Feedback - How To Get It

[tigergirl1]

I really go the extra mile when I sell something on eBay - I gift wrap all my items, I started a Gift-With-Purchase program and I include other extra gifts like genuine astronaut souvenirs of when my brother went into space.  I do all these things so the buyer remembers me, and files positive feedback.  It is very frustrating to me that even though I include a Thank You card with my item giving item number and my seller name etc, and politely requesting feedback, about half or more of my buyers do not file feedback.  This is even after they have emailed me and said they loved their item.  It is also even after I've sent, every two or three weeks, a polite friendly email asking for feedback and saying I will do the same for them.  I want to get as high a positive feedback number as I can get because I'm very ill and selling everything I own before it is too late.  I spend the money to buy nice gift wrap and ribbons.  I can't imagine that some people have a negative reaction to the souvenirs of my brother - about half of my buyers say they found it really neat.  I just can't understand why a lot of people don't file feedback - for example about half of my February sales did not file feedback even though some of them sent me emails saying they loved their item.  Does anyone have any suggestions for me?  And also on how to get more sales?  I'm alone, and really trying hard here.  Thanks.

[pocomocomputing]

"I don't have a mobile device, but will ask my doctor and see if I can look at one or more of my listings."

Kathy, you can go to this link on a home computer and it will show you exactly what your listings look like on a mobile phone (no need to have a phone) --  

http://m.ebay.com/

I've put the link on my Favourites so I can look at my listings through the mobile system from time to time.  Just plug in one of your item numbers or do a search in the usual way.  It's a real eye-opener.  This is what all those under-50 "kids" see out there!

All the best!

The above site is only for older phones with limited capabilities. Smartphones and the Apple iPhone go to another eBay mobile site and what is shown is much better than the above link shows. On an older iPhone using the apple Safari browser, listing show up quite well.

So do not judge your listings by the above link.

Because you have so much information in your listings, it goes on for many many pages for a mobile user.

From what I read, up to 50% of eBay sales are on mobile devices. Now an Apple iPad is a mobile device too so it is not just phones.The iPad browses eBay in the Apple Safari browser but you need to download the eBay app to be able to browse and buy.

One other thing is that Apple iPhone and iPad do not support Adobe flash so the Auctiva showcase is not displayed.

I have access to an iPad and an iPhone and have be trying out these devices. I am still learning how things look and work on these devices.

[femmefan1946]

My items are genuine and were bought by me for my own use, were fully paid for, and were bought in reputable stores or the designer's boutiques (i.e. Chanel, Gucci, Prada, etc.).

Watch out! This could be taken as keyword spamming. When customers Search with the Title and Description all searches for Gucci would find your listings, including those for Jessica by Sears. Some people get grouchy about this.

Maybe they are wrong???
Yes, they are.
you forget I'm in a wheel chair and I have to wait for a special taxi to go to the post office.
Why are you going to the PO at all? If you print your labels through Paypal, not only do you get the 20-25% discount from Canada Post counter rates, but you can just drop the parcels into the nearest corner box. (If it takes parcels, of course.) And of course your Letter items which cannot have the labels, can be stamped and mailed.
I wonder if you have some home help? Could your caregiver drop parcels into a postbox for you? When I have used Home Care (it's been a bad century for me so far) some of the workers were quite helpful although such a request would be outside their job description. I have had my cleaner do a similar task, but she is my own employee.
The eBay rep said it was,
EBay reps are not sellers. They read scripts. All advice from eBay is good for eBay. Very little is actually useful for sellers. (The most idiotic is advising auction sellers to start their auctions at 99 cents. Sheesh.)
Simply put, because of the type of items I sell, I make the decisions on shipping in advance.  All my listings are flat rate.  rose-dee
You are right about simple packaging for sellers of books or stamps, like pierre and I. But you could be cheating yourself by using Flat Rate shipping domestically. Have you checked out the difference in cost for shipping within your province and to, say, Nunavut? It would cost me $12 or more to ship a 3cm thick paperback to Fort McMurray, but only about $6 to ship it to Toronto.
Calculated Shipping does require advance thinking about the size and weight of the future parcel.
When the item is purchased, I send a thank-you email to my buyer, telling him/her I'm going to upgrade the shipping at no charge to them.  I may also tell them what the actual cost would have been.
Oooh, rose-dee , you are one smart cookie! Everyone loves a discount, especially an unexpected one.
on the International shipping part of the form, I select France, United Kingdom, Germany, whatever, I select Surface Parcel International, and I put in my best guess for cost because it varies depending on which country I'm sending to.
You are gonna get soooo screeewwed! NEVER NEVER ship overseas by Surface. It is much too expensive! I recently had a buyer pay the $45 for shipping a book Air Mail to Netherlands, and my assistant sent it Surface, because Air was so expensive. I had to refund the whole shipping cost plus the cost of the book when it had not turned up after 40 days. Sixty days later, the buyer repaid the cost of the book, but not the shipping. And this is not an isolated story. NEVER NEVER.
even if I pre-wrap my item (which is almost impossible to do with over 500 items), and measure it and weigh it, I still won't know what the postal cost will be until I know where the buyer is.
Which is what Calculated Shipping does for you and for your customer. Calculates the postage (plus any handling you have specified- bubble wrap ain't free) to the customer's postal code or country. No guessing on your part, once you have the weight and measurements entered.

