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I purchased an item on June 8 and have not received it yet. The estimated delivery date indicated June 16th and according to the listing, the shipping was to be via USPS first class mail.
They probably just shipped it without tracking. June 16th is just an estimate. What's their feedback rating? 100% or close to? Ebay will reimburse you if someone screws you over. I wouldn't worry about it.
I purchased an item on June 8 and have not received it yet. The estimated delivery date indicated June 16th and according to the listing, the shipping was to be via USPS first class mail. No tracking information was uploaded or provided for this item. When should I contact the seller and should I ask "Have you shipped the item?" or "When did you ship the item?"
Is it a red flag (i.e. too good to be true--will the seller even ship the item?) for a buyer when a seller is selling media items for around a $2 buy it now price with free shipping? I'm assuming whether first class mail or media mail that it probably costs about $2 to ship a Dvd or CD, so how can the seller be making any profit with this approach and why would they sell items for a break even or a loss at a buy it now price?
It's mail fraud to ship non media items using media mail. Even if the seller took the item to the post office and got a receipt that receipt should have a tracking number. They lost a discount and free tracking by not printing the label through Ebay or Paypal.
Was the item a book?Can you give the link to the item so we can take a look? What was the sellers feedback rating? It's be over 5 days so open a claim for item not received. you should have opened it 5 days after the purchase date or at least Ebay lets you do that. What good or not so good communication have you gotten from the seller? Free shipping is no advantage to them as far as Ebay fees. They have to pay fees on the total amount you paid.
Post the link to the item.......
It's mail fraud to ship non media items using media mail. Even if the seller took the item to the post office and got a receipt that receipt should have a tracking number. They lost a discount and free tracking by not printing the label through Ebay or Paypal.
Was the item a book?Can you give the link to the item so we can take a look? What was the sellers feedback rating? It's be over 5 days so open a claim for item not received. you should have opened it 5 days after the purchase date or at least Ebay lets you do that. What good or not so good communication have you gotten from the seller? Free shipping is no advantage to them as far as Ebay fees. They have to pay fees on the total amount you paid.
Post the link to the item.......
I emailed the seller yesterday and received a response this morning apologizing for the delay and was given a tracking number. The package arrived today. Not very professional to wait 8 days to mail the item and then not upload tracking information until prompted by me when asking about the shipping status of the item. The item was a DVD and it cost $2.67 to mail it via USPS First Class Mail, which is more than what the item sold for. Don't know how sellers afford to sell items at a buy it now price that includes shipping, when the price of shipping costs more than the buy it now price.
I emailed the seller yesterday and received a response this morning apologizing for the delay and was given a tracking number. The package arrived today. Not very professional to wait 8 days to mail the item and then not upload tracking information until prompted by me when asking about the shipping status of the item. The item was a DVD and it cost $2.67 to mail it via USPS First Class Mail, which is more than what the item sold for. Don't know how sellers afford to sell items at a buy it now price that includes shipping, when the price of shipping costs more than the buy it now price.
Sometimes they can not afford it because they do not know what they are doing.
$2.67 for a DVD and case is about right if you are on the east coast and they on the west coast.
Easily the cost to ship can be more than the bid price. I've seen rookie sellers list heavy items for 99 cents thinking they will get a bidding war and they offer free shipping on an item that will cost $10 or more to ship. When the highest bidder is $5.00 they lose money on the item.
The total cost to you is what you need to look at.
Years ago I paid one penny and $4.99 shipping for a cell phone adapter for my car.
It's the same thing as if they had charged $5.00 for the item and free shipping.
It would have cost me $5.00 either way.
You were the buyer and you have control. If you do not like the terms the seller has then do not bid.
What are some effective comments to use in the "add message to seller" section when making a best offer that will increase the chances of a seller accepting your best offer?
I use Best Offer on 100% of my ebay listings. Some of the comments I get that lend weight to my decision are things like:
"I'm also making an offer on this other widget of yours."
(this allows me to ship them together and save money, so I will take a lower offer than I would have if they just wanted 1 widget)
(friendly message) "Hi, I really like this widget, hope you will consider my offer!"
"I am a student/teacher/senior/disabled and I am on a limited income. I hope you will consider my offer because I really need this widget."
(but only if they sound sincere, and I do check their feedback to other sellers)
On the flip side - Things that make me reject an offer right off the bat:
(insulting) "This widget is not worth what you are asking, I can get it at WalMart for half that price"
(obvious liar) "My dog died and my wife divorced me and my car is getting repossessed but I really need this widget because I'm so pitiful."
(control issues) "I'm offering 10% of what you're asking. And that's as high as I will go. No negotiation. Take it or leave it."
Another point, that many do not agree with, but - I will not automatically reject a super lowball offer (unless they include an insulting message). It doesn't bother me. I figure they are just fishing for the lowest possible price, which is fine. That's what it's there for. I figure ANY engagement is an opportunity. I just counter-offer with something more reasonable, and we go from there.
Hope this is helpful
I use Best Offer on 100% of my ebay listings. Some of the comments I get that lend weight to my decision are things like:
"I'm also making an offer on this other widget of yours."
(this allows me to ship them together and save money, so I will take a lower offer than I would have if they just wanted 1 widget)
(friendly message) "Hi, I really like this widget, hope you will consider my offer!"
"I am a student/teacher/senior/disabled and I am on a limited income. I hope you will consider my offer because I really need this widget."
(but only if they sound sincere, and I do check their feedback to other sellers)
On the flip side - Things that make me reject an offer right off the bat:
(insulting) "This widget is not worth what you are asking, I can get it at WalMart for half that price"
(obvious liar) "My dog died and my wife divorced me and my car is getting repossessed but I really need this widget because I'm so pitiful."
(control issues) "I'm offering 10% of what you're asking. And that's as high as I will go. No negotiation. Take it or leave it."
Another point, that many do not agree with, but - I will not automatically reject a super lowball offer (unless they include an insulting message). It doesn't bother me. I figure they are just fishing for the lowest possible price, which is fine. That's what it's there for. I figure ANY engagement is an opportunity. I just counter-offer with something more reasonable, and we go from there.
Hope this is helpful
Negotiating price for buy it now has always been a waste of time for me. I set limits for what I will accept on buy it now, I don't even want to hear sob stories or have someone offer me 10% of the asking price. My thought is if you can't pay anything close to asking price why are you even looking at the item?
So many are buying their items from Alibaba to resell, thus you have to really be careful on what you think will sell. The quality, logistics, etc.
This used to be very effective on both eBay and Amazon however these days were seeing a lot of the manufacturers selling direct on eBay and while their shipping times are long their shipping is free subsidized by the chinese government so we can't really compete with them on price
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