There are some things we all do which in the end lose us money and customers, wasting time and making life miserable. Hardly conducive to a good working environment. Problems take your mind off work, limits your growth, they must be prevented. These tips will help:

* If something isn't in perfect condition, don't pretend it is. You'll only cause disappointment, poor feedback, reports to eBay and PayPal and lots of requests for money back refund. While you shouldn't, legally or ethically, list a poor quality item as perfect, there are actually benefits to highlighting the faults in your product. The legendary, Jo Karbo, mail order millionaire and author of Lazy Man's Way to Riches, first brought my attention to this technique of all but 'rubbishing' your goods. In that book and others he wrote about mail order, Karbo explained that overtly revealing the faults in your product made the seller look more credible, more honest, and Karbo found his own products selling in much greater quantities with faults mentioned than without. In one sales letter, for golf balls, he mentioned these being quality balls, bearing the owner's initials, but he also revealed them as no easier to find when lost than ordinary golf balls. Notice the subliminal effect that word 'ordinary' has on the balls on sale, both lifting their perceived value and making those tiny faults go almost unnoticed. In reality Karbo's faults weren't always faults at all, all Karbo wanted was to gain credibility, which he did by acknowledging these tiny imperfections which might otherwise go unnoticed!

* Staying with the previous tip, you must also realise that what you class as perfect others might consider badly damaged; what you consider damaged someone else will view as a vintage collectible 'in perfect condition commensurate with age'!!! In short, perception varies between people, often dramatically. Sometimes this is reflected in negative feedback, such as:

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'Perfect Item' seller said but It is Badly Damaged.

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Seller reported to eBay for describing this postcard in good condition!

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There is a way round this problem of perception varying between buyer and seller, and simply involves adding something like what follows to your auction description. Notice I always make it very clear I won't be leaving feedback for the buyer until that person has left feedback for me which protects me against negative feedback being left because perceptions vary. This is my wording (for vintage postcards), feel free to adapt it to your business:

Condition of Bidding. We strive to describe items to the best of our ability. However descriptions are subjective and no two persons' opinions may ever completely coincide. Please be aware that we always err on the side of caution, so a card in what some consider excellent condition, we will list as 'good condition', in which case no one should be disappointed. 'No major faults' for us means condition that is commensurate with age, without glaring creases or holes, but could mean minor bruising exists at corners for example. Please always check scans which we aim to make as clear as possible. All items are subject to money back refund. Please leave feedback when you are happy with the transaction and we will reciprocate.

* Don't complain about other sellers just for the hell of it or to help cut your competition on eBay. Be aware that all complaints are revealed to people against whom those complaints are made and this is not a private communication - your eBay ID will be included as complainant. So it follows, if your complaint is out of pure spite or belligerence you could earn yourself an enemy for life. And no doubt lots of complaints, negatives, spanners in the works from less forgiving victims. That's time wasted and very bad for your image if someone decides to enlist outsiders to buy your products, leave negative feedback and complain about you to eBay and PayPal.

* People with hundreds or thousands of listings can get inundated with questions from fellow eBayers and end up spending more time providing answers than actively listing or seeking new products to sell. Time is limited in any business and very often roughly the same questions are asked again and again, and again. Let these tips help you avoid wasting time this way:

i) Questions relating to your listings, one-off or FAQs, can be answered inside your listing to benefit other visitors and prevent the same questions appearing again. For one-off listings, such as a unique collectible or rare item, answer the question inside your eBay account and tick the box beneath the answer which says 'Post this question and response on my listing so all buyers can see it. Once posted, it can't be edited'. That way everyone visiting your listing will see it.

If the question applies to items sold on a regular basis this indicates a deficiency in your product description. Solve the problem by providing the information inside your listing and use this template for future listings.