eBay Help – The Most Asked eBay Selling Questions

As a successful eBay Powerseller and author of The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powerseller Secrets, I receive many emails every day from people who have yet to start selling on eBay to professional sellers, all often asking the same questions. So as a guide, I have put together a list of the most frequently asked questions and their answers to help you with your eBay selling.

I hope this page is helpful to you and as I get asked more questions I will update this list in order to help you further with your eBay selling.

Feedback Questions

A buyer is threatening me with negative feedback, is this allowed?

Threatening negative feedback is strictly against eBay’s rules. However, this area is not quite black and white. Just because a buyer threatens you with negative feedback, then it's not always feedback extortion or blackmail. If a buyer has purchased an item from you that they say is damaged or faulty and they want to return it to you or they will leave you a negative, then this is not feedback extortion because it is their perogative to send it back if it does not work properly. However, if they say that they do not want to send the item back but want a refund anyway otherwise they will leave negative feedback, then this is feedback extortion or blackmail which is not acceptable. If a buyer is threatening you with negative feedback and you feel that they are trying to pull a fast one, then you can report them to eBay who will look at the case and take the appropriate action.

I have been left unfair negative feedback. Can I ask a buyer to change or remove this?

You can ask a buyer to change their feedback from a negative to a positive, however they cannot revise it themselves. The revision or removal of the feedback in question must be dealt with through eBay. If you ask a buyer to revise their feedback, and they do not agree, I am afraid that there is nothing you can do. If you are confident that the buyer will agree to your request then go for it!  Also, you have only thirty days from the feedback being submitted to request a revision and your buyer has ten days to reply to the request. The link to request a feedback revision can be found by going to the eBay Site Map / Community / Request Feedback Revision.

Do I have to leave feedback for a transaction or is it optional?

Contrary to popular belief - feedback is entirely optional! Buyers and sellers do not have to leave feedback for each other if they do not want to, although most do. If a buyer is perfectly happy with their item, then there is no reason not to leave feedback. It's the same for sellers.

Who should leave feedback first - Buyer or Seller?

There is some debate over this question, so I will give you my personal opinion! If feedback is going to be left, then in my view, the buyer should leave feedback first. This way, the seller knows for sure that the buyer has received their parcel and is happy with their item. The seller can then leave feedback for the buyer. I know that not everybody will agree with this, however it's always worked well for me!

Postage Questions

My buyer says that his item didn't arrive. What do I do?

This must be handled promptly and correctly. Most eBay buyers are totally genuine but unfortunately there are always the few who are out to get something for nothing. So, firstly, are you able to prove that the item has been delivered? Did you send it by a trackable method such as by Royal Mail Signed For or a courier service?

If you did you will have proof that the item has been signed for you should contact your buyer to politely ask if they are absolutely certain that they have not received their parcel. Perhaps someone else in the household has unknowingly signed for the parcel? Has a neighbour taken delivery? This also gives the buyer a chance to have a rethink of their actions if they are trying to pull a fast one!

If the item was purchased through Paypal, you can log in and input the tracking details of the transaction so that the proof is available for any future Paypal dispute. Unfortunately, items do sometimes get lost or get misdelivered in the post, so if you don’t have proof of postage or the tracking is showing that the parcel has not been delivered and your buyer is certain that they have not received it then you will need to contact the courier or Royal Mail to investigate and start a claim. Please note that Royal Mail will not deem an item as lost until 15 working days after it was posted. However, a good eBay seller will refund the buyer and then claim the money back. It is the seller’s responsibility to claim, not the buyers.

If the item was posted with no tracking then you will have to believe the buyer. Try just mentioning to the buyer that you will be contacting Royal Mail who will investigate the lost item, as this may be enough for the buyer to claim that their item has miraculously been delivered!

If a buyer claims he has not received an item and you have no proof that he has, then if you are a business seller you will have to either replace the item or refund the money. Simple as that!

Unfortunately, sometimes a buyer will not contact you at all! They will simply file a claim with Paypal for an Item Not Received (INR). In this case, Paypal will contact you and you will need to provide proof to Paypal that the item was signed for otherwise the buyer will win the case every time. Once the Paypal claim is opened, you can give the buyer a refund, or escalate the claim. If you escalate to a claim and Paypal decide to refund the buyer then they will charge you around £7 as an administration fee o bear this mind!

When do I need a customs label on my parcels?

