I'm really liking my DSRs right about now, tips to keep 'em up

I don't dwell on DSRs or feedback, I don't think anyone should. I do agree, they are important, but not enough to stress out over.

I think the most important aspect is if you are a powerseller and whether or not you qualify for those discounts. Yes, they can be substantial (I saved over $400 in fees last year!) but the way the system works, it is not worth your time or effort to watch every second, or every day. Do your best customer service, communicate with your customers and keep your shipping reasonable. It is just that simple.
My best advice, think like a buyer.
Sit down, put yourself in your buyers' shoes and make a list of everything you would want from a seller that you were purchasing your product from and do that.

No longer an Education Specialist

It is kinda sad to admit this, but I'm no longer an Education Specialist. It kinda stinks that it came to this, but at this point in my life it just didn't make sense to pay the fees to continue. My original plan was to teach quite a bit to supplement my income, reality being that I didn't enjoy teaching the basics class and wanted to move to the next level and teach advanced. However, in order to teach the "advanced" class, you have to have an ES feedback of 10 to qualify. In a year I couldn't get to 10. There are several reasons why, and I do take responsibility for most.
Most of the people I encountered are people already selling on eBay and looking to get to the next level. Most people who are at that point don't need the basics course. And, those are the folks that I really wanted to teach.
I had no desire to teach people how to navigate around eBay, I wanted to teach people how to use eBay to make them money. I had lots of clients, but because I was dealing with them one on one doing coaching, I didn't build up that feedback to get qualified.
I should have sucked it up and gone out and did what I needed to do, but I just wasn't motivated.
I'm sure that without that endorsement from eBay and ability to be listed in their educators database, my coaching clients will be harder to find. But oh well, I'll just have to make-do.

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Shamless self promotion:

Items for sale on eBay under user id Shelley-Faye

Items for sale on eBay under user id Love2DressUp

Items for sale on Etsy under user id KitschyAprons

I wish I had some spacebags! My sewing room is getting out of control

Ok, so the holidays are over, inventory is finished and the new year has begun. I did a big craft show right before Christmas so I had been sewing pretty much non-stop for months before that. Then my entire family came down for Christmas and now, everything is just a mess. I want badly to get back to sewing and selling on eBay & etsy but I cannot do a thing until I clean out the sewing room. I have two big metal shelving units and before this latest sewing excursion, I would keep all my fabrics folded neatly and organized.
Now, I've increased my inventory for my eBay store and would love to use one of those shelving units to house the extra handbags that are just stacked up on my pool table. I think a
Space Bag
or two would be perfect, you know you've seen their commercial, they are amazing. I need to get some. (and if you haven't seen their commercial, click that link up there and check it out)

-Cheers

Set Realistic Expectations for your eBay customers

I believe that the one thing that makes a difference between a good and bad experience for buyers on eBay is the expectation set by the seller. When a buyer makes a purchase on eBay, they have nothing to go on for expectations except what you've told them in your descriptions and their past experiences buying online. And yes, I said 'online', not just eBay. As a seller, you don't know if your customers' past experiences were great and they have set high expectations for you, or whether they have had nothing but bad experiences and you can very easily wow them with a simple 'thank you'. So, being that the only factor that you have control over is what you are telling your customers, you simply must be very clear and realistic when telling your customers what to expect from you.

For example, if you only ship on the weekends, make sure this is stated plainly and clearly for the buyer. If they give you their money on Monday, and don't fully understand your policy, they will be upset that you didn't put their item in the mail until Saturday. Bitch and moan all you want after the fact about your "policy" but in the end it is your DSRs that are on the line. In a case like this, your best bet would be to, not only to have it in your description, but make sure to set up an automated response thanking them for their quick payment and that their item will be shipped out first thing on Saturday morning. This way they know exactly what to expect.

Example #2; If an item is used and is anything less than perfect condition, point out every flaw. Describe it accurately. Do not try to make it sound better than it really is because your customer will be let down when they open the package.

I'm sure I could go on and on here with examples, but it all boils back down to being realistic and clear about what your customers are expecting from you. If you tell them that you are going to give them the world... than you better have a plan to deliver.

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Shameless self promotion:

Items for sale on eBay under user id Shelley-Faye

Items for sale on eBay under user id Love2DressUp

Items for sale on Etsy under user id KitschyAprons

One more for the "what not to do" list, this time from Amazon

I made my very first purchase on Amazon last month on the 12th. I bought a 'How to' book about re-constructing t-shirts. I was super excited for this book and have a stack of T-shirts that I want to work with. When shopping online, eBay is always my first stop but I couldn't find a copy of this particular book from a seller with a reputation that I was comfortable with so, I ventured off the site.
I quickly found the book I was looking for and found it at a reasonable price, so I bought it.
On Thursday, I'm staring at this pile of t-shirts wondering where my book is since it had been 14 business days.
I look up the tracking and it tells me that I shouldn't panic yet because it is still within the "window" of time for delivery. Apparently, 16 business days is the time it should take to deliver a book.
So, I click out and find something else to do. No big deal.
The next day I get an email from the seller I purchased from on Amazon:
"I received your book back to me. The address was slightly wrong. I'm sending it again but this time priority"
Maybe I'm too nit-picky, but shouldn't I have gotten an apology? or at least an admission of making a mistake? "the address was slightly wrong"? What does that mean? My address isn't wrong. The seller made a mistake labeling it.

