posted on October 2, 2005 06:14:19 AMNO MORE E-MAIL’S Between eBay, a major specialty auction, and 3 commercial web sites, we get literally hundreds of e-mails per day, 99% of which the answer to the question is within the post.
We do answer the QUESTIONS posted to us on eBay and Yahoo.
I cannot keep up with doing anything but answering e-mails with the volume ours has risen to; so last week, I posted this note on all of our e-mail auto-responds for our e-mail addresses:
Quote “OVER THE PAST YEAR, we have gotten more and more inundated with e-mails; WHICH, normally, the answers can be found within our AUCTION POST OR WEB SITE. WE JUST CAN NOT possibly respond to this continual avalanche of e-mail and get product posted, shipped and mailed.
IF you have an important question, or need, please call our office at: (1-555-555-4989) between 10:15AM and 5:45PM, (CENTRAL TIME).
Sorry, we have had to go to this procedure, but because we are getting 100’s of e-mails per day, 99% of which are ALREADY answered on our web sites or in our auction postings, we have just had to stop responding to individual e-mails.
We appreciate your patronage and understanding in this matter.”unquote
We will see how this works – I know trying to keep up with the landslide of e-mail certainly is not working, and is taking up 90% of my time.
Yes, I remember the “good ole days,” when an e-mail a day was exciting, but that was 10 years ago.
Naturally, the note is politely signed, etc.
I know a seller on a major specialty auction site who clearly posts in ALL of her ads that she will not answer any e-mail, and it does not seem to have hurt her sales at all – and she has been active on this particular auction for at least 3 or more years; and yes, her sales are high.
posted on October 2, 2005 06:30:40 AM
I'd understand that if I came across it, but it may turn off some people. That's why some people fear dealing with large volume sellers, they lose the "personal touch."
That seller who doesn't return any emails may be doing well, but I wonder if she'd do even better if she didn't have that email policy? It may get people to read the item descriptions more carefully, or it may turn off some people completely.
But I know what you mean. I get a lot of questions for which answers are clearly stated in the auction description. No matter how brief (so they don't have to go through a lot of reading),or how well written, well layed out the description and no matter how clear and detailed the pictures are, there's always a bunch of people that email questions that could be answered if they looked more carefully. Maybe they just like getting email?
I recently had a few auctions for a few very large items and put shipping costs for New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, etc. But of course, someone would email me and ask for exact shipping to upstate New York or Arizona.
[ edited by powerwebmedia on Oct 2, 2005 06:33 AM ]
posted on October 2, 2005 06:44:29 AM
an "avalanche" of e'mail? never had that problem. i'll answer the "ask a seller a question" questions _through eBay_ AND check off the box to hide my e'mail address from the recipient. but the kinds of questions you describe, where answers are clearly stated in the auction, are often phishing e'mails. i haven't gotten any phishing e'mails since i changed to answering questions through eBay's "ask the seller a question" format. http://stores.ebay.com/postcards-postcards?refid=store http://www.vintagepostcards.org
posted on October 2, 2005 06:52:24 AM
That's right, that's a very good way to avoid phishing emails or just spam in general! Good idea! I'll be switching my email address soon and will try that! Never thought of checking the "hide my email address" feature, thought people might wonder why I hid it.
I get phishing emails on an email address that has NEVER been registered with eBay though, as well as the one I have registered with eBay.
posted on October 3, 2005 04:34:08 AM
jwpc - I think powerwebmedia is 100% correct. It's hard to say that if someone doesn't do emails that their sales don't suffer. I would say they have to suffer. I mostly sell but sometimes will buy and if I have a question that goes unanswered - I don't bid "period"
I do hate the stupid questions I get all the time but I always reply - even if it's to say "I believe that's in the listing - please let me know if you need anything else. Thanks for your interest." Cut and paste and send. Also, I have to say that about 75% of the questions I answer result in bidders.
If your volume is that high, maybe you should hire some for a few hours a day to do nothing but email for you. That's an expense that sounds like it would pay for itself. JMO
posted on October 3, 2005 05:00:47 PM
I have to agree - I believe the emails should be answered, and I would not recommend sending the automated response. I, as a bidder, would be offended. My thought would be - what if I have a problem, they'll never get around to helping me if they don't bother with their emails.
I know they're annoying, but unfortunately, they're part of the business, just as in any sales oriented business, whether online or annoying customers in-person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on October 6, 2005 07:01:02 AMI ANSWER ALL the e-mails, which are posted DIRECTLY TO US on eBay or Yahoo - it is the free for all, stupid e-mails that come directly to our various e-mail boxes that drives me nuts.
We will be physically moving next spring or summer and I then plan to change ALL of our e-mail addresses; and for those which have to be posted I am going to use hyperlinks, as the "spiders" can't pick these up, as they crawl around.
