posted on March 12, 2001 07:06:40 AM
I stumbled out of bed this morning and went to check my email. I saw that I got 3 emails from the high bidder o one of m auctions that ended yesterday. The first one said something to the effect of...Hi...I would hope that you would leave positive feedback for customers that follow through with a transaction as fast as you leave negative. I expect to recieve my item within 5 days or I will be forced to leave negative feedback for you.
I rubbed my eyes, I thought maybe I was still asleep lol. I thought maybe last night while leaving batch feedback I mistakenly left a neg for her. I checked and nope I didnt. So I assume she took offense to me TOS which says this
Now for all the standard terms and conditions. All orders will be packed with plenty of bubble wrap and packing peanuts. If your item is breakable I suggest you purchase insurance. Add 1.10 to your total for up to 50 dollars of insurance , 2.00 for over 50.00. If you dont purchase insurance I will not be responsible for lost or broken items.
Please respond to this email within 3 days with your shipping address and how you will be paying. If I get no response for 10 days a non-paying bidder alert will be filed with ebay. Payment is expected within 10 days but if you need more time please contact me and let me know.
Thank you for your bid! I look forward to a smooth and friendly transaction. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to let me know. Thanks again...Ill be waiting to hear from you!
Sandra
Of course I also write the total and a very friendly message introducing myself. It doesnt even say anything about negative feedback. I even make it clear that the 10 day payment period is not set in stone. I think my tos are tame compared to alot that I have seen. My question is....I am I nuts? Is my EOA too harsh? I am just a small time seller and mostly do this because I enjoy it. I dont like hunting people down and threatening them with negative feedback so I figure by letting them know the exact course of events in the case of a deadbeat they wont be surprised to get the NPB alert. I would be interested to know if anyone has had a similar experience.
posted on March 12, 2001 07:23:23 AM
It appears your buyer merely replied in the same tone your TOS set. Your TOS "presumes" the buyer will falter; and they just responded in the same tone YOU originally set, which is antagonistic, angry, and overly demanding.
Personally, I don't feel the "tone" of your TOS is very friendly, it seems to be a list of orders or military mandates. Perhaps rewording some of it would take the edge off of it.
For instance instead of saying: "I will not be responsible for items broken or lost." You might say, "I am sure you can understand, we can't be responsible for items that the USPS or UPS, breaks or loses, if your item is not insured."
Just the way some things are said can take the offensive edge off.
Threats of negative feedback before your buyer has had the opportunity to even bid totally turns me off. It brings out hostility, defensiveness, and a bad attitude in the buyer.
You said you have seen much more stringent TOS, but that isn’t the issue. I have seen many more out spoken TOS, and I wouldn’t buy from that type of seller either.
It isn’t what others do, it is what is polite, proper, and makes your potential buyers feel happy and secure and wanting to bid.
Anytime one is reviewing their ads and/or TOS, it might be well to see what the professionals do. Can you imagine Coke saying, if you don’t dispose of our cans in the proper manor, we will do so and so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or if they said, if you are carrying a carton of our bottled coke in the wrong manor and they slip and break, that is your fault fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is how these threats of negative feedback, and endless commands in your TOS comes across – they immediately create a attitude and atmosphere of animosity.
Sorry, but you asked.
Being a Power Seller on eBay and having been on eBay since 1996, I have seen the TOS change greatly, some for the better, some for the worse. In '96 I don't think many of us had any TOS, or would have know what a TOS was to begin with - heck many of us didn't even have photo capabilities!
[ edited by jwpc on Mar 12, 2001 07:26 AM ]
[ edited by jwpc on Mar 12, 2001 07:40 AM ]
posted on March 12, 2001 07:33:50 AM
Sandee, I think this person is probably confusing the NPB alert with a negative feedback - wouldn't be too surprising if the person is an ebay newbie or infrequent buyer.
As a buyer, I wouldn't find your TOS offensive at all.
OTOH, my own EOA email is very brief and to the point. It only consists of a breakdown of the total owed - final bid price, postage, optional insurance, and sales tax where applicable. I also outline accepted payment methods, choices in postal delivery, my snail mail address, and Paypal information. Otherwise, I don't make mention of any of that "what will happen if you don't communicate/pay within a set number of days" jargon (nor do I post it in my auctions). My reasoning is simple: 95% of my buyers will pay within 10 days anyway. 3% will pay after a gentle reminder. The other 2% are deadbeats (your stats will differ depending largely on what you sell and what your target market is). The point is, I don't think that outlining a schedule for submitting the NPB is necessary in the EOA email will change any of the deadbeats to paying bidders. I give my buyers ample time and reminders to pay and when the time comes, I hit them with the NPB.