Please, people, we are all human. We make mistakes. Just like we tell our kids, tell the truth and own up to your mistakes. Say you are sorry if you need to.

Here is the Book I'm still waiting to get. Even though I'm annoyed, I'm still very very excited to get it! :)

Do you blog? If so, you simply MUST offer this

Do you keep a blog? If so, you simply must offer to send your blog to RSS feed readers and offer an email option too. I have been reading blog after blog lately, and I find some that I really enjoy but can never seem to remember to go back there. I am a techie doh-doh-head and can't figure out how to use RSS so if a blogger doesn't offer to send their blog to my email, more than likely I don't make it back very often.
Of course, as with every rule, the exception is twitter. IF I'm following you on twitter, and IF you tweet a link to a new post, more than likely I'll read it, but that is alot of ifs.
When I run across a blog I like, I always bookmark it, but rarely think to go through all my bookmarks and check for new posts. Having it emailed to me keeps me in the loop. Don't you want your readers in the loop?
Even though I don't know how to use an RSS reader, I have set up my blogs to transmit the feed. Make sure you do that too for those who prefer that option.
I'm sure that there are plenty of companies that will deliver your blog posts to subscriber's email addresses, but the one I use is feedburner. I absolutely love it and setting it up couldn't have been easier. (Plus it is free!)
If you notice over there ---> there is a box to sign up with your email address? That is what feedburner does. Once you get set up, every time you post, it will be delivered via email to your subscribers. easy peasy.
If you have a blog and you don't offer these two things... go do it now.
Then, send me a link to your blog so I can sign up.

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Shamless self promotion:

Items for sale on eBay under user id Shelley-Faye

Items for sale on eBay under user id Love2DressUp

Items for sale on Etsy under user id KitschyAprons

Some of my thoughts about why people fail at selling online

Yesterday I was "let go" from my part time side job. I'm a little bummed about the loss of extra income but I must admit I saw it coming months ago.
Thankfully, I knew it was coming so I had already re-structured my budget to account for it.
My job with X company (sorry, I'm just way to loyal to say) was to ship out their products for them and keep track of sales. I did not create the stites nor do any marketing for this company other than writing a blog post once a week. I wasn't paid much to do this, but I accepted the job because I already had all of the necessary things in place from my own business that shipping out another companies products was not a big deal. I would say I was paid appropriately for the work I did.
I was laid off because the company just wasn't selling any products. and yes, I mean NONE. The owner sat down with me several times to strategize about things that could be done to increase sales but didn't take action on any of my suggestions. Now, I'd love to say "I told you so" but again, that loyalty thing. Plus, I really like the people who own this company.

So, I've compiled a list of X company's mistakes so that hopefully, someone else can benefit from them:

1. not answering email. If you run an online business (even if it is just selling one product on eBay, treat it as a business!), you simply MUST answer your emails. This is crucial. The acceptable response time for an email question is shrinking. No one should ever have to wait over 24 hours for an email response (with the exception of major holidays). If the question the customer is asking is a difficult one that needs research, respond letting them know that you are on the case.

2. blaming someone else. When you are selling a product, YOU are selling that product. The customer doesn't need to hear about whatever drama you have going on, they just want what they paid for. If something goes awry, make it right. No excuses.

3. product knowledge. I know this can be difficult for those eBay sellers who sell a wide variety of products, but even then, do what you can to get to know what you are selling. Never mis-represent or assume.

4. ill prepared for shipping. Plan how your product will be boxed or packaged before listing it for sale. If you need a certain size box, go ahead and purchase that ahead of time. Know what your shipping will cost you so that you can charge appropriately without undercutting your margins or gouging the customer.

5. lack of commitment. Your products are up for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You cannot walk away for three weeks at a time. You must be promoting your shop at every opportunity. I'm not saying that you have to work all the time, but being involved is priceless.

6. misunderstanding of the web. The web changes constantly, no one is expecting you to be involved in every new idea or social network that comes out, but having no clue about shopping online is a bad idea. I see this alot with my eBay students. If you have never shopped online or even browsed around, please do not open an online shop without spending some time online first. More than likely, if you are reading this, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking about the folks that have no idea what a blog is.

7. not researching your market. Not knowing what an item is currently selling for online before you commit to selling it can be detrimental. There are plenty of products that sell for one price in a shop and a significantly different price online.

Feel free to add some mistakes that you've seen ................