Stuff U Sell makes eBay selling simple

I wrote to a reader last week,  a lady who wanted to know how best to sell a silk head scarf from the 1976 Canadian Olympics. Either sold as a souvenir, or else perhaps given to competitors, the scarf was printed with the Olympic torch and listings of all the events.

Ironically, I came across the scarf, illustrated here, in a sale at The Canterbury Auction Galleries, also last week. Commemorating the "Olympic Winners of XIV Olympiad, London 1948", it was described as having been designed by Ena Pitfield, devised by Arnold Lever and printed

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Britons flock to online auction sales

Fourteen per cent of adult Britons who use the internet made their most recent online purchase from an auction site according to a survey by Apacs, the UK payments association. I bet I know which auction site ... which is why I'm not surprised when fees for buyers and sellers keep rising. Problem is, there seems to be no serious alternative.

eBay robots - the latest weapons in scammer wars

eBay scam latest: I learned something new today - eBay power sellers use bots (web robots) to post hundreds of sales offering "Buy it Now" stuff such as e-books, digital photos and Windows wallpaper for a penny (or a cent). It's all delivered digitally, but automating the process is the only way the sellers can make any money.

When a buyer clicks to buy and pays up, the bot is programmed to automatically email the product and at the same time, a standard generic positive feedback notice which is recorded on the buyer's profile.

Impressed at the quality and speed of the service, the buyer responds with positive feedback for the vendor and everyone is happy. And so are the scammers.

Now the crooks have got wise to the system. They use similar bots to create a large number of fake buyers' accounts and to locate and purchase the digitally delivered cheapo stuff, thus building up convincing amounts of positive feedback.

The rest is obvious. They then set up bogus sales for valuable kit that doesn't exist, rake in the proceeds and vanish.

Time was when it was enough to simply check that a seller had a good level of positive feedback to feel comfortable about buying from him. Now it's becoming increasingly important to check out exactly what goods the feedback relates to. If you find lots of 1p purchases listed - steer clear.

eBay Motors set to go head to head with newspapers over classified ads

The leeching of advertising spend away from newspapers and magazines to the Internet looks set to move up a gear with a plan by eBay to invite traders to post classified ads on eBay Motors. For £150 a month, garages and dealers will be able to list up to 100 cars on the site - a fraction of the cost of traditional printed ads. Handy - if you can afford the petrol. Pip pip.

Poor eBay: does anyone know who’s in charge?

Pity poor eBay - it's grown so huge, no one seems to be in control. Like a giant megalithic blob, it flops one way then another, leaving customers bewidered. Word on the wires is that within days of deciding it would longer accept payment from Nochex - a move that caused thousands of power sellers to scramble to re-write their listings or face a lifetime ban - the eBay suits changed their minds. Nochex is back in favour and the panic is over. I wonder how long it will be before eBay backs down and starts to accept rival Google's checkout syste, Time will tell.
Pip pip.

Ten ways to buy well on eBay

• Know your subject. If you don't, research it well and get to know values.

• Know about fakes. Branded jewellery, clothes and fashion accessories that sell cheaply are usually too good to be true.

• Know your seller. All eBay vendors build up feedback from their buyers, which is your way of checking out their reliability.

• Know your limits. Just as you would in a live auction, fix a limit in your mind of how much you're prepared to pay. And learn to stick to it.

• Know the enemy. With experience you'll start to identify those buyers who snap up all the good stuff in your chosen collecting field. Bookmark their user pages to check what their bidding on.

• Know about bid sniping. Computer software can be obtained to place bids in the closing seconds of an auction. Do the same if you must, or compete with bullish commission bids.

• Know about added extras. Be sure to check out how much the vendor wants for postage and packing. EBay outlaws sellers who ramp up charges, but lots do.

• Know your options on payments. There are pros and cons to all the various systems of paying for something you purchase. Get to learn what they are.

• Know your rights. Understand eBay's disputes procedures. Better to be safe than sorry.

• Know how to spell. Not all sellers can, with the result that some items get listed but ignored by search engines because an object is spelled incorrectly. Find them at www.fatfingers.com.

Ten ways to sell well on eBay

• Always start your sales during the week, so that they finish at the weekend, when most potential buyers are at their computers

• Most sales happen in the closing minutes of the sale, so don’t waste buyers’ time with long listings. Research has proved against the argument that long auctions raise awareness and therefore prices. They don’t.

• Always illustrate your lots with quality photographs – a good digital camera is an essential.

