posted on August 7, 2005 05:21:06 PM new
Hi folks, I'm still a newbie here and my pal Roadsmith says that some of you might just take a few moments to look over one of my listings and let me know what you think.
I was hoping to use calculated shipping, but gave up trying to get it to work, so I upped the price and I'm now offering free shipping. Hey, whatever works. LOL!
Anyway, my "test" listing is eBay 4398407576. Please let me know what you think! If you have suggestions for improvement, I'm all ears.
Oh, and, by the way, if you haven't met Roadsmith in person, she's one of the most delightful humans you could ever want to meet. Thanks for all your help A!
posted on August 7, 2005 05:34:03 PM new
Hello from another sort of Newbie - not to Ebay, but to Vendio. I started using their gallery about 2 months ago, and have found some great info in this forum. Very helpful.
I just took a look at your listing - it looks wonderful! Love the format. My suggestions are:
When you click on the links for payment, shipping and policies, the link takes you off to an expired selling form.
I would flat rate shipping at $20 rather than upping the price, I've never had much success in offering free shipping, but I sell antique stuff, so I'm not sure how it goes over in your category.
posted on August 7, 2005 05:43:30 PM new
Oh, those bad links are weird. Why are they doing that? How do I fix that? Inquiring minds MUST know?
Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Caroline. It's probably because I ended that listing several times to make offline corrections before noticing that I was racking up new fees each time I re-listed it. Duh.
Anyway, I'll check my next listing to see if the same problem exists.
I'm not sure about the free shipping scheme, either. Maybe I'll try it both ways and see what happens.
posted on August 7, 2005 05:46:51 PM new
also, I think it just a little early to start using "vendio" gallery, showing the long line of things you have listed. {which is one thing right now, right?} ... maybe if you can 'turn off" the vendio gallery till you have a dozen things up, or so? ...
just my humble opinion ...
marcia/ohio
p.s. edited to add, your listing LOOKS fabulous!!
[ edited by estatesalestuff on Aug 7, 2005 05:47 PM ]
posted on August 7, 2005 05:57:32 PM new
The only thing I would do differently is add close up of the pattern. Maybe it's because I once bought comforter set mail order that I loved in the picture and hated on my bed but I would want to see a little more detail on the pattern. Othr than that, very nice!
BTW - The problem I see with the Free Shipping offer is simply that if someone returns the item, you are going to have to eat he original shipping fees since technically it was free.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on August 7, 2005 06:01:26 PM new
Hi Julie,
I agree that the listing looks great. My only suggestion would be to add more specific color info. If I were looking for something like that - one of the things I would search on would be color. Also different monitors show colors differently.
Crystal
[ edited by cherishedclutter on Aug 7, 2005 06:02 PM ]
posted on August 7, 2005 06:07:24 PM new
Wow, lots of feedback. Thank you!
Yeah, the Vendio gallery list looks strange with only one item. I'll have more items up later tonight so it won't look so odd. If, for some reason, I don't get the other items listed later, then I'll temporarily turn that off.
Ohhhhhhh ... I hadn't thought about the repercussions of free shipping if someone returned the item. I think I'll change that. Thank you!!!
I don't have a photo closeup but I suppose I could scan part of the pillow sham later tonight and add it to the listing. Can I do that? Will Vendio let me update a current listing or can I do that directly from eBay?
Hmmm ... color descriptions ... I'll see what I can come up with. I know what you mean about the colors displaying differently on different monitors. I sold some futon sets recently where the description of the background stated "denim blue" but the photo appeared to be much brighter than your average, drab denim. I refunded everything including the shipping charges on that one. Live and learn!
posted on August 7, 2005 06:11:07 PM new
Hello Julie,
Welcome to the Vendio forum. Please take the comments below in the spirit in which they're offered; they're just my $0.02.
