posted on May 14, 2001 07:38:59 PM
Another Canadian seller that keeps coming up in one of my searches for a certain item will also only accept US bidders and they have almost 650 feedback.
posted on May 14, 2001 07:53:44 PM
It is their default setting. Then they have the picture of the item first in the description and they state it right under the picture and then again at the end of the description before their TOS. They ship from Canada.
I have seen a few other sellers from Canada that state that they will not sell to Canadians.
posted on May 14, 2001 08:02:50 PM
Wow, that's truly bizarre. Since eBay Canada started up my Canuck bids have increased 10 fold. They don't often win, but their bids sure do help push the final price up. Just this week I did over $600 worth of business with a buyer in Calgary.
I can't imagine closing the doors to a potential customer, even if they are a Crazy Canuck.
posted on May 14, 2001 08:13:42 PM
"...it is a courtesy that the buyer is entitled to knowing that you have received his payment and when his parcel will be shipped.
It's called Customer Service."
Who writes up these rules? The buyers who have learned to walk all over sellers? lol.
I'll target the most profitable buyers and the one's who need the least service, then I'll take some of my profits and give them more value. God America is great!
posted on May 14, 2001 09:01:54 PM--Please e-mail me when item has been shipped
If you consider that a stupid request then you must include me in the stupid buyer group. Funny, I always thought I was just confirming the payment had arrived and the item was on its way. I'll just hope I don't deal with sellers that aren't able to handle my stupid requests.
FWIW, I always email the buyer after I've shipped whether I'm asked or not.
posted on May 14, 2001 09:16:27 PM
I want to clarify that even though I send cash for many of my purchases I do not request that the seller contact me when they receive payment though I do appreciate it.
When I sell I let the buyers know that I have received their payment and that their package has been mailed. I realize that there are no rules and I don't consider that a buyer is "walking all over me" when they make a simple request. Some buyers take a bit more time than others but it is no big deal to me.
reddeer, I'm not sure why some of them don't want to deal with fellow Canucks. With the duty charges, etc. I know that many Canadians will only bid on Canadian auctions. We welcome all bids.
quickdraw29, America is great but there is a big world out there and that will be our future.
posted on May 14, 2001 09:42:41 PMBreinhold-
"LLBean tells me exactly when my package will ship at the time I order it. If they are going to be late, they send me a postcard with the new ship date. Just good customer service."
And I suppose you don't believe that you have paid for that service with a padded shipping/handling charge?
shaani- "I sell but I have also purchased more than 300 items on ebay. Maybe the item I purchased for $3.00 (an old postcard of my hometown) cannot be replaced easily so I may ask for insurance. So that isn't a stupid request."
Yes, it is stupid. A $3.00 item is a $3.00 item. What, do you insure it for $150.00 because of sentimental value--even though it only cost you $3.00? Or perhaps you expect the USPS to actually scour garage sales and Ebay until they can replace the postcard itself? Think.
RB- "Some sellers are just too darn hard to get along with or too damn lazy and discourteous to provide an answer to their CUSTOMERS questions"
Firstly, my positive to neg feedback ratio is roughly 720 pos to 1 neg, and the negs are ALL retaliatory from deadbeat bidders.
So, I can certainly "get along" with my many happy customers.
Secondly, I answer bidders questions constantly--usually within a couple of hours, and often within an hour. I, however, DO NOT have unlimited time to spend on Ebay transactions and cannot add the time it takes to figure out whose item needs a warning before I send it! Nor do I have the time to send EVERY buyer an "item has been shipped" notice. And you know what? I've been doing just fine.
As far as this happening A LOT to me, it doesn't. Maybe 1 in 50 ask for this, but when you move a few hundred items a week, it is a hassle and an inconvenience.
Additionally, if anything happens to the buyers item, I assume responsability for it, PERIOD. So if the evil demon mail bandit takes off with their parcel because they weren't warned ahead of time by me that it was comiong---I cover it.
posted on May 14, 2001 10:24:35 PM
ladyfargo, I will admit that I have never asked for insurance on a $3.00 item and I do see the point that you are making. But if one of my bidders requested insurance on a $3.00 item and they were willing to pay it I would do it to make them happy.
