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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;krispy, post: 640152, member: 19065&quot;]I hear your woe... truly, but take a stronger handed approach if you can:</p><p><br /></p><p>If you know what your item <i>should</i> sell for, that is, what its actual market value is at any given time, then raise your starting price to offset eBay and PayPal fees. Use your example, calculate those fees and start the auction no less than that amount. State VERY clearly in writing in your item description what you based the starting price on and that this is a factor in the cost of the item being offered on eBay to the Buyers. Similarly use Fixed Price/Buy It Now if you are that certain of the items cost and fees associated. If a Buyer is serious and understands the market and how eBay conspires to profit, they will agree and bid if the item is that important to the Buyer. If they do not understand, do not read terms first and bid blindly then you have a defense in writing and besides, you can&#039;t fix stupid. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you are honest about your fees and item description plus overtly upfront a serious buyer will understand (they don&#039;t have to like it, and they also don&#039;t have to bid in that case either) and if serious about bidding, and willing to pay the toll, to obtain your item, then they can play. Otherwise if the rising costs of goods on eBay limits sales volume hence profitability then eBay is a doomed loosing proposition for all including the eBay company. </p><p><br /></p><p>Also DO NOT OFFER A RETURN POLICY. I know this is<i> controversial</i> especially in numismatic auctions. I have never had a problem with any Buyer over this policy except for potentially lost sales due to Buyers that doubt my honesty or my honest descriptions and service promises. Sure some people may distrust you, it&#039;s their right, but again, you have to be <u>honest and complete</u> in your item description and indicate this policy very clearly, encouraging Buyers to inquire special needs and questions prior to bidding. If they bid and complain later it&#039;s their fault. If they complain to PayPal and get their money back and you don&#039;t get the item back but were paid then you were paid, your buyer is a thief and Paypal/eBay should pursue the Buyer -- they will never take action like this because they couldn&#039;t operate a business at all if they were prosecuting every scam and whiner out there that yelped.</p><p><br /></p><p>Lazy Buyers and lazy Sellers don&#039;t succeed nor should they expect to, even though you may feel like they are getting away with it right now. Thorough and honest Buyers and Sellers will do a fair business and exchange merchandise and funds with little trouble. Sure profit may be slow but it&#039;s a market, a true market place, and not always active nor profitable. eBay&#039;s preference of big volume PowerSellers and Stores is only because they make more money off them and have less individual crisis between Buyers and Sellers to deal with saving eBay time and money. Remember Lincoln&#039;s sage advice about pleasing people, as the odds are against you having pleasing and pleased buyers, since some people cannot be pleased no matter how hard you try. And while the <i>customer</i> is often not always right, they are always the <i>customer </i>and they can be made to abide by the rules which they agreed to by participating in your auction per the terms you lay out for them.</p><p><br /></p><p>I say, screw feedback. I don&#039;t believe negative feedback to be honestly reflective of any situation someone else experienced and if it was a dubious international seller with counterfeits, the listing likely gave it away and I certainly wouldn&#039;t have been looking or bidding there in the first place. The whole feedback system is a sham. It&#039;s never worked right, supposedly being a defensive tool for Sellers in the past to protect against dead beat Buyers. It has always been a tool of e-commerce warfare and nothing positive comes from it, including generic non-reflective positive comments. Better to have no positive feedback and merely track the number of successfully completed auctions the way Amazon and PayPal track completed sales. If only Negative Feedback were allowed to be posted then you&#039;d see who was a sure crook. So IF you get feedback you disagree with then contact eBay each and every time and make them remove the comment. Keep writing to them until they respond and be patient about it. Removing comments will not affect your feedback tally. </p><p><br /></p><p>eBay surely has become a menace to individuals. eBay is a full on nightmare now for Sellers everywhere and it continues to worsen. Take it from an 11 year eBay veteran who has seen everything under the East Bay sun.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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