ebay – BRYOLOGUE

Back in the post office

April 28, 2014bryologue 3 Comments

Over the long Holy Week weekend break, I finally had the time to look over the items I intended to sell on Ebay. The last time I sold something online was before November 2013 ended, and we all know what happened the month after. Anyway, I did not realize how many items I currently have, not until I finished my inventory. It was grueling work to gather all of the photos, description and measurement I took months ago onto one Excel file. I also tried to remember where these items were located, as some some of them were at home, while the others are in the apartment. To make the story short, they were all over the place.

EMS package bound for Japan

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My blog turns one!

June 2, 2013bryologue 1 Comment

I never thought I would be able to keep an online account with substantial detail for this long, but time flies so fast and my blog has been running for a year already! A quick scan of of the things I’ve been blabbing about, I think there was a progressive change over the theme of the things I’ve posted. In a month or so, however, I have to pay Faye for the annual fee of having removing that ‘.wordpress.com’ from here.

At the same time, I also have to say goodbye to a bag I’ve used only for a couple of times. This bag is definitely large that it took Mon one “Hindi ba masyadong malaki ‘yan bag mo?” (Don’t you think your bag’s a bit too large?) to make me stop using it… for good. And it has been sitting in the closet for a long time, that it smells a bit, well, like the closet. I decided to finally let it go because it deserves a better owner, who will make full use of it. I think this is a healthy development and a big step to the right direction of downsizing the ridiculous number of bags I have. There. I called a spade a spade. =D It was difficult to let go because it has a sentimental value, but it also has no everyday utilitarian value (well, for me), so bye, bag, bye!

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Not to be dissuaded by a problematic buyer

May 28, 2013bryologue 4 Comments

One of the first things I have brought inside the apartment was a full-length mirror — something I did not have in our house in Marikina. As we still do not have a closet, all of our clothes are still to be taken out of our luggages and bags. We also do not have a flat iron, so we just resorted to the old ‘pagpag-and-hagod’ method to sort out wrinkles.

Last Friday, I was shocked to see that an item sent via Registered Mail, which I thought to have been lost in transit to a buyer in Netherlands, suddenly showed up as “Item Delivered” in PhilPost’s online tracking. It has been almost a month since I sent the item and as the online tracking was under maintenance for weeks already, I was left with no choice but to refund the buyer. My mistake because I was too quick to refund her without waiting for Ebay to do so. Maybe I just wanted the whole thing to be over, and I was counting on the buyer’s honesty that she would return my funds back to my PayPal account once she gets the bag. Of course, I was wrong and naïve.

My initial reaction was to dispute the case, but as it was already past the 45-day period to open an appeal, I was left with no other choice but to contact the buyer directly. In my email, I have informed her about the online tracking showing delivery, and if it was okay, she could send my money back OR return my item because I cannot NOT have both the funds and the bag. I gave her 24 hours to reply because we live in different time zones, and maybe she was busy with something. Then when I received her reply, she mentioned that she was preoccupied (for three weeks, huh?), that was why she was unable to give a feedback about the bag. The catch was, she did not like the bag because it was too small, has several scratches and the leather was stiff. Hmmm… I have disclosed all information in the auction description so I did not get why she was just telling me that when I already contacted her. As a buyer myself, my initial reaction would be to immediately contact the seller and inform her my dissatisfaction. So why wait for 20 days to react? I guess somebody wanted a free bag.

The worst thing about her reply was she was short of asking money from me so that she can send my item back. The auction description clearly mentioned that in cases of return, the buyer has to pay for return shipping. It was fair enough, considering that as Ebay and PayPal have a 21-day hold on my received funds, I have taken the shipping fee to Netherlands out of my own pocket. Therefor, it was unjust tht I shell out money just to get my bag back.

She did not bother replying until I gave her an implied warning about her school hearing from me, and discussing in full details about her fraudulent online activities. I managed to contact another seller from Slovenia, who received a negative feedback from her on May 5, 2013. I found it too hard to believe that she was busy to inform me of her dissatisfaction, yet she managed to give that poor seller a negative feedback three days after receiving my bag. I think her school administrator would not be too pleased to hear that they are employing a teacher with questionable morals in their school.

