say the transaction is between me and the card company and that while they will argue it on my behalf, the conclusion will take up to 75 days. I already have a fair idea which way this will go – the same way as the £295.

"Just beware readers, if you are paid from the credit card registered to a PayPal account and not from funds in the PayPal account, your money is not safe for four months (120 days). But of course PayPal won't tell you exactly where the payment was raised from, so I am now of the view that I cannot depend on the safety of any PayPal payment until it has been in my account for 120 days.”

Rubytyme - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/rubytyme/m.html?

-------------------------------------------
3. BUYER DISPUTES

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I went on hols for just under a month on 13th December, put my shop on ‘hold’ and on return on 6th January found in my eBay messages two from a Buyer saying ‘where is my stuff’.

On or about 31st December he put it into dispute, not having had a reply of any sort. On seeing this I phoned and he said that his postman kept leaving parcels on doorstep and it probably had been nicked. I offered a choice of either a refund of all his money or sending a replacement product out first class that day. He chose the latter and I sent him eight as ordered, plus four extra for goodwill. I told him this and he withdrew the dispute.

On looking at my dashboard, I see I have got the buyer dispute against me still and with one more I will lose my TSR and discount. From what I can see the buyer has done it by the book, he believed I had not bothered to reply and he would lose his money. I had put my shop on hold before he ‘complained’. What is your take on this?”

Cycling-Claire - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Cycling-Claire

There are two measures for buyer disputes, a count and then percentage of disputes against transactions. You can check the figures via your seller dashboard; performance standards in the ‘Seller Standing’ section. Then click on the ‘daily performance tab.

eBay definition:

“To meet the performance criteria, be sure to stay below the maximum limits for percentage and count. If you exceed the limits for both maximum percentage and count, you don't meet the criteria. If you exceed the limits for either maximum percentage or count, you still meet the criteria. These limits are designed this way in order to measure all sellers regardless of their sales volume.”

Molly currently has one opened case representing 0.05% against a limit of 0.5%. With fewer transactions it is the count which can cause problems.

An opened case is one your buyer opened in the eBay or PayPal Resolution Centre.

PayPal disputes are not counted until they have been escalated from a dispute to a case.

It would certainly be worth contacting eBay to explain the situation and I would be very interested to hear what they say.

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHY DON’T YOU USE EXTRA PICTURES?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi there,

I've just finished reading your book on developing an online business through eBay. I just want to say that it was very informative and helped me to adapt my ideas before I take the same path as you.

Can I just ask why you don't seem to have the `larger photos' inserted using HTML in your listings? I only ask because you made a big case for using them and I fear that eBay doesn't allow for it anymore. Is this true?”

It is still possible to include the extra pictures for FREE and this remains one of the best ways to boost interest in your item.

There are two reasons why I stopped, the first is that I became too lazy in the Xmas rush; the second is that I was listing so frequently there was little time left to finish them off properly. I am currently in holiday mood with around 180 active listings, at the peak this was around 530 with new ones going on every day; quality suffered due to the quantity.

I am still winding down and as you will know from the book January to March is slow for me with other projects on the go. This quiet time allows me to manage both turnover and my tax position.

Follow the guidelines in the book and use the extra pictures, they really do work.

Come April I should make more of an effort again. [Ed – we’ll see!]

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.

Here’s a quick one for your bookmarks list, the eBay ‘live help chat’, it actually works!

https://cschatlb-na.corp.ebay.com/chat.asp?profile=15

Molly managed to hang onto TRS this month, dispatch DSR slumped to 4.88, but P&P rose to 4.95 – swings and roundabouts!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 206

2011-02-18T11:58:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 206, 12th January 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay News: From HQ

2. Reader’s rant – private feedback.

3. PayPal spoof

4. Ask Molly – Product variation – can you help?

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

Happy New Year to all bulletin readers from everybody in the shed. Yes, I have decided to keep a couple of elves on, they looked so sad standing on the snow bank
with their little frost-bitten teddy bears!

Just to put the record straight, although I recycle and distribute toys at Christmas and live an isolated life with elves, I am not the big guy in a red coat!

In the first bulletin of the year a quick look back at the festive period and I include the first reader’s rant of what promises to be a testing year selling on eBay.

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: FROM HQ

-------------------------------------

It never ceases to amaze me just how little eBay news is generated on eBay.co.uk so I thought this week I would report on a few snippets of useless news from the festive period.

The first thing to report is that Molly actually made 8 sales on Christmas day; I left the packing until after dinner!

I also decided to leave the shop open during the festive period; with many larger sellers shut I became a bigger player in a smaller market. The period from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve saw 231 sales and the best week for turnover of the year.

I have now started the big wind-down into Q4 and reduced active listings to 185.

The holiday period also saw me clock up my 45,000th sale. I can remember every single one.

E-mail of the week:

“The jiffy bag arrived in a bad state. It was sent in too small a packet the whole thing was torn and open when I received it.”

Apparently the contents were fine, so the packing did its job. I did offer to send a replacement bag but never received a reply.

-------------------------------------------
2. READER’S RANT – PRIVATE FEEDBACK

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I have just come across the wonderful thing that is Private Feedback. Having traded on eBay for eight years I was somewhat surprised that it could throw anything new at me. However, I had been having some trouble eliciting payment from a buyer so I thought I would check out his feedback. I find he has a reasonable positive score (40 odd in the last month) but has decided to keep his feedback private!

So, I looked up the rules and yes - you can keep your feedback private, but if you do so you cannot sell anything on eBay. Since sellers can no longer say anything nasty about their buyers some sellers will leave positive feedback with a suitably caustic comment. (I don't subscribe to this idea as it gives a false feedback score, however it happens). So, I ask, what is the point of feedback for buyers at all? I am all for protecting buyers from unscrupulous sellers but we poor honest sellers are at a disadvantage here!

Best wishes and a Happy New Year to you and the elves!”

Blazertrail - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Blazertrail-Vintage-and-Antique

What a great rant and worthy of a place in the bulletin, feedback always results in loads of e-mails.

It is also not allowed for any seller to leave a bad comment when leaving positive feedback, so the buyer could have them removed anyway.

eBay quote:

“We don't allow Feedback comments that contain: Negative statements left for a buyer that conflict with the positive rating."

I do agree with you totally about the point of buyer feedback, all it does is indicate that a buyer has some experience of the workings of eBay.

-------------------------------------------
3. PAYPAL SPOOF

-------------------------------------------

Many thanks to all readers who sent in this spoof, I can only imagine that in-boxes were less full over Christmas and more readers spotted it.

A good thing to look out for is the poor grammar of these e-mails; this one is missing two spaces and has incorrectly spelt the word ‘download’.

If you do see something like this, just hit the delete key.

-------------------------------------------

e-mail title - Attention! Your PayPal account has been limited!??

Dear PayPal Member:

Attention! Your PayPal account has been limited!
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.
We requested information from you for the following reason:
Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your PayPal account.
This is the Last reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.
Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

* *

*Reference Number: PP-259-187-777*

*Please click on the link below activate your account(you need to donwload)*:

https://www.paypal.coxxxxxxxxxxxxbin/login

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account.
We apologise for any inconvenience..

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

------------------------------------------------------------

Please keep the spoofs coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – PRODUCT VARIATION – CAN YOU HELP?

