posted on August 13, 2001 09:42:58 AM
I'm always very courteous to my buyers, even when I send them reminders to pay me, and 99.9% of my buyers are courteous to me as well. I have a perfect feedback record of over 1000 positives and 0 negatives and I am very professional in the way I handle my auctions, including the communication with buyers, packaging, shipping, feedback, etc. So I don't know if the heat got to me this time or if I was even wrong at all in getting a bit steamed at one buyer. The buyer won an auction about three weeks ago. I sent out a reminder after one week, as I always do when there is no payment or contact. I then sent out a second reminder five days later. Still no word so I filed the 10-day non-paying bidder notice with Ebay. Still nothing so I sent a third reminder a few days ago and said, as I always do at this point, that if I don't hear anything from them by the time the 10 days are up I'll have no choice but to file for my fee refund from Ebay and leave a negative. This buyer has a feedback rating of 46 with two negs--both from sellers who said she never contacted them. Anyway, the last reminder woke her up and she sent me an email saying she NEVER GOT the payment info from me. So let's see--3 reminders from me and one from Ebay and she never got any of them, but she got the one saying she would get a negative?! Yeah, right. So I fired back yet another email which simply said "I've sent you this information several times and so has Ebay. You have one week to pay or I will follow through on the negative." I then sent her the payment information for the fourth time. She wrote back, "This is the first time I got this information from you. Do not ever attempt to contact me again or I will complain to Ebay that you are harassing me." I would love to keep my perfect feedback record going but I feel that if anyone ever deserved a neg, she's the one, and at this point I don't really care if she gives me one back. Even if she DOES pay for the item I don't think I want to give her a positive. Was I wrong to word my last email to her a little more sternly? It's obvious to me that she either has no intention of paying for this or she's just dumb. What would the rest of you do?
Oh, I meant to add: isn't it also the BUYER'S responsibility to contact the seller after an auction? If she really didn't get any of my reminders she should have written me, right?
[ edited by ultimato on Aug 13, 2001 09:47 AM ]
[ edited by ultimato on Aug 13, 2001 10:00 AM ]
posted on August 13, 2001 10:01:12 AM
Seems to me your wording was fine, you gave her several chances to pay, you were more than patient. Besides, after three weeks, if she really was going to follow through on paying for the item, she would have contacted you for the info she needed. That negative isn't going to hurt you, people can see that it was an isolated case. Good luck!
posted on August 13, 2001 10:10:14 AM
There's been lots of email problems lately, and the code red nasty hasn't helped matters.
IMO your last email threatening to leave a neg, was too harsh, and wasn't a smart business move. If you really feel someone deserves a neg, it's best just to leave them one & move on. Threatening NPB's/slow payers with negs does nothing to speed up payment, and usually just results in getting one in return.
posted on August 13, 2001 10:12:26 AM
The heat got to you
Once she had replied, even eith an excuse, what would it have hurt to have played along with her "I never got the other emails" stance...it just could be the truth.
Also, why bother to tell someone your going to neg them?...it just makes the other guy defensive.
posted on August 13, 2001 10:22:43 AM
Thanks for the replies. Interesting how one sided with me and two with her--that's why I phrased it as a question in the subject, because I wasn't sure if I got carried away. I think from now on I won't TELL them I'm going to neg them, I'll just do it if it comes to that. Something about the way she insisted she never got 4 previous emails but got the one about being neg'd got to me, I guess. Like I said, I'm usually very courteous and efficient, which is why I have a perfect feedback record to date, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way. Live and learn...
posted on August 13, 2001 11:17:24 AM
It is possible that the person didn't receive your e-mails. Back in the spring, I found out that for the period of two weeks, some of my e-mails were not reaching their destination because my ISP had been placed on some list of ISPs that are used by spammers. Thus, other ISPs that used that list of known spammers were blocking ALL (not just spam) e-mail originating at that ISP. By the time I had caught on, I had one sale fall through. Luckily it was a slow month for me.
Don't know if your bidder is telling the truth, just suggesting that you not always assume that your customers are liars. Could have been worse, but it could have been done better too.
posted on August 13, 2001 11:33:07 AM
I don't think you were too hard. I get really tired of having to spend time reminding these people to pay for an item THEY bought. I did get a good hint from another thread - if you keep getting no e-mail answers from someone - do the "mail this auction to a friend" I also do a final e-mail to my bidders that haven't paid or I haven't heard from and say "If I do not hear from you or receive payment by (insert time) I will contact E-bay to recover my fees, relist the item and leave appropriate feedback" Sometimes it works!!
posted on August 13, 2001 11:36:58 AM
Thanks for all the good advice, folks. Think I learned a few lessons here myself on how better to handle the non-payers.
posted on August 13, 2001 11:47:43 AM
I have had instances where the buyer says they didn't get my emails. When I send my reminder notices, I add all the emails I sent following the latest. This is a pain, but is a definite audit trail and can refresh their mind. I set my email tracker to send back a read receipt. It is amazing how some see the light immediately when I can tell they have actually received and read the email.
