posted on May 15, 2001 07:42:37 AM new
Howdy Ladyfargo,
Along with the 9 points you just mentioned, I also notify the buyer of when the item will ship, or maybe I notify them just after it shipped. Normally, I leave feedback, send a notification that I received payment, and when it will ship, all at one time. With a good auction management software, doing this is no more difficult than what you already are doing. I think maybe the key differences are that I don't wait for checks to clear, leave feedback without any other conditions than having received the payment, and I also deal with a lot of regular customers for whom I'll ship upon confirmation of the transaction rather than waiting for payment.
I do agree with you, however, that many (maybe not most), eBay sellers don't even come close to the standards that you set. That's why my eBay purchases have gone from over ten thousand dollars last year to under one hundred dollars this year.
Peter
posted on May 15, 2001 08:04:33 AM newBut 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.
I agree,
If I receive payment via BP/PP, then I only notify the customer the date the item is shipped.
If I receive payment via check/money order, then I have a single email which says, "I received payment & your item was shipped today.". Both of these are automated letters which can be accessed & sent in under a minute.
posted on May 15, 2001 08:37:44 AM new
Gee, not all of us sellers run to the post office every day to ship packages, so therefore, it's quite possible to receive payment on Monday, for example, and not ship until Tuesday or Wednesday. That would be one reason for sending out 2 separate emails.
Have you considered adding into your TOS "Don't ask me to e-mail you when item has been shipped." If that is such a particularly annoying request for you then those terms will cut down on your workload. You might even make it more pointed to drive stupid buyers away "Don't be stupid and ask me to e-mail you when item has been shipped."
Personally I think you could be dealing with an IQ over 135 and have them make such a 'stupid request' unless you state otherwise. Perhaps you need to educate your buyers about 'stupid requests'.
posted on May 15, 2001 09:06:49 AM new
I CAME IN HER TO ASK A LEGIMATE QUESTION, AND CAME ACROSS THIS. IT REALLY TEES ME OFF. I HOPE I NEVER GET SO BIG THAT I DON'T HAVE NORMAL CONSIDERATION FOR SELLER OR BUYER.I HAVEN'T BEEN ON VERY LONG, BUT I HAVE BEEN BOTH BUYER AND SELLER. Now ,I want to know when my item is comming, if the seller doesn't have since enough to add when they will be shipping. I always answer my auctions promptly. Whether buying or selling!!!Usually before I get an email from buyer or seller. I always send payment immediately when I buy. I live in a rural area. Of course I WANT TO KNOW WHEN MY ITEM WILL BE HERE.. I AM DISABLED AND THE MAILPERSON HAS TO BRING ITEMS TO MY DOOR.Even if I lived in the city I wouldn't want to leave packages unintended at the door or outside.Come on people where is all the manners gone? So what does it hurt to put when you are shipping in your e-mail letter you want your money. Why not take the time. I am glad that is not my policy....I AM GLAD MY STUPID MONEY ISN'T GOING TO YOU.. Joyce
[ edited by frenchyy007 on May 15, 2001 09:22 AM ]
Okay, you do admit that you post feedback the day that payment is received. Then I don't think that it is necessary to also e-mail as the buyer will know their package is being shipped. If your buyers are mostly happy then you must be doing your job alright.
You also state that MOST sellers cannot match your efficiency and turnaround. I am not sure where you get your stats on that one?
Everyone runs their business the best way that works for them and I think that many of the problems that arise are because buyers don't read everything and also some of them are very nervous about dealing with strangers.
We have a B&M store and we get asked stupid questions on a daily basis so we get used to it. Many of these same people spend a lot of money and are return customers.
posted on May 15, 2001 09:22:38 AM new
This whole bit about email me when you get the payment is kinda silly. I KNOW for a fact that not one in 200 peices of mail are "late", so your chances of sending a payment, and the seller not getting when he should are less than 0.5% Emails asking for notification if receit of payments come from PARANOID buyers who expect the worst. Make this the norm (and it is NOT the norm, like someone else said, maybe 1 out 30 or 40 buyers even make a request like this.) and expect to see s&h charges on small (ie. less than 10.00) deals to go up, and then we'll have a s&h gouging thread.
That said (and putting on my flame proof suit ), I do make emails like this on deals that involve hundreds of dollars, without even being asked, but on small deals, I only do it if I'm asked, and if you asked me, you could NEVER tell from my answer that it annoys me to have to do several emails to complete a $10.00 deal.
