Your Best Resource ”Other eBay Sellers There's another source for advice and help with eBay- related problems: other eBay sellers. Having trouble with a deadbeat bidder? Ask other members for advice. Not sure how to ship an odd- sized package? No need to reinvent the wheel; chances are some other member has shipped something similar, and can tell you what to do. Got a gripe with eBay itself? You're not alone ”as you'll soon find out if you voice your complaint on one of the many online forums devoted to online auctions in general and eBay in particular. Using eBay's Community Forums When you want to talk with other eBay users, the first place to look is on the eBay site itself. eBay hosts a variety of discussion boards and chat rooms where you can ask questions, offer comments, or just hang out and socialize with other eBay members. Some of these boards are even frequented by eBay personnel, so you can use them as a kind of real-life help system when you encounter difficulties. eBay's discussion boards and chat rooms are found on the eBay Community page (pages.ebay.com/community/). You can also access this page by clicking the Community button on the eBay Navigation Bar. eBay offers a variety of discussion boards, which are like giant electronic bulletin boards where you can read and respond to short messages about specific topics. For example, the Seller Central board is a great place for advice from high-volume sellers. eBay also posts official information on several of these boards. For example, information about the status of the eBay site itself (when maintenance is scheduled, when a technical outage might be repaired, and so on) is found on the System Status Announcement board (www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml). More formal eBay announcements are posted on the General Announcement board (www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml). Communicating via Third-Party Forums You don't have to log on to eBay to talk about eBay. Some of the most popular message boards exist outside the eBay service, hosted by third-party Web sites and organizations. The most popular of these message boards include -
ndale's Online Traders Web Alliance (OTWA) Community (community.otwa.com) -
AuctionBytes Forums (www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/) -
Vendio Community (www. vendio .com/mesg/) -
Online Auction Users Association (OAUA) Discussion Board (www.auctionusers.org/forums/www.auctionusers.org/forums/) Another good source of online auction community and information is the TAGnotes email mailing list, hosted by the Auction Guild at Yahoo! Groups. Go to groups.yahoo.com/ group /TheAuctionGuildnotes/ to subscribe. Also worthwhile is the Online Auction Users Association (OAUA), located at www.auctionusers.org. The OAUA is an association formed to provide a collective voice for small buyers and sellers in the online auction community by identifying shared issues, providing training, education, and support services, and lobbying to promote laws and regulations that benefit the online auction users. It's a worthwhile organization for all eBay members ”and membership is free. The Absolute Minimum When you face an eBay-related problem, keep these facts in mind: -
Your first recourse should be to contact eBay directly, using the appropriate Web form. -
If you have an item that didn't sell, you can relist the item without being charged a second listing fee. -
If a buyer doesn't pay, you can petition eBay for a refund of the final value fee ”and then make a Second Chance Offer to non-winning bidders. -
If an irate customer leaves negative feedback about you, feel free to respond ”or to ask eBay to retract the feedback, if it's wholly unwarranted. |
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