posted on February 24, 2003 06:55:04 AM new
Last night i received the following email "question to seller":
******** ************** ************* *
"your selling a post card...that is what needs to be in Ebay Title
--------------------
Question from: XXX
Title of item: MOUNTAIN SHADOWS MOTEL SCOTTSDALE AZ "
************** ************ ************
I didn't get it so I sent him an email that asked him to please tell me again what his question is...
This morning I received this email:
***************** ***************** *****
"Your selling a post card...which the wording post card should be in the title. Your not selling the hotel.
What your selling should always be in the Ebay Title Bar"
**************** *********** ***************
To which I responded:
"thanks for your input...i have sold well over 3,000 postcards and have never had anyone thinking i was selling the hotel for $ 6.00...the item is listed in the "postcard" category and the description has both the word "post card" and "postcard" in it...I find it is a redunancy to use the word "postcard" in the title when space is limited by ebay..i try to get as much description in the title as I can and frankly have never had anyone think that this was a problem. Make sure you read a description and look at the item's category before placing a bid!! The title is merely an introduction to the listing."
Don't you love it when moron buyers try to tell you how to run your business???
[ edited by neglus on Feb 24, 2003 06:57 AM ]
posted on February 24, 2003 07:11:44 AM new
many bidders do search to find items,they dont always waltz down the category list.
some sellers spend 90% of the item description page to talk about the terms of selling,are they selling TOS??
posted on February 24, 2003 07:14:40 AM new
I often list the MSRP of the items I auction and I had someone argue with me that the MSRP for a particular item was too high. I'm sitting there looking at the price list from the manufacturer and he tells me it's wrong!
posted on February 24, 2003 07:22:42 AM new
update:
Now i received two one sentence emails from this person ..and when i went to answer them I found I was blocked from responding! GRRRR..
email #1:Re: Just think...if you would properly use the title bar, you would sell more
email #2:New Car sales people started off with Used Cars Too.You should learn as they did
I had my response to #1 all prepared and then found I was blocked by AOL from sending:
"just think..if buyers would use the eBay "search" function properly...by "searching titles AND descriptions... they might find a whole world of bargains awaiting them in the world of eBay!!!
I prefer to cater to the more discriminating eBay clientele and enlightened post card buyer..eliminates a lot of the riff raff and nuisance emails!"
and of course my response to email # 2 would have been:
"DON"T COMPARE ME TO USED OR NEW CAR SELLERS!!"
**to stop whining: I really think it is a waste of space to use the term "post card" in my title and have placed it in the description so it is picked up in the search engine..I have never had anyone THINK I was selling the hotel for $6.00!!!! And if someone wanting to buy the hotel sees my postcard and likes it..well then..a new postcard collector is born!
posted on February 24, 2003 07:32:18 AM new
tomwiii
posted on February 24, 2003 07:14:10 AM I would have just ingored & bid-blocked this fool!
Sounds like the type of schmuck who looks for instructions on toilet paper...as they probably use both sides.
[ edited by classicrock000 on Feb 24, 2003 07:33 AM ]
posted on February 24, 2003 07:45:51 AM new
You are right Tom Servo....I've blocked the toilet paper reader and he has blocked me..I have vented here (thank god for this!) and now I'm ready to have another cup of coffee and start my daily listings! (which will not have the word "postcard" in the title!)
posted on February 24, 2003 08:43:49 AM new
I have had this same problem with lobby cards. It is impossible to put those two words, along with the movie title and a stars name in the auction title line.
So, I just list under lobby cards and title it as best I can. I often have to even leave out words from the title thanks to Ebays 45 character limit.
And, each week, I have at least one person who will write me and tell me they thought they were buying the movie and have no use for a lobby card. They usually give me the same advice: "If I had put Lobby Card in the title they would have known what they were buying".
When they search by title, it seems they don't even look at what category shows up, and they don't read the description which starts out with: An Original Lobby Card from the 19xx Movie: and then movie title.
Edited to add:
I also have a large picture of the lobby card shown in detail with each ad...this looks nothing like a VHS tape.
Description goes on to say 11" x 14" lobby card in xxx condition.
Unless Ebay gives us more space (not likely) I don't know what else to do, but I do recognize it as a problem since many people just search and bid and don't read any further!
