eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread

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#7,606
Cookiefiend said:
oh man - anyone have a minute to help settle me down?
I just sold a scarf on Ebay and I have zero idea what I'm supposed to do now. I don't know how she pays for the scarf or how I figure out how much postage I need.
I'm a bit flipped out right now, I've only sold on Poshmark and they send the shipping label to me so I've never worried about it.
I'm sure I'm being a major ninny. :-s
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Cookiefiend said:
it was an BIN or a best offer…
I've searched this thread - trying to figure it out and I've searched the Ebay community forum too, to see what the answers are. I *think* I'm okay, I'm just nervous.
I appreciate you taking the time to read my question!
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I assume your listing showed that you accept paypal. When payment is made, you'll get emails from both ebay and paypal (assuming you have your notifications set that way) letting you know that she paid.

When you prepared the listing, you stated a shipping price or offered free shipping. You also stated a shipping method.

Once the buyer has paid, you can print the shipping label either through paypal or ebay. (Both methods will access your PP account.)

Note that you can't charge the buyer any extra if you underestimated the cost nor can you downgrade the shipping service although you can upgrade if desired. (If your listing showed that you'd ship priority mail, you can't do first class. However if you advertised first class, you can upgrade to priority.)
 
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#7,607
Cookiefiend said:
it was an BIN or a best offer…
I've searched this thread - trying to figure it out and I've searched the Ebay community forum too, to see what the answers are. I *think* I'm okay, I'm just nervous.
I appreciate you taking the time to read my question!
Click to expand...

Check with PayPal to make sure you've been paid. If you have, probably the easiest thing to do is to wrap it carefully and pay for shipping at your local PO.

If you want to do more selling on eBay, invest in a digital scale...this will save you money as it is cheaper to purchase labels online. As I said previously, it is imperative (IMO) to read the how-to selling section on eBay. I also can't emphasize enough how much I have personally gained from reading and interacting on the community forum. Knowledge is power.

Good luck!
 
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#7,608
BeenBurned said:
I assume your listing showed that you accept paypal. When payment is made, you'll get emails from both ebay and paypal (assuming you have your notifications set that way) letting you know that she paid.

When you prepared the listing, you stated a shipping price or offered free shipping. You also stated a shipping method.

Once the buyer has paid, you can print the shipping label either through paypal or ebay. (Both methods will access your PP account.)

Note that you can't charge the buyer any extra if you underestimated the cost nor can you downgrade the shipping service although you can upgrade if desired. (If your listing showed that you'd ship priority mail, you can't do first class. However if you advertised first class, you can upgrade to priority.)
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The listing shows that I accept Paypal and I sent her an invoice - so far though the buyer has not paid. I won't ship it though until they do… Ebay says the buyer has up to 2 days to pay; the forum said the same thing as well as what to do if they don't pay in that time frame.
I did state a shipping cost and method, and I think it's enough (it's just a scarf so it doesn't weigh much), I just have to figure out how much it weighs or just address it myself and take it to the post office and let them weigh it.
Thank you for taking the time to ease my mind a bit!
 
#7,609
BettySaysExcuseMe said:
Check with PayPal to make sure you've been paid. If you have, probably the easiest thing to do is to wrap it carefully and pay for shipping at your local PO.

If you want to do more selling on eBay, invest in a digital scale...this will save you money as it is cheaper to purchase labels online. As I said previously, it is imperative (IMO) to read the how-to selling section on eBay. I also can't emphasize enough how much I have personally gained from reading and interacting on the community forum. Knowledge is power.

Good luck!
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Thank you BettySaysExcuseMe! I appreciate your time!
I'll probably cheat and use the digital scale at the office! :angel:
 
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#7,610
whateve said:
It's 50 for the calendar month. They expire at midnight Pacific time on the last day of the month. So you could list 50 items on the last day of the month, wait until after midnight and list 50 more.
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Thanks for clearing that up for me! I have always wondered. I tend to sell in spurts and made myself go ahead and list as many as I could after Thanksgiving so I would not lose my Nov. free listings.
 
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#7,611
Cookiefiend said:
The listing shows that I accept Paypal and I sent her an invoice - so far though the buyer has not paid. I won't ship it though until they do… Ebay says the buyer has up to 2 days to pay; the forum said the same thing as well as what to do if they don't pay in that time frame.
I did state a shipping cost and method, and I think it's enough (it's just a scarf so it doesn't weigh much), I just have to figure out how much it weighs or just address it myself and take it to the post office and let them weigh it.
Thank you for taking the time to ease my mind a bit!
Click to expand...
If it is a silk scarf and you are going to ship in an envelope, and you specified standard shipping, you can ship first class. I've shipped lots of silk scarves and the packages typically weigh 1 or 2 ounces. You can ship up to 4 ounces first class for $2.61, and buy the shipping on ebay. If you buy at the post office, it will probably cost you more. Online shipping includes tracking at no extra charge; I believe they charge you for it separately at the post office. Keep in mind that first class doesn't come with insurance. Or you could ship in a flat rate envelope, which includes $50 insurance and tracking, for $5.90. Shipping prices are cheaper online than in the post office.
 