-------------------------------------------

Here’s a quick question aimed at any reader out there who is up to date with their stock take process regarding variation listings.

“Dear Mollybol,

I am writing in the hope you can advise me on some housekeeping. Your latest bulletin nudged me to do a stock take, however do you know of a report I can run which will not only show products but variations also?

I have had a chat session with eBay and they advised to run a report under Seller Tools. This only shows products, not variation, so then I was told to look under Applications. This again only shows products, not variations.

Therefore the only way I can see I can do it is go into every single listing, then revise, then go into change variations to see quantities I have listed under sizes.

Do you or your readers know of a way as I don't have until next Christmas to do it!”

Congratulations on starting the stock take, not the easiest of tasks, but essential if you want to manage your turnover during Q4.

I have never used the variation option, the only item I have would be the dreaded Timberland boots, but I list each size separately which makes a current stock take simple.

If you have any ideas, please let me know – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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.

As it is the time to make and break New Year's resolutions I thought I would look back at last year to see how I fared.

2010 New Year’s Resolutions:

1) Update the blog each week and sort out all my broken affiliate links.

Update: well the links have been mended at least.

2) Blitz the shed and list everything that remains unsold.

Update: Ongoing, which means I failed.

3) Sell my remaining Timberland boots.

Update: Can you believe that I bought more so still have 75 pairs left, mainly size 6!

OK, so not too good then.

This year I have thought of something a little more achievable with only one good intention.

- Keep eBay accounts up to date on a monthly basis.

No doubt I will keep you informed throughout the year.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 205

2010-12-24T14:21:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 205, 21st December 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: UK vat increases in January

2. Paypall [sic] spoof

3. eBay seller report update.

4. Reader’s rant – buyer beware

5. Ask Molly – How can I add a message?

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

Many thanks for all the e-mails about the picture of the elves included in last week's bulletin. Just to put the record straight, despite the beards they are girls; it’s just an ugly streak that runs in the family!

It’s all over for another year as sales have all but stopped, a bit like most roads in the UK. And the railways and the airports. I must have replied to 50 e-mails titled ‘where is my item’, some only four days after dispatch! I even picked up a neutral for my poor delivery service.

This will be the last bulletin for a while as the whole of HQ celebrates the season with a massive stock take – we know how to party I can tell you!

This week a reader lets off steam about nasty sellers and...

A little Christmas challenge to include bad weather notices in your listings – what fun!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: UK VAT INCREASES IN JANUARY

-------------------------------------

Just a quick reminder to all UK VAT registered sellers about the increase to 20% and the need to amend your eBay listings. That should be a fun holiday activity.

This change affects any VAT registered business that sells or purchases goods or services that are subject to the standard rate of VAT.

To increase your inclusive prices to reflect the change from 17.5% to 20%, you should multiply your old prices by 120/17.5.

eBay help page - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/vat-increase.html

HM Revenue & Customs’ guide -

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-rise-guidance.pdf#sec411

-------------------------------------------
2. PAYPALL SPOOF

-------------------------------------------

No, I didn’t get the spelling wrong, here’s another PayPal spoof sent in by Mealiepip - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/mealiepip/m.html?

If you see something like this in your inbox, especially with the bad spelling in the email address, hit the delete key.

-------------------------------------------

From: PayPal
Subject: Notification of Limited Account Access RXI-112

Notification of Limited Account Access

Dear,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We requested information from you for the following reason:

We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized transactions.

Case ID Number: PP-324-885-309

In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to follow our verification procedure as soon as possible to help avoid this.

Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

This is a final reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal Email ID PP-324-885-309

-------------------------------------------

Please keep the spoofs coming – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------
3. EBAY SELLER REPORT UPDATE

-------------------------------------------

Hi Molly,

Thanks for the heads-up on the seller report, I did drop them a line, here is the reply I had from eBay about it.

-------------------------------------------

Hi,

The report is sent out to a certain percentage of accounts based on size of sales.

However, you can also access much of this info through your seller dashboard which you can access under My eBay – Account – Seller Dashboard.

Hope this helps,

Regards and happy Christmas

Patrick Munden

Seller Communications eBay.co.uk & eBay.ie

-------------------------------------------

A Typical reply from them I think :-)

All the best for Christmas and the New Year.

pgibson1001 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PG-Computer-Components

M – Oh well, I guess you can’t just email and be put on the distribution list.

-------------------------------------------
4. READER’S RANT - BUYER BEWARE

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I have currently found myself in a less than desirable position and the term banging my head against the wall comes to mind. Let me explain... I purchased an item, paid for it with PayPal and after non-delivery I contacted the seller to make sure all was well.

I got an almost immediate response saying "out of office until 30/01/2012" [Ed - that's some holiday]. So thought I would try and get some support via eBay to discover the item had been marked as payment not received and all eBay would advise was for me to contact the seller and ask them to mark the payment as received! Caught in a loop!

Discovered that I could open the case via PayPal and I am currently in the process of that when I get an unpaid item case against me. My options - 1. Pay again or 2. Get a strike.

Nobody wants to hear from me because the seller marked the payment as not received. I am now unable to leave feedback also! Talk about feeling victimised. The buyer meanwhile carries on selling.

Buyers beware.”
mummy-mac - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/mummy-mac/m.html?

M - This is a strange one as PayPal does not seem to have marked the item as paid, time will tell.

-------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I ADD A MESSAGE?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Quick question about the eBay settings. I want to put a message about delayed post on each one of my listings. The only way I can find is to put a sign in my shop. Is this correct or is there a way to get this message to appear on each listing?”

It is possible to add a weather notice of sorts as a shop banner in the shop description or logo under display settings, but of course it will only appear in the shop.
There is to my knowledge no facility to add a note into each listing on an ad-hoc basis.

It is possible to build in notice boards into item descriptions using some basic HTML.

There are a few ways to achieve this but I opted for a banner at the top of each listing measuring 380px by 98px. Usually this banner is blank, the same colour as my background, which is normally blue, and so cannot be seen. A simple jpeg picture cotaining your message can be loaded into Photobucket and then brought into each listing using the HTML code, call it something like header.jpg.

As and when you want to show a message or promote an item, sale, seasonal greeting, etc., just create a new jpeg of the same size and load it into Photobucket with the same name and it will now be shown instead of your blank banner. Microsoft Paint is as good as any for this process.

Adding this into existing listings is a pain as every one needs to be amended. For new listings use the sell similar option and all the codes will be copied to the new listing. To get the HTML into the listing you need to switch to HTML in the 'Describe the item you're selling' section. This code should do the job

It should work, as long as buyers read it of course!

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.

A little good news to end on, my feedback percentage score has returned to 100%, my positive to negative ratio must have reached 2000:1. Does it really matter? Well not really but it is just one of those things you would rather have than not.

That’s it for this year, back soon with all my New Year's resolutions and a glance back at 2010.

Best wishes, merry Christmas and happy eBaying.

Mollybol

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 204

2010-12-24T14:20:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 204, 14th December 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: Sorry, not interested

2. Go on it’s for a good cause

3. eBay seller report.

4. Ask Molly – Is there a cheaper way?

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

I find it hard to believe that it really has to snow this side of Christmas, why could it not hold off until January?