We are going into semi-retirement, and hopefully will only be handling non-breakable items, non-size items, which should also cut down on the dumb questions.
It is sad when one, such as myself would rather lose 3 or 4 customers, rather than filter through 2 to 3 hundred e-mails a day.
It is my opinion, that IF someone seriously wants an item, they will pick up the phone and call our office to ask their question.
We use to have an 800 phone number, but close it, as we got endless - LONG - stupid phone calls.
Wishes for a Blessed Week
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
[ edited by jwpc on Oct 6, 2005 07:02 AM ]
Isn't the answer to a buyer complaint always "You should have emailed with your concern before you bid". I have had this from sellers who had "perfect" "great" or "mint" in the description when the item arrived with obvious old damage. I had one seller say that their item was "perfect" for something that age and if condition was important I should have emailed before I bid. Sure, I should send an email saying "Are you telling the truth about the condition?' or "What is your definition of "perfect"?" Sometimes when I am uneasy about the description I send an email with a question to see what kind of response I get.
There are also descriptions that are so badly done that they need an interpreter to figure out what they mean. I get a laugh when the description or answer to a question about size is "It is the size shown in the listing." Duh! You know my monitor resolution so you are sure what size I am seeing on the screen.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on October 9, 2005 09:43:20 AM
My husband deals in women's clubbing/evening clothes, and puts in specific sizing charts.
He naturally checks ads for similar items on eBay for sale and as others have found, often sellers put the size as large, medium, or such. In women's clothing that has little to no meaning.
Naturally, the bidder will then write you an e-Bay question, because what one women's clothing maker calls large and what another calls large can be vastly different.
My husband says with all the sizing for Women's clothes it is a wonder any are sold on line.
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
posted on October 9, 2005 01:21:13 PMWe are going into semi-retirement, and hopefully will only be handling non-breakable items, non-size items, which should also cut down on the dumb questions.
Maybe you should have descriptions that are relevant to your items. It is pretty clear is your are receiving tons of e-mail questions, that your descriptions are lacking proper content.
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Alive in 2005
posted on October 10, 2005 04:48:54 AMSTONECOLD613 Personally, since I doubt you have seen any of my postings; I feel your response of:
“Maybe you should have descriptions that are relevant to your items. It is pretty clear is your are receiving tons of e-mail questions, that your descriptions are lacking proper content.”
That seems a bit snide to me, if you have not seen my ads. We are in the process of updating some of our ads, merely because we lost some photograph links when we changed servers, but all the information I can imagine a buyer needs is specifically provided in each ad, and is RELEVANT to that specific item.
Example of one of our ads, this is a store ad, since we currently have no auctions running:
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
[ edited by jwpc on Oct 10, 2005 04:50 AM ]
posted on October 10, 2005 08:01:17 AM
No offense, jwpc, but I find your listings too slow to load and the pertinent info -- on the specific item listed -- is buried half way down the page.
As a buyer, I would simply pass your auction by. There are ample items (in your category) available on eBay and the 'Net, so wading through all the other sales pitch 'stuff' is a turn-off.
That you receive so many ASAQ is no mystery to this eBay buyer!
Bottom line... Rarely do I buy from a seller who will not take the time to list the pertinent info on the item for sale, and NEVER do I buy from a seller who will not answer my ASAQ email! I'm still on dial-up and it simply takes too long to ASAQ, but if I really want the item, a non-responsive seller is automatically excluded from my buying dollars.
Neat, clean, to-the-point listings, with the important info covered, is what sells -- to me.
posted on October 10, 2005 09:26:14 AM
I was really surprised that you didn't have anymore listings. I expected hundreds.
Maybe you are spreading yourself too thin?
If you are just using ebay to generate traffic to your website - I doubt that is working if potential buyer reads your feedback. Looks like a lot of your unanswered email is from bidders not potential bidders - and that is a totally different story. It's your business but I wouldn't do it this way. JMO
posted on October 10, 2005 09:48:17 AM
JWPC- Heads up! You are in direct violation of ebay's RULE 1 which MUST be obeyed - you are not allowed to link to your web-page in your ebay listing (it is allowed on your "me" page but NOWHERE else). If ebay sees this they will pull your plug so fast it will make your head spin!!
FYI; The translation of "LE LIERRE ÉLÉGANT DE L'CÉté! " is "The ELEGANT IVY OF The SUMMER" and not "The appearance of the table reflects one's class."
Your page loads fast enough on cable but the type is VERY large on my resolution and I sincerely got dizzy from the diagonal pattern of the satin when I scrolled down to see the "meat" of your listing not to mention the flashing buttons to look at your store gallery. I doubt people even scroll to find out the particulars ... nausea sets in..much easy to ASAQ than to read it all. That may be the reason you are getting so many redundant ASAQ even though all the particulars are in your listing.