1. Your listing is grammatical. That shouldn't be amazing, but it is
2. I would suggest widening the stated appeal of the comforter: "perfect for your rustic log cabin or lodge" might be better expressed along the lines of "perfect for your rustic log cabin or lodge, or for when you wish you had a rustic log cabin." Not that sentence precisely, but something that is more inclusive.
3. "Usually retails for $119..." Many experienced eBayers discourage EVER putting in a "usual" price; perhaps that is extreme. However, I think that listing at such a high percentage of the usual price is ill advised, and I would simply remove the reference.
4. Free shipping, in my not so humble ( ) opinion, is a miserable idea. I think you will only short-change yourself with that strategy. If you can't get calculated shipping to work, pick a reasonable flat rate. If you are concerned that it will turn people off (and it's a problem when you're located on a coast, as I am also), you can mention something like "shipping via UPS Ground is $20, including insurance. If your proximity to California makes shipping materially less expensive, I will gladly make a partial refund."
Anyway, your listing looks very good. I agree with the other poster that Vendio Gallery is a bit premature
All the best luck to you.
Claude
[ edited by cashinyourcloset on Aug 7, 2005 06:13 PM ]
posted on August 7, 2005 06:39:31 PM new
More great suggestions. Yeah!
I haven't been able to figure out how to turn off the Vendio gallery for this listing. If anyone knows how, please let me know!
My listing is grammatical cuz i woz a tecknikal writter four a long tyme. Thanks for noticing.
I tried to make a supersized image using the photo I have, but it gets blurry when I make it larger. I'm going to snap some closeups in a while, so maybe I can use one of those for the supersize image? I dunno. Is there any way to remove the supersize photo link and just have 2 or 3 photos in the body of the listing?
Thanks again for all the suggestions. I've incorporated what I can for now. I'm off to snap some photos and enhance the product description with more information about the color and so on.
posted on August 7, 2005 06:49:34 PM new
Claude...I'm on the west coast, and I have the same problem quoting flat rate shipping on heavier items. I saw a listing the other night in which the seller quoted shipping to TIME zones. $6.00 to Pacific, $8.00 to Mountain, $10.00 to Central and $12.00 to Eastern time zones. I had never seen this before and the idea keeps popping into my head. I just might experiment with it on my next heavy item.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 7, 2005 06:55:19 PM new
::I saw a listing the other night in which the seller quoted shipping to TIME zones.::
That's just brilliant! not many people know their shipping zone but EVERYONE knows their time zone.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
Heavy, and especially, large items are really a problem. For a while, I computed shipping to Colorado, but then it seemed that the heavier and larger an item, the more likely that it was going to Washington State
For expensive-to-ship items, I've taken to computing local and California shipping costs, and saying something like: "Shipping to the lower 48 states will be between $45 and $75, depending on your proximity to New Jersey." For run-of-the-mill shipping, I set a reasonable flat rate. When SMPro FINALLY gets updated, I'll probably use calculated shipping.
Julie, if you've borrowed a picture, you can't really make it any larger than it is; the jpeg compression will make it look horrible. Stock photos have been jpeg compressed to the size they are; you can shrink them reasonably, but you can't enlarge them without blocking and other artifacts.
posted on August 7, 2005 08:49:46 PM new
Claude...LOL I've done the same thing. Quote shipping to Wichita, and someone in Massachusetts or Key West will be the high bidder every time. The advantage I can see to quoting to time zones with flat amounts is it will cut down on emails requesting shipping quotes. Also, you or the customer can't get burned too bad if you miss your target by a 100 miles. I've got an item that weighs 45 pounds that I'll be listing soon, and I'm very tempted to give it a try.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 7, 2005 10:35:02 PM new
As an Alaskan I know why some sellers (mostly the ones who drop ship) exclude us with their shipping quotes. They are shipping UPS ground and although UPS does have ground service up here we are somehow excluded from that service most likely because it costs more. I will seldom if ever actually email someone for a shipping quote in those cases. I will just go and find the darn thing from Amazon or another online store that will ship it to me at a reasonable rate.