I try to be as unemotional as possible, but sometimes it is very hard. When I send my last reminder (after I file the NPB) I include the link for the ebay rules for completion of transactions, telling them these are not my rules, but ebays and if they cannot pay by a certain date I will file a FVF and leave appropriate feedback. I never say negative feedback because I feel this puts the person on the defense immediately. It shouldn't be too hard for them to figure out what I mean, but it is not as harsh a word as negative. I want to resolve this conflict not add fire to it. In addition I state that I would like to complete this transaction and if there is something that can be worked out, I do.
As long as you keep your email unemotional as possible, being stern is all right in my book. This is not a game you are playing, but a business and they should realize that and if not, a little education never hurt anyone.
posted on August 13, 2001 12:22:18 PM
AOL routinely drops email messages during periods of high volume. Was your buyer on AOL?
I can't count the number of times I've been told I never got your email. I had one of those people admit to me that anything that "looks like" an automated message from ebay gets deleted. My EOA has the auction number in the subject so they assumed it was from eBay and canned it. I have to think that many others do the same.
I also think AOL has antispam stuff in place that has to be turned off (rather than turned on) so that can cause email to get trashed silently. I am not an AOL user so maybe someone can help out there...
posted on August 13, 2001 12:42:13 PM
File for FVF, if this is her third eBay will suspend her.
I never say that I'm going to leave a neg, but do tell the NPB that I am going to file for FVF. I also explain that I cannot afford to pay eBay a fee for a sale that never was completed. This usually works, not always though.
Negative FB will not hurt a three time offender, but can possibly hurt you. You have to decide if it's worth it.
posted on August 13, 2001 01:26:06 PM... from now on I won't TELL them I'm going to neg them, I'll just do it if it comes to that.
In general, I would recommend letting buyers know what will happen if they do NOT pay. The tone doesn't have to be threatening. It is possible (general case) that the buyer does not understand her responsibility and the consequences of violating the bid contract.
Leaving a neg "out of the blue" for a buyer is certainly no guarantee that you won't receive a reciprocal in return. When I get a "I never got your invoice" response to my NBP, my reply is usually along the lines of, "payment must be received within 10 days to avoid further action." This puts the ball back in the buyer's court without making a specific threat. In my NPB notice, I do explain that failure to pay will result in a warning from eBay and negative feedback.
. Internet Pioneers
posted on August 13, 2001 03:31:48 PM
Ultimato: You did great. It is as much the buyer's responsibility to contact the seller as vice-versa. When that amount of time went by and she didn't contact you, using the excuse that she "never got your e-mails" just doesn't fly. YOU never got HER e-mails. And, with 1000 feedback, a negative will not hurt you a bit. Just post your own explanation under the feedback they leave for you. Having a negative on your record is not the end of the world, and perhaps shows other potential deadbeats that you are serious about your business and will leave a negative when it's warranted. Go for it.
posted on August 13, 2001 05:29:20 PM
Thanks for the advice, everyone. She has till the 20th to come thru with payment so I guess the ball's in her court, as they say. I will definitely take the advice of most of the folks posting here and will change the wording of my reminders to not directly threaten a negative. But I do agree you have to let the buyer know you mean business.
posted on August 13, 2001 11:56:52 PM
I think the "send auction to a friend" is helpful because it reiterates that you are trying to reach them. Plus I add to my tos that I will be contacting them, if they don't hear from me, do contact my via "send auction" because I am trying.
At least they can't as easily sit on their hands if they use the "I never got your email excuse."
To be honest, though, I would just walk away from the whole neg thing. I can't be bothered, I will just file fees and move it out to a new bidding audience.
Plus my feedback is not even close to yours, so I am not butch enough to swallow a neg at this point in my career.
My turnover is low, my clients are fussy and I am just not into the hassle.
Maybe when I get more "muscular" with the feedback, I will be more tough with the deadbeats. But still, most people have been nice, I don't let the bums get me burning because I know it will spill over into the nice guys problems.
One nice guy sent a payment 20 days apres auction. Not horribly late, but I was on the verge of a third notice.
He tossed in a coupon for a freebie at the grocery store. Hey it wasn't a lot, but gee, nifty.
Yeah I know, amateur hour!
