ReliaBlog

The Niche Auction Venue

There's a reason that so many of the new online auction sites that crop up every day do not last, and it has very little to do with them being able to attract enough sellers. The real secret is that many of these web sites are unable to attract enough real buyers. Beyond the major venues that most sellers are familiar with, the real exceptions to the rule have often been the 'niche' web sites.

Web sites that specialize in selling in specific categories are a good way to expand the number of channels you sell on. These sites are often sufficiently optimized that a buyer can find them through a search engine if they are looking for a specific type of product (one good example is real estate). You're much more likely to find a buyer for an item you list on a niche site, than a new site that is trying to provide listings across all categories because they likely are not going to be able to find you interested buyers. So, while these sites may be free, save yourself sometime and try out the niche sites instead. You'll get a better return on the time you spend.

Top 10 Ways to Avoid Fake Escrow Services

(10) If you are a U.S. user, buying or selling on eBay, you should only use escrow.com. It is the only service approved for use on the eBay U.S. platform. For international users, these four additional services are approved for use on eBay:

- EscrowAustralia (Australia)
- Escrow Europe (Italy and Spain)
- iloxx Safe Trade (Germany)
- Triple Deal (France and Germany)

(9) Do not fall for e-mails that appear to be coming from eBay that encourage you to use some time of escrow service. These are phishing scams.

(8) Do your homework-- don't just look at the supposed escrow company's web site. If the company is legit, you'll find some third-party references if you just type their name into any of the major search engines. Also, check out the message boards, they will have some feedback (good or bad) from people who have used the service that can help guide you on their experiences.

(7) Verify that any third party seals are authentic. Escrow services deal with sensitive data. This means that they should at least be using an SSL certificate. Make sure that the certificate (most often from VeriSign) is authentic. Also, double-check that any other third party seals that are included are authentic. For example, if it they have an 'eBay Certified Solution' icon, check out the directory on eBay's web site. It's easy to copy the logo, but they won't be listed in the directory (in fact, you won't find any escrow companies listed in the eBay Certified Solutions directory, so if they have that logo on their site, they aren't legit).

(6) Check out the license(s). Escrow companies are typically licensed and governed by certain state, national or international legislation. They will often provide you with this information on their site, and in some cases, you can use the license information to look them up in the regulatory body's database.

(5) Make sure the service description is 'authentic'. Copy two or three sentences that describe the service and run them for a search on Google. If someone is setting up a fake escrow service, they probably have not taken the time to develop unique and original content for the web site, and have ripped it off the web site of a larger company. If the description of the service is identical, or near-identical, to a site like escrow.com, it's probably fraudulent. Escrow companies invest enough in legal counsel to know that they should not engage in copyright infringement.

(4) Beware of offers that are too good to be true. If a buyer tells you he or she is willing to pay an extra $1,400 to use an escrow service for an item you are selling for $900, it's probably a fraud. A buyer who's willing to pay that much of a premium will either go to a local vendor (so they can see them item) or is careful not to waste money, and therefore would not do so in paying you that much of a premium.

(3) Rely on the track record. The reason that escrow companies do not exist in the market in the same volume as vendors is that (a) they are expensive to set-up; (b) they are expensive to market; and (c) it is a competitive industry where individuals rely on the brand name. Don't settle for a 'cheaper' service that seems to be able to offer more competitive rates like your local mom-and-pop store. Escrow services are not built that way.

(2) Sellers should always request a signature for delivery to ensure that buyers do not claim to have never received the product.

(1) Call them up. Escrow services will almost always provide a phone number because they know that the seller and the buyer are participating in a transaction with a sizable amount of money to be exchanged. They are better off answering your questions up front to ensure that everything materializes the way it should.

Hidden Bidders and Trust

While talking to a customer over our website's Live Chat feature, they mentioned that they are planning on shifting their sales efforts away from eBay and focusing more on their own website.  However, they re-iterated what seems to be a growing trend, especially for larger sellers on eBay—using the platform as a means of marketing. 

The client I spoke with fingered fraud as the impetus for their changing usage of eBay.  For them, eBay is becoming a marketing tool as opposed to the be-all-end-all of the online auction industry, as it was previously.

