Changes…they happen in every business, yet it seems they are particularly painful for eBay sellers even when the change is for the better! I’ve been on eBay (Udderlygoodstuff) almost since it’s inception. Thirteen years ago I dove into this wonderful new web experience as a novice. Many people talk about the good old days of eBay, let me see if I remember this right.

1. Write up your listing on the eBay site

2. Add pictures – oh wait
3. First take pictures with your film camera
4. Wait till you are finished with the whole roll of film then take to processor

5. In about 3 days pick up your photos, pay for the development, take home and add to listing

6. Scan the photos (granted there are enough good ones for the item)

7. Add photos to the item and launch your listing
8. Uh oh server crash…didn’t see that coming. Only 6 hours till my item closes- oh no!

9. Ok back up, item gets bids and sells. Yippee!

10. Wait 5-7 days for a check or money order to arrive

11. Make a trip to the bank to cash check or money order

12. Print out shipping label – actually, you can’t do that yet. Hand write shipping label, now your package is ready to be mailed

13. Another trip into town to the post office, stand in line with all the other excited new online sellers. Pay postage and your package is on it’s way



Oh yes certainly the better way to do things (that was sarcasm in case you didn’t catch it).



There has never been anything like eBay. It was built from the idea of one man and developed into something that has changed the lives of so many people. Not only does eBay employ over 17,000 people, but there are 1.3 million people making a full time job of selling on eBay, that doesn’t even account for the hobby sellers.


Through those years this company has had to evolve, grow and change to accommodate the ever morphing world of e-commerce, not an easy task. Sometimes I have found these changes painful, and many of you know I was not quiet about my discontent. What I have found is that evolving my thinking into more of a business mode and working with the inevitable changes and growth of the company I call home base, has helped me become better equipped to evolve my business to accommodate the changes.


There is a certain amount of trust you must put into the company as well. Trust that when they say the consumer wants free shipping, they have done the market research. When they say auctions are not the format of choice for most items, they have done the market research. It is their goal to grow and make more money also. I think some sellers believe that is unreasonable, but they grow, we grow, it’s a win-win.


By this point many of you may be thinking I’m just drinking the eBay Kool-aid. That’s fine but believe me, the change in my thinking did not come easy. Don’t get me wrong, things still frustrate me and even anger me at times. Although dwelling on what I have no power to change does no good and is actually a loss in time and money. I instead have turned to problem solving, figuring out how I can make the changes work to grow my own business, and there always seems to be a way to do so!

Udderlygoodstuff is doing better then ever. I sell antiques and collectibles, as well as toys, clothing and household items. I understand not all categories are created equal, but one thing we can all do is work on solutions instead of obsessing on the problems.


About the Author
Danni Ackerman is an eBay Ink Social Media Seller. Joining the eBay community in 1998, Danni sells antiques, collectibles, toys and more at Udderly Good Stuff. You can find her on Twitter at @Udderlygoodstuf.

Hey fellow eBay-ers,
This is Hillary from TheWhineSeller.com and as we go into the holiday season, I think it’s important that we talk about this:

Two things:

1. The word “net” above is supposed to be neg, as in negative. Typos. They’re a fact of life.
2. As the typo should indicate, that is a real tweet from a real eBay buyer out in the wild that I saw a few weeks ago.

And before I say another word I know what you’re thinking. As an eBay seller, that tweet kinda ticks you off, doesn’t it? You’re sitting there talking back to this random person saying something like, “Why didn’t you contact the seller before leaving negative feedback? How the heck do you know how much shipping is supposed to cost? The poor seller probably lost money on shipping and buyers like you think they were overcharged because they have no clue what it costs to ship something!”

I know that’s what you’re thinking, because it’s my knee jerk reaction too. While none of us are naïve enough to think that there aren’t sellers overcharging on shipping, we’ve all had enough experiences where buyers have an unrealistic expectation of shipping costs that we’re all too willing to excuse the seller until we have more info. And while I’m all for leaving negative feedback for a bad transaction, nothing burns my biscuits more than a buyer that leaves negative feedback before trying to contact the seller.

But here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter if the seller overcharged or if this gentleman contacted the seller before leaving feedback or not. It really doesn’t.

In the world of customer service, what’s the difference between being overcharged and just thinking you were overcharged? From the customer’s perspective, there isn’t one. Either way, the buyer is unsatisfied and that’s bad for you, the seller.

And while that’s the code of etiquette here on eBay, the buyer really doesn’t owe the seller an email before leaving bad feedback. The buyer’s unhappy. He doesn’t want a refund or he would have contacted the seller, he just wants to write a bad review and move on with his life. And if you take off your seller’s hat for a second, you can see where he’s coming from. You don’t drop Michael Bay an email to give him a heads up that you didn’t enjoy the latest Transformers film, you just write your bad review and move on.