I think she got scared after that stern warning, as I flat out told her that all that hassle was not worth it — all of that for a bag. So in the end, she ended up shouldering the return shipping and eventually sent the item back to me. However, she did not mark the item as a “Returned Merchandise” and I have a feeling I will end up paying custom fees for a returned item. In my return policy, I have specified to send the item with the original packaging, but apparently, this seller was intent in keeping a bag and thought she got away after not hearing from me since May 2. What a devious buyer.

Moral of the story? Do not use Registered Mail because it takes forever. I am now using International Express Mail Service (IEMS) from PhilPost, and even if it was slightly more expensive, the 3-5 working days delivery time would surely be more favorable against impatient overseas buyer. For instance, a 500g parcel sent to US via Registered Mail cost Php 885 (and Php 1,770 once it passes the 500g mark), while a similar weight via IEMS cost me Php 1,409 (and Php 1,853 if more than 500g). PhilPost’s website is also updated with the fee, and they have the rates printed and inside a clear book so they are definitely accurate. (See link: http://philpost.gov.ph/web/international-mail-rates/) Well, the new batch of items I have sent via IEMS should be received by early next week, but my first experience of IEMS years ago was pleasant. I do hope that my funds get released earlier than the expected 21-day holding period because shipping via IEMS was no dime a dozen!

P.S.

Mama, Kuya and Ate Ja visited our apartment today, and I was so happy they thought our unit was fair enough! ^_^

Friday, Friday!

May 3, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

On Fridays, we are allowed to wear jeans but I still opted to wear black pants because my beloved pair of jeans is still yet to be laundered. However, I was more keen to use this printed shirt with the robot bag because they both have the capacity to make me look, errrr, younger. LOL

I’ve been using a lot of canvas and nylon bags lately, and even if I hate to admit it, I’m also kind of getting over my love of heavy leather bags. Under the summer heat, I prefer not to lug around a heavy luggage and anything non-leather makes my life easier. But in a month or so, summer will be up soon, and rainy season won’t be too kind as well. I have been looking at a functional bag on Ebay, from a brand I have never owned before. And that was when I saw this Porter by Yoshida Freestyle 2 Way briefcase bag.

(Photo from the Ebay seller)

Technically, I’ve been seeing this bag listed on Ebay since last year, and I kept on having tentative decisions whether I should just go for it or not. The first thing that put me off was the color. It it were on a happier color (i.e. red or even blue) or anything neutral other than black (preferably camel), I would have definitely gotten it in a snap. But as I already have a lot of black bags, common sense tells me that I don’t need another bag in black. Frankly, I’ve been trying to get rid of some of my bags by selling them online, but things are not going as fast as I’ve originally hoped. I’m really determined to downsize my stuff this year, given that I will be working in another sector where I need more discreet and less recognizable items to use. This Porter by Yoshida bag perfectly fits the bill. Discreet – check, functional – check, weatherproof – check; so what am I waiting for? The seller.

I’m still waiting for the seller’s reply. I remember haggling for the price way back in February but I have completely forgotten about asking. And then I thought of checking if the bag is still available, and saw that the seller had actually answered my request. It has been almost three months since that reply, and I’m still hoping that the offer still stands. I think i’m getting an extremely good deal over it at Php 1,500 total, especially the same bag is sold for US$ 500 on BLACKBIRD, and for US$ 603.25 of Ebay.com! The item looks leather-y but it is actually polyurethane-coated canvas, making it really durable against the elements. Of course, I’m just justifying this purchase again with all my reasoning might. =D

Japan Home Centre rocks big time!

April 22, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Coming from my mind-boggling and on-going issue with an Ebay dispute, I was quite hesitant to continue selling internationally. However, I have recently acquired a couple of interesting items of clothing, which don’t usually tickle the interest of local buyers.

No other choice but to continue selling internationally and not let the traumatizing experience burn me forever. But in order to do that, I have to make sure that I have to be more precise with the weight measurement of all the items because the last time I’ve sent a batch of items, I had to shell out a couple of pesos because I underestimated the cost of shipping vis-à-vis the item’s weight.

