kiara
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posted on April 22, 2003 11:16:24 AM new
Tomorrow on ABC a show called The View will tell us how to sell online.
WEDNESDAY, April 23
instructions on how to properly use eBay.
I wonder if Barbara Walters will list something?
http://abc.abcnews.go.com/daytime/theview/schedule.html
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NearTheSea
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posted on April 22, 2003 11:47:12 AM new
great, they should have a show on 'How to Bid on eBay! 
Art Bell Retired! George Noory is on late night coasttocoastam.com
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Twelvepole
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posted on April 22, 2003 11:56:49 AM new
AIN'T LIFE GRAND... 
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inot
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posted on April 22, 2003 12:40:17 PM new
I have a friend who recently started to sell on ebay. He restores vintage audio equipment ( such as tube amps) and vintage musical equipment. After his first week, with only 7 items listed he is just about ready for a nervous breakdown. I have been helping him through the process, and I am right there with him!! He boldly stated in every description that he will only accept Paypal if delivery is to a confirmed Paypal address and he will not ship overseas....first completed sale? The high bidder was in Taiwan, OK... he sends a second chance offer to the underbidder, who now wants to buy off of ebay AND he wants to haggle. 2nd item ends....this guy lives in Sweden. My friend decided to sell to him, because the item purchased was an old service manual and it's easy to ship. The guy says he will be paying with Paypal, now 10 days and 2 friendly reminders later...still no pay. 3 rd item was a very big ticket item. Great! it sells to an American bidder....who wants the item shipped to his WORK address, NOT his Paypal confirmed address. My friend says he needs the PAypal address, the buyer is in disbelief! "WHAT? your terms can't possibly be intended for me? I have over 200 positive transactions!". My friend asks him again for a confirmed address...has'nt heard from the guy in a week. 4th sale... the buyer was in England " what do you mean by CONFIRMED address?"...OH BROTHER! I won't bore you with any more of the gory details, but I was just wondering if you think all of these little ebay "quirks" will be featured on the show? I can't wait to see Star take off her shoe and start beating the keyboard with it! What do you think it will take to make any of the hosts crack?? 
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ahc3
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posted on April 22, 2003 01:24:40 PM new
There is obviously a lot of demand for their products outside the USA, why turn away money?
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auctionace
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posted on April 22, 2003 01:29:14 PM new
I feel his pain about having international bidders bidding anyway. I wish ebay would set up a three strikes rules similar to the NPB for internation bidders that win auctions when the 'US Only' box is checked and the seller files for a refund. The shipping restrictions box should be larger or more prominent anyway.
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neonmania
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posted on April 22, 2003 03:28:06 PM new
AHC - There is now possible way I would ship tupe amps overseas. Too heavy. Too bulky. Too susceptible to damage. Way too much potential for problems.
I am usually the head cheerleader for international sales. I love all of my foreign buyers (with the exception of The Netherlands) but there are some items that should only be shipped overseas by experienced pros high ticket vintage amps are one of them. To put it in perspective - I also would not buy such an intem from an overseas seller unless shippped via air cargo thru an airline.
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inot
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posted on April 22, 2003 04:07:23 PM new
Neonmania is right about the risk factor. Which is his only reason for not selling to overseas bidders. Too bad because there is a vast international market for this old equipment. Personally, I do sell overseas and I love it. But I sell small- medium antique items which I can easily wrap securely.
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neonmania
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posted on April 22, 2003 05:40:36 PM new
Inot - there are companies that specialize in shipping music equipment over seas. If it would help him to increase his market, he might want to check into one to find out about feasability and pricing to see if it is something worth exploring.
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ebayauctionguy
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posted on April 22, 2003 09:46:44 PM new
ABC is going to teach how to list on ebay? That's just what we need: more amateur sellers willing to sell their stuff on ebay for ten cents on the dollar.
Hopefully, they'll be discouraged with the results and then they'll stick to just bidding!
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NearTheSea
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posted on April 22, 2003 10:44:40 PM new
thats what I say! They need them to teach them how to search, READ the whole auction, bid, and make timely payments
Art Bell Retired! George Noory is on late night coasttocoastam.com
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lindajean
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posted on April 22, 2003 11:38:51 PM new
auctionace:
Just put in a triple shipping fee for international bidders. Ex: Cost $5 to ship I say International shipping will be $15. All those who seem to think you do not mean them when you say "I do not ship outside the USA" can suddenly read and understand English.
I haven't had an international bidder win an auction since I started doing that!
Before then, I would get three or four a week. And, they would quickly pay through Paypal without adding any additional shipping to the amount quoted in the ad. Now, I don't have the problem anymore.
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reamond
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posted on April 23, 2003 09:02:35 AM new
Just saw the View online auction segment and it was a dud. The guest wrote the book eBay for Dummies.
The first thing I heard that was a crock is that a bid "is a binding contract". It is not a binding contract, at most it is an offer.
The next issue was what can a buyer do if you get the item and it is a piece of junk- suggested remedy = none. The guest never mentioned using a credit card and returning the item and getting the charge reversed.
It was also claimed that prices for new retail items on ebay were 1/3 the price of B&M retail. That's not what some surveys have shown.
Although the segemnt was rushed, there wasn't much useful info.
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kiara
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posted on April 23, 2003 09:09:11 AM new
So far I have never seen anything useful on TV about how to buy and sell on ebay. It's usually just the basic stuff glossed over.
I am waiting for the day when they have Geraldo Rivera unlock the ebay vault and disclose all the dirty secrets. 
