posted on October 11, 2000 07:00:19 AM
I don't know about you, but I have had it with inept and inconsiderate bidders. All I ask of my bidders is to email me their shipping address and get their money in...you would think that this is asking too much.
I have decided to use a hands-off policy. Minimal TOS--just what I need to complete the transaction. No nag, no beg and no neg(until after I file a FVF credit). If I don't hear from a bidder by day seven or payment is not received I file an NPB. File a FVF credit ten days later if the money doesn't arrive and relist.
I realize that this might not work for everyone, but most of my items sell for under ten dollars and a drawn out collection process is not worth it.
posted on October 11, 2000 07:15:38 AM
I think you're taking the right tack, particularly with low-dollar items. Every minute that you spend re-emailing, wheedling, cajoling (and threatening) is a minute of your time worth MONEY. On a $10 item you can easily reduce your gross profit to $0 without some solid guidelines. There's always going to be an exception, but exception is precisely the right word - meaning "resulting from unusual circumstances".
posted on October 11, 2000 07:18:38 AM
I feel your frustration. Business is so GOOD right now on ebay...but I also have a lot of customers dragging out the process one way or another. I either don't hear from them for days, or when they do reply they don't tell me what shipping rate they are paying for, so I can't have the box labeled and ready to go.
I don't like wordy email, but I may start having to write something like "to avoid shipping delays, please do XYZ, thanks!"
I feel like I got out of my way to be patient and considerate, but the cumulative effect of waiting around on so many transactions is energy-draining.
I use one shipping method and prequote the price since I mainly sell books. If someone wants another method they can ask. Part of my simplification is to pre-specify stuff. Maybe "shipping is by x carrier" unless another method is requested would cut down on your slow pokes.
posted on October 11, 2000 07:36:27 AM
Just a caution!
There are LEGITIMATE email problems out there, systems down, emails bounced, etc. Please at least email the folks a second time, a few days later, if you aren't getting any answers. We are at the mercy of unreliable email systems.
I think your approach is rather harsh, deep down I would like to implement it, but I prefer to pride myself on customer service & work with people. Things happen, ....
I'm a seller on Ebay, too (over 1000 transactions since 2/99). Last week HONEST the drain backed up twice (you really don't want to know what came up the drain), the car died, my father-in-law had biopsies for the 3rd recurrence of bladder cancer, I got sick with a bacterial infection, I won't continue to bore you, but needless to say it was a bad week. My husband gave me some info that I was supposed to email to my brother-in-law, with all the stress I have NO IDEA what I did with the information. I tried to keep on top of my Ebay stuff as much as possible, not letting it slide by these "excuses," but sometimes mistakes can & will happen.
Cut your buyers a little slack, please? Remember, you may have bad weeks, too.
posted on October 11, 2000 07:57:17 AM
I think in most cases, a bit of slack is in order. I had an auction end Oct. 3, heard from the buyer on the 4th. She is sending payment from CA to OH, and it's not here yet. Even though it has been 8 days since this auction ended, and 7 since her reply, only 5 business days have elapsed (counting today). Monday was a Federal holiday, so the banks and PO's weren't open. It always seems when there is a holiday, it takes 2 days for the PO to "catch up".
Her feedback, while under 40, is all good, so I'm inclined to wait another couple of days before emailing her again. This is for a fairly small ticket item...$25.
I do understand the aggrevation of not hearing anything back from a buyer. I resend my EOA emails after 3 days with a note that it is the second email. This usually gets a response.