I have over 1700 items currently listed. And have recently learned that about 1000 more books that I thought were listed are not. So I feel your pain about refreshing listings. And every refreshed listing requires the use of a ruler and scale. Yurggh.

I often have to choose Small Packet Air which no longer has insurance, and does not have a tracking number.

Smoke and mirrors are your friends here.
I mostly use LightPacket/LetterPost, but larger books must go Small Packet Air. I give the PP shipping invoice number in my feedback. For honest customers, the vast majority, this reassures them that the parcel has been sent. Scammers may be fooled into thinking this is a DC number.
I also do not use eBay online shipping labels.
Learn.
I've given several reasons above. You get approximately 5% off on some services and upwards of 25% off Expedited to Canada and the USA.
You avoid those ill-informed clerks who have been overcharging you.
You can use corner postboxes, if accessible.

I have no tax advantage and cannot write off any postage charges etc.
Pierre will be jumping on this one, but keep in mind that your eBay earnings are not necessarily  tax-free. You may fit into the "garage sale" provisions, but keep careful records of all your expenses and earnings, if only to show that to the Revenue Canada auditors.  And also remember that paying taxes on your earnings is a mark of professional success.

By the way, thank you  and thanks rose-dee, for putting those measurements into your clothing listings.

And thank you, too, rose-dee, for the mobile check. I looked up one of my books and all that showed was the gallery picture and price (okay some stuff from the top of the page listing, but not even all of that.) What a shock!

[brandeentertainment]

I just looked at this one item 121032208203

I would have clicked the back button before I even read the first 10 lines ... You have 10 different colored text and more writing then I would ever bother to read

In your description section you need to remove almost all of the garbage in it ... I get your trying hard and you know what good on you but what I see in that listing is very far from what buyers want to see...

I just went through this on here with pierre and others with my listings I went from having about 20 lines with 2 colors of info to about 9 or 10 all point form no color ..

Short and sweet with no personal dribble in your listing "I mean no offense" If you sometimes have delayed shipping due to your disability change your handling time to 2 or 3 days there is no reason to explain to the world why it might be delayed...

Leave feedback when you receive payment .. Once a buyer pays there job is done ... Wheter you get feedback from there is a different story .. I have over 7000 sales with just over 4000 feedback don't drive yourself crazy worrying about it .. You will get feedback from those who want to leave it ...

Do your listing point form ..

Do not re-described things in your description that is already in your items specific there is no point just makes things messy ...

Get rid of the different colored text no point in it ....

Your disablility is sad and I feel for you but the fact of the matter is when your on here it's about selling and making money nothing more... Be Professional ..

Anyways Please don't take offense I am a very nice guy but like every other answer on here we are all just being honest and answering your questions ...