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capotasto
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posted on April 23, 2003 09:51:31 AM new
"The next issue was what can a buyer do if you get the item and it is a piece of junk- suggested remedy = none. The guest never mentioned using a credit card and returning the item and getting the charge reversed."
So potential bidders have been told on THE VIEW that they can get screwed with no remedy on ebay... Just great for us sellers! THE VIEW sucks.
Vinnie
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inot
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posted on April 23, 2003 10:04:29 AM new
I thought the segment was a good plug for ebay. I was glad that for once they did not focus on ebay "scams" which can only scare away prospective buyers. This feature was really positive..seems like Miss Star REALLY likes spending her hard earned dollars on Ebay!! You Go Star!
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REAMOND
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posted on April 23, 2003 10:28:03 AM new
How can it be positive when it isn't true ? And Star was the one that kept on bringing up getting ripped off. The author sounded as though she was on eBay's payroll when it came to problems of online sales.
The only "positive" was the whopper that new items cost only 1/3 of what they cost at B&M stores.
The segment was rushed, loaded with half truths, and BaBa WaWa seemed as confused at the end of the segment as she was in the beginning.
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REAMOND
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posted on April 23, 2003 10:38:42 AM new
re: suggested remedy = none
The woman did say you could sell the piece of junk you got stuck with on eBay. She also said you should email and ask questions before you buy.
Do you think that a seller who would ship a piece of junk would tell you in a pre-bid email that the item is junk ?
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kiara
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posted on April 23, 2003 11:47:26 AM new
I thought it was quite a positive show and they packed a lot of info into a short time period. Barbara was the true "ebay dummy" and Star was the informed shopper. They listed one of the View coffee mugs on Yahoo, Amazon and ebay and of course the one on ebay had the highest bids. She said when you do a description to think "infomercial".
They touted ebay as the best place to shop for designer fashions, bags, etc. and said Yahoo was more for techie stuff and Amazon was for books and DVDs.
When Star said that people lie all the time the lady was quick to say that ebay will throw them off and that they have a safe harbor. She emphasized to ask questions before you bid and about using your credit card on secure sites online. She said there was a feedback system and that it was easier to check the seller than when you enter a RL business or store.
They asked what happened if you bid on something and you didn't like it and she said if you don't like it, it's yours anyways and didn't mention about refunds or returns.
I didn't agree with the statement "It's very easy for items to sell" and the sample auction they chose with the diamond sitting at $49,995.00 wasn't too realistic for the everyday bidder. They almost made it sound like ebay was only for the richer class. I didn't hear any mention of antiques or collectibles.
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REAMOND
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posted on April 23, 2003 01:25:02 PM new
the lady was quick to say that ebay will throw them off and that they have a safe harbor
Was that a statement with a firm basis in reality ? I can't see how these half truths lead to a "positive" segment about online auctions.
The time would have been much better spent demonstrating to people like Walters how to get online and buy, and as you suggested, showing categories other than new retail stuff.
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REAMOND
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posted on April 23, 2003 01:34:41 PM new
Wanted to add about the fraud- ebay always hauls out the less-than-one-percent of total sales are problem sales, but never mentions that figure is for reported problems.
I just saw a set of 58 bootleg VHS tapes of a certain TV series with bids over $120. They were bootleg, the buyers knew they were bootleg, and with only a few hours left in the auction, the sale will be completed.
By and large, I think an informed buyer on eBay can buy with confidence, but it serves no one to make these baseless "security" claims.
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kiara
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posted on April 23, 2003 01:55:57 PM new
You have to remember that this was a quickie tutorial segment about buying and selling online, not an investigative report.
When Star mentioned the fake designer bags (wonder if she got taken?) the lady said that "on the different sites" there were some but ebay has a program where the manufacturer can take them off the site.
No, she didn't go into detail about how hard it is to monitor fakes and how long it takes for ebay to take action and it was quickly glossed over.
I think that they did make buying online sound like fun and if it brings more bidders that's what we want. Yes, there is fraud on ebay but also in stores, at auction houses, at flea markets and all over.
Perhaps someone should e-mail Star at The View and see if she wants to say anything here.
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REAMOND
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posted on April 23, 2003 08:53:25 PM new
the lady said that "on the different sites" there were some but ebay has a program where the manufacturer can take them off the site
That was another whopper. The eBay "program" is nothing more than applying the federal statute for "take downs" on the internet. You can use the same method on any internet site to have infringing material removed if you're the owner/agent of the material in question. The only difference might be that eBay allows the owner to use a fax/email for take downs after the initial signed form is delivered.
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auctionace
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posted on April 23, 2003 10:00:43 PM new
What if a TV shows ever does show an in-depth report on the ins and outs of eBay? That could really put ebay in a bad light.
The program could mention that buyers can use a credit card and charge back if anything goes wrong, it could show how easy and common shill bidding is, it could show how deceptive sellers can be, etc.
That would be good fodder from some Meg Whitman nightmares.
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neglus
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posted on April 23, 2003 11:25:59 PM new
Hey Ace! Sounds like your vision of eBay is a lot different than mine! Sure there are abusers, but for the most part, I think the system works very well.
How else could a little seller like me, tucked away in my basement office ("The Dungeon", have the World as my marketplace? Where else would I find a buyer for my fabulous postcard from Timbuktu?? Where else could a buyer from Timbuktu find a postcard of his house in 1907?
There are many things about eBay (like ever increasing fees) that I am not too wild about but IT WORKS ! I would hate to see a tv show TEACH people how to abuse eBay!
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