eBay are somewhat strict about letting you withdraw your bid. They call it a ‘bid retraction’, and have a stringent set of conditions that you must meet before you are allowed to do it.
Below are eBay’s three acceptable reasons for withdrawing a bid.
You made a typographical error
This means that you accidentally typed the wrong amount into the bid box, bidding a far higher price than you meant to. This can be scary: imagine bidding $100 and accidentally adding an extra ‘0′! You are entirely allowed to withdraw your bid in this situation, and bid again if you want to.
The item’s description changed
If you bid on something and then the seller updates the description, you have the right to withdraw your bid. It wouldn’t be fair, after all, to force you to take something that you now realise you don’t want.
The seller is “uncontactable”
If emails to the seller bounce and they don’t answer their phone, then the auction obviously can’t continue, and you can cancel it.
So How Do I Retract My Bid?
eBay hide away the bid retraction form a bit, because they do not like people using it. However, you can find it by going here:
http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow.
Now all you need is the item number from your auction and this can be found on the item description page’s top right corner. If you cannot see it on the page, look in your browser’s title bar, and in any emails eBay have sent you about your bid on the item. Choose one of the three allowed reasons, click ‘retract bid’, and you are done.
Are There Any Consequences?
Well yes, there are. The more unethical among you might have considered that you could just cancel bids anytime you feel like it by saying that you accidentally entered the wrong amount. eBay are one step ahead of you. Each time you retract a bid, it is counted on your feedback page for all to see – and anyone with a lot of retracted bids looks more than a little dodgy. eBay also say that abusing the bid retraction feature could get you banned.
So is there a way to retract your bid without facing a penalty? There is if your seller is nice, and most are. Sellers can cancel bids on their auctions at any time, and if you email them with a half-decent excuse then most will be more than happy to do this for you. After all, it is not in their interest for their item to go to someone who will not like it, as you might leave negative feedback.
Of course, retracting your bid should still be a rare thing, as you will not win any auctions that way! If you have followed us this far, the chances are you have won an auction by now, or you are close – but you might be somewhat puzzled about what to do next.
The next posting will give you a few pointers.
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Stay tuned,
Christer
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Once you have drawn the buyers in with your title, the next thing to do is to tell them all about your item with the description. But just what should you write in your description?
At its heart, your item description is an ad. Without making it too obvious, you should be writing sales copy. You’re trying to get buyers excited about your products, and that is usually hard – but on eBay, if you have the right thing to sell and give enough details, the buyers almost excite themselves.
Technical Details.
Include every technical detail you know, including the item’s manufacturer, its condition, how big it is, where and when it was made, its history, and anything else special about it. Do not be too boring, though! The best descriptions are written in friendly, conversational language, and show a real knowledge of the item. Whatever you do, make sure you tell the truth!
Remember that most of the people who will be buying your item will be just as knowledgeable about it as you are, if not more – this is their hobby, and they are experts. Do not feel like you need to explain the basics of the item! Just go into as much technical detail as you can. As a rule, do not write anything in the description if you do not know what it means, as the chances are someone will, and if you have got it slightly wrong then you will look like you do not know what you are talking about.
Interesting Details.
You might find that you enjoy writing a few things about how you got the item, why you are selling it, and whom you think might like it. This is not strictly necessary, but it gives your auctions some character and a personal touch, and can make people more likely to trust you. People might wonder what you are doing selling 500 CDs all at once, and if you tell them the reason, then they will feel reassured that nothing dodgy is going on. If you are selling them because you are having a baby and you need the space, just say so.
Write as Much as You Can.
Leave nothing out of your description, even if that seems to you like it makes it cumbersomely long. There is no way you can be too thorough! Someone, somewhere will appreciate that you took the time to write the extra information.
Do not assume that anyone who wants extra information will email you to ask a question. Many buyers are shy and will not do it. Think of questions that buyers might have and add the answers to your description, as people generally tend to ask the same questions over and over again.
