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HA HA HA HA HAAA! What? You were expecting commentary? NOT!WHOO HOO!

As a seller and a buyer, I am constantly having to rate the items I intend to sell, and the items I intend to buy. Once of the most consistent and glaring errors/falsifications that I see, is the use of Near Mint to describe and item that is of noticably lower quality. As a rule, to be on the safe side, I tend to rate my items low, or extend the range to be sure the item is covered by my description. If I feel the item is VERY FINE, I would normally rate it FINE to VERY FINE. The reason I do this, is because everyone has a different opinion on ratings. What I call FINE, someone else might call GOOD or NEAR MINT. By giving a range, I guarantee that my item will rate within that range. This tends to eliminate arguements about whether or not my rating is correct. I tend to give more leeway at the bottom end. While someone might complain that I rated an item too high, I have never had anyone complain that I rated my items too low. What a surprise, eh?

While there is some leeway between most ratings, the two simplest, yet most oft abused, are the ratings MINT and NEAR MINT.

Just because an item is brand new and never been touched, doesn't mean it is MINT. A baseball card that is pulled from a pack, can still have a dinged corner. A Star Wars figurine, in it's original packing, could have a bent corner from storage. Brand new items are not always, and in fact rarely are, in MINT condition.

MINT means that an item is perfect in every respect. No dings, no scratches, no marred, scarred, scuffed surfaces, etc.. MINT means you cannot find anything wrong with the item, or the packaging it is in, if that is the case.

NEAR MINT refers to an item that is almost perfect in every respect, but has a single mild, almost indistinguishable flaw the prevents the item from being rated MINT, as described above.

I have seen extremely blatant misrepresentations of these ratings and, of course, the sellers usually have a number of complaints. This is why, as a buyer, when you see a seller with anything less than a 100 per cent positive feedback rating, you should click on the rating and see what's up. How many negatives does the seller have for the last month, the last six? How many mutual withdrawals does the seller have? Read the comments on the negative feedbacks, and the positive as well, then use your brain. If the negatives are all from one person, it is likely the one person has a vendetta. If the negatives are from a number of people, all saying the same thing, beware and bid at  your own risk, or better yet, find another seller who has a good rating and make your bid there. You're more likely to get exactly what was advertised, in the condition stated in the listing.

 Mutual withdrawals are the nearly invisible sign of unhappy customers. Mutual withdrawals usually occur when a buyer receives something that did not meet their expectations, usually, based on the listings descriptions.. The buyer then opens a dispute and the seller, rather than take a negative hit, works out an agreement with the buyer. The terms vary from keep the item and I'll refund  your money, to send the item back and I'll refund your money, but the end result is the same. The complaint is withdrawn/closed and a mutual withdrawal occurs, no negative feedback rating.

Every seller will eventually run into a situation beyond their control and will, most likely, receive a negative feedback, or choose to offer a mutual withdrawal. Do not let a single hit deter you from bidding, unless the customer has only one feedback and it's negative. Even then, you might wish to cut them some slack, depending on what the feedback says. New sellers often make mistakes, and as long as they are willing to correct the problem that occurred, swiftly and professionally, they should be encouraged to continue to do business. Do not let a single mutual withdrawal sway your judgement. If the seller has two hundred great reviews and only one negative feedback, or one mutual withdrawal, then you might want to give them the benefit of doubt. If they have more than one of either, well, then that's when you have to use your brain, read the comments, evaluate the risk factors, and then decide if you are willing to take the risk and the hassle that goes with it, should the deal go badly.

Communications are important. As a seller, we should do our best to represent the item accurately and honestly. A seller's listing should be forthright, and should answer most, if not all questions that would normally be asked. Besides the basic description, a sellers's listing should include a list of any and all defects/issues, so that the customer can make an informed decision. Sellers should be more than willing to answer a buyers question with plain, direct answers. If a seller refuses to answer your question directly, beware. Any seller that refers you back to their listing, as a form of answering your questions, obviously feels that you are an idiot for wasting their valuable time, or is running a scam and is afraid that they might accidentally give it away by talking to you. Why would you do business with such a person?

A buyer must realize that they are also responsible for good communications. First realize that, as a rule, you dont' get something for nothing. Or, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Know what you are bidding on, what it should look like, what it should cost and, if there is any doubt in your mind, ask questions. I have read numerous ads that have implied one thing at first glance, but were pretty much scams if read carefully. IE...it might say orginal Picasso in large print and if that is all you read, you might eventually become the owner of said print. However, when you receive the item and see that it was done in crayon, you go back to the listing and find that it said, further down in small print, recreated by sellers five year old daughter in crayon. Read the entire listing or, quite literally, you'll pay the price.

