You Won that eBay Auction! Now What Do You Do?
It’s a heady feeling when you win your first eBay auction: a mixture of happiness and perhaps just a little fear. After all, there seems to be so much to do before you can actually get your item. What do you do next?
The simple answer is: you send payment to the seller, as quickly as possible. The quicker you pay, the more your seller will like you, and the sooner your item will arrive. But how you go about it? That all depends on how you plan to pay.
PayPal.
PayPal is one of the most popular options for paying on eBay, to the point where eBay decided to buy the company. It allows instant electronic payment across the Internet. Money goes instantly from your credit or debit card to the seller’s PayPal account, where they can either use it for Internet purchases or transfer it out to their bank.
eBay offer incentives for using PayPal, and almost all sellers now accept it. Its instant nature makes sellers very happy, and means that they can have your item packed and sent and leave you some positive feedback within a few hours of the auction ending. When paying by PayPal, you will be covered by PayPal’s own insurances and guarantees, as well as any that your card might have.
Cheques and Money Orders.
This is payment the old-fashioned way, and will lead to a long wait to your item. You need to post the cheque or money order, then the seller has to take it to the bank and get it cleared, and only then do they send the item. The only reason to use this method is if either you or the seller distrusts electronic payment methods. If you’re willing to go to the trouble with these sellers, though, you might get an item very cheaply, as most buyers just can’t be bothered.
When you pay by cheque or money order, make sure to print the eBay order confirmation page (it will be emailed to you) and put it in the envelope with your payment. Underline or circle key information like your mailing address and the item number. Finally, remember to be patient: keep in contact with the seller, as it really can take a month or two before everything falls into place and your item turns up.
Money Transfers and Bank Deposits.
Some sellers may ask you to pay them using a wire service like Western Union, or simply give you a bank account number and ask you to pay money into it. Unless you really trust the seller, this is generally a bad idea – these methods are hard to trace and you’re unlikely to get any money back if anything goes wrong. Paying in cash, it hardly needs to be said, is an even worse idea.
It’s all a lot to take in, isn’t it? I’m sure by now you’ve got a few questions, which is why the next email will be a little eBay buyer’s FAQ. Let’s hope we can solve any problems you might have.
Unique Faberge Eggs
Faberge Eggs have always been special to me. I’ve been searching them out at art auctions since I was in my early twenties. I did a term paper on the Faberge Company and their history of making eggs for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917.
The first Faberge Egg that I ever found at an art auction was actually quite by chance. The Faberge Egg was not one of the advertised items and was actually a bottle topper. I instantly fell in love with it and took it home from the art auction for one hundred dollars.
I saw an advertisement for a tropical Faberge Egg from a collection St. Petersburg. It was set to be up for sale at an art auction in New York City. I knew that I was going to be unable to purchase it, but I wanted to see it in person and at least put in one of the lower bids.
The tropical Faberge Egg at that art auction in New York City ended up selling for over six thousand dollars. That is out of my price range, but I was happy just to have been in the same room with this masterpiece. The eggs themselves are just exciting to be near.
The first Faberge Egg was made in 1885. I know that it will never turn up in an art auction, but hopefully I will see it someday in an exhibit. The first one was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and was given to his wife as an Easter present. The surprise inside the egg was a golden hen in a golden yolk. The hen was wearing a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside.
The antique Russian Faberge Egg that I found at an art auction recently was so detailed. The silver enamel egg has rubies and eagles and is marked with Faberge hallmarks. I was able to win this egg because I was bidding with someone else’s money. The best eggs always end up with the richest people.
The piece that I want in my collection is a genuine Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg. I found one at an art auction I went to ten years ago. I was unable to buy the one I saw, because I didn’t have the money at the time. I’ve been saving for the time that I see another one.
The Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg is covered with pearls and pale pink enamel. The egg is on a stand that has legs of matte green-gold leaves with rose dewdrops. The gold-stemmed lilies of the valley have green enamelled leaves and pearl flowers. I will look for this egg at every art auction I ever attend.
This Faberge Egg is delightful. It is surmounted by an Imperial crown of rose crystals. There is a pearl knob that reveals the surprise of this egg. The surprise is portrait miniatures of Czar Nicholas II and his two oldest daughters. The portraits are framed in rose crystals and backed with gold panels. I have heard a rumor that one will be at an art auction next year in Miami.
