eBay Adventure – Firing Your Bad Customers

                I have received an email from a customer who wants a discount on an already worn, discounted item. I have told her that I could not honor her request for 3-4 reasons. Below is the synopsis of my response:

                Thanks for the correspondence and concern but I will not give you a discount and these are my 3 reasons.

·         First, the stilts price was originally $100. I agreed to your $65 best offer bid. That was already a 35% discount.

·         Second, I also extended my shipping deadline to accommodate you because you were on vacation. My normal shipment was 2 business days. I shipped on Saturday which was not a business day and outside the original scope of what I did for my other customers. You mentioned vacation after purchase.

·         Third, my description clearly stated worn and I priced my merchandise as such.

·         My store policy clearly stated no returns. I made no misconceptions about the material or my policies. I had accommodated your shipping request and accepted a deeply discounted item.

I had a situation like this before and eBay sided with me because I made no misrepresentation. Also you would have to explain to eBay how your telling me that you have been on vacation post-purchase would be in your favor. All of our correspondence was through eBay and that would be used in the decision-making process.

What I have learned throughout my 120 days on eBay, that sometimes you have to fire your customers because they are trying to take advantage of you. As a seller, never become a doormat!

Visit my eBay store at www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6.

The NBA Hall of Famers are Right to Call Out LeBron!

Michael Jordan and Ervin 'Magic' Johnson are absolutely right for calling out LeBron James as a follower who does not have the heart to compete against his other NBA rivals! One, LeBron will not win a ring in Miami for three reasons: 1) he is no longer the leader who cannot make 100% of the decisions, 2) in between him, D. Wade and Chris Bosh there are too many egos on this team and 3) friends and business do not mix. Unlike Yahoo! Sports blogger Trey Kerby who has neither won a literary award nor won a championship, Jordan and Magic are not complaining. These two men have 10 championship rings to LeBron's 0 rings! Furthermore, when MJ arrived in Chicago, the Bulls were not contenders. He made them one by winning 6 titles! Moreover, both MJ and Magic are astute businessmen. This commonality directly derives from them not quitting when things go bad! Magic Johnson has amassed a $500 million dollar business empire. Michael Jordan's staying in Chicago has taught him to stick it out in the hypercompetitive business world. This is the reason why Jordan now owns his own NBA franchise the Charlotte Bobcats! This translates into money or in James' case the loss of money. This week it has been reported that James is no longer a top-3 endorser slipping to #4. This is crucial because companies will not pay as much for him as a follower versus LeBron as a leader. Dwayne will get all of the money! I doubt that LeBron will ever make it to this MJ's and Magic's sports and business levels because he has bailed out of a tough situation. This character trait reappears in business. Finally, what MJ and Magic think about LeBron matters because it leads to my third point: NBA Hall of Fame entry. Current Hall of Famers determine future Hall of Famers. If MJ and Magic words are any indication, LeBron James will not receive enough votes for entry. In between, the loss of respect, money and Hall of Fame status, there is no way LeBron will ever win a championship or recapture the credibility everyone once had in him!