3 Things eBay Sellers Do that Make Me NOT Want to Buy Their Items

Granted, I am still a novice at this eBay selling thing, but as I've gotten more and more involved in the world of eBay - navigating through the seller boards, networking with other sellers, researching other people's listings, etc... - I've picked up on a few habits I plan to stay CLEAR of in my own trade.

If you're a buyer on eBay, be on the lookout for some of these to make sure you get the highest quality experience.

3 eBay Seller Don'ts in "Not Your Mama's" Book

1) Don't overcharge for shipping.  I'm not an idiot.  It does NOT cost $15 to ship a 2 lb item from New York to Chicago Parcel Post.  Just so you guys know, when an item is under 13 oz, sellers have an option of sending the item First Class mail.  This can cost as little as $2.50.  Now, Priority Mail items under 1 lb usually cost around $6 or thereabouts, depending on how far the item is going, and items under 2 lbs usually go for about $8 or $9.  Now, some sellers will tell you they also paid for shipping materials, but in my mind that is an overhead cost just like eBay seller fees or Paypal fees and there is no reason to pass that cost on to the customer.  Just my 2 cents.

2) Don't make the buyer work.  I listed an item on my Facebook page that is a perfect example of this.  The seller had posted the picture of the item sideways.  SIDEways.  Could that seller not have taken 2 more seconds to put the picture right side up so the buyer wouldn't have to work to figure out what the flipping item looked like?  That listing ended for $11, with only 3 bids.  I mean really, would you click on this if it showed up in search results?: http://cgi.ebay.com/Banana-Republic-Dress-Jade-Color-Size-10-/250617840938?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_WC_Dresses&hash=item3a59fcc52a#ht_500wt_975

There is a corollary to this mistake, and that is: 2a) Answer the Buyer's Flipping Question!  It's happened more than once that I contact a seller to ask a question about an item and get absolutely NO response.  Whenever a buyer contacts me about one of my items, I am ECSTATIC someone is showing interest.  I use this interaction as an opportunity to impress the buyer, in the hope it will pursuade them to BUY BUY BUY.  So please, don't treat me like you're doing me a favor by selling me your stuff.

3) Don't be so defensive!  Trading on eBay is not without its risks.  eBay protects buyers by establishing some rules that can put sellers in a vulneable position.  Sellers try to protect themselves from this by putting all sorts of exclusions, restrictions and rules in their listings.  Seriously, I've seen some listings that would give the Soup Nazi a run for his money. 

Here's a good one I found while browsing:

• You MUST send payment within 3 days.
• NO International shipping.
• Your bid is a BINDING contract.  MUST send payment within 3 days. (Twice, in case you failed to notice the first time)
• NO RETURNS.  Your bid constitutes your acknowledgement to having read the listing and agreeing with the conditions.
• You MUST ask all questions before bidding. 
• NO returns.

Now, I know there are some unscrupulous buyers out there, but letting your business revolve around the exception rather than the rule is akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face.  Looking at this listing from a buyer's perspective was such a BIG turnoff despite the obvious quality of the item, I decided to go with a slightly more inviting seller.

Thanks for listening to my rant - I needed that.