Granted, eBay has made a few changes recently that are supposedly aimed at battling this problem, but let's look for a second at their true effects.  Today let's dissect the new hidden bidder policy.  What is designed to decrease the amount of second chance offer fraud, is actually decreasing the amount of trust buyers will have in sellers.  Trust between buyers and sellers on this platform is already a huge hurdle with the highly publicized cases of fraud, and hiding bidder IDs will just stand to make it worse because of shill bidding.  Whereas before this change buyers could see who they were bidding against, now they are in the dark.

One of the attractions of eBay in the first place was that buyers enjoyed the "game-like" quality to bidding.  It spoke to the competitive spirit in all of us.  Watching your bid, seeing if someone beat it and then beating them in the last seconds by only a few pennies…  Now the face of the competition (I always imagine what people are like from their eBay IDS—admit it, you do too!) has been removed and it's like playing chess against a computer, limited in the amusement factor.

Does the value of hiding bidders' eBay IDs outweigh the detrimental effects?  Doubtful.  Other policies and changes would provide greater impact on the platform (and will be discussed in future postings) and actually attack fraud one eBay.  But with the company performing a balancing act to stay afloat, they'll continue to issue changes that far from rock the boat. 

Top 10 Ways to Avoid Auction Fraud

(10) Check who is bidding in your auction and cancel bids by bidders with negative feedback.

(9) If you don’t get a response from a winning bidder, try using another email address - preferably another service (e.g. If you are on AOL, use a hotmail account) to reach them, in case your mail is being blocked by a filter.

(8) Use eBay to send a reminder after 3 days. After 7 days of non-payment file a non-paying bidder alert.

(7) Request a user’s contact information from eBay and try to directly contact the user by phone to resolve payment. Do this within the first few days. If it is a communication
problem, you may catch them before they bid on a similar item.

(6) eBay allows sellers to block bids from up to 1000 user IDs. If you have a problem with a bidder and/or if someone with negative feedback bids in your auctions you can add them to your block list. There are also databases and lists online of non-paying bidders that you can use.

(5) Be very specific about your shipping and handling charges, and place them prominently. eBay recently conducted a study among buyers that did not pay for an item, and 21% responded that the shipping and handling charges led to non-payment.

(4) Boldly state the forms of payment you will accept. If you can, accept as many types of payment as possible. The same study conducted by eBay revealed that the second highest reason for unpaid items was desired from of payment unavailable. A staggering 24% did not pay for this reason.

(3) If using Buy-It-Now, then enable immediate payment so that anybody who uses purchase must pay for it at that moment to end the listing.

(2) Require users with low feedback (less than 5 is a good rule) to email you prior to bidding. This affirms their commitment and understanding of the eBay system. Many non-paying bidders are new users that do not understand the binding nature of bids.

(1) The number one way to reduce auction fraud is the simplest one of all: USE RELIABID!

eBay Live! 2007 Wraps Up in Boston

Today, eBay Live! 2007 drew to close in Boston, MA.

Hundreds of exhibitors entertained several thousand attendees in another exciting event that highlights that the eBay brand continues to a a major force amongst individuals and small businesses from across the globe.

eBay staff were actively blogging throughout the event. You can catch their thoughts at http://www.ebaychatter.com/

The event included over 150 sessions and discussions that addressed topics that included multi-channel selling and trust & safety. Avery Dennison spearheaded a strong networking effort at the event by allowing individuals to print free custom business cards to help break the ice when meeting new people. As some of you may recall, last year ReliaBid's underlying theme at eBay Live! was the active promotion of the networking spirit through its PowerNetworking for PowerSellers game. ReliaBid encouraged sellers to connect with each other and join together to "Stamp out non-paying bidders." The event's Grand Prize winner Teri Goff, who made nearly 100 connections over the course of the conference.

We look forward to seeing you all in Chicago for eBay Live! 2008...

Blinging Out the Basics

There are a lot of extra little goodies for online auction sellers to incorporate into their listings, but at what point does "added feature" become simply "too much." Today we address that question in relation two of the long-standing basics: contact information and templates.

• A step-up from tin cans and string-->There are numerous ways that potential buyers can contact you outside of the basic eBay messaging system. These days, alternative methods include Skype—a voice-over-IP calling feature, instant message—via AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Live Messenger and a host of others. The key to remember here is that regardless of how many different ways you have for bidders to contact you, if you never respond to them it is all for naught.

