posted on January 19, 2001 09:58:57 PM new
Yesterday I sent a "gentle reminder" to someone who won one of my auctions ten days ago, and here is his response:
My God, I am so sorry I didn't send the money order yet- I hit a deer with my car and with the insurance and everything I totally forgot about this. I will send it out in the morning.
I burst right out laughing. I mean it's not funny for the deer but... this just hit my funny bone. I'm not worried about him, his feedback is all positive, AND he just gave me a good reason to start another "Top Reasons Bidder Didn't Pay" thread.
Rocker
[ edited by nycrocker on Jan 19, 2001 10:02 PM ]
posted on January 19, 2001 10:55:10 PM new
I had a bidder that I sent a 10 day reminder and she wrote back she had been on her period but would send it right out. She included a "Woe Is Me" about needing a DNC and of course it was all more then I wanted to know. You can imagine my response to that!!!!! (To myself of course)
Another period of 10 days go by and still nothing. I write another reminder. She writes back that she was sorry but she had just had a baby and in all the excitement, she forgot to send the payment. Huh????
posted on January 20, 2001 06:21:50 AM new
My best? A lady was having a hard time, and my reminder to pay e-mail (supposedly) put her over the top, and she had to go in for therapy! Over a $4 item (and that $4 includes shipping!)
posted on January 20, 2001 06:37:14 AM new
I just got one of those reminders to pay. My response was, "Oops, sorry I spaced it." Then sent a Paypal payment within seconds.
Oh, and guess what? I left me a glowing positive feedback.
posted on January 20, 2001 06:42:35 AM new
My best? Sold a widget..buyer very responsive to eoa...will send pmt. right away..waited 10 business days..sent reminder..said her husband died...I pulled buyers telephone # and called to offer my sympathy and to tell her not to worry, that I would just relist the item. Unfortunately, the teenage son answered the phone and said (to make a longer story short) said his dad is just fine. I think I will stay amazed at what ppl. will say...lol
posted on January 20, 2001 08:10:16 AM new
I have received lots of reasons from my buyers why payment was not sent after many email reminders. But my best was when my buyer never ans. my emails for two weeks, then on the third week she emailed me says...
"I hope your not going to give me NFB like everyone else is doing just because my payment did not arrive yet" She said, the post office stole the mail and her payments were in that batch of stolen mail??? I told her no I wasn't going to NFB her but I will wait another week, and for her to contact me.
She still never contacted me and now were into the third week, I emailed her NO RESPONSE...I filed NPB and still no response..I filed for credit and she emailed me that She Fedexed her check but never emailed me to tell me. I told her I don't have the item any longer I gave it as a gift at Christmas....Now she emailed me every day, that I told her to please don't email me any longer, the time to email me was when the auction ended which if she did we woun't have this problem now. To Shorten the story I went and gave her a NFB, which I felt she earned, since she wasn't truthful with me.
All she had to do was tell me the truth and we could have worked it all out.....
posted on January 20, 2001 08:13:27 AM new
Sent EOA, received will forward when amount is known, sent amount and reinforced TOS. Ten days later sent a gentle reminder. Two days later had filed NPB. Still another two days and finally a response, didn't open your email, confused won two auctions for similar items yadda yadda yadda. Would send payment right away!
Number one all of my emails which include auction # and description and my name & address had been read on the day sent. AOL users can check status. Number two the similar auction wasn't that similar (they forget we can look these things up) and went for $5. whereas mine was for $45.
Ten days later no payment, email again asking for update, informed I should wait another day or two and then advise. Whoa red lights start to flash. Finally 22 days after the auction a check arrives folded inside the copy of my email with the shipping and insurance added to the auction. GUESS WHAT...she didn't include $9.80, for Acutual shipping and insurance....very heavy widgets.
Now, I am upset and send off a firm email, check rec'd no shipping, please advise ASAP
how you plan to rectify this situation, no more 10 days for mail.
Well, little "Miss Confused" becomes super sarcastic..."I did email you and explain my confusion, DIDN'T I...I will be glad when I don't have to deal with you anymore!" WHAT???
Then another email "Much as it pains me to have to write to you again, I need your address." I told her to take an aspirin and send the money to XXXX. The kicker the check is drawn on a California Bank with a PO BOX
I am shipping to Chicago, so per the TOS there will be a full 10 banking days for the check to clear.
Her last communication 8 days after mailing her check, "Where is my order? For a person so hung up on time frames I can't believe my order hasn't arrived, advise immediately or else!"
Here she is cloaked in confusion and using sarcasm that fits like a glove, quite an outfit don't you agree? Bottom line 30 days for payment and all that argeda....should have filed for FVF and negged her. Insult to injury....I had to pay another increment in weight, my scale needed adjusting and I made all of $10. on this sale. YEUCCHHH!!
posted on January 20, 2001 08:46:22 AM new
I think the worst ones ANY seller gets is the "I was in the hospital", or "So and So was in the hospital"...and these same people have access to a pc and email FROM said hospital. Makes it bad for those who really ARE ill and indisposed to where they cant follow thru, because when I get emails like that, I immediately think the worst, as in "uh huh". So far, I have had 3 or 4 use that story. The last one was 3 weeks ago. "Sorry I didnt mail the payment, I was in the hospital". I send condolences and wishes for a speedy recovery, with a grain of salt. A week later, still no payment, and a snide remark from him stating "I am in the hospital and that is the last thing I worry about. Soon as I get out, I will send payment IF you can wait long enough, greedy lady"...to which I replied "Im so happy that you are getting so better that you can sit up and EMAIL from your sick bed, and that the hospital allows you access to their computers to ANSWER the emails. And yes, Im greedy, so I will relist. Get well soon, k?"
