posted on June 15, 2001 07:50:25 AM
I don't really think it is, but opinions may differ.
A man wins two auctions of mine totalling over $190.00 plus shipping. He has five positive feedbacks, but only one in the last 6 months, way back in January.
He emails that he'd like to pay with a personal check, would that be OK?
I answer:
[i]xxxx, yes, a personal check is fine, but since it's a large amount I will
have to wait for clearance before shipping. If you require immediate
shipment you can send a money order.
Thank you for bidding. What's your address?
Steve[/i]
No, my auction terms did not state waiting for checks to clear since we seldom do, but I need a little more track record before I ship $190 worth of stuff. If he had a substantial fb record with some recent fb, I may waive the check clearance time depending on what the check looked like, but...
I haven't heard back from him, that's why I was wondering.
posted on June 15, 2001 08:03:19 AM
I'd rate it as not offensive at all. However, I think that you should revise you TOS for future auctions if that's how you'll handle checks. I just tell everybody I'm going to hold the check, then ship anyway. Most people don't read the TOS, to they aren't affected, a very few are pleasantly surprised, and the ones like this at least feel like I'm being fair when I hold the line.
Your logic about whether to ship immediately is flawless. Or, it's the same logic I use. I suppose those could be different.
posted on June 15, 2001 08:14:56 AM
If I were your buyer, and I didn't find out until after my payment was sent that you were holding shipping while waiting for my check to clear, I might be mildly annoyed, but not enough to do anything about it or affect the kind of feedback I left.
However, this buyer wrote to you before sending payment, asking if a check was OK. I would think he is already aware that some sellers have concerns when accepting checks, and a delay in shipping is probably not a problem.
I haven't heard back from him, that's why I was wondering.
Maybe he was satisfied with your previous response, and just put his payment in the mail.
posted on June 15, 2001 10:36:53 AM
screw em, let em eat cake........i hold all check 14 days unless the number is above 3000
i do not state this in my TOS either.......no complaints in 3.75 years
I feel it is nice when a seller is concerned about how an email message is perceived.
If you are really wondering, you could do a follow up email, something like:
"Hi Whoever,
I didn't hear back from you when I answered your question about the check. In case you didn't receive that email, I am forwarding the message to you again. Please let me know if you get it.
Thanks "
I find this is very effective, it lets buyers off the hook because you are suggesting the email didn't go through, and you are asking for an answer.
I too would revise the auctions, something like "paying by check may delay shipping until check clears. "
Then you can make up your own mind about each transaction.
Good luck, I know I wouldn't want to lose a good sale either!