Move beyond the shipping cost issue and this tweet brings up another very important thing: The buyer felt that he was overcharged on shipping and when he reacted, the seller behaved in a way that came off as unprofessional and turned the buyer off. Was the seller’s reaction a DSR plea, an explanation of shipping costs or something else completely innocuous that the buyer misinterpreted? Again, it doesn’t matter. If I write a bad review of Transformers, Michael Bay doesn’t show up at my house and yell at me. That’s the retail experience I expect.

This may seem anti-social but to me, the best transactions are the one where everything is so automatic I don’t have to talk to a single human being. I know we’re in the age of social media but sometimes you just want to get in and out of the store with what you came there to buy without having to make small talk. Especially this time of year, everyone is busy and busy means no patience for fuss or drama.

It may make you feel better to whine to a buyer or blast them for leaving bad feedback but think about how that turns a buyer off. Not just your business, but also the platform as a whole. Contacting a buyer after bad feedback to offer a refund or other reparation in a professional manner is one thing, emails written in the heat of the moment are another thing. Buyers that leave negative feedback can sometimes later become your most loyal customers depending on how you handle the situation.

Amazon is never going to argue with, whine to or otherwise interact with a customer in any way that isn’t completely professional and guiding them towards satisfaction. Of course, Amazon is a massive company with billions of dollars and maybe you’re one person in your underwear working out of your garage. (Seriously, put some pants on. No one wants to see that.)

But no matter how small your business is or isn’t, you want to not only grow your list of customers but also keep the ones you already have. At the holidays especially, you want to be a retail destination and a big part of that is giving buyers what they expect. eBay’s bringing buyers your way with their new marketing push and regardless of the obstacles and what your own personal preferences are, you need to give the buyers a comfortable retail experience.

Sometimes you need to take the slap of negative feedback and turn the other cheek by offering a refund anyway. Buyers complain about shipping costs? Offering free or discounted shipping may be a pain but at some point it becomes a necessity and part of the cost of running a business. The better and smoother you make the retail experience for your customers, the more customers you’ll have.

Of course, no one’s saying you can’t print the username and tape it to your dartboard in the privacy in your own home…

About the Author
Hillary DePiano is an eBay Ink Social Media Seller. Joining the eBay community in 1997, Hilary sells vintage toys and collectibles at Priced Nostalgia. You can find her on Twitter at @HillaryDePiano.

Congratulations to John Lawson, an eBay Ink Social Media Seller, for being named a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011 by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com!

John “ColderICE” Lawson, eBay PowerSeller and President of 3rd Power Outlet, Inc. and the founder of business industry blog, was named a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011.

Lawson was one of 520 business leaders nominated for the honor. From those, Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com selected 100 to be celebrated on Sept. 13 at an award ceremony gala in New York City.

Lawson is a very active seller on eBay, speaks globally to audience on entrepreneurship, social media and technology, and has also starred in an American Express Open TV commercial. Starting his eBay business from the kitchen table, Lawson now makes numerous sales over the internet. He also created ColderICE a portal for e-commerce education and The Ecommerce Group on Facebook where business owners go to discuss what is important to them. Both the group and the blog are instructive sites for small businesses to learn about eCommerce.

“The Small Business Influencer Initiative was launched to honor people, companies and organizations that have made a worthwhile contribution to North American small businesses” states Anita Campbell, one of the founders of the event. “We hear so much about high-powered CEOs and Fortune 500 companies in the media today, but it is the small businesses that drive the economy.” Ramon Ray, co-founder of the Small Business Influencers added, “These people and organizations have all accomplished something that influences the small business world in a meaningful way. They are truly a vital part of the small business community.”

The Small Business Influencer 2011 Awards recognizes individuals, companies, and organizations for meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. The awards are based on the nominee’s products, information, or services being used by, or critical to, many small businesses, or by their work being a thought leader.

Join me in sending warm wishes to John.

Cheers,
Richard

It was the summer of 2002, and like so many, I had caught the eBay bug. I had begun selling in the late 90s as a hobby, but after realizing the limitless potential, it had become my main source of income: my career. It was a career that had propelled me to an exciting milestone earlier than I had anticipated, the purchase of my first home. Naturally, I turned to eBay as I set out to furnish and decorate my new abode, and the first item on my list was curtains. I wanted my home to be unique, smart, and warm. I wanted it to be a reflection of myself. I pondered this for a moment, then typed, “vintage fabric” in the search box.

I scrolled through page after page of floral prints, calico weaves, and bold plaids, intrigued, but not finding quite what I was after. Then, from the bottom of my screen, up came exactly what I wanted, a blue vintage print. Initially it was the shirt she was selling that caught my eye. An unusual short sleeved button down with images of vintage portraits on it. Obviously this girl was not only beautiful, she knew how to sell! I placed my bid and won the auction. Shortly after, I wrote a quick note asking if I could pay for and pick the shirt up in person since the zip code listed for the seller was right down the road from me. In her reply, she apologetically explained that a U.S. zip code was required to open her eBay account and that she had chosen the one listed on her profile at random. She actually lived in the Philippines. Her story seemed feasible, so I asked if we could speak on the phone to work it out.