People shop online for a few reasons

They live in the middle of no where

Get better deals

Can not get to stores to buy

Lazy ( this is where your descriptions hurt you) someone looking to buy with little to no effort on there part don't want to read 2 or 3 pages of a book to know what they need to know before purchasing

Take care and good luck ... Nobody on here is mean just honest ...

[brandeentertainment]

K so I took the time to look at about 20 listings and just like everyone including myself have said you need to clean up your desctiptions .. There is like 10 color,10 font sizes a few different fonts and enough reading to put me to sleep...

Remember less is more online... I can see you put alot of effort into your listings and stores so give yourself a huge break and cut all the clutter out ..

1 maybe 2 font sizes .. 1 maybe 2 font colors ... Delete about 90% of what you have written down as you are just repeating alot of what your item specifics and seller prefeces can say ..

Make it easy on the eyes and on yourself... Remember you can't make up your own rules which eliminates alot of you description ...

Remember there is a place for everything in a listing so you do not have to put everything in your description such as return policy,Shipping,Handling time etc..

Lightly used t-shirt with the measurement and pics .. Point out any flaws  and bam thats all you need the rest is already stated elsewhere ....

I notice in your store front and your descriptions you mention your illness everywhere but in this day and age Femme is right it just SCREAMS SCAMMMMMMMM . Which it is easy to tell your not scamming anyone but that is exactly what alot of people will think .. Remember you not always selling to someone who cares if you only have 1 arm so it's hard to package things or anything else many buyers care about a few things things Price, Product,Packaging & shipping   ...

I think you are an oustanding seller that really cares but the truth is the truth .... Anything femme or pierre tell you is just to help so take what they say and go with it they have both helped me out ALOT ...

[tigergirl1]

Thanks for your comments.  I appreciate that you are not trying to be mean.  I have done a lot of work in the past days after reading all suggestions.  Please go to listing 120846640965 for example - this is one I have redone to be much less text.  Please note what rose-dee said, however.  When selling garments it is necessary to give fabric, label, made in, size, colour, measurements, pockets, lining, closure, etc.  When selling vintage garments it is good to give era and provenance (where it came from).  I add a line re photo if I had trouble taking the photo.  I add a line re postage if the item is heavier because most people from the USA seem to have no idea that a two piece suit in a heavier fabric is not going to cost only $3 for postage.  I now put a line re photo colour in each listing because when I had it elsewhere, people were not reading it, and then I had a run of rude insulting threatening messages from several buyers in the USA saying the colour was not the same as what they saw on their computer. 

Redoing each of my over 550 listings individually is going to take me a week or two, so if anyone looks at a listing I have not done yet, they will see the old longer version.

I did post a question in this thread asking if there was a way I could change all my listings all at the same time, but no one replied. 

Thanks for your suggestions.

[pierrelebel]

"When selling garments it is necessary to give fabric, label, made in, size, colour, measurements, pockets, lining, closure, etc.  When selling vintage garments it is good to give era and provenance (where it came from). "

I think most posters here will totally agree.  The description portion of a listing is there to sell the item and every bit of information a seller can add will help generate a sale. Great improvement over the previous text.

That said, looking at 120846640965 my first reaction : blue green black red.  Give me a break!

Then HUGE BOLD "Subscribe..."  That is overdone.

Finally "To ensure I’m selling top quality, undamaged items, ALL SALES ARE FINAL."  Frankly that does not make sense.  If you sell "top quality" it cannot be a logical excuse to refuse to accept returns.

If a buyer makes a claim through PayPal for "not as described", there is nothing to prevent that buyer from getting the money back from PayPal and charged to your account, regardless of the negative terms in your listing.

Once again: use the description section of a listing to SELL the item by being positive in every aspect.  Negativity should be avoided. Showing

"GIFT WITH PURCHASE!!! "

is NOT a good idea.  Include the gift, by all means (I do with every purchase) but let it be a surprise.  Otherwise, you only create expectations. Not worth it.  Nothing to gain. 

Once again, good luck.