I have spent a lot of time on ebay in the last few years and I am noticing more and more that many of the sellers are getting longer and longer TOS statements. There seems to be an anger towards bidders and it is very much reflected in the TOS and I also see a lot of it on the boards.
I sell on ebay and my husband does also. We realize that there are problem bidders but that is all part of doing business. For four months of every year I am only a buyer on ebay.
I have had good experiences for the most part but now I mostly buy from sellers that do not have hundreds of auctions running at one time as they give me the best service. Newer sellers are also very good to deal with. I guess they haven't been jaded yet by all the rules and problems?
posted on May 14, 2001 10:47:48 PM
It seems pretty obvious by the response received by most of the sellers who don't take the time to e-mail the buyer when the item is shipped, why they are seling on eBay, and NOT in a B@M business...If I had "customer service" like that from a busines/seller, I would never come back for another purchase!!!
We always take the 15-30 seconds it takes to inform a buyer of "item shipped"...wasted time?...maybe, but we sell unique items, and don't try to fight the "trends" that most sellers do....Razors? Pokemon?...no thank you!!!
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on May 14, 2001 11:01:49 PM
I always have to laugh at people who use the comparison "if this were a brick and mortar business, blah, blah, blah...". At no point do most sellers try to pretend they ARE a full blown business.
Most sellers, like myself, do Ebay on the side and have full time jobs and families to tend to. If that brick and mortar store you keep refering to was run by one guy who had to work fulltime away from the store AND had a family to take care of, I doubt HIS service would be as awe inspiring as you are expecting it to be.
I know there will now be a string of people bragging about how they too have families, but still manage to send these notices. To that I say, so what! I DON'T have the time, yet I still have an exceptionally good rating and customer satisfaction reputation. Maybe YOU are wasting more time than you need to be. You could probably be spending more time with your family instead of catering to your buyers every whim.
posted on May 14, 2001 11:22:44 PM
Since Customer Service is dead, or at least severely wounded, NOT telling a customer when an item ships is really the pits. I use the shipment notice for several things: 1st- to thank the customer for their business and ask them to check my auctions next time they are shopping, 2nd- to give the customer the tracking or delivery confirmation number, 3rd- to tell the customer I'm going to give them positive feedback and say I would appreciate the same. I may only just be getting ready to break 500; but have many, many repeat buyers. AFTER ALL without customers it gets mighty lonely out there.
posted on May 14, 2001 11:28:21 PM
Business is Business..don't matter if u are full-time, B&M, or just casual...keeping the customer happy is the thing that will bring them back!!
If you don't have the "time" to satisfy your customer, you are in the wrong bidness!!
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on May 14, 2001 11:34:43 PM
The best: One customer bought an item, took 2 weeks to pay, payed through Paypal, emailed me to let me know and included in his email "any similar items you might have please send them also and I will pay you later..."
Others: One took one and a half months to pay for a magazine, he never responded to any of my (5) emails, then one day out of the blue he emails me for the total, I don't answer the same day and he emails me again that night saying if by the next night I don't email him the total and how to pay he'll report me to ebay.
And there are many more.....Oh, and of course the "I was very sick/in the hospital" or the "A relative passed away" These seem to be very common "reasons" for lengthy periods before a payment is made. For those that truly go through family emergencies, I don't mean any disrespect.
posted on May 14, 2001 11:57:59 PMnanntique, if you'll stop patting yourself on the back for just a second...
I don't need an "item has been shipped" notice to thank my customers for their business.
I instead;
1) have no auction page bells and whistles to waste my customers download time
2) have clear pics and concise item descriptions (only 3 lines of TOS)
3) answer all questions within a couple of hours or less (and am available in last hour of auctions for same)
4) notify them of their win within 2 hours of auction's end
5) do not overcharge on shipping
6) don't waste their money on tracking and delivery confirmation(I cover all items personally, and if I feel it should be insured for my sake, I pay it)
7) mail item as soon as I get payment, including checks.