• All the bells and whistles-->Templates are taking business to a new level today and becoming almost an art form all of their own. With a seller's templates having all of the capabilities of a website these days, it can be easy to over do the glitz. Before going through all the trouble of buffing up on your html code and learning flash, keep three important things in mind: (1) if it takes too long to load, no one will look at it and (2) if the template detracts attention from your item, it's defeating the purpose and (3) when in doubt, err on the side of professional, this is a business after all.

Back to the Basics: How to Obtain eBay Member Contact Information

Communication between is a key component to establishing trust in online transactions.  When problems arise, sellers want a response, or at least a means of recourse. With the problem of non-paying bidders, there is a desperate cry that more bidder information should be disclosed to sellers.  However, you have to know where to look and how to ask in order to get what you need. Below are the step-by-step instructions on how you can find the contact information on your non-paying bidders (or for buyers, the contact information on sellers that have gone MIA):

1. Go to      the "Find      Contact Information" link under the member search link
2. Enter      the eBay member ID of the buyer (or seller)
3. Enter      the auction number for the item you are transacting with this person
4. By      submitting the request, not only will you receive the member's contact      information, but eBay will send your contact information to them as well

Top 10 Ways to Build a Successful Drop-Store

Drop-shops...Drop-stores...Consignment stores...Trading Posts...

They have many names, but ultimately, they are all in the same business. Over the past couple of years, they have been a very popular and growing trend in the online auction marketplace. In spite of margins that often exceed 30 percent, many of these stores, and even whole franchises, have gone out of business. Here's how to avoid it happening to you:

(10) Become an expert. You will be competing with thousands of other sellers and consignment stores who are also looking to get offload their inventory. Knowing how to create the listings most likely to attract buyers, and how to build-up your sell-through rates will either set you apart from other sellers or lead to your demise.

(9) Keep your overhead down. Some months will undoubtedly bring about more business than others. There is no sure way to predict what your next month's sales will be, and there are often some months that are slower than others. Make sure that you plan ahead and keep overhead low. You will likely need to withstand 2-3 slow months every year, and you do not want your fixed costs to be weighing you down.

(8) Do not ignore the season. Keep in mind that people will likely be bringing you products when they no longer have any use for them-- often this means that other people have less use for them. For example, selling skis immediately after the ski season ends will not bring you the greatest return. You may want to advise your customers and wait a few months when you might be able to get twice as much for the same product. Otherwise, look to offload the item in the Southern Hemisphere, where winter is just round the corner.

(7) Although you have a big store in the brick-and-mortar world, buyers will see you just like any other store in the virtual world. Building up your feedback is very important, and without sufficient feedback you won't be getting enough bidders to get the highest sales.

(6) People often do not know how much money you can get them for the junk they have around their homes. When you reach out to someone, be equipped to let them know just how much they might be able to get for the stuff they aren't using.

(5) Word of mouth is key. You are operating in a community, and if someone has a good experience with your service, they will likely share that experience with their friends and family. Nothing will help your business grow more than satisfied customers.

(4) Pick the right franchise for you. There are literally hundreds of franchises that have cropped up since the drop-shop trend came to life. Today, a few major players still dominate the market. On the positive side, they have a business model that works. But on the other hand, they likely will be charging you larger franchise fees. Don't be afraid to shop around, but also don't settle for the cheapest option unless it's the best option. Some extra expense may provide you with the added exposure and brand reputation that you need to survive. You need to weigh these things.

(3) Talk to other franchise owners. If you feel like you've settled on the right franchise for you, don't be afraid to contact some other franchise owners. Don't settle for whatever references you receive. All the major franchises have their store listings available on their sites, and most of the store owners will spend a large portion of their time in the store itself. Get the contact information off their web site and contact these individuals to find out whether the business model has worked for them.

(2) Location, Location, Location! You probably want to start a drop-shop in your neighborhood, or a new neighborhood you want to move to, but does it make sense to open up a store in that area? How much will the rent run you? What does the competition look like? What are the demographics in your neighborhood and will you be able to attract the type of clientele that will not only use your service once but keep coming back to you? You must be able to answer these questions to make sure that you will have long-term success.

(1) Invest in retaining your customers. Remember, a store is bound by geographic constraints. Retaining customers is essential in this business. You must provide customers with a great experience to keep them coming back to use you to sell more. Customers are looking for someone who is an expert, who can get them the most value for their goods (even exceeding their expectations) and who gets them their money quickly. You must be able to deliver on all these fronts to keep the locals coming.