Someone is going to say something about my customer service should be the same reguardless of how much money someone spends, but, JUST LIKE ebay, I treat big spenders better. I can justify spending an hour or two (and a LD phone call if warrented) wrapping up a $200 deal, but on a $10 deal???
posted on May 15, 2001 09:25:53 AM newExecutiveGirl:
My last post was in response to someone who:
A) was patting themselves on the back for sending shipping notices, and
B) innumerated the reasons why the e-mail is so great
I was merely responding in similar fashion, up to and including the hornblowing.
And regarding your statemtn:
"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."
I never cut anyone down for sending the notices. Iwas simply saying that the request by buyers for this was a bit annoying, THEN I was attacked by these poor, other sellers. Get your arguments straight. You sure proved that there wasn't one part of my post that you understood.
shaani: "You also state that MOST sellers cannot match your efficiency and turnaround. I am not sure where you get your stats on that one?"
I don't NEED stats on that! NO seller could possibly beat my turnaround--unless they ship before the payment is received! As far as efficiency; My customers can expect extreme accuracy in my listings AND fast shipping at a very reasonable rate. They can expect feedback to be left immediately following receipt of payment, as well as no concerns about insurance and/or tracking expenses.
posted on May 15, 2001 09:31:56 AM new
This seems to have crossed into personal attacks here and adds nothing to the discussion.
Though I know as a buyer I would not ever by from someone again who gets upset about something in email (and shows it in a e-mail reply or their TOS) even if they ship the item within 5 seconds of getting my payment.
posted on May 15, 2001 09:32:24 AM new
ladyfargo, you don't have to tell me to "get real".
You seem very antagonistic and I don't know why. You did mention a problem that you had on the "What did you get for Mother's Day" thread. Perhaps that is it.
posted on May 15, 2001 10:12:01 AM new
When a buyer is on the lookout for a package, do they stand by the window all day waiting for the mailman? Then if it doesn't come that day, again stand by the window the next day? Seriously, if a package is sent, the buyer will be receiving it in a few days. It's not like it takes two months in transit, so an email to say it's coming is pointless. God some of you are messing up America with your piddly concerns!
I've changed my TOS to very long and very negative in tone. My reasoning is this: The confident and secure people won't be effected by that, and those are the buyers I want. Solves all my problems. Bidding may go down but the the bids that are placed are more likely to be higher because these aren't the types that worry over an extra $1. I'm already seeing the positive results in my last batch of auctions. touche.
posted on May 15, 2001 11:25:47 AM newladyfargo posted on May 14, 2001 03:23:42 PM (The "please e-mail me when item is shipped" is very common and particularly annoying.)
It is annoying to me also. I state 24-48 hours in every auction. I also use AuctionTamer like EG and I do send out the notices when they ship but that line in the e-mail just does something. I am glad you said annoying instead of stupid. Some people might may want to take words with you or blow it way out of proportion.
reddeer posted on May 14, 2001 07:23:11 PM I know a Canuck seller that has over 100 feedback, and still hasn't clued into the fact that the default setting on eBay is "Will Ship To US Only".
That only shows you list through the US site. Listing on eBay.CA the default is Will ship to Canada only
I am not A stupid person so lets get that straight before someone goes off on that. Why do you list on US site instead of CA site? My items show up on the CA site, Will your US items not show up on the US site? These are questions from an un-informed person.
uaru posted on May 14, 2001 09:01:54 PM If you consider that a stupid request then you must include me in the stupid buyer group.
At your request this has been done. Actually you are on my annoying list.
Incase some of you do not want to bid on my items cause I did not destroy the original poster my ebay id is [email protected]
posted on May 15, 2001 11:36:10 AM new
I don't think that asking when the item will ship is a stupid question. Some of us have to keep our eyes on our mailboxes due to some sort of inept person at the PO.
I have received mail intended for other people in my building and vice versa. I have received mail intended for someone in another -building-. One of my ebay purchases was too big to fit in my box, so the mailman left a pickup notice...In a neighbor's box. (And yes, my package had the correct apt # on it.) I did receive the final notice, wrong #, right box...It had Apt #303 written on it, and I'm in #203, so that was apparently where my previous notices had gone.
So I keep a close eye on our mailbox when I'm expecting a package. Same deal with UPS. Our UPS guy comes after 5pm. DH gets home from work at about 530. Complex no longer accepts packages for residents. If I have a tracking #, I can watch it make its way here and make sure that someone is there to sign for it.
*plinkplink*
-Michelle
-------------------
Time is an illusion perpetrated by the manufacturers of space.
posted on May 15, 2001 12:05:29 PM new
Ummm In response to Ladyfargos reply of 11:01. I work full time, I have a farm (llamas of course), I build web pages on the side, volunteer for 4 different committees, and take my animals to shows during the Spring/summer months. Oh yes, I have a husband and two teenagers that need to be taken care of somewhere in between all of this in addition to my on-line auctions. AND I give my customers excellent customer service. I don't believe it is that hard. Organization is 50% of work. Once I established a routine, I stick to it and it works. Not only do I send 'manual' EOA emails, I send "Is your check lost?" emails, recd check/sending package emails AND follow-up emails. In addition, I take great care in wrapping each item (sell lots of glass and pottery), whether it costs $5 or $500. Maybe that is why I have so many repeat customers.