[rose-dee]

Simply put, because of the type of items I sell, I make the decisions on shipping in advance.  All my listings are flat rate.  rose-dee
You are right about simple packaging for sellers of books or stamps, like pierre and I. But you could be cheating yourself by using Flat Rate shipping domestically. Have you checked out the difference in cost for shipping within your province and to, say, Nunavut? It would cost me $12 or more to ship a 3cm thick paperback to Fort McMurray, but only about $6 to ship it to Toronto.
Calculated Shipping does require advance thinking about the size and weight of the future parcel.

Here I am again, yakety-yak, but this is a very lively string!  Femmefan, I see your point re calculated shipping, but the reality for me is that only 1 out of 100 of my buyers are in Canada,

I've become so familiar with shipping rates to the U.S. that I almost don't need to look them up anymore (is there a job at C.P. for me???), and I tend to ship fewer but more costly items less frequently than some sellers.  Also, I use the "surprise shipping discount" strategy to get repeat US customers, and that works best with flat rate.  Shipping tactics are, in the end, probably a matter of what works best for the particular type of business.

When the item is purchased, I send a thank-you email to my buyer, telling him/her I'm going to upgrade the shipping at no charge to them.  I may also tell them what the actual cost would have been.
Oooh, rose-dee , you are one smart cookie! Everyone loves a discount, especially an unexpected one.

Thank you for the praise -- I devised this scheme (TOTALLY permissible under the rules, by the way) one day when I was angry with eBay for charging FVF's on the entire shipping for a multiple purchases, 70% of which shipping costs I'd refunded to the buyer (they were new buyers, and didn't read my request in the listing to ask me for a combined invoice before paying).  I tried to get eBay to refund, but no dice.  So this strategy makes my U.S. customers happy, and I get to keep a little more of my hard-earned money. 

[rose-dee]

Hi again K - to (sort of) answer your question, I believe there is a bulk edit tool in the eBay revision screen, but because I tend to list under 100 items at a time, and do most revising in advance in Auctiva, I haven't used it.  Maybe someone else has and can direct you.

Also, listen, try a standard return policy for a while, Pierre is absolutely right about deleting this wording:

"To ensure I’m selling top quality, undamaged items, ALL SALES ARE FINAL." 

That can be a scare-off for customers, and frankly I think returns are very rare (I've never had one in several years of selling).  One seller a few months ago on this Discussion Board suggested a 30-day return policy, on the assumption that, after the first week or so most people will completely forget about returning an item, and not want to bother unless it's a major issue for them.  I thought that was an interesting idea from a psychological point of view, and so I've switched most of my listings from 14 to 30 days.  The buyer pays for return shipping in any case, so that's a deterrent in itself (take a look at the "Terms of Sale" in my listings for example). 

Think of it this way - if you really had to refund one item a year, how much money would you have to keep aside for that possibility?  Probably not much.  On really expensive items, I always leave the money to sit in Paypal until I know the buyer has received their item and either leaves FB or a reasonable time has passed to hear about complaints (say 21 days).  Offering returns is really good business, says you're honest and professional, and in my experience hasn't been trouble at all.

[brandeentertainment]

Off the topic of your listings... Take it 1 step at a time don't overwhelm yourself or get down on yourself .. I personally have changed all my listings about 4 times until I finally got what I wanted and sales are doing great and questions have dropped off alot ...

Good luck and the new listing is a huge leap forward but just keeping taking peoples advice with a grain of salt and learning from it .. Everything will end up better in the end and I would also like to commend you on why you are doing what your doing the world is a better place with people like you in it ...

Good luck and head up

[tigergirl1]

Hi Rose-dee, Pierre and others regarding No Returns.  I'm going to reply here as if you are my friend(s) and if you were sitting in front of me, this is what I would explain.....  Please don't anyone dump on me and saying I'm crying Poor Me, or don't want to hear it, etc.  The fact of the matter is that I'm ill, a senior, and I've been told I might not live very long (no actual death date was given).  So I'm trying to sell everything I own and get it out of the house, and turned into money, which will help with medical costs since I'm on a small disability income (small enough that I don't pay taxes, in answer to someone who said I am legally required to pay taxes on eBay sales), and also I have it legally prepared that my estate will go to the SPCA to help animals.  The SPCA has already told me they have no way of liquidating clothing, jewellery, etc. etc. and those items won't help animals but money will.

