posted on September 2, 2001 11:50:37 AM new
I have seen a very disturbing trend in emails from eBay buyers in the last year or so. The language is harsh with words like "fraud" "ripoff" "if my item isn't here tomorrow I will .....", etc. There often is no logic, explanation or reason to their comments. I had one guy ranting because he did not like the color of the background on my website. Another claimed payment was "sent 3 weeks ago" when the auction only ended 1 week ago.
I am curious if this is unique to the product line I sell and the calibre of buyers who buy (rock and roll memorabilia) or is it a general trend with other sellers. I know that many of my customers are frying their brains on mind altering substances but many are serious collectors in the executive suite.
I have taken the position of simply not responding to most emails. I have an FAQ page which covers most of the questions. Beyond this inquiries must be submitted on a form. I picked up this technique from a competitor and it is VERY effective. The resultant negative feedback was disconcerting at first but now I simply ignore it. My sales are at an all time record high - very high (no pun intended). I feel all sellers need to toughen up or forever be at the mercy of unrealistic buyers. From some of the threads on this board many of you are agonizing over unrealistic negs. Comments??
posted on September 2, 2001 11:59:56 AM new
There have been posts here in the past about certain categories actually attracting buyers that are young men. Evidently, according to some of the sellers, young men as a group are terribly aggressive on the internet, careless about leaving feedback, sometimes sending angry emails, etc.
I have a friend who sells autographs and it's also a difficult category in that the buyers don't want to leave feedback and are aggressive when the item hasn't arrived yesterday.
So what you're experiencing may just be the category you sell in.
posted on September 2, 2001 12:07:03 PM new
It may just be the category. However, I do get tons of superb positive feedback. I am just curious about the trend and whether it extends into other categories or not.
posted on September 2, 2001 12:14:22 PM new
I sell a large variety of items and when I was selling my own unused craft supplies the people I dealt with were wonderful. Very polite, friendly, etc.
I then sold some records and the people that bought country music were polite as a whole but all others were very impatient, very critical, and very difficult to deal with. The same thing with a large collection of game books I sold.
Then I sold a large collection of souvenir spoons and those people were also very polite, helpful and nice.
I have decided it is definitely category related! I cringe when I list a batch of records now but since I have collected over 10,000 LP's in my lifetime I have a lot to go so just have to deal with it. I did set up a different seller account to list those so the feedback and emails wouldn't be mixed with the more pleasant transactions.
posted on September 2, 2001 12:46:53 PM new
This has nothing to do with categories, regions or anything else. The Internet allows people to feel annonymous and do all the things cowards do when they aren't face to face. I have a website where I provide lots of free information. Every so often I get an email like:
"Your site is so lame. The colors stink. I am never going back there again."
I don't bother to reply but if I wanted to waste the time, I would probably say something like the following:
"I am terribly sorry that you don't like the site where I spent hours to provide you with free information. It saddens me terribly that you won't be returning to freeload because now I can't tell my landlord that the reason my rent is late is because I would no longer be getting the money you never spent. Since I offer a money back guarantee, enclosed in this email is all of the money I made from your visit. Thank you and please feel free to not drop by again."
I had someone email me with an inquiry on an item on a Saturday afternoon. An hour later she emails, "Did you send out my item or not? Since I haven't heard from you, I will be buying it elsewhere."
I emailed her back, "Good luck finding a site that will place your order and ship within one hour on a Saturday afternoon without even receiving payment. If this is your expectation, then I guess I can't meet them since I have the strange belief that most shippers are closed Saturdays and most businesses require payment before shipping."
Since rude folks are usually the first to post bad feedback or do a charge back without even contacting the seller, I prefer not to deal with them at all. Sometimes I wonder if I should post, "rude folks, don't bother to email."
posted on September 2, 2001 01:15:06 PM new
yisgood:
Rude people - almost by definition - don't think they're rude. And they don't think much anyway (other than about themselves.)
Edited to add: I suspect that warning (or pleading for) these undesirables not to contact you or bid on your items might actually ATTRACT them to do just that...
posted on September 2, 2001 01:34:14 PM new
I haven't had rage yet, but since Media Mail became more than 50% of what I ship, I've had lots of worried buyers. Since I minimally use dc, and often insure, I can usually put their minds to rest by emailing them a copy of the form.
I guess I'll change my tos to say something like: US shipping $X for Media Mail (7-21 days delivery time) or $X for Priority (2-3 days delivery time). My tos is a little bit longer than is usually recommended on these boards, but I also get very few questions during an auction, so I guess it's not too offensive.