Each time a buyer does email you with a question, you should both answer their question and update your description so that it will include the answer next time. If people ask questions that are answered in the description, try putting these parts of the auction on a line alone, or in bold, to make them easier to notice.
In the next posting, we will focus on increasing the number of buyers who respond to your auctions.
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If you seriously thinking of earning, not losing BIG money on eBay, I definitely recommend a very successful product how to market eBay(R) auctions
eBay Fortune , The Definitive Roadmap To Auction Riches -
as a successful eBay Seller, you will need it!
Take Action – Click Here to Download “eBay Fortune , The Definitive Roadmap To Auction Riches”
* * * * *
Another viable and most recommendable option, when starting up an eBay business, is to make use of the drop shipping concept, which you can read about in the post – eBay and Drop shipping – What Is It All About?
Click here to find out more about drop shipping.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Stay tuned,
Christer
BTW
Do you also remember to FOLLOW ME on Twitter?
If you find the information useful, don’t hesitate to Tweet or email the post to your friends and colleagues and set up a link on your own blog!
http://twitter.com/christerfolke
Being a seller also brings a lot of responsibility, and sometimes you might feel like you are not doing everything you should be.
Below a simple checklist that will help you keep on top of things.
Have you found out everything you possibly could about your items? Try typing their names into a search engine – you might find out something you did not know. If someone else is selling the same thing as you, then always try to provide more information about it than they do.
Do you monitor the competition? Always keep an eye on how many other items the same as or similar to yours are selling, and what prices they are being offered at. There is usually little point in starting a fixed price auction for $100 when someone else is selling the item for $90.
Have you got pictures of the items? It is worthwhile taking the time to photograph your items, especially if you have a digital camera. If you get serious about eBay but do not yet own a camera, then you will probably have to invest in one at some point (preferably ASAP).
Are you emailing your sellers? It is worthwhile sending a brief email when transactions go through, saying something like a simple “Thank you for buying my item, please let me know when you have sent the payment”. Follow this up with “Thanks for your payment, I have posted your [item name] today”. You will be surprised how many problems you will avoid just by communicating this way.
Are you checking your emails? Remember that potential buyers can send you email about anything at any time, and not answering these emails will just make them go somewhere else instead of buying from you.
Do your item description pages have everything that buyers need to know? If you’re planning to offer international delivery, then it is a good idea to make a list of the charges to different counties and display it on each auction. If you have any special terms and conditions (for example, if you will give a refund on any item as long as it has not been opened), then you should make sure these terms are also displayed.
Have you been wrapping your items correctly? Your wrapping should be professional for the best impression. Use appropriately sized envelopes or parcels, wrap the item in bubble wrap to stop it from getting damaged, and print labels instead of hand-writing addresses. By the way, always use first class post – don’t be cheap.
Do you follow up? It is worth sending out an email a few days after you post an item, saying “Is everything alright with your purchase? I hope you received it and it was as you expected.” This might sound like giving the customer an opportunity to complain, but you should be trying to help your customers, not take their money and run.
Being a really good eBay seller, more than anything else, is about providing genuinely good and honest customer service. That is the only foolproof way to protect your reputation. Of course, you might be wondering by now whether it is really worth all the hassle to get a good reputation on eBay. Will not people buy from you anyway, and could you not just open a new account if it really comes down to that?
The next posting will set that straight.
* * * * *
If you seriously thinking of earning, not losing BIG money on eBay, I definitely recommend a very successful product how to market eBay(R) auctions
eBay Fortune , The Definitive Roadmap To Auction Riches -
as a successful eBay Seller, you will need it!
Take Action – Click Here to Download “eBay Fortune , The Definitive Roadmap To Auction Riches”
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Stay tuned,
Christer
BTW
Do you also remember to FOLLOW ME on Twitter?
If you find the information useful, don’t hesitate to Tweet or email the post to your friends and colleagues and set up a link on your own blog!
http://twitter.com/christerfolke