Ignorance fought: I was unaware of that rule. Seems to me it leaves the seller open to fraud from buyers. Buyer receives item claims it never arrived, then gets a refund. I always make sure I get delivery confirmation for just that reason. I’ve only had two items ripped off in the mail and was able to resolve them amicably. I’ve really backed away from eBay and Paypal for everyday items because the damned fees get so expensive. If you try to compensate through “handling” charges, it discourages potential buyers. I try to sell only items that will probably capture interest and thus engender a bidding war.
Karyn: I’ve sold two cars on Craigslist and a lot of other miscellaneous stuff over the years. It works pretty darn well and is free. I’d recommend the following, though:
Don’t use the email address function unless you want to start receiving spam. A spammer will send you a query about your item, which goes to the Craigslist email server. But when you respond to the query, they can then see your return email address and start sending you glurge. Post your phone number. It cuts down on the looky-loos.
If your item hasn’t sold in a couple of weeks, cancel it and repost it. Craigslist doesn’t like you doing this, but they really don’t pay any attention. This moves your listing up to the present, so somebody will see it right away when they do a search. This is how I sold my last car: very little activity in the beginning, then BAM! when I reposted.
I’ve never heard of PayPal putting a “hold” on a payment. Are you sure it wasn’t an “e-Check”, because those little bitches take like two weeks to clear and I absolutely will not ship an item under any circumstance while it’s still pending.
I never thought the buyer was responsible for what the USPS did with things after shipping…specifically, I recently shipped a margarita glass–it was perfectly intact and very well wrapped–which the buyer claimed arrived broken. I believe her, but she did not ask for a refund. She had not bought insurance either. I don’t see how I could have been responsible for postal workers throwing the box around.
Don’t think so, unless PayPal accepts e-Checks. The PayPal status for one transaction says “Completed” and I have my money. The other says “On Hold - Ship now” and I haven’t been credited the money. PayPal says basically they might do it for items over $100 if you have less than 100 positive feedbacks. I say that’s unreasonable, I have 65 feedbacks that are 100% positive and I’ve used eBay and PayPal on and off for 6 years. So, YMMV.
You may not be responsible for the breakage, but (at least according to eBay), you’re accountable - if not, then the buyer is, which makes even less sense, because the buyer has absolutely no control over the packaging etc.
I believe there’s a limit on the number of non-delivery claims any one buyer can make - although I expect an enterprising fraudster could probably work around that.
Paypal now routinely puts a hold on your funds for a set time, or until the buyer leaves positive feedback. I have over 900 feedback (100% positive), and they still do it to me.
I’ve bought woman’s clothing on eBay, my impression is that items that sell meet the following criteria:
they are still in style, and actually a nice-looking garment to begin with. Vintage is something of a separate market that I can’t comment on
they are from a popular brand, or at least a brand with something of a following.
items are priced pennies on the dollar, based on original sale price. As an example, I sold an Anne Taylor Loft dress for ~$8, I paid $40 on sale, the original price was ~$80.
It’s best to post garment measurements in addition to just the size on the tag. And particularly with dresses, photos on mannequins (or a human) show off the item much better than on a hanger. And again, these are just my impressions, I’m not any sort of power seller.