The mystery parcel and missing a sales opportunity

April 12, 2012

I had a bit of a surprise yesterday. A courier turned up with a parcel neatly addressed to me which isn’t that unusual since I’m regularly buying things online. However I wasn’t expecting something quite this size and when I opened it it turned out… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Selling Tips, Soapbox | 12 Comments 

Why eBay UK should ban stock images for used items

April 3, 2012

I’ve been caught out today with a purchase on eBay, in some ways I blame myself but in others I blame the seller and it’s all to do with pictures. I purchased a used laptop CD ROM drive to replace a broken one – mine has a broken bezel (the… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, eBay.com, Soapbox | 13 Comments 

When did we get it? We got it now!

March 30, 2012

Yes now, literally two minutes ago the Yodel courier knocked on the door with my new laptop from Dabs! The back story is that yesterday at about 2.20pm I purchased a for a bargain price of £269.94 with a 4-6 day delivery time. I was a bit… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, Soapbox | 18 Comments 

When do we want it? We want it now!

March 29, 2012

eBay have been banging on about service for a long time. Instant gratification and next day delivery are apparently becoming the norm for ecommerce. Sadly I’ve had a slight edge taken off my enjoyment of a purchase I made on eBay today as it’s… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, Soapbox | 14 Comments 

Should buyers be rated on eBay?

February 13, 2012

There’s been some interesting commentary on Tamebay over the last week about feedback and ratings for buyers. Sellers can be rated by buyers not only with a positive/negative/neutral comment but also with marks (stars) out of five on detailed seller… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, Selling Tips, Soapbox | 29 Comments 

Mary Portas High Street Review

December 13, 2011

Today’s the day that Mary Portas’ long awaited government commissioned review of the high street has been published. You can read The Portas Review in full on the Department for Business Innovation & Skills website. The purpose of The Portas… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under News, Soapbox | 11 Comments 

Which bright spark banned the light bulb?

September 1, 2011

photo credit: Caveman Chuck CokerFrom today it has become illegal to import or manufacture traditional incandescent 60 watt lightbulbs within the EU. We are now to be forced to buy the so called energy saving light bulbs for which there are plenty… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, News, Soapbox | 33 Comments 

It’s the search box, stupid – a plea to learn from the lessons of the past

August 21, 2011

David Brackin is an occasional guest writer on Tamebay and is a Director of Stuff U Sell, the UK’s leading eBay Trading Assistant. He used to be head of Strategy for LookSmart, Inc, an internet directory service, which provided the web directory… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, Soapbox | 21 Comments 

eBay: Where sub-standard & economy is the norm

April 4, 2011

eBay have just announced an increase to the postage caps in line with the recent Royal Mail price increases, which came into effect on 4th April (or will come into effect in May for Royal Mail contract customers). eBay’s roll out for listings… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, Featured, Soapbox | 23 Comments 

How is the economy affecting your business?

February 1, 2011

I was with my accountant yesterday to finalise my tax return for the 2009-2010 tax period and had an interesting conversation about the economy in general and how that would affect my business over the next year. There are several factors that… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Soapbox | 14 Comments 

DOTD Watch : returning to returns policies

June 22, 2010

If you’re running out to buy an England t-shirt to celebrate our inevitable win tomorrow (ahem), be sure to read the small print before you start. Today’s Deal of the Day seller will charge you a restocking fee if you change your mind: We have a… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Soapbox | 17 Comments 

eBay: Don’t you think it feels tired?

