R2D2 statue / toy / model / robot

R2D2


ended - Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Auction grade: F-

Starting bid: $6.99

Final selling price: $0 - no bids


Up for sale in this eBay auction is a model / toy / robot R2D2 from the famous Star Wars movies. I honestly have no idea for the purpose of this particular version of R2 as the seller doesn't say much about its features.

For starters, the auction's title doesn't give us any hints. By only saying "R2D2", the seller is cutting himself out of most searches for people interested in similar items. By not adding any key words or phrases about the item the seller is already setting himself up for failure. Any words or descriptions about this item or his role in the Star Wars movies would work well in the title.

The auction's description has "sketchy seller" written all over it. It's a bad sign that the first text you see in the description is the seller telling us about the shipping charges and how this is for serious bidders only and the fact that he has the right to retract any bids from new bidders or bidders with negative feedback.

After the text about seller telling us on what he wants in a buyer (funny, I thought it was supposed to be the other way around) the seller throws in a brief sentence about the actual item for sale.

"This R2D2 is approx. 7” to 8” tall and 3” to 4” inches across. He is battery operated and seems to be in good shape."

So here we have rough dimensions from seller more concerned about protecting himself than actually selling a product on eBay. Now we know that this is a battery operated toy and is apparently in good shape. It's too bad the picture shows the item covered in dirt and generally looking like something he found in the garbage.

After this continues a lot more text about the seller making excuses for himself and giving us buyers more rules and expectations.

"I describe my items to the best of my ability, but I am not an expert on any of the items I sell."

How hard is it to describe a toy? This seller has a hard enough problem giving us an exact measurement on the item's height and width. We also know that the seller is hiding something from us in this auction. The seller told us that this is battery operated, yet he didn't mention actually testing it and letting us know what this can do when it's powered. Despite that the seller claimed that this is in "good condition" despite looking like crap in the picture. A mechanical item like this being in "good condition" implies that it works correctly when you insert the batteries and turn it on.

So therefore: A) the seller tried it and couldn't get it to work (otherwise its features would have been mentioned), or B) the seller didn't try it and is implying that it works just so he can get the sale. Either way the seller is not being descriptive enough in the auction.

"I just find really cool stuff at great prices and sell them on EBay."

This backs up statement "B" from above. This is proof that the seller just wants to make a quick sale. This is also a case where you're giving the buyers too much information. Never use a statement like that in your description!

"All sales are final"

Buyer beware.

"Do to a few EBayer’s who think its funny to receive a great deal on merchandise then slam the seller for no reason we ask that you leave us feedback first."

Aside from the numerous grammar errors, this isn't the best approach to take when dealing with feedback. Again, this shows how this particular seller is more concerned about himself and making the quick sale and keeping a good feedback rating rather than giving the customer a positive experience. This excuse will be invalid once eBay starts their "seller cannot give buyers negative feedback" policy.

"We ship fast, pack well, and over communicate."

I guess "over communicate" does not include telling us more about the actual item for sale. So far in this description we've had many of the seller's policies shoved down our throats, but very little about the seller actually trying to sell us this item.

In addition to everything above, the seller is still trying to hide something else from us buyers. In a statement about shipping, the seller mentions that sometimes items still get damaged in transit because of the shipping company. It's a rare event but has happened a few times to him in the past ("2 OUT OF OVER 1100" to be exact). For a person who has shipped over a thousand items to online customers, why is it that this seller only has a positive feedback rating of twelve? The seller's information shows that he has been selling on eBay with this account since only December 7, 2007 (Pearl Harbor, coincidence?).

The seller's unnecessarily detailed information about protecting himself tells us that either A) this is a brand new seller who just copied another seller's information (and did a sloppy job at that, too), or B) this seller has been here before and been burned by a few things, but is basically starting over with a new account and trying to keep the past hidden. This practice does happen on all of the major online auction websites and stores.

So after reading little about the item and going through all of the seller's other statements, are you, the buyer, still willing to make a bid on this item? Probably not.

If the seller actually wants to make sales and keep customers happy, then he needs to change his attitude and approach to selling on eBay. Focus on selling the item first and then selling yourself as a seller second. Don't give buyers a list of demands and expectations even before they know about the product. You'll just turn them away and waste time and money in the process.