posted on October 4, 2001 09:20:22 AM new
I have been selling off and on for 3 years now and am just selling a few items now. However, I have 4 out of 8 items that ended on 9/20 without any confirmation from bidders and no pay! That is too many so for the first time I will have to file NPB's on them. Do you warn people you will be filing and give them one more chance or do you let the NPB speak for you?
posted on October 4, 2001 09:23:12 AM new
Here's my general timeline.
EOA goes out w/in 12 hours.
If no response after 3 days, I send EOA out again.
If no response after 1 week, I send EOA out with "SECOND NOTICE" in it.
If no response after 2 weeks (my due date for payment), I send out a final letter saying I haven't had a response from them, they have 3 days to contact me or the item will be resold. I mark it "FINAL NOTICE".
99 times out of 100, if it gets to the final notice stage, they aren't going to pay anyway.
edited to add: on the 3rd day after my final notice goes out, I file my NPB.
[ edited by Eventer on Oct 4, 2001 09:23 AM ]
posted on October 4, 2001 09:25:50 AM new
When you file for a FVF refund, ebay sends them a "pay your seller" notice. They tend to act more quickly to that than if I sent them a nice reminder.
posted on October 4, 2001 01:16:57 PM new
EOA goes out the night the auction(s) ended.
If no contact, I resend the EOA 3-5 days later, with a note at the top saying "just wanted to be sure you received this message".
Then ..... If the bidder writes back, but payment doesn't arrive within 2 weeks, a friendly second notice is sent. If no payment by 3 weeks, a final notice is sent, giving them 10 days to pay up or the item gets relisted. NPB is filed sometime between 3-5 weeks, depending on the individual situation.
Or ..... If the bidder still doesn't respond, a second notice is sent a week or so later, followed by a final notice and NPB the next week.
In other words, I give them all a minimum of 3 weeks to pay, but will wait longer if they are responding to e-mail. And they get at least 3-4 (total) chances to respond before the NPB is filed.
(clarity)
[ edited by thedewey on Oct 4, 2001 01:18 PM ]
posted on October 4, 2001 01:20:38 PM new
I'm a small enough seller that I do mine on a case by case basis.
If my WBN was answered w/more than an e-grunt, i.e. it looks like a person actually took a few seconds to answer, I'll send a reminder before the NPBA. If no answer to the reminder w/in one business day, I NPBA.
For those who didn't respond to the WBN, I just do the NPBA w/out a reminder.
I don't follow up my WBN's because (more in the past than now), I've gotten many payments in a very timely manner from people who never emailed me after the WBN.
I file NPBA's about 3 weeks after the auction ends. FVF's w/in the deadline.
posted on October 4, 2001 01:51:39 PM new
Do not babysit your bidders and don't wait. I send out an EOA and then repeat the EOA as a second notice about three days later asking them to reply. If you do not get a response file your NPB on day seven. If they don't respond file your FVF credit ten days later and neg with facts only. Save all your email as you will inevitably find people who somehow come out of the woodwork when eBay sends the warnings out.
It's true some good bidders will get their feelings hurt, but business is on a timetable not tabletalk. No chasing, no nagging or begging. Then move on.
posted on October 4, 2001 02:35:02 PM new
"I send out an EOA and then repeat the EOA as a second notice about three days later asking them to reply. If you do not get a response file your NPB on day seven."
Oh my gosh! Some winners don't respond, they simply send payment!
If I don't have payment in 10 days, I send a "reminder" and ask them to respond by email. If no email or payment in the next 7 days, THEN I file NPB.
Then if no payment or reponse, I file FVF after the time required by ebay.
posted on October 4, 2001 02:46:34 PM new
EOA notice with in hours of the auction ending
Reminder if payment not received with in 10 days
3 days later if no response, nonpaying bidder alert on ebay
10 days later if no pay, FVF request and block bidder
Neg may come next if they play games with me and drag things out and still don't pay.
[ edited by glasshappy on Oct 4, 2001 02:47 PM ]
posted on October 4, 2001 03:05:25 PM new
I'm with Glasshappy. Have tried inemerable emails and gentle reminders and geesh--"remember me" emails.
Now it is down to two personal emails--EOA and a Second Notice. If no response after a few days to Second Notice(sent 7 to 10 days after auctions end)--then NPBA.
And yes, for some strange reason (like the buyer gets three of these), I usually hear from the bidder.
But if no payment within 15 days--FVF.
And I don't leave negative feedback. Just a personal preference. Not in the business to police eBay. That should be eBay's job. And that three NPBA rule and you are suspended has been working with with my deadbeats. They are usually tossed off for the 3 NPBA by the time I get around to FVF.
posted on October 4, 2001 03:58:38 PM new
Thanks all! When I was selling last year I didn't have enough deadbeats to worry about it. But now that it is running this high I have to start doing something just so I can go ahead and relist. Not to mention the Ebay fees!!!
I think I will go with a second reminder (sent sooner next time) and then the NPB. I was just afraid that if I pushed it they might send money but be super critical of what they receive since they didn't want it anyway. Anyone had that problem with someone who felt they were "forced" to pay?
Gosh it's getting complicated these days. I want to keep it friendly but cannot afford to pay for Ebay FV fees when I don't get paid.
[ edited by lindajean on Oct 4, 2001 04:02 PM ]
posted on October 4, 2001 05:59:54 PM new
I agree with mballai,
This is not a baby sitting service and I'm not a baby sitter. My terms are quite clear and call for the buyer to make contact in three business day and payment to be postmarked in 10 days. I expect them to comtact me in 3 days. If they don't, I will email them only once again. In this email I remind them of their winning bid and the terms of service, along with inserting an email link of the auction into the email. If I don't hear form them in 10 days, I assume they sure deadbeats and contact ebay.
In the past, when I haven't heard from the high bidder, I have emailed the next high bidder and asked them if they were still interested in the item. I have told them the high bidder isn't responding and I would like to offer the first chance to the item before relisting it. Many times they take it. This seems to work for me.
posted on October 4, 2001 06:01:12 PM new
capotasto
The reason I file an NPB is that they did not respond. eBay says you are supposed to contact each other within three business days. These are eBay's terms. Day seven is the first day that eBay says you can file an NPB alert. The alert says, in so many words, contact the seller. What's wrong with that?
My own TOS states quite clearly that I expect to be contacted when I send out my EOA. It really is nothing more than common courtesy to exchange basic information in order to pay for and ship an item.
If someone doesn't like following eBay's own protocol, I suppose they can pay retail. I don't have time to teach them how to behave.
posted on October 5, 2001 06:07:41 AM new
I send out my EOA, and then, if I have heard nothing at 2 weeks, I send a second note asking if they are still interested. If I hear nothing after 2 days, I file a NPB. If they respond, I give then a week, and then file an NPB. I know I'm more lenient than a lot of sellers, but I've been in situations myself where I can't get the MO sent out immediately, and I know that life happens.
