Honesty in advertising, called out a little on Ebay

[fordf150]

I gave Dave an opinion in PM and quite honestly I was going to leave it there but the more I think about it the more I think it needs given here to for several reasons.

I have someone in my shop a few times a month that complains about my price on something. Half the time they are checking prices on eBay. Items with oem logos on them are perceived to be oem.

I looked at Dave's listings.....if I wasn't in the business I would think those were genuine parts. Being in the business and selling the genuine parts I immediately noticed 3 things. Logos were not the quite the right colors and fuzzy, packaging is wrong, and the prices are way too low(oem kits cost is more than what he is retailing them for).

Using oem logos on non oem parts coming from non oem supply channels is counterfeiting. Zama, walbro, tillotson sell through distributors in the US not direct to a small retailer in the US.

I am simply pointing this out because all it takes is one mad customer, oem employee, competitor, or any number of other people to complain and an investigation could get started with the results having some pretty serious consequences.

https://www.naw.org/govrelations/advisory.php?articleid=563
D

 

[Definitive Dave]

Nate is the man, good concise opinions and advice.
I am heading out to vacation and will work out the changes on the kits when I get back. Such a small percentage of what we sell, just need to get it right.
Thanks for all the notes guys,
DD

 

[HarleyT]

23 on Ebay on that listing, I jacked up the price so nobody buys one until I get the quality sorted out with Farmertec, the stock I have on hand are crap
Part of the order of listings on Ebay is number sold so you never want any listing to end unless you will never sell it again.
You pay for listing that way but it is essential top sales.
Dave

One quick question. What would you do if someone actually buys one for $1,062 ?

It could happen.

 

[Philbert]

One quick question. What would you do if someone actually buys one for $1,062 ?

Personally delivered with a bouquet from 1-800-Flowers.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

I have a lot of respect for guys that can run a successful, legitimate eBay business. Extremely competitive environment. Lots of jerks hiding behind Internet firewalls. Buyer protection bias by eBay.
Your insights on the listing practices are interesting - I can only share mine as a potential buyer.

A few more things which may be of help:

- Communication is important. Many transactions I have had on eBay were 'clinically perfect' in an aseptic way: I buy; I pay promptly; they ship promptly; I get the item; as described. No contact, no communication, no complaints, no relationship developed. A 'perfect transaction'?

Other transactions come with a 'Thank you' note, or are preceded by some polite questions answered, some follow-up questions, etc. I am more likely to go back to those guys. In fact, sometimes I kind of feel 'bad' that I can't order more from them! I actually bought more chains than I needed from a couple of sellers, just to 'help them out' (good-deal-for-both-parties situation: "Hey, I have a few more of these, can you use them at that price?").

- AS tie ins: a couple of guys here on AS either mention in their eBay listings that they are ArboristSite members, or their user names are similar enough to figure that out, when listing chainsaw related items. That carries some credibility with me if I know them, or it lets me check out their AS profile if I don't. It has also led to setting up a few 'special listings' or 'Best Offer' sales, without circumventing eBay rules. Now that I know your site, I would prefer to buy from you versus some anonymous seller.

Philbert

 

[Rx7man]

Remember that not all ebay users are literate, and what may be clear to someone here, may not be to someone else. Yes, if you're showing pictures of the parts with a husky logo on the package, many people will assume it's genuine, oem husqvarna... and they're not really wrong for that, even if the wording of the listing is clear.

I would also shop at an AS member's ebay store before an unknown ebay store...