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posted on October 10, 2005 02:20:23 PM
It was very slow to load even on my cable modem - the background was very distracting and I kept having to scroll all over the place to find the whole description.
I'd lose the wallpaper, shorten the description, put it very close to any terms and conditions, and lose the website before Ebay finds out. That's why you're getting so many questions, I had a hard time with it.
Stonecold was right, brusk perhaps, but right.
Take the advice - you have some of the best in the business here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on October 10, 2005 02:35:34 PM
You're kidding, right? At first you got me with the- why do they have to email when they can call me bit (Let's face it, the communication mode for online sellers is eMail) but when I read further down 'We use to have an 800 phone number, but close it, as we got endless - LONG - stupid phone calls', I figured you must be pulling our legs. No online vendor can successfully operate and choose to ignore its customers communications (unless you work for a Bay area technology company - but that's another story!)
posted on October 10, 2005 02:47:16 PM
neglus is right about not mentioning your web site anywhere but on your "about me" page. eBay will kill every listing you've got over that.
i have to agree with the others, this store listing is overkill - distractions everywhere, hard to find the actual item info AND your item tried to play "Clair de Lune" to me! LOSE THE MUSIC! if i want to listen to music, i'll turn on the radio or play a CD. it doesn't "set a mood" for your customers, it just annoys them. why risk turning off a customer with music they don't like? it's just plain old intrusive.
yep, somewhere, if you root around enough and can concentrate really, really hard and rise above the circumstances , i think there's a listing there. i know this sounds draconian of me, but i think anyone who puts scrolling banners and other moving objects of any kind in their listings should be shot on sight. i could be wrong about this, of course, but i want people to look at my _listings_, not at all the scrolling, rotating, etc. gizmos that people put up. oh yeah, and cursors that leave little trails of detritus behind them, aaaaaaaargh. end of rant.
posted on October 10, 2005 07:39:21 PM
I agree with pat1959. As a seller, I would not expect someone to bid on one of my auctions if I did not answer their legitimate question. I will always take the time to answer a potential bidder's question. The answer might be "beats the hell out of me" or "Damned if I know", but they will at least get an honest answer from me. I'm on Ebay to attract bidders, not to ignore them or turn them away.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 10, 2005 08:20:36 PM
vintage, I would have found it, but I think the synchronized rotating coins put me in a trance. While in the trance, I discovered that I was Marc Anthony in a previous life. Cleopatra sure was hot.
sparkz, since I sell on consignment, I probably am clueless more often than most sellers. It would never dawn on me to not at least Google for an answer for someone; it seems to me to be part of the job. I think it's somewhat sad how often people respond back and thank me profusely for my prompt reply; not sad that they're polite and appreciative of service, but sad that it is not what they have come to expect on eBay.
The more shabby service people get, the less they'll want to even bother. And dollars-to-donuts, it will be the poor service providers that will winge the loudest.
posted on October 10, 2005 08:35:53 PM
Claude...LOL...I have an account that is devoted entirely to consignment sales. I think that's where I get the customer service mentality. I'm motivated to do whatever is necessary to sell my client's item, and it carries over into my personal sales. I was in the service industry all my life, and I discovered early on that communication is the most important part of any transaction. If I couldn't answer a question, I'd hunt down someone who could. Not only is it good business, it's common courtesy.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 10, 2005 08:59:30 PM
I do have one annoying potential bidder (not customer) who periodically raids my store and posts a question about every single card of the type he collects. The first time I pulled everything out of inventory (about 20 items) and patiently answered his questions, even though most of the answers were found in the original listings. I posted his questions and my answers to the listings, in the hope they may benefit someone else. He didn't bid on a single one. A month later, he did the same thing, the same questions on the same cards. This time, I directed him to find my previous answers posted at the end of the listing. He answered back with a long explanation of every nuance of his collection. The 3rd and 4th times I have ignored him, he's on my blocked bidder list. This one out of all the other customers is the only real email pest I've come across (knock on wood)
i had a potential buyer who did something similar - he asked me _exactly_ what was on the back of a florida card, and to whom it was sent. okay, fine, i answered that question. five minutes later, same question about another florida card. five minutes later, like clockwork, the same questions about a different florida card. cranky me said i was too busy for this. it's kind of strange but, over the years, seldom if ever do the people who ask these questions ever actually bid on any of my stuff. so i've grown increasingly impatient with these questions. http://stores.ebay.com/postcards-postcards?refid=store http://www.vintagepostcards.org
posted on October 10, 2005 10:43:45 PM
Don't yell at me lol but I like music in a auction ...if it goes with the theme of the item for sell. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy over the item. Your auction loaded in under 2 seconds on my computer jwpc and your auctions looked fine to me ...the only thing that was a little hard on the eyes was the wavy background with the wavy text box.I'd go with a smooth back ground behind the text. But then I'm lazy lol and wouldn't spend all the time making a fancy auction.I think your auctions show you care enough to try and make them enjoyable
posted on October 10, 2005 11:58:40 PM
Honestly, if I was in the market for this, I would probably hit the back button once I saw your ad. It's way too busy, and it is actually hard to find your terms. Looks like nice stuff, but I think you should work on making the ad a lot less busy and repetitive.
