cherishedclutter
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:18:16 AM new
Hi everyone, I thought I had some nice items listed, but only one out of 7 has any bids. If anyone would care to take a look at my auctions (I am cherishedclutter on ebay) and critique I would appreciate it. I can't promise that I'll take all advice given, but I am open to suggestions. Thanks.
CeeCee
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neroter12
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:37:49 AM new
I dont see anything 'wrong' with your auctions. I personally think your starting prices are a little high for the items you are selling, but that is the gamble you take when you try to start out at what you want for it. Also I dont think you should put the s/h in the first paragraph because it doesnt allow the prospective buyer a chance to look at the pix's & read the description before they are thinking of paying an additional $1.00 for handling. If they mull it over and read that at the bottom, then its not so bad.
The only other thing is you don't take paypal and alot of people do not want to be bothered going to get a money order or even mail a check out with a stamp. I know you have bidpay, but looking at auctions that has not caught on as much as paypal.
I am sure the others here will give you better advice. :;shrug:: thats about all I can offer to you right now.
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:38:46 AM new
I'm NO photo geek, but yer pics give me a H/A  ......
PLEASE:
1) FOCUS, or SHATPEN afterwards, and
2) COMPRESS!! yer pics are TOO BIG (260??!! YIKES)
THE BESTEST FREE IMAGE PROGGIE HERE:
http://tinyurl.com/aam9
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:42:42 AM new
Here's a LITTLE fooling around I did on one of yer pics -- notice the size difference (makes for QUICK D/L) and it be a smidgen easier to see:
FROM 260kb to 21kb!!
FAST MAMA!!!!!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
[ edited by tomwiii on Jul 13, 2003 05:44 AM ]
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:46:05 AM new
IRFAN VIEW TUTORIAL:
http://tinyurl.com/6ew7
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 13, 2003 05:59:57 AM new
What's wrong with my auctions?
$10 to ship a teapot.
$14 to ship a cracked yellowware bowl.
$10 Priority Mail to ship 18 travel brochures.
Whew.
People like to bid. Bidding is fun. However, when you start bidding at the price you would like to get for the item and tack on a super-premium shipping charge, it's no fun. There's no room for them to play. And they're sure as heck not going to get a bargain, so why bid?
People who post unusual collectibles can get away with this because there will be demand. Your stuff is common. Want to sell it? Start it much, much lower OR adjust your shipping. You could even try free shipping.
Pictures loaded for me quickly with no delay.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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noh2
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:10:45 AM new
i dont see anything wrong with the photos,they look nice!
but shipping is kind of high!!
instead of 10,how about 9.95??
(if it does take that much to ship the item)
nobody important!
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cherishedclutter
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:15:13 AM new
Regarding shipping costs - (which I will take another look at to make sure I calculated correctly) did you all see that it included insurance? If you did, do the prices still seem high? If you didn't, I evidently need to make that clearer. Thanks for all the feedback
Ceecee
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noh2
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:25:14 AM new
i saw s/h/i in some description.
and you did specify on the travel brochures it is 4 for media and 10 for usps priority.
but bidders dont read or they may read 10 and not 4.
why dont you just say 4 for shipping,if they want priority,you can quote them priority after auction closed.
insurance can be made optional,if you do that,it will make the shipping less.
nobody important!
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:44:14 AM new
FLUFFY: are you on a BROADBAND connection like I am? If YES, then, OF COURSE the pics load quickly!
What many of us forget is that the vast majority of bidders are still on DIAL-UP connections & that an image that is 260kb with a dimension of 900X600 will take FOREVER to load!
Bidders BACK OUT of auctions that don't load easily -- I know from when I visit friends who are on dial-up & resort to hair-pulling!
Properly resized & compressed images (=<60kb ~ 400x400) give one a COMPETITIVE EDGE over sellers who upload these MONSTER pics & then sit around & wonder: "Why is nobody bidding?"
OTOH...
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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drcomm
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posted on July 13, 2003 08:30:14 AM new
Unless you have a specific aversion to paypal, I would definitely start offering it. Probably 70% of my buyers pay with paypal, and I am one of those who will not bid on an auction that doesn't accept it if I see an another auction that *does* for the same thing.
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NativeAmerican
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posted on July 13, 2003 08:38:38 AM new
I personaly like to use eCount for payment.