Thinking about it, perhaps it is all in the attitude. I personally get a great sense of satisfaction out of doing a little extra. Wrapping an item well is an activity that I get instant satisfaction. It's not like a project I am working on at my day job. I will probably never see the completion, it will just go on for years.
Not every customer is the ideal and after I read an email that makes me think it may lead to a disgruntled customer, I remind myself to treat everyone with the same amount of courtesy regardless. I do my best to treat all my customers the way I would like to be treated and take care of shipping their items as if it were going to my house. AND guess what, even those I suspect may be disgruntled, tame right down to a little purring kitty. Thinking some more I think a lot of people are not used to the kind of treatment I give them (let's face it, manners and courtesy are severly lacking in most places) and it throws them off-guard. I also bet that it makes them feel good because I know when someone treats me well I definitely feel better. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Everyone has to do what they feel is right for them and I have no right to pass judgment on your values. So, I am just offering some reading for thought.
posted on May 15, 2001 12:08:42 PM new
If anyone thinks that getting e-mailed requests from their customers is "a bit annoying" I would suggest that they enter their customers' e-mail address in their e-mail program's filter feature. Then, you won't have to even look at those "annoying" customer requests any more.
Peter
posted on May 15, 2001 12:17:01 PM new
Just wanted to add that for someone who didn't want to take time to let buyer know when package was sent.. Sure has a lot of time writing replies on this board..
posted on May 15, 2001 12:52:14 PM new
Hello Sara.
I think tone is a tough thing to judge in writing unless you are SHOUTING or winking at some one.
Not sure which one of my replies you thought was insulting but too bad you thought that way. You must not have read my tone correctly. If I go back and put a behind something would that be better?
Further Moderation inquiries should be taken to e-mail.
"I am not A stupid person so lets get that straight before someone goes off on that. Why do you list on US site instead of CA site? My items show up on the CA site, Will your US items not show up on the US site? These are questions from an un-informed person.
It's really quite simple, and if you viewed items on the CA site, you'd figure it out fairly fast.
When you view items on the category pages, it shows the $ amount, which in Cdn funds is much higher than US funds.
[1.00 US=1.50 Cdn]
The chances of someone from the US clicking on a $100 item, that appears to be starting at $150 US, are slim to none.
The eBay Canada site is also fairly funged up , and does not work as well as the US site. Considering that the majority of my customers are from the US, why screw around listing items in Cdn funds?
Cdn bidders will find my items, as will all the International bidders, but by and large I cater to the Yanks.
Thank You, I see your point about the CA site it could be confusing to some. It listed both prices for me but that part about view items in Canada and view items available to Canada could be confusing.
My items show up when I click the Items available to Canada. I am still curious if CA items show up on the US site if you click accept US?
posted on May 15, 2001 01:51:01 PM new
I read your replies and stated my opinion without getting personal and attacking. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Fortunately for me I realize that responses from people are caused by whatever emotions they are feeling at the time and frankly have nothing to do with me.
>I've changed my TOS to very long and very negative in tone. My reasoning is this: The confident and secure people won't be effected by that, and those are the buyers I want.
Kind'a like the signs that say "Shoplifters will be shot". Most people smile at them and don't worry about it. Anyone who does, I could do without.
mrlatenite:
>Though I know as a buyer I would not ever by from someone again who gets upset about something in email (and shows it in a e-mail reply or their TOS) even if they ship the item within 5 seconds of getting my payment.
You would have to get nasty with me in an email to ever know if you had or hadn't annoyed me. I "let my hair down" posting here.
frenchyy007:
>Now ,I want to know when my item is comming, if the seller doesn't have since enough to add when they will be shipping
If you buy from me, it will be shipped within 2 working days of my getting payment, just as stated in my TOS. If you have an idea of how long mail takes, you should be able to figure when it will arrive, give or take a couple of days. (and if I tell you when it is shipped, you can still be plus or minus a day or 2.)
posted on May 15, 2001 02:01:04 PM new
Seems like someone should remove the lady from their ID here and I'm not talking about the one with the llama in it.
), I do make emails like this on deals that involve hundreds of dollars, without even being asked, but on small deals, I only do it if I'm asked, and if you asked me, you could NEVER tell from my answer that it annoys me to have to do several emails to complete a $10.00 deal.
at some one.