Some sellers use vagueness as a method of deception. If the listing says nothing more than 'Original Picasso 500.00', beware. Other sellers will use pages of small and large print to overwhelm you. Again, beware. Somewhere in those pages of gobbledy-gook is one word that will change the entire meaning of the listing. That word is usually something like 'replica' or 'imitation' or ...well....you get my drift. A listing should contain enough information to answer most of the typical questions related to the object being sold. If it doesn't, there is a problem of some sort. Ultimately, the final responsibility rests with the buyer. It is the buyer who makes the final decision to bid on any item and before doing so, the buyer should be confident that they are dealing with a respected seller and that the item they are bidding on, is what they want.

Buyers...a suggestion if you don't mind. If you are going to bid on an item, and then not pay within twenty-four hours because you are waiting on other items, or don't get paid until Friday, please have the courtesy of sending the seller an e-mail informing them of when you will be paying. Keeping the seller informed will go along way in keeping the communications channels open.

Again, the disclaimer.  The above is nothing more than 'a rabbits opinion'. The rabbit knows, as should you all, that eBAY is full of wondeful people and, like any other community, a few unscrupulous ones. Think of it this way. Even in a small town, where everyone is nice, you can still get hit by a car if you don't look both ways. Keep your eyes open and your brain on.

Sellersd, coversely, you should keep the buyer informed. The simple act of letting the buyer know that their item has shipped, lets them know that you received their payment, and that their item is on the way. You'd be surprised how many sellers out there still don't do this. Either they don't have the time, or they don't feel it's important.

All right all of you sellers, do you blindly offer Media Mail as the first shipping option because it's the cheapest method? If so, you'd be wise to check out First Class costs before your next shipment. For light-weight shipments, USPS First Class mail is generally cheaper than Media Mail and is also faster. Although Media Mail advertises 9 day delivery, it averages two weeks and can take upwards of twenty days to arrive. Even though your customers request this service, they tend to get frustrated at having to wait so long. The end result is that you get marked down on shipping time in your ratings, even though you used the option your buyer selected, and the customer may request a full or partial refund after nine days, since that is what USPS advertises as the far end delivery range.

USPS First Class advertises 3-5 day delivery range and meets this committment quite consistently. With almost 180 shipments to my name, of which only a handful have been Media Mail, I have received two complaints on Media and none on First Class.

First Class does limit you to 13 ounces or less, but if your item falls into the 0-13 ounce category, be sure to check out the pricing difference between the two options. The lighter the item, the more likely it is that First Class will be cheaper. As you near the upper end of the limit, Media Mail may become cheaper, but usually by less than fifty cents. For fifty cents, I'd eliminate the Media Mail Option and go with First Class whenever able. First Class is faster and more reliable.

You could still offer Media as an option, then, if your customer selects it, you will have the freedom to make the following choices. If First Class is cheaper, you could upgrade the shipment to First Class, at no additional charge to the customer, and make a little extra money, but it's only a little, so don't get too excited. I don't refund the twenty to thirty cent difference in shipping costs as an amount that small doesn't justify the cost of taking the time to do so. The customer gets their item much sooner than expected, which usually makes them happy. If First Class is more expensive, then either don't upgrade the shipment, or go ahead and eat the cost and upgrade it anyway. Either way you win. If you don't upgrade, the customer gets the item as expected. If you do upgrade, the customer will get their item much sooner than expected, at no additional cost and they will, most likely, give you good feedback and ratings, which makes you look good and may result in additional sales.

If you are using PayPal to print out your shipping labels, be aware that you can also get Delivery Confirmation, for an additonal cost of eighteen cents. Delivery confirmation is not tracking per se. As a rule, you will only know if the item has been delivered to the final address or not, but not who signed for it. You may even see tracking info that shows which mailing facilities the item passes through. If you want full tracking, or signature delivery, you will have to go with one of the more expensive options.

Now, if you are a buyer, and your shipper only offers Media Mail, and  you bid on and win an item, don't be afraid to ask your shipper to send your item First Class. Your seller may be unaware that First Class could be cheaper, but be aware that it also depends on what type of materials your shipper is using. Boxes tend to weigh more than bubble pack enveleopes and therefore tend to exceed the 13 ounce limit quite easily. Also, the dimensions of the packaging affects the pricing as well. However, if the object you have won is fairly light, it doesn't hurt to ask your shipper to upgrade your shipment to First Class and tell him/her to keep the change. You'll get your item much faster and your shipper should be happy to make an extra twenty cents. I really don't recommend trying to get the item shipped First Class and then asking for the twenty cents back. First, the twenty cent refund is not worth the time it takes to log in to PayPal to enact the refund process. Secondly, the shipper is under no obligation to use any other shipping method than what you selected in the listing. If they shipper does upgrade your shipment, rejoice in the fact that they were nice enough to do so, and be ecstatic that your item will arrive more than a week earlier than you expected. Additionally, your shipper may not be prepared, for whatever reason, to accomadate your request. Ask nicely, and then accept whatever response you get, politely.