Check it out at www.ecount.com
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 09:09:28 AM new
NA: YE may like eCount, but the sad reality of feeBay is this: MOST bidders insist upon PayPal!
I, personally, prefer PAYINGFAST.COM! BUT...so what?
PAYPAL works great if a seller just follows some plain ole common sense tips:
1) Use ONLY for amounts that you can afford to eat! Once I get into the $100 range, I no longer offer PP -- PF & BIDPAY for the bigger buckeronies!
2) Ship ONLY to CONFIRMED addresses in the 50 states USA! (NO APO/FPO addresses)
3) REFUSE any INTERNATIONAL PP payments -- they can use BidPay, especially now that the fees have decreased!
4) The Romanians do NOT have good deals on LAP-TOPS 
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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stopwhining
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posted on July 13, 2003 09:46:13 AM new
why not open a business or premier account with paypal and let it send email notice to your high bidders?
these paypal emails arrive at their mailbox minutes (seconds) after auction close and include clickable link which takes them to paypal site which they sign in with their password and start to make payment to you.
yes,it does cost-transaction fee and a discount fee,but you get your money in no time and it is easy for them.
give it a try.
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cherishedclutter
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posted on July 13, 2003 09:49:02 AM new
I admit I'm "afraid" of paypal because I've heard horror stories of chargebacks and sellers being defrauded by buyers who end up with both the merchandise and the money. Is this a reality for those of you here who use paypal or are the stories exaggerated?
Once again thanks for all the responses so far, you are all very helpful.
Ceecee
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neonmania
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posted on July 13, 2003 10:10:00 AM new
Cherished - they are vastly exaggerated. If you follow their rules you won't have any problems. Everything you ship in the US should have Delvivery Confirmation attached. For international sales, don't accept anything you are ot willing to lose. Reccomend Bidpay to your international custmers.
You are in the age of instant gratifucation. MOst buyers want their item ASAP and the ability to pay immediately via PayPal is part of that (although CC payment via sellers merchant account will do nicely as well).
By refusing to accept these methods you are definately reducing a large number of your potential buyers.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas Edison
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drcomm
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posted on July 13, 2003 10:19:43 AM new
Ceecee,
I'm sure I'm going to get nailed for saying this, but I have NEVER, not once, had a problem with paypal. Nope, no chargebacks.
(ducking)
and I even accept non-verified addresses.
Of course, I am knocking on every bit of wood within my reach..
My sales amounts vary from 2.99 to 1500.00.
At some point you have to decide if the occasional bounced check or paypal problem is going to cost you more than the lost sales because you don't accept a certain type of payment.
I accept checks, and don't hold them.
I accept international bidders.
My terms of service are not longer than my auction description.
I don't threaten negative feedback or say anything about SERIOUS BIDDERS ONLY (like that will help!)
Basically, I try to make my auctions as accepting as possible and have as few reasons to not be bid on as I can.
Yep, I'm going to get bit in the butt eventually and then everyone can say "I told you so"..but I also consider these things the cost of doing business, and know my cost is CONSIDERABLY less than my brick and mortar buddies. Hey..I don't have to deal with shoplifters!
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Damariscotta
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posted on July 13, 2003 10:54:39 AM new
You might want to check the competition before listing.
I don't know about your other items, but there seems to be an identical teapot listed for 9.99 with no bids either. Maybe just wait till after summer slump?
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Libra63
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posted on July 13, 2003 11:00:23 AM new
What I find out is that if my items don't sell one week I put them back on the next. Not everyone sticks around like us. This month so far I had a really good week two weeks ago, last week a bust now this week really good. I can't say I list to much different every week, just stuff I pick up. Now the people who sell the same widget every week can probably tell you if they have the same sales every week or is it every other week.
I find nothing wrong with your auctions. They look and sound good. The only thing I do different is charge actual shipping to the close as I can get so what I put in my auctions is. Shipping by Priority Mail to be determined at the end of the auction by the buyers zip code. Then I put the weight of the item plus packaging and then they can figure it out for themselves. My zip code is in the location box.
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drcomm
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posted on July 13, 2003 11:39:12 AM new
Libra,
I've been thinking about not putting shipping in my auctions as well. Just putting actual plus a small handling fee or just plain ol' "to be determined".
Then too, I think about how I tend to bid on an auction where shipping is stated over one that it isn't.
