posted on August 24, 2004 12:17:45 PM
I had a bidder win 3 auctions from my store a few days ago, and put bids on 4 of my regular auctions. I wrote and asked if they would like me to hold them to combine shipping, no response. Then today I get an email saying that they have no email contact!! but would I phone them about the 3 auctions they won. There is no way I am going to phone the US from Canada. They said that they would be unable to contact me for 2 weeks by email. My question is, should I cancel the bids they have on my regular auctions, obviously, I won't get a reply from them?
posted on August 24, 2004 12:31:30 PM
For me, it would depend on how much money is involved. A quick nighttime call, even to the U.S., might pay off for you, if the stakes are high enough.
___________________________________
"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. You can see
that when you think how the friends that really listen to us are the ones we move
toward, and we want to sit in their radius as though it did us good, like
ultraviolet rays.
"Our communication skills improve when we can open to be aware of the needs of
the other person. When we listen, we can release the filters that serve our
own needs for security and receive the message with our compassionate heart.
And when we speak, we can choose words that the listener is able to receive.
True communication happens when we harmonize with the other individual."
-- Brenda Ueland
posted on August 24, 2004 12:57:39 PM
or you can send them an invoice via first class air
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on August 24, 2004 01:25:07 PM
I would call if they seem like a good buyer and the auctions add up to a nice sum of money. I don't know what sort of business you're in, but I had a similar situation with someone in UK!! I thought, "you must be kidding", but the guy turned out to be a great buyer and we've had five other transactions now, all well into the hundreds, and I don't regret phoning him! If this is someone you might be able to upsell more items to, why not absorb a few dollars worth of long distance? It shouldn't take too long to respond with a total cost...
posted on August 24, 2004 01:56:26 PM
Thanks for the advise, so far, she had been outbid on 2 of the 4 auctions, I think I will just let it stand and call her later.
posted on August 24, 2004 02:26:21 PM
Hello
Before the Internet all auctions paper invoiced via US mail. (Some still do) I would just mail an invoice with a self addressed envelope enclosed. If they are on the up and up you'll get a nice reply with a check. If not treat like any other dead beat.
Phone calls are nice and may work well but some tend to forget address etc. My experience is that paper invoices work somewhat better. If they are still bidding just put on invoice as of (Date). Good luck to you.
David
posted on August 24, 2004 02:56:26 PM
Thanks David, the problem is that mail between US and Canada can be 2 weeks or more, so by then she will be back on line. You have to wonder why people bid (and she has several pages of bids) when they know they are going away. It seems she is on vacation. I can't help feeling that it's her responsibility to contact me, there are plenty of Internet cafes, libraries etc. that she could use. She managed to write to me, so she got access to a computer somewhere.
If it were me, I'd wait until the remaining auctions close. Then I'd send my standard invoice with combined shipping for all the things she won.
She said she would be away from email for 2 weeks. Not all that long.
I would send her a quick email today, thanking her for writing and letting her know I will send an invoice as soon as all the auctions are over. If she hasn't already left, she'll probably get a message sent today.
posted on August 24, 2004 03:34:09 PM
Thanks Lucy, I think I'll do that, with so many charges coming off the little bit of profit, I hate to make long distance phone calls. Last time I did it I just couldn't stop the buyer talking, she just went on and on, and I couldn't even get a word in!! At least this buyer let me know she will not be contacting me, it's not like the ones who don't even tell you until they get back from vacation! She has 75 pos. feedbacks, and no negs, so I don't think I should worry about it.
posted on August 25, 2004 09:11:50 PM
<<Then today I get an email saying that they have no email contact!!> Ummmm... is it just me, or does anyone else see something strange about this?
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 26, 2004 06:05:46 AM
Maybe that is the problem, because she is still bidding. Got another message yesterday with a fax #, so I have gone that route.
posted on August 26, 2004 08:33:43 AM
Damariscotta - doesn't your ISP provide for you to pick up your mail from an outside source? Call you tech support to find out. I know mine does.
Tell you buyer to go to a Kinkos or a local library and she should be able to email you from there. Do you have a cell phone that there is free calling after 9 pm that might be another way.
posted on August 26, 2004 09:13:00 AM
Libra, I can't tell her, she can't get her messages, and I am not going to keep paying to fax her. No, we don't have free calls to the US from Canada at any time. We have a cheaper rate to England because that is where all of our relatives are, and most don't have computers. I'm just going to wait patiently, she won another auction of mine last night, but doesn't seem to realize that it is my auctions she is bidding on to add to the ones she has already one.
posted on August 26, 2004 09:34:17 AM
..doesn't your ISP provide ..
Sure. I could even configure the mail client on my vacation home computer if I were so inclined. Just don't want to bother. That's why it's called vacation.
If you go to a Mac's convenience store up there in Canada, you can get a Ceci's (spelling?) phone card and call the states for 10 cents a minute. Might be worth it if this bidder's total comes to very much. My hubby is Canuck - when we're up there, we use Ceci phone cards to make our calls to the states, to my family. They're a bargain. Maybe spelled Cece.
