posted on August 26, 2001 06:41:19 AM
I'd like to know what ya'll think this seller should have done AND what feedback I should leave.
I bought an old book back in June. Sent my payment via money order as she requested, including optional insurance -- total $17 something.
No book, no book, no book. In several emails back and forth she blamed me for not bringing it to her attention that I was including the extra money for the optional insurance she offered. No, she didn't buy the paid for insurance.
Her follow-thru was extremely poor, IMO, and not all that friendly (or remorseful).
She finally emailed me that the empty package had been found somewhere, but not the book and that she'd given instructions to USPS to send me the book "when it's found." When? Hah!
I'm VERY unhappy about this. As unhappy with how she's handled it as I am about the $17 loss.
What should she have done (other than communicate with me better)?
And what feedback do you think I should give her?
Looking forward to your responses.
CG
Oh, I'll also say that in one email she tried to accuse my neighbors of somehow stealing it since, according to her, the package was "returned empty at MySmallTown, USA" and what are your neighbors up to, or something like that. My mail carrier -- in fact my postmaster both know me, know I buy and sell on ebay. I personally can't imagine that it wouldn't have been passed on to me had they received it "empty." I probably ought to ask them about it and in fact I think I will. My carrier is so sweet, he always brings it to my attention when he has a box for me that rattles too much, or is badly beat up.
posted on August 26, 2001 06:57:53 AM
hmmmmm
if you did not include a note saying you wanted insurance or include it in an email confirming their winners notice how exactly are they to know what you wanted????
the part about the empty box being returned sounds like BS to me. i would definetly investigate it with my peeps at the p.o......i suspect they are conning you but i still wonder why you did not mention you wanted insurance.....................
i would neg them and move on of course you will most certainly get a retalitory neg. if that happens check out auctionrevenge.com and shillersRus.com
posted on August 26, 2001 07:22:45 AM
I always inform my buyers that if they include money for insurance thay must let me know, so I can make note of it.
However, if by chance that thay did buy insurance and I failed to insure, then a refund would be in order.
In this situation where the PO delivered the package empty I think the PO should take responsibity whether its insured or not.
posted on August 26, 2001 07:24:11 AM
Ack! I've accidentally done what this lady has..gotten too busy to notice the additional payment for insurance & sent it merrily on it's way. Mercifully, in the few times I've done this, I've caught it (of course, always RIGHT after I return from the post office) and immediately "fessed" up to the buyer & returned their insurance payment.
Now, I would NEVER blame a buyer for "not telling me" but it WOULD be nice, if you include money for optional insurance", to let the seller know in advance that you've included the money.
Now, beyond that, your seller has behaved poorly. You should have gotten an apology and an immediate refund of all your money, IMHO.
As to feedback..
Sent $$ to insure, seller didn't, item lost, seller refuses to refund.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:07:33 AMEventer:
I've spaced out on the insurance thing, too!
Fortunately, I send everything with DC so at least I have something.
Curious Question:
Rather than refund the insurance $$, why don't you "self insure" those items?
Only wondering since the buyer had wanted insurance on the package.
(*just seeking info, not questioning how you do business*)
(sheesh I hate having to clarify everything!)
CleverGirl:
This is the Seller's boo-boo ~ you should not be at a loss for it.
She should refund your cash.
If not, mebbe ask her for the "returned package" so you can "take care of it" with the Postal Carriers you know so well locally.
*works for me when trying to call a bluff*
Good Luck!
posted on August 26, 2001 08:43:12 AM
the previously aforementioned websites came up as not good data. Please provide links.(auctionrevenge.com and shillersRus.com)
sounds like she never sent the book in the first place. I've had similar experiences. I've been ripped out of my money quite a few times. I've been trying to buy only from sellers here at AW now since they have good records of getting merchandise to the buyer.
BTW any sellers here sell books cds and/or movies?? I like suspense stuff, but not too graphic. And I like mostly country music. If so, email me @yahoo.com and I'll look @ your auctions thx
posted on August 26, 2001 09:13:01 AM
"if you did not include a note saying you wanted insurance or include it in an email confirming their winners notice how exactly are they to know what you wanted???? "
Oh please!! If I include insurance in my payment, any seller who cannot figure out that bid + ship + insurance is more than bid + ship does not deserve my business.
