EBay Safety Tips

[shinymagpie]

Originally Posted by i<3bags

Erm, I was messaging a seller today about an item I bought and I didn't see the "Block email address from "username". Is that a change? Or does that only show up when you are asking about items which you are watching (before bidding)? Thanks!

You'd use this one if you wanted to make sure that everything was done through eBay's My Messages system. I tend to do this because it means you have a clear audit trail if anything goes wrong. I tend to I find that the rare people who actively avoid using My Messages are hard to deal with. I just always send and respond through it. Personally, I am all for using systems if they are there.

[i<3bags]

Originally Posted by shinymagpie

You'd use this one if you wanted to make sure that everything was done through eBay's My Messages system. I tend to do this because it means you have a clear audit trail if anything goes wrong. I tend to I find that the rare people who actively avoid using My Messages are hard to deal with. I just always send and respond through it. Personally, I am all for using systems if they are there.

I totally agree. I was just wondering why the box for that option was not there today when I went to message the seller.

(I think ebay has a cold today...with a stuffy head!)

[Ellie Mae]

Originally Posted by i<3bags

I totally agree. I was just wondering why the box for that option was not there today when I went to message the seller. (I think ebay has a cold today...with a stuffy head!)

LOL.. I think that's NORMAL!!

[Speedah]

^^ They've always had the "hide email address" option but I'm not sure if it's changed or not.

I think I saw something mentioned somewhere in eBay announcements that they were going to do something with anonymous email addresses but not sure when or what that entails.

[shinymagpie]

I had a discussion with a great eBay consultant about how to improve star ratings.

If you are not a seller, you won't understand why these star ratings are so important - just be aware that sellers aim for 5 stars (NOT 3 or 4) all the time because of eBay conditions. Giving a 3 or 4 to seller who's score is nearly 5, is actually not a good thing. It will drop their score rating, which is probably not what you intended - especially if you liked what you received.

So sellers, on with the details.

One of the eBay consultant's key points was customizing the end of auction message. This is the first contact the buyer has with you. It can be the generic eBay one or you can personalise it. Doing this well cuts down on the number of messages that the buyer receives and makes life much simpler for everyone.

You get to this by

1. My eBay
2. Hover over the account Tab then go to the bottom without clicking and click on Marketing Tools
3. from the left, under the heading of Logos and Branding - click on "customize end of auction message"
4. include a personalised message which gives a field for putting in the item name and number.
5. Say whatever generic information you might like to about shipping and timing etc.
6. Close with a statement along the lines of "I aim for high quality service. If you have any problems at all with the service, please contact me before leaving feedback."
7. Click on box at top left of screen to include custom message in the end of item message.
8. Click on copy me on this email.
9. Save!