posted on April 1, 2002 11:03:10 AM
I've had a lot of years on eBay, yet something new pops up for me all the time. This one is interesting.
I won two auctions from the same seller.
The auctions pages state that the payment methods are check, money order and Paypal. In fact, on the auction pages are the Pay Now buttons for Paypal.
I get end of auction emails from the seller, routed through Paypal, but the emails don't give me any shipping or insurance costs, much less give consideration to the multiple purchases. On these end of auction emails, again, the payment methods are repeated as check, money order and Paypal and gives the seller's name, address and phone number - meaning the seller went into Paypal and typed in this data to show up in these end of auction emails. The Paypal Pay Now buttons are also in these emails.
I send the seller an email, ask to have items combined for reduced shipping.
I get an email back, is a form email, starts as a diatribe that buyers are not sending the seller the item numbers with their payments. Note, this email from the seller did not include the item numbers for my two auctions. Buyers print the end of auction emails from the seller, put it in the envelope with the check. If the seller doesn't give transaction numbers in their end of auction emails, buyers don't go back to look it all up, then write it down for the seller.
The email continues and gives me my adjusted shipping costs. Now here is the kicker. The seller says absolutely NO Paypal, only checks or money orders, or call their shop with a credit card number - totally contradicting their TOS in their auction pages and end of auction emails routed through Paypal.
posted on April 1, 2002 12:55:14 PM
I'm becoming more convinced each day that eBay should require buyers and sellers to pass some sort of intelligence test before alowing them to do business on line.
posted on April 1, 2002 01:32:47 PM
alldings - I've felt that way too at times. I've even wasted time trying to think up a way it could be done, and haven't figured it out yet.
I have an update on this story.
The seller writes back. Ok, hold on to your seat for this one. He says that he uses the Paypal end of auction emails because it takes too much time for him to write the buyers after the end of the auctions. The Paypal end of auction emails are free. The Paypal button goes on the auction pages because he configured his Paypal account to do these end of auction emails.
So - even though he doesn't accept Paypal, he says he does on the auction pages so that he can use the Paypal automatic end of auction notification system.
I believe this is another seller who has flunked the I.Q. test. The supposedly free end of auction emails from Paypal are useless because total costs are not incluced, the buyer is forced to contact the seller, and the seller has to write back.
posted on April 1, 2002 10:26:54 PM
With outlook express I can save an unfinished e-mail in a "drafts" folder. So i write up my form letter for end of auction, less e-mail, subject, item number and totals, and file it away. When I get a batch of completed auctions, I open it up, click on the e-mail addresses of each winner, copy&paste the form letter into each of those e-mails, then copy&paste the item number and title into them, and all I have to type up is the high bid, postage and total.
I think this guy is doing it that way to generate more bids through the Paypal logo.
posted on April 1, 2002 11:32:19 PM
What is he going to do if someone uses the pay now button in the auction? He must have an active account at paypal to be using them to send out emails. I bet if you send him 1 cent about 100 times he would quit using it real quick.(if he has a premier account)
posted on April 2, 2002 07:51:56 AM
That seller certainly has rocks for brains and is misrepresenting his auction.
I would either initiate a Paypal payment for the stated combined amount, and send it to the seller at his Paypal address. The ball would be in his court to deliver the goods, and you still have recourse to Paypal if he doesn't.
Or, I would send a copy of the seller's emails to Paypal, Safeharbor and the seller saying that since they won't adhere to the details as posted in the auction you are unable to complete.
I can almost guarantee this is someone with no retail experience, a low opinion of what people think of him/her and cheap as hell to boot.
