posted on August 1, 2002 01:10:25 PM new
An auction of mine ended last night for a whopping total of $39.99. I promptly email the bidder and request that they provide me with their shipping address so I can compute their shipping costs & provide payment instructions. It is an email I have used consistently for the last year and is very simple and friendly. This is the reply I get from the bidder this afternoon. Mind you, my feedback is 164 with 1 neg - His is 0.
------------
Thank You.
Please send your full valid contact information. I will then be happy to
discuss mailing & payment info. after researching your validity. This
eliminates the possibility of fraud, and ensures good business.
Thanx,
------------
Well, he is polite - but "Research MY validity?" What does he think he is buying, the Hope Diamond?
I can only imagine how the rest of this transaction will go, as once they start off bad, they always end up bad.
This is the second strange transaction I have had in a week. The last one advised she is not happy with the product - I told her to send it back for a refund - She emails me daily to tell me it is not worth what she paid, she doesn't like it, but she is keeping it. WHY ME!!! What am I supposed to tell her, keep it and I will refund your money - $500 worth?
posted on August 1, 2002 05:37:22 PM new
This is why i write out sales final please ask questions prior to bid..has cut out a lot of this.
must be a nervous new person..i would copy & paste the ebay statement on bidding form
you know Your bid is a contract etc...thing..
wouldn't matter if you had -50 negs they bid they must pay.but don't understand that.
i would be kind & patient give him a link to the feedback faq & explain how feedback works & a link to your excellent record..
if you take paypal & are verified by them & have that # after your id of transactions tell him about that too..
usually if i am kind they thank me for explaining it all..i also warn them with the next seller to be sure before bidding as some are not patient at all.
i think this is just ignorance on their part.good luck
posted on August 1, 2002 07:01:27 PM new
Why not send your bidder a PayPal invoice. I find that brings fast results. What will be next, will the bidder want personal delivery? I do notice that most of the bidders are new with low feedback but as of yet I haven't had any problems. Oh yes one. I answer all my emails and I would appreciate it if someone has a question to email be BEFORE bidding, don't wait until the auction ends.
posted on August 2, 2002 07:23:51 PM new
An update so far - To date, since my reply to him, I have not heard back.
TimeTravelers----I replied back with my "valid contact" info and a short statement indicating he was the high bidder and if he wasn't interested in pursuing the matter, to let me know, so I could get on with my business. I think I was a little curt, but I just couldn't believe his email. It stunk of "I will tell you how to do YOUR business". It was also very early in the morning (before my first cup of coffee) and I replied quickly. I have been trying to think whether I regret that decision & so far NO is the answer.
Libra63----I can't really send the buyer a Paypal invoice as I can't calculate the postage yet without this person's shipping address. I am sure if I do not hear back from him, I will just come up with a flat rate ship quote & email him an invoice with payment instructions. However, I don't think we are really going anywhere.
I answer all emails promptly - if he had any questions about my integrity or whatever, all he had to do was email me before the bid.
I am finding if I in any way veer off of my policies, I always end up having problems. My other problem child this week started the same way - i.e., lie on customs forms, etc.
Most of my customers are very wonderful - but lately I have had a few whoppers!
posted on August 2, 2002 08:19:22 PM new
TELL HIM IT'S $200.00 SHIPPING,,,,I DID IT ONCE OVER AN IDIOT LIKE THIS AND HE RESPONDED BACK LIKE REALLY FAST. YOU ARE DEALING WITH AN IDIOT. HE WAS THANKFULLY NARUED.
posted on August 2, 2002 10:02:22 PM new
Pull his/her contact info from ebay. That will have the zip code so you can figure shipping then send the PayPal invoice.
posted on August 2, 2002 10:07:30 PM new
A friend of mine, new to buying on Ebay, just had a funny experience with a brand-new seller on ebay--a young man, wouldn't you know?! with NO feedback yet. (We should watch out for them because they tend not to have manners and tend not to know how to do step A to step Z, etc.)
Anyway, my friend bought something he really needed (was high bidder)for about $40. Didn't hear from the seller, e-mailed seller five days in a row, and nothing back.
Finally the seller e-mails, apologizes for not getting back to him sooner, says he is only able to e-mail once a week, from his girlfriend's house, sorry, etc. (And I wonder what ELSE he only gets once a week!? BAD Roadsmith. Bad, bad!)
Edited to add: Don't you all think that someone with no daily access to a computer should NOT be selling on Ebay? Or am I being too harsh? How would he answer questions from buyers? How could he check on whether his auctions are still in there and haven't been eliminated for some reason? Etc.?
When the item arrives, it is missing the manual that's supposed to come with it. NOw the buyer, my friend, thinks he'll just let it go but I say he should at least pursue it a little further.
I still wish for a tutorial questionnaire on courtesy and procedures that all newbies on ebay would have to answer correctly before they could sign on.
[ edited by Roadsmith on Aug 2, 2002 10:09 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2002 10:13:36 PM new
I agree. If they can't pass the test then they are toast.
I sit here in my chair and laugh, what next can happen. We have heard everything that can happen at least 2 or 3 times and now something new. Do you think it will ever end?
posted on August 3, 2002 07:09:27 AM new
I just had to request the contact info on a buyer because his address was not legible. There was no zip code on the info I got back from E-Bay. It only listed his Name, Company, City and State and Phone#. I had to find the zip code on my own.
I am really getting fed up with the new postal rate thing!! I just had 2 buyers today send me payments with no shipping fees again. Believe it or not, this is the 4th time in one week...I have a terrific calculator in my ads and I ask them to please calculate what their charges are before bidding so they know what the shipping is upfront. Once they have responded to me with their zip codes, I send the total to them.
This has happended to me before and then I had a stretch with no problems and now 4 of them AGH. And again, two of these buyers are also sellers and know better. What are they thinking???
Also received a check yesterday from a buyer with a postmark dated 2 weeks ago!! Did the USPS raise their rates to buy new ponies for their Pony Express?
posted on August 3, 2002 02:09:52 PM new
Believe it or not I have had no problems and I use the BIN most of the time. I only use the BIN on the items that I know what the actual postage is and in my check out I say. "This auction can be paid instantly with PayPal, but please remember to add the postage". I am keeping my fingers crossed and as of yet no problems.
posted on August 3, 2002 02:39:06 PM new
JACKSWEBB - $200 - I am still rolling on the floor over that one.
caffeeitalia - You know I know I have the option to pull this bidder's contact information, but I see a bad thing with this one and for $39.99, I think I am going to pass on this schmuck.
I have never "YET" had anyone send me a payment without the shipping included. My invoice is not very long - it is brief and to the point, but I put the numbers in a column format. I find if I write - you bid $x.xx + $x.xx for shipping = $x.xx - they can't figure it out. So my invoice goes like this:
Maybe it is the format they are having problems with.
Also, since most of the items I have sold in the past three years on eBay required a city, state & zip code for shipping quotes, I have been used to asking for their shipping information. The new postal rates really didn't do anything different for me. HOWEVER, my husband, who I have trained to write auction descriptions, keeps quoting estimates of shipping from awhile ago. So that has caused some problems.