Since I sell mostly books and decorative items, I don't have a lot of young men as customers. I sell animal skulls occasionally, but the young men that buy those have been super.
posted on September 2, 2001 04:01:25 PM new
I sell alot of videos and DVD's.Every great once in awhile, I get the know-in-all that isn't happy with their purchase.Instead of just asking for a refund or exchange you get the old.... You sold me a Bootleg,The picture on the box was different that the one I saw on Amazon.It didn't have a silver thread in the wrapper.The booklet wasn't in it.It wasn't really sealed from the factory.I think you really viewed it before you sent it.This is Piracy,you made it and did a lousy job.Mine had a finger print on it.It stared the wrong person,I don't want it.Did I miss anything?
posted on September 2, 2001 07:41:37 PM new
yisgood said:
"Good luck finding a site that will place your order and ship within one hour on a Saturday afternoon without even receiving payment. If this is your expectation, then I guess I can't meet them since I have the strange belief that most shippers are closed Saturdays and most businesses require payment before shipping."
hollowayd said:
"What kind of service is that!!-- no shipping within 1 hour of receiving the order! My gosh, I usually just tuck the book under my arm and head out the door walking in the right direction if the customer asks! Oh sure, there are some folks that rely on postal services or shipping agents- they just don't know how to provide PERSONAL SERVICE and that's what it takes on the internet to succeed is PERSONAL SERVICE. Why I remember one time when somebody wanted to meet me at a McDonald's fifteen miles away to pick up a $9 book. I said sure! I was a bit off put that he wanted to meet at 11 pm on a Sunday evening but I agreed. You know why? PERSONAL SERVICE-- That's what it takes! Oh and when I showed up and he paid me with winning McDonald's Monopoly pieces for three Big Macs and a Happy Meal and $1.25 in cash I could have complained, but I just checked out the prices and saw that I was REALLY 75 cents AHEAD on the transaction! That's what you get when you provide EXCELLENT PERSONAL SERVICE!!!! By meeting all of this EXCELLENT BUYER'S simple requests I was able to achieve a NEUTRAL feedback. He said it would've been a NEGATIVE, but I provided EXCELLENT PERSONAL SERVICE even though the book was the wrong title."
satnrose said to hollowayd:
"Why the last time I bought a book from you, I had to go over to your house and choose for myself. Next time, I want you to pick out your most underpriced book and send it to me on approval.........and write me up an eBay listing for it........with pics.....In fact, you can just do the transaction for me and mail me the money afterwards.......oh, what the hell, just send me money and you won't have to do all that work...."
hollowayd replied:
"See! That's what I'm talking about! Everybody knows that work is the bane of the drinking class, and here you are willing to save me just a ton of work. That's what EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE gets you. The check's in the mail my good pal, the check's in the mail. I just had a dealer "buy" something from me for $750 and as he hands me the check he says, "OK, now just hold it until I call you and tell you the money's there!" I was half disgusted, half amused......"
posted on September 2, 2001 08:50:07 PM new
While I think the kind of item you sell has a lot to do with the sort of buyers you get, there are other factors as well. A long and contentious TOS or lack of response to an email query about delivery can get a bidder on edge.
Comments from browsers can be annoying, but sometimes, just once in a while, they may point out something important. Like if someone complains about your color combination it could be that it is not as readble on their 'puter as yours. Or if the description/jpg etc isn't coming up, perhaps your service is down/slow or your code was incorrect.
Every complaint, I believe, is an opportunity to make a customer out of a complainer. The tone of the answer is the key. Behind every complaint is the reason they are not bidding. Address the complaint and you may have another bid.
I imagine even the bible sellers get rude and impatient folks now and then! I try to remember to _respond_ to the problem, not to react, or take it personally. The most important rule is to answer emails promptly.
If I do that, only rarely do I find I am unable to satisfy the customer/prospect. But 98% of the time, people just want to be reassured - promptly - with facts and information. And I give it to them as quickly, truthfully, and politely as I can.
posted on September 2, 2001 09:00:18 PM new
No kidding. Last week, had an auction end on Thurs. Sent out an EOA to the bidder.
She PayPaled the money Sunday EVENING, and within an hour wanted to know if I had shipped it yet?
I wrote to her, and said: I'm sorry, the Post office is closed, but it will go out tommorow, Monday morning.
She replied, and said, she was a seller, and she was ill, and even when she is ill, will travel to the airports 24/7 post office as soon as payment is received.
I didn't respond. Why bother. People are impatient.
I do go to the airports 24/7 post office here, but I don't tell anyone
posted on September 3, 2001 05:18:44 AM new
Airports have a 24/7 post office? Are they normally at the terminals where? When I have to work late and my normal post office is closed, this would be great! (I work 4 miles from the airport)
posted on September 3, 2001 08:58:41 AM new
Most International Airports have a 24/7 post office, ours only closes from 12AM-11:59PM on Christmas Day I believe.
I don't know how many there are across the country.... the seller I sold to, said she was in the Tampa area, and uses that one.
You could find out by looking for USPS near your airport, ours is called 'Express Mail Center' but its a full service post office.
(Meaning it does anything any other Post office does)
No they are not located inside the airport, at least ours is not, usually very very close to it.
Ours is Seatac International Airport, near Seattle.
However, I don't advertise I use it. Its not that close to where I live, and if I did, I most likely would have people all over me asking where their items were in less than 2 days
If I go in on a Saturday before 8pm, packages usually arrive Monday to most destinations, including the east coast. Not always though, but a large percentage.
edited to add: the person that was complaining about sending on Sunday, got her item on the following Wed. I did mail it on Monday.
[ edited by MrsSantaClaus on Sep 2, 2001 09:21 PM ]