[ edited by lindajean on Feb 24, 2003 08:45 AM ]
posted on February 24, 2003 11:15:33 AM new
that's a hard one linda jean..can see how that might happen! Have you thought of putting: "NOTE: YOU ARE BIDDING ON A LOBBY CARD AND NOT THE MOVIE" in big red letters (maybe even supersize the font?) across the very top of your listing? I hope no one thinks they are bidding on a hotel when i list a postcard of a hotel...but i guess movies are close enough in price to lobby cards that i can see how it might happen! I think we can safely say that eBay isnt about to expand the # of characters allowed in the title! (or maybe they will "let" us pay an additionl 50 cents to write a long one!)
posted on February 24, 2003 11:58:04 AM new
I once listed a dollhouse-sized (1 inch equals 1 foot) sofa. Since I listed it in the miniatures category, I did not use the word miniature or dollhouse in the title. Of course, the sofa was clearly pictured with a penny to assist in gauging scale, my opening bid was $8.00, and shipping was $5.00. I also described the sofa in the text as dollhouse-sized and listed its measurements in inches.
Nonetheless, I had a series of confused bidders complain that they thought I was listing full-size furniture intended for human living rooms -- and ended up with multiple bid retractions when I assured them that they were mistaken.
It is difficult to list merchandise with such fail-safe language and photography that EVERYONE out there is going to interpret it correctly. Just not possible.
posted on February 24, 2003 01:51:16 PM new
I make and sell magic wands.. and one time the magic wand search came up with a very nice looking wand, that had a very low BIN. I took a look at it- it took several looks, and I had to re-read the decription, before i realised that it was a dollhouse sized miniature wand. I wrote the seller congratulating her on her skill and bought it for my owncollection!
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
posted on February 26, 2003 11:31:49 PM new
Here's another one I just received from a high bidder today:
I received today the package. I was disappointed because I expected the movie and had no idea I had auctioned for the poster. I am searching for the movie.
I learned my lesson. Be very careful when you purhcase things on ebay.
Now, I listed the item under the category Lobby Cards...but when they do a search for a movie by title they obviously don't look at what category comes up.
I clearly state: This is an original lobby card from the xxx movie.
Also stated:
Size: 11" x 14" in excellent condition.
What else can I do? This happens way too often. My ads look like everyone else's that sells in this category. I have clear pictures attached, and yet, at least once a month I get this type email after item has been received.
I never try to lead anyone to believe it is a movie. In fact, if I could get $10 to $20 for an old VHS movie I would be out there buying out old video store stock.
I did offer to refund price if they returned it, but I don't think she will take me up on it.
Anyway, any suggestions? For a while I actually put the words: You are bidding on a lobby card, not the movie, but someone still bought it thinking I had said they were bidding on the movie. And, several lobby card collectors wrote to ask why I felt it necessary to include that info as it was obvious from the category what they were bidding on.
Can't seem to win here and I have many more of these. In fact, my listing title even said: (Movie Title) - 1982 Title Card.
posted on February 26, 2003 11:40:48 PM new
For your scale makers, a $100.00 bill works great,,,,,,,,,they want the hun,,,screw the couch. for the $9.99 opening bid.......get's their attention everytime.......
posted on February 27, 2003 08:54:06 AM new
People don't read, period! One of the items I sell is an obsolete technology, don't want to give out too much info here (someone here once threatened me to bid in my auctions, not pay, and neg me on every lot, so since then I give out no real details of who I am) but a good analogy is that I sell 8 track tapes, but people want cassette tapes. I list in the title what I sell, including 8 track. I then give a very detailed explanation why these are not cassette tapes, and that they will simply not work with 8 track. I get TONS of questions asking me if they are cassette tapes. I even have had bidders who won and wonder why it won't work in their cassette player. I don't think I can be any more clear in my auctions, yet the morons persist.
posted on February 27, 2003 10:36:23 AM new
I have to agree, there are a lot of morons out there - but many times these are the same people that make up our customer base. You get the good with the bad.
I can't understand why I can buy an item for $7.50 retail, then sell the heck out of them for $12 to $15 plus marked up shipping. And everybody thinks they are getting a great deal. I'll deal with a few moronic questions - it keeps me laughing all the way to the bank.
posted on February 28, 2003 07:41:43 AM new
neglus...If AOL has blocked you from answering him, go to hotmail, yahoo, open an account and email him from there...Be sure to let him know it's you, (but let him know inside the email, not the subject line)...Touche'
"As a child I had a quicksand box in my yard...I wa an only child, eventually"
(which will not have the word "postcard" in the title!)