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Ebay headache: Overseas buyer claiming “Item Not Received”

April 21, 2013bryologue 2 Comments

The summer heat is no joke and I’m most happy with the cotton shirts I have in my closet. I could have acquired more before and I’m left circulating the same shirt and polo shirt over and over again. That’s why I was extremely happy when I got this white shirt from Mon’s grandma and Laylay on my birthday last week. I still have to use the clothing allowance we have in the office and when I get extra money, I’ll spend all of them on cotton T-shirts and polo shirts — one in every color. =D

Anyway, at the back of my mind, I had a feeling that something seriously bad will happen with one of the items I have sent overseas earlier this month via Registered Mail of PhilPost. One buyer (of a bag) has filed an “Item Not Received” case against me on Ebay 12 days after I have sent her item in April 3. That was not even two weeks since I have sent it and she was pretty much informed of the transit time, as indicated in the auction, as well as my (one-way) correspondences with her uopn sending the item. It mentions that shipping might take “more or less two weeks”, so I was baffled on how quick she was to jump the gun in opening a dispute.

The tracking in PhilPost’s website was faulty and delayed, and I was excpecting that tracking information will get updated once the item reaches U.S. soil and it may take some time. I have also informed the buyer about this and I’m quite exasperated of her impatience. =/ I know the item will eventually arrive in her homestate and I did not know what will happen to my bag and money once she gets her refund. And of course, Ebay ruled in her favor and it was no surprise that the funds were taken out of my PayPal account. The reason: I allegedly did not provide a valid tracking information and there was no movement in tracking. I was gobsmacked.

I have half-heartedly accepted the outcome as selling internationally on Ebay.com is always a great risk. I also not made adequate research on every possible scenario that might happen, nor asked around about insuring the item in case it gets lost. Very expensive lesson, especially I had to take the shipping fee out of my own pocket because my funds are normally held for 21 days because of inadequate selling history. I have lamented this issue over a forum and was then happy to receive words of encouragement from some of the members. At their urging/curiosity, I followed up in the tracking and was happy to see that there was already movement in the tracking. It took me some time to process what was happening and thought of the best way to respond to this development. I contacted Ebay, explained the situation and hoped they would reverse the decision and give my funds back. Ugh.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

April 3, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

It has been almost a month since I bought something for myself from Ebay. That was quite an achievement because I usually purchase several items for personal usage within a 30-day period. I’ve been focusing lately on Ebay selling and it was taking a lot of my time. So, as a gift for my birthday next week, I waged a bidding war for a peculiar jacket — the Gazette newspaper print one! Of course, the action begins in the last 10 seconds and the price have hiked up in those last moments. LOL I eventually won and I am very excited to receive the item on Friday!

(Photo from the Ebay seller).

I know Mon will particularly love this design because he is a BIG FAN of the KPop group, B2ST. He was once happy to see another shirt with an interesting print from Galliano in my closet because he knew that most of the members of his favorite group favor the design. I promised him that we could use the jacket together, and in fact, I think it would most probably spending more time with him. =D

Hyunseung from B2ST with a John Galliano Gazette newspaper print hoodie jacket

(Photo from coordinuna.com)

On a different note, I have tried to transfer some of my PayPal funds to a bank account because all the shipping I have done last Monday and today has greatly affected my finances. =/ The 21 day period is definitely a pain to deal with and I cannot wait to finally have my funds become available. I don’t have a credit card (I’m better off not having one) so it was Mon’s PayPal account and since we are doing this business together, I just think of it as an extension of our partnership. We had to open a PayPal account back in 2011 because the guesthouse we stayed in Seoul required a deposit and it they only accept payment via PayPal.

It was my first time attempting to transfer funds to a bank account and the process of doing so was not really that difficult. From the Home page, I click the “Withdraw” link, which redirected me to the “Add a bank account in the Philippines” page:

I have searched online and found a list of bank codes in the Philippines, listed on a page from Ebay.ph. I had to manually input the Bank name “BANK OF THE PHIL ISLANDS (BPI)”, and honestly, I was worried whether there should be an extra (BPI) in the end. I then added the bank code “010040018” indicated in the list, as well as entering the BPI account number twice.

After pressing “Continue”, I was led next to the “Review your bank account information”, where I was informed of the return fee, in case of wrong information (e.g. incorrect account number, names not matching). I think this was a one time process/s because it was sort of enrolling this bank account to be the default destination of PayPal funds when withdrawing.