However I knew that putting "Because I may die soon and am trying to sell everything before hand, and I don't want things back into the house, All Sales Are Final"  would be a turn-off to buyers, I consulted with eBay and a social worker and they wrote that line about Top Quality.  It is also very pertinent to high priced designer goods, because buyers of those items don't want an item that has been returned by someone else and perhaps dirtied or whatever.  It doesn't do me much good to sell something and have it come back to me.

This is also why I'm very careful and lengthy in my descriptions.  I've never had anyone ask about, or object to, my no return policy.  It is offered as a choice on the eBay Sell Your Item form.  The form merely says that if a No Return policy is in place, the seller should fully and carefully describe their items.

So, I know this reply is personal, and I hope no one objects to it, but it is totally honest.

BTW I started adding colour to my listings because I was told that all black text was boring and would not catch anyone's eye.

[tigergirl1]

Hi Brandeentertainment, thanks for your kind message.  I appreciate that everyone is trying to be helpful, and I've learned a lot in the past few days, and I'm OK with everyone.  It IS a bit overwhelming to decide to sell almost everything I own, most of which has sentimental value, and deal with the amount of work needed in taking many photos of each item, writing a detailed description, cleaning up the photos on Photoshop, and posting on eBay.  Lately I've been able to think a bit more clearly, and I've removed some items that may never sell, or if the price is too low, and they sell, I end up, after eBay fees, having given the item away free.....and I've lowered prices on some items that I priced too high because sentiment led me to do so.  I have no one else here who can take an objective look at things and give me advice, like for example, hmmm that item is price too low, that item is priced too high etc.

I personally feel that my listings are pretty with the four colours I'm using, and quite a number of buyers have sent me messages saying how much they appreciate being able to see everything clearly, i.e. my detail section titles (Size, Fabric, etc) are in blue, the text is black.  Before I put the Gift With Purchase in colour most people missed it.  I am a past graduate in marketing, and I was taught that a special offer is a "selling point" and as such should be visible.

I don't know how many people bought one of my items because they would get a gift with purchase, but I do know many people send me messages afterwards saying how much they appreciated and like the gift I included.

I'm trying to do things that will make my items memorable to those who buy, so that they will return, or tell their friends.

After my boss tried to kill me, I didn't leave the house for many years, but have recently started volunteering at the nursing home, and now I find it wonderful to give the Bingo game and pass time with people in their 80's and 90's.  It has given me more confidence.

Anyway, sorry, I digress.  I don't want anyone saying to me "Oh boo hoo, poor you".  I rescued four abused kitties, they are so cute, and I'm doing OK.

[brandeentertainment]

FYI your title and Picture our what catches peoples eyes not your description... When you look at your items your description is only seen after people click on the item ...

From my time around here not to say anyone is less knowledgeable but pierre has been around and helped out alot of people I would go with what he says he knows what he's talking about..

Whoever told you color is good they are both right and wrong ... too much color is just too much ..Color in your storefront is great ... Text being so many colors is just hard on the eyes..

NO Returns is a turn off to any buyer and 90% of the reason someone would want to return an item you would have no option but to accept the return as per ebay and paypal policies...

If the buyer says I got my item but changed my mind I dont want it you can say sorry no returns but basically anything else you have to do returns so no point in turning buyers off and with your great service I am sure nobody would want to return...

Either way If you want to increase your sales there is alot on this discussion forum that if you did it would help you out alot ....

FYI I don't think anyone is thinking your trying to play the sympathy card I think they are more or less saying there are a ton of dead beats in this world ripping people off claiming illnesses that it does just scream scam when people read about illnesses or mis fortunes..

Again take your time don't stress yourself it is not good for the heatlh ..Take care

[tigergirl1]

Hi,

Yes, I have now rediscovered the Store Pages section on the bottom left of my store Home Page.  I have now added Testimonials and Frequently Asked Questions there, and thus removing them from my listing page.

I don't think I really mentioned my illness EVERYWHERE, but anyway I have taken a lot of that out now.

