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Hi all!
This has also been talked about on one of my Yahoo groups this morning. Alison McKee of eteddys.net suggested that all of us artists may want to alert our collectors of this type of fraud to prevent them from being scammed. We certainly want to keep eBay a safe place to adopt teddy bears!
This is what I sent to my collectors... feel free to copy or change as suits you!
Hi Everyone,
Just a "public service announcement" :)
I just wanted to drop a quick note to all of you about some eBay auctions. It appears (for some time now) that there are some fradulent teddy bear auctions going on... they have just increased now with the holidays.
In these fake auctions, they do NOT have the bear to sell you. What they do is go to different teddy bear artists' auctions and simply cut and paste the auction pictures and descriptions. I've heard that they often seek out 1 day auctions... although I've seen longer auctions copied also. Quite often they copy the auction of a bear that is currently legitimately for sale by the artist!
When the auction is over, the fraudulent seller collects the money and never sends the item (since they never had it to send!)
I've seen these fake auctions from sellers in Germany and China...although I'm sure there are others. The common thread (besides the fake auction!) is that they only accept payment via Western Union money transfer or Bank wire transfer. Ebay recommends to NEVER never use instant cash transfer services. They have some information about this on their Marketplace Safety Tips page:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/mr … y.html#off
Some of us artists have been putting the following text in our auctions to help protect the teddy bear auction environment: "This bear is being offered directly from the artist if the seller ID is XXXX" Also... many bear aritsts do have an "About Me" page you can check out.
I still think eBay is a GREAT place to adopt new bears! But I did want to alert you all to a problem that is out there... and very easy to spot if you know what to look for!
Posts: 8,574Very good Laura Lynn....like Deb said, it's like having 45 sisters watching your back....
Because of the education you pros have given us, i find I am much more cautious and looking at auctions quite critically.....but it isn't holding me back....
That's the other key. We want collectors to keep buying, but just buy carefully.
I would think, if it someone you know, you could send seller a question and evaluate the answer, syntax, grammar, spelling (except for mine which we all know is atrocious) and if it feels off......
dilu
Apple Dumpling DesignsI added that little statement about this being offered by me...my seller Id..etc., to my listings awhile back. I'm sure you can hack your way into copy and pasting but I also started using Sellersourcebook.com for my templates and when you right click it doesn't let you copy...you get some message that has escaped me...but it may be a slight deterrent. They can't just quickly copy and go.
Amazing some peoples nerve isn't it. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the same person or group of people using many ID's.
I also put a "no right click" code into my own templates. Yes, they can get around it... but I'm just not going to hand them the "keys to the car" ya know???
Kim-Bee BearsI dont know how to do that... I want to do ebay templates but dont want to pay for them... LOL
Upstate New YorkSome of us artists have been putting the following text in our auctions to help protect the teddy bear auction environment: "This bear is being offered directly from the artist if the seller ID is XXXX" Also... many bear aritsts do have an "About Me" page you can check out.
This is an excellent idea! Thanks!
I still think eBay is a GREAT place to adopt new bears!
Me too ... and JG rules! :hug:
Posts: 3,540I just received a similar warning from JoAnne of Hucklebearys (as I'm on her mailing list 
) So I sent her a reply, letting her know she's not alone with having her auctions stolen.
Yes! Its a BIG help having so many teddy bear artists on the look out for this. And I think its smart to warn your collectors as best you can, so they can keep collecting securely :hug:
... and JG rules! :hug:
And JJ rules too! :hug:
Kim-Bee BearsLL thank you for this info.. I cut and pasted it directly LOL (hope you dont mind) I couldnt have worded it better myself! :hug:
I want to do ebay templates but dont want to pay for them... LOL
Kim, The Seller Sourcebook is an auction template service and they also act as a photo host -- think of it as a second hard drive for your photo storage, and also as a place you can host pictures you might want to post to a board using the <img> tags. The best thing about them, and there are lots of good things!, is the price; it works out to $7 per month. That's what I spend in 1.5 days on Starbucks coffee drinks. So the small sacrifice is worth it for all the perks and bonuses.
It takes only a short hour or so to figure out the entire site, which is constantly improving and expanding. The customer service is great. There are more templates to choose from than you can find the time to browse; you can even customize your own. And, as Shantell points out, their coding -- which is written FOR you -- automatically inserts a right-click-protect feature... meaning that people can't EASILY copy and paste your auction code and photos. Although, if they are persistent enough, they could find a way around it...
After you choose a template and upload and insert your photos, the software writes your listing code for you, which you simply COPY and PASTE into a window at eBay. Nothing fancy required.
I believe you do have to sign up by quarters; meaning, three-month timespans. Totalling $21. But, as I said, it breaks down to $7/month, and I find that worth having two less coffee beverages to accommodate.
I'm sure there are other services similar to this one, with which I don't have personal familiarity, but which offer similar features for similar pricing. And wow, but do they help your auction look terrific, without much learning curve for you at all!
Check them out: http://www.sellersourcebook.com/
Give it some thought!
Kim-Bee BearsThank you Shelli... I will put it on my list of "to do" items.... :hug:
Ooh, I just checked them out, and actually, you CAN sign up for one month -- for $8. So it might be a worthy experiment, for just one month.
I set my own account up to renew automatically every three months and never looked at their pricing structure again (can you say "complacent?"), but it looks like you can also choose a yearly option, saving even more money per month.
Just FYI to anyone reading this who might be interested.