I seem to be spending more time each day explaining that items are held up, one lovely lady even left me a negative for non-delivery, I guess she forgot to actually ask if I had posted it. Quite why somebody would suspect a rip off, leave feedback and then walk away minus item or refund is beyond me; you would at least contact the seller, wouldn’t you?

Have you an idea that might improve eBay? Read on and maybe you will keep it to yourself.

Have you ever wondered what the Elves actually look like? Scroll to the bottom of the bulletin for a rare treat!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: SORRY, NOT INTERESTED!

-------------------------------------

Have you ever had an idea which might improve the eBay experience for some or all users? ‘370smith’ - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/370smith/m.html? - had an idea and sent it in to be considered. Now the idea may or may not have been very good (although ‘370smith’ is no slouch with over 9,000 pieces of feedback), it was the tone of the reply which made me pay attention!

“Hi Molly,

I had an interesting and somewhat disappointing reply from eBay this week regarding my proposal of a 4th feedback option for "non-payers". You can see their reply below, basically saying they are not interested in their customers views and only make changes if it is their idea!

I thought customers experiences and views were paramount to a business?”

Message to eBay:

“Hi, I am fed up with non-payers and not being able to warn other sellers by leaving them feedback. I have an idea where there is another option of feedback which will highlight to other sellers that this buyer does not pay, i.e. a fourth option of feedback just for non-payers? Can you please pass this idea on to whichever dept. deals with feedback.”

Response:

“Thanks for taking the time to send us your ideas and proposals about feedback stated for non-paying buyers. We are always pleased to hear from members of the eBay community and welcome their comments regarding our services.

I assure you that we are committed to the continuous improvement of our website to make it both a fun and safe place to trade. However, please note that our company policy does not allow us to accept or consider ideas or proposals, other than those that we have specifically requested.”

M – I have this great idea which is bound to make eBay millions in extra profits, but I’m not going to mention it now!

-------------------------------------------
2. GO ON, IT’S FOR A GOOD CAUSE

-------------------------------------------

‘Tis the season of giving and the good thing about giving to worthwhile causes via eBay is that you get to keep the prize you win!

Regular readers of the bulletin will recognise the name of ‘Grayling PR’ - http://www.grayling.com/ as they often submit news stories and pull me up for my spelling. Well, in addition to embarking on a crazy mission trekking to the top of Kilimanjaro, they are also running some special charity eBay auctions, which seems a much better idea to me.

It’s all in aid of ‘Leonard Cheshire Disability’ so if you fancy something a little different as a Christmas gift check them out.

Items up for grabs include a pair of Victoria Beckham’s signed DVB jeans, autobiography and perfume; a pair of boots signed by Rio Ferdinand; a framed photograph of the England cricket team signed by the entire team; an England football shirt signed by the whole England football team; and a whole lot more.

Be quick though, the auctions end this Friday!

Full list of auctions - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/nikolai85/m.html

If you win something, please do let me know – Mollybol@ebatbulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------
3. EBAY SELLER REPORT

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

In the latest bulletin you write;

‘My latest eBay seller report ranks Molly 9,987th for sales during Q3 (Jul - Sept).’

Where did you find this out? I've searched my shop account to no avail; any help would be much appreciated.”

pgibson1001 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PG-Computer-Components

I was so proud when I read my report, mind you I made a loss for that quarter, but the turnover was great!

Actually I did make a profit but I am not a big fan of turnover as a business measure, it is profit that really matters.
I get a quarterly seller report sent in the post, not quite sure why, it has loads of stats, including the sales rank. Apparently I was 945th within the Health & Beauty category based on number of items sold!

There is an e-mail address for the report - sellerreportuk@ebay.com - they might be able to set you up on the distribution list.

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – IS THERE A CHEAPER WAY?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Is there a cheaper electronic method to receive payments, as opposed to PayPal?”

shop8880 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/TyreKing

The permitted electronic options in addition to PayPal are:

Allpay.net, cash2india, CertaPay, Checkfree.com, hyperwallet.com, Moneybookers.com, Nochex.com, Ozpay.biz, Paymate.com.au, Propay.com, XOOM

The pricing structure varies with each option, Nochex for example charge 2.9% plus 20p fixed fee.

You can of course also accept:

- PayPal (all sellers must offer PayPal in their listings)

- Credit cards (including MasterCard, Visa, Amex), debit cards (Visa, Electron, Maestro), and bank electronic payments

- Payment upon pickup

The only problem is that PayPal is by far the most popular, so given that Paypal has to be offered the take up for other options is likely to be limited.

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.

I have a super new friend – ‘Russell Hobbs’, always there when you need perking up during the day.

A lot of e-mails arrive at HQ asking as to the welfare of the Elves, some readers suspect that they are not well treated. All I can say is that most of them are fed regularly and as long as they work 18 hours a day can do as they please for the rest of the time.

Christmas is of course traditionally a time for Elves so here for all to see is a pic of them happily working on the next batch of toys, notice how warm it is in the shed.

http://mollybol.50megs.com/Mollyweb/Book/Diary%20Pics/elf1.JPG

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 203

2010-12-13T12:00:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 203, 8th December 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: Delays in deliveries

2. Reader’s rant

3. Congratulations

4. iPhone App.

5. Ask Molly – How can I rise up the search rankings?

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

It has been a surprisingly busy time, sorry for the late bulletin, things should be back to normal soon.

The UK High Street seems to be suffering from the inclement weather and shortage of funds and as a consequence of this there are some great bargains to be had. This week Debenhams have a 30% sale in place and for the first time 15% discount on cosmetics, too good to miss.

It is the snow that has caused most of the problems, a couple of ideas follow.

Also this week a reader lets off steam, could this be you as well?

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: DELAYS IN DELIVERIES

-------------------------------------

It is pretty cold outside right now which is both good and bad news. It is bad for the Elves who went out to play in the snow, got lost and had to spend the night in the garden. The good news is that they now think the shed is really warm!

The snow has impacted on deliveries within the UK and worldwide, however it has also kept shoppers from the High Street so online sales have increased. I only hope they can be delivered within 3 weeks.

Now is the time to add a short note to your dispatch e-mails about delays and activate any hidden notice boards you may have within your listing template; DSRs are bound to suffer.

The Royal Mail has temporarily withdrawn the Special Delivery™ guarantee and general mail is a lot slower, although my postie is still wearing shorts!

Just to make things even worse all packages to the US will be subject to stricter screening by US authorities due to recent security alerts. This could lead to delays in your items being delivered to customers in the US.

Happy days!

Royal Mail info - http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump1?catId=400144&mediaId=112300784&campaignid=serviceupdates_redirect

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2. READER’S RANT

-------------------------------------------

“I buy and sell branded Ralph Lauren leisurewear on eBay and have had my account restricted for 7 days for "Trademark infringements" as according to eBay my products are inferior copies!

A couple of question spring to mind immediately:-

1. How do they know?

2. Why don't they ask me where I get the stock from before restricting the account?

To say I am pretty furious is putting it mildly as I purchase stocks of Ralph Lauren merchandise from reputable wholesalers in England who swear to me that the goods are 100% genuine.

The timing couldn't have been worse. I have emailed a reply but I cannot get to speak to anyone about this, can you help at all?”

