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  • eBay Outlets … when 3 out of 5 is very bad!

    By DBL | April 30, 2011

    While perusing through the eBay Fashion Outlet Stores to feed my other addiction that is black boots,  I was not surprised to see the usual ‘Refund less original P&P cost’ statements that make my blood boil.

    I picked five random eBay Fashion Outlet stores for various items and three of five of these had the above statement or words to the effect  in their returns policy.

    Further to my previous post on illegal seller terms:

    Business Sellers you must refund original postage costs to your customers. Short guide for business to the Distance Selling Regulations please note page 10 on returns please.

    The BBC reported in an article from 2010 that top UK High street Stores were breaking the refund rules for online deliveries.

    Outlets, shame on you  🙁

    Topics: Anorak Selling Tips, eBay, General Observations | No Comments »

    eBay Spring 2011 Update, the good bits :-)

    By DBL | March 20, 2011

    The Spring 2011 eBay Seller Update released earlier in the week has been met with outrage in the eBay community and various forums as to the amount fees are rising in some categories, I’m not going to go into that here Tamebay is the hotbed of all things eCommerce and are debating this subject as we speak.

    Fees aside and on a positive note, I think the shopping basket is a very welcome addition to the eBay platform and the fact that buyers can add to basket and then change their mind without the item coming off sale will only see the amount of unpaid items fall dramatically, so well worth the wait.

    BIN items will still remain on sale until payment is made. This will turn the transaction into ‘instant payment required’ type of transaction which until now has not been a good choice for people wanting to sell multiple items in one transaction. This will see non paying bidders become a thing of the past allowing sellers to concentrate more on other things rather than chasing NPB’s.

    Another bonus is the addition of product bundles, something I can’t wait to experiment with, the potential for cross promotion and additional impulse buys is enormous and also gives sellers the chance to give that discount on checkout that’s been talked about since the advice to give Free P&P as a boost for best match.  Hence, the problem of buyers paying P&P on each item in the order can now be addressed.

    Also a welcome change for me is the addition of Multi Variation Listings for more eBay categories.  Being the @eBayAnorak I am, I love MVL’s for suitable products, not only giving the buyer choice within the same listing they save on fees for sellers. The purchase of one size/colour variant will give a boost to the whole range as it improves the Sales/Impressions Ratio also giving a boost in Best Match. So by using MVL’s sellers may be able to save a little towards the fee rises.

    The clampdown on duplicate listings is also a bonus. You are currently allowed fifteen listings in total for the same product. This can be fifteen auctions or fourteen auctions and one Buy It Now listing, you are not allowed to list more than one BIN per product.  Use MVL’s where possible makes sense in so many ways more than one BIN for a product will dilute the Sales/Impressions ratio over the two listings so will not be as effective in best Match.

    On the fees issue, the hike for some sellers is too much I agree but, being the irritatingly positive person I am, I wanted to draw attention to some of the more positive points in the update.

    One thing not in the update that I would like to see is the clampdown on illegal seller terms or at least the ability to report. Deal of the Day listings should be vetted by eBay before release to make sure the rights of the buyer under UK & EC law are adhered to.  One day this week had one DOTD seller charging a 15% restocking fee and another not refunding original postage costs.  Although by the looks of the eBay jobs board they’re working on that one.

    All the above IMHO but apart from the fee hike, what do you see as a positive in the update?

    Topics: eBay, General Meanderings | No Comments »

    eBay, can I have an exchange counter please?

    By DBL | January 30, 2011

    I’ve been doing a lot of work for a local eBay client, managing their eBay operation for a while due to a member of staff leaving at short notice.  Anorak is a busy lady of late!

    My own sales are now minimal and may even cease on one account shortly as I work more and more on eBay for business clients accounts instead of my own.  Each client sells different items and each eBay account has different obstacles to overcome on a number of different angles around the eBay selling platform.  These experiences add to my quota for eBay brain fodder for future resurrection and also to feed my every growing addiction for knowledge on my chosen career subject/path.

    This week has seen a three buyers asking to exchange an item available in 3 different sizes for a different size.  Although all sizes are given in the listing, the item was just that little bit too big or too small.

    eBay can we have an exchange platform?  It would be an easier way to process an exchange if the buyer was able to request an exchange and see the additional re postage cost of the replacement item.