Well these fall into the exception category mentioned by HCQ, but actually since they do get emailed by eBay as part of the NPB process (or if it got kicked back/delayed by my ISP, I'd use Yahoo and reemail)and they have more than two weeks to get with the program, there's really no reason why they can't respond. I certainly would accept an email that says stuff happened and your dough is on the way. However I am not a mind reader. I usually postpone negs until the dust has settled.
posted on October 11, 2000 08:12:03 AM
Hear ye hear ye! Same feelings here. I just love it when the buyer turns things around and makes it appear to be "my" fault that THEY haven't sent money. Likewise most of my items sell for $10.00 and less and the time I put into sending e-mails, back and forth, back and forth is ridiculous. Then I really love it when they leave me a negative because I do not accept PAYPAL??? Give me a break! I am a stay at home mom and just trying to still be able to stay home with my little treasures I find to sell. Bidders please be considerate and confirm your win and pay on time!!! Thank you!!
posted on October 11, 2000 09:05:01 AM
My opinion is that email problems occur so frequently they are not the exception. They aren't the rule, either, but I'll bet it truly occurs up to 25% of the time (that includes ISP's up & down, computer problems, email delivery problems, ROOKIE buyers, etc.).
It's hard to understand when I receive emails from buyers that say, "send payment instructions" when I already have, days ago. This seems to be happening more frequently lately. I want to email back, can't you read??? But I don't. I don't second guess them, I just politely resend, & figure it is an email problem. There was an excellent thread from abacaxi that stated ways to be careful when sending the email (such as buyers receiving a subject line of "You've won" & deleting it, thinking it as spam, if you didn't see this thread, check it out, very worthwhile). I'm including this also in my 25% (generous) estimate. I just want to be paid, I want their repeat business, and I want their goodwill. I'M GREEDY
posted on October 11, 2000 10:03:29 AM
ksterni
In actuality, many bidders just do not bother to respond unless you ask them twice. If an adult doesn't have manners that is not my problem. If they don't respond now, they'll get their second chance in the form of an NPB alert. That's more than enough . After that I file for credit if the money doesn't show. That's three chances and at least two weeks to show evidence of brain waves and a pulse.
I hate to sound harsh, but this is not rocket science and most people know the drill.
posted on October 11, 2000 10:53:45 AM
I agree that it's not the nicest way to deal with those who have problems, but most email problems trigger delay or bounce notices in which case I would resend it from Yahoo. If I have no notice, I assume the email simply has not been responded to for whatever reason. Those will get their second chance from eBay.
NPB alerts aren't really a big deal...it's just a notice that the seller hasn't gotten the desired response and that it's time to do so. I have noticed that if someone is going to pay, it works much better than a personal late pay email.
posted on October 11, 2000 11:13:58 AMNPB alerts aren't really a big deal...
You're correct, to "most" people they aren't, but to "some" people it's a slap in the face, and I simply prefer to send them another email a few days after the first, just in case the EOA email got lost in cyberspace.
I just finished going through todays checks that arrived. There at the bottom of the pile is a PO MO for an item that ended on Oct. 4th. I sent 2 emails to this high bidder & received no response?
As long as I get paid within 30 days I don't care how the customer goes about completing the transaction.
My TOS are simple Show Me The Money!
It's all just part of E-Biz IMO,& sticking to rigid non flexible TOS doesn't seem to make one iota of a difference. You'll always have the GREAT customers, with a few whackos tossed in just to make life interesting.
posted on October 11, 2000 11:37:59 AM
I wish I could say pay me within 30 days. I might get paid 90 days out. Payment is technically due at the end of the auction; the days allowed are a matter of what's necessary.
My bidders may now cut themselves as much slack as they like. I won't nag them anymore, but I won't change their diapers either. If they can't settle up ten days after I file an alert notice, they can whiney wet diaper answer to eBay.
posted on October 11, 2000 11:38:50 AM
Do most of you have a "pay within 30 days" comfort zone? Just wondering. I think 30 days is a very long time to pay on an auction. Of course, if the buyer contacts me about a problem, I will work with them to the best of my ability. But with "instant" electronic payments and a Postal Service that DOES generally deliver in a week or 10 days...why the 30 days?
posted on October 11, 2000 11:46:30 AM
Oh, don't get me wrong, I expect to get paid ASAP, but for the odd lacky that takes 2-4 weeks, I don't get all worked up into a lather about it. I run into a NPB perhaps 1 in every 100 sales, so the odd late payment is OK by me.