• If you chose to add a “buy it now” option to your auction, set the price high. A lower price might attract more bidders but not necessarily result in higher value bids.

• If you’re unsure of values, search completed sales to find objects similar to your own.

• Target new or unsuccessful bidders. Auction psychology suggests that they are likely buyers if you have something similar to what they want.

• Write well-written descriptions. Keep them punchy and to the point, but above all be honest.

• Answer emails from potential buyers swiftly and honestly. And ship goods to buyers without delay once they’ve paid.

• Make it easy for them to pay by using an electronic service such as Paypal. Be very careful about accepting cheques.

• Always leave fair feedback. That will encourage your buyers to do the same for you, thus enhancing your selling reputation.

PayPal: with friends like this …

A cruise around eBay's community forums throws up a raft of problem posts from sellers who claim they are victims of PayPal's unaccountability and apparent intransigence when it comes to settling disputes.

A typical case involves an individual who sells an object on eBay, receives payment via PayPal, posts it to the winner of the auction in good time and then goes on holiday thinking no more about it.

In his absence, the winner complains to PayPal that the object was never delivered and in his absence, emails to the seller having gone unanswered owing to him being on holiday, PayPal sides with the winner, removes funds from the seller's account without his knowledge and refunds the winner.

EBay says the seller would have been reimbursed had he had a seller-protection insurance policy and proof of shipping. He is adamant that he posted the item, but cannot prove it because it was sent first class post.

Emails to PayPal are answered either by automatic response -- somewhat worse than phoning a call centre in India -- or using stock responses which bear little or no relation to the issue in question.

EBay say they're working on it. In the meantime, it's a case of caveat vendor!

eBay in the dock over fake Tiffany jewellery

Having come this close at a collectors' fair to buying a "Tiffany" silver bangle that turned out to be a fake, it was heartening to learn that the U.S. jewellery manufacturer is suing eBay which is surely the source of most if not all the dud pieces currently circulating.

We were searching out a graduation gift for the older of the two young apprentices and the bangle would have been just right. However, we spotted that the signature turquoise box it came in just wasn't up to scratch and that was enough to sound the alarm.

The stallholder felt as cheated as we did. She had purchased the bangle in good faith from a visitor to the fair, and in all honesty, the bangle itself looked entirely right. If it hadn't been for the fact that the printed Tiffany name on the box was smudged and printed skewed, we'd have handed over our cash and left none the wiser.

It turns out that in 2004, Tiffany secretly purchased 200 items off eBay, and discovered that three out of four pieces were fakes.

An eBay spokesman said: "We never take possession of the goods sold through eBay, and we don't have any expertise. We're not clothing experts. We're not car experts, and we're not jewellery experts. We're experts at building a marketplace and bringing buyers and sellers together."

If Tiffany wins the case, which is expected to go to trial by the end of the year, eBay should brace itself for a rash of copycat suits.

Beware the phishers and don’t get caught by this scam

Recognise this spoof email?

Dear valued eBay member, It has come to our attention that your eBay billing updates are out of order. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your billing records you will not run into any future problems with the online service. Once you have updated your account records your eBay session will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS) violations or future billing problems. To update your eBay records click here: https://billing.ebay.com/aw-cg.

Whatever you do, don't ever respond to this kind of hoax. Scammers are trying to steal your identity and clear your bank account. It's called “phishing” in the business and anyone with an e-mail address who has bought or sold on eBay (or used PayPal) is a target.
Ignore the email and any threats it may contain about suspension of account.

Reputable companies such as eBay and PayPal never ask customers for their account or credit card details, username or password in any communications.

And get a firewall and a virus checker on your computer.

Making money? First, sell your antique or collectable

There is no shortage of ways to sell objects you own - and I've tried most of them, with differing results. One that I hope to use increasingly is the online auction. Before I do so, I intend to check out the recommendations listed here by the Federal Trade Commision and I suggest you do the same.

Are you a struggling artist? David Pott offers help

David Pott has been selling his work on eBay for 10 months now. His blog ArtistsAnon: gives 10 Tips for Making a Living on eBay, as well as 7 Tips on How to Create Art That Sells on eBay. I can't paint to save my life, but others might find David's help invaluable.

Ebay’s double standards …

Strange that no-one at eBay is interested in putting an end to all the crooks selling fake designer goods. Or is this a case of double standards? Read
here about the axe falling on unlicensed DVDs of Live 8 concerts.