I
have seen many eBay policy changes over the years
but the one that personally hurt me was the policy
against digital delivery. I used to sell many
pre-made templates which helped offset overheads
and enabled me to offer my custom store designs at
an affordable price for small ebay sellers. The
time I can spend designing a store can take up to
5 days or longer so the fee charged is minimal
compared to the time I may put in.
As my
premade templates were sent initially via email
due to the policy change all digital deliveries
had to be delivered on a CD. Appart from the
increased costs in this type of delivery I found
it time consuming and completely unnecessary.
Burning to CD and running to the Post Office
everyday was unproductive and took up much of my
time which was better spent at the computer
designing. I decided that I would concentrate on
custom orders only and only occassionally do I now
offer premade templates.
The
loss of additional income however from the premade
templates meant that to be viable I would need to
increase my prices so I decided to start
selling retail. This ultimately led me to opening
another store i.e. "TheHealthChest" where I sell
many and varied health and weight loss items.
Within 6 months that store developed into a Power
Seller store.
As My
Wow It Up store had little in it as I no longer
was listing premade templates I set out to find a
complimentary product that I could retail there.
Throughout this time I was approached by another
seller to act for them as a trading assistant
selling software (yes I am also an eBay trading
assistant and a eBay partner). As I had done many
times before I started marketing this software but
to my shock and dismay after several sales buyers
were reporting back that the software was fake. At
the time this caused me much stress and loss of
sleep and as a consequence I will no longer take
on any selling items as a trading assistant that
could prove to be counterfeit at a later date nor
will I put my stores good name in jeopardy by
selling on behalf of others through either of my
stores.
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Anyway it was a learning
curve and all buyers were refunded
fully and thankfully I maintained my 100% feedback due
mainly to my quick settlement and communication
with buyers. Even though this software (Microsoft Office Professional 2007 at the
time) was proven to be copied and counterfeit
I noticed how successful the sales
were and this set me on a path to obtain
and sell real genuine software. I
looked at selling MSO
Professional and started watching other sellers items
and soon learnt that up to 90% being sold
on eBay was indeed counterfiet often with sellers coming
and going very quickly. Unfortunately not
all sellers were or are aware that
the software they are selling is
counterfeit as many of
the suppliers (mainly from China) seem to be
genuine and promise that they are but quickly
dissappear when complaints start to surface. |
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There are several websites offering
cheap software but they are selling counterfeits
also and I believe are being operated by the
same company in China.
Over several months I
researched the Microsoft Professional suits
through Microsoft and their agents and registered
as a Microsoft partner in
Australia. I quickly learned what to
look for and what to avoid
and can now easily pick listings selling counterfeit but
unfortunately many buyers cannot and end up with non
genuine software. Many copies are being sold to
sellers from as little as $20.00 and are
shipped from China and some ebay sellers see it as
a quick way to make a huge profit. It would make
you wonder however how any seller could believe
they are buying and selling genuine Microsoft
products at that price and you would think alarm
bells should be ringing.
After buying, testing and trialing
many copies from many suppliers and at considerable
cost I found a supplier in the U.S.
which could be relied upon to supply genuine MSO.
I had a slight advantage I found after consulting
with Microsoft approved agents because I
am an educator and this fact resulted in me being
able to buy the Academic version in bulk. I have
to tell you throughout all my research and trialing
I have not yet found a commercial version that
can be sold much cheaper than your retail outlets
even though there are many for sale on eBay
selling for ridiculous prices and I would not trust one
to be a genuine copy.
Knowing what I know I would not buy
any personal or commercial version on eBay. The
counterfeit copies are using volume license keys
which is illegal and can later be picked up (up to
6 months later). Some sellers rely on this delay
as their feedback has been received and there is
no recourse the buyer can make after 6 months has
elasped.
I am extremely happy that I can offer a
money back guarantee on any software I
sell and that the copies of Microsoft
Office Professional 2007 are the real thing and buyers
can buy confidently. I have also sourced
genuine Adobe products which have passed all our
trials as being authentic.
My aim is to become one
of the largest Microsoft and Adobe sellers on eBay
Australia with all products being
authentic and guaranteed genuine so buyers
know they can buy with confidence. Our
feedback growth on these sales is already
assisting me in that regard.
Well all the
above is about my eBay life but I do have another. My
husband and I live on our cruiser on the Hawkesbury
River and love our lifestyle. My husband
is retired and I am semi retired working from
home selling and designing stores on
eBay. I am a proud Aussie born and
bred. We recently purchased a caravan and want to
do the grey nomad thing around Australia at a
later date. Hopefully we can do this within the
next couple of years and I will take my trusty
computer with me and continue my design work on
the road wherever I go. When the time comes I will
work on how to keep retail sales whilst
travelling.
Not
sure if I have a hobby appart from Ebay but our
lifestyle is very social and it may seem terrible
but we enjoy eating good food and drinking fine
wines often with a line hanging over the side.
If
you are thinking of having a store design or
perhaps just a customised selling template please
visit my Portfolio page to view some of my
designed stores.
If
you have found your way here whilst looking for
software please be assured that you can buy with
confidence from any of my selling items. There is
no need to hesitate if you are thinking of buying
any software as a gift for someone as I can assure
you that all our software is the real thing.
Please shop with confidence in either of my stores
and you can always contact me with any questions
you might have.
Cheers Wendy