posted on October 11, 2005 05:38:53 AMladyjewels2000 I don't have any auctions up at all, only the store open, many, many, of our e-mails come from our web sites.
I "may" start posting this week, but I never post "hundreds" of auctions, because our main business comes from our web sites.
I do run hundreds of auctions on a niche site, which is open to unique collector weapons.
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neglus I have NO LINK to any of my web sites, just an address
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pat1959 All the possible information regarding the products advertised are in that sample post. There is no reason to e-mail me direct. If you send me a eBay e-mail, I'll respond to those.
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carolinetyler I agree, depending on what type of connection you have, it can be a slow download, but chargers are not a widely common item, and what ever is on that page is there because at some point in time someone asked me a specific question regarding the information.
I don't shop a great deal on line, but when I do, I know exactly what I want, and I am very willing to wait for the site or seller's page to load.
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cashinyourcloset I don't know what auction you looked at, but I don't deal in coins, rotating or otherwise.
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Bottom line is, I have been on eBay since 1996, and 90% of that time I was a Power Seller. I finally dropped ads almost off this year with 3 deaths in the family, and a German Shepherd Show Puppy being hit with some paralyzing disease, which he is just slowly coming out of. He requires tons of care.
ALSO, ebay has gotten way too expensive, and doesn't allow many of the items, which we sell the most of which are various weapons
*****************
eBay use to be our major outlet, but many years ago we started with web sites, and now ebay is merely a side line. We have 3 major, commercial web sites, plus a religious site, and those keep me jumping.
Thanks for everyone's input.
~"It does not matter what I think, it does not matter what you think. The only thing which matters is: What is the TRUTH!"~
the point that neglus made is that you're not allowed to have other web site addresses - DIRECT CLICKABLE LINKS OR NOT, in any of your listings. you can put other web site/link addresses on your "about me" page, but that's the only place. she was trying to do you a favor.
the ONLY thing you can put that goes outside of eBay in your listings is, your e'mail address if you want to. example: [email protected] this indirectly lets potential customers know that you have a web site BUT there are huge disadvantages to doing that - like e'mail harvesting programs which search for real e'mail addresses to send lots and lots of spam to. if you're getting tons of e'mail, this is probably one of the reasons why.
to protect yourself, you should go through your listings and remove the references to various other web pages of yours that are OFF eBay that are mentioned in your listings. if eBay ever sees them, they can (and will) kill each and every one of those store item listings. usually what happens (saving eBay the work but still resulting in these transgressions appearing on your eBay record) is, one of your competitors turns you in
examples of things you should remove found in your listings -
posted on October 11, 2005 06:40:39 PM
But why should anyone have to wait for a page to load - you have less than 3 seconds to get a buyers attention - those chargers are not a unique item - sorry, but they are not.
I'm sorry if it sounds like everyone is ganging up on you - but that's the chance you take when you ask for an opinion, and there is really some good advice here. What would it hurt to take some of it? Or at least give it a try.
It's not easy to hear - but when you get the attitude that you are right and everyone else in the world is wrong - it does you no good. Everyone who has viewed your auction agrees it is too busy, there are no ulterior motives, just words of advice.
Also, I hate music in an auction - when I was working full time, I was caught Ebaying quite a bit because of it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on October 11, 2005 08:02:36 PM
WOW! I just discovered the number one reason to change over to Mozilla Firefox browser...NO MUSIC!!!! No kidding! I finally used IE (I hate to use IE) and heard the music. Firefox must recognize it as pop-up...THANK GOD!!
JWPC - I hope you don't feel ganged up upon. I think folks were just trying to help you cut down on your avalanche of email and keep you in ebay's good graces. If you don't want any more "help" it might be a good idea to remove the link to your listing in the above post.
You certainly have diverse websites - I can see how it might be a struggle to keep them straight! God forbid you would send some poor little old lady who wanted a kniferest a switchblade or a jeweled haltar top! And your retail brick and mortar stores must really keep you busy! I see why you are thinking about early retirement!
Caroline 
, i think there's a listing there. i know this sounds draconian of me, but i think anyone who puts scrolling banners and other moving objects of any kind in their listings should be shot on sight.