Welcome to "Sheree's Treasures Trading Hands" blog!

Selling breakable china and collectible glassware on eBay can be both exhilarating and very depressing.  Exhilarating when that bar mug you paid 25-cents for sells for $100, but depressing when you discover that collectible Hummel has a crack in the child’s limb, a crack you didn’t notice before listing the ornament to eBay.

Here’s a heads-up for those new merchants who want to try their hand at selling collectible dishware and ornaments on eBay.

1. Train those fingertips…and those eyes.  Check glass and china edges by running your fingertips lightly around rims.  Look carefully, and look again, in bright light.  Nicks and chips in collectibles will reduce their potential selling price, and may make them totally worthless to potential buyers. 
   
   Look for hairline cracks, crazing in the paint, and missing paint.  All these things must be noted in your auction as they will determine the value of the piece.  Some pieces are rare enough that no amount of crazing in the glaze will stop buyers from bidding.  I have successfully sold many collectible pieces with crazing and small nicks.
   
   So, when shopping around at garage sales and auctions, choose only perfect or near-perfect breakable collectible pieces.
   
   
2. Examine pieces carefully for trademarks and numbers.  Are they the real deal?  Do some research into the history of the piece’s trademarks?  A Hummel’s “flying bee” position will determine both the age and the rarity of the piece.  But you can’t know this, unless you first do your research.
   
   
3. Take as many pictures as possible, from many angles.  Especially take photos of any trademarks or numbers.  Shoot these as clearly and as big as you possibly can.  This will help your bidders make a decision on how high to bid.
   
   
4. Be as descriptive as possible.  Hi-light possible faults like “chigger bites” (small nicks, chips) etc.  Be an open book when listing collectible china or glassware to eBay.  Or you will regret it. 
   
   A true collector will notice faults immediately and will be quite angry if you did not advise them that those faults existed when you sold the item.  They will probably want their money back, and rightly so. 
   
   Be careful.  But if you honestly missed something, admit that you did, and amicably work something out with your buyer.
   
   
5. Confirm any damage or shortcomings you indicated in your auction information, BEFORE shipping the item.  Give the customer a chance to back out in case they didn’t notice that the Hummel had a hairline crack in the base, or the CarltonWare leaf had a chigger bite (tiny nick) on the underside of the leaf. 
   
   Be true, open and as honest as you can possibly be when describing breakable porcelain, china of glass pieces.  Customers may be willing to buy dishware and ornaments with damage, but not if that damage comes as a surprise to them.
   
   
6. Be prepared to wrap your breakable collectibles extremely well.  Double-box, if necessary.  But do whatever it takes to ensure that the breakable piece arrives at its new home, intact.  See my step-by-step “how-to” guidelines on packing breakables at this link.
   
   http://reviews.ebay.com/Tips-on-Packaging-Fragile-Items-for-Worldwide-Shipping_W0QQugidZ10000000001456736
   
   
7. Choose the very safest method for shipping.  Don’t get chintzy with the shipping fees, choose the fastest method and tell your potential buyers that you have chosen the more secure, (more expensive) method on purpose. 
   
   Charge fairly for your packing materials and container, and charge fairly for your shipping fees.  Your customer will thank you when the item arrives securely and completely intact.
   
   Do all this and your eBay selling experience should never be depressing, but rather exhilarating and fun. 
   
   And your 100% positive eBay feedback reputation will remain secure.

Cheers!
Sheree

Welcome to "Sheree's Treasures Trading Hands" blog!

Deal with a customer complaint with grace, not adversity!

You WILL get customer complaints as an eBay merchant.  It is a fact of life, just as customer complaints are a fact in any retail business.  But in a brick and mortar business (a store not on the Internet) you might not be harmed by a customer complaint.  Not so on eBay; a negative feedback can hurt you, especially if you get a few of them.  So, manage customer complaints quickly and gracefully.

Here are some tips for dealing with a customer complaint:

1) A merchant should stay calm.  Be grateful the customer hasn't automatically nailed a negative feedback to your eBay user name.  Some newbies don't understand there is a complaint process, and immediately jump to feedback.  (I wish there was a way to stop brand new eBay customers from doing this.)

(NOTE:  If you are a new eBay BUYER, always give the merchant a chance to help you first.  Most merchants are genuinely good people, who are very willing to set things right.  Give them a chance.)