She sent me her contact information the next day, and I laughed at myself for feeling slightly nervous dialing the number. We spoke about the shirt, and the Philippines, and a bit about ourselves; me mesmerized the entire time by her accent and charmingly curious use of the English vernacular. I agreed to wire her the payment via Western Union and told her I would call the next day with more information. Over the course of the next week I called her everyday under the guise of working out payment and shipping plans, until one day there was nothing left to say about the shirt. She had received my payment, and I had received the item, and we were both happy with the transaction. I found myself reluctant to hang up as what was sure to be our last phone call was nearing an end, but I didn’t know what to say. Then she said it, “will you call me tomorrow?”

For close to a year we spoke on the phone almost everyday, sometimes for hours at a time. We learned everything about each other, shared our life stories, our dreams, our passions, and our eBay ups and downs. The next step was inevitable, we had to meet each other, so I bought a plane ticket to the Philippines. Upon seeing each other in person the feelings we had nurtured over the phone were solidified and magnified. By the end of my short stay we were engaged, and after some hoop jumping and paper filing to please the bureaucracy of our countries we were married and happily settled down in Seattle, Washington.

But that’s not the end of our story! Several years passed, we celebrated the birth of our beautiful son, and successfully pursued careers outside of the exciting world of online auctions. Then, in 2009, on the same day, Nanette and I both became yet more victims of the dastardly economic meltdown. We were laid off from our jobs. After a brief bought of self pity and panic, we sat down to ruminate on our options. We had a mortgage, a child, bills. We needed money, but we knew job hunting would prove fruitless. Everyone in Seattle was looking for work, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Then Nanette, in a flash of genius, mouthed that magic word, “eBay.” Recounting to me our love story, she made the spectacular revelation that we had provided for ourselves back then through online auctioning, why not now?

Why not now? I couldn’t think of a reason. It was a great idea, and frankly the only idea we had at the time. We found a local storage auction, purchased a pallet of office telephones for $5, put them up on eBay, and within the week had turned a profit of roughly $900. It had worked, Nanettestore was up and running. But eBay had changed. There was so much more than before, so many great options, and partners, and opportunities. As we grew our business and built our eBay presence, we became more and more interested in and involved with the inner workings, eventually becoming trading assistants and Education Specialists trained by eBay. We began to meet other successful eBay entrepreneurs. Cindy Sorely, eBay user Bubbacandance, in all of her warmth and kindness, reached out to us through Facebook and invited us to join other eBay communities where we were made aware of, and invited to eBay industry get-togethers like the Las Vegas eBay On Location event and the eBay Radio Party.

Over the years, through many online endeavors I have found love, created successful careers, gained invaluable experience and knowledge, and made lasting friendships and business relations. I am continually amazed by the vastness and diversity of eBay’s reach both online and in the material world, and I am eternally grateful and delighted to be a part of such a wonderful community.

Did that title grab your attention for the wrong reason? By that, I mean were you thinking this was going to be all about how eBay isn’t for small sellers and were you thinking finally, someone is listening!

Well sorry to disappoint, it’s not. Although I must say, not much more than a year ago I was in that mindset. I admit, I closed my eBay store and looked for greener pastures…there I’ll show them!

Why am I back you ask? Having been a seller on eBay since 1998, it was hard to let go of something that had become a way of life, I actually missed it. I truly found I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. When I attended the eBay Radio Party in Las Vegas in 2010, it turned into an event that will remain a pivotal point in my eBay life. People there were upbeat, positive and comparatively content with their marketplace. As I listened to one of the speakers, John Lawson of ColderIce, give his talk, a light bulb when off in my head when he said “Stop taking it personally, (referring to dings on DSRs and bad feedback) it’s business not personal”.

That one sentence really convinced me that my attitude could be holding me back from success. I tend to hold onto negativity, even if things are going well, focusing on the things that aren’t is a hobby for some… and yes I was guilty!

Now, it wasn’t an overnight change but I truly worked on surrounding myself with positive people and avoiding those that drag me back into negativity. I stopped looking at my DSR report on a daily basis hoping to catch that customer who dared leave me lower than a 5 star rating. I started looking at my business as a real business, because that’s what it is. No matter if you sell 1 item a month, or 1,000, this is a real business because that 1st or 1,000th customer needs to be taken care of as if they are the ONLY customer. No matter how busy you are cleaning the house, taking care of the kids or working another job, the customer should always come first.

I joined a group of online sellers focused on Success. The OSIRockstars have been invaluable in helping me make the changes and look at my business in a way that I never had.

I am now about a year down the road from making these changes in attitude and can tell you my eBay business, Udderlygoodstuff, has quadrupled and there are no signs of it slowing down. I couldn’t be happier with the path I am on and never would be here without the attitude adjustment.

My best advice to you is find those people who are doing what you want to be doing, succeeding in their business and hang with them. Watch them and make changes in your thinking about your business. Heck, come friend me on Facebook if you want to hear more about my journey!