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Former fragrance collector, new to eCrater! (sort of)
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 9:01 pm    Post subject: Former fragrance collector, new to eCrater! (sort of) Reply with quote

Hello!

Even though my store was created back in October, I recently decided to start setting up shop. I’m really enjoying the simple layout and ease of use!

I primarily sell fragrances from my collection but I’m gradually adding eco friendly, health/beauty items, and (hopefully) my video-game collection. I do not have a social media account so I’m not sure where to start with promoting my store and items? While I did get some inspiration from other stores, my terms are still a work in progress. Any advice at all would be very much appreciated!

Thank you in advance
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome Sunflower. I hope you have good success. I would suggest That you add in more of a description to your listings. One sentence barely even tells you anything at all about the product if anything.

For instance you are asking $180 for two bottles of perfume with this description:
Quote:
As pictured. Authentic, US seller, buy with confidence!


There is nothing at all descriptive about the product in what you wrote. You need to tell in detail what the buyer will get and also with a good estimate of when these bottles were opened as I know perfume can go off after a while and I doubt that anymore wants to pay that much for perfume that isn't usable, nor do I suspect that you would want to refund the customer that money if they decide that the perfume doesn't smell right. With the search engines, they want to see what is written and other than the title, nothing tells the buyer about the product and nothing for the search engines to get excited about either.

As a note of interest, on eCRATER, if an item is not paid for, you will not have to relist it as it was never taken down. I usually, during the rare time that someone hasn't immediately paid, I will email them a note and send them a PP invoice in case they had trouble with a glitch and the invoice gives them an easy way to continue the transaction. There are no blacklists on eCRATER unless you keep it yourself. I have never had any reason to blacklist anyone here out of the many orders that I have gotten. I would write your terms with a bit more honey instead of like a bee that wants to sting them. I know eBay has had problems with sellers like this for years. One of the minor things that made me want to and did leave in 2008 (I left because of major reasons). We want buyers and so if we can find a way to help them 'save face' and know that they are welcome to shop anytime, I suspect will do a lot more to winning new buyers. But like I said, this has not been a problems for me in over a decade here, but having it in your terms, any buyer can see it and not want to take the chance. Not telling you that you HAVE to change it, just trying to give you a reason for why you might want to.

Another point about descriptions was something I noticed in the listing for your beeswax wraps. You don't have any measurements. Your title doesn't say how many they will get either. Large, medium and small mean nothing without context of measurements in inches and centimeters if you can handle that.

Don't forget that you can have 100 character titles and it is your most valuable real estate for an online seller. All your listings will show in your own store and also the eCRATER Marketplace. When a potential buyer does a search for an item, the search only looks at titles. So any info you leave out of the title can mean that they buy someone else's wraps.

You are allowed 10 photos and unlimited space for a description.
Quote:
Free shipping over $35! Please inquire for a special listing and include a list of the items in your cart before check out!
I believe would be considered by Google to be boilerplate which shouldn't be in your listing. At best I would lower it down so that a buyer would see your description of the product first.

I sell sewing patterns for the most part and the rest of my inventory is in the same niche as needle-arts. So I have a Facebook page for my store along with my personal page. There are also at least 3 Facebook groups where you can add a promotion about one or two items per day. Don't flood them with 100 promotions in one day. I also for several years was part of a sewing forum where I was allowed to have my signature showing with links back to here and other places that I want people to come, and as my signature on my email, like this

Moonwishes/xxxxxxxReal Name
8000+ New, Uncut Sewing Patterns! All sizes and styles!
Stores USA: https://moonwishesstore.ecrater.com/
Christmas Store: http://moonwishesstore.ecrater.com/c/2058415/christmas-store
Blogs: http://sipandsew.blogspot.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/gailetesews/

Unless you are dead set against it, you could join social media with Pinterest a big one. You can have a blog or a website. You may find a group of folks that like to talk about perfume. There are a lot of venues that you can use and try. Everyone will use different ways to promote their store.

