Writing your ebay terms of sale.
A lot of sellers, and new sellers in particular, are interested in adding 'terms of sale' to their auctions. In brief, this is a list of the 'rules' that this seller expects buyers to adhere to, and may also include their selling terms.
Adding sale terms to your auction can be a great idea; it can help tell the buyer something very important such as the fact that you only accept paypal or only ship to certain countries. HOWEVER, all to often these terms may contain rules that are so rigid that they scare off a potential bidder - or , in many cases, these terms run contrary to the rules that eBay sets up to protect both buyers and sellers alike.
This guide looks at some of the basic rules and hpw they can help you create sales terms that work for both you , your buyer and adhere to ebay policy.
Payments.
Ah.....we sell...we get paid! In a dream word we would all get instant gratification and eBay would be no exception. Our item ends and in our perfect world, seconds later that little dollar icon would flash before us letting us know the money is sat right there in our Paypal account and we can ship out our item.
That's the dream, now reality...not quite so appealing. There are those buyers that pay the second your auction ends, those that pay an hour later, those that pay in a day or two....and those that leave it right up until the last second on day 7 when we are getting ready to file the unpaid item bid! People are different and all have their own way of doing things.
So, what does this mean for your terms of sale....well, much as we would all like payment immediately, or within a day or three you really cannot write "PAYMENT EXPECTED WITHIN 24 HOURS - NO EXCEPTIONS". Why? Well what do you do if they do not pay within that 24 hour limit...you can give them an undeserved negative - probably resulting in one right back....you cannot file a claim, you cannot cite eBay rules...under eBay a buyer has 7 days to pay; on day 8 if nothing, you can file the Unpaid item Dispute. There's really not too much you can do to enforce these rules. Much better then to say:
"Payment expected within 7 days"
- you may want to change those terms slightly if you take mailed payments, for example:
"Paypal payments expected within 7 days , mailed payments within 10"
That way you are within eBay guidelines and offering your buyer a reasonable time frame to pay. for those that want a quicker payment as those are your preferences...remember, it is YOIR auction but NOT YOU website and as a seller on eBay you fall under their rules, one of which is giving 7 days to pay!
There is an exception, and that applies to certain 'BUY IT NOW" auctions. In some cases you might want to set those to paypal only instant payment - this meaning that not only does the potential buyer need to hit the Buy it Now key...they also must pay immediately in order to secure the item - without payment - the item still remains for sale.
This is a GREAT option in high ticket items that you want to sell as a Buy it Now but are prone to fraud..ie: you sell your IPOD and every time a new buyer wins, that buyer then does not pay by paypal and offers a wire transfer with excess funds which you will send to them - a common scam with the result that sellers of such high end items often have to relist multiple times in order to sell....in that case you CAN demand instant payment, without it your auction remains!!
What payments you take.
Do remember to make this part VERY CLEAR! Do you only take paypal (remember too that you CANNOT charge someone for using paypal, I have seen that in terms of sales...a 15% surcharge for paypal payments....a fast route to getting your auction pulled) Do you take money orders - what about checks? If you only take paypal then say"
'Paypal ONLY"....
Omiting the 'only' leaves it open to question. Your terms of sale need to be clear and help you sell, not leave the buyer with more questions than answers!
If you take credit cards, let the buyer know if they will be directed to a processing website as this can be quite a shock if you buy something, only to be directed to an unfamiliar checkout procedure and might cause a non payment or two...buyers need to know this before they win, rather than question it later.
Keep it simple and short, that will inform not confuse the buyer.
When payment arrives.
You may also like to let your buyer know what happens when payment arrives; after all, you have told them when you will expect their payment...when can they expect their item. An example:
"Payment expected in 7 days.....I will ship your item within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment"
That gives your buyer a reasonable estimate of when they might expect their item and is also a nice term of sale that may attract a potential buyer to your auction. One key:
"UNDER PROMISE AND OVER DELIVER"
A cliche I know, but one that works well....if you may not always be able to ship within one day...say 2 and try and ship within one. That way the buyer will be pleasantly surprised and not let down if you offer the world but cannot deliver on that promise!
When payment does not arrive
Then there is the dreaded no payment situation...in your terms of sale, you can also let your buyer know what happens if they chose not to pay. BE NICE!!! I see some terms of sales that are very aggressive, but you want to assume that MOST buyers will pay.
Do not reference past experiences, for example " I have had lots of non paying bidders so do not waste my time , I will leave you a negative and file a claim against you for non payment - keep away from my auctions if you will not pay!" ...(and yes, I HAVE seen this written in an auction!)
You do not want potential buyers to instantly see the bad things, and you do not want them wonderign why you have had so many non paying winners - and asking what is wrong with the seller / their item?"
Keep it professional and within ebay guidelines, something to the effect of:
"I do file a unpaid item claim with eBay for all sellers who do not pay within the 7 day (or longer if you take mailed payments and chose to give some more time) payment period"
And leave it at that, no mention of negatives, after all, a lot of buyers may respond to the Unpaid notice and pay. Plus when you put negative feedback in a buyers head....what is to stop them thinking of this for you. Keep it simple, to the point and professional!
Refunds / Return policy.
It is up to you if you chose this option. Many sellers are reassured by this, but it can also open up a whole can of worms. If you sell new items and have an ebay store, this may be more of an option for you than someone who is selling old items from around the house.
I have seen people use:
" refunds offered with returns only if item is misrepresented"
which is a good example, though the term misrepresented can be subjective.
You can also omit this information and take any queries from buyers on a case by case basis.
WHAT YOU CANNOT SAY:
This is a common one and perhaps the biggest mistake of all as sellers may really believe this:
"Insurance is offered on all my auctions, if you do not take it I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR GOODS LOST OR BROKEN IN THE MAIL"
Guess what, chances are YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE, especially if you take paypal. Write it in your auctions all you want; if a buyer pays with paypal and gets a broken item or no item at all, they can make a claim with paypal and more often than not , they will win. If you ship with delivery confirmation and buyer claims item did not arrive but DC shows it did, you may be okay, but if you have no proof that they got their item (and a shipping receipt from your local Post Office is not proof) you will lose. The biggest lesson all sellers should learn:
INSURANCE IS FOR THE SELLERS PROTECTION NOT THE BUYERS.
If your item sells for more than you can afford to lose, you should either make insurance mandatory or include it in shipping charges. At the last resort go ahead and pay for it anyway as a $1.30 or a little more is cheap to pay for peace of mind! Remember, just because your auction says you are not responsible, you are selling on ebay and that means you probably are!!
A Bit of personality
At the end of the day, you want your buyers to be attracted to your auction, so be nice , professional and add a nice tag at the end of your terms of sale, for example:
"Thanks so much for looking at my auction and please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions"
A good terms of sale is designed to protect you the seller, to attract buyers, to help us all adhere to ebay rules and to make shopping on ebay a pleasant experience. You can get a lot more information on this subject from the ebay sellers board on the A-Z eBay index.
THANK YOUI!!