The eBay customer service dept seems very poor at the moment, I had a restriction placed on another selling ID and emailed them to remove the trading limit. No reply!

If anybody else has experienced this or has any advice, your thoughts would be most welcome.

-------------------------------------------
3. CONGRATULATIONS

-------------------------------------------

eBay bulletin reader roll of honour

“Hi Molly, I am writing to let you know that after just 3 months of trading, I have reached both Power Seller and TRS! I am very happy with the result as I have worked around the clock to achieve it. Thank you for your help and advice via the book and the emails, it is appreciated.”

givernygiftsshop - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GivernyGifts

If you have reached a significant milestone and would like a free plug here and on the web, just let me know.

-------------------------------------------
4. IPHONE APP

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I just wanted to let you and your readers know about the eBay Selling App for iPhone. It's specifically for selling but really doesn't have the functionality of the website so might not suit the serious eBayer. However, it does have a research function which might be useful when out and about, if you spot a bargain in a store or market, which shows all sold similar items and also a little graphic showing the average price. Quite useful I thought.”

I thought I would include this note as I am a convert to mobile eBay management, in my case using a BlackBerry. Running your business from Starbucks seems like a great idea – all you need is a clever toy and some poor Elves to do the packing.

Please let me know of your mobile adventures – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------
5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I RISE UP THE SEARCH RANKINGS?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

At present I am mainly selling, or trying to sell, watches and handbags, also a few other items but mostly these. My problem is that despite using what seemed like all the right keywords I can’t seem to get near the top in the rankings, resulting in next to no sales.
Any tips where I might be going wrong?”

Shoppingkiosk - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Shopping-Kiosk

This is a big problem as the criteria eBay apply to search results is not simple to understand and made up of many aspects.

Seller standing is a big one; your 100% feedback score certainly helps but keep an eye on P&P charges as this measure must not drop below 4.6. Items with free P&P get a boost in search results.

Top rated sellers get a leg up in the ‘best match’ search, which is of course the default option. One of the lesser known factors is something known as ‘listing performance score’, this is the number of sales per impression. Cutting out spam in the title to get the right buyers interested should give a better ratio of sales to hits. If a listing has hundreds of hits and no sales it may well drop off the page and might be worth cancelling and re-listing to lose the adverse listing performance score.

This eBay help page is well worth a quick read through - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/searchstanding.html

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.

Molly finally moved over the 28,000 feedback mark with total sales edging past 44,000. My latest eBay seller report ranks Molly 9,987th for sales during Q3 (Jul – Sept). Not bad when you consider how big eBay.uk is (and that I took most of the summer off).

The sales figures for November are in and Molly is right on target with just over 1,000 sales during the month. I expect selling activity to be a lot lower during December and the coffee pot to be more active.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 202

2010-12-13T11:58:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 202, 23rd November 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: Holiday settings improved

2. News from HQ

3. Boring admin stuff

4. Ask Molly – Where did PayPal go?

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

Before I start, I would like to thank Craig from Harriman House who edits and distributes this newsletter. Christmas is a busy time for publishing houses but Craig still finds the time to edit my inane drivel and produce these bulletins. He has aged significantly over the past couple of years though [Ed - every second I spend reading these bulletins is an hour I'm not getting back].

Congratulations go to bulletin reader ‘tightsite’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/tightsite who made it to PowerSeller this week and I notice is a TRS as well (Elves cheer in background).

Hearing about ‘tightsite’ did give me an idea; as eBay no longer celebrate the success of high achievers I think we should do it here in the bulletin. If you reach a landmark in your eBay careers, maybe PowerSeller, high feedback, TRS or something similar, let me know and I’ll include a ‘roll of honour’ with links to your eBay ID and a mention on the website. [Ed – when you finally get round to updating it!]

You can catch up with the latest from HQ below and also, for those who manage their own accounts, some thoughts on turnover!

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

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1. EBAY NEWS: HOLIDAY SETTINGS IMPROVED

-------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I have written to you in the past concerning the nightmare of ‘eBay holiday settings’. Now it seems something has been done to sort them out, I can but hope.”

cycling-claire - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/cyclingclaire

eBay blurb:

“Taking some time off for Christmas, or after the busy holiday season? If so, remember to use your holiday settings feature to let customers know that you’re away. Holiday settings are only available to eBay Shops subscribers.

With new enhancements to holiday settings, your fixed-price listings will be hidden in search results and buyers who added your item to their watch list won’t be able to buy it whilst you’re away. This prevents them from having a bad experience waiting for their item to be delivered and helps protect you from receiving negative feedback and low detailed seller ratings as a result.”

This seems to be a good start, not sure if visitors coming in directly from external search engines will still be able to buy or not. Time will tell.

To access the eBay Shops holiday settings feature, go to My eBay > Manage My Shop > Shop Holiday Settings.

Full details - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/placing-store-vacation.html

If you have used the new settings, please let me know your thoughts on how effective they are – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

-------------------------------------------
2. NEWS FROM HQ

-------------------------------------------

There are only 33 days to go, which means somewhere around four weeks of constructive selling left, assuming all local economies survive that long!

Sales at HQ are steady with nearly all toys sold and thankfully most of the gift sets bought in for Christmas; active listings have fallen to 290, all downhill from here. I still expect to shut down for Q4 and drift into the next financial year. Unfortunately UK tax legislation doesn’t encourage too much hard work!

As expected Molly hit Gold PowerSeller status this week, oops, mentioned the ‘P’ word there, but I think I got away with it. This is always a short-lived promotion as my turnover rises in Q3 and falls back for the rest of the year. The 25% discount on final value fees will be most welcome, it is just a shame that I won’t be selling very much from now on.

In anticipation of lower sales I am making a few subtle changes to process as well as sacking all Elves. Smaller items are being grouped together, which will reduce packing and I can pass on savings to buyers. Lipsticks for example (Mrs Mollybol’s area to be honest) sell for £5 each with free postage (large letter 2nd class) and can be sold in pairs for £9.00 and still yield the same profit.

As a by-product of this move I can pull away from PayPal micro-payments and send all revenue to the main account. This should help maintain my ‘Merchant rate’, which is currently 2.4% (2.9% cross-border) – every little helps.

TRS stats were updated last week; Molly remained a member of the club although the numbers were a little down:

Item as described - 0.10%
Communication - 0.30%
Dispatch time - 0.40%
Postage and packaging charges - 0.10%

Taking a week off is not always a good idea, even if you do tell buyers that dispatch will be late. The temptation is to shut up shop completely during holidays; lost trade for me and lost fees for eBay. Perhaps eBay could consider giving items bought whilst shop settings are switched on a pop-up note reminding the buyer of this during the feedback process.

-------------------------------------------
3. BORING ADMIN STUFF

-------------------------------------------

Non-sellers and those with accountants skip this section as it is VERY boring.

I am now so far ahead with my admin that my books for the first six months of this year are almost done; mind you I am not sleeping very much at the moment.

Calculating turnover is a major part of the accounts and it is not quite as simple as you might think. Overall sales figures can be obtained from the eBay ‘file management centre’ and of course postage, insurance and any other income must be added to sales.

It is the next calculation that might prove a little tricky – working out the value of any returns and refunds which should then be deducted from turnover. As all my refunds are made via PayPal I obtain this figure via the PayPal site using their monthly summary reports.