    The current eBay returns process just gives a choice to refund, a choice to exchange with a guide to a company’s exchange process would certainly help many sellers especially in the clothing business when a wrong size has been purchased. This would also allow people to buy two sizes and return the unwanted one.

    How do you deal with product exchanges and do you think this would be a helpful platform to improve the buyer experience?

    Topics: eBay, General Meanderings, General Observations | No Comments »

    eBay DSR’s, just buyer perception, simples!

    By DBL | January 16, 2011

    Postal Fraud, Feedback Extortion & Non Paying Buyers, all in a days work for the eBay Seller? And then you get low DSR’s to go with it, but it’s all down to the buyers perception, you just need to know what that is … simples!

    In 2008 eBay stopped sellers leaving negative feedback for buyers, shortly afterwards they introduced the Detailed Seller Ratings where sellers were rated on four different transaction criteria. These being Item as described, Communication, Dispatch Time and Postage & Packing Charges.

    The problem here is that eBay’s DSR’s (Detailed Seller Rating Stars) in some circumstances, especially for the low volume seller, allow one buyer to seriously affect a sellers business on eBay. Buyers give their own perception of these four parts of the transaction.

    Originally this was to clean up the site and rid eBay of bad sellers and fraudsters and promote those with a good reputation of service. How much it has worked will no doubt be the subject of a further post. Unfortunately, as a by product of this change a small proportion of buyers are using the feedback system to extort extra goods, discounts & refunds, holding sellers to ransom.

    How does this happen?

    When a buyer leaves low (1 or 2) DSR this counts against a seller, when the overall score of percentage or count go above more than 2 or 0.5% in a given period according to sales volume this can lower you to an ASS (Above Standard Seller) see video below, worth noting Standard Seller is the lowest you can be in the UK.  This among other criteria, can lower your search position.  Therefore lower visibility can lead to lower sales. eBay says TRS (Top Rated Seller) status can increase sales by 25% but this will also depend on all the other hoops to jump through for Best Match search.

    Buyer perception, let’s look at each DSR.

    Item as described – Is the item as described in the listing? If you sell clothes this is certainly a difficult one. I once read feedback such as, ‘that was never a size 12, way too small’ perhaps more so after Christmas due to festive indulgence or maybe just because a size 12 from one manufacturer is different to the size 12 made by another.

    If you’re selling clothes make sure you measure the item and note these in the description ie sleeve length, measure the width and length when lying the item flat etc.. I’ve seen negative feedback on the sale of a book say ‘Was good but the ending was rubbish.’ Is this a product review or rating the seller?

    Maybe it was meant by eBay to be ‘Did the seller describe it’s condition correctly, pointing out any faults, marks or is it pointing to the Sale of Goods act where the item must fit the purpose ie if you buy a jumper can it be used as a jumper, if only it was that simple.

    It’s too vague, should this be changed and be category specific or do you long for the days of just negative and positive feedback?

    Communication – Did the seller communicate too much or at all? The Communication DSR is again down to individual perception.  I personally just need to know when my payment has gone through and when it’s on it’s way. If I ask a question I would expect an answer within 24 hours at most although a swift answer will more likely get a sale.  Again all down to individual preferences and perception.  Some buyers require immediate answers at 4 in the morning or else!

    Dispatch Time – One of the most talked about DSR’s of late due to the recent weather.  Buyers perceive this as delivery time, the time they get the item in their hands rather than how fast the seller dispatched it from their premises into the postal system.

    I personally resent having my business marked on the performance of Royal Mail especially when I get it out of the door from receipt of cleared funds to the postal system within 24 hours at most.  As a seller I am responsible for the item until it arrives in the hands of the buyer, I know that, but should my business be affected by other business operations (and weather) out of my control?

    On the US site if you dispatch via USPS and add a tracking number you will automatically get a 5 star rating for dispatch time, good news if you use this service or can afford to use a tracked service on a low value item. If this comes to the UK I hope that eBay add more couriers to their list to be able to enter tracking numbers against as at this point there are only five being, Royal Mail, DHL, Parcelforce, MyHermes and Home Delivery Network If you use TNT you’ve had it!