After pressing “Save” comes the part where I had to indicate what amount the amount of money I wish to send to the bank account. The dropdown in “From this balance” indicates the USD and Php balances. I only have Php 100 in my PayPal account, which was the fee credited back during the one-time verification.

Then comes a review of the withdrawal, where I had to check and double-check the information from first line to last. And another thing, since I will be transferring less than Php 7,000, there will be a Php 50.00 charge from the account. Ugh, it made me hate the 21 day process more. =/

All I can do now is wait for two to four business days for the transfer to happen. I am crossing my fingers that it would take just the minimum two days because it will already be Thursday tomorrow. I am still stressing out and nitpicking with Mon’s name because I’m not too sure if he had added a dash (-) on his given name when he registered for that bank account. LOL PayPal, don’t fail me please.

A day in the post office

April 1, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Last Friday, I was able to sell several items on Ebay.com. But even if I still have to wait 21 days for my PayPal funds to clear, I am obliged to ship them immediately because providing a working tracking information MIGHT help to increase the chances of getting my funds quicker. I haven’t been inside the post office in about two years and I can no longer remember the fees I have paid. So before going to Makati Central Post Office, I reminded myself to make a lot of mental notes for future forays into their premises. LOL

Words cannot capture how hot the weather was. Summer is definitely in full swing but it did not deter us from walking all the way to the post office in the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Buendia Avenue. I had everything inside my bag: shipping labels, a packaging tape, a pair of scissors, and the items wrapped in their respective bubble wraps. It took me a while to realize that I have forgotten one important item: a fan. The post office was not air-conditioned and it was definite that I will be sweating a lot. LOL

Upon entering, we immediately purchased corrugated boxed from the e-Post Shop, where they sell different nox sizes. As I only need boxes enough for a single garment, I opted for the number 4, which was sold at Php 20 each. I had no idea what time the post office closes, whether it was 5PM or 6PM but we arrived around 4:30 and we immediately rushed weighing and prepping the boxes. The items must be fitted snugly inside the box before sealing with packaging tapes, so we still had to adjust the size by cutting the four corners. (The lady manning the shop was very kind and gracious, as she helped us in preparing the packages).

Now, the tricky part was the shipping fee. I charged my buyers (who are all from USA and Western Europe) a flat rate of US$ 20 or Php 780 fee. I originally intended to send these via International Express Mail Service (IEMS), but I was not too keen with the prices seen on PhilPost’s website. Shipping a 500-gram item to the United States would have cost me Php 1,409! That was twice the shipping fee I have charged the buyer. LOL But wait, France was more expensive at thrice the fee at Php 1,980!

I scrapped the IEMS and opted for the Registered Mail because it still fell under the average of two weeks shipping period I have promised the buyers. However, I just found out that the rate for items weighing 251 grams to 500 grams weigh was Php 885, meaning I had to add money from my own pocket because I had undercharged the buyers (take note that it was for the shipping alone, not also the handling which includes shipping materials, etc). Now, once the total weight (i.e. the item + bubble wrap + felt cloth container + packaging tape + corrugated box) reaches 501 gram (yes, even a single gram excess in their digital La Poste weighing scales), the cost of shipping automatically doubles from Php 885 to Php 1,770. In two out of four items, I had to remove either the freebie sweets I have included or something as light as the felt cloth container because I reached 508 grams. Removing the latter brought me back Php 885 mark, once the scale showed 498 grams.

I was made to fill up a form, one for each package containing important information about the sender, buyer and the item. I also then paid a total of Php 3,540 for the four items and was thinking of my held up PayPal funds while getting the money from my wallet. =/ She then attached the forms and some weird looking long stamps on top of each package and then stamped them with the date.

After this, I was sent to the next counter, where the lady inspected and began attaching the stickers with tracking code to each items. She also issued a registry receipt, containing the same tracking information.

I have learned a lot from everything that happened to me in the post office earlier. From glaring realities (e.g. my net profit for one of the items was just around Php 20! It was not even a dollar!) to realizations preparations on shipping internationally. I will definitely continue to sell on Ebay.com, but armed with these newly-acquired information, I hope it will help me strategize better for future sales.

Bye, Bye March!

March 31, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

It’s Easter today and my mother was very kind enough to give me a rack for my bags. She thought my room could have a bit of organization with all of my bags in a single place. Well, it was very sweet but I still have some of my bags inside a plastic container. The rack just won’t hold up all of them. I’m in the process of selling some of them off on Ebay, together with the other things I managed to sell internationally.