Any seller that requires me to tell him or her WTF I am paying is too lazy to get my business again.
I tell bidders what they owe, with shipping, and tell them how much optional insurance is. When they send me payment it's pretty easy for me tofigure out whether they included insurance payment or not.
posted on August 26, 2001 10:25:16 AM
capotasto,
With all due respect, I think you missed the point. If someone has 100 auctions going it is impossible to remember what one bid price was, so it really isn't asking too much to ask buyers to include some sort of a note requesting insurance. Without one it is too easy to miss insuring it.
"Any seller that requires me to tell him or her WTF I am paying is too lazy to get my business again. "
So your customers do not need to include an auction number either?
And yes I do own a calculator-- thank you for your suggestion.
CG--
If you were my customer I would have refunded.
She should, but since it seems that she won't I would probably leave a neg. You didn't get anything for your money. That is a good reason to neg in my book.
posted on August 26, 2001 10:36:47 AM
I run over 100 auctions. Insurance is optional on most items. In my EOA, I state Total payment is xx.xx If you want insurance add .60.
They don't have to call it to my attention. Thankfully, I can add in my head. Calling it to my attention is nice but not necessary.
On most things I do self insure & the price is built into the shipping/handling.
In my particular case, the lady asked about insurance and I told her it was self insured but she sent additional amount anyway which I didn't immediately catch.
posted on August 26, 2001 10:47:51 AM
In this thread, there is a seller who doesn't notice an additional amount of money sent for insurance, while in another thread:
posted on August 26, 2001 10:49:06 AM
Maybe this is one time where my non-automated system catches something.
I have a hard copy for every auction. On it is the winning bid, shipping, insurance, and total that went out in the EOA. Since this hard copy is also used to log the payment, both amount and type, and when the item ships, I'd catch this 99 times out of 100. The reason I wouldn't catch it everytime is 'cuz I'm human.
The seller acted badly though. If insurance is optional, she's responsible whether you tell her you've included it or not. I'm wondering if she'd have caught it if you UNDERpaid her by $1.10.
I would tell her that while I sympathise with her situation, you did indeed pay for insurance and would like a refund for the book if it doesn't arrive 30 days from when she shipped. You obviously can't force her, but it's a valid reason for a neg. Give her a moment to calm down and resolve this before you neg her, though, and don't threaten. If you don't get satisfaction, just neg her.
posted on August 26, 2001 10:51:16 AM
I would email this person and request an immediate refund or you will turn the matter over to the postal authorities for mail fraud. If you paid by CC just initiate a chargeback.
[ edited by mballai on Aug 26, 2001 10:52 AM ]
posted on August 26, 2001 10:54:57 AM
I would worry that the seller was me, except that when I forget to put on the paid-for services, I feel so guilty I can't sleep at night.
posted on August 26, 2001 11:02:10 AM
I've learned not to go out on a limb here - there's always someone standing around with a saw just waiting to lop it off. But here goes:
I can't imagine the kind of system a seller is using that s/he is not immediately aware of an overpayment.
Are any of them the same ones that come to this Board routinely about the ocassional underpayment? How do they know?
Sorry, but I'm always going to know if the amount sent is the correct amount. The small amount of effort it takes to set up and maintain a workable system far outweighs the headaches resulting from not having one.
Off the top of my head, I would vote on the side that says if you paid for insurance, and your seller pocketed the money and didn't insure, she is personally responsible for the loss, and should immediately refund you 100%, then argue it out with the post office herself if she so desires.
Off the top of my other head, I would also guess that you are not dealing with a professional, and you most likely will be a casualty of her unprofessionalism. I would pursue the matter with the thought in mind that ulcer medication is much more than 17.00.
posted on August 26, 2001 11:10:11 AM
In the seller's place I would have refunded your money. I know there is a Blocked Bidder feature - is there a Blocked Seller or do you have to remember on your own?
I do like it when the buyer mentions any extras they are paying for, but I can and do look at my spreadsheet and see that 7.95 for the widget plus $3 shipping is not the same as what they sent me, and if it is $1.10 off, it must be insurance.
posted on August 26, 2001 11:48:46 AM
As far as buyers and communication, I feel lucky enough to receive a payment with a "Ship To" address, LET ALONE specific instructions!
