posted on September 9, 2001 06:03:01 AM
What was the DUMBEST thing you ever did
buying or selling?
I credit Sadie for being the inspiration of this thread.
When I was a Newbie, I had an item to sell
which I felt would bring at least $10.
So that's what I listed it at. Giving more money to ebay just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
BTW, someone wrote a post within the last
week or two talking about how they had
won an auction and didn't realize until the end
that it was one of their own (under a different ID). I laughed at that.
posted on September 9, 2001 06:19:28 AM
This still makes me laugh and cringe at the same time....
When I first started selling, I didn't realize that the different settings on my digital camera referred to resolutions. For some reason didn't connect the link between quality, quantity, and resolutions. I wanted the pics to look nice, so I set the camera at the highest resolution, which produced maximum of 20 images at a time. I was so proud of the pics - thought they looked absolutely wonderful, so wrote up my listings and voila, off to eBay with my first batch of auctions....
When I went to look at my auctions for the first time, the pics were huge! I had to scroll down and across the pages 3 or 4 times just to see the entire image! It was absolutely horrible! Looking back, I can't believe that I even got bids on these, but I did...
Here is the worst part of it all - eBay charged me for oversize pics on every auction (approximately 50 auctions w/2 pics each)!
professorhiggins thank you for starting this thread and giving us a chance to look back and laugh (hopefully!)...
[ edited by nanandme on Sep 9, 2001 06:20 AM ]
posted on September 9, 2001 07:21:48 AM
Dumbest thing I ever did as a newbie buyer (over three years ago) was to bid one increment at a time on something that I wanted really bad, which resulted in the auction getting the "HOT" icon! As if that weren't stupid enough, I ultimately won the auction at about three times the going price. Bet that was one happy seller.
The dumbest thing I ever almost did as a newbie seller was buy a new camera. I had a perfectly good Olympus D340-L and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get it to take pictures at less than a 6" distance from the object. I was kicking myself for not buying a better camera to begin with, so I realized I had to take decent closeup pictures eventually, and decided to purchase a new one. While I was in the camera shop, the guy was demonstrating another digital camera and he showed me the macro mode. I noticed the little "flower" icon that appeared when he went into macro mode, and the machinery in my head slowly started turning - my camera did have macro mode! So I made a very hasty excuse from the camera shop, ran home and took some pics using macro mode, and sure enough I could take perfectly clear close-up images of small items! I still pity that salesman at the shop though - he probably was planning on a sale.
posted on September 9, 2001 07:25:47 AM
Hi Professor,
(I thought that post went largely unread.)
I think the dumbest thing I did first was to only take MO's. It took me about 30 days to finally realize what a pain they are to most people.
Next dumbest (chronologically): using film instead of a digital camera. Not only was this penny-wise-pound-foolish, but my dependence on a small town's "overnight" service was making me a reck.
Most of my dumb doings have positive results, as in listing a silly little doll for $3.99 thinking I'd be lucky to get that, and having it end at $43.00. I still occasionally buy something that I can't sell for the life of me, but fortunately that happens less and less with each passing month.
posted on September 9, 2001 07:54:47 AM
I once bid on an item where the auction said, "buyer pays actual shipping". I thought that this meant the actual postage to get the item to me and I thought I was getting a great deal until I got the EOA notice from the seller. She had hugely inflated shipping charges. I learned from that point on that peoples' opinions of what constitutes "actual shipping" varies widely and that I should always email the seller before bidding in order to get clarification on such phrases.
I also wanted to win two identical items that were for sale in a dutch auction. I ignorantly placed my max bid for both thinking that the proxy bidding would take care of everything for me. Well, I learned really quickly that there is NO proxy bidding on dutch auctions! Aarrrggghhhh! I ended up being the only bidder because I had jacked up my own price too high.
posted on September 9, 2001 08:42:42 AM
Great thread!
It's actually been quite some time, I don't recall the 'dumbest' thing I did BUT. I do remember when I started selling, not realizing all it was about...I thought that EVERYTHING you put up on eBay would sell irregardless of what it was. So I had approximately 6 items up and only 3 had bids and I was furious that the other three items had not sold!! I didn't realize that there was no obligation or assurance that everything will sell. Now, man, I wish that were true!! If I had at least 1 bid on everything I had up at this point I'd have a good....3 grand...oh the thoughts that brings into my head...
posted on September 9, 2001 08:55:43 AM
My biggest problem as a newbie seller was trying to make a perfect TOS and EOA. Most of my perfections have since been sent to electronic heaven. Anything longer than how and how much someone pays you is probably too long.
posted on September 9, 2001 09:28:48 AM
Wow! ESP here. I was just thinking about this a couple of days ago. When I first started selling and for about 5 months, I never heard about the USPS site for shipping charges. So I guessed! I did not have a scale either and man oh man, did I ever eat the shipping charges! I also knew nothing about tweaking photos or cropping. Also I expected everyone to pay as soon as the auction ended like I did when I won an auction, and a deadbeat was never even thought of. It just never occured to me someone would win an auction and not pay for it. Boy did I wake up fast!
posted on September 9, 2001 11:26:33 AMI should always expect the worse and settle for anything less.
I base my life on this principle...
About the worst thing that ever happened to me as a newbie was to purchase an item offered to me by someone I had purchased from before. Paid about $150.00 for an old stamp collection which turned out to be virtually worthless. Resold it on eBay describing it's true condition and got about $10.00 for it...