After lunch, I went to the Marikina Public Market to buy materials I would be needing to ship the items. I found everything perfectly fine, except for some bubble wrap. The ones I found were on a ready-made padded envelope, and I was thinking more of the ones sold per yard. I will most probably be going to National Bookstore tomorrow to buy them, before heading to the Makati Post Office.

When I got home, I was really cautious not to further wrinkle the felt cloth that I’ve bought. I managed to get two kinds of cloth: the white one for the Ebay items and the black one for my own bags. I’ve been hoping to make dust bags for some of them, because they had none when I first bought them online. I was really happy I bought my mother a sewing machine because, ahem, I would no longer have to hand sew a lot of things, which I painstakingly did for a dust bag of an extra large tote bag. =D

Save for minor interruptions, I had no trouble with the Brother BM-2600 sewing machine and I was able to sew eight white felt cloth containers in just an hour. I was only able to use about half of the three yards I bought and I have honestly miscalculated because two of the garments need dust bags with the same capacity as the others. I still don’t know how they would hold up during the shipping, so I really need to buy bubble wrap to make sure they will arrive fine to the buyers. The last time I have shipped internationally, it was for two Gucci bags bound for Australia and the buyer got them within four working days. I am honestly very nervous of this new venture but I know deep inside that I have to get over my fear of international shipping if I were to successfully sell globally.

As for the black ones, they took a much longer time to be made because I had to attach velcro to make sure they would snugly close. I only managed to make two, which were for the ‘quite sensitive’ to humidity bags. The one for the Mulberry was not perfect, but it was still acceptable; but for the Coach one, the dust bag fits like a glove. =D If I have more time next week, I will be doing more for my other bags.

On a different note, it was bittersweet seeing the buyers send the payment to my PayPal account. A lot of them has sent payment within the day, but since I’m a new seller on Ebay.com, PayPal would have to hold my funds for 21 days. What does it mean to me? It means that I would have to shoulder first the shipping of all the items tomorrow and hope to the highest heavens that the buyers will like the item because I don’t want to be traumatized this early. Oh well, at least most of the items got sold and I will hopefully get a good selling history soon. Patience. Be good to me April, my birthday month! =D

Red, Green and Whimsical

March 8, 2013bryologue 2 Comments

Just as I have suspected, the seller did not turn the fish-eye effect off! Now that I have received this Tessuto Robot 2, it was evident that the robot did not have a bloated body, unlike the original auction photos. It was exactly as I expected and a little bit more. I thought that it only had one key hand, but it actually has both keys still intact. I immediately looked inside the zipped pocket, hoping to see the removed heatstamped mouth inside, but it was just wishful thinking. =D

But what I was most happy about was this Prada trick keychain included with the bag! Back in Halloween, when I got the nylon backpack, I contemplated over having one of these quirky tricks/charms to use on the D-ring. I couldn’t believe that it was just given for free! I loved that seller a lot! I was trying to decide what this gingerbread looking man was. A sailor? A nurse? Does it matter?LOL

I immediately recognized this little man because I remember looking at previous collections of Prada before and the Spring/Summer 2005 collection was accessorized with whimsical tricks. I think these were first made as brooches, attached on the lapels and front pockets, then eventually produced as keychains. I also like the airplane one attached on Racquel’s top.

(Photo from stylebistro.com)

I’m really delighted over this trick because it is extremely adorable! I can even attach it to my other bags for that added touch of playfulness in my otherwise stern-looking briefcases and messengers. It is my brightest bag yet and will fit nicely with the upcoming (or should I say, already happening) summer season!

And its first act was also something green. I have lots of empty PET bottles in the office and I don’t throw them out in the bin as much as possible. We also collect these things at home and bring them weekly to an area where they will be recycled. However, I was too lazy to bring them all home and my nephew even criticized me for not doing so. Since I already have a backpack with me, I decided to use the tessuto tote just once as an eco-bag for these PET bottles. =D

I had reservations before in using a tessuto robot tote, but the advent of eco-bag usage in Metro Manila recently will not make my tote look out of place! LOL I’ll just call it my more-flamboyant-than-usual-eco-bag