Also, as a rule, it is considered polite to ask these questions well before you win the item and definitely before you pay for them. This gives your seller time to research the issue and to give you an answer before you bid. It also allows the seller to make changes to the invoice should they be required. For instance, if your seller only offers Media Mail and you want the item overnight, ask for overnight, but don't pay for the item until the seller has sent you an invoice that reflects the additional costs that overnight shipping would incur. Making changes to your invoice, or enacting refunds, after you pay is problematic and time consuming. The time a seller spends correcting or changing something, is time taken away from listing the next item that you might want to buy. Also be aware, that once anyone bids on any item, the seller CANNOT changes to the listing. Therefore, any request you make, after bids have occurred, will be by verbal/written agreement and therefore, you should always make any request through eBAY's contact the seller link. Your seller should also reply to you through the eBAY process. Guarantees outside of the eBAY venue are not considered valid by eBAY. Protect yourself by working within the system.

Of course, I have to add the following disclaimer. The above info is general advice and is not guaranteed to be one hundred per cent correct. Be sure to research and evaluate the options yourself, in order to insure accuracy. If you found any of the above to be helpful, I'm glad. I simple thanks would be appreciated. If you feel some sort of guilt at getting free advice that saved/made you money, and have a driving need to assuage it, come to my site and buy a book, a comic, or any of the CCG cards from Star Wars, Magic the Gathering, etc... If not for you, for someone you know, perhaps. And if you don't feel that way at all....DARN YOU! LOL! Good luck and happy buying/selling.

What have you got to say...about anything? Good or bad, no matter what it is about, feel free to comment, but please, keep it relatively polite. Go ahead, tell a joke, spam me with your web site (this listing only), tell me what you hate, what you love, who you hate/love, your favorite food, cartoon, television/cable show, etc.... What would you do if you were president of...(insert country of your choice...real or imaginary...here)

Please note: Anyone who doesn't read or post tothis blog, owes me one dollar. WHOO HOO! I'M RICH!

                      (Uh.....theoretically, that is. I think collections might be difficult. D'oh!)

No really, I mean it. Why are you looking in here? Don't  you believe me? I'm completely speechless....see. Right there, just a moment ago, for almost second, complete silence. Proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the cat has my proverbial tongue. So now I'm counting just how many people come in here to see what it is that I don't have to say. And now, you're on the list. Marked for life. A mouse clicking fool with a penchant for curiousity, no matter what the risks. Welcome to the club. Hope you brought some snacks and they had better not be that diet, low fat stuff that causes anal leakage. WHO INVENTS/BUYS STUFF LIKE THAT?! I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want mine leaking, nor can I envison a time when I would want it to do so.

 Like I said, I have nothing to say. Move along now, nothing to see here. Move along.

Bunny has oft wondered why people go out of their way to fight. He reads the blogs daily and over the years he has seen the same thing over, and over, again. A simple version is this. Some miscreant steps inot a chat room and fires a shot. A number of people in the chat room fire back and the war begins. People are angered, sides are taken, and before you know it, chaos and mayhem occur. I have seen relationships destroyed, sites taken down and reputations tarnished over the rude/random/thoughtless commments of some individual who might, or might not, actually believe what he/she is spouting. I knew one guy who would deliberately enter a chat room to do nothing more than stir up the room. He once entered a chat room for overweight women and pretended to be one. After twenty or thirty  minutes of gaining their trust, he then began to attack them. I don't understand that kind of behaviour and certainly don't condone it.

However, one thing is fairly certain, if you do not respond to these people, they will get bored and go away. Bunny has watched this occur over and over again as well. People who want to fight, have to have someone to fight with. If you do not respond, they usually get bored and move on.

One of the down sides to opening your mouth in retaliation is that in anger, you make the mistake of becoming the very person you don't like in your chat room/blog. Your anger gets the best of you and next thing you know, you are acting almost as badly as the instigator. I have seen instigators come into a room and make comments which, although rude, do not violate any eBAY rules. Then the people in the blog/room respond in anger and violate eBAY's rules, at which point the instigator reports them. Many blogs/accounts have been shut down in this manner.

Bunny agrees that we shouldn't have to put up with people like this, but freedom of speech allows even idiots to voice their opinions. If you can't ignore them, try complimenting them instead. Mention how cute their Hitler icon is. Tell them you love their use of  the English venacular, or wish them a smurfy day.  I mean, come on...how long can one stay mad at, much less deal with, Mrs. June Cleaver?

Ah well...Bunny may be one of those idiots he mentioned only moments ago, but Bunny is happy and carefree. Yes, sometimes Bunny's fur does get ruffled, and when that happens, Bunny likes to rub his feet on the carpet and run around giving static shock to his family and friends. It's fun and therapeutic. You might want to try it....before your friends do. LOL! Bunny out. BOOM!