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#7,612
whateve said:
If it is a silk scarf and you are going to ship in an envelope, and you specified standard shipping, you can ship first class. I've shipped lots of silk scarves and the packages typically weigh 1 or 2 ounces. You can ship up to 4 ounces first class for $2.61, and buy the shipping on ebay. If you buy at the post office, it will probably cost you more. Online shipping includes tracking at no extra charge; I believe they charge you for it separately at the post office. Keep in mind that first class doesn't come with insurance. Or you could ship in a flat rate envelope, which includes $50 insurance and tracking, for $5.90. Shipping prices are cheaper online than in the post office.
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Ohmigosh - this is great information! Thank you!
 
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#7,613
Cookiefiend said:
Ohmigosh - this is great information! Thank you!
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When I first started selling, I sold a couple scarves at auction. I had priced my shipping based on other listings. Most offered free shipping or only a few dollars for shipping. I packed them up in envelopes and took them to the post office. The post office didn't even tell me about the first class option. Priority shipping was going to cost $8 or $9 because unless it is in a flat rate envelope, it is based on weight and distance. The post office suggested I use flat rate envelopes. Since it cost a lot more to ship than I expected, I didn't make as much on the scarves as I expected. It was a learning experience. It was only later that I learned about first class. I don't know if the workers at the post office are instructed to not tell customers about first class package service or if I just got a bad employee.

Later, I sold a padded tablet case. I didn't have a scale but I thought it was light enough to ship first class, so I paid for the maximum first class weight. It was probably lighter. At some point later, I realized that the money I was losing by overestimating made the purchase of a scale a good idea.
 
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#7,614
whateve said:
When I first started selling, I sold a couple scarves at auction. I had priced my shipping based on other listings. Most offered free shipping or only a few dollars for shipping. I packed them up in envelopes and took them to the post office. The post office didn't even tell me about the first class option. Priority shipping was going to cost $8 or $9 because unless it is in a flat rate envelope, it is based on weight and distance. The post office suggested I use flat rate envelopes. Since it cost a lot more to ship than I expected, I didn't make as much on the scarves as I expected. It was a learning experience. It was only later that I learned about first class. I don't know if the workers at the post office are instructed to not tell customers about first class package service or if I just got a bad employee.

Later, I sold a padded tablet case. I didn't have a scale but I thought it was light enough to ship first class, so I paid for the maximum first class weight. It was probably lighter. At some point later, I realized that the money I was losing by overestimating made the purchase of a scale a good idea.
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My buyer just paid and because of what you told me - I was able to only pay the $2.61 for first class postage! You saved me both time and money - I owe you a cookie and a nice cuppa coffee! :smile:
 
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#7,616
Apologize in advance because I'm sure the answer is in this thread already but I don't see it.
I've been away from eBay for awhile and have forgotten the rules. I've never had this situation before. I sold a bottle of fragrance to someone in Kalamazoo MIchigan, I think a student at U of Michigan. I mailed it on day of sale and tracking shows it was delivered in two days. Message says "package delivered to mail room." I'm guessing it might be a central mail receiving office for students, just an assumption on my part. Anyway,mail room does not have it. He contacted USPS and eBay both and they said they could do nothing as item was delivered. Is there some obligation on my part at this point? He has not asked for anything, just mailed me to let me know package had disappeared.
 
#7,617
beekmanhill said:
Apologize in advance because I'm sure the answer is in this thread already but I don't see it.
I've been away from eBay for awhile and have forgotten the rules. I've never had this situation before. I sold a bottle of fragrance to someone in Kalamazoo MIchigan, I think a student at U of Michigan. I mailed it on day of sale and tracking shows it was delivered in two days. Message says "package delivered to mail room." I'm guessing it might be a central mail receiving office for students, just an assumption on my part. Anyway,mail room does not have it. He contacted USPS and eBay both and they said they could do nothing as item was delivered. Is there some obligation on my part at this point? He has not asked for anything, just mailed me to let me know package had disappeared.
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Nope, you did your part and are protected. Ebay may issue the buyer a "courtesy refund" as a goodwill gesture if the buyer were to call and cry to them but the negligence occurred after delivery and is out of your control.
 
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#7,619
So if a seller has 3 days handing and they don't ship the item in 3 days what happens? Can I cancel on the 4th day? (I didn't notice the long handling until I already paid and all the previous buyers said they shipped quickly.)
 
#7,620
JadaStormy said:
So if a seller has 3 days handing and they don't ship the item in 3 days what happens? Can I cancel on the 4th day? (I didn't notice the long handling until I already paid and all the previous buyers said they shipped quickly.)
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It doesn't necessarily mean that they won't ship more quickly. Some sellers put a longer handling time in order to avoid dings if there's an unforeseeable delay. (Ebay has been dinging sellers by considering Saturday and Sunday as business days.)
 
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