The last art auction I attended I purchased a Faberge Egg called the Imperial Clover Egg. It was for my personal collection and I won it for under a thousand dollars. I felt like it was quite a steal at that price.
The Imperial Clover Faberge Egg was originally made with a four leaf clover inside of it that had portraits of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra. The portraits went missing during the Russian Revolution. The egg that I bought at the art auction had a stem of clovers standing upright. Two clovers in green enamel and the third, a four leaf clover, was done in diamonds. The diamond four leaf clover is a pin that can be worn.
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Understanding the Different eBay Auction Types.
Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay. There are many people who don’t like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend. Equally, there are people who have hundreds of the same item and don’t want to sell them individually. This email gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and how to spot them.
Normal Auctions.
These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone knows: you bid, others outbid you, you outbid them, and the winner gets the item. Simple.
Reserve Auctions.
Reserve auctions are for sellers who don’t want their items to sell for less than a certain price – a concept you’ll know about if you’re familiar with real auctions. They work just like normal auctions on eBay, except that you will be told if your bid has not met the reserve price set by the seller. If no-one is willing to meet this price, then the auction is cancelled, and the seller keeps the item.
You can spot these auctions by looking out for ‘Reserve not met’ or ‘Reserve met’ written next to the current bid on an item’s description page.
Fixed Price (‘Buy it Now’) Auctions.
Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. A seller might add a Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that you can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all their items at fixed price. Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the ‘best offer’. This means that you can negotiate a price to someone who offers their items using Buy it Now, which could be a great way to get a bargain on things that don’t seem to be selling.
Fixed price auctions are easy to spot, as they have a little ‘Buy it Now’ logo either next to or instead of the current number of bids on the search listings page.
Multiple Item (‘Dutch’) Auctions.
These are auctions where a seller is selling more than one of a certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then don’t worry – everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.
What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and lists it using a combination of two auction types: a multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that they say how many they have, and offer them at a fixed price. You can enter how many you want and then just click Buy it Now to get them.
After all this, you might find yourself facing a dilemma: when you have the option, should you bid, or should you just use Buy it Now and save yourself the hassle? That’s what the next email will be about.
How to Think Like an eBay PowerSeller.
So what’s a PowerSeller? PowerSellers are the people on eBay who’ve made it, recognisable by the little ‘PowerSeller’ badge next to their name. You’ve probably seen these people around – and to succeed on eBay, you want to think the way they do.
How to People Get the Right to Call Themselves PowerSellers?
eBay gets to decide who can be a PowerSeller and who can’t, and they have strict requirements. To get in at the minimum PowerSeller level, you must have a feedback rating of at least 100 (minimum 98% positive) and sell at least $1,000 worth of items every month for three months in a row. There are different levels of PowerSeller membership as you sell items of greater value: $1,000 total is bronze, $3,000 is silver, $10,000 is gold, $25,000 is platinum and $125,000 is titanium.
If PowerSellers ever fail to meet the required amount of sales, or their feedback falls below 98% positive, then they lose their PowerSeller status. In short, the only people who get to be PowerSellers on eBay are the people who have been successful for a good while, and are on track to stay that way.
The Shop and the Marketplace.
This is the most important part of understanding how PowerSellers think. They don’t see what they’re doing as being some random bazaar, or a hobby – instead, they see themselves as a business.
Put it like this. If you run a stall in a marketplace, the chances are that you have a general area of business, but you mostly just sell whatever you can get your hands on that week. If your dodgy buddy got his hands of a job lot of something at a discount, then that’s what you’ll be selling. This might be fun – and when you have a good week, you’ll have a really good week – but it’s no way to run a real business in the long-term.
PowerSellers think far more like shops. They sell the same things again and again, every week – regular stock for regular customers. They do ‘boring’ business things like keep inventories and budgets. They know what they’re going to be selling, how much they buy it for and how much they expect to sell for. Just like a real shop, there can be hard times sometimes, but their income is stable and their business can grow slowly.
The best advice I can give you on thinking like a PowerSeller is this: don’t take long-term risks for short-term gain. Look after your reputation, manage your selling properly, provide good customer service and the rewards will come to you in due course. And you’ll get a little badge next to your name that makes people trust you more!
