eBay Seller Gives Paws Down to Pet-Free Home Pitch

by: FeelingFroggy

Love cats. Saying in our house is if you quiver at the thought of a cat hair in your potatoes then stay home and don't bother us. We have nine cats that own us. They have free run. Never had a complaint of cat hair in or on any item

We don't have a smoke free home. There is a big difference between shipping something with a cat hair on it and shipping something with the disgusting stench of old cigerette smoke. The cat hair we pick off. The item with the stench of smoke gets sent back and seller gets a donut.

Most buyers know we have cats as we have many many items posted with a cat or two in the picture. Darn things are so nosy its easier to just include them.

by: iheartjacksparrow

As a person who is so allergic to animal dander that I've been unable to breathe in some pet stores (I feed the songbirds in my garden so I'm forced to do in pet stores to get seed), I would never purchase anything posed with a cat.

The only photos I ever remember being a hit on eBay were the ones where you could see a naked seller taking the photo in the reflection off a shiny object.  

by: FeelingFroggy

@jack

Try buying your seed at Chewy.Com they have the best prices around and free shipping to boot. No more pet stores.

by: imbloated

I sold my dining room table that way, but that was on craigslist. As long as the object looks clean, it's a good idea. It gives a heads up to those with allergies, and it's cute.

by: Lois

Yes, but Jacksparrow, I should think you'd be glad to know the person clearly has a cat so you'll know not to buy from him/her. It's all the rest of the sellers who do not pose their items with cats - or dogs - that you might consider being more concerned about, because you just don't know!

by: comet

We  have  furry  and  feathered  friends--three  noisy  birds one of which  is  constantly  carried  about  a la pirate style  by  a grand kid;  four  guinea  pigs;  two  bunnies;  a  degu;  a bearded  dragon; three  dogs  and  10  chickens.  Not  getting  rid  of  them  for  ebays  picky  buyers!  I  sell mostly  clothing  and I  buy  a lot  of lint  rollers;  keep  things  in  those heavy  duty  plastic  vac  bags;  and  have not had  any  issues  with pet hair.  No  smoking  but  I have gotten  things that REEK  of smoke--some  where the  seller  sez  they have a No Smoking  Home!  We  also  have  4  asthma  people here  so  I  do not appreciate  this.  

Maybe  I  should start  taking  pics  with a bird or  three or  a few  chickens  or a  piggy  or  bunny  in  them and  see what  happens!  Research!!!!

by: Rexford

If eBay were really "just a platform" the seller should be able to have the freedom to position his store and photographs as he/she pleases. Of course we all know that this is not the case.

Will eBay crack down on this "offender" at the risk of alienating pet owners and having a public relations nightmare?  I highly doubt it.

If said cat has indeed reached celebrity status, the seller could easily transition off of eBay, using the cat as a huge draw. The branding opportunities would be endless.

by: Snapped

According to Garfield (tm), cat videos were the reason they invented the internet.

But no, after numerous undeserved sanctions based on unsupported mere allegations of rule infractions when I was selling on this hypocritical venue, I would suggest avoiding even the appearance of breaking any 'rules'.

Besides, I'm not Chinese, and don't have a cat.    

by: MRV

I love it!

Great Forbes article.  I recall some vintage clothing sellers who would often pose with a small dog in their pics.  They all had similar stories - the dog would wander in during the shoot, they'd include a few pics for fun, and their sales would shoot up.

I've been playing around with the staging for my vintage jewelry lately and may try the cat idea, since I have several.

by: toolguy

"The photos also break the rules about having a white background only."

Is this a fact?

Almost all of my listings are on a white background.

by: Rexford

Try shooting a white item on a white background.  Stupid, stupid rule.

by: NetSellsIt

I think searchable item specifics for Pet Free, Odor Free, and Smoke Free would be appreciated by many buyers.  We say it in our description but about 15% of our buyer/bidder questions ask this specifically.  As with about 50% of all our questions that could have been answered by reading our description, each one of those productivity robbing interrupts reduces the number of items we could have listed during that time.  

Canned cut/paste answers help and allow a small chance to increase bidder confidence with a prompt and courteous answer.

I'll bet pet/odor/smoke sensitive buyers ask the same question for every listing they are considering.  The productivity hit for unnecessary questions applied across every listing and every seller is staggering.

Searchable pet/odor/smoke attributes would be welcome by both Buyers and Sellers.

(This suggestion made to eBay at least 6 times in the last 10 years.  Don't hold your breath.)

by: a_c_green

AFAIK, the white background is a ''guideline'' or a request, but not a rule. (Amazon? Maybe. eBay? No.)

Shooting against a white background can be tricky since your typical point-and-shoot camera (or smartphone) is going to try to even out the exposure across the entire frame, and thus the white background ends up darkening if not silhouetting the object in the center. I use a neutral (50%) gray towel as a backdrop in my listing photos, and have never had any problems with that.

by: Rexford

Odor Free item specific? Most everything has an odor, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Talking about opening up a box of problems if that were implemented.

Didn't they experiment with color "shade".  Another disaster.

by: leathermermaid8

to me, it only makes sense to include pets in some auction photos.  As others have suggested, if you got allergies, it makes it easy to bypass a listing.  

Besides that, every seller is trying to make their  listing stand out.  Might as well put "family" to work.  and I have three dogs, myself.

Some Craigslist photos are, umm VERY telling.  Items surrounded by junk, dirty rugs, dirtier backyards, etc.  A hard core collector goes in prepared.  Those with delicate sensibilities go seek the meaning of life elsewhere.

I'd rather be aware of an item's environment so I can prepare accordingly.  Like opening the box OUTSIDE, with rubber gloves and a bucket of suitable cleaning supplies.  Even post offices have roaches and bedbugs these days.

As for the teapot man, another good reason for gloves and scrub brush!  

Please eBay, go fix something that really needs fixing.  

by: Marie

To my knowledge Ebay does not "require" a white background on pictures.  There are lots and lots of pics on Ebay that don't have white backgrounds.  I know it was talked about a few times, but I'm not aware that it every became a rule.  Does anyone have a link to the policy that states we must have white backgrounds?

by: Rexford

Marie, I think that you are right regarding the background colors. I remember this being proposed, but if it went into effect, it has never been enforced. I haven't heard anything else about it directly from eBay.

by: Barbbie

Ebay does not have a white background requirement.
Amazon has a very specific white background requirement.