posted on February 24, 2001 04:38:16 PM new
We had a fire in our house last night. The whole second floor is trashed, including my beloved Ebay room--full of items (about 350). MOST have already been sold and I haven't the slightest idea how I'm going to notify everyone and return all of their payments without royally p'ing everyone off and getting negged into Ebay oblivion.
I have worked hard to maintain a solid record of feedback: 740 rating, only 1 neg and 0 neutrals.
Any ideas? I'm syre I'm not the first person to run into a problem like this.
posted on February 24, 2001 04:43:50 PM new
looks like the party is over. no matter how you explain it you are gong to get a multitude of negs. time to start over with a new ID
posted on February 24, 2001 04:49:26 PM new
I do have another suggestion. Do you live in a relatively small town with a small town newspaper of some sort that reports these kinds of things? If so, talk to the editor and see if he will do a feature for you- they usually will because they have problem,s finding things to put in that are truly hometwon news. Or if they have a fire blotter record as well as a police blotter record in the paper copy the article and mail to your customers. Pictures would be even more effective. I know you hate to sacrafice all that feedback. Maybe you could save yourself this way. In any case, good luck to you and I hope your insurance will cover part at least of your loss.
posted on February 24, 2001 04:50:46 PM new
I believe I would just start emailing all the winning bidders and explaining the situation. I believe the vast majority of them will be understanding.
posted on February 24, 2001 06:18:28 PM new
last november I had a family crisis in another state 1100 miles involving my elderly father. my presence was needed at once. A neighbor individualy sent out emails I believe through either a text file, or through the copy and paste method. We went through my sellers list together and we both decided an individual email made it more personal. I asked for 3 weeks and did mention that I would also refund money if the item was needed in a more timely manner. For refunds to be given I also asked for their patience and the same time frame. I believe I had 36-38 outstanding auctions, my neighbor was very helpful but did not want the responsibility of shipping or refunding monies. Not only did everyone reply with good wishes, the majority told me to take as much time as needed. I think you will find that most people just want to be notified and things will work out. By the Way my Dad is doing just fine. I am sorry for your mishap, and wish you well.
posted on February 24, 2001 06:38:33 PM new
rosalyn - IMMEDIATELY email the winners and let them know what happened, and that you will figure out what was already paid for and get refunds back to them as soon as you sort through the mess.
posted on February 24, 2001 06:54:38 PM new
I am very sorry to hear about your fire. I know it would be a great loss for me and it sounds like it is for you to.
Get a camera and take some pictures of the damage, upload those photos to a url and include links to the photos an emails to everyone of your winners.
Find a third party, the newspaper was suggested, that could verify your problem for anyone who may doubt you.
If they were one of kind items you can't find others but if any of the items are replaceable, offer the buyers replacements if they are willing to wait.
posted on February 24, 2001 07:40:07 PM new
My condolences to you for all your losses, that is certainly a tragic situation.
I don't really have any great suggestions, I know how hard it would be for me to get all those e-mails out when I was worrying about so many other things. Best of luck, sure hope it works out for you, there really is a silver lining in there somewhere!
posted on February 24, 2001 08:35:12 PM new
My home was destroyed in a fire 2 years ago, and a number of eBay items that had just sold were lost. A friend helped me e-mail all my bidders and explained what happened. NOT ONE PERSON gave me a rough time, they were understanding and caring. Just be sure you stay in touch with your buyers and follow through on the refunds. You didn't mention whether your home is habitable -- mine of course wasn't and I was overwhelmed with all that had to be done, but make lists of tasks, take it one day at a time, ASK FOR HELP and you will get through this.
Be sure you print out copies of all the closed auctions, that will help document your losses to the insurance company.
posted on February 24, 2001 09:09:07 PM new
Sorry to hear of your loss... I'm relatively new at this, but I would suggest you contacting Ebay. I know they can "turn off" your feedback. If you are making a concerted effort to notify your winners (if you didn't lose their identity in the fire as well)...perhaps they would help. Also, couldn't you go into the ME feature and explain yourself...perhaps some of your winners will look in there to see what's up. If you have 700+ feedback and then all of a sudden you're not performing to standards...something must be up.