Sales that don’t complete due to non-payers and those items that don’t arrive should also be removed from turnover. The eBay resolution centre has a report which shows all items for which the ‘final value fee’ has been refunded; this is a good start if you don’t record failed transactions anywhere else.

Your turnover calculation should now look something like this:

Sales;

Less returns/lost items;

Less non-payer sales;

Plus postage

Less refunds on postage

Less postage on returned/lost items

Less postage income from non-payers

Plus insurance

Be careful not to double count any of the above by removing returns from your sales figure and then deducting a figure for returns as well.

A less obvious error can occur if you use PayPal figures for refunds as these include refunds for over-charged postage, returned or lost items and the postage refunds for these items. It is very easy to enter an amount for returns/lost items and then include all the PayPal refunds as well, therefore doubling the value of these reductions and under-stating turnover.

Well, I did say it was boring!

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHERE DID PAYPAL GO?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

Can I ask you a question as I have never had a response from eBay? I used to have a PayPal account and then I got an e-mail from eBay saying that there had been an attempt to access my account and they gave me an internet address to go to and cancel this payment.

I did and was told there was no such website, I wrote and told eBay (this is the 2nd time they sent me such a letter saying someone had tried to access my account). I immediately cancelled paypal. I wonder what you make of this.”

These were both fake or spoof e-mails from a third party trying to steal your account details, they are also called phishing e-mails. There are hundreds doing the rounds, a few look really good and if you are busy they can catch you out. These e-mails also pretend to be from eBay, banks and a whole host of other companies. Neither eBay nor PayPpal ever ask for details in an e-mail or ask you to sign in via a link on one.

I have stored almost all of my weekly newsletters online at www.ebaybulletin.co.uk and include any spoofs that readers send in, you might find a copy of the one you had tucked away in there somewhere.

Check them out when you have a few spare hours.

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.

I spotted this week that there are 549,000 active listings with the word ‘PowerSeller’ in the description, which is of course not allowed. eBay will be contacting every seller to have the reference removed. I pity the guy who added the words ‘UK PowerSeller’ onto 1,200 gallery pictures – eBay will find him eventually.

I have just clocked up my 500th parcel using ‘MyHermes’, so far so good. I know that some readers have experienced problems, but I must speak as I find and I have received a top service and around a £2.00 per parcel saving over the Royal Mail.

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 201

2010-12-13T11:57:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 201, 16th November 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: PowerSeller no more

2. Automated e-mail problems

3. Box clever

4. Ask Molly – Do I have to re-list them?

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

Only 39 days to go until the big day, all the Elves are getting excited. I can’t think why as they will be redundant on December 26th.

For the last posting dates check out the Royal Mail website - http://www2.royalmail.com/greetings (not long left if you want to use surface mail).

Sales were a little lower this week with an average of 26 per day and the extra free time was most welcome. The last batch of toys should be photographed this week so things should pick up.

This week sees the last ever warning for PowerSellers to go underground.

Another bulletin reader offer – read on if you are struggling to find that special gift!

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

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS: POWERSELLER NO MORE

-------------------------------------

Calling all PowerSellers – quiet, whispers only, nobody must know. eBay are about to clamp down on the use of PowerSeller references throughout the whole site including About Me pages. Not only is the ‘P’ word not allowed, but references to being a ‘trusted seller’ or similar are deemed a claim too far.

It has been coming for some time and I must admit that there are still a lot of references out there, especially on shop headers. Take heed and remove them all, here’s the blurb from eBay:

“From November 2010, you will receive a warning message advising that you won’t be allowed to use the PowerSeller logo or references within your listing descriptions, listing templates, About Me pages, or eBay Shop pages.

PowerSellers will continue to be rewarded through the benefits of the PowerSeller programme and eBay Top-rated seller eligibility. However, the eBay Top-rated seller badge will be the only icon on the site that will inform buyers about sellers who provide great service and customer experiences on eBay."

eBay say that from mid-February you won’t be able to list a product if it violates
this policy.

I have also seen several sellers who have mimicked the TRS logo and that too must go. It is no good complaining to eBay; the rules are laid out in the policies section for all to see. If you have forgotten the exact wording here is the gist:

“You can't use the PowerSeller or eBay Top-rated seller logo or similar artwork or expressions, eg 'eBay trusted seller' or 'eBay top seller'. If you are an eBay Top-rated seller, the related logo will appear automatically in the View item page.

Don't include references to the PowerSeller or eBay Top-rated seller programmes in your listing descriptions, listing templates, About Me, My World or shop pages.

Don't use phrases like:

* 'Top-rated seller'
* 'Top seller'
* 'Trusted seller' or other similar terms”

Full details - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-practices.html

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2. AUTOMATED E-MAIL PROBLEMS

-------------------------------------------

“I decided to take the plunge and open an eBay shop – CDRepublika - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/cdrepublika . Everything is going great, I use Seller Manager Pro to automatically send feedback & despatch e-mails when the buyer has paid to try to be super efficient & save time.

However, I have noticed some e-mails are not reaching their intended recipients, the problem seems to be mainly Yahoo, BT & Tesco accounts.

I tried to contact Yahoo but the details they want are very technical & have left me stumped.

I am worried it will affect my DSR as communication is 4.9 when you would hope it would be 5.0.”

There has always been a problem with these e-mails, loads of buyers don't get my despatch notes and ask if their item has been despatched, especially at this time of year when the post is slower.

I suspect that many of these e-mails go into bulk folders.

I don't include my shop logo or the PayPal pay button on my automated e-mails, my thoughts being that maybe a less complex e-mail might get through. I would be interested to hear more thoughts on this subject – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk.

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3. BOX CLEVER

-------------------------------------------

Regular readers will know that I love a deal and a discount is always most welcome, so I am pleased to bring you another reader offer.

Cardboard boxes may not be ideal as a Christmas present for most people, but to the seasoned eBay seller what better gift is there?

My recent box order from ‘belmontpkg’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Boxed-Up-Packaging arrived as expected along with the following offer for you the reader:

Each month in the first few days belmontpkg will rebate customers based on their spend through the month previous as follows:

3% for purchases totalling £100 or more
5% for purchases totalling £200 or more
6.5% for purchases totalling £350 or more

Rebate is paid on the total gross spend (i.e. if you spend £200 in one month you will receive a £10 rebate at the beginning of the following month).

All that is required is a quick note to them requesting to be added to the scheme. You need to include your PayPal email address(es) for which to calculate the rebate on.

Mention the bulletin and I might just be in line for an extra Christmas present!

-------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – DO I HAVE TO RE-LIST THEM?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I have just started to operate as a business on eBay selling handbags. I only sell in the UK and I have only one watcher on one of my listed bags. Sad times!

Can I somehow change these listings to apply in Europe/worldwide? Also I have postage as £4.00 on each bag so how do I charge more for Airmail or do I need to list them all again?”

‘JTJEA’ - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/JTJEA/m.html?

Molly says:

No problem opening up sales to the world, just revise the listing, drop down to P&P section and in the pull down menu which currently says 'no international postage’ choose 'Flat same to all buyers'.

In the 'post to' box select worldwide and then the service you will offer and the cost. Use some caution here as your items sound like they are high value so you should think about an insured service, ‘airsure’ where available or ‘International signed for’. My items are low value so if they get lost or stolen I am not too worried.