One possibility that you might have realised so far is what eBay can do for any other businesses you might have. Remember, millions of people visit eBay every day – why keep everything separate when you’re starting to tap into that kind of power? The next email will show you a few ways you can use eBay to grow your other businesses.
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EBay – Part Time or Full? How to Decide.
Going full-time as an eBay seller is living the dream: making a real income, working from home, being your own boss and all the rest of it. It’s the promise of a million scams, and it’s finally come true – at least for some.
What they don’t tell you in the success stories, though, is that becoming a full-time eBay seller is by no means for everyone. You really, really ought to try it part-time before you even consider taking it up full-time, and even then, caution is advisable. Before you burn your suit, here’s a list of questions you should ask yourself.
How Much Do I Earn From eBay Now?
Work out how many hours a week you spend doing eBay-related things (be honest here), and divide it by the average amount of profit you make in a week. If you were doing full-time hours, would you earn as much as you earn now?
Do I Have a Good Job?
Think about what you might lose if you give up your job to focus on eBay. If you’re in a well-paid job with good promotion prospects then it’s well worth reconsidering: you might get a few years down the line and wish you’d stayed in your traditional job, as you’d probably be the CEO by now.
Would I Really Make Much More Money?
Unless you’re selling a large quantity of small goods, most of what you do on eBay will be waiting for auctions to end – and you can wait at work just as easily as you can at home. This is why whether you would make more money on eBay really depends on what kinds of items you’re selling – for low value items, going full-time could be a good move. For high-value ones, the chances are you’ll hit the limits of how much money you have to invest in inventory long before you hit the limits on your time.
Is my Home a Good Place to Work?
Quite apart from anything else, you might find that the dream of home working is more of a nightmare in reality. People can start to depend on you to get things done that need to be done during the day. If you have a wife and children then they can resent the fact that you’re in the house but refuse to have anything to do with them for large parts of the day. Giving in to any of these things and stopping work for a while will cause your profits to fall.
Can I Survive if it All Goes Wrong?
In the end, would you be able to get by if you had a month or two where you sold literally nothing? Or would you be desperately looking around for a job and cursing the day you ever discovered eBay? That’s the real test.
If you made it through all these questions, then I guess you’re cut out for the eBay life – and even if you didn’t, you’d be surprised just how far you can get part-time. In our next email, we’ll show you how to think like the eBay elite: the PowerSellers.
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Taming the eBay Search Engine.
If you know what you’re doing, you can quickly find what you’re looking for on eBay – and the more you know about how buyers find you, the easier you’ll find it to be found. Here are a few golden searching rules.
Be specific: If you’re searching for the first edition of the original Harry Potter book, you’ll get further searching for ‘harry potter rowling philosopher’s stone first edition’ than you will searching for ‘harry potter’. You’ll get fewer results, but the ones you do get will be far more relevant.
Spell wrongly: It’s a sad fact that many of the sellers on eBay just can’t spell. Whatever you’re looking for, try thinking of a few common misspellings – you might find a few items here that have slipped through the cracks.
Get a thesaurus: You should try to search for all the different words that someone might use to describe an item, for example searching for both ‘TV’ and ‘television’, or for ‘phone’, ‘mobile’ and ‘cellphone’. Where you can, though, leave off the type of item altogether and search by things like brand and model.
Use the categories: Whenever you search, you’ll notice a list of categories at the side of your search results. If you just searched for the name of a CD, you should click the ‘CDs’ category to look at results in that category only. Why bother looking through a load of results that you don’t care about?
Don’t be afraid to browse: Once you’ve found the category that items you like seem to be in, why not click ‘Browse’ and take a look through the whole category? You might be surprised by what you find.
Few people realise just how powerful eBay’s search engine is – a few symbols here and there and it’ll work wonders for you.
Wildcard searches: You can put an asterisk (*) into a search phrase when you want to say ‘anything can go here’. For example, if you wanted to search for a 1950s car, you could search for ‘car 195*’. 195* will show results from any year in the 1950s.
In this order: If you put words in quotes (“”) then the only results shown will be ones that have all of the words between the quote marks. For example, searching for “Lord of the Rings” won’t give you any results that say, for example “Lord Robert Rings”.
Exclude words: Put a minus, and then put any words in brackets that you don’t want to appear in your search results. For example: “Pulp Fiction” -(poster,photo) will find items related to Pulp Fiction but not posters or photos.