8) leave them positive feedback once payment is received
9) offer money back, including postage both ways if they're not happy
MOST sellers cannot match my efficiency and turnaround. THAT is my thanks to my customers---and they all seem pretty happy with me, "item has been shipped" notice or not.
So don't preach to me about what "great" customer service YOU have, all because I don't hold the buyers hand all the way through. I doubt half of the critics here go as far as I do with these other, more important points in a transaction.
I'm sorry, but I believe you misunderstand my post. I was not attacking your business habits, but merely commenting on what I use the 'shipping email' for, and therefore why I don't consider it (the shipping email) a stupid request since I try to turn it in to a mutually useful interface. I was not patting anyone on the back or running anyone down, but merely communicating an idea. I thought communication of ideas and insight was the reason for this message board. Hope YOUR list did not take your arm too far out of joint................ lol
[ edited by nanntique on May 15, 2001 12:47 AM ]
Who writes up these rules? The buyers who have learned to walk all over sellers? lol.
I chose to start emailing my customers to keep them up to date on OUR transaction. My buyers did not force me into doing this. I do this voluntarily and it has paid off BIG TIME. So no, this does not mean the buyers are walking all over the sellers. My buyers have learned to APPRECIATE this.
Ladyfargo:
You state: if you'll stop patting yourself on the back for just a second...
....but then in the next breath you make a huge long post stating what a wonderful and efficient seller you are, down to the point of numbering all your "qualities". Perhaps you could take your own advice?
I am not saying that someone who does NOT email their customers is "bad", I'm simply stating that since I've STARTED emailing my customers to let them know the status of the transaction, it has paid off in a very good way. For 2 years I did not want to "bother" with emailing my customers every step of the way either - I simply did not have the time. But I found a program that only takes a few seconds a day and allows me to email my customers to let them know (1) payment was recieved and (2) item has shipped.
I now get awesome feedback, many more emails from pleased customers just thanking me for a wonderful transaction, and more repeat customers than ever, because of the communication. I never would have believed it until I tried it. I now wouldn't do business any other way.
We all have our own ways of doing business. Whether we agree with what works for the other person, we should not cut them down.
I cannot believe there are posters here who are cutting down sellers just because they have decided to inform their customers of the status of their transaction.
Only here can you get cut down for NOT having customer service on one thread, and then FOR having great customer service on another thread... geesh.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on May 15, 2001 05:00 AM ]
posted on May 15, 2001 05:54:36 AM
"(The "please e-mail me when item is shipped" is very common and particularly annoying.)"
I am just glad that customers email me and that they bid in the first place.
Before I rented a post box I appreciated getting notice of sending for a few reasons.
The mailman would leave the package on the ground in front of my mailbox, even when raining. He has rubberbanded 3-4 pound book
packages to my flag. He has forced "Do Not Bend" packages 9 X 12 into my standard mailbox. If I had some idea when it was sent, I could time it and watch for arrival.
Now I appreciate it because my trip to the post office is 8 miles round trip. One BIN Christmas purchase was received two weeks after I had it sent priority, paying EOA by cc. This wasn't the PO, just the seller sending it as though the auction hadn't ended!
posted on May 15, 2001 06:07:20 AM
I can only say that for the last 2 years or so that I've been using eBay (as a buyer only), I've had nothing but successful transactions.
That being said, I only check the current auctions of 1 of those sellers. I've even bid on a few of her other items. Why? Because she sells items I'm particularly interested in? No, not at all. It is because she set herself apart with outstanding (and pleasant) communication throughout the entire transaction. If I'm left to guess that payment was received or the item was shipped, I am more uncomfortable with the transaction and far less likely to go out of my way to do repeat business with the seller. In that I deal with fairly low dollar value items, I wouldn't specifically ask for payment or shipment confirmation. Such a request though, particularly on high dollar (and that's entirely in the mind of the buyer) items, would not be stupid.
posted on May 15, 2001 06:12:03 AM
I also let my buyers know when I've received their payment and when their item has been shipped. Since they are trusting me enough to send me money, a complete stranger and not a big name established company, I think it's important.
