Ebay Training Notes

These are some notes that I made when Santiago was training us on ebay sales.

As someone in Online Sales for passwords, etc. Please do not update anything on Santiago's computer. Thank you.

Research

1. Do some research on an item to see if it is something of value.
2. We don't want to bother with items below $50 value unless, for example, they are easy to sell in large lots.

Photography

1. Avoid getting reflections of your face in the pictures.
2. Take really good pictures and many of them.
3. You should be able to fill out your listing by looking at the pictures, instead of back at the item again.
4. We host picture at Free Geek but you will need to upload one to ebay for the thumbnail. Additional pictures cost us money.
5. Pictures are hosted on llama and directories are organized by date.

Preliminary Ebay Stuff

1. Read ebay's guidelines. There are a lot of common spoofs that can be avoided. For example, we only ship to the ebay/paypal address.

Posting

1. You can use the "post similar" button to work off a former sale to save you time.
2. Copy the template from a previous posting wherever possible.
3. When advertising the condition of an item, try to keep expectations low.
4. Only ship in the U.S. (for all items?)
5. Calculate shipping beforehand.
6. Never post an item so that the sale closes on a Saturday. Shoot for Sunday.

Packing

1. If it's a cube pack all the sides well.
2. If it's a flatter box, pack the top and sides well as it lies flat.
3. Not all cardboard is created equal. Get the thick stuff. A lof of boxes will have weight ratings.

Shipping

1. Sometimes buyers ask us if we can combine shipping on multiple sales. We generally can do this.
2. Santiago likes to close his sales on Sunday and ship them Monday.
3. Ship items as fast as possible to get better feedback.
4. USPS Priority mail (2-3 days) preferred. Ground for heavier items.
5. Don't use Parcel Post. It takes 9 days.
6. Shipping cost is calculated by buyer's location + USPS priority.
7. Batteries can't be shipped, even with laptops. USPS rules.
8. Never ship something if it hasn't been paid for.
9. For fastest shipping, take it to the USPS back lot and give it to someone there.
10. Padded mailers and small packages will only be scanned (tracked) if you take it in the front door.
11. When calculating shipping we want the amount to match the amount we charged the customer if possible.

Other

1. A case will automatically be opened and involved parties will be notified by email if payment has not been made in X time.
2. Refunds can be issued per transaction on the Paypal site. We tend to refund for whatever reason.
3. Unwritten Ebay rule: Pay right away, ship right away. Wait a day to pay, wait a day to ship, etc.
4. You can pay for shipping through Ebay or through Paypal. Ebay is free but it's difficult to refund.