I'm really on the fence about this one..opinions?
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neonmania
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posted on July 13, 2003 11:54:33 AM new
Dr - I'm looking for a specific widget right now. I have passed on three closing soon because there is no shipping listed and the sellers have not answered email inquiries. Not listing shipping is only goingto turn off experienced buyers.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas Edison
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drcomm
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posted on July 13, 2003 11:59:36 AM new
yeah..it's probably a bad idea. I'm just constantly thinking of things I might do to tweak the auctions and improve sales. I've got the summer slowdown blues myself. Better this week though!
I need to get my shipping costs down too. Mostly I need to find a good source of plain boxes and quit shipping priority when possible.
Speaking of shipping..the monopoly set is going up today and, WHOO HOO, the pedestal is just under the oversize requirements for UPS. I was SO not looking forward to that. I'm still not looking forward to packing it.
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stopwhining
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posted on July 13, 2003 12:03:22 PM new
i dont like to bid on items with no shipping disclosed.
i dont even bother to email the seller.
what could happen is that -if the buyer and seller cannot agree on shipping costs,and the buyer refuses to pay,and the seller files for refund stating the reason that buyer would not pay,then buyer will get a blackmark from ebay-that 3 strikes you are out business.
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neroter12
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posted on July 13, 2003 12:15:17 PM new
Drcomm,
At least if you put 'actual weight of xxx oz's from zip xxxxxx,plus handling, they might be able to deduce what their total cost is.
As a buyer I also dont like auctions that say TBD.
Sellers are all over the place with their shipping, too. Notice that? Same item ships for 5.85, other shipping 9.95? Of course zones matter but some are obvious in their overinflation. If like Libra said though, its a rare collectable or something they really want; they are going to pay for it regardless. Even buyers who have only bought a few things are well aware of that too.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 13, 2003 12:20:52 PM new
What many of us forget is that the vast majority of bidders are still on DIAL-UP connections & that an image that is 260kb with a dimension of 900X600 will take FOREVER to load!
What in heaven's name are you nattering about?
The thumbnail on the auction page (8k, in case you didn't notice) is plenty big enough to see if the teapot is something a bidder would want.
Casual lookyloos are NOT automatically backing out because there's a huge image file linked to it.
I've heard this "NO! NO! Don't put up huge images!" argument before and I give it very little credence. If someone is truly interested in an item and wants to see more detail, they will wait for it to load. Why? Because on a slow connection, backing out is slow and tedious too. You might as well wait.
Sure, she CAN make her images smaller. Is that going to solve her sellthrough problem? No.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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drcomm
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posted on July 13, 2003 12:29:29 PM new
Gotta say, I don't think her images are a problem either, particularly since they are offered first as a smaller one. Ceecee, I think your auctions themselves look fine.
On the shipping topic: I am pretty consistent with my shipping charges. I made myself a table and have it taped to the wall where I can see it while listing. It has my handling fee (which isn't much) built in. The sheet also has ebay fees, paypal fees and other useful data. Nope, I'm not going to quit putting my shipping in my auctions. It was just a thought I was tossing around, but thanks to the advice it's been "tossed" right out. Thanks guys!
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tomwiii
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posted on July 13, 2003 12:44:33 PM new
Pearls from the Nattering Nabob of Negativism?"
I'm NOT Scruffy-The-Blunder-Pussy on feeBay!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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neroter12
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:06:09 PM new
Fluffy,
I back out when the page takes to long to load. Sometimes it not even the pictures, but all the other garbage that is in there.
You could be looking for a screw-driver, open the auction and before they even say anything about the screw-driver you are bombarded with images and hyper-links to other auctions and three scroll through pages of their terms or whatever.
Unless I am really interested in the item, I am outta there fast. I think sellers who put all this junk in their auctions are very inconsiderate of other people's time.
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stopwhining
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:14:22 PM new
or they think they are the only game in town-ebay town.
all the terms of agreement,this and that and what do they sell??
a lousy dish??
worst,they ask you to click on the ME PAGE where they will show you picture of them when they were young with mom and dad and the family dog and why they love collectibles category xyz so much!!
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neroter12
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posted on July 13, 2003 06:20:34 PM new
Stop......LOL>>>>>>>
Yes, I was gonna say something to that effect too. "They are Full O'Themselves?"
But thought fluffy might bite me if i did.
hahahaahaaa
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