Either/or: If you want to search for lots of words at once, just put them in brackets: the TV example from earlier could become ‘(TV,television)’, which would find items with either word.
Don’t get too tied up learning the ways of the search engine, though: a surprising number of eBay users don’t search at all, preferring to look through eBay’s category system and save their favourites in their browser. The next email will show you how to make sure these people can find you too.
Art Auctions: Vintage Photography
Vintage photography gives us a glimpse into the past, and helps to allow people to gain some understanding of the world before us. Unlike many of the collections that are considered the staples of art collection, vintage photographs are truly a unique exploration of the recent past, and many eras of the current civilization have come to contribute their share of what makes up vintage photography. Though not the largest grouping of auctioned materials of artistic value, they are still valued for their recollections of past events, and even items relating to vintage modes of photography are included in the auctioning of these things.
Cameras and equipment, photographic books and photo postcards before 1940, and even Viewmaster reels are acceptable pieces of auctioning material. All these things have contributed to the overall history on film, and even as the motion picture took on a predominant role in culture, the photograph has still been a staple of this system forming the basis for it all. Much of what seems to have the most value are those photographs that come from eras predating this revolution in film, and even further back to those images captured years just after the invention of the camera. Some are standards to which we have become accustomed to considering is merely part of our past, and we have to know that these things also have worth.
It is with this in mind that one can better grasp the innate worth of the photographs that might have caught their eye, and to be most prepared for an art auction with vintage photographs as the focus a bit of research is in order, especially if you wish to get the most out of your money for a proposed purchase. Much as any other auction, the buying and selling of vintage photographs can done in a variety of places, and that even includes through the Internet. Today, the markets are wide open with many different examples from previous eras, and finding that photograph that can really capture your attention can be a difficult process well worth the effort.
There are many organized auction houses that conduct business every day, which could perhaps be of service for you and your needs for the art you choose to become more aware of, and you can learn much by consulting experts on such matters. For the most part, buying and selling art through auctions can be an easy process with the right amount of time and money spent in the right places, and you can always go back to your research when you happen to feel overwhelmed by how complex the bidding can get with these types of experience in life.
It is when you are considering the value of a piece that you already own, that consultation with an appraiser can be of much help, and the more professional ones will go out of their way to get you the best total for your items. When concentrating on just what you want, you be better adapted to finding those needs met more adequately, and you will have no need for fearing the system of rules when it comes to the art auction. The more research that you commit yourself to, the more worth your time it becomes, and the more you can have your money work for you.
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EBay Sellers: The Importance of Paying Your eBay Fees on Time
Are you an eBay seller? If you are, have you been selling on eBay for long? If you haven’t been, you may still be trying to figure out the ins and outs of eBay. If that is the case, you may be looking for a little bit of assistance or advice. One of the important things to remember, when selling on eBay, is the importance of paying your eBay fees on time.
When it comes to paying your eBay fees on time, there are a large number of sellers who wonder exactly why it is so important. While this may not seem like something that you would ask yourself, it is actually asked quite often. Yes, eBay, like many other businesses, gives you a grace period, which is a few extra days to make your payment; you don’t want to go past that period. If so, there will be consequences. As an eBay seller, those consequences may be costly to you.
One of the most common consequences of not paying your eBay fees on time involves having your eBay seller account suspended. For you, this means that you will not be able to sell anymore items on eBay, at least until you pay your fees. Depending on the situation at hand, if you have any auctions running at the current time, those auctions may be canceled, possibly incurring additional fees for you. That is why it is extremely important that you pay your eBay fees on time.
Another reason why you should pay your eBay fees on time is because it is easy to do. When paying your eBay fees, all you really need to do is log into your account, go to the link labeled “eBay fees,” and follow the instructions from there. When it comes time to pay your eBay fees, eBay should send you an invoice, but you don’t have to wait until you receive that invoice. If you want to make sure that you stay on top of paying your fees, to prevent your seller account from being suspended, you may want to think about occasionally paying your fees, whenever you have the money to do so.
eBay can also offer you assistance, when it comes to paying your eBay fees. When you first setup your eBay account, you have the option of having your fees deducted right from your credit card, which you may have used to help setup your free eBay account. If you used a credit card to help setup your account, but you don’t want to have your fees deducted from your card, you can also make alternative arrangements. Those arrangements may include having your fees deducted from something else, like another credit card or your checking account. Or, you could stick paying your fees on your own, whenever they are due.
