Is My Listing Confusing or in Violation of ebay Guidelines???

[lulicool]

Howdy Oh Wise Ones  Could a couple of you take a moment or two to please look instore at my listing for a CUSTOM TRINKET BOX and tell me :

a) Am I in breach of any selling policies by charging a non refundable deposit? and

b) Does the listing seem in any way confusing or unclear to you as to what you are paying for, and the process and calculation of final costs regarding the creation of a custom piece?

It's just that I have spent a lot of time and effort in making a box only to be told that "Oh what??? I thought it was just $10! I didn't realise there'd be more to pay"  And in this instance do you think I should actually refund the "non refundable" deposit lol?  (FYI, I did refund it, but just wanting your thoughts on the matter)

THANKS xx

[*sparklz*]

It would be in violation as you will be wanting more money after the sale that is not going through ebay.

Yes it looks like it is $10 as that is what the buy now price shows.

What you should do is have the correct price and and state at the top of the listing made to order and once payment in full is received you will make the item and please allow *** days till dispatched.

[honest.johns.phones]

first breach that comes to mind is circumvent of eBay fees. Reason is your selling like an entry fee to purchase a much more expensive item privately therefore avoiding fees. I think you could easily solve your position by running a multi variation listing and listing the different sizes/dimensions of a finished product

[harley_babes_hoard]

A: Yes
B: Yes

You have a $10.00 buy now price what do you expect. You can't list it as a deposit only. Yes you should most certainly refund.

Just a question have all those that have sold for $10.00 did you get full payment from them afterwards?

[chezzy]

Whilst others will have better knowledge of the potential/policy breaches, the two things that didn't sit right was:

1) cheap $10 buy-it-now price (is the first thing that would stand out in a search and I feel is misleading)

2) the use of free postage which will give your listings an advantage over others, apparently it gives items

better exposure at top of search results etc

I think you need to put the actual price - come up with prices for certain styles - people can then buy the

closest one which you can then tailor make once you have received their payment.

[cherry*135]

The buyer has to commit to paying $10 (non refundable) before they can find out what the total cost will be of the item they want made.

That probably breaches Australian Consumer law.

"Turnaround time will also vary depending on supplies on hand and the degree of difficulty in making your box."

That is too vague.. I understand the time taken will vary. The buyer doesn't know whether they will have to wait a week, 2 weeks, a month. ..

Do the buyers have to pay in full before you start making their custom box?

[lulicool]

Yes I have bar one - invoiced via Paypal

[harley_babes_hoard]

so what happened to ebays fees for selling it? you are most certainly in breach of this policy.

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-circumventing.html

[cherry*135]

Re avoiding eBay fees - What about the email address in the listing - contact me if you would like to request a custom item.

Also promoting enquiries/sales via Facebook page? Also the other 2 web addresses given?


Not allowed
Referring to or promoting the seller's individual website (including links to home page URLs that promote websites outside of eBay websites), sales outside of eBay, or other businesses

[lulicool]

Thank You all. I will remove the listing and redo it taking into account all your feedback. CHEERS!!!

TBH though, I thought the description was pretty self explanatory and the only issue would be ebay fees payable on the finished product which I guess I could fix by then making a custom listing for balances payable.

I do not charge the final price until the customer is satisfied with the finished product as I am not comfortable with taking money in advance for an unspecified amount of time before it is ready to go.

My first contact after sale is to thank them blah blah blah, give them rough estimates of costings of materials and time, as well as getting their ideas / instructions for what they want.

The non refundable deposit is to cover my time and effort in the instance of change of mind customers (as in this instance) and the box I made will then just be sold via auction on my Facebook Page.

When I have listed these boxes for sale in the past I am ALWAYS being asked to make changes and variations which is why I thought a custom listing was the way to go.

ANYHOO, thanks once again - I will remove it now and decide on the best way forward xx