    Hopefully Red Laser has the technology to add bar codes from RM tracking labels via my smart phone to the eBay app and also My eBay making it a faster process.

    Postage & Packing Charges – Free P&P on eBay comes with an automatic five star DSR rating (nice one) although if you offer a faster service at an extra cost in addition, you run the risk of being marked down for that.  Buyers don’t often realise that P&P is more than just the cost of the stamp but includes, packaging material and packaging labour costs (or it should do) and I have had one buyer say that if P&P is free they’ll give a five otherwise it’s a one…your views on that please!

    eBay Buyers:

    If you’re happy with the service leave 5 stars for your seller, if you’re not, tell them and give them a chance to put things right, good sellers will put it right.

    If you change your mind after you’ve purchased that’s OK you have a right but please, tell the seller.

    eBay Sellers:

    Please file a UPI (Unpaid Item) dispute for all non paying buyers if everyone does it eventually the UPI process will suspend them and enable other sellers to prevent them from buying.

    As for the feedback extortionist, add them to your BBL (blocked buyer list) and move on, if a buyer is trying to extort discounts, further goods, refunds etc, call eBay before you act and DO NOT under any circumstances give in to their demands. Get eBay to Add a note to your account, it may help if they leave you a negtive.

    Don’t forget that 100% feedback is nice but it’s the DSR’s that will affect your search and selling reputation. That odd red dot will not stop you selling. And don’t forget to set those Buyer Requirements, they’ll help stop some buying with existing UPI strikes in the first place.

    Long post, rant over, I hope you found something new or I hope you’ll comment and share something more …

    Anoraked out  🙂

    Topics: Anorak Selling Tips, eBay, General Observations | No Comments »

    Is the High Street suffering to online sales?

    By DBL | January 4, 2011

    I visit many business events and local business meetings, some entirely eCommerce related and others of a more ‘traditional’ business networking nature. The local meetings have the majority of local bricks and mortar (B&M) High Street business people in attendance. I hear some say how business has been hit very hard by the likes of eBay and online sales and I am surprised that there are so few of these SME’s that have embraced the power of online sales platforms. After all, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, to coin a phrase!

    Many of these local independent SME’s are not online at all and this should be priority on any business plan in 2011 especially, if done correctly, with the relatively low start up costs and high traffic levels that the likes of eBay UK can provide. Run this in tandem with an eCommerce website and dividends will follow with some work.

    Big names like Argos, House of Fraser, Schuh, Littlewoods and even Tesco are reaping the rewards in their eBay Outlet Stores and websites as well as their traditional High Street stores. By covering all angles and not having all your eggs in one basket you can spread a wide net to catch the sales in a bigger pond.

    Argos found a niche when they opened on the High Street bringing a hybrid of catalogue browsing without the delivery delay. Having searched the High Street before Christmas for that ‘child must have’ item without success and ending up in an out of town Toy R Us to get it, maybe the High Street just can’t give the choice any more that the web can, due to storage restraints. Hence the time for an internet order booth within your B&M store for later delivery?

    I have to add one more thing, a plus to the eBay sale when buying from a good eBay Seller with a good reputation for service, if you have a problem you’ll get it sorted as there’s a lot at stake if you give a bad ‘buyer experience’. I have to say of some shops on the High Street, the service is atrocious some can’t even stop talking to colleagues to serve you.

    What’s your experience of service and supply in you local High Street?

    (award for typing ‘High Street’ loads of times in one post … thank you)

    Topics: eBay, General Meanderings, General Observations | No Comments »

    eBayAnorak’s New Year Message

    By DBL | December 31, 2010

    It’s 2011 in some parts of the world already, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and prosperous year ahead and may all your wishes and business goals be fulfilled.

    In 2011, every day, please take a little time for you, be kind to yourself, this time is an investment in you and your happiness.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my words even though they’ve been pretty sparse this year, it means a lot to me. I hope you’ll join me again in 2011 for more eBay madness.