Never again will I buy anything offered to me outside of eBay...
posted on September 9, 2001 11:39:32 AM
This is a funny thread! I was just thinking a few days back about some of the stupid things I used to do!
** I can remember that I used to take each and every Priority package to the PO to get the correct shipping amount.
** I never knew how to crop my pics so my pics not only included the item but my whole living room (and took forever for buyers to view)!
Some of my best lessons came from buyers questioning my terms such as "actual shipping charges". It was their questions (along with looking at other sellers auctions to see their formats) that taught me just about everything I know today.
That AND a lot of reading about HTML, playing around with different programs, etc. I have to admit I had a LOT to learn at that time!
posted on September 9, 2001 12:32:33 PM
When I was a newbie
I would just HAVE to win at any cost. I made a lot of sellers very happy with my bidding wars early on in the auctions. My philosophy was if I didn't win, the other would have to pay an dearly. Most often I was the one ending up paying an outrageous price.
I assumed the white spots in the item's pics I bid on were glare from the photo's flash and bid very high to win. They weren't, they were defects that were clearly visible in the pics.
posted on September 9, 2001 01:14:59 PM
several times in my first few months of ebaying I put my nickname and secret code (password) right in my auctions somehow.
Did not notice. Nothing bad ever happened. I change secret code frequently now.
posted on September 9, 2001 02:38:55 PM
as a seller:
- not knowing the importance of putting the shipping info in the listing
- (having recently cleaned off my hard drive and found them) posting such horrible, awful, fuzzy photos that i literally cringed and was stunned that anyone bought anything from me!
as a buyer:
- not getting a priority-mailed item within 1 1/2 weeks, utterly convinced i was being ripped off and threatening the (very nice, but extremely 'laid back') seller with turning him in for postal fraud [he finally emailed me back, apologized, and invited me to come visit him, should i ever be in his town.]
posted on September 9, 2001 05:13:34 PM
As a seller:
- Sold my first item without a photo (why would I need a picture? I am an honest person, and can describe what it looks like!), and was overjoyed that it got 1 bid! Only later did I realize that I sold it for about 1/3 of it's value.
- Used film for taking photos of items (boy was that expensive!)
- Used a cheap webcam camera for taking photos (boy did those look like crap!)
posted on September 9, 2001 07:41:01 PM
My first digital camera didn't have an AC adaptor, and used $6.00 batteries.... 30 pictures later, get a new battery....
posted on September 9, 2001 08:04:24 PM
I was a buyer for months before I became a seller & almost everything I won came in a really neat red white & blue box. I was very impressed with these boxes & often mentioned in feedback about the "really nice packaging" I saved all of them to reuse when I became a seller.
What a dope I felt like when I made my first sale & went to the PO with my "impressive" R W & B box with a lable pasted over my address only to find out that they were free PO priority boxes.
Until then I had never heard of priority mail.
You grow up fast on eBay.
posted on September 10, 2001 01:29:39 AM
I really like this thread.
The box story is funny. Count yourself lucky that you found out as soon as you did. Besides what you were doing is better for the environment. I deal with newer or less frequent sellers often and I always want to email them after I receive the package to let them know USPS Priority boxes are complimentary (and often better). You always walk the line between helping and offending when you do try it though.
I have actually been very lucky for instance and caught the $9.99 thing right away.
What I didn't figure out at first was the feedback thing. Feedback started after I signed-up but I wasn't smart enough to look around the site and find out what was new. Nor did I have a clue what the numbers next to everyone's name meant. I would see many a TOS that said "don't even think of bidding if your rating is less than 10" but I didn't know what they were talking about. Of course I didn't bid on those but I guess I didn't know how to ask questions either. I missed giving I don't know how much feedback and I am sure I didn't get feedback for a number of transactions.
My biggest feedback regret was when I had a series of extreme personal/family crises and I was unable to return/give over 300 hundred feedbacks to very deserving and wonderful customers in time. Now my record shows I have given less feedback than I have received (although only by a 150 or so) but I don't know how to make it up so people don't think I am evil.
Finally I wish I wouldn't get attached to any of things I sell. It really makes it hard to let it go especially since anything less than a fortune isn't good enough.
posted on September 10, 2001 02:10:48 AM
As a seller, failing to use a picture on my first item. I was new to using a computer and wanted to list items. I described my first item very well and NO BIDS. Finally, I put on a pic, even though a crude one, and twenty six bucks and change. Paid a buck for this at a local junk store. I was hooked.
posted on September 10, 2001 12:58:18 PM
Even though I'd been checking out eBay since it was AuctionWeb, I never bought anything until about 4 years ago...
I bought a cheapie digital camera as a Christmas present for the hubby. Got it at a good price, too, but I neglected to check the seller's feedback. When I got it, the switch wasn't working and I got no reply from the seller. To top it off, I was naive enough to think they might get back to me, so I didn't leave a neg. (sigh)
The cost to fix it brought it up to the retail price, so I wasn't out too much money.
As a seller, I only sell to clean house. Last year, I took pics (with said digital camera) of an old Mac I wanted to sell, with all the accessories and software, etc. Then I packed it up so that a bomb couldn't destroy it.
After downloading the pics to my hard drive, I realized I had the macro setting on and all the pics were blurry. I still haven't bothered getting that Mac out of the box to take pictures again. Phooey.