Use the Royal Mail website - http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400036&mediaId=400347 for costs, ‘airsure’ is about £5 on top of that and don't forget a small handling charge.

Now click the 'offer additional service' link and do the whole thing again for Europe.

I would be very tempted to create a postage location exclusion list and apply it to all listings. If you check one of my items you will see a list of countries that I no longer ship to as the number of 'lost' items was getting out of hand.
You should do well as the £ is still quite low against the Euro and reasonable against the $.

Don't forget that there is a 2 kilo per parcel weight limit with Royal Mail.

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.

Almost anything can sell on eBay and getting a bit bored with cosmetics and Peppa Pig I decided to try and sell two old car wheels complete with bald tyres.

Not many takers with local pick up only but £4.00 to my garage saw both tyres removed and they can be shipped.

Hermes worked out the best, their ten kilo price band costs £6.99, both wheels sold straightaway (I must have offered them too cheaply!) for £30 – handy!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 200

2010-12-13T11:56:00.001Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 200, 5th November 2010

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay News: No news
2. News from the front
3. Molly goes Stateside
4. It does make you wonder
5. Revision fees - the last word
6. Reader’s rant – give me a break!
7. Ask Molly – How can I boost my shop?

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

Happy birthday to the bulletin, 200 today; I had thought about retirement but the government has just raised the age limit again so I must plod on.

A little good news as the eBay Business Handbook (3rd edition) secures the top slot on Amazon.co.uk just in time for Christmas.

There has certainly been a lot going on at HQ, compounded by the fact that the clan decided to visit Elf number 2 in the States and I left the shop open! My apologies therefore if I missed your email, I think I found most of them. There’s more on my Stateside visit later in the bulletin.

It is a bumper issue this week including a couple of rants, so put the kettle on first.

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

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1. EBAY NEWS: NO NEWS

-------------------------------------

I find it hard to believe that there is so little news about, I do like the ‘countdown to Christmas’ counter on most pages, it might just help sales. In the absence of anything interesting I have decided to use this slot for a reader’s rant (I did receive quite a few recently).

“I am miffed at the moment with a private seller who had listed some Lego Harry Potter sets, which I then bought from them. According to their write-up four of the sets were complete with the fifth set just missing an owl.

They were correct about the fifth set but the other four had missing pieces and/or different coloured pieces from the instructions. Although the seller said they would refund my money once they had checked the sets if I returned them they ignored my message about refunding me my return postage.

Therefore I instigated a dispute case and although eBay said the seller would refund me my money and P&P on return of the Lego they DID NOT enforce that the seller should pay my return P&P.
I have messaged eBay about this, as why should I have to be out of pocket when a seller has evidently told lies about the condition of the items they are selling? However, I am still waiting for a reply two days later.”

M – It is a tricky one, I state that the buyer should pay the return postage although I often refund that as well depending upon how I feel. Private sellers are subject to different rules.

For spare Lego parts check out ‘Bricklink’ - http://www.bricklink.com/

Update:

“I never got a reply from eBay so closed the case and told the seller I would now keep the Lego and try to find the missing bits another way. *THEN* suddenly eBay messaged stating they had looked at the case further and would credit me £5 via PayPal to cover my P&P. *THEN* the seller messaged to say they would pay for my return P&P (why didn't she say that in the first place!!) – so I returned the items and my P&P has been refunded.

I don't understand the dispute process as when I first had eBay's reply stating I was to return goods and they would ensure seller refunded me my money I thought that was the final decision, hence why I was ranting about the unfairness of me having to pay the return p&p. Why can't eBay be black & white rather than a dodgy shade of grey?”

ashtonsallsorts - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/ashtonsallsorts/m.html?

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2. NEWS FROM THE FRONT

-------------------------------------------

It is still all go at HQ with the final push for Christmas under way. The new seasonal theme is now in place and sales are still good with almost all the toys sold. Active listings are down to 380, mostly cosmetic lines – the shed smells divine!

Increased sales meant that an additional supply of boxes was called for and I opted for seller ‘belmontpkg’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Boxed-Up-Packaging. I am most impressed, 1000 boxes in five sizes costing an average of 14p each and delivered quickly – check them out.

On the subject of packing materials I have now decided to abandon the ooo size bag, it is just too small and easily lost in the postal system. It is nice and cheap, but it had to go. I have now settled on sizes oo, o, 1, 4 & 5 in the ‘Jiffy’ range.

I also ran out of return address labels. ‘Able Labels' are too expensive, try ‘malamutepuppies’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Malamutepuppies-Mall ; 3000 labels for £7.15 delivered.

Great news regarding my ‘Postage and packaging charges’ DSR, it finally rose to 4.9. I don’t think it has ever been this high. Offering free P&P on many lines paid off in the end. Not so good was a neutral with just the comment ‘good’, not sure where to take this one.

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3. MOLLY GOES STATESIDE

-------------------------------------------

You may recall that Elf number two is studying in the US of A, well attending University anyway; I didn’t see much evidence of studying. As it gets cold in New York we had to pop over with a change of clothes – FedEx would have been cheaper. It is funny how all daughters suddenly become free when a trip is announced!

I decided to leave the shop open and display holiday settings, the clever Blackberry thing allowed almost full management of eBay whilst away. I also added a ‘closed’ sign to the shop, loaded my own banner onto every listing, changed all automatic emails and placed ‘out of office’ reply to all e-mail responses. So far 28 buyers have asked why their item has not been received yet; oh, hang on, make that 29.

You will know by now that Molly can’t resist a bargain, even when on hols. A trip to the mall found us in ‘The Bon-Ton’, similar to Debenhams, during their cosmetics promotion. Suffice to say that we had to buy another case to bring all the make-up back home. A trip into ‘Build-A-Bear’ resulted in a similar purchase of teddy outfits and a second flight bag was purchased.

It just goes to prove that opportunities to buy stock are everywhere; I just wish they were a little lighter.

-------------------------------------------
4. IT DOES MAKE YOU WONDER

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I thought you might like the following for your bulletin: -

For Sale: ‘Calculator Cunningly Disguised as a Mobile Phone.’

Question received from buyer (after making a bid) !!!

“hello there, is this an actual phone? what network is it on?”

It is very difficult sometimes to reply to these questions without the use of expletives.”

-------------------------------------------
5. REVISION FEES – THE LAST WORD

-------------------------------------------

“I am responding to the seller in your newsletter this week (watch out for those eBay fees) who suddenly had insertion fees when they amended one of their listings.

This happened to me too a few weeks ago but as I had since become a business seller since the free listing day presumed it was because of that as business sellers can't take advantage of free listing days. Now I'm not so sure.

The answer she got back from eBay was utter tosh as whenever I have amended a listing in the past as a private seller after a free listing day it has never suddenly charged an insert fee. Why has the system suddenly stopped recognising when the auction was listed??”

-------------------------------------------
6. READER’S RANT – GIVE ME A BREAK!

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

Love your email bulletins and love your book, a fantastic read! [M – what a great start!]

Just seen the let off steam section within said bulletin and thought I'd drop you a line.

