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kbonsall Sep 6, 2005

i want to know if I should attempt to sell on ebay again.  Are sales picking up? What do you think, gals? or should I wait?  Do you think my new pics will help me sell them better than before?

Donna Sep 6, 2005

Speaking of ebay, I noticed on Kim's last listing for Rory towards the bottom of the page she had a Wild Thyme Originals that took you to a gallery of different bears.  In the gallery she mentions she can do special orders etc.  Is this a way around mentioning a website, is this hosted by ebay?
Donna

kbonsall Sep 6, 2005

Can you not mention your website on your "about me"page?

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorSep 6, 2005

Kim, yes, you can mention your website on your ABOUT ME page. 

Donna... I don't know how to answer that one.  Anyone else?

kathytaylor Sep 6, 2005

I don't really know if they are picking up or not, it seems to go in spurts and leaps. Some weeks the bears sell as fast as you list them, some I have to list two or three times.
This week I have two bears listed one sold the first day the other I have listed twice before.
:|:/

Delartful Bears Sep 7, 2005

Well, I took a break of over a month on eBay, due to my last two bears not getting a bid. However, last week I listed a bear, and he did the best any of my bears have ever done, and I listed a bear last night, with a Buy It Now and it got snapped up within 20 mins of him being list.  He was one that didn't sell over a month ago....

I think it could be picking up - for me anyhow!
Danni

kbonsall Sep 7, 2005

I am so cautious to tread into ebay waters again! LOL they are getting rich off me LOL But, like I had mentioned, maybe I will do better because my pictures are better and I have a website now....

Amanda Sep 7, 2005

I'm putting Oliver on this week when I get the photo sorted. Should start picking up over the next month but I can always relist nearer Christmas. I made him weeks ago but have waited until summer was over for a better chance.

rufnut Sep 7, 2005

Oliver is very nice Amanda, well done

WildThyme Sep 7, 2005

I am so cautious to tread into ebay waters again! LOL they are getting rich off me LOL But, like I had mentioned, maybe I will do better because my pictures are better and I have a website now....

Doesn't eBay have a system wherby the credit you the fees for the listing if if you relist the item within a certain time frame or something like that?  I seem to recall that they do, though perhaps I am wrong?

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

WildThyme Sep 7, 2005

Speaking of ebay, I noticed on Kim's last listing for Rory towards the bottom of the page she had a Wild Thyme Originals that took you to a gallery of different bears.  In the gallery she mentions she can do special orders etc.  Is this a way around mentioning a website, is this hosted by ebay?
Donna

Hi Donna!  Oh My Goodness, you are so right about that!  That link shows up because the auction listing service that I use, Andale, has this area where you are supposed to fill out your business information, phone number, street address, etc... they also have a box for you to fill in a website address.... I didn't really understand at first that it in fact linked to my "website."  When I had trouble with eBay account and my listing for "Landon" they did let me know that linking to a webisite on the listing page is a no-no.  I though that it was just going to show my business info, not items that I might have sale through my website.  When I relisted Landon, I did figure out how to deactivate that link and keep it from reappearing.  When I did my listing for Rory, I recycled my 1st ad for Landon... so the link appeared inadvertently!  Thanks so much for letting me know before I accidently did it again on my next listing!   

As folks have said before, you can have a link to your webpage on the "About Me" page of your listing, but not on your "Item Description" page of your listing.

It's a real pain in the patootie to have an auction shut down mid-run, so thanks a bunch for letting me know! I'd rather find out from someone here than have my auction cancelled!

Oh... I think that eBay sales are starting to pick up again.... kids are back in school, school supplies and wardrobes are purchased, school fees paid..... there always seems to be a dip around such transitional times.... right before taxes are due, right after Christmas, etc....  Though I swear, I don't think I'll really figure out the eBay market 'till the day I die.... it's certainly a confusing place.