With the right auction management software, it's easy enough.
If you have the time to ship hundreds of packages per week, answer questions within a couple of hours, send out all your EOA notices within a couple of hours, then there is certainly time for those extra emails that you don't have time for.
But it's your choice, of course.
Sorry, I don't get that many stupid requests, but I do remember one from last year. Guy emails me 1 hour before the auction was due to end. I wasn't even home at the time much less at my computer. The auction was a set of mass market paperbacks and it was listed as such in the ad. So the email was to ask if the paperbacks were the small ones or the big ones. Maybe the guy really didn't know that the mass market paperbacks were the small ones, I don't know. And they didn't generally publish fiction in trade size when these were published anyway.
I'm not certain what was the stupid part though.
1. The bidder expecting me to be at my computer to immediately answer his question before the auction ended.
2. That the information he wanted was right in the auction itself.
3. That he actually went ahead and bid and won without receiving an answer to his question since I didn't return home until after the auction had ended.
posted on May 15, 2001 06:29:00 AM
I see nothing wrong with a customer asking about being told when their item is being shipped. I do this routinely anyway. I just think it is nice and besides some people have had their packages stolen from their door step and want to be on the watch.
I emailed a seller once after waiting over a month for an item asking for the status. She emailed me back telling me to stop harassing her! Last time I ever looked at her auctions. Oh yes, at the time she had at least 1400 in feedback. makes you wonder.
Actually, I answer all questions regardless if I think they are 'dumb' or not. They are not dumb to the asker. I figure the only dumb question is one that is not asked.
This wasn't a question, but it was annoying. A bidder emailed me and starting giving me a bunch of garbage about how he has never paid more than XXX for an item I had for auction and that I should sell it to him for that amount. The best part was that he did not even bid on it! I didn't even waste my time replying. I just hit the delete key.
posted on May 15, 2001 06:42:58 AMA bidder emailed me and starting giving me a bunch of garbage about how he has never paid more than XXX for an item I had for auction and that I should sell it to him for that amount.
I forgot about this one! I had the same thing happen with an audiobook I was selling last year. Guy emailed me before the auction was even over and offered me 50 cents less than my asking price if no one bid on it. The only mistake I made was responding to him, politely, that his bid would be more than welcome. Auction ended without bids, he contacts me again and insists he wants it, but for 50 cents less. I tell him I'm going to relist it. He emails back and wants to know what my problem is because I won't sell it to him at the price he wants to pay. Goes on to say he's never paid more than $x.xx for anything on eBay and he won't. Then I finally got smart and just hit the delete key.
posted on May 15, 2001 07:02:11 AM
ladyfargo ... any chance you could post your eBay Seller's ID here? I want to make sure I don't accidently bid on any of your stuff.
posted on May 15, 2001 07:18:14 AM
I may have missed this along the way, coming in late in the thread, but I haven't seen anyone mention any automated services that allow you to email your customers automatically. I use a service that keeps all my auctions in a spread sheet format, emails them when they win the bid, allows them to email me directly with any questions, and when I ship, I check them off (all at once if I'm shipping more than one item that day), and the service automatically emails them and let's them know I've received their payment, I'm shipping, and that I've left them feedback (feedback is also left automatically, by the way). It asks for them to please leave feedback as well when they've received the item. Definitely a timesaver, and it gives the buyer all the information they could possibly need.
posted on May 15, 2001 07:39:09 AM
I hate this request:
I sent the payment on Tuesday, so if you don't get it by next Monday please email me and let me know its not there.
But for the sellers who email when the payment arrives and again when the item ships. I cannot imagine why you would do that. Those events should both occur on the same day, so just email once, payment received & item shipped.