2) It will cost a merchant far less to listen calmly and work out any issues to the customer's satisfaction.  I have an eBay buddy who has sold thousands of items on eBay; if she gets a complaint (and she has gotten all kinds of complaints) she deals with the issue as graciously as she can.  (No, not all customers are right, nor are they easy to deal with, but that's not the point.) 

If she cannot resolve the issue with a small refund, or the re-sending of another item, she simply refunds whatever was in question (sometimes this means the value of the goods AND the shipping).  I do the same.  I would rather lose a few dollars than risk having negative feedback.  By the way, my eBay buddy has 100% positive feedback as a result of her fair trade practices.

3) If you have done something amiss, like overcharging on shipping fees, then STOP following that practice.  This will come back to haunt you.  Refund a portion of the fee you feel has been overcharged, and then move on.  It's not your children's inheritance, for heaven's sakes, it's just a few bucks.

4) Some customers are very difficult to please, and some customers may be dishonest; be prepared for this.  It may happen.  But remember to protect yourself by following fair practices when selling and shipping, and give a refund when all else fails.  

5) Ebay is there to help, too.  Try its HELP department or FAQ if all else fails. 

Best wishes,
Sheree

Welcome to "Sheree's Treasures Trading Hands" blog!

Overcharging for Shipping Fees on eBay!

Has this happened to you? 

Have you bought something on eBay, paid the shipping fee posted by the seller, received your parcel later, and discovered a huge difference in the amount of postage and the amount charged to you by the seller?

I HATE THAT!

I purchased a small but breakable item.  And then I paid nearly as much to have the item shipped.  I was okay with that until I got the “envelope”; (the seller hadn’t even bothered to pack this breakable item in a box).  I paid $11.50 to ship; the actual postage on the outside of the envelope was $1.93!  As far as I am concerned, that is just out and out stealing.  It is lying and it is cheating. 

As an eBay merchant, I recommend that anyone wishing to be an eBay merchant decide NOT to cheat buyers by inflating shipping fees. 

It is okay to charge for packing materials, your envelope or box, and your postage, etc., but it is NOT okay to gouge your customer in trying to make a few extra bucks on the shipping charges.  This is a disgusting ploy, and whoever does this should be ashamed.

As a seller, I try very hard to charge my customer the truest shipping fees, but I have been wrong from time to time.  If I have undercharged, I just pay the additional fees myself.  If I have overcharged, I refund the overage.  I have even upgraded some of my shipping at NO additional charge to my customer, if I felt it would ship better.

The bottom line is that shipping is a service to your customer.  It is all part of the selling adventure on eBay.  By all means, make money on your product, but charge fairly for your shipping and handling fees, even if it means losing money. 

In terms of making money, selling on eBay is a risk.  If you have goofed, and something sells for less than you had hoped, don’t make your customer pay for your mistake.  Be fair. 

Sheree

Welcome to "Sheree's Treasures Trading Hands" blog!

(Tips for buying stuff for resale on eBay!)

So, you have decided to try your hand at selling on eBay.  But what are you going to sell? 

You can, of course, scour your house or your parents’ house for ornaments and knickknacks that are sitting around covered in dust.   Or you can head out to the yard sales in your city. 

If you decide to buy up stuff at garage sales and flea markets for resale on eBay, you could be heading for trouble.  Unless you follow a few simple rules.

These are the shopping guidelines I follow to keep me from overspending when I go scavenging for eBay booty:

1. Bargain.  I always bargain for my items.  Collect up a few things and offer a flat fee for all items.  You will get a much better deal.
   
   
2. Never assume an item is garbage just because it’s been thrown into a box.  Many people have no idea of value of some things like Depression glass.  What is junk to one, can be quite valuable to another.  Dig around.  Look through stacks of papers and books.  Dig into boxes of miscellaneous stuff.  I have found absolute treasure when following this rule.  For examples, read on.
   
   I found a near perfect set of Midge and Barbie miniature sewing notions from the early 60s; the package still had its cellophane.  I paid less than 10 cents and sold the package for $10 dollars.
   
   Another time, I found a lovely porcelain figurine thrown into a box filled with junk.  I pulled her out, paid a pittance of $5 for her, and sold her on eBay for over $150.  She was an older Coalport figurine.
   
