Hidden Money Part 2 – Seller Tips

Buyer scenario

Let’s pretend you’re a buyer on the hunt for a certain pair of shoes, or a certain style of clothing. After searching store after store, you finally find it online. Excitement overwhelms you! The price is cheaper than you thought, your size is available, and the website is legit, so you go for it! Quickly, the items are added to the cart, as you finish the purchase by putting your memorized card number in. Realizing how fast you checked out, you double check your confirmation email to make sure you even ordered the right thing! You’re on a high and can’t wait to receive it! Anticipation has you putting in the tracking number later that night to see if the seller dropped it off yet! You dream of your new purchase all week, while watching YouTube reviews to hold you over. The day finally comes and the package arrives!!!

Your heart drops at the sight of it. You only ordered a shirt and shoes, but the box is huge, and dented across the top, and in the corners. Is your item damaged?! Did it get wet from rain in transit? Did it get ran over? You open it, and see that the items were just placed in the box and left to jumble around in transit. There’s a black smudge on the shoes and a hole in your shirt. It also smells of smoke and you don’t smoke. You are not happy at all. What was once excitement and anticipation has now turned to disappointment and frustration. Now you have to go through the process of a return and start all over again…

Seller Scenario

We can also imagine it this way…your son or daughter decided to play sports this year. The deadline to pay the fee is next month. It’s not in the budget, so you post some items online, and hope they’ll sell by then. After being listed for two days, you hear an unfamiliar ping! on your phone, notifying you that two of your items bundled together will sell! Yes!!! The fees and uniform can both be purchased now! You place the items in a box, tape it up, and send them on their way. You can’t wait for the money to hit your account in a few days! It feels great! Problem solved!

The money soon appears in your account and you pay off your daughter’s fees earlier than anticipated. Hours later, you get another notification. Hmmm…that’s weird. It’s a message from your most recent buyer. You open it to find that they’ve filed a claim because the item isn’t as described. There’s a smudge on the shoe, a hole in the shirt, and it smells like smoke…uh oh. The shoes didn’t get worn, as they were too small for you. The shirt was new too. You removed the tags, but that was it…but when the buyer sends a picture of the box, you feel a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach…your mistake was in the packing.

Whew…what a rush…and not in a good way. Don’t be discouraged, mistakes happen. I’m going to help you eliminate them! If you’re a seller or potential seller, you may want to keep reading to learn how to have happy customers! An unhappy customer equals a refund or partial refund, and that is not the goal. Whether you sell on Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Mercari, Poshmark or the Facebook marketplace, you want your buyer to be satisfied to the best of your ability! Unless you’ve done this for a while, you may not think to not use scented trash bags, or to not mail small items in a box that’s too big…but hopefully, these tips will help you be able to protect your merchandise and your sales.

Tips For Selling

1. Be honest about your item. Show all sides of   the shirt, and don’t intentionally skip over the part with the loose thread. Maybe the buyer can sew and doesn’t mind the tiny hole that’s forming…but they do want to know about it. Maybe the shoe has a scuff on one side and not the other. Show pictures of both. The buyer should know. After all, they are paying for it.
2. Price your item fairly. If you paid $45 for a shirt, and wore it seventy two times, it’s not still worth $45 unless it’s a rare item or something from a celebrity. I’ve adopted the viewpoint that if I’m going to donate it to be resold anyway, then some money is better than no money. Keep in mind that shipping may be added to the buyer’s cost.
3. Use a free and clear detergent if you’re selling clothes, and want to wash them before selling. Some people are allergic or sensitive to certain smells. It may be best to leave them smelling like old basement, so the buyer can wash the items themselves in the detergent of their choice.
4. Disclose scents, smells, and animals. Include in the listing description if it’s coming from a smoker’s home. If you have pets, include this as well, especially if you’re selling something that will be worn. Again, many people are sensitive to, or allergic to certain scents or animals. The same goes for essential oils. Any potent smell, will want to be communicated, even it smells good.
5. Communicate with your buyer about shipping. Most people are excited about their purchases or may need them in a timely manner.
6. Thank your buyer! Handwritten notes are nice but if you don’t have time for all that, then a simple message will do. Courtesy is key, whether they buy $4 worth of your items, or $150 worth. After I make a purchase, I usually send a message to thank buyers for their purchase, and let them know I’ll be shipping within x amount of days. If something comes up, and you can’t ship when you originally said you would, let your buyer know!
7. Recycle packaging! If you receive packages or boxes from Amazon, or any other delivery service, reuse them if you can! Remove the old labels completely before adding your own, so there’s no confusion with the mailing service.
8. Make sure the item fits the package! If it’s a small item, use a small package that fits all the contents comfortably. If a box is used that’s too big, it’s easier for it to get damaged in transit. For small items, I personally wrap them in tissue paper (the gift wrapping kind), other packing paper, or bubble wrap, then put them in the packaging to be shipped. Sometimes, I’ll even wrap it in plastic after adding the paper.  Bubble mailers work well for smaller items. When using larger boxes, I still make sure everything fits just right inside. Think of volume and filling the space inside. I’ll place the item(s) in an UNSCENTED plastic bag, before placing in the box for shipping. Scented trash bags can be overpowering, and can linger on the items, depending on what they are.
9. Flat rate boxes can be used inside out! If you need to ship, and only have flat rate boxes from USPS, but don’t need to pay flat rate prices, reconstruct the box by flipping it inside out! Then weigh and ship as usual, as a regular box. It will still be priority, but without the flat rate price.
10. As of 2022, there is a selling cap of $600 on each selling platform before the IRS will require you to report your sales. So after you’ve sold $600 worth of merchandise, be prepared to enter information on next year’s taxes. I am the opposite of a tax professional and have no affiliation with the IRS, but I didn’t want you to be caught off guard.

Now that the selling tips are covered, please don’t be discouraged about selling online, or think of all that could go wrong! It’s a legit way to make money on the side. It can be intimidating, as with anything else that’s unfamiliar, but hopefully these tips will help you, as a seller, to protect yourself and your merchandise that’s being shipped. You can have success!!! Even if you don’t go the selling route, these tips can also be applied to care packages to relatives and during the holidays! What’s an important tip you’ve learned about selling or shipping?  Let me know in the comments!