As you can see from above, there are a number of different ways that you can go about paying your eBay seller fees. If you are an active eBay seller or one who relies on eBay for income, you will want to definitely make sure that you pay your fees on time. Since you have a number of different ways to go about doing so, there isn’t any reason why you can’t pay your eBay fees and in a somewhat timely matter.
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Tips and Tricks for Using eBay Search.
If you know what you’re doing, you can quickly find what you’re looking for on eBay. Here are a few golden rules.
Be specific: If you’re searching for the first edition of the original Harry Potter book, you’ll get further searching for ‘harry potter rowling philosopher’s stone first edition’ than you will searching for ‘harry potter’. You’ll get fewer results, but the ones you do get will be far more relevant.
Spell wrongly: It’s a sad fact that many of the sellers on eBay just can’t spell. Whatever you’re looking for, try thinking of a few common misspellings – the chances are that fewer people will find these items, and so they will be cheaper.
Get a thesaurus: You should try to search for all the different words that someone might use to describe your item, for example searching for both ‘TV’ and ‘television’, or for ‘phone’, ‘mobile’ and ‘cellphone’. Where you can, though, leave off the type of item altogether and search by things like brand and model.
Use the categories: Whenever you search, you’ll notice a list of categories at the side of your search results. If you just searched for the name of a CD because you want to buy that CD, you should click the ‘CDs’ category to just look at results in that category. Why bother looking through a load of results that you don’t care about?
Don’t be afraid to browse: Once you’ve found the category that items you like seem to be in, why not click ‘Browse’ and take a look through the whole category? You might be surprised by what you find.
Few people realise just how powerful eBay’s search engine is – a few symbols here and there and it’ll work wonders for you.
Wildcard searches: You can put an asterisk (*) into a search phrase when you want to say ‘anything can go here’. For example, if you wanted to search for a 1950s car, you could search for ‘car 195*’. 195* will show results from any year in the 1950s.
In this order: If you put words in quotes (“”) then the only results shown will be ones that have all of the words between the quote marks. For example, searching for “Lord of the Rings” won’t give you any results that say, for example “Lord Robert Rings”.
Exclude words: Put a minus, and then put any words in brackets that you don’t want to appear in your search results. For example: “Pulp Fiction” -(poster,photo) will find items related to Pulp Fiction but not posters or photos.
Either/or: If you want to search for lots of words at once, just put them in brackets: the TV example from earlier could become ‘(TV,television)’, which would find items with either word.
So once you’ve found your bargain item, bid for it and won it, what if it all goes wrong? Don’t worry – eBay has a thorough dispute resolution procedure, and we’ll cover it in some depth in the next article, so you’ll be prepared if the worst happens.
EBay and Customer Service
If you are running an eBay business, you may not
realize that the need for great customer service still
exists – even for online auctions. When a buyer
receives quality customer service from you, they
will potentially do one of two things – or both. They
will give you great feedback, and they may look for
more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to
make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking
of it as an ‘auction’ and start running it like a
‘business.’
If you owned a brick and mortar business, how
would you treat your customer while they were
standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish
ringing up their order? You would be helpful and
respectful of course! You would do everything that
you could to guarantee that customers return to
your establishment in the future. You would bend
over backwards to make sure that their buying
experience with you was both satisfactory and
enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the
close of one of your eBay auctions?
First, act quickly at the close of your auctions.
Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe
the item they have won and how the item will be
shipped – even if this information is already part of
the description for the auction. Remind them of their
winning bid amount, and give them payment options
and instructions. Let them know when the item will
be shipped.
Close your email by thanking them for participating
in your auction. You might even take this opportunity
to tell them about other open auctions that you have
as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a
conversation that you are having with a customer
who is standing at your counter in that imaginary
brick and mortar store.
Once the payment and shipping details have been
taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them
know when the item was shipped – the exact date
and time – and when it is expected to arrive on their
end. During this contact, let them know that if they
have any problems or questions, that they should
contact you through the eBay site. If they do
contact you in the future, make sure that you
answer promptly, and that you do all that you can
to make them happy with their purchase – even if
it means issuing a refund.
Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds,
depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you
should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is
reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to
you, at your expense, before the refund is issued –
but once you receive the item, issue the refund
promptly. This is just good business!
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