posted on October 16, 2001 05:54:56 AM new
I'm so confused.
I made mention in another thread of something that happened last week, but I'll repeat it here.
Buyer won with BIN on 10/8. Paid immediately with Billpoint, BUT didn't pay enough. Amount due for Priority Mail would have been $5.10, for Media Mail would have been $3.60. Yet this person only paid $2.00. How they arrived at that figure I have no idea, since the shipping charges were clearly listed in the auction. And this was the first time I can remember someone paying and shorting me so much that I'd lose money to ship the order.
I emailed this person right away with the balance due for each of the 2 shipping options. This person has very low feedback and it seems the person was able to pay the other people correctly, Billpoint even being mentioned in some of the feedback comments. I waited a few days, got no response. I emailed again on 10/11, asking them to please respond by 10/15 with how they intend to remit the additional amount due, or I would refund what they'd paid and void the sale. Checked their activity yesterday and they were bidding as recently as 10/14, so they were definitely online.
Now, I was fully prepared to refund today and neg the person for refusing to pay the full amount. In one way, I still feel it's deserved because they're completely ignoring my emails.
But the strange thing is, I was checking my feedback this morning, and guess what? This person left me a positive! And it says simply, "Very well"
I'm not certain if a neg or a neutral is in order here now. What do you think?
Also, I can't believe it but I just got another person who can't seem to add correctly! Checked my email, got another auction that ended with BIN during the night, another Billpoint payment, but again it's way short! Total with Priority shipping is $5.69, Media Mail shipping is $4.19, and this person pays $3.00! What gives here?
I've got all shipping charges clearly stated in the auctions. In both these instances, it's like they took the bid amount and just rounded up to the next dollar.
I'm a bit confused, too. Isn't there a box where you input the shipping charge when you allow instant purchase?
Or are they just using BillPoint to send you money directly w/o using instant purchase?
If customers are staring to make up their own shipping rates, maybe you should not offer an option & just input the shipping charge in the instant purchase box.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:10:29 AM new
Happened to me quite some time ago.
Do you want instant purchase? If not log into your billpoint account. Select "preferences" and check to see that the send payment without invoices is not checked. That way any buyer has to request an invoice.
dendude
posted on October 16, 2001 06:16:31 AM new
I haven't offered Instant Purchase since I started offering Priority Mail along with Media Mail. And it's been that way for several months now. So they are paying these amounts on their own.
Here's something I noticed regarding shipping. When I simply stated that I'd upgrade to Priority at their request without giving an exact quote, hardly anyone wanted Priority Mail. (At that time, I believe I did offer Instant Purchase, but input the Media Mail charge.)
However, now I do quote the rate for both Priority Mail and Media Mail. At least 50 - 60% of the customers now opt for Priority Mail, which has somewhat surprised me.
If this does continue to be a trend, I suppose I could input a shipping charge for Instant Purchase and make it Priority Mail. Then if they want Media Mail, they'd have to let me know so I could revise the invoice.
This only seems to be happening with Billpoint though. I get enough people paying with PayPal who seem to be able to input the shipping charge on their own.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:18:20 AM new
Thank you, vvalhalla! I forgot about turning that option on and off. Once I turned it on, I forgot about it since up until this point, buyers had seemed to have no problem with it.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:20:10 AM new
BJGrolle
If one person made a mistake in the total amount owed I probably would't think much of it. When a second person in such a short period of time shorted me on the total and they both used Billpoint I might begin to wonder if the fault was Billpoints and not the customers
* http://www.romahawk.com
Sounds like walhalla has your solution for you. If that doesn't work out, I'd opt for picking one shipping option & adjusting as people request (PITA, I know, but better than being underfunded for shipping!).
posted on October 16, 2001 06:34:13 AM new
I just checked my records and 9 people have paid me with Billpoint since the first incorrect payment on 10/8 through the second incorrect payment early this morning. So I'd have to say that it's not specifically a Billpoint glitch.
And, yes, Eventer, it would be better than being shorted on shipping like this and having to void the sales and issue refunds for these "partial payments".
Do you think I should deduct the Billpoint fees from their refunds, or is that being petty?
Also, the first underpayer left me a positive, probably hoping to avoid getting a neg from me. I still think they deserve a neg for underpaying and refusing to pay the rest of what they owe. Or is that being too harsh? Would a neutral be more in order?
posted on October 16, 2001 06:38:21 AM new
Reading here has been very helpful to me and I appreciate all the info posted. Glad to be of assistance.
dendude
posted on October 16, 2001 06:42:21 AM new
BJGrolle,
Sometimes you can't win for losing.