I hope this helps.
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thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat



Posts: 10158

PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome.

I'd double check whether you can sell open bottles of perfume.

This item https://sunflower93.ecrater.com/p/38279565/vintage-guerlain-samsara-edp-eau

You do not indicate if the bottle unused, opened, empty.
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 5:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore,

Good catch on the wrap dimensions! Need to make a note of it.

I’m a part of a fairly active fragrance community, unfortunately neither selling nor promoting is allowed there. I will definitely check out those places you mentioned, thank you!

My terms are a little rigid sounding, for sure. They’re mostly tibdits from various vendors from all over. “Honeying” a good idea, though honestly I’m not sure how else to word it. Have you any suggestions for better wording?

From what I understand in my years of collecting, if stored properly the shelf life of perfumes is basically indefinite. They are alcohol based, preserve themselves and many age quite well (much like wine). The alcohol may slowly evaporate over time but that only results in a more concentrated product; it does not ever really expire. Some do “turn” (I wouldn’t sell such items), but even that is very rare and more of a quality issue. I’ve successfully sold opened perfumes that are 30+ years, if you can believe it! The bottles are designed to keep things like particles and air from getting inside and most being in spray form, it’s quite sanitary.

Perfumes are extremely subjective and not everyone will find a particular scent agreeable. This is natural and luckily buyers seem to understand this. I have also had many sucessful sales eBay with the tiny descriptions you saw. It would seem most do not like to read descriptions, especially lengthy ones, and rely heavily on photos for consideration. The photos in my listings, which are an extension of the description, were always of the actual bottles. My “50%, half full” may be someone else’s “25%, 1/4 full”. The subjectivity is why I do not add estimates or too many opinions, lest I be accused of misrepresentation.

With that said, I do appreciate the input and I definitely think adding more detail is a good idea, I just need to think about what else could be added

thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat,
I did check eCrater’s no-go list in their terms and it seems my fragrances are safe, thankfully! As for the condition of that item, it does say condition is “used”? I added a bit more information about the scent itself, but not sure what else. The photos are of the actual item, and the condition and quanity is clear in them as well. Is it necessary to repeat in the description as well?
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a physically rough day today and I have corrected as many booboos as I could, but I am having some trouble with pain that is distracting so I apologize for that here at the start.

Quote:
. Is it necessary to repeat in the description as well?


I think so. I would include things like measurements for the bottles and this is where you can state actual amounts, such as perfume is up to 1/4" of the 'shoulder' of the bottle or what it might be. This also helps you from dealing with someone that wants a refund claiming their was less in the bottle than the picture showed and when they send it back you have both your picture and measurement showing that even though the bottle is now half empty, that isn't how you sent it. Maybe her little girls were playing with it!

Since you said it, I realize that I didn't know they were spray bottles, I assumed they were the touch a finger to the top of the bottle and then dab in the right spots. Of course, I didn't look at every listing. I just did look and I saw that on some of the bottles mentioned it was a spray or mist on the actual bottle, but without it written the buyer can believe it is whatever they want it to be. A very unique thing when selling online. I sell sewing patterns and actually have had people get mad because they "got an envelope full of paper and not an actual garment". One guy said this about a pattern that went from boys size 2 to men's size 48 with multiple pj pieces! He had not said what size he wanted, what color he wanted, or what garment he wanted. Just magical thinking that what he bought would be exactly what was in his brain and his for the asking!

Always write a description as if the buyer can't see a picture and have pictures to show everything as if the buyer can't read. It sure helps when they contend that they got something different than what was described. In this instance, I would take another picture with the cap off to show the sprayer as well as write about the sprayer. As I have some pretty bad allergies to artificial fragrances (especially cleaners and air fresheners). I have only ever been able to wear 2 perfumes in my life and I am now 65 so I don't keep up real well with what the terminology is. Like does splash mean a non-spray that comes out in a puddles that you splash on yourself, or some of the other things you mention?