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

kbonsall Sep 7, 2005

I think what I read was that you only dont get charged if you sell the item the second time you list it.

kathytaylor Sep 7, 2005

I think the way it works on Ebay is you don't get charged a relisting fee if it sells the second time around that's all. If you edit or change it they sometimes charge you for the changes you make to the auction relist.

tiny teddy hugs,

Donna Sep 7, 2005

Kim,
I was hoping you had found a clever way around ebays rule of not mentioning a website on your listing.  Glad they didn't notice it!
Donna

minkbears Sep 7, 2005

I am so happy that I found this discussion. I'm at exactly the same point, I want to put my bears on eBay but I was told that summer was a bad time because sales were too slow so I was waiting.

Now with the current Katrina disaster I wasn't that this would be a good time to list a bear either. I was considering listing a donation bear with the proceeds going to help the disaster...I just wasn't sure about the organization that eBay uses, I was still researching them. But I thought that it would be a good way to introduce my bears to eBay buyers.

I just finished my About Me page on eBay. It's a great option...it's like a mini website. I always look at them when I am shopping...I like to know who I'm buying from. I'm just surprised that not everyone uses About Me.

WildThyme Sep 7, 2005

Dear Donna,
  I WISH I was clever enough with a computer to figure out a way around something!  I think nearly all my computer related mistakes as well as computer related triumphs have all been accidents!!!!:rolleyes:
From talking with the e Bay folks, (yes, you can actually speak to a REAL live person at eBay is you pester them enough!)  it is my understanding that THEY don't actually catch any of the problems that can occur with eBay listings.  It has to be reported by someone and brought to their attention before they do anything about it.  I'm sure that's gotta be true with a bizillion listings going up all the time.  That's one of the reasons why those awful scam auctions seem to stay around for so long, or it seems like sometimes they are only applying a specific rule against one person when there are a ton of people doing the same thing..... I'm sure glad though that they do their best to make it as fair of a marketplace as possible for all of us... buyers and sellers. 
I was just horrified to have had an auction pulled for a mistake that was completely inadvertent, and meanwhile there are all these scams or people auctioning off kidneys and such!  Though I did flat out make the mistake and violate their rules, and obviously did it again with Rory's listing!  Now I have a sticky note here on the monitor to remind me to check that the next time I recycle an ad... which is quite frequently... Thanks again Donna!

Kim Basta
Wild THyme Originals

WildThyme Sep 7, 2005

Kathy,
  Just took a peek at your "About me" page then your website.... both are just lovely as are your tiny mink wee ones!  Simply fetching!  I've never figured out how to make my About me page any different than the standard stock fill in the blanks thingy that eBay offers.... is this that language they call html?  Is it called that?  I am probably confusing this with something else... but isn't there some computer language you have to learn to  be able to do this?  I am probably making myself sound like a complete ignoramus of sorts!

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

kbonsall Sep 7, 2005

Gals that use bearpile... can you put on your bearpile listing that your bear is up for auction on ebay?  or wont they let you put that?

minkbears Sep 7, 2005

Hi Kim
Thank you so much for looking at my About Me page and for the positive feedback. I am definitely not good on the computer (I drive my teenage daughter crazy asking for help when I get confused, which is often). But HTML is so simple, it is just simple tags. I just made my basic page using the eBay template (no HTML) but after you post your page and go back to edit it then you have to know enough HTML to be able to insert new tags to insert extra photos and color. 

Most artists are visual people so the book that I use is Teach Yourself HTML Visually. All pictures....it is great! I also found some really good tutorials when I joined the About Me group in the eBay community and all that info is free.
Kathy

psichick78 Sep 7, 2005

Kim, and anyone else. If you want to make an easy 'about me' or an easy auction page for ebay go here;
http://robshelp.com/
it's all free and soo simple. That's what I use when I have an auction going. All you do is, in plain language, type in what you want, and it converts it to HTML for you. Including your 'about me' page. Plus, this way, you can have a million pictures in you auctions and not pay ebay for them.
If you guys have any questions about using it, let me know. I'll be happy to help, as I've used it soo many times.
Funny though, I still don't have an 'about me' page. I just wouldn't know what to put in there
Heather