Cell Phone Find of the Week #8

Marlboro Classics Leather Belt

Purchased for $1.99
Sold for $23.48
Profit after eBay fees $$18.01 (almost doubled my goal of $10.00 profit per item)

I almost passed up on this one. I have never checked the belt display rack before and as I was leaving the thrift store the belt buckle caught my eye. I proceeded to checkout and when I got to my car, I decided to run a search on my cell phone for Marlboro Classic Belts.

I found that these belts were not big sellers in the U.S. but new ones are listed on the eBay U.K. site and they retail for £145. So I went back into the store and took a shot. And guess where the winning bidder lives? The United Kingdom.

If you are not shipping internationally, you are missing out on millions of potential buyers. 15-20% of my sales are overseas. People in Europe & Asia love vintage clothing and American brand jeans.

Good Luck,

John Paul

Video- How to Make a Bubble Wrap Dispenser for eBay Shipping

Ok so I might not be the next Home Improvement TV Star, but the dispenser does the job.

John Paul

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

I just received an e-mail from PayPal that a New Item Not Received Dispute Case was opened.

It was opened by a buyer in Taiwan and the item was paid for exactly 8 days ago. What a joke!!! Now the funds are on hold by PayPal. And it gets even better the buyer opened this case after it took him a week to pay for the item.

The item was shipped first class international which even the Postal Service can not give an exact arrival time. According to the USPS website the estimated arrival time varies for first class internationl mail.

With eBay buyers getting away with whatever they want these days (see above for all the sales I lost in the last month because of non-paying bidders under just one of my eBay names) Why should they care? They won't receive negative feedback.

I guess the only solution for items being shipped outside the U.S. is to ship them via Priority Mail International so you can track the item. Though it is far more expensive and will lead to fewer international sales, it might be the our only protection against future disputes and negative feedback.

I still do not get why eBay does not automatically leave negative feedback to non paying bidders. If it a serious reason then the buyer should show proof why they can not pay. I have heard the excuse that my kid went under my account name and bid on this item without my consent already 3 times this year.

John Paul