It's odd what can be perceived as scam.  There is a girl named Karyn (I can look up her last name) - she overspent on her Visa and got into $30,000 debt, and she went on the internet and asked people to send her money so she could pay her bill.  She went into a lot of detail, and poor me stuff, about how she loved shoes and just moved to New York and needed new clothes, and fancy meals, etc. and whoops now she was in debt $30,000.  And you know what?  People sent her money, lots of money.  She paid off her debt and wrote a book about it.  Now I have to say that I found her book funny and entertaining.  But my point is that she was very verbal and put lots out there about her "poor me" situation, and no one objected!!

[tigergirl1]

I'd like to thank everyone for their help and suggestions.  I've made MORE changes and if you check out listing xx you will see I now have only three colours including black (which isn't really a colour because you have to put text in something it can't be invisible 🙂  and I've put only a few notes and they are all after the listing itself.  I always was using only one font, and it was always in size 14 but I did use more bold and underline than I do now.  I really don't think I can change much else.  Re. the Returns - eBay offers sellers the option to put No Returns, and the rare occasion I had a buyer contact PayPal, once I proved to PayPal that my listing included the detail the buyer was "talking" about, PayPal agreed with me that the buyer did not read my listing completely.

Please don't hesitate to make more suggestions, anyone.  I live with my cats, and they are wonderful but they don't talk in english and can't help me with suggestions.  LOL  Kathy in Ontario

[tigergirl1]

Sorry, I forgot to put the item number.  It is 120847595342.

[rose-dee]

Hi again Kathy!  I just checked your item #120847595342, and it's SO much better as a listing - clean, easy to read, all the necessary information is there but not overwhelming. And keeping the colours restricted to 3 and not all over the place is great.  Just looks terrific compared to the previous ones I saw.  And I can't tell you how much better it looks to put the FAQs, testimonials, etc. on your Store Pages.  You'll find it also saves you a lot of time, as it's less verbiage you have to put into listings. 

Now a couple of final suggestions (I know, I know, I said that before), which you can consider or not, but I think they would make the initial impression of your store "Home" page much more attractive and really give it a professional touch:

(a)  The "Gift-with-Purchase" description box -- can you make it much more concise?  Or perhaps use just a grabby headline, like: "I Offer a Gift-With-Purchase Program for all my customers -- Check out the details in "Store Pages" at bottom left of this page!".  My impression, from a buyer's point of view, is that there is so much to read, the impact gets lost.  And you don't want your Home page to be too cluttered - it's a showcase window for passersby. 

Also, I noticed this in the same box:

"(6) If YOU FILE 5 STAR POSITIVE FEEDBACK, I will do the same for you AND on your next order, I will include a GIFT (gift of my choice, no substitutes), like a small camera OR shopping bag." 

I'd  be careful with this sort of wording -- it could possibly be construed by eBay as a form of feedback extortion.  I'm not saying you thought of it this way, but if someone reports it to eBay, it could cause you grief.

(b)  My other suggestion is to change the text in the right-hand side Promotion Box.  I'm going to end this message here because at my age I forget things, and I need to go back and copy the text to be accurate.  :8}

[rose-dee]

OK, here's the box I was looking at (right-hand side on your store Home page):

________________________

"I'm selling my possessions in order to support myself after I was disabled by a workplace accident. I encourage you to fully read the item LISTING to ensure that you, as a valued customer, will be pleased with your purchase. If you don't read it and thought the item was a different fabric, a different size, etc., please refrain from insults and unkind language.

Mail TAKES TIME to get to USA and other countries, due to Security and Customs inspections, the delay is NOT caused by me. If you're wondering where your item is, contact me. I have proof of shipment for each package.

It is not fair to tell me things are fine and then open a dispute with eBay. I care about my items and my buyers.

Have a great day and feel free to browse the approx. 600 items in my eBay store. Thanks. Kathy"

______________________________

Kathy, I'd remove the first sentence completely -- I am completely sympathetic with your situation, but I don't think it helps to tell buyers this.   These Home page promotion boxes are best used as upbeat, exciting, quick little enticements, not for disclaimers or explanations. 