    Happy New Year & may all your DSR’s be fives x

    The eBay Anorak 🙂

    Topics: eBay | No Comments »

    Amazonification of eBay, this bit next please!

    By DBL | December 28, 2010

    The term ‘Amazonification of eBay’ has been banded about the eBay community for some time, used to describe how eBay is getting more like Amazon as time passes.

    If eBay were to take anything from the Amazon model it should be the handling of returns.  Buyer wants to return, click, no problem.

    Most eBay sellers will refund/exchange without any problems. Unfortunately some eBay buyers feel they have to threaten bad feedback to get their money back, some even use it as an opportunity extort more goods ‘or else’. Is this due to the eBay returns process not being so easy? Do buyers feel they have to threaten due to a previous bad experience?

    I would like all disputes to go through the eBay Resolution Centre and those closed satisfactorily, archived for future reference. Only open unresolved cases counted towards a sellers performance assessment for TRS (Top Rated Seller) status.

    I get claims only occasionally and those are by private email and through the messaging system with INR’s (items not received). It would be more ‘official’ if these claims all went via eBay resolution system, I would like to direct buyers via this system and then deal with them accordingly within the dispute process and not have the cases dealt with go against me.

    This would help eBay find a pattern with serial INR (item not received), as they may have wrong address details in of course LOL) and also SNAD (significantly not as described) claimants that are usually lost within the sellers messaging rather than counted officially.

    This would cut down the amount of time and stress for the business seller and also give the buyer more confidence to purchase, knowing there is a simple returns process should they be unhappy for ANY reason.

    This way the additional claims caused by the nature of specific categories, such as clothing sellers’ returns due to fit, would not go against the seller as a SNAD claim if they are dealt with accordingly and at the same time give that good buyer experience that eBay seeks.

    To coin an eBay phrase I read somewhere once that ‘we believe everyone is basically good’ well … this goes for sellers too, give them the chance not to be penalised for good customer service but route out the buyers who dishonestly take advantage of the flawed system.

    What do you think?

    Topics: eBay, General Meanderings, General Observations | No Comments »

    eBay & YouTube used to catch 195mph speeder

    By DBL | December 27, 2010

    Police in the US used eBay and YouTube to charge a guy for speeding up to 195mph  in his Corvette as reported by website Car Advice.com

    Cody Replogle used links to YouTube videos in his eBay listing to show just how fast it was by driving at 195mph on a highway. Telling potential buyers the car was in 5th gear with more to go, police watched the video and charged him.

    Using video in your listings will help your item to sell for more, buyers can get a better idea of the quality of the item but Anorak recommends that you don’t break the law in your film or you may end up in the clink!

    The eBay Motors listing for the Corvette can still be viewed but the videos have been taken down.

    Nice car!

    Topics: eBay Media Trainspotting, General Meanderings | No Comments »

    eBay Help and Advice for the Small Business

    By DBL | September 19, 2010

    I recently read an article on my favourite eBay Blog,  Tamebay about eBay forming a New Business Development Team for US big brand retailers.

    The comments that followed asked for a Small Business Development Team for the UK that is ‘small business friendly’ and with ‘facilitators rather than advisors’, what would be the ideal Small Business Development Team for your business?

    My experience with SME using eBay for the very first time, where most have only personal buying experience on the site, are getting ‘mediocre’ results or thinking ‘there must be more to this‘.

    Some clients expect the turnover line to go skyward without effort, some see the solution as quantitative.  ‘I want 1000 lines on there ASAP‘ but I have to express that it’s about ‘Quality first then Quantity‘.  A new or even a time served seller can have an eBay shop with thousands of products in it but if the listings, shop and service is of poor quality, that turnover graph will reflect the same.

    eBay is unlike any other platform and the support for the eBay start-up is very lean indeed as outlined in my earlier post eBay, where’s the education now? eBay is hard work but hard work pays off.

    Every business starts somewhere and ‘Oak trees from little acorns grow’. Let’s not turn eBay into another boring High Street clone online but also give a choice to the buyer of the good independent retailer and support them too, they give a better ‘buyer experience’ that is talked about so much by eBay and forgotten by the majority of big retailers nowadays 🙂

    My questions to you are:

    1. If eBay had a small business development team, what would you expect from it?

    2. Where do you currently get support from and is this adequate for your needs as a business?

    Topics: Anorak Selling Tips, eBay, General Meanderings | No Comments »

    eBay, where’s the education?