Humph.
posted on January 20, 2001 08:47:53 AM new
My most current was this- Try this credit card number, although I'm at my limit. Let me know if it doesn't go through so I can send a money order instead, and hey why'd you NPB me anyways?
Way more good excuses to list, just don't have the energy to waste!
posted on January 20, 2001 11:26:22 AM new
I sold an item for about $6.00 and sent invoice; two weeks pass with no response, so I send gentle follow up and another week rolls past, so I file NPB with ebay. Sudden nasty outraged response, loaded with exclamation points and attacking my character, my concern over relatively small amount of money, and I will never, NEVER buy from you again!!! Hmmmm....my problem was that you didn't actually buy it the first time, at least not yet, really. Check does arrive about a week later, dated sometime after second invoice.
posted on January 20, 2001 12:02:03 PM new
I recently had a guy that liked to put off procrastinating, if that can be done.
No answer to my EOA, so I sent a "gentle" reminder. About 5 days later, he replies and says he's sorry, he forgot (well, at least he was honest). Each time I emailed him, I had to wait 2-5 days for a response.
Finally, he said he wanted to pay by PayPal. I told him to use the email address I sent my emails from. Then, he had to set up his PayPal account. I said, ok, that can take a few days to have them verify your credit card. Over a week later, still nothing.
I emailed him, when he replied it was nearly two weeks since he claimed to be setting up his PayPal account. He said he paid me, but the money went unclaimed for 4 days. The #$&*@%, dear customer made a typo on my email address.
Finally the money came one morning a few days later (no email from him), so I immediatly sent out his item, which he received about 4 days later.
I though to myself I was glad to have got rid of him and hope not to get other procrastinators like that. Well, he left me a positive feedback "Very undertstanding in delay of payment." Oh yes, thanks. I really want everyone to know I'm understanding about late payments, that will just enourage them, espcially if they click on the auction and see when it actually ended and when the feedback was posted (almost two months apart).
posted on January 20, 2001 12:08:51 PM new
Oh yes, I forgot, I had the "I mailed it two days after the auction" exuse from a newbie with zero feedback, yeah, a likely exuse. Twenty seven days later the auction ended I sent another reminder, and the email bounced. Still not having the payment I put in for a NPB and posted negative feedback.
Not one hour later he emailed me to ask where his item was. To make a long story short, he provided proof he bought the money order, which was lost in the mail. He said his computer stopped working so he had to buy a new one and got a new email address.
I felt so bad about it, becuase this guy reaally was telling the truth when he said he mailed it two days after the auction. He hasn't posted a feedback to me yet, but I wouldn't blame him if he gave me a neg (not that I want it).
posted on January 20, 2001 01:54:50 PM new
I sold widget, buyer responded right away saying they were mailing payment next day. 5 days later I get email telling me how to safely package item, grrrrr. I get email today, 10 days later, the check was returned to buyer, the stamps fell off the letter!!!! Yeh, I thought so!
posted on January 20, 2001 06:31:10 PM new
How about the one that says "gee, I can't believe you haven't received my check yet??
Then immediately paypals you..
Sue
posted on January 20, 2001 06:45:39 PM new
My favorite nonpayment excuse was over a year ago, a variation of the "being in the hospital" excuse.
I send the emails over time asking for payment with no replies. Finally I get an email from the winning bidder's email address, but the writer claims he is the bidder's son. He says that his dad is the winning bidder but his dad is in the nursing home dying, hooked up to all sorts of machines and is in a coma, so his dad can't pay for the auction. However, if his dad comes out of the coma he will make sure his dad pays for the auction.
I write back. I say, gee, if his dad is dying why is that bidder on eBay bidding on all sorts of things?
The fellow responds. He is outraged. He says he is using his dad's user id. He said, now he is not going to pay for the item, that he went to the nursing home to ask his dad about it and his dad told him not to pay, that the item is not as described.
LOL, yeah right. His dad is dying and in a coma, remember?
posted on January 20, 2001 07:00:12 PM new Just a thought......what would be a good excuse??
I always like the truth. It is so refreshing. The truth is always something like this:
1. Oops, I forgot. (I get the envelope in a few days);
2. I gave the envelope to my husband to mail. I got your email, went to ask my husband and the envelope is all squished up in his coat pocket. (A few days later I get a very wrinkled smashed up envelope in the mail.);
3. I have the flu so bad I can't think. I will mail you a check when I can move my body again. (A week later the envelope arrives.);
4. I get an email from a friend or relative of the winning bidder, tells me the buyer had a family emergency, had to fly somewhere for a funeral, will pay me when home again. (Week later I get payment.)
but... this just hit my funny bone. 
I'm not worried about him, his feedback is all positive, AND he just gave me a good reason to start another "Top Reasons Bidder Didn't Pay" thread.
Rocker