Do you ever wonder why so many people get taken advantage of? I browse the blogs on a regular basis and see buyers and sellers alike, complaining about how they got hosed. In some cases, there was no way to avoid the problem. However, most of these self proclaimed victims set themselves up to be a victim.

Example: I sent the item to the buyer, who said they'd pay me next week and now, three weeks later, I still haven't received my money. What should I do?

Well, my reponse to that would be either, get out while you're still wearing clothes or, learn from your mistake.

Example: My ad stated that I offered combined shipping. My customer got upset when I didn't give it to them. I told them my ad said I offered it, but that I don't always give it, it was on a case by case basis. Now they've given me negative feedback. What do I do?

OUCH! Talk about an easy way to anger your customers. Either change your ad, or live up to it.

Exampe: I purchased a Van Goh original painting for five dollars and it turned out to be a paint by the number Van Goh done by the sellers six year old daughter, what do I do?

Well, if you didn't spend all of your hard earned cash on the Van Goh, buy a clue.

In some cases, it was simply greed. Hoping that we would get something for nothing. In fact, we so hoped for that something for nothing, that we didn't ask any questions, or do any research. After all, isn't that how all good finds are made?

In other cases, it was lack of common sense. Common sense says that when you advertise something, you'd better do it. Don't offer free shipping in your ad, then charge the customer for it. Nor should you expect an original Van Goh for five dollars.

Whatever the reason, we can all do better in  protecting each other and ourselves. We can use common sense, we can do research, we can ask questions, and we can do business in an honest and forthright manner, treating others as we'd like to be treated and conduct ourselves with dignity, honor, humor, empathy, humility and understanding. And if all that fails, we can always revert back to trial by ritual combat. Hey, it's not a perfect system, but then, what system is?

Oh! Don't forget to keep your cool. Anger begets anger and conversely, laughter begets laughter, etc....We're all human, most of us anyway...as far as you know, and we're all prone to making mistakes. We all get defensive and angry when we feel we have been the victim of some false accusation. Sometimes it's just the way we phrase it. For instance, when receiving a defective item, starting your e-mail with "you cheated me you lying SOB" is unlikely to motivate the seller into resolving the issue to your satisfaction. Nor is a seller likely to receive payment with an opening line of "I got your number you thieving lowlife."

The world may never be perfect, but that doesn't mean that we should give up on it. I say enjoy what you got, and do your best to improve it. It may never be perfect, but then again, if it was, would there be room for us? I'm not too sure. Hey...it's snowing. I like snow. It hides all of the things I still need to do in the yard. Talk about looking on the bright side, eh? Happy eBAYiing all.

 

There were bodies everywhere Bunny  looked. Some looked at peace, others, their faces twisted in...pain...rage? Bunny couldn't tell. One of the bodies stirred causing Bunny to hop in alarm. Facing the ragged corpse...well...okay, it moved, so it wasn't officially a corpse, but it was a close facsimile, Bunny waited. The facsimile opened one eye and oriented on Bunny. The corpses lips parted. Bunny began to back away as a small creature began to push it's way through the corpses lips. Bunny stopped when he realized that the creature was actually the corpses swollen tongue, attempting to lick it's lips. The corpse spoke. Captain...Morgan...too.... much.....Stoli.....olive..... The corpse returned to its previous inanimate state. It was clear to Bunny. Someone named Captain Morgan, stole Olive, presumably this realms Princess or Queen. The people fought valiantly to no avail. They were slaughtered to the last. Bunny vowed to save Olive and was so upset, that instead of vanishing, he hopped out of the room in a rage.

LAST CALL! Several of the bodies opened their eyes. Anyone else see a mad bunny come through here, asked the corpse who had spoken to Bunny. There were several replies, all of which denied having seen a fluffy fanged bunny with a laser pistol. That's good, the corpse replied. Happy New Year everyone. A jar of olives hit the corpse in the chest. A number of words escaped the corpses lips. Conspiritorial laughter filled the room. That does it! A shaking hand reached up and hit a button. The room fell silent. Suddenly music filled the room. NOOOOOOOOOOO! Yes the corpse replied. Let this be a lesson to you. Then he realized his mistake. He couldn't leave either. Like the rest of the rooms occupants, he too would have to endure Muskrat Love...unless.... Grabbing the jar of olives, the corpse slammed them upside his own head. Looking down at the shattered glass, he felt disappointed. It didn't work, he said, clearly unhappy. Then a wave of nausea swept over him and the room began to grey out. The corpse smiled. "Oh goody." He slumped to the ground as a different Captain began to sing.

I got rid of all my 2007 inventory and have all new 2008 inventory. It all looks just the same though. Hmmmm. Oh well! ENJOY!