Thank you for your input. Your suggestion about the insurance statement was a very good one. I will reword that for it does sound much nicer.
When I started selling on ebay I was very nieve and I didnt write anything about 10 day time frames or about responding. I just expected that people would respond and pay because those are the ebay rules. I never wanted to scare people away or sound demanding. I added the please respond within 10 days thing so when I file a NPB alert after that I dont feel I did it without warning. I dont like to harass people for my money. I feel that by putting it in my eoa email as a general thing that is standard for everyone is better than having to send personal emails asking for payment and informing them of the action I will take.
This way during that 10 day period I can send nice emails letting them know I didnt get a response yet, I dont have to send negative ones since it was already stated in my eoa.
Also I say nothing about leaving negative feedback only sending a non paying bidder alert from ebay which isnt a punishment for the buyer its just a reminder to pay their ebay seller.
Thanks again for your input. I am a very nice person and I am great to my customers and go out of my way to be friendly to everyone. Just so you dont get the wrong idea about me
posted on March 12, 2001 08:21:00 AM
Your EOA comes across in a demanding sort of tone and would certainly leave a negative impression, even with someone who is an "experienced" buyer. I've come to the conclusion, really, that in many cases (with certain bidders) the EOA letter can set the tone for the entire transaction.
There is NO reason to even mention NPBs in a congratulatory EOA letter. If indeed the buyer ends up not paying in a timely manner or at all, then you can write further in that regard, but your first letter should not contain a list of all the terrible things that will happen to them if they don't pay you or respond within your time-frame.
It should be written with the words "professional" and "courteous" in mind.
posted on March 12, 2001 08:32:24 AM
Good morning!
I agree with the previous posts. Although there is nothing patently offensive with your EOA notice, it is fairly off-putting. I think an EOA notice should be informative, friendly, and light. What you meant as an overview of your policy can easily be interpreted as a threat. If I were bidding on your items and received that letter, I wouldn't be offended, but I probably wouldn't feel very warmly toward you and wouldn't probably be apt to look up your auctions in the future. I am mainly a seller, but as a buyer I generally don't bid on people's items that seem to assume I am that I am going to do wrong.
Good luck with this bidder, I know your intentions are good, and if you apologize and explain yourself to the bidder, you will both feel better!
I wanted to thank everyone for their input, it really helped. I wasnt aware I was doing anything wrong and certainly didnt ever want to come across to anyone as "unprofessional" or "unfriendly". I will be changing my TOS to remove the part about the NPB. I reality I have only left 1 neg and that was after a bunch of really nice attempts to get in contact with a person who said they were sending payment. I dont ever immediately assume the worst in people , even that time I figured the check got lost in the mail or the person didnt have access to email or some valid reason and I emailed them saying so. I normally treat people the way I like to be treated and I know that I would never not honor a bid and I would like for a seller to give me the benefit of the doubt if some mistake was made on my part.
Most of my bidders do pay on time and end up leaving me very positive feedback and I see that you are all right and that this probably has nothing to do with my TOS.
So thanks again, I will be removing that part from my EOA.
P.S. I immediately wrote to the bidder in this case and explained that I didnt mean to offend her and such and told her that I would do anything I could to make this a great transaction. She just responded and apologized to me and said she was going through some personal troubles and that it wasnt anything I said. She thanked me for emailing her and she was glad to meet such a nice and caring seller. Whew Im glad that worked out! Thanks everyone!!
posted on March 12, 2001 12:53:35 PM
Geez, maybe it's because I'm a big city girl and used to people being nasty -- but I think that your TOS are extremely civilized and not offensive at all. I sell occasionally, but I'm primarily a buyer (over 700 transactions since 1997 -- woo-hoo!) and I wouldn't turn a hair at your TOS.
Your buyer sounds like an hypersensitive weirdo to me.
posted on March 12, 2001 01:02:09 PM
I'm with Rachel...I find absolutely nothing offensive or obnoxious with your statement...clear, concise and to the point...which is what buyers want. I think you answered your own question when you said that the buyer e-mailed you and said she'd been having some problems...maybe that's the reason for her terse e-mail to you.
posted on March 12, 2001 01:03:10 PM
I would not characterize the buyer in this case as a "hypersensitive weirdo". The fact is, she actually wrote and told you that she found your letter offputting.
Most people get those emails, grit their teeth and say nothing. They will likely never buy from you again, but will say nothing to advise that they found your approach offensive.
I have had EOA letters from sellers that really ticked me off because they were so NEGATIVE right from the get go, but I just ignored that and stayed professional and courteous on my part even when the other party clearly had an attitude.
Frankly, I think it's best you know this now before you continue on in the same vein -- you would likely never realize your approach was costing you future customers.