I would try walhalla's suggestion first & see if that "cures" the problem. If not & your percentage of problems continues, offer one shipping or another w/an option to "upgrade or downgrade".
For these 2, I'd think I'd forgo asking for the additional BP charges, just because I'd be thrilled if they'd ever pay what they originally owed.
As for the person who won't respond, send them a BillPoint invoice for the additional shipping & see if that gets their attention. If not, I'd file the NPB & see what happens then.
posted on October 16, 2001 07:37:54 AM new
I ship FedEX and quote a single fixed shipping cost. [FedEx shipping includes insurance and DC at no extra charge]. Lately, several people have deducted $1.10 from their payment stating "I don't want insurance."
posted on October 16, 2001 01:58:53 PM newmorgantown,
Problems, problems...
You probably mention the DC and insurance as an enticement to your prospective bidders right? Could you somehow reword it so they understand it's an all-in-one-price and that nothing is deductible to lower the quoted shipping?
In my situation, I believe what is happening is the newbies are using Billpoint because it's prominently featured on the page by eBay and they don't have to register to use it. The second incorrect payment I received today was from a newbie who just signed up yesterday.
It would seem that the more seasoned auction buyers use PayPal and I can't remember getting an incorrect payment that way.
Since I've gotten 2 more Billpoint payments today, both correct, I'm hesitant to disallow buyers to pay automatically. I'm going to try enabling the Instant Purchase option again and I'll put in the Priority Mail amount. If they don't want to pay for that, I'll have to change it after-the-fact.
BTW, I did send out 2 Billpoint invoices to try and collect the additional money owed. I have a feeling the one for the buyer who is ignoring my emails will simply also be ignored. But maybe it'll get the second buyer to budge.
posted on October 16, 2001 02:11:08 PM new
I've had three buyers short me .16 to .75 in shipping charges lately - not a big deal, but sort of cheap on their part. It's not enough to get excited about - it's just the idea. These came through checks and money orders. I think they believe they are getting the shipping cheaper this way- and they are.
posted on October 16, 2001 02:28:41 PM new
If these shortages were less than a dollar, believe me, I'd be glad to ship the items and I wouldn't even mention the shortage.
But these shortages are between $1 and $2 apiece and that's only if they wanted Media Mail, more than that if they wanted Priority Mail. And the sales price on each was only a couple of bucks as well. That's why it would be cheaper for me to throw them away rather than ship them out.
posted on October 16, 2001 05:19:28 PM new
I was just shorted 50 cents TWICE today on $3.00 items. I sent the items anyway and mentioned it when I sent their notice that the items had been sent. I couldn't believe it happened twice, since it hasn't happened in ages.
posted on October 16, 2001 05:50:49 PM new
this is the only good reason I know to use PayPal. go to PayPal and set in your preference that you will not accept monies from the send monies tab on their site. then only make payment requests. works great, you never get the wrong amount unless you enter it wrong yourself. also only ship UPS for PayPal items and we add 2.00 to every order for shipping. We've been doing it this way for 3 months and it's been grate, especially if there is a problem every item has 100.00 insurance and it has
eBay fees are like being slowly pecked to death by chickens!!!
[ edited by wranglers on Oct 16, 2001 05:51 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2001 06:01:19 PM new
Use the term "full payment" in your auctions and EOAs. This sends the cheapskate weasels the message that you expect to be paid the full amount owed. I think I can only recall one underpayer and none since I began using this term.
posted on October 25, 2001 12:06:05 PM new
An update:
The first bidder in question who shorted me on the shipping appears to have done the same to 2 other people. I left this person their first neg when they missed the deadline to pay the balance due and 2 others quickly followed, for doing the same thing, refusing to pay the shipping charges. I know I intend to file for my FVF as soon as the full 10 days have passed. I hope these other 2 sellers do also and help to get this person kicked off eBay.
Second bidder in question also ignored my requests to pay the balance due and now has their first neg. I also will file FVF and if they persist in their behavior, I hope other sellers do their part here as well.
BTW, I've learned my lesson with this. I'm going to try the checkout feature and no, I'm not checking off the box to allow the buyer to make changes. Even if it means sending out more invoices if I get International buyers or people wanting the other shipping option, so be it. I'd rather have the extra work upfront so I can get paid properly than the extra work afterwards and wind up with a deadbeat anyway.
