posted on March 23, 2001 09:05:09 AM
For those of us who've dodged the bullet so far, can you experienced sellers give a timeline (how long after no response to your EOA do you wait before assuming the sale's in trouble, what sort of tone do you take in your e-mails and when do you send them, etc.)
I have a no-reply situation in progress now (auction ended Monday and he won another copy of the same book Tuesday--uh oh ), but I'm inclined to give this guy a little time, since he may be one of those bidders who just sends the money without replying to mail at all (I hope.) Any general suggestions or tips are appreciated--thank you!
(Edited to remove stray smiley.)
[ edited by AndieBelle on Mar 23, 2001 09:06 AM ]
posted on March 23, 2001 09:09:18 AM
I send my usual EOA email on day 1. On day 3 I send another, and if need be on day 5 another. Nothing nasty, I always give the customer the benefit of the doubt. On day 7 I file a NPB warning and, after that I file for my FVF & move on.
posted on March 23, 2001 10:30:40 AM
Day 1: EOA notice
Day 10: 2nd notice (if no contact yet)
Day 20: File NPB alert (if no contact yet)
Day 30: File for FVF refund (if no contact yet)
If bidder makes contact at any time, I abandon the above schedule. What I do next is determined by how I feel about how the transaction is proceeding, based on the bidder's response(s).
posted on March 23, 2001 11:43:56 AM
I generally have the same schedule as mrpotatoheadd. Although, mine is 14,7,7 days with no contact.
I don't worry about people who don't respond to my EOA. I found that there is a significant percent of buyers that, for some reason, don't respond to EOA's. I have no idea why, but they pay just as fast as responders do.
posted on March 23, 2001 12:01:27 PMI don't worry about people who don't respond to my EOA
Just curious, but do you sell Internationally? I do, and I quote my shipping costs in my auctions for NA only.
So in my case EOA contact is very important.
The shipping cost can end up being quite a few $ more for shipment to Europe.
Also, I think it depends on the $$$ amount involved. I'm not about to sit back for 2-3 weeks coddling a potential deadbeat on a $100-500 item. In the past I've been able to save a sale by moving swiftly to the second highest bidder.
posted on March 23, 2001 12:38:21 PM
If I haven't received payment after 12 days, I send out an reminder (form letter saved in drafts file)asking that they email me as well. If that produces no results I send another form email after another 5 days stating payment must be received by such & such date. Finally I file an NPB & then a neg.
Fortunately, I've only had to "go all the way" two times in 2 1/2 years of selling. Usually the first reminder does the trick (& I haven't had to use *that* very often)
posted on March 23, 2001 03:11:14 PM
Day 1 - EAO
Day 2 or 3 - If no response, 2nd Notice
Day 7 -- If no response, NPB and move on.
MUCH harder, however, (for me) are the ones who DO respond, but don't end up getting the $$ to you. I've got one right now whose husband was in an accident, and now he's been fired... I'm beginning to think I won't see the money on this one. At least she's communicating with me! But we'll see. I'm willing to give it a little longer on this particular transaction. Fortunately, I've had very, very few NPBs, and as I've posted before, I know they're gonna happen so I don't get all bent out of shape. The biggest hassle isn't the NPBer, it's what ebay puts you through for your credit!
posted on March 23, 2001 07:19:45 PM
If I don't receive email confirmation within 3 days after sending EOA notice, I send another notice. Another one is sent if no response after 7 days.
After 2 weeks, I send a reminder email but file a NPB if I haven't heard anything.
I file NPB on all deadbeats and give negative feedback if no payment received after 30 days.
I used to just relist and move on, but I am fed up with deadbeats and feel they deserve a negative after not responding to multiple reminders. I use ebay's Mail this auction to a friend feature as a reminder in case their ISP has filters.
Some deadbeats finally respond after receiving a negative. My response is if they don't want negative feedback, they should pay.
I encourage all sellers not to be wimpy. If you get a retaliation negative, it should be a warning to other potential deadbeats that you mean business. Legitimate bidders can see your calm professional response to a retaliation neg.
posted on March 23, 2001 08:48:23 PM
I've been using a lot of Buy It Now, so my deadbeat ratio has really dropped. However here's the basic scenario
EOA fast this will set your pace;sellers who take days to EOA get more slow/no payers.
EOA again after about three days.
NPB on day seven for no response.
NPB/email on day 10 or so for no payment. People with good feedback get an email;the others get an NPB.
FVF ten days later. Then a neg without fail but you can wait on it if you want. The neg is clinical: EOA Date NPB Date FVF Date for non-payment.
Never play games with your bidders and don't ever let them string you along. Day 20 should be FVF credit day.
posted on March 23, 2001 10:58:56 PM
[i]Just curious, but do you sell Internationally? I do, and I quote my shipping costs in my auctions for NA only.
So in my case EOA contact is very important.
The shipping cost can end up being quite a few $ more for shipment to Europe.[/i]
Yes, I do sell internationally. I include in my EOA a short message noting that shipments for outside the US will cost more and to contact me for the shipping costs. Of course, they do contact me.
I'm not about to sit back for 2-3 weeks coddling a potential deadbeat on a $100-500 item.
Of course, he can also be a potential repeat customer. One of my best regular customers is a slow payer and has received a second notice or two from me. I do sell lower priced items and can afford to wait a longer.
Just out of curiousity, I checked my auction program that I've been using for about a year and came up with the following numbers.
Of the 57 deadbeats, 27 (almost 50%) of them replied to my EOA with their addresses. So, I guess you can't tell whether a person is going to deadbeat based on whether or not he responds to the EOA.
posted on March 23, 2001 11:23:09 PM
Interesting stats.