I may sound picky and you may have been selling for years, but over the last 19 years that I have sold online, I have found that the more specific I am the better. I started selling here in 2008 and kicked eBay to the curb in 2009. I have always had 'sewing pattern' in my titles and the beginning of my description, but after people have tried to buy things that they think are all sewn up, I have been adding a third mention of the fact it is a sewing pattern. I get tired of people buying a sewing pattern from me for $10 and think that for that price (even with a range of sizes and potential fabrics) they will get a brand new winter coat suitable as a gift for Christmas! Or the folks that want the blue dress on the front of the pattern. As I work on tightening up my descriptions, I have gotten less of than nonsense.

One of the nice things here is you can under the rules of eCRATER set up your listing as you want. You asked for advice and I offered some that might be helpful. I may be weird and this isn't to you necessarily, but I have seen sellers list an items in the hundreds of $$$$ and they have an extremely short title as well as an even shorter description. I personally think if you are trying to make hundreds on an item, but some work into it. If you were selling it in a store, It would have special display, etc. A store owner would work to get the item sold. I rarely have anything for sale in the 3 + digits, but I want the buyer to know exactly what they will be getting. I then pack with care and get the appropriate amount of insurance and send by the best and safest method. Insurance is for the seller so that when something gets lost or damaged, etc. in transit, you don't have to refund out of pocket. Postage insurance is cheap and you can buy on PP when you set up your shipping label. I think a lot of sellers think insurance is the buyer responsibility, but when it all comes down to the final analysis it is protecting the seller.
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No need to apologize, I hope that your pain, if not entirely gone, is at the very least more tolerable now. Also, do not think you are “weird”. There is nothing wrong with being thorough. It’s well appreciated!

A “splash” bottle is exactly as you think, like the alcohol aftershaves men use, without a spray. A “body mist” is essentially the same thing, maybe with a smidge more fragrance and with sprayer attached. Splashes are the second least sanitary of all bottle types, dabbers being first. I personally decant these into little glass vials for personal use as to not contaminate the main bottle, however, most usee splashes/dabbers are of questionable origins and it is always a gamble. I do sell used splash/dabber bottles as collectible items and placed them in the collectibles category, just as a precaution. Only the new ones are sold as a cosmetic item in health/beauty. Since they consist almost completely of alcohol (not a bacteria friendly environment) it not really a safety concern. Some will use them, some will not, but it will not kill people or make them sick.

You are absolutely right that details are important. I also believe that if the buyer’s true intention is to deceive, no amount of detail can prevent a buyer from trying to get around it. There is no such thing is “no returns” on eBay. Say you are a seller who does not accept returns, and say your photos and descriptions were detailed and accurate, a buyer can simply say they received a completely different item and get a refund, without even having to prove it.

I can count on one hand how many bad sales I’ve had, but buyers almost always refused to return the items, or return them heavily used. My photos and description meant nothing at all in those cases. What you said about your sewing patterns and those buyer assumptions sound like a nightmare, it’s commendable that you’ve sold for so long. It’s hard to believe that those people actually expected actual garments in the mail, but I already know a lot of people do not read.

I suppose I have been spoiled as a seller, as most of my buyers were either fellow collectors who were quite knowledgeable and actually cared enough to ask questions, or just regular folks who are happy to have found a bottle of a discontinued favorite. It’s always nice when a buyer already has some idea of what they’ll be receiving. Naturally I don’t expect this from everyone, but it is a tad unusual to not do a little research on something costly before paying for it.

These days it is very easy to look up information of anything, perfume included. With just a perfume brand/house, name and the size of the, it is more than sufficient for the average buyer. It never occurred to me height would be important, I had figured the bottle size/capacity would be sufficient, as it has been.

I did sign up for Pinterest; it was easier than I thought! Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will certainly give my listings another look through.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the nice things about eCRATER is eCRATER does not get into your business when it comes to refunds, unlike eBay and Amazon that somehow think that they are better at deciding whether our customers need a refund, even if the item isn't returned. So your only problem might be from someone trying to so a stop payment or whatever they are called through PP and their credit card. But your listing if complete with pictures, as well as your tracking number should be enough to hopefully win any case.

