posted on September 8, 2000 11:20:07 AM
Hi,
I'm pretty new (altho I got my first star yesterday!) and have a question. How long would you all wait for a bidder to contact you?. It's been 3 days now, and have heard nothing. The bidder has (0) rating. I don't want to rush it too much, as I did have one earlier that was over a week responding before and it went fine. So I guess I'm just curious how long is "normal".
posted on September 8, 2000 11:34:03 AM
I usually send my email the day the auction closes, then wait 2 days and send it again, then wait 2 more days and send it again. I will type something like: "Hi. I am sending this again, since I haven't heard from you. Hope our emails are going through." If after 7 days and still no response, I file a NPBA (Non-Paying Bidder Alert). I've had some sellers not respond at all. Then I get a check in the mail! Drives me crazy! The wording in my email reads "please send me your mailing address as a confirmation you received this email."
posted on September 8, 2000 11:51:30 AM
I believe anyone using the Internet should check their email at least once a day. This is impossible of course for some folks. Some email gets stuck so use a secondary address like Yahoo for reminder contact. Newbies are frequently not familiar with timely response, but that's still no excuse. File an NPB on day 7 if they don't reply. I would also contact a second highest bidder at that point. No sense in hanging oneself for a deadbeat.
posted on September 8, 2000 11:51:49 AM
This is exactly the reason why many sellers will not give ending totals or mailing addresses to their winning bidder until the bidder responds with their shipping address.
posted on September 8, 2000 12:03:07 PMJkohnman...hello! I'd like to ask a quick question to clarify, please.
You are the seller, I understand. Are you waiting for the buyer to make the INITIAL contact after the auction ends? If you are, then you are among the minority of sellers. Most sellers send the initial email after the auction ends, and as stated above, many will contain words to the effect of, "please send me your mailing address, and I'll get back to you with the total owed, including shipping."
As a buyer, I will often initiate contact, but I believe it is more the "norm" for the seller to take that first step.
And I may have misunderstood you, of course, in which case...nevermind...
posted on September 8, 2000 12:57:14 PM
Hi,
Thanks for all the great responses!.
I don't wait for the bidder, I usually send out an e-mail right away. Normally I hear back pretty fast. Twice now, I've sent the email, received a response and a paypal payment before I've even finished sending out the email!. I like that a LOT!
posted on September 8, 2000 01:01:14 PM
I know my shipping charges in advance, so I send an invoice when the auction closes. If no payment after 3 weeks I send another. After another week I file an NPB alert (that usually gets their attention). I wait the full 60 days or so before I file FVF.
I don't really care if they email me back or not. All I care about is getting the money.
posted on September 8, 2000 01:38:17 PM
I send out an EOA as soon as I can after the auction ends, usually within an hour or so. If I don't get a response by day 3, I resend a copy of the EOA with an added note that this is the SECOND NOTICE because we haven't received a response. I send this from a second email address and from the "Mail this auction to a friend" link on the listing page, with an explanation that I'm doing this because sometimes email is blocked and won't go through. I've never had one of these 2nd notices go without a response. If you haven't had a response or payment after a couple of weeks, especially if you've sent numerous emails from multiple addresses, file a NPB alert. Sometimes that shakes them loose. It's also the first step in reclaiming your FVF, if it turns out they're a deadbeat.
