eBay PowerSeller Sells Ruby Ring with Cough Drop as Stone?

We've been buying and selling on eBay since 1999 and have a 100 percent positive feedback record. We admit that we're proud that eBay PowerSeller Secrets is among the top-selling eBay books on both Amazon and http://barnesandnoble.com.

Marketing and PR people like us because we like talking about our work even more than producing it. So we actively promote our books on and off the Internet. A big PR firm in NYC gave us some pretty impressive media training, so Deb at least is comfortable in front of the TV (giving interviews, not just watching it). Even with the fancy training, Brad's speed is more radio and print. Deb's traveled for author's tours (while Brad cowered at home in an agorophobic stupor), and Deb's given many seminars about selling on eBay, (while Brad looked on in appreciation because he didn't have to do it). Do you see any patterns here?

If after reading this you'd STILL like to contact us for more information about any of our books, or to discuss new projects, we're at: brads87901@aol.com http://bradanddeb.com/

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Some eBay buyers will try anything to rip-off a seller. Read on and see what we mean.

A PowerSeller who sells jewelry told us some incredible stories when we were interviewing for our just-published book, eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas (McGraw-Hill).

One of his buyers ordered an expensive ruby ring. He returned it however, because he was dissatisfied with it. When they got the ring back our PowerSeller friends examined the ruby because it looked unusual. Turns out the buyer had replaced it with a Luden’s cough drop!

Another of his customers bought an expensive watch, and like the cough drop guy was dissatisfied for some reason. When he examined the returned watch the seller saw signs that the watch had been opened. Sure enough, the buyer had replaced the expensive watch movement that had been in there with one that was much cheaper!

We wouldn’t just tell you these stories without offering some advice for what eBay sellers can do to protect themselves against these kinds of crooks.

Security Mark Your Items. Some savvy sellers use ultraviolet pens to mark every item they sell before shipping it. These pens are available right on eBay. You can’t see the mark they leave until you put the item under an ultraviolet light. This could come in quite handy if you suspect someone has replaced one of your items with another one of lesser value.

Block Undesirable Bidder: Did you know you could prevent bidd4rds with too much negative feedback (or no feedback at all for that matter) from even bidding on your auction? When you designate your selling preferences through eBay you can screen out bidders who you’d rather not do business with.

See our book eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas for more strategies. And if you’re looking for PowerSeller advice on the best way to do things from sourcing products to shipping them see our previous book eBay PowerSeller Secrets.

About the Authors:
Brad and Debra Schepp have written about cutting-edge technologies for more than 20 years. They are the authors of ten books, and their work has been featured in publications such as Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, and U.S. News and World Report. They have been online since 1984, and buying and selling on eBay since 1999. Their most recent book is eBay PowerSeller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay's Most Successful Sellers, published by McGraw-Hill (2004) and available through retailers such as Amazon