Also in case you missed it, if you get a negative with an invalid reason, if you send you correspondence from the buyer, etc. to the team, if it is unwarranted, they will remove it. You can also respond to negative feedback as well.
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That’s certainly good to know. I only have one negative on eBay, because the buyer did not read and sent me a message accusing me of misrepresentating the item. The description and title was clear as day and they knew it was not seller error. They could have opened a return or even open a case against me to let eBay investigate, but they didn’t. It happens I suppose.

eBay made some changes recently that has pushed sellers away yet again. I have been with them for some time but I think I’m about done there. If only eCrater had that kind of traffic, that would be amazing.
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My last negative feedback here, I didn't involve the team with it but they accused me of sending them fake tracking numbers, but when they talked to their PO they were told it had been misdelivered - which means I did not send her fake numbers! She refused to send me a fresh copy of her address so I could double-check what went wrong and she taunted me by not reading any emails that I sent her - she told me this. So how do you solve a problem when a buyer refuses to communicate with you? I have rarely had negatives either. I got my other one here when a buyer claimed to only have gotten 4 pattern pieces. I had done a piece count and thought they were all there, but I forgot to document that on the listing, but I know I would have NEVER sent out a pattern with only 4 out of 19 pieces. Of course, it was a rare $35 pattern that I had to refund. GRRR My fault for not documenting it. I hate how it seems on some of my most expensive stuff the buyer claims that something was missing so they want ALL their money back. I rarely sell any used pattern or open craft kit, but I have learned to document things at this point. And avoid selling open or used things.
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2tip3py1



Posts: 222

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You will come to see, "eCRATER" is top of the line. But here, you must do attributes, lengthy information/well described items. Post large (item) pictures, google likes that. I try to get, at the least, 1200 pixels on one side. This places me ahead of eBay and others.

If your merchandise does not have UPC codes, you will need to use the "identifier_exists - False" code. Although, I am not very familiar with that process, here is good link, which I hope explains the process better than I can. https://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=36728&sid=ca2e92ffa51c2a643c73dacb4a89fe9f

Work, work, work, also; google takes a week or two to crawl your site, once they do, (if you have crossed all TEE's and DOTTED all your i's) Like us, you will come to really appreciate eCRATER.

Oh, as well, you must continue to grow your inventory, or it appears; to me; google becomes bored with little to no change on your site. I personally change up ads and change positions/relocate my root categories, I believe this keeps Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others guessing or as techiest say "it keeps them crawling around your site, trying to realign their information". Just little more food for thought. Good Luck
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It’s usually the high value items that get targeted by scammers. I’ve only sold a handful of items in the 3 digit range, and have been insanely lucky that they all sold without a hitch. However, I have heard enough horror stories that put me off starting a serious business. Apparently, there had been sellers who had to close shop permanently due to scammers causing unrecoverable losses, courtesy of eBay’s return policy.

Things like that should not happen, and would not happen, had these sites honored the individual sellers’ own policies instead of letting buyers override them out of greed. I sold on eBay occasionally, listing items I wasn’t terribly afraid to lose. My descriptions, while brief, had detailed photos, always included the size, name, brand, age/batch code if available, packaged carefully and checked personally before shipping. I have never shipped anything to the wrong address, or have them arrived leaking, broken or damaged (which honestly even suprises me as a perfume seller.) All that, and I still never felt completely comfortable selling, knowing no matter how careful eBay may still refund on my behalf.

I already appreciate eCrater, based on flexibility and fairness alone. I feel a lot safer as a seller as well knowing my policy actually matters. While I understand sites wanting to protect their reputation and buyers, considering the amount of profit they gain from seller through fees, they could treat their sellers a bit more kindly, instead of holding their money and business hostage every time something goes wrong. Commercial sellers may be able to survive, but it’s tough on smaller sellers who heavily rely on sales for income.

