posted on October 23, 2001 09:05:31 PM
Should I take it as a compliment that they:
1. Tell me their son will be on TV
2. Add me to their jokes mailing list
3. Send me virus warnings or worse, send me viruses because I was in their address book
I'm honored that they feel comfortable enough to include me in their e-mails... but it borders on spam sometimes as well.
posted on October 23, 2001 09:22:55 PM
I get pictures of their family & updates.
I get jokes & social commentary.
I get virus warnings & the occasional virus.
I get included in prayer circles.
I just use the delete key. Many of these have turned into repeat customers of long standing & feel a bond.
When I was in Florida for 6 weeks w/my daughter showing & we were off ebay for almost 2 months, I had customers emailing to ask if we were okay & when we were going to be back.
I know many sellers don't feel this way, but kind of nice to know it's not all a cut & dried business arrangement. With 25% of my sales to repeat customers & people referred by my customers, I don't mind putting up w/some extra stuff along the way.
posted on October 23, 2001 09:46:43 PM
I just delete and go on.........never have asked to be removed from the list.......would not want to upset someone who might otherwise buy from me again.
Did not one that go very friendly........we exchanged a number of emails over a lost package that finally arrived......and she bought from me again..........but kept emailing me almost daily for weeks......I always answered at first........but grew weary and finally stopped answering her......she got the message after a few weeks.
posted on October 23, 2001 10:28:48 PM
I've lost count of the number of bible passages I've gotten from one of my regular buyers. I just hit delete and never mention them.
I have another buyer who lives near Mt St Helens. We discovered that my daughter shares the same birthday as the son he lost a few years back. He insisted on sending her a t-shirt, video, book and tiny bottle of volcano ashes and sends her cards and messages every couple of months. That ones a little on the creepy side but I understand why he does it. My daughter sent him the initial thank you, but if a reply is necessary to anything else, I do it, not her.
But my favourites are 3 regular buyers I have who all have daughters the same age. I get long chatty emails from all of them giving me updates about their families. For a few months they regularly competed against each other to win my auctions and I used to get emails from all of them joking about the others.
In the space of a week, I got emails from all 3 of them asking if I would notify them when I listed new auctions so they could beat the others! So I emailed the first one and CC'd the other 2 telling them that I enjoyed doing business with all of them and I admired their competitive spirit but I didn't want to give any one of them an unfair advantage over the other 2. If they wanted, I would email them all together and it would be first in best dressed. Now they have become friendly rivals and it's a race to see who gets the goodies first (and it doesn't hurt my bids either!)
Sometimes it pays to be friendly
[ edited by sweetpotato on Oct 23, 2001 10:30 PM ]
posted on October 24, 2001 01:20:33 AM
Part of the reason I like selling is to talk to my buyers! It's fun to hear what they plan to do with the items they've purchased (I sell craft-type items), about their families, and lives.
Admittedly, it's a little annoying to be added to mailing lists, but I just delete them unless it gets *really* time-consuming, and then I ask them politely if they could take me off their list since, as a PowerSeller (woo), I do get a large number of e-mails per day (200+). Needless to say, I spend a lot of time answering e-mails, but like I said, I enjoy it!
I get viruses e-mailed to me on occasion, too. I just e-mail them back and let them know so they can get it removed from their computer. No biggie.
posted on October 24, 2001 05:28:27 AM
I haven't been added to any mailing lists yet, thank goodness. I've gotten a couple of "newsy" emails from some of my customers. I usually respond w/a short, polite "thank you for your email," but occasionally I respond in a more personal way.
Lately, I've been so busy, I can barely be friendly w/my friends!
posted on October 24, 2001 06:56:44 AMPart of the reason I like selling is to talk to my buyers! It's fun to hear what they plan to do with the items they've purchased (I sell craft-type items), about their families, and lives.
Me too! I sell alot of cross stitch patterns( but I am not a Powerseller by any means). I always enjoy when the customer is friendly and lets me know what they are working on or better yet, send a pic of a finished project.
Yes, sometimes, I do get added by people's address book, but I suggest you take it as a compliment. Just delete the jokes and viruses and move on.
posted on October 24, 2001 07:03:49 AM
I ALWAYS try to be friendly with buyers! It really stands out in my mind when a seller has been particularly friendly... I try to reflect that in my feedback, at the very least.
As one who reads feedback, a friendly attitude is important. I would never buy again from someone who wears a growl in their email!
posted on October 24, 2001 07:47:00 AM
I am friendly with my customers. I consider it taking time to smell the roses. I get the funniest jokes from two of my customers and sometimes one or two will just drop me an email to talk. Some of the people that buy from me I can tell they are lonely and would just like a friendly word. Even though I am extremely busy, it doesn't take but a few minutes to answer. I might be the only little bit of sunshine in their day. I remember once a man had purchased an item from me. A week or so later I saw something that reminded me of something he said. I sent it to him and received a note that made me feel good. He told me he had had the worst day ever and was feeling really down and then received my note. He said it made the world right again. Can I ask for any more?
