Update on website and ebay

[jtrmd]

I know how you guys feel about Ebay, since I don't like it much myself. I just wanted to let you guys/gals know I started listing some of my Paphs and soon maybe some phrags. My website was having too many issues with the Paypal Cart. So I went to Ebay so the can charge their % for just about anything these days. I opened one of the Ebay Stores to save on fees, but I will see how it works out. Anyways I wanted to let you know I have some stuff listed you might be interested in. My website url is jamiesorchidsandmore.com and ebay url is http://stores.ebay.com/Jamies-Orchids-and-More?_rdc=1

Once I figure all the store options out I will come up with promo codes for members and those newsletter emails for sunscribers. Thanks Jamie

 

[MattWoelfsen]

As a buyer, I have had no problem buying orchids from eBay. A vast majority of my orchids come from eBay. Due to my geography, orchid nurseries are few and far between. With a PayPal account it is really easy to get plants and pay for them.

I have not been on the other side, as a seller. But I know a couple of people who are vendors and they have shared with me some of their horror stories. It seems that eBay is a buyer's market where all the protection is for the buyer and not the vendor.

One of my favorite vendor told me he got a bad rating because the buyer did not like the potting media, despite pictures and descriptions of the actual plant. For many years he had a 100% rating but due to that one unsatisfied and ridiculous customer he is now 99.73%.

Good luck!

 

[jtrmd]

As a buyer, I have had no problem buying orchids from eBay. A vast majority of my orchids come from eBay. Due to my geography, orchid nurseries are few and far between. With a PayPal account it is really easy to get plants and pay for them.

I have not been on the other side, as a seller. But I know a couple of people who are vendors and they have shared with me some of their horror stories. It seems that eBay is a buyer's market where all the protection is for the buyer and not the vendor.

One of my favorite vendor told me he got a bad rating because the buyer did not like the potting media, despite pictures and descriptions of the actual plant. For many years he had a 100% rating but due to that one unsatisfied and ridiculous customer he is now 99.73%.

Good luck!

I got a good amount of my Orchids on Ebay. I only buy from actual Vendors on there now. Like Peter Lin and a few others. Other than Ebay and word of mouth I dont really have an outlet to sell from. My friends from the OS I belong to would look at me like I was insane asking them to pay for something.

That's all it takes. You get a lot of that 'i deserve the item for free' mentality. I sold antiques right before the policies changed. Then I started selling off divisions and First bloom seedlings from flasks I grew out. Then that's around the time Ebay took away negative feedback for buyers.You can have 100 pictures sometimes and you will still have complaints. No matter what,the buyer gets positive. I dont even pay attention to the % anymore, because I feel as if its not the whole story. I also hate USPS but UPS/Fedex charge a fortune. I shipped a division of one of my awarded plants, I think it was my Lady Isabel. to Gettysburg PA from Baltimore. I think they walked it there. I try to meet up with local people if its possible.

 

[cnycharles]

I usually like USPS but when my brother lived in Brooklyn he swore packages and other mail would vanish from one end of the mail center to the other

 

[Lanmark]

I used to sell merchandise on ebay. I took great pride in giving my customers exceptionally good deals on great merchandise. I bent over backwards to provide first rate service. I never got any negative or neutral feedback, but when ebay started switching everything around and taking away pretty much any and all seller protections, I saw the proverbial writing on the wall and bailed. I wouldn't mind getting into auction-type selling again, but I have no idea what venue to use. I'm leery of getting burned on ebay, so I've avoided selling there for several years now.

I hope you have great luck and nothing but good experiences with selling there.

 

[troy]

I hate auctions, people are scumbags, but you have some nice plants!!! Good luck!!!

 

[jtrmd]

I used to sell merchandise on ebay. I took great pride in giving my customers exceptionally good deals on great merchandise. I bent over backwards to provide first rate service. I never got any negative or neutral feedback, but when ebay started switching everything around and taking away pretty much any and all seller protections, I saw the proverbial writing on the wall and bailed. I wouldn't mind getting into auction-type selling again, but I have no idea what venue to use. I'm leery of getting burned on ebay, so I've avoided selling there for several years now.

I hope you have great luck and nothing but good experiences with selling there.

I never do auctions anymore. When I was parting apart, then selling the parts for a bunch of macbooks. people would set their snipers and never pay. I only do BuyitNow type sales. I wish I was more motivated to just keep up the store on my website. One day I need to sit down and update it. then I will only need to worry about the Paypal 2% fees. Ebay hits you for a precentage of everything. Listing,8%+ on sales, not sure what the hit the Shipping at. I could sell the plants at affordable prices if I didnt have to worry about all that. I got a message today telling me 10 was too much for shipping when it costs 5 dollars to mail something across the country. I dont even think 1st class mail is cheap anymore. I havent bought a stamp in ages, since I pay all my bills online.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Well, I also happen to love eBay. got some really nice plants off eBay.
So, you can't generalize that people don't like eBay or eBay is not cool or something.

It all depends I guess, but the best thing for getting plants off eBay is that you can actually see what you're getting, so there is no surprise.
I sometimes see sellers who do not utilize this great features that enhance sales. They would just post stock photos and no pictures of actual plants they are selling.
I never buy from those. What's the point?

Another great feature is the feedback as mentioned above. but I only use this as a guide. Photos of actual items are the most important. then read their other policies.
I don't think I've given negative feedbacks even when I had issues, which was not common. I communicate and resolve any concerns via messages.

People who leave negative feedback without first communicating are assholes considering that doing so could damage the business.
I mean some people may deserve getting such feedback, but I would always try to work something out before dropping a bomb. lol

The only bad experience with getting orchids off eBay was with shipping. Plants arriving with half frozen state, so I never buy during the winter no matter what they say. learned the hard way. I have also had diseased plants which were apparently healthy in the listing photo. It was during the summer heat and coming from Florida.
I generally buy plants when the weathers are mild and nice.

Oh, and occasional bidding wars, which is good for the sellers and not so good for the shoppers. lol
Then you get such great deal on BIN every now and then, or sometimes no one bids. Such fun place is eBay!

 

[Lanmark]

Such fun place is eBay!

Oh, don't get me wrong. I still love to buy certain things on ebay. I just don't sell anymore. I suppose listing everything at a Buy-It-Now price would pretty much eliminate certain problematic issues like auto snipers who never pay, people who get caught up in bidding wars and then have buyer's remorse and so forth. I can still envision potential problems as a seller which I would rather avoid, but then again, almost nothing comes without risk these days.

 

[abax]

Your plants are very, very nice and I look forward to seeing your Phrags for sale. Generally, I get quite good plants on ebay, but I like to communicate with the seller and ebay
makes that a bit difficult. I prefer BIN rather than bidding and I do have a PayPal account so
that the seller gets the money quickly. However, I don't mind paying by check or calling with a credit card number. Finding a seller that's trustworthy is a treasure.

 

[jtrmd]

Your plants are very, very nice and I look forward to seeing your Phrags for sale. Generally, I get quite good plants on ebay, but I like to communicate with the seller and ebay
makes that a bit difficult. I prefer BIN rather than bidding and I do have a PayPal account so
that the seller gets the money quickly. However, I don't mind paying by check or calling with a credit card number. Finding a seller that's trustworthy is a treasure.

Ebay made sure to have their bots catch any mention of cash,checks,paypal invoices for sales that cuts they % out of the sale. I have ne problem waiting for a check to clear if it saves me money.
I was looking at the Phrags earlier and was going to list a few.