Three weeks ago, I'm proud to say my fiancée and I welcomed into the world our first child, a beautiful baby daughter. On the very same Sunday I had a number of items due to expire on eBay and, with spouse and child remaining in hospital overnight I ensured that all items were packed and addressed, ready to post the next morning on my way back to the hospital.

Needless to say I was very tired and wasn't long out of bed following the completion of the last package.

Imagine, to my horror, my first two negative feedback ratings at the end of that week, one of which was accompanied by a rather rude message which began with WTF!

I'd understandably posted two items to the wrong buyers and they were both very different items.

It is so frustrating that a buyer chooses to give me negative feedback rather than contact me to find out why and even more so that I couldn't have provided a better service following discovery of this!

I refunded both buyers in full and then managed to have them both send their items to the other, thus taking me out of the loop and ensuring they both receive the desired goods as quickly as possible.

Pleased with my work, I quickly sent them both requests to revise their feedback via the eBay Resolutions Centre.

Unfortunately neither took up this offer and both requests expired.

I've since heard from one of them (the rude one), who has changed his tune and is a very satisfied customer. So much so that he's asked me to resend the feedback revision, which is something I cannot do.

I guess all I can do is learn from this experience, but being a relatively new seller, it's hit my feedback hard and I've gone from 100% (built up since 2002), to 95%!”

M – Ouch, having kids is hard enough without getting negative feedback as well. Respond to each feedback in a constructive way and it should have a minor impact on future sales. Buyers will check out why you are at 95% as most sellers are 99.9%, so give some thought to the wording.

I would also contact eBay to get the rude comment removed. I would consider WTF to come under the clause ‘Profane, vulgar, obscene or racist language or adult material’, you can report it from this page - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/feedback-abuse-withdrawal.html

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7. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I BOOST MY SHOP?

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“Hi Molly,

I have today opened an eBay shop! (pennyyork - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/pennyyork) Yaaaaay!!

Questions that I have and that I would be grateful if you could possibly answer are:

1. My listings were automatically transferred to the shop but how do I change my listings to 'Good Til Cancelled'?

2. I have got the basic shop at £14.99 and it comes with free Selling Manager, now does this automatically send out emails to the buyer when item purchased, dispatched, feedback, etc?

3. (Last question I promise!) How do I put my T&Cs in a separate box similar to that which you have on your shop?”

Congrats on the shop, it should make admin a lot easier.

If I remember correctly you will have to re-list the items with the 'good 'til cancelled' option when they their current term expires. It is a long time since I did this so there may be another way.

It is 'selling manager pro' which sorts out the automatic -mails, well worth the £4.99 monthly fee - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/sm-pro-preferences.html#automated_email .

The Ts & Cs box is all down to HTML. You need a web page where you can write your terms and then use a simple HTML code to link to it. An easy way to do this would be to write your Ts & Cs on 'Paint' and then save them as a picture, load this into Photobucket for free and then link to the picture using HTML. It is a pain if you need to alter anything though.

It is worth bearing in mind that relevant Ts & Cs should be displayed on the item listing page. Mine are on a separate page as I don’t really have any to speak of, just general information.

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.

I had to smile this week when a glossy brochure arrived from Tesco concerning the ‘Clubcard’ rewards promotion. It seems that Tesco are reducing the rate of exchange from four to three times the face value. It seems that some people have been abusing the system!

On the subject of large companies getting it wrong, did you take advantage of the recent £5 Debenhams voucher? Print off the coupon, take it to the store, find something for £5 and they just give it to you – nice one. Now my email account has 500 sub-addresses, surely the system would spot that though – wouldn’t it?

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 199

2010-12-13T11:55:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 199, 28th October 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: eBay listing analytics

2. A couple of quick links

3. Don’t bother!

4. Watch out for those eBay fees

5. Ask Molly – Is my non-payer level reasonable?

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

The weather has finally turned colder in the UK which should result in more computer time and less outdoor activity; I am not talking about eBay buyers, it’s the pesky Elves that just won’t knuckle down!

Some good news – Molly retained TRS for another month; the numbers were not quite as high as I would have hoped:

-- Item as described – 0.13%

-- Communication – 0.27%

-- Dispatch time – 0.13%

-- Postage and packaging charges – 0.13%

I didn’t make Gold Powerseller level this time round, but remain on course for November, just in time to start reining in sales for the Q4 holiday.

The bulletin is almost 200, an emotional event for all who have watched it grow and evolve from humble beginnings. To celebrate this momentous occasion I would like to invite you, the reader, to submit your thoughts for inclusion; (please use lower case text it saves me re-typing). Issue 200 should hit the streets Monday 1 November, loads of time to put pen to paper (fingers to keys).

It is the long established tradition of this bulletin to bring you the crazy questions asked of sellers in eBay land. Another of my true stories follows shortly.

Too much time on your hands? Then check the handy links below (with a coffee of course).

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

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1. EBAY NEWS: EBAY LISTING ANALYTICS

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Another new tool is available and (for now anyway) it is free. The Applications tab appeared in ‘My eBay’ recently. I'm not sure exactly when as I was busy. If you have an hour to lose then this could be of interest, here’s the eBay blurb:

“Get insight into your sales with eBay Listing Analytics

Understand key metrics of eBay, such as the rate at which buyers see, click, and buy from your listings.

-- Enter keywords and see your listing's rank
-- Analyse your listings by looking at Listing Analytics (click-through rate, transaction rate etc.)
-- Improve your listings and grow your business”

I did have a dabble but I lost interest after about 5 minutes. In that time I was pleased to find that many of my listings made the top 1,000 search results in their respective categories.

If you have made better use of this new tool, please let me know more.

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2. A COUPLE OF QUICK LINKS

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Here are a couple of great ways to wile away the time while you wait for your next order to arrive. They were kindly sent in by Stacey the PR lady at Grayling - www.grayling.com

The first is a very informative video made by Dan Wilson, who you may know is a true eBay expert and author of a very popular eBay guide (just a shade too popular at the moment). Still, second place comes right after first.

[Check out best selling eBay book on Amazon].

It’s all about how to save time on eBay, certainly worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-yy8xJUqrM

The other helpful link for you to explore is the ‘parcelchecker’ - http://www.parcelchecker.co.uk/

Now I am not one who gets excited very often, but checking the best deals for parcel delivery does it for me. It's better than comparing muskrats anyway.

The one thing the checker does not delve into is customer service but it is certainly worth using.

If you know of an invaluable tool for eBay users, please let me know and I’ll spread the word – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk

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3. DON’T BOTHER!

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“Molly

About that eBay announcement in last week’s bulletin concerning additional countries having their own eBay sites –
"Key benefits for buyers on eBay International Market: An eBay site in their local language: the only things not translated will be seller's item titles and descriptions."

My first thought was why bother when the two important things are not translated, but then as most buyers don’t read descriptions anyway, they might as well be in a different language.”

Good point and this particularly applies to holiday settings and the sizing of puppy raincoats.

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4. WATCH OUT FOR THOSE EBAY FEES

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“Hi Molly,

I recently took advantage of the free day listing, but a few days later wanted to change my method of postage from 1st class to standard parcels on an item, however when I did this eBay charged me a 15p insertion fee.