Anyway, I do try to update my listings regularly, adding more information as they come to mind. I will be adding more photos as well. Moon reminded me about the height, I will be adding the weight as well. The UPC thing sounds interesting. I will check out link, thank you!
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2tip3py1



Posts: 222

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've not been here; with eCRATER very long, about 9 or 10 months. I have been selling on eBay, and others over 20 years, and still do, you must also work on your key meta tags, description tags, as well as your title tag. Leave no stone unturned here on eCRATER. This is like having your own website, with lot tech help for almost free.

eCRATER is as close as having your own web site as I have ever seen (without all the stuff that goes with having your own website). I built my first website in 1999, (I think) back when it was free with Yahoo, and sold few audio cassettes. Then I began to dabble in other stuff. I am retied now, and these days, I just run an internet garage sale business - a little this, little that - keeps me busy.

Just keep growing and working on fine tuning your store. It should pay off?

Oh yea, that's ole Tip over there to the left. I do this for him. He knows when we make a sale (printer starts, then I go to the inventory racks) He gets excited, he knows we're on our way to post office, and then on the way back we always stop at the little park, we always walk a ways up and down the creek, he loves our local park.


Last edited by 2tip3py1 on Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:49 pm; edited 3 times in total
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, eBay pays their CEO's exorbitant salaries with golden parachutes besides and that comes out of the profit that they collect from sellers. At first I didn't care that Jeff Bezos's was worth so much as for a long time he only took a flat wage that over time was less than many of the higher ups over there. In my mind, he had started the company so I don't know if it was the divorce he had or what, but suddenly Amazon became more and more a place where they too took every penny from us as if it was their right. Things like taking FVF out of the shipping amounts we had to charge meant we had to overcharge for postage to come out even. They bring out new rules that they themselves don't stick to. When Christmas hit this year and the problems with the USPS getting behind, suddenly Amazon wasn't covering the 'it didn't arrive' refunds like they had been and threw them back on the seller's that had in faith used Amazon's shipping service so that they would have that coverage. I am so tired of lying/cheating/greedy venues.

The venues could still make plenty of money if they weren't making the biggest money grabs. I have never felt that from eCRATER. One of the reasons that I want to help others succeed as the more good sellers we have here, the more chance of all of us making good money, or at least those of us that care and work hard to make money.
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sunflower93



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Tip! I have always wanted a dog, and a few little birds. I have a friend with a dog (yorkie) that I would fawn over whenever I could visit him. I have not seen him for a long time so I wonder if he remembers me. They really bring happiness and life into you like nothing else. Since my roomate does not take kindly to animals, we do not have any. Someday maybe.

I told a few about eCrater yesterday, hopefully the initial setup won’t put them off. Ebay eliminating Paypal and forcing sellers to join their managed payments was the last straw for a lot of people, but they have few places to go.

I understand that average person just want quick sales, and few are willing to do much beyond snapping photos and listing items, but I think that is partly due to being spoiled by convenience. Mercari and Poshmark fit the bill so I would guess a lot of ex-ebay sellers will end up there. While neither one has the amount of traffic eBay does, they are popular enough for a new seller to make some sales without having to promote anything. Fast and convenient sure, but the fees are quite high for just OK traffic. I wish more people would give eCrater a chance.
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2tip3py1



Posts: 222

PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 4:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dogs never forget a human, good or bad they never forget. Dogs are lot work, ole Tip has to go outside every 3 or 4 hours, day and night, he is trained well, we both went to dog college - together. He taught me how to speak dog. And I taught him to speak sign language. Tip is a little champion Maltese, he only weighs 6 & 3/4 pounds - his perfect weight. at one time he belonged to my wife, she loved him. Takes him 2 1/2 weeks to eat whole baked chicken. He's getting old now.

eCRATER is the way to go, Or I should say, it was the way to go (for me). eCRATER is more work, you can't just sit around and wait for something, you need to work your eCRATER store, that's for sure.
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