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17 replies

Seller secrets?

J jabbergahMember
There's something that I find curious about eBay sellers that maybe I'm uninformed about some eBay rule.

I've had a little experience with mail-order and one of the marketing RULES in that business is to ALWAYS include some sales flyers/product information about at least SOME of the other items you have with every order you ship out. The theory is that once the customer sees the quality of the gizmo you've shipped them and the quality of your service, they will be more inclined to reorder more gizmos and may also be interested in ordering a couple of your widgets and maybe a whozit or two! It seems in all the ebay purchases I've made, the seller/shipper hardly ever includes any paperwork at ALL, much less additional sales info! Is there an eBay rule against this practice?

I would be interested to hear some thoughts/opinions. Thanks!

Jabbergah                                                    
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J jabbergahMember
Puppy posted:
quote:
I ended up on someone’s mailing list.
I DON'T do THAT! Eek I want MORE sales from my customers, not to make them mad! I do have a mailing list, but everyone on it REQUESTED to be on it.
quote:
Not against any rule that I know of.
I guess in could appear to be an attempt to make an 'off eBay' sale.
Therein may lie the reason it's not done? Does eBay frown on attempting to get some follow-up off-ebay sales after the initial eBay sale? Confused

Jabbergah                                                    
mrsmmrsmMember
Well, I was looking for the answer and found this, unrelated , but up to date! Wink
quote:

Search Help tips






Someone bid on an item I was bidding on at the very last second and won it! Is this allowed?





Yes, it is.

Within the eBay Community, this practice is called "sniping" and it means to place a high bid in the closing seconds of an auction-style listing.

As frustrating as it can be to lose an item you really wanted, sniping is part of the eBay experience, and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid - even if they're placed only one second before the listing ends.

One way to help avoid disappointment is to ensure that the maximum bid you enter on the item page is the highest price that you're willing to pay. The eBay system automatically increases your bid up to the maximum price you specify, so entering a higher maximum may help prevent you from being outbid in the closing seconds of a listing


puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
You could be right Mrs.M, and I'm sure it's done all the time. (in fact my check is in the mail for something now). I won't be telling eBay about it though.

Basically, eBay says you can't use eBay resources to make a sale without giving eBay their percentage. (sounds fair) Is getting contact information from an eBay sale, using a resource? Unfortunitaly, that decision is made only by eBay. I think I know what their answer would be. It's not against the law, but think it would be against eBay rules.... at least that's my read.

Last edited {1}
bartelbybartelbyMember
One seller that I bought off the other week had a little sentence at the end of the auction along the lines of......

"Once a transaction is completely successfully and within my terms, buyers are automatically added to my mailing list - you will receive a pre-auction listing that will enable you to purchase products before they are listed"

I thought it was a nifty idea - but one that I wouldnt have time to implement.

Lexie

"If you read - you will judge!"
J jabbergahMember
...is where I think I'd be! While I agree with Mrs.M, the link Puppy posted doesn't seem to be exactly about what I was talking about, I can see Ebay frowning on it. The deal would be -- how would ebay know? You would need to have a buyer that has some level of animosity toward you enough to make a report/complaint to ebay. Even then, would eBay kick a seller off with only one offense? Could I play dumb? (Well, we ALL know I could do that well!! Roll Eyes) "Oh! I didn't know that wasn't permitted! I'm sorry!"

Sounds like a "follow-up gambit"! Wink

Jabbergah                                                    
S shirleyMember
I *USUALLY* get at least a mimimal invoice with the items I buy, and sometimes a thank-you note or a request for feedback, but that's about it. Only one seller I've bought from has put me on their email list.

You would think more sellers would use the opportunity to AT LEAST encourage people to come back to their auctions... Maybe a shipping discount for repeat business? But then, repeat business doesn't help your feedback score. How much of a consideration is that for sellers?

And (somewhat off topic) WHY hasn't eBay come up with a way to figure repeats into feedback? I would MUCH rather buy from a seller with a high number of repeat customers than one whose sales were primarily one-off's...
mrsmmrsmMember
I would rather have repeat customer anyday than worry about my feedback! Feedback has never paid a bill! Once you have a substantial number of feedbacks, it really is not all that important. An example of something in the same situation would be buying an item from a magazine. I will bet you that you will get ads enclosed for other items not advertised in the magazine. I doubt that this could be legally controlled.

J jlr43Member
I had one seller put me on their mailing list after I bought something. I didn't mind because it had to do with the craft supplies I buy but after awhile I asked to be removed. As far as including paperwork in their packaging, I've had a few power sellers do that, sometimes just in the form of a business card. I used to include a business card with my email address and ebay ID but I got lazy and stopped printing them up for myself. I think it's ok if it's leading the buyer back to ebay.
J jabbergahMember
Lexie posted:
quote:
if they have repeat customers as their feedback may say "512 positives. 384 are from unique users". Which would indicate some repeat purchases


Boy, those numbers look familiar! Wink Lexie has LOTS of happy repeat buyers, so I consider her opinion well worth serious consideration when it comes to selling advice! Smile

Jabbergah                                                    

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