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,

I recently made a purchase on eBay and received confirmation from the seller. In that confirmation the seller stated that it would take 30 days for the check to clear. He said that he hid this information from the bidders so as not to discourage bids. I expect a wait when paying with a check, but 7 to10 days is the norm. Is the seller in violation of any rules by intentionally misleading bidders?

Geoff

Hello Geoff,

What? Excuse Uncle? Thirty days? For a check to clear? Oh, brother. Now Uncle has heard everything! This is plain absolute rubbish. Most checks clear overnight now so 7 to 10 days is more than enough time. This seller is most definitely at fault here for not stating this "term" clearly in his or her auction in order for bidders to make a more informed decision before bidding.

There are other concerns here as well. If you do not receive your item until after 30 days, it may make it difficult or impossible for you to avail yourself of our insurance program. Also, auction records are routinely expired from our site after 30 days. What would Uncle do? Uncle would inform the seller that his or her "term" is completely unreasonable, totally unacceptable and would refuse to honor the sale if the seller insisted on adhering to it. Uncle would then post feedback to this seller's profile warning others of his or her hidden and unreasonable "term."

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Uncle Griff,

Why bother with a reserve price? Why not just make it the minimum bid? It would accomplish exactly the same thing.

Thanks, Miles

Hello Miles,

Actually, our experience shows it wouldn't accomplish the same thing. It's all about human psychology and the appeal of bidding at an auction.

If a seller has an item that is worth, say, $400 and they want to get at least $300 for it, they could start the item with a minimum opening bid of $300 and hope that someone will open the bidding at that amount. The trouble with the high minimum opening bid is that bidders won't be as interested in bidding if there is no chance of getting the item for a real bargain price. (No one should ever blame a person for wanting a good deal.)

If the same seller sets a reserve of $300 with a minimum opening bid of $1, then bidders, not knowing the amount of the reserve, are more likely to enter the bidding hoping that they stand to get the item at a good price. Remember that a large part of the fun is in the actual bidding and once a person starts to bid, they sometimes don't stop until they win the item. Getting a bidder to submit a bid is easier, in this case, if the seller uses a low opening bid with a reserve amount.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Unc,

I read with interest your helpful comments in the August and September issues of eBay Life concerning feedback, and I have a similar but more irritating problem. In a few cases, I have paid (or shipped, as the case may be) promptly, posted positive feedback (all very good transactions, by the way!) AND sent off emails saying, 'I've enjoyed dealing with you and hope you enjoyed dealing with me. I have left positive feedback for you.' I still haven't received any feedback!

I'm assuming my trading partners are very busy and it has just slipped their minds. Is it rude to email and ask for feedback? I'm still somewhat new, and could use all the feedback I can get.

Thanks, Frustrated

Hello Frustrated,

This is a very tricky situation. Although most buyers and sellers are pretty good about remembering to give good feedback for those folks who have already left them positives, some are indeed very busy and often forget. The tricky part is what to do to remind them without seeming like a nuisance. But then again, if you don't squeak a little, you don't get no grease!

Send the person with whom you've had a transaction a nice, polite, friendly email again expressing your pleasure with the item or the transaction and remind him or her that you have left a positive comment. Let the person know that you hope he or she will do the same for you.

Then stand back and wait...for either the due feedback or a brush off email or worse...nothing.

What more can you do?

Regards, Uncle Griff

Dear Uncle Griff & Aunt Flossie

I have a problem about where to list an item I wish to sell on eBay. The item is a cremation urn that holds any ashes—animal or human. I just purchased a warehouse that has over 300 hundred of these handmade urns made from a metal called German silver.

Please tell me what I should do with these listings .

Sincerely, Jim

Hello Jim,

How about putting them in the Weird Stuff category. There are four subcategories in Weird Stuff to choose from: General, Slightly Unusual, Really Weird, and Totally Bizarre.

Regards, Uncle Griff

Hi Jim,

Here's another suggestion for you, Dear. Consider listing your item in the Antiques: Metalware category. I was wandering through that category recently and saw quite a few urns listed. Whether you choose one of the Weird Stuff subcategories or Antiques: Metalware, I hope you "urn" a pretty penny for your vessel!

Toodaloo, Aunt Flossie

Dear Uncle Griff,

When my auction item is one of 999 other Barbies, how can I make sure that it gets viewed and considered? I have no picture with my listing.

This I have to hear...go baby, go!

reereegee

Hello reereegee,

And hear it you shall! First, find a way of getting a digital photo file of your Barbie doll so that bidders will be better enticed into bidding on your item. It is a medically proven fact that auctions with photos get more bids than items that don't have photos.

Next, make sure that your item description is explicit and accurate. Describe your cherished Barbie in exhaustive detail. Make sure to spell out your shipping and payment terms.

Then, make certain that your title contains all the possible key words that best describe your Barbie and are the words a bidder is most likely to use in a Title Search. Also, make certain that your title keywords are not run together. There should be a space before and after each keyword. Avoid using extraneous punctuation.

Finally, consider listing your Barbie as either a Category Featured Auction or a Featured Auction or both! In addition, the inclusion of a photo (jpg) image file of your Barbie with your listing would allow you to add your Barbie to the Gallery (which is now searchable by title keyword as well).

Almost forgot! Don't place an unreasonably high opening bid or reserve for your Barbie. This can discourage bidders. Let potential buyers of your Barbie have some auction fun. Start the item at a bargain price and let the marketplace do the rest.

Hope this helps!

Regards, Uncle Griff