   
3. Study some of the hottest-selling collectibles on eBay, make notes, and keep the notes with you.  You never know when you may happen across one of these hot sellers, like the ones listed below:
   
   I am always on the lookout for Trader Vic’s souvenir bar mugs, and the children’s book "Ghost of Opalina" by Peggy Bacon.  My research and my past sales show these two items will sell extremely well.  I paid 25 cents for a Trader Vic’s seahorse mug and sold it for over $100.
   
   
4. It’s okay to take a chance on “junk” that may be valuable, but try to spend one dollar or less on these items.  That way, if they don’t sell, you aren’t out a ton of money.  And you can always place the items back into your own garage sale later on.
   
   
5. Don’t add more clutter to your clutter.  Try to load your new acquisitions to your eBay store or eBay auctions as soon as possible.  Or you will lose interest and the stuff will sit around, like they were sitting around at someone else’s house.

Do your research well before loading your eBay auction items.  Find out what has sold before, what price the item sold at, and the best starting bid. 

Avoid reserve bids; these are usually viewed as a negative by buyers.  Only use a reserve bid when absolutely necessary to protect a more valuable piece.

Best Wishes,

Sheree Zielke

Welcome to "Sheree's Treasures Trading Hands" blog!

Are you a Baby Boomer who is hoping to become an ebay seller?  That's great, but you might be disappointed.  I am often approached by other Boomers and children of Boomers who have houses full of stuff that they figure will make them instantly rich if they sell their items on ebay.  Wrong!

In order to avoid disappointment, there are at least 4 things a new Baby Boomer seller should understand before selling on ebay, .

I am a Baby Boomer (born between 1946 and 1964); those are the years following WWII when the soldiers returned from war to welcoming wives, causing an eruption in births over the next (almost) 20 years.  As Baby Boomers, we learned many things including the art of SAVING and COLLECTING.  But now, as we reach our retirement years, we boomers are finding we must now downsize and get rid of some stuff, lots of stuff.  But that stuff cost us money!  It would be a shame to just give it away, or worse, throw it away.  So, we want to sell it instead.  And we have heard about this great place called, Ebay.  And it is a great place for a Boomer to sell stuff, but only with caution.

Ebay is a giant international garage sale.  I have found it a wonderful way to unload some of my stuff.  But I also have edited my expectations over the past 3 years of being an ebay merchant.  Allow me to share 4 things with you that might help to alleviate any disappointment should you become an ebay merchant, too.

1)  Your stuff is valuable to you, but it may not be so valuable on ebay.  Remember, ebay is a global marketplace; many other people are also trying to sell stuff similar to yours.  There may be a glut of green depression glass, so your pretty little creamer may only sell for a few dollars.  So, be realistic.  Be prepared to take whatever the market seems willing to pay. 

2)  It takes time to properly load an item to ebay.  If you aren't willing to put in the time it will take to write some good sales copy and take a good picture, then either forget about selling on ebay, or pay someone else to do it for you.  Poor auction ads with poor pictures are not good investments.

3)  It will cost you money to sell on ebay, whether or not your item sells.  This is the number one bit of information that Baby Boomers, who are interested in selling on ebay, must know.  Even if your item doesn't sell (and many don't sell) you are responsible for all listing fees.  And, you may (after paying all your ebay and Paypal fees) even end up losing money.  It's a gamble to load an item onto ebay; it is not a guaranteed sale!

4)  Will you commit the necessary time to being an ebay merchant?  Are you a good packer and shipper?  Are you prepared to learn the proper way to pack and ship?  Are you prepared to deal with customer complaints?  Are you prepared to deal with customer questions?  In short, are you prepared to run a small business and commit the time necessary to make that business run well?

Ebay is a wonderful world-wide garage sale, but you must enter this marketplace with the facts.  Not all your stuff will sell; sometimes it will sell quite cheaply, it will cost you money to list your items whether or not your items sell, and the competition for sales can be fierce.  In addition, you must be ready to provide good customer service, including an excellent packing and shipping service.

If you become an ebay merchant, with the above things in mind, you should have no trouble becoming a success.  It may take awhile, but you'll get the hang of it.  We, Baby Boomers, are a smart lot; we like challenges, and we have a whole lot of time on our hands, time we can spend becoming expert ebay merchants.

Stay tuned for more hints and tips from an ebay Baby Boomer merchant; tips to assist Baby Boomers become successful merchants in the ebay marketplace.