I did notice however that you included in the Alaska Hawaii paragraph the phrase "or if you want expedited shipping" to email you. I can almost guarentee you that anyone not from Alaska or Hawaii will not see that phrase as they will have skipped past the paragraph not thinking it pertains to them.
On you money back guarentee you may want add something to include cigarette smell. Many a seller has gotten back a "new" item that they can't resell as new because the thing stinks to high heaven of smoke. Uck.
posted on August 7, 2005 10:51:12 PM new
Ewora...Be sure to remind everyone that the $7.70 flat rate cartons also apply to shipments to Hawaii and Alaska. Best bargain on the planet. I managed to safely squeeze 4 pieces of Pfaltzgraff (and that stuff is HEAVY)into one of those boxes and sent it to Hawaii. The customer was tickled pink and left glowing feedback.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 7, 2005 10:52:10 PM new
Welcome to Vendio! Just one idea to add to the comments of others: I notice you have opened an eBay store. You can add your ebay store header to each listing by going to "Manage my Store"->Store Marketing->Listing header and checking the appropriate boxes. Adding the store header to your listings will help "brand" your items and provide links to your other listings.
The one thing that strikes me as missing in your listing is the close up photo of the pattern and a description of the colors.
Great job for a "first"!!
-------------------------------------
posted on August 8, 2005 01:07:19 AM new mcsmithsent
FIRST, the ad is beautiful!
Two, although I am not a Vendio user, I do agree with others regarding:
1. You need at least one or two close up pictures of the comforter pattern, it is, in actuality hard to tell exactly what the pattern REALLY is in a full/distance picture.
2. I also agree with NO FREE SHIPPING, this can come back to haunt you. I live in Alabama, but 80% of our sales, particularly from our web sites are shipped to the west coast, so I figure all flat rate shipping from my location to 98101, which is Seattle, Washington. We ship only UPS within the Continental USA, so my UPS program figures the cost, prior to my creating the ad.
3. I have been on eBay since 1996, and your shipping cost seem very, very high to me. I checked on Google regarding shipping on such a similar comforter and the shipping costs are running from a low of $4.95 to about $9.95 – I presume they are using UPS.
4. Your suggesting of using the comforter in a log cabin or such is good, but limited, it would be just as appropriate in a boy’s room, or in a house with a Southwestern décor. Do not limit your customer’s imagination to one use.
All and all the ad is beautiful, and would attract me if I were a buyer, but over the years, at least in our business we have learned not to try to compete with Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or such, and we try to never sell items which those stores handle, as there is no way to undercut their prices. We often shop these stores just to keep up with what they are presently selling.
You do have a good start with a beautiful ad, best of wishes.
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
posted on August 8, 2005 04:01:13 AM new
jwpc, if you can get a comforter cross-country for $4.95 via UPS Ground to a residential address, I would like to offer you a job
posted on August 8, 2005 12:53:58 PM new
More great ideas. Thank you! Keep them coming!
I'm incorporating the rates by time zone idea ... I think that will work very well.
I've also augmented the description and created close up photos ... still need to add the photos to the listing and I will fix the store logo and say something about how the comforter set has retained its new bedding freshness.
jwpc ... thank you very much for your comments, but I must admit I'm concerned about a couple of them. First, the shipping costs for this comforter set, as quoted by the UPS web site, range from about $10 to $33, depending on where it will ship. I'm not sure what you searched for on Google, but I don't know anyone who can ship a comforter set for $4.95 unless it's a flimsy set or they've jacked the price up to compensate for the difference. Second, I'm not sure I understand the Wal-Mart comment. This is designer bedding that is not sold in the big box stores, only by specialty retailers, like us. Is there something about my listing that gave you the impression that it is a Wal-Mart item? If so, then perhaps I should alter the description even more to raise its perceived value or add something to the bottom of our listing about our business in general. Please let me know what generated your thoughts on this so I can correct my listing.
Thanks again for all your comments. They are very much appreciated!
Caroline 