    By DBL | July 4, 2010

    Since the demise of the eBay University in 2007, there hasn’t been an ‘official’ eBay run course to learn even the basics of eBay selling.

    Education Specialists trained by eBay, those originally trained to lecture at the eBay University and put on their own courses, were given ‘death by powerpoint’ materials that were primarily for the US site but gave information on the general basics of eBay selling just the same.

    The materials were not updated on a regular basis and did not include UK/EU laws or incorporate the many eBay changes each year, eBay Education Specialists had to use their own unauthorised presentations instead, many of which were also lacking the correct information of eBay changes. The eBay Education Specialist scheme ended in April this year but many are still doing their own classes but are no longer endorsed by eBay.

    On Anorak’s visits to eBay for Business clients around the country, it’s apparent that the very basics of eBay selling are not known and many say there just isn’t anywhere to learn the basics.

    eBay, to give a buyer an excellent buyer experience you need to provide excellent sellers, bring back the eBay University!

    The learning curve for sellers is now one of being penalised by the unhappy or disgruntled buyer via the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR), although a good way forward to weed out the bad sellers it can also seriously affect a business by one or two disgruntled buyers. Sellers need support BEFORE this.

    What help is available?

    The extensive eBay help section, (this must include Louise the ebay interactive help agent bless her) this has improved over the years with FAQ, links to more information on policies, selling tips etc but it is sometimes hard to find what you want.

    eBay also present at business events such as Small Business 2.0 Exhibition in London, 1 day costs £10, Channel Advisor Catalyst also in London, 2 days, costs from £249 and Channel Advisor Insite in major UK cities including Birmingham, Manchester and London 1 day costs £49.

    These offer a great opportunity to meet and network with eBay staff and discuss problems with other eBayers. The London events also include other eCommerce giants such as Google University,  Amazon,  Microsoft, Enterprise Nation and the like.

    The events above are invaluable but could never replace the eBay University with lectures on different aspects and levels of eBay selling and the opportunity to ask specific questions to the people who know the strong networking and social aspects bringing together a whole day of lectures specifically for eBay. The last hour of the day of the eBay University was a Q&A session with top Powersellers. This used to be 1 day costing £49.

    There are various Businesslink and eBusiness club courses around the country, usually free and some good presentations and information here for the absolute beginner. My personal experience on one of these was a  powerpoint presentation compiled by a top Powerseller with lots of experience in selling but read by an SEO expert. Fine for information purposes until the Q&A session which (the one I went to) gave the incorrect information to audience questions. This may not be typical of all of these.

    Books. One book I can wholeheartedly recommend is How to make serious money on eBay UK written by my colleague Dan Wilson an ex eBay employee and eCommerce and Social Media expert. The 2009 version gives correct tried and tested factual information on eBay selling.

    Trading Assistants are eBay registered sellers who sell your goods for you and take a percentage for taking the hard work away.  For this service I can recommend another colleague David from Stuff U Sell you can see his eBay Shop here.

    What does Anorak do?

    I like to support my business clients from day one, starting with the eBay listing basics tailored to their product and then guide them through each stage of shop set up, eBay Best Match (SEO) optimisation with plenty of additional and immediate support along the way, recommending various eBay and third party tools and solutions as required. Each individual business is unique and their experience of eBay is unique.

    I do provide a one to one ‘class’ but no powerpoint presentations, this can be in person or via a web link using remote screen sharing software. Looking at the eBay UK site live and with a live listing of one of your own items rather than written instructions.

    What is needed?

    Come on eBay, let’s have some official correct help and support for new and existing eBay private and business sellers.  Regional eBay Universities run by eBay in conjunction with Business Link (or their replacements) get rid of the bad information and get rich quick schemes that promote a bad buyer experience.

    Have you any experience of a good eBay course or any experiences of the bad ones, would you attend something out on by eBay?

    Topics: Anorak Selling Tips, General Observations | No Comments »

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