Kim-Bee BearsDo you know off the top of your head what a year will run you?
$70.
Check pricing here: http://www.sellersourcebook.com/sub.html
Apple Dumpling DesignsKim,
I believe it's $70 per year...I did the 3 month auto renewal as well....thinking if I liked it alot, etc. I'd change to yearly...which I have yet to do. :)
It's really really simple...and they give you step by step instructions with photo's if I remember correctly. I just go in when I'm ready for a new auction...open up an old template...save it with a new name (I now have two with the same "meat" but different names) and update the new template with the new information. I don't have to recreate the wheel...just change the important stuff.
It's worth giving up a couple trips to Starbucks...or wherever you buy your latte, mocha or espresso of choice. 
Try it for a month like Shelli said...you can always cancel or upgrade.
Apple Dumpling DesignsOh...I wanted to add...
I think if you are vigilant on watching and protecting your own auctions...and those of your "45+ sisters" eventually the "looters" will give up and move onto something else.
Kim-Bee BearsNow, next question... do you think using sellers sourcebook and having a nice auction brings in bids? I am weighing my options LOL need to have a good argument for my hubby! LOL
Shantell... did you know you can save your "Listing Preferences" at TSS? You don't have to re-open an old template and edit, to save yourself steps in creating listings.
With your pertinent, repeat information -- your "boilerplate" -- already saved as your "Listing Preferences," you can just select a NEW template, and TSS will automatically insert whatever you have specified in your "Listing Preferences."
In my case, that's my shipping and payment information, any disclaimers (not for children, etc.), and the like.
Makes creating new templates VERY easy, and you don't ever have to re-use old templates and run the risk of accidentally inserting outdated information into your new and current auction listing.
Just go to "Listing Preferences" on the TSS menu bar and insert what you need. Then, preview it so you can see how it lays out on the template.
Have fun!
Apple Dumpling DesignsFor me personally, I would say yes. For some reason I'm more drawn to someone's auction that I know has taken the time to make it look nice...shows they care about the item they are offering for adoption.
It's just more visually appealing...eye candy!!!
So of course....the answer is a big YES!!!!
Now, next question... do you think using sellers sourcebook and having a nice auction brings in bids?
YES! YES! YES!
I don't have empirical evidence to back this up, but in my heart I believe this to be absolutely true. If you go the extra mile to achieve a pretty, professional, and possibly even custom presentation, customers will find you more credibly "professional."
Apple Dumpling DesignsShantell... did you know you can save your "Listing Preferences" at TSS? You don't have to re-open an old template and edit, to save yourself steps in creating listings.
I didn't know that...thanks I'll check it out!!! See...proof...I make things harder on myself. It's now officially in writing!!!
See...proof...I make things harder on myself. It's now officially in writing!!! :lol:
Well, that's one way to look at it.
Another way to look at it is that it's ME who makes things harder on MYself.
Because, for sure, in terms of time invested and learning curve required, it's clearly much simpler to re-use an old template, than to dig into researching whether there's a way to create "boilerplate" storage, and then figuring out how to use it.
:hug:
Back Road BearsKIM - Ask hubby if he'd be more apt to buy a fancy sports car that had mud, road salt etc. all over the outside and McDonald's wrappers and empty soda cans all over the inside OR pay the same for a shiny exterior and spotless interior. When he buys something at a store that comes in a box will he take the box with dented corners and peeling tape or the perfect looking one?
I suppose with the bears the final decision comes to whether the bear has THE look but you can tell a lot more about the bear with multiple photos and a great description which templates prompt you for.
SHANTELL: In this day and age of computers, technical tools, ever changing ways to do everything.... it is impossible to do anything simply! I can't even turn on my TV anymore as the remote is so complicated and 5 buttons have to be pushed before I get a picture! Never mind that life is hectic and we have 20 million things going on inside our brains that thinking clearly is impossible. (Well, for ME anyway!HA!)
Daphne, I hear you.
Recently, as an early Christmas gift, my parents bought me a wonderful surround sound stereo/DVD combo thingie with a tuner and two remotes and I swear, Master's degree in hand, I was crying and cussing like a truck driver, I could NOT figure out how to hook it up. Ten million wires, three thousand little white/yellow/red plug thingies, and of course, the set came without one of the cables requires to hook it up, so that was an extra trip to Best Buy.
When my dad, who is an electrical engineer and very handy with such things, ended up nearly crying, and cursing himself, as he tried -- finally, successfully -- to put it together FOR me over Thanksgiving, I felt much better.
It still requires two remotes to operate and I had to post transparent stickers onto my home theater armoire, with instructions for myself and kids re: how to play a DVD (do this to the TV, do this to the tuner, do this to the DVD player) and how to listen to music/CD's, but we finally sorta kinda got it figured out.
I just keep thinking, tho... when did it get this hard? I'm no dummy, nor the type to shrink away from learning something new. I'm one of those perpetual student types. But dang, when you need a 3/4 inch instruction manual to learn how to operate a flipping cell phone, something is wrong, methinks. Shouldn't we be spending that energy finding world peace, or curing cancer, or just better loving those we love?
<sigh>
Upstate New YorkI dont know how to do that... I want to do ebay templates but dont want to pay for them... LOL
Kim, I use www.villiagephotos.com which has limited free image hosting ... which is all you need for an auction at a time. Then, I read about and fooled around with html until I could get a simple auction on. Mine aren't fancy, but they are a)free and b)nicer than plain vanilla Ebay.