Below is their reply when I queried it:-

"I've checked your account and noticed that you been charged the insertion fees for item "Bluffing game" (380277748377). I noticed that you have listed the item on promotional date (10th October, 2010). When you revise the listing after the promotion date, you will be charged the insertion fees as per normal rate as system won't be able to determine whether the item is listed on promotion date and will consider it as normal listing and charged you the fees as per normal rate and this is the reason you are charged the insertion while revising the listings."

I just wondered if you were aware of this and via your newsletter can warn other eBayers of this glitch in the system.”

370smith - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/370smith/m.html?

M – I was not aware of this, Molly and auctions don’t get on very well so the whole free listing thing passes me by – seller beware!

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5. ASK MOLLY – IS MY NON-PAYER LEVEL REASONABLE?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I am a bit concerned about the number of non-payers I’m having, running at around 11% at the moment. Is this reasonable or excessively high?"

My non-payer rate has also increased although it is a lot lower than 11%. In my case more listings equate to more late, and ultimately non, payers. I just plough through the process with each one.

I am sending out payment reminders now after four days and claiming fees back as soon as possible; I want the item re-listed as soon as possible, non-payers just go with the territory.

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.

You thought I had forgotten about my crazy question and you would be right, but I can just squeeze it in here.

The item is a set of building instructions for a K’nex model - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120624055680

Q: “i have lost my copy of the manual and i cant afford to buy yours please can you photocopy the book and email it please”

I must get one of the Elves to do this, trouble is I can’t seem to find any, they are out playing in the garden again – you just can’t get the staff!

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

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 198

2010-12-13T11:54:00.000Z

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 198, 15th October 2010

Topics in this issue:
1. eBay News: eBay expand again

2. Unedited – really!

3. Pack it up!

4. Daft question

5. Ask Molly – How can I remove negative feedback?

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

I have finally managed to upload all past issues of this bulletin to the website www.ebaybulletin.co.uk . If you are finding it hard to drop off to sleep at night, look no further!

My other projects are now finished so I can settle down to some serious selling. I am so far ahead that I even managed to send in a tax return; paper returns have to be in by 31 October!

It is with some regret that I have decided to block customers in Spain. The percentage of ‘lost' parcels is now just too high and the delivery time is way too long – ‘tan apesadumbrado’. It is interesting that due to postage problems I am restricting the countries into which I ship at the very time that eBay are expending their reach – more on this below.

We all hate bad feedback, but did you know about the ‘revision process’? Read ‘Ask Molly’ for more detail.

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

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1. EBAY NEWS: EBAY EXPAND AGAIN

-------------------------------------

eBay has now launched sites in Finland, Hungary and Portugal. This means an additional 25 million people are now able to use a local eBay website.

Earlier in the year eBay opened sites in Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. eBay inform us that over 8 million items have been bought from these markets and the number of customers continues to grow.

The most popular item categories in these new markets are apparently Fashion, Consumer Electronics and Auto Parts.

Key benefits for buyers on eBay International Market:
-- An eBay site in their local language: the only things not translated will be seller’s item titles and descriptions.
-- The ability to search for items across eBay’s global inventory which can be delivered to their location.
-- Prices converted into local currency
-- Customer support in their native language.

Key benefits for sellers:
-- Increase in sales as buyers will be directed to listings on eBay.co.uk that offer delivery to their location.
-- Target specific markets as buyers generally look for products that cannot be found locally or are more expensive in their own country.

I am all in favour of increasing sales and still ship to most of these countries, especially Finland who do seem to love my make up [Ed – who wouldn’t].

As Christmas approaches the number of lost parcels will increase, it always does, so include insurance for valuable items and check in more detail where exactly you are prepared to trade with.

Full details - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/intl-ov.html

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2. UNEDITED – REALLY!

-------------------------------------------

Another satisfied customer, we should have them stuffed!

OK, so this is a blatant plug for the eBay Business Handbook (3rd edition), but remember Christmas is looming fast.

“Hello
I felt that I should just update you as to progress, you may remember me laying on Lanzarotte beach reading your book some while back.

I was just so bored like you at work, getting up at 6.30 am getting home at 5pm, bored, nowhere to progress, what could I do, ah yes read your book, which I did.

Its been nearly three years now since I packed up work, a gamble I know, but now I've had almost 66,000 orders, I am a Top Rated Seller and I just enjoy life to the full, never regretted a thing.

If anyone out there is ummming about whether to give it a go - do it. It's still hard work, but it's for you and all the rewards are yours.

I JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERY HOUSE SHOULD HAVE ONE OF YOUR BOOKS.
Do I get any commission now? No, honestly, going off to the states soon, not sure what book to read next!”

Ians Seeds - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ian0804011-ians-seeds

You can pick up a copy from most good bookshops or direct from the publisher at ‘Harriman-House - http://www.harriman-house.com/theebaybusinesshandbook

If you have made your millions as a result of the book, please let me know, if you went bankrupt in the first year then keep it to yourself.

Ps I still have a few copies of my Q&A book available from eBay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120494514758 just £3.99 delivered!

Enough with the selling, back to the bulletin.

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3. PACK IT UP!

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“I read about your purchase of more packing stock and thought I would let you have the following company’s details.

I have always found them courteous, with prompt delivery, excellent quality products and most importantly of course - CHEAP.”

They are Storm Trading - http://www.stormtrading.co.uk/

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4. DAFT QUESTION!

-------------------------------------------

I know how much you love the stupid questions you are asked. Here's one that made me chuckle this week from one of my potential customers.

Item:

48 personalised teacher reward stickers;

A personalised reward sticker ideal for teachers.

Can be customised for any name or message to suit.

============

Question: “I'm assuming you can personalise these stickers or do I have to write it on myself?”**

============

I'm thinking of starting up a brand new line in stickers - blank stickers, personalise yourself as required (felt tip not included). What do you think? Am I onto something?

‘hazels-homegrown2’ - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Hazels-Homegrown

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5. ASK MOLLY – HOW CAN I REMOVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK?

-------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly,

I'm a regular reader of your newsletter and I was wondering if you could give me some advice? I recently had someone leave me negative feedback. I contacted the buyer immediately and offered a full refund if he removed the feedback.

He agreed, I refunded him, but then I heard nothing further from him.

Is there anything I can do about this?

bridgend_steve - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/bridgend_steve/m.html

You can ask them to revise their comments, click on the 'request feedback revision' link in the yellow section of this page:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/feedback/revision-request.html

I actually used the process this week and a negative was reversed taking me back up to 100% again. I am not sure that the process works as well if you have already made the refund.

You can send a limited number of Feedback revision requests per calendar year. For every 1,000 Feedback scores you receive in a year (positive + neutral + negative) you’re eligible to send five Feedback revision requests.

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.

Just time for a quick update from HQ. Sales are picking up with 240 orders this week including a Lego set (310254028228) for £90, which was most welcome.

The Christmas boxed sets of perfume and girlie gifts finally arrived so I am busy listing them with great anticipation.

The new Halloween design should be live soon, check out a listing and see what you think, you might think it looks similar to last year and there is a good reason for this.

I’ll finish this week with a great question, to understand more fully you must check out the listing - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120617399602

Question: “Hi, do you know how many pieces are included in this lot?”

Hang on I’ll count them, one, two, three, four, five….. blast, one, two, three, four, five, six…..blast, one, two………………….

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