My best NPB excuse [payment was sent 60 days after auction closed]
posted on October 11, 2000 12:56:42 PM
The bidder wins the auction, it is clear his responsibility is to send in the money. How many reminders and warnings should be necessary? I agree, babysitting is not part of the job description. I've noticed a lot of sellers getting bent out of shape over non-paying bidders and even going so far as to make threats as part of their TOS. The problem is getting worse. I've had a record number of deadbeats this month and I can't realistically think of anything to stop it. There is no enforcement by eBay. A NARU user can simply log on with a new email address and start playing games all over again. Sellers have absolutly no protection.
posted on October 11, 2000 01:05:13 PM
I don't mind "babysitting" at all. I normally get paid for babysitting...most "babysat" customers pay eventually.
posted on October 11, 2000 01:06:07 PM
My "comfort zone" is about 14 days. I will generally file the NPB on the 15th day. I send out my EOA email, resend that same one if I don't hear back after 3 days, then send a "Reminder" email on the 10th day out. If I don't hear back on that one, NPB on the 15th day.
Out of about 340 auctions, I've only had about 5-7 true dead beats. I've left 5 negs and a couple of neutrals.
Knock on wood, my current buyers seem all on the up an up, although I'm not listing very much.
posted on October 11, 2000 02:08:20 PM
Years ago, they calculated the cost of doing business tasks: a phone call cost $X and business letter would cost $Y. This was before the wonders of office automation. There's still a cost factor in sending reminder emails. I figure that they cost me about a quarter to resend. I am looking for ways to increase the level of automating the process, so any such collections would be easier, but I figure that even highly automated it still costs not less than a dime.
Baby sitting is not free nor do we actually get paid for it.
If sending out email reminders is babysitting, then, in my case at least, it is free. I do not have a rigid time frame for sending out these reminders, and the few I do need to send, I do while I'm scanning items or doing something else online. With the auction management program I use, it takes 5 or 6 mouse clicks (maybe 10 seconds) to send a reminder. No big deal- of course, your situation may be different.
posted on October 11, 2000 02:19:36 PM
to ksterni - me too. car, sick, furnace went out. hang in there. i'm mostly writing because my father-in-law went through the same thing. finally had his bladder removed. we hated it! but you know what? he's doing great! and he doesn't have to live with the fear of it coming back which means a lot to him. and us.
re: the topic - I had all sorts of banking and mailing I was going to do Monday BUT happy colombus day! goofed me all up. we say 3 days to respond to EOA notice but actually give them a week. we say 10 days for payment but go 14 before we'll send reminders. there will always be pokey ones. we sell small $ items too so a late payment is not going to make or break us. you're right, it's not worth the trouble of second notices, etc. though. maybe give them more time before you put in that extra work???
posted on October 11, 2000 03:26:39 PM
I was sitting down to send my 10-reminder notice when my buyer sent me the now-classic "my husband forgot to mail the letter, it was in the car the whole time". I think this is the 3rd time I've heard that. BUT - that could so easily happen to me that it's no big deal! I just need to track my auctions and be sure to send the followups in case this sort of thing happens. If this particular buyer's check isn't here in a week, she'll get the ebay notice.
What I find tiresome is the eventual-deadbeat who says this and that, nothing really definite, and 6 weeks later there is still no payment.
posted on October 11, 2000 04:30:08 PMthe cost factor is on making posts on chat boards
...in my book is classified either as "education" (like shelling out for a price guide, or surfing the auctions for comparable items), "marketing" (I share my knowledge with others with the hope that they'll return the favor or contact me when they want to buy the sort of widget I specialize in), or "entertainment" (self-explanatory). Kind of like a networking dinner a/k/a schmoozing, which if you're lucky can be all three at once. And ANY of those three are not only more enjoyable, but considerably more likely to result in more profits than composing endless emails cajoling a deadbeat to pay up.
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Oct 11, 2000 04:32 PM ]
posted on October 11, 2000 05:15:02 PM
I just built two Access forms complete with a hyperlink to eBay's NPB alert page. One covers non-responders and the other late payers. That'll give me the means to quickly alert bidders that they missed the mark.
I am working on one-click EOA or other followup emails that I might be able to substitute in the future.