Customs labels are required if you are posting an item to outside the European Union. These are simply small labels that you attach to your parcel stating the weight, cost and contents of the parcel. If you are not sure which countries need a Customs Declaration Form just visit the Royal Mail website where you will find a complete up to date list. 

Payment Questions

I have a non-paying bidder. What do I do?

Sometimes a little polite reminder is all that is needed for a buyer to pay! Try sending a reminder on day 3 or 4 after the sale and see if this prompts the payment. However, if you have not received payment after seven days you can file an Unpaid Item Dispute (UPI) through eBay. If eight days pass after the UPI has been opened and you still haven't received payment then you can close the dispute and receive a refund on your eBay final value fees. The non paying bidder will then be issued with a non payment strike against their ID. You can set your Buyer Requirements to block eBay IDs who have lots of strikes, amongst other things which is detailed below. The Resolution Centre is where you can file UPIs and this is on the eBay Site Map / Selling Activities / See All Selling Activities / Other selling Activities / report an Unpaid Item.

How do I cancel a sale?

Sometimes a buyer might purchase an item in error, or buy more than they require simply because their computer crashed in the middle of a transaction or they hit the button twice by mistake! So, if this happens you can cancel the transaction and get your final value fee back by going to the Resolution Centre and cancelling the transaction. eBay then send a message to the buyer who agrees to cancel and the transaction becomes void as soon as they agree. Go to the eBay Site Map / Marketplace Safety / Resolution Centre and then choose I Want to Cancel a Transaction.

Selling Questions

Another seller has copied my photograph and listing. What can I do?

This is so frustrating! When another seller blatantly copies your hard work it is very annoying. But copying the words and pictures from another listing is strictly against eBay’s rules and they are pretty good at dealing with sellers who break this rule. Firstly, contact the seller who has stolen your listing and politely request that they remove the offending listing. I have tried this myself and sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t so it is a bit hit and miss. Surprisingly, some sellers claim that they were not aware that they should not copy listings! So, if the seller does not remove or change the listing after a polite request, the next step is to go to the sellers listing and right at the bottom of the page, click on Report This Item. Choose Copying of your listing and Seller copied or linked to your picture or description without your permission when you are given the options. You will also need to provide the item number of your own item that was copied, and you must make sure that your listing appeared before the item you are reporting otherwise you could find your own listing being removed instead of the other sellers listing! To stop other eBay sellers using your photographs in future, add a watermark of your shop name or eBay user ID.

You can use your personal Buyer Requirements to stop eBay users from buying your items. You must be careful though as if you set up lots of stringent requirementsthen you will not get any buyers at all! If you wish, you can block buyers who do not have a Paypal account, who don't have a credit card on file, or who have a history of not paying. You can also stop people buying your items if they live in a country that you do not deliver to or if there feedback is below a certain score. There are other settings too which can be chosen to suit you. To set up your Buyer Requirements go to eBay Site Map / Selling Activities / Manage Bidders, then choose Set Up My Buyer Requirements Preferences.

How do I add a buyer to my Blocked Bidder list?

If you have had a bad experience with a buyer or you simply do not want to sell your products to that buyer after looking at their feedback, you can block them from purchasing from you using the Blocked Bidder facility on eBay.

If you subscribe to Selling Manager Pro you will find the link on your My eBay page about half way down under the To Do’s section. Alternatively click on the eBay Site Map and look under Selling Activities/Manage Bidders. Choose Add an eBay Member to my Blocked Bidder List and then simply type in the eBay ID of the bidder you wish to block and click submit.

How do I turn on my holiday settings?

You can only use Holiday Settings if you have an eBay Shop. So, if you are going away or just want to close your listings for a while you can activate your holiday settings. Holiday settings allow you to display a message stating that you are away until a certain date or you can place a custom message on your listings for your buyers. You can also choose to hide listings amongst other options. Please be aware that the Holiday settings message is very small in relation to your listings and is not particularly easy to spot within the listing when switched on! To turn on your holiday settings, go to the eBay Site Map / Selling Activities / Manage Your Shop / Shop Holiday settings which is in the box on the bottom left.

I need to contact a buyer. How do I get their telephone number?

eBay’s User Agreement insists that all eBay buyers and sellers have a landline telephone number registered. If you are in a transaction with a buyer or seller, then you can request their contact information. When you do this, both buyer and seller receive an email from eBay with each others contact details! Go to the eBay Site Map and choose Selling Activities / See All Selling Activities / Other selling Activities / Request Buyer Contact Information.

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