June 16, 2010

And just to round out our “exBayer” day, here’s a post from Dan “Henry” Wilson, one-time eBay UK community manager, who’s been selling off some bits on the site. Dan asks: Why does using eBay and PayPal feel a bit like going back in time? I’m… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Soapbox | 15 Comments 

eBay Ink’s RBH interviews John Donahoe

May 29, 2010

Richard Brewer Hay, the official eBay blogger, interviews John Donahoe, eBay’s President, during eBay OL in Dallas. I love that JD is making the effort to video the people he’s talking to, so that he can pass on their exact comments to the… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Events, Soapbox | 6 Comments 

eBay UK: “we want buyers to leave more negs”

May 15, 2010

We’ve been hearing two, apparently related, things from eBay sellers for a week or two now – one, a sudden increase in negative and neutral feedback overall, and two, an increase in negative and neutral feedbacks with positive comments. More than… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under eBay, Soapbox | 48 Comments 

Other sellers’ items will be added to your auctions too

May 13, 2010

photo credit: x-ray delta oneIn March, eBay announced that they’d be adding cross-promotional advertising to fixed price listings on eBay UK. Today, they’ve announced that as of 17th May,… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under eBay, Soapbox | 6 Comments 

Buying from Buy

May 10, 2010

First off I have to admit I’ve made a mistake – I ordered a product and failed to read the description and discover that the item will only work with a MAC and that I only have a PC. However I’ve been pretty impressed with the seller Buy.com as a… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Soapbox | 5 Comments 

Fashioning eBay’s future?

May 9, 2010

I don’t seem to be able to escape the ads for eBay Outlet at the moment. Not only are they all over the site, and in my inbox, they’re following me to Waterloo tube station too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen eBay push one specific part of the site… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, Soapbox | 16 Comments 

Bags of questions on today’s DOTD

April 5, 2010

Are your eBay fees mounting up more than you’d like? Are all those 5ps starting to be a burden? Why not follow the example of today’s Deal of the Day seller, and stick a bunch of completely different lines on one multi-variant listing!… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Soapbox | 11 Comments 

PayPal, graphs and the trouble with feedback

March 4, 2010

PayPal sent out a marketing email this week to UK-based eBay sellers, trying to encourage them to banish cheques and postal orders from their listings. The justification, they said, is that DSR scores left by buyers who’ve paid with PayPal are so… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Paypal, Selling Tips, Soapbox | 18 Comments 

Is this really the best eBay has to offer?

March 4, 2010

Today’s eBay UK deal of the day makes for interesting reading. The are being sold by an Irish-registered seller, but are shipping from Singapore. I’m rather surprised that eBay UK has chosen to promote this deal, as there are a number of… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Soapbox | 17 Comments 

Why I’m quitting my eBay business

February 15, 2010

Within the next few weeks I’ll be shutting one of my eBay shops for good and withdrawing from the marketplace. It’s not because I haven’t made good profits, it’s because eBay has forced me out of the marketplace. As many of you know I’ve traded… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Featured, Soapbox | 96 Comments 

eBay Search needs to get smarter

February 7, 2010

A few weeks back I was looking for the complete boxed set of all seven seasons of The West Wing on eBay. As you would, I searched for “West Wing DVDs complete” – and turned up hundreds. The problem was that rather than being what I wanted, they were… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Featured, Soapbox | 15 Comments 

PayPal echeques’ confusing messages

February 4, 2010

It’s one of those emails sellers dread, maybe even more than the “where’s my item?” one. The one that says, your buyer paid you, but there’s no money yet: a PayPal echeque notification. And then you have to mail the buyer and explain… or decide to… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Paypal, Soapbox | 21 Comments 

Valentines canceled on eBay in Post Code lottery

February 4, 2010

One of this week’s “Weekly Deals” has brought up an annoyance that has peeved me for years on eBay – sellers that discriminate according to where in the UK you happen to live. The deal for for my dear old mum on Valentines day would have been… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Soapbox | 12 Comments 

Let us be excellent : what I’d do with eBay, part 4

January 27, 2010

At the weekend, I mentioned my thoughts about how feedback should evolve to a couple of sellers. Both were shocked: if there were no visibility penalty attached to bad feedback, they said, why would sellers care about it? This shows just how far… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Soapbox | 22 Comments