Dear Uncle Griff and Dear Aunt Flossie

The following information is provided to educate and inform. eBay™ and its employees are not liable or responsible for any type of damage or loss caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information below.

eBay's kindly old Uncle Griff has agreed to answer questions for some of our members. If you have a question you would like to ask him, email him at unclgrff@ebay.com. NOTE: Not one to be left out of anything, Uncle Griff's mother, Aunt Flossie, loves to meddle in her son's business. Aunt Flossie offers "helpful" replies to questions also (email her at unclgrff@ebay.com).

Dear Uncle Griff,

Love your column. eBay is my only base of operation, so when I get "spam" in my mailbox, I usually send it to abuse@address.net. I never respond (not even to remove) because then you have given the spammer your valid address.

My gripe is when the spam is from someone who is trying to steal eBayers for their private use. They are no longer selling on eBay because they have started their own Web site and want my business.

Number one, I am not going. I believe in loyalty. Number two, these people will never get the numbers. Number three, they have no right to steal my email address. I know I should ignore it, but enough is enough. Uncle Griff, please tell me what I should do.

Aaron

Hello Aaron,

Nothing gladdens Uncle's congested old heart more than to hear from one of our dyed-in-the-wool, loyal members such as yourself. Uncle fully understands how a loyal member such as yourself would be deeply offended by mass, unsolicited email of a commercial nature, especially if said email is attempting to entice you away from eBay. It's annoying and distressing.

What to do? First, complaining to the ISP of the spam sender is a good start. Most ISPs take this issue very seriously and will either warn the spammer or bounce them from their service.

Second, although it is usually wise to simply delete unwanted email, sometimes it's appropriate to respond to the sender to let them know (in only the most civil and polite fashion) your feelings about receiving spam. Don't approach it as railing against the sender but rather, couch your response in a helpful, informative tone. Be prepared for a possible unpleasant retort by the offender. Any email of this type you are free to delete without a response. The goal? Well, ostensibly, it's to educate the spammer and to get your name off their mailing list, however, as a thrilling side benefit, your polite and cordial email response to basically "cease and desist" will get under the spammer's skin. Uncle guarantees it.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Uncle,

I'm looking for the names of some good restorers of art glass and pottery in the Portland, Oregon area. If there aren't any, where can I send my collectibles to be fixed? I am looking for someone that I can trust who is nearby.

No name given

Hello,

You would think that Uncle would know of a few good glass and pottery restorers since owing to his great age and size, he is chronically klutzing around at dinner parties, often breaking cherished and rare things or at least putting valued objets d'art at great risk (much to the dismay of his hosts). Uncle never forgets to bring his checkbook, as well as his good cheer, to friendly social functions, lest invitations for future events suddenly dry up. But where were we? Oh yes... .

You should be able to locate reputable art glass and pottery restorers by contacting well-known dealers of art glass and pottery. Check in the Yellow Pages of your local area.

You could also post your request on the Glass and Pottery Chat Boards on eBay. You can find them at:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBoard&name
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBoard&name

Many extremely knowledgeable and helpful dealers and collectors of art glass and art pottery can be found conversing on these boards. They should certainly be able to offer you some sound suggestions for restorers that you can trust.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Hi Uncle Griff and Aunt Flossie,

It is my understanding that if I am the high bidder on an item, I am not allowed to bid again until someone outbids me. This sounds good on the surface, but if there is a reserve on the item, sometimes I make my bid only a dollar or two over the reserve, yet $10 or more over the opening bid. My question is, how is it possible to raise my bid so I will not be outbid 30 seconds before the auction ends after being the high bidder for the entire auction? If I am missing some bidding strategy that would lessen this problem, I would love to learn about it! Thanks for listening.

Joyce

Hello Joyce,

Uncle is pleased to inform you that your understanding is not correct! A bidder may rebid at any time. You do not need to wait until you are outbid to do so.

Here is a strategy: bid the absolute maximum amount you are willing to pay and then walk away. If you are outbid by an increment (or less), then someone was willing to pay more than your absolute maximum amount. If you find yourself thinking after being outbid, "Darn, I would have paid more..." then you were not being very honest with yourself when you set your absolute maximum bid amount. Hope this helps.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Uncle Griff,

I recently bought a collector cookie jar. I have never seen it before on eBay or anywhere else because there were only a few hundred made. If another one should come up at auction, how can I be alerted that it is for sale? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Silver

Hello Silver (or should I say, "Hi Yo, Silver!"),

You are in luck! eBay offers a feature that will alert you when an item is listed for bid that contains specific key words in its title. You specify the keywords used. The feature is called Personal Shopper and you can reach it by clicking here:

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?PersonalShopperViewSearches

You can also reach Personal Shopper by clicking on Site Map from the Home page and then clicking on Personal Shopper under the Search heading on the left side of the page.

Make sure to include the important keywords that best describe this particular cookie jar. Once someone lists an item containing the key words, you will be notified by email!

Uncle adores this special feature! His favorite keywords are "frilly", "old", "party", "frocks." Uncle's bulging closet will attest to the success of the Personal Shopper feature!

Regards, Uncle Griff

Hey Uncle Griff,

I love to sell, but when the checks come rolling in (I love that most of all) there is often no description of the item, or item number included with the check. For example, people will write the word "plate" on a check and if I have sold six plates it is hard and time-consuming to figure out which plate goes to whom. I do ask people when I email them to include a description of the item they won, and some do, but I would like your help with this matter. If you can't solve this, I will go higher up and ask Aunt Flossie.

uneedit2

Hello uneedit2,

Aunt Flossie? Higher Up? Uh, pardon Uncle but...

There is an interesting feature about most checks-they usually contain, right on the check itself, the name and address (and sometimes, the phone number) of the person who sent it. Is it a hassle to have to do the follow-up and actually contact the sender to find out just which item they actually are paying for? Yes, of course it is. For those cases where it isn't possible to contact the check sender due to insufficient information on the check, eBay's Customer Support can sometimes help find the email address or User ID of a person if they have at least a name and/or address.

You may want to post a notice in your listings to remind your bidders to include the item number on their check. You also might want to save all emails your high bidders send you. You can sometimes match up signature lines to names on checks.

If all this fails, do what Uncle does-blame their parents, shrug and hold the check in a safe place until the bidder eventually contacts you to ask where their item is. Make sure your response is polite.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Aunt Flossie,

I am a new eBayer, and I am having a problem with shipping costs. I have had to pay out of my own pocket a couple of times, because the price I quoted in my listings was less than anticipated for shipping. How do people know how much to charge for shipping? I do not want to stiff buyers, or get stiffed myself. Thx.

Aunt Sheina

Hi Aunt Sheina,

Ooooooh, another aunt! Do you have a son too? Aunt Flossie is always on the lookout for new friends for her only child, her pride and joy, Griff.

Well, to answer your question, Aunt Flossie recommends that you use iShip. iShip lets you provide FREE shipping estimates-right from your auctions! You can read more about iShip in a special article in this month's eBay Life.

You also may want to buy an accurate postage scale (not a bathroom scale, Dear), preferably one that will accept items up to 50 pounds. The scale should have the rate schedules for UPS, USPS and FedEx so you can more accurately determine actual shipping costs. Keep in mind that some packaging materials can add to the overall weight of a package. (Aunt Flossie once used some large old girdles instead of packing peanuts and she paid a hefty sum in postage!)

Regards, Uncle Griff