General eBay questions

alt.marketing.online.ebay FAQ

2.0 General eBay questions
Many eBay-specific questions can be answered in a matter-of-fact way. If you need to post a question that hasn't been adequately answered, provide a link with an example so others can see what you are talking about.

2.1 Common Acronyms
As with all auction titles and listings, don't always take these acronyms at face value especially if there's no picture to back up the title's claims, if in doubt contact the seller and ask about the condition of the
box/packet/item.

2.1.1 a.m.o.e.
alt.marketing.online.ebay (this Usenet group).

2.1.2 FVF
Final Value Fee. This is the fee eBay charges as a percentage of the final bid at the end of a successful auction. If nobody bids or the reserve isn't met on a reserve auction, there's no FVF to pay. If the winning bidder backs out for any reason, the seller can reclaim the FVF from eBay as the transaction is not deemed successful. To do so, the seller must file a NPB alert and wait 10 days, except when the winning bidder is NARU'd. For more information, refer to http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/npb.html.

2.1.3 NARU
Not a Registered User. The user in question is not currently able to sell or bid on eBay. This situation may be temporary or permanent. It may also occur at the user's request. Generally speaking, most NARU'd accounts have violated some policy or have an outstanding bill with eBay. Unless the user has really bad feedback it can be difficult to guess why a user is NARU'd as eBay doesn't state any reason why. For more information, refer to http://pages.ebay.com/help/myinfo/user-not-registered.html.

2.1.4 NPB
Non-paying Bidder. Also refers to the Non-Paying Bidder Alert form. In other words, the bidder of an auction hasn't paid, so you file a NPB alert to provide a little push to help convince them to pay for your auction. It's also the first step to reclaiming the FVF that eBay billed you. NPB ale ?rts don't go down as a black mark on the bidder's history, but FVF's do (unless the FVF reason was that you both agreed to mutually cancel the transaction). For more information, refer to http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/npb.html.

2.1.5 NR
No Reserve. This short acronym is often found in auction titles to indicate items offered with no reserve.

2.1.6 EOA
EBay's End of Auction Notice or alternately, your own End of Auction Notice.

2.1.7 BIN
EBay's Buy It Now feature. When a buyer uses BIN, the auction is immediately ended with the bidder as the winner at the specified BIN price. BIN prices are only present if the auction has no bids or, in the case of reserve auctions, the reserve has not been met.

2.1.8 VeRO
Verified Rights Owner. EBay gives the VeRO special privileges in determining if auctions listed by other seller's violate their intellectual property rights. If a VeRO member decides someone has violated their rights, they can unilaterally cancel the auctions of other sellers.

All you need to do to join eBay's VeRO program is register an account, create an About Me page describing your rights, and then register with eBay as the owner of whatever intellectual property you are claiming.

2.1.99 Links to category/item-specific terms, definitions and acronyms
Until I have some good links, here are some product acronyms I received by amoe members. Keep in mind that many sellers aren't terribly accurate with these descriptive terms and you should check the seller's reputation (always good advice) before bidding.

HTF Hard To Find, or so the seller believes
MIB Mint In Box. Implies that the item is in mint condition still in it's original box, note that this does not explicitly mean the box has never been opened
MIP Mint In Packet, implies that the item is in mint condition still in it's original packet, again note that this does not explicitly mean the packet has never been opened but implies the seal has not been broken
MOC Mint On Card, Star Wars figure etc. unopened still on it's card
MWMT Mint With Mint Tags, especially important in Beanie Babies collecting.
MWT Mint With Tag, beanies etc. that are in mint condition still with their tag attached
NIB New In Box, implies that the item is in new condition still in it's box, the box may have been opened
NIP New In Packet, similar to MIP
NOS New Old Stock, a seller has acquired old stock that is in new condition, i.e. it's been sitting in a warehouse for years
NRFB Never Removed From Box, implies the item has never been removed from it's original box and the item is in mint condition
OOAK One Of A Kind, usually seen on custom-designed Barbies or other fashion dolls
OOP Out Of Print, usually seen with books or videos
VHTF Very Hard To Find, or so the seller still believes ;)

2.2 Is eBay down?
Probably (VBG)! EBay seems to suffer more downtime than many other large commerce sites. Although eBay doesn't always acknowledge downtime, you can obtain the official status of the eBay site at http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml.

Unfortunately, eBay's announcement page doesn't always provide any notice of downtime until after the fact. In case it does, you can find it on the announcements page at http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml.

Otherwise, clear your cache, reboot your PC and give it another try.

2.3 How do I contact eBay?
It depends on the problem. As of the date of this FAQ, you can send email to safeharbor@ebay.com or timesensitive@ebay.com.

2.4 How can I get an unjust negative feedback removed?
(update needed)
The short answer - you can't. There appears to be only three ways to get a negative feedback erased from your record. First, if you can show that the feedback YOU left was for the wrong user by referring the eBay representative to another user where you left identical feedback. Secondly, you can apply to Square Trade (http://www.squaretrade.com), pay them $15 to mediate and IF the other party cooperates and agrees, the feedback can be removed. Finally, obtain a court order. Check with your attorney to determine costs and the timeframe associated with this type of action. EBay's policy on this can be found on their Feedback Basics page located at http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/f-feedback.html#6.

If you receive an unjust negative feedback, remain calm. The character portrayed in your response is more important than the feedback itself. Leave a factual, professional response and forget about it. Your trading partners will most likely understand and not hold it against you unless they see a pattern of negatives.

2.5 Are there any alternatives to eBay?
There are plenty of other auction sites on the Internet, but eBay is widely recognized as the 800 lb. gorilla and currently delivers a much higher percentage of buyers per auction than any other site available.

With that said, other auction sites commonly referenced as alternatives to eBay are Yahoo Auctions [http://auctions.yahoo.com], ePier [http://epier.com], and SellYourItem [http://sellyouritem.com]. A fairly current list of auction sites can be found at http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=1.

2.6 How long do auction listings stay on eBay?
They are available on eBay's site for a minimum of 60 days. This is the same as the length of time guaranteed for leaving feedback on an auction. Completed items are only available through My EBay for up to 30 days and via search for 10 days (subject to change without notice). After 30 days, you need to know the auction number to view the listing.

2.7 If I change my eBay handle, will I lose my feedback?
No. Your feedback stays with you as long as you use the same eBay account, regardless of the name assigned to the account. ?You will have to wear the shades for 30 days indicating your ID has recently changed.

2.98 Who has the highest feedback rating on eBay?
Last time anyone checked, onecentcds@aol.com had over 195,000.

2.99 When does the [Insert Season] slump start?
Right after the [Previous Season] downturn.