posted on December 2, 2000 09:50:06 PM
Boy, a week ago I was paranoid that something may fall through the cracks. This is the first time I felt I was getting slightly over my head. Well, I think it finally did!
I got an email from a buyer ... oh my gosh, this auction closed first week of October. She sent a check and I responded that there will be a 10 day hold. Yikes this was soon after my vacation. I thought I closed the books. Some time went by and I found the feedback review key where you could post all the feedbacks that were not given. I think I hurried and posted a lot of feedbacks that one particular day.
Now I get this email. I still haven't received the item. Eeeeks. I did some investigation and had no record of shipping this item. I hope she'll be understanding. I'm holding my breath I won't get a ding.
Another transaction. I sent a package over 2 weeks ago via first-class (no insurance of course). The buyer has not received the item. I know I mailed this item. The city was very distinct.
Sigh. Ebay blues!
Lastly for those who has read this far, I am in need of some kind of recordkeepping program that will keep me organized. I am doing this manually. I have stacks & stacks of paperworks that I am spending countless hours to stay on top of things. This is too much. Can anyone help me?
Don't let it get you down. It happens to everyone.. We once thought we had shipped a package and several weeks later the bidder emailed wanting to know what happened to her item. We remember packaging it and the item was not anywhere to be found but we could not find any proof of mailing it. We always use delivery confirmation.
We have also packaged an item in the past and forgot to mail it because some other stuff was stacked on top of it. That was embarrassing but both buyers were gracious and left us glowing feedback because of the way we handled the situation once we found out a mistake had been made.
You will find, as we have, that delivery confirmation is so important. That way you have a record showing if the package has been shipped and if it actually arrived at the destination. If someone emails we then reply and give them the tracking number and the URL of the USPS site. Saves a lot of hassle in the long run.
posted on December 3, 2000 03:07:56 PM
Thank you for the encouragement. My buyer contacted me and says "No problem! Just send me another one. I am not in any hurry, no priority necessary." It's so nice to hear people who can understand how difficult this can be sometimes.
Hardoutfit, avaloncourt & outoftheblue, I appreciate the response. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read avaloncourt's response. Hardoutfit, I thank you for the link. I got a chance to register and I will give that 30 day free trial.
Sometimes, it just nice to be able to associate amongst Ebay sellers.
posted on December 3, 2000 03:20:04 PM
It happened to me as a buyer. I emailed the seller after 3 weeks as my package was book rate. Three days later, I got it- Priority. The postmark was the day I sent the email. OOPS! The book was actually better than described, and I left good feedback, because I was pleased with the purchase.
posted on December 3, 2000 04:03:04 PMavmom...Don't worry Now that she has contacted you and said it;s OK, perhaps you could open the package and slip in a ;ittle "token of appreciation" before sending it off? Did that once...Customer was thrilled and left a great feedback..
I do not sell often, so I have no need for an Auction Tracking software. So I just make 3 Ebay folders in "My Documents": one to dump all of Ebay's Billing Statements, (showing Status with breakdown of fees), one for "Purchases" and one for "Sales". In Purchases and Sales folder, I make a SUB Folder each time I bid or list, and dump all the Emails in the appropriate folders.
When auction ends and everyone is happy (including me, with my purchases), I purge those sub folders, leaving only the Emails showing EOA, and how much charged/spent on shipping (for Sales or Purchases). But as I said, I am a light-weight
******************** Gosh Shosh!
I don't know how many auctions you run a week, but I use a form I created in Word that works great for me.
On the top part of the form it lists the information I need for my auction. i.e, start & end date; item description; category; item number; min bid; reserve; shipping estimate; box size needed; item dimensions.
In the middle part of the form is the information for after the sale - item cost; item sold amount; ebay fees; ebay commission; actual postage; profit.
On the bottom of the form is the client info:
name; address; userid; email address.
Under that are my checked boxes to determine my status:
eoa sent: bidder replied: payment received: item ship date: item received by bidder: left feedback and received feedback.
During the entire start to finish, this form is in use. All emails are paper clipped to this form along with a printout of the auction at the end, showing the final price and bidder's email. Once the customer has advised they have received the item, I throw out the emails and staple the form to the auction print out and then put the completed package in a book. You can even staple receipts likes postal receipts to this form, if you want to keep it all together.
I can give you a copy of this form if you want to try it out for yourself. Just email me at [email protected]
It really is a great form and I have been using it for the past two years very successfully. It keeps me very organized, as I can tell at any given time what the status of any auction is. I forgot to mention that I put all this in a folder called "waiting for payment" after the auctions end. As soon as I receive payment, I pull the item from the folder and record all my information. You can set up another folder for "waiting to ship" and one for "waiting for receipt from bidder".
The one thing I find about a system for organization is that it must work for you. Some people are a little more elaborate in their paperwork (I am one of those people) and some just want a KISS (keep it simple)system. Take some of this information and use it as it fits you.
Now that she has contacted you and said it;s OK, perhaps you could open the package and slip in a ;ittle "token of appreciation" before sending it off? Did that once...Customer was thrilled and left a great feedback..