posted on November 21, 2000 09:47:42 PM
I've just complete around 50 auctions and am using Auction manager for post-sale management. I'm getting a lot different response than I expected.
About 20% of the buyers don't, or won't, click on the AuctionWatch link to verify their receipt of the Winning Bidder Notice (WBN)and to indicate their payment and shipping preferences. Instead, they e-mail me and I have to do things the hard way. I even had one buyer who was an eBay seller (with over 100 feedbacks--all good) scold me for "wasting her time by having to click on yet another link". I tried to explain the advantages from both sellling and buying standpoints, but it fell on deaf ears.
So, I was wondering, is this sort of response typical?
posted on November 22, 2000 07:43:46 AM
Hi lswanson,
I received about the same response from these wbns. A few buyers loved them, but it put some off enough that I stopped using them all together. I can see what a pain it would be for the buyer to fill in their address and then repeat the whole thing again for credit card processing.
Sometimes the links didn't work and it just caused more emails.
I also found that the shipping labels are poorly done and I have to edit them anyway (font way too small and the shipping To and From addresses so close together it is easy for postal clerks to mistake which way the parcel was going!).
posted on November 22, 2000 07:53:28 AM
If you use this system you may as well get used to being scolded and even neg'd. Customers hate it. It's more work for them with no perceived benefits. And many simply refuse to deal with a 3rd party website with their personal information. And I can't say that I blame them.
posted on November 22, 2000 08:37:57 AMI tried to explain the advantages from both sellling and buying standpoints...
These are the drawbacks I see as a buyer:
1) I have one phone line and I do not stay online all the time, in order that I may use my telephone as a, well... telephone. I typically retreive my email and respond to it offline. The next time I'm online, I send outgoing messages. Having to go back online to respond to your EOA notice is inconvenient.
2) I have a form letter already typed out, with all my mailing information included, which I can use to respond to your EOA notice with a couple of mouse clicks. Having to provide my mailing information on a webpage is inconvenient.
3) I'm not particularly interested in the nuts-and-bolts operation of the seller's business, and I don't want to spend my time doing his job. Filling out forms for inventory management and shipping label preparation is inconvenient.
4) I am not convinced that the information being collected (my personal contact information and buying habits) will always be safe from would-be marketers, and that it will never be used as a markekting tool somewhere down the line. Sorting through spam in my inbox is inconvenient.
Maybe you can see a trend developing here...
If you'd like, please feel free to point out the advantages to me, as a buyer.
posted on November 22, 2000 10:51:27 AM
"About 20% of the buyers don't, or won't, click on the AuctionWatch link to verify their receipt of the Winning Bidder Notice (WBN)and to indicate their payment and shipping preferences"
For one, not all email reading programs CAN click on the frigging links. I have one that reads plain text only, so if you want to get paid, send ASCII.
For two, why should I have to do your data entry for you. It's a PITA (pain in the a$$) to do all those forms. There is no advantage to the customer in this method.
For three, I have SERIOUS reservations about entering any valid personal data at any site unless it is to MY benefit to do so.
For four ... I don't want to be in your database when you decide to "manage your customer database" via AW, based on my previous purchases, so I refuse to cooperate in the planned "data mining". My a$$et is mine, not yours.
From the AW "Customer management" page:
Send customized email to a segment of your customer database
*Segment your customer database by using the *Quick Search or Advanced Search tools described above
*Click 'select/deselect all' to select all customers in that segment
*From the action panel, select I would like to 'email' selected customers and click 'go'
*Enter the subject of the email and type your message
*Click 'send email' when you are comfortable with your message
And promptly be flamed for SPAMMING!
(edited because I can't type)
Edited again to include this from the AW Privacy policy:
"Since AuctionWatch.com does not control the privacy policies of third parties, such as but not limited to other online auction sites, you are subject to the privacy customs and policies of that third party. We encourage you to ask questions and review their stated privacy policies before you disclose your personal information to others." (comment: does not sound encouraging, and the TrustE logo is not worth the pixels it's draswn with)
[ edited by abacaxi on Nov 22, 2000 10:53 AM ]
[ edited by abacaxi on Nov 22, 2000 10:56 AM ]
posted on November 22, 2000 07:41:34 PM
Thanks for the replies folks. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. While I liked some of it's features, I thought the AW system (as a seller) was rather impersonal, and it certainly can go SLOW at times.
"What does it offer the buyer?". I thought about this and could only come up with one answer, that the buyer is responsible for getting his own shipping address correct rather than depending on my cut-and-paste or handwriting abilities. Unfortunately, one of my buyers already put that argument to rest by totally messing up their address--I had to get it from their check.
Now, how about suggestions for managing large (for me) auctions? I have probably two more auctions of 50+ items before I will return to the land of the once-in-a-blue moon sale.
posted on November 22, 2000 08:10:08 PM
I clicked the WBN preference when the new style Manager came out a few weeks ago. There were no really obvious hands-on guidelines for sellers who hadn't used it before , and my first batch of sales was a nightmare.
It seemed that my address wasn't there for bidders to send money to , and AW didn't make it easy or clear what was required from the seller or how to do it.
About half the bidders ignored the click on link feature , and I had to constantly check to see if they'd provided / received the relevant information or not. Too nerve-wracking .
The advantage is knowing that if I'm away from my sales for a day or more , the HB's will be notified ; but if they can't /won't respond , I may just as well have used my own EOA a day later and check e-mail that way.
Many say "I want to pay with Paypal", or go ahead and do it , and then don't provide their mailing address !!
I'd say personally that for a low or mid-volume seller , it doesn't save that much inconvenience ; and the feedback has dropped off despite a fast shipment and initial enthusiastic fast buyer response. The personal touch , I'm sure , has much to do with it .