Spring Cleaning - How I Got Cleaned Out (part one)

Two weeks ago, I started my spring cleaning. Part of my process is making piles. I make a pile of trash (usually the largest), a pile to sell, a pile for charity or to otherwise give away, and a pile of things that need to be put away somewhere. Most of the contents of the pile to sell went up on eBay, and resulted in me listing about 10 items (so far).

I should probably do this cleaning process more often, since 8 of the 10 items sold, and I made about $300. Not bad. However, I now have found out that I really didn’t make $300. In the days since the auctions ended, I have had problems with 2 of the auctions. That is a pretty big deal, considering that 2 auctions makes up 25% of the sold items. I had 2 different problems. Here is what they were and my analysis.

One item sold and was immediately paid for. It was a Franklin-Covey binder and sold for about $50. I received the payment right away through Paypal. The address was not confirmed, but it was for a planner, was only for $50, and the email name matched the shipping name, so I figured what the heck? The person had 30+ feedback and no negatives, so I shipped the item. I got an email from FedEx on Friday that the item had been delivered. Later that afternoon, I got an email from Paypal saying that the payment had been reversed. Paypal took the $50 out of my account, leaving me with a negative balance. I then got an email from Paypal saying that if I didn’t transfer more money to cover the regular balance, I’d lose my merchant rate that I’ve had from years of use. All this in a day. Wow. I tried calling the buyer, but the phone number was disconnected; I tried looking the buyer up in the phone book online, but there was no listing. I emailed Paypal and they sent me a short email saying that I had no seller protection since it was an unconfirmed address. Nothing. The money and item are gone.

All of a sudden, the $50 felt like a lot more money to me. Although when I was sending it, I thought the risk was low and $50 was an acceptable risk, now I wish I hadn’t done it. I could have surely re-listed the item and gotten $50 from a buyer with a confirmed address. But, I was careless, and now I lost my item and my payment.

ReliaBid would offer me recourse in this situation. I could submit the buyer and the address to ReliaBid and the debt collection agency would probably find this eBay non-paying bidder and help me collect on the unpaid item. But, I also made another careless mistake, one which is a bit embarrassing to have made as CEO: I didn’t have the account I used signed up for ReliaBid! Oops. Big oops. With ReliaBid costing only 25 cents for every $100 of business I do, my cost for these transactions would have been 75 cents. That is like a 75 cent insurance policy for my $300. And if I had been signed up, I would now have some options. But, because I was not signed up and the seal was not in my listing, ReliaBid can’t help me. Not even since I am an employee. The seal has to be in the listing for ReliaBid to offer collections. We get so many inquiries about whether ReliaBid can collect on an unpaid item or non-paying bidder without the seller being a member and having had the seal in the listing. I made the same silly mistake myself and it cost me $50. Well, actually it cost me more, because I had a problem with a non-paying bidder in a second item I sold. But, I’ll save that for my next post, later this week…

Mixing Things Up

John Donahoe, President of eBay, stirred up some media coverage last week by being noticed for office rearrangement.  No—we're not referencing a politically correct way of saying "fired", we mean this in more of the feng shui vein.  International Herald Tribune writer Brad Stone wrote an article about Donahoe earlier this week mentioning this shuffling of desks and cubicles. 

Donehoe is quoted in the article as saying, "I'm a big fan of breaking patterns."  Perhaps these are wise words we can all incorporate into our daily work life.  With many online auction sellers working from home, what are some great ways to increase productivity and reorganize to re-energize.

The first place to start may be the desk or area where you work.  Step back from it for a second and see if there is not a way that you could make this space more work-friendly.  Are you the type of person who likes to spread their work out across the desk?  If so, be sure that you have enough free desk-top space.  Think organization.  Evaluate what you have sitting out on your desk now.  Are there many of the same types of papers?  If so, consider starting a file for these documents and make a habit of using it in order to keep clutter off your workspace.

Perhaps consider taking a day to re-decorate your work space.  Ask yourself what you need to become more organized or more energized.  A white board to keep a list of tasks?  Plain white walls need a new coat of brightly colored paints?  Figure out what you need to shake things up a bit and reinvigorate your area.  And for those working in an office environment--ask your employees what would make them more productive.  Sometimes a few small changes can make a world of a difference.