Tag Archives: ebay

26.

I just logged on to eBay to check some prices. eBay has changed the layout of the item page. THEY NO LONGER SHOW THE FULL ITEM DESCRIPTION! There’s the “Item Specifics” box, and then there’s a “See full item description” link. You have to click the link to see the item description.

There’s already a problem with buyers not reading the descriptions and then demanding refunds because the item is “not as described.” eBay is now making it even easier for buyers to ignore the item description; they’re also making it more difficult for serious, careful buyers to find and read the item description.

Currently there is a “what do you think” survey button next to the “see full item description” link. I just now clicked on it. I selected the “I don’t like it” response, and added the following comment:

This is STUPID! But I guess you’re catering to the cell phone crowd. For me as an eBay seller, you insist that I describe the item completely and accurately, but now you make it more difficult for buyers to see the description, and you open the sellers up to even more frequent charges of “item not as described” because the buyer did not bother to click through to read the entire description.

As a buyer, you are doing me a disservice by making sellers less inclined to provide detailed descriptions, as they will feel it’s a waste of time since the description will not be readily visible anyway.

eBay is becoming increasingly seller AND buyer unfriendly, at least to those of us who like to consider our purchases or accurately and completely describe items we are selling. Perhaps your new approach will increase your sales to mobile-device shoppers. I suspect it will also lead to a higher percentage of returns.

I shouldn’t have to “dig” to find the item description, particularly on pre-owned items. As a buyer, this cinches it;I’m done with eBay.

I guess I should hurry up and list the last of my crap on eBay… and be prepared for a lot of return requests from people who don’t read the description. I’m done buying through eBay, and I hope, soon, to be done selling as well. Extra clicks — a giant step BACKWARDS in internet functionality! Thank you, cell phone culture!

DAY XXXI

Yesterday afternoon after work I took two boxes to the post office to mail. Two items sold on eBay. One was a box filled with nearly a hundred miniature Matchbox toy cars that I’d had since I was a little kid. I had a little bit of anxiety about selling that. I kept a dozen or so. I’m sure at some point there are a few in the lot that I’ll regret having parted with. But hey, I’m gonna have a real Rolls Royce here one of these soon days, right?

The second box was outdated computer software and some accompanying books. Happy to see that go.

That’s two sales so far out of the 32 items I listed over the weekend. I have low opening bids on five or six additional items. I’m not exactly raking in the big bucks, but it’s a start.

And that’s two large flat-rate boxes, or about the equivalent of one apple box, of stuff that is now GONE! The combined weight of the boxes was 33 pounds, so that’s 33 pounds of stuff I don’t have to shuffle around in the Room of Doom anymore.

I also jogged 5 km (3 miles) after work. I’m hoping to have enough ambition to do that again today. I weighed 205 pounds yesterday, down from a ridiculous 207 pounds the previous day. That’s just stupid. It’s well past time to drop that weight! So, clutter and fat, I gotta keep whittling away at both of ’em.

DAY XXIX

Another day working on eBay listings. As of this evening I have thirty-one items listed. I should have had over a hundred, considering I spent the better part of four days working on this crap.

One “buy it now” sale so far, $50 for an old computer software package, Adobe Creative Suite CS2, and several accompanying books. The sad thing is, I purchased the software new eight or so years ago, and paid hundreds of dollars for it, but I never learned to use it. I opened Photoshop two or three times, became overwhelmed by the interface, and closed it back up again. As of the most recent OS X update, CS2 is no longer compatible with my aging MacBook Pro. I hope I made the “will not work with latest version of OS X” clear enough in my eBay listing.

 

Bratz doll in a pint glass
I think this beer is skunked!

DAY XXVI

Possibly the least festive Thanksgiving Day of my life. Spent the day photographing crummy junk to post for sale on eBay. Didn’t get around to actually posting anything, as the photography part took far longer than expected. I didn’t get through all the stuff I had planned, either.

I really own nothing of value anymore. I always have grand visions of raising several thousand dollars through eBay, but then when I start looking through my stuff I realize how valueless most of it is.

DAY SEVENTY-FOUR: Fat Thighs

Yesterday’s intended perambulation did not materialize; instead, I found myself shanghaied into shuffling around baby cribs and strollers and assorted infant-related nonsense – all stuff left behind when my spouse’s relatives moved out a week ago. Now this stuff is stored until who knows when so it can be donated to charity. GoodWill Stores already refused it, saying they cannot accept cribs or strollers due to liability concerns. My spouse thinks one of the other charity organizations will accept the stuff. In the meantime, it’s more clutter and more stuff to shift back and forth and up and down from here to there.

On a more positive note, even though I determined that the two laptop computers left behind when the relatives moved were not economically feasible for me to repair, I was able to sell the pair on eBay for $225.00. In fact, it was my fastest eBay sale ever. I snapped some photos yesterday afternoon and posted the listing with a $99 starting bid or a $225 “Buy It Now” price. The lot of two sold within a minute. In fact, they sold so quickly I emailed the buyer to make sure he (or she) realized the computers were in “as is, not working” condition. The buyer confirmed the transaction and paid immediately via PayPal. I shipped the box today. Of course, the $225 isn’t pure profit. I offered free shipping, which cost me $20. The eBay commission was $23. The PayPal fee is about ten dollars. Ultimately, I will pocket about $175 from the $225 sale. Still, that’s not too bad for two non-working computers that were discarded.

As I noted, yesterday’s planned “long walk” did not happen, although I walked about a mile on the beach. Today, however, I completed a thirteen mile walk of three hours thirty-nine minutes from the house to partway up Long Road and back. There was a time I could have run most of that way, but now, at two-hundred pounds, that’s not happening. I walked the entire route. Now my Fat Boy Thighs are feeling the burn, quite literally – friction burn from rubbing together. I’m hobbling around like a cowpoke who has spent too long in the saddle.

We still have guests. I am still eating too much.

DAY FIFTY-FOUR: Tuesday

Tired. Still coughing and easily tired. I sold the white key tops and the black wood keys from the piano I disassembled through eBay this past weekend. The white key tops sold for $26 including shipping and the black keys sold for $25 including shipping. I mailed off the white key tops today. I am awaiting payment on the black keys. Recently about one in three eBay sales results in a non-paying bidder.

Work is stupid and I hate it. How’s that for a mature, thoughtful, productive response to a situation?

On the bright side, my 37-1/2 inch stomach and 36-1/2 inch waistline are still smaller than the national average.

DAY THIRTY-TWO: Decluttering is a Cluttery Business

Monday. 5:00 a.m. wakeup time. Not fun. In fact, the 5:00 a.m. wakeup time is going to drive me to suicide one of these days. I hate it that much. And I am not exaggerating.

I sold two items on eBay yesterday. One of the buyers paid today, which meant that after work I wanted to print out a shipping label and pack up the item for mailing. Sounds easy enough. But this is me we’re talking about – well, that I’m talking about and you’re reading about – so nothing is ever easy. Continue reading DAY THIRTY-TWO: Decluttering is a Cluttery Business