And I would definitely delete everything I've highlighted in bold+italic above. I have to be honest and say this wording would sound aggressive and off-putting to a prospective buyer.  If you need to (for example during a postal strike), you can use a Promotion Box for a brief announcement about delays, but I wouldn't highlight delays up front otherwise.  So, from a purely helpful point of view, I'd get rid of everything in that box but the title ("Please Read My Listings") and the happy-happy stuff :-x. 

I and many other sellers here I'm sure only make these suggestions out of an honest desire to be helpful, and some of us have varied experience to bring to the discussion.  I spent several years in professional marketing and product development, so I tend to think in those terms first.  eBay isn't always the ideal place to sell, but for many of us it works best. 

My best advice is to keep things clean, attractive, and uncluttered, and take full advantage of eBay's marketing and promotional tools to the utmost.  For example, since you have a store, you should have access to Omniture.  Check your stats from time to time - this can be really useful, especially to see who is looking at what in your store.  This should also tell you if the changes you're making are getting you more attention.

All the best to you -- and believe me, I don't think anyone here ever intends to dump on another seller.  I'm just happy to share my own advice if it might help.

Cheers!

Patricia ('rose-dee')

[tigergirl1]

Hi Rose-dee (Patricia),

Thanks for your suggestions.  I went right away and changed the text in those two boxes on my store home page.  I couldn't thank you right away because I had some other urgent things, etc. 

After certain past events, I don't have as thick a skin as I used to, and a few months ago, for some odd reason, I had a succession of really rude people on eBay.  It was very upsetting, and so after I emailed back and forth with a friendly customer with whom I've been an email "pen pal" for a few months about this and other things, she suggested the wording as an effort to stop people from being rude.  Those people were not reading my listings, and then sending me horrible messages about how they were upset it was cotton and not polyester, or demanding where is their item when they only paid the day before.  Sorry, I lost my train of thought - so what I was saying was that with a thinner skin to this sort of thing, I tended to get upset and then react right away by taking a suggestion (the text re rudeness) and posting it on my store.  I guess I should be more "laid back" and let it roll off, and I know, anyway, that for a long time people have been polite and friendly and those people were oddballs.

Thanks for the suggestion re. Omniture.  I'll check it out.  I know I can look at stats on eBay, i.e. which of my categories are ones people are looking at etc., but I don't often have time to do that.

I, too, was very upset when eBay decided to get more money by charging a commission on the postage fee.  Now I'm making even less than before because I have to allow for the commission on the postage.

I want to go back and re-read what you said about charging less but then upgrading for free.  I must admit I don't know what you mean.  I'll have to re-read it.  My handling of shipping fees is cumbersome, and people have criticised it, but for me it seems to work the best, but it is way from perfect.  I have lots of items so I cannot pre-weigh and pre-measure an item and then try and guess where the buyer will be living and then get a rate from Canada Post, even online.  I've tried using the eBay shipping program - you go to the link, print your shipping label, etc. and supposedly get a discount, but every time I've tried it as a "let's see", with the actual Canada Post price in my hand, I discover that there was no savings with eBay.

eBay had said they offered savings on UPS, but when I checked it out, the rate I got directly from UPS was cheaper than the eBay rate.  Same thing with Canada Post.  Also, as I feared, Tracked Packet has come out to be a lot more expensive, almost the same as Expedited, and there is no Small Packet Surface, so I am forced to use Small Packet Air most of the time (no tracking number, no insurance), or if it is close to the price for Expedited, or the item warrants the extra, I'll use my discount card to buy Expedited.

As I mentioned previously, I stopped paying Auctiva because I didn't see a benefit, but they are still scrolling my items across the top, and lots of those items are sold now.  I don't know how to get rid of the scrolling gallery.

I don't want to write a lot here, must get back to updating my over 500 item listings, but thanks again.  Please don't hesitate, anyone, to make more suggestions.

[brandeentertainment]

Item 120847595342.

100 times better good show .,.,...

[tigergirl1]

Hi,   Thanks so much.  I really appreciate it.  It is always good to "see" things through the eyes of others.  Have a great day.  Kathy