I've sent out approx 1200 invoices, and I've had only 2 high bidders [as far as I can recall] that sent the funds but never responded to my EOA email. I've also only had approx 10 deadbeats out of those 1200 transactions.
I make it very clear I need their full name & shipping address via email [I'm not very good at reading scribble] & will email the high bidder repeatedly [if that's what it takes] until I get that info via email. Most high bidders provide it in their intial email,which I think is fairly standard in online transactions.
I'm very flexible with bidders, but I also don't allow them to set the tone of our transactions.
posted on March 23, 2001 11:38:47 PM
dubyasdaman...... you and your ilk are waiting in the shadows for those of us with the foresight (and balls) (figuative balls) to do what is necessary. File negs as necessary. So, let go of my skirt and think it through.
You probably already use the info we leave regarding OUR transaction with a buyer/seller to determine the viability of a seller you're considering buying from, or a buyer who has just put 54 bids on your items!
(HAPPENED TO ME! I KID YOU NOT! THEY HAD GOOD FEEDBACK, ABOUT 20, BUT NEVER PAID ME. I NEGED HER INTO OBLIVION)
After my negs I got two emails from stupid cows saying basically "oh, she bid on my 'camera', 'blender' 'widget', and never paid! Boo hoo!"
Well, I replied "if you'd done the right thing and neged them you'd have saved me a lot of grief!"
The system isn't perfect, far from it. But you're either part of the solution or part of the problem.
posted on March 24, 2001 03:33:09 AM
I have had more deadbeats within the last 3 months that I have changed things around a bit. I now send one email, that is the EOA. I dont send another one, since in most cases, it just gives the deadbeat some more time to drag their feet.
Day One: EOA
Day 15 : NPB
Day 26: Neg, FVF, Relist.
I'm sorry if my post offended you. We obviously have quite different opinions about this. BTW you're dead wrong about my "Hanging on to your coattails". I NEVER look at a bidder's feedback. I just let the auctions end and the deadbeats will be deadbeats.
Why? Because the current feedback system is so broken that it's useless for sellers.
Typical scenario:
Buyer deadbeats 4 times, has FVFs filed against him (or he reaches -3 feedback) and he is subsequently NARU'd. Buyer opens another account and starts all over again, this time with a fresh, new, negless account. This may in fact be the 3rd, 5th, or 100th account that the deadbeat has opened. So that nice 0 feedback does NOTHING to warn a seller about the previous non-payments.
When ebaY NARUs a bidder for a -3 feedback or 4 FVFs, this does sellers a HUGE injustice. And what is amazing to me is that sellers take great glee in getting a bidder NARUd when they know that the bidder will just pop right back up again with a spotless NEW feedback record.
It would be much better IMO not only to allow a deadbeat to stay registered under their ID when they have negs, but to FORCE them to stay registered with the negs on the account. Make them play the game with their blood all over their uniform so to speak. It does NOBODY any good to NARU a deadbeat. Quite the opposite.
So if you choose to neg deadbeats, that is your perogative and I wish you well. But I won't jump on the bandwagon and ruin my feedback just for the satisfaction of giving a deadbeat a neg. The current feedback system is useless for sellers. I won't play a game in which the only possible outcome is for me to lose or break even. Sorry.
posted on March 24, 2001 01:09:26 PM
The most important thing here, IMHO, is to be unbelievably and unfailingly polite. I send reminders at about 5 days and 10 days if there has been no contact and about 5 days after payment should have been here if there was an email response.
I don't have to do this often but, when I do, about 90% of the time this gets the desired result which, don't forget, is payment.
Then a simple NPBA about 5 days later if necessary.
Then a simple FVF refund and neg about 10 days after that.
Life has always gone on
Bill
typo
[ edited by cdnbooks on Mar 24, 2001 01:10 PM ]
posted on March 24, 2001 01:16:40 PM
..and, reddeer, since I am such an old geezer (just ask my kids) whose eyesight isn't what it once was, I too insist on an emailed mailing addie.
If payment comes without one I send the mailed info I have back to the buyer via email and have that mailing address confirmed before I ship.
I now ABSOLUTELY NEVER ship without receiving a mailing address, or mailing address confirmation, via email.
Bill
yet another typo
[ edited by cdnbooks on Mar 24, 2001 01:17 PM ]
posted on March 24, 2001 03:56:55 PM
I send out my EOA notices on the day the auction ends or the next morning . I request that payment be made in 10 days - this is also stated in my auction. If I haven't heard from the buyer after 3 days , I send a polite reminder in case my email dropped into oblivion. On the eleventh day if I haven't received payment or heard from the buyer, I send an email asking the status of the transaction and stating that I'll have to file a NPB notice to recoup my fees if the buyer isn't interested in following through. Then about 2 days later I file a NPB and ten days after that I file for my final value fees. I've left two negatives.
posted on March 24, 2001 08:19:41 PM
duby - another day, another insight. You make good points. Thoughtful and rational. But, we exist in the present. How can we effect a change, stimulate a change, FORCE a change in the feedback system? I agree it isn't working. But action suits me better than merely existing.
You're right, of course. We do live in the present and we have to play the hands that we're holding RIGHT NOW. You play your hand the way that feels right to you and I do the same. You state your reasons for doing business your way and I do the same. Your way evidently works well for you and I'm happy that it does. My way works well for me too. We can ALL play in the ebaY sandbox without stepping on each other. There's certainly nothing wrong with stating our respective opinions though and I respect yours. I may not always agree with it but I do respect it and your right to state it.