As with some others on this board, I too have a hard copy system with my information about the sale, as well as a individual number system for each item, and -knocking on wood-, I have never sent out the wrong item. As with Sadie, I to have been human and forgotten to insure a package, and if that were the case, I would hope the seller would fess up, not berate the buyer for not informing them of their insurance desires.
I can always tell when a buyer has "overpaid" by $1.10, and I make the rash assumption that it is for insurance. I guess if you rely entirely on an automated system, it could slip through the cracks (but what do you do if your computer or a website is down? I have so little faith in my computer, I need to have everything in front of me on paper!)
posted on August 26, 2001 01:05:26 PMI can't imagine the kind of system a seller is using that s/he is not immediately aware of an overpayment
Okay, I'll fess up..I'm notorious for not paying attention to the exact amount of payments. (Lousy business practice & I know it & keep promising I'll do better).
When a payment comes in, my first instinct is to get the package back out the door. It may be a day or so before I balance my payments against my sales records.
There've been less than a handful of times when I've been shorted on the shipping. And NO, I don't generally ask them to pay up because most of the amounts have been minor..more about this later. The one exception was a $10 underpayment and I had a thread here about that particular one.
About 3 times in the past few years, I've found, after the fact, I've been paid extra for insurance and didn't catch it. Those people were promptly refunded the amount.
Yep, lousy business practice to balance my items after the fact, but so far, it's only a very few times when I've either been over or underpaid.
Now, about the other thread..in this one, the person DID catch the shortage up front, asked the buyer to pay & the buyer was a bit less than charitable with them. In this situation, I did side w/the seller. I didn't necessarily say it is what I do in those situations.
As far as overpayments, whether for insurance or because they send an incorrect amount, I'm still firmly on the side of returning the overage. If I spot it before the package is mailed, it goes back into the package, if not, then I mail a refund check.
Hope this clears up any confusion. Get overpayment, refund it. Get underpayment, if you wish to ask for it, ask for it. If you don't wish to ask for it, don't ask for it.
I SWEAR, one of these days, I'll do better about balancing those amounts.
posted on August 26, 2001 01:48:25 PM
Mr P - good insight
Eventer - it is probably the heat.....
Actually, I have solved the problem of small underpayments and small overpayments: I simply don't check. What I get is what it sold for. Simple. No refunds, no emails, no headaches!!!!!!!
posted on August 26, 2001 07:10:34 PM
Thanks for all the comments.
WHen I get an EOA, I hit Reply, tell them I'll get payment out right away, and then add my address. THEN, before I ever even hit Send, I print 2 copies. One goes in the envelope with the payment.
Her EOA specifically said that optional insurance would be $1.10. It's not that I decided on my own I wanted to insure it. Normally, I circle the insurance, or add a handwritten note that I'm including money for insurance, unless I already mentioned IO want it in my response to the EOA.
However, since this required a M.O. (which I loathe because they're such a hassle), I didn't actually take time standing there in the P.O. to fill out the %^&*(_@ money order and also write nicey-nices on the EOA notice. As some of you have pointed out, I rather thought she would be professional enough to, um, notice. She has several hundred very positive feedback. Who knew?
I also had forgotten, until I was reading this thread (remember the auction was back in early June) that I also had to write her about the book in the first place because it didn't arrive and didn't arrive and didn't arrive. At that point I learned that she'd been ill or something -- ????? And yet, there were other auctions going on. Can't quite remember what her excuse for that was.
I really have felt badly treated in this particular situation and am NOT opposed to pressing a mail fraud thingie, depending on what my p.o. people say about her various excuses that involve them.
I'm glad several of you felt that since it was her error in not buying the insurance that she should self-insure. When I was selling, I sold mostly breakables and insured EVERYTHING, no option about it.
I tend to think she got a better offer on her book, and didn't want to return my $17.
posted on August 26, 2001 07:17:40 PM
Sadly, this is just one of those eBay deals gone awry. Sorry to hear of the loss.
"Anything the mind of man can believe and conceive, it CAN ACHIEVE!"
