posted on January 15, 2006 09:34:45 PM
I am so tired of this kind of message; I've gotten three in the last week, all from newbies. Who's telling them there's "regular" mail vs. "priority"??? This sale was for a 5-pound item. And she wants it packed well. (No, I was planning the usual sloppy job.) I guess I'm on my broom tonight.
"I can send you a check or pay by paypal as you wish. Also, do not need this sent by priority mail, just regular mail which is pretty fast these days. More importantly, I want it packed well. Just let me know what you wish. I too am new to EBAY. Thanks again."
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posted on January 15, 2006 09:45:46 PM
I'm assuming she is referring to parcel post, which in many instances offers only minimal savings over Priority. You might want to quote her both rates, along with transit times and let her take her choice. Be sure to add the cost of insurance. Her obsession with packing would raise a small red flag with me. Sounds like she has received some damaged merchandise in the past or had some other bad experience.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on January 15, 2006 09:50:36 PM
I'll mention the parcel post and, you're both right, it frequently is less than a dollar difference, sometimes just pennies. Yes, I agree there seems to be an obsession with the packing, which is scary. I also guaranteed to her, as I do to others, that if my shipping estimate comes in too high, I'll refund some of the overpayment. I do this often with newbies.
posted on January 15, 2006 10:02:35 PM
I've been a bit touchy about that kind of message also. One look at my feedback and they should know that I pack well. It is always the first comment that my buyers make.
I even had a directive this week from a buyer/seller who has 900 feedbacks. He took 11 days to pay me with PayPal and then had the nerve to tell me how to package it and added that I needed to write Fragile on the box. Give me a freakin break! It was for a restaurantware creamer. You could not break that darn thing if you shipped in a plain envelope, lol.
posted on January 15, 2006 10:05:20 PM
Lucy: No, I quit charging exact postage long ago. I do figure in some for handling, but will refund a bit here and there, still keeping my handling charge in the mix.
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posted on January 15, 2006 10:13:13 PM
I get this, too, not just from Newbies. As an eBay buyer, as well as seller, I know where they're coming from. I just received 100 postcards that it took me 20 minutes to open to avoid damaging the cards. Some sellers have no sense in packaging, especially for items outside their expertise.
posted on January 15, 2006 10:18:29 PM
I haven't gotten any of these lately. Maybe because there are a lot of comments in my feedback about good packing.
The ones I get are generally along the lines of "How cheap can you ship?" The latest was from a guy in Germany who figured a heavy camera lens could go for $17.50. Of course he said he didn't need insurance, etc.
Yeah, right, I'm gonna ship a $500+ package halfway around the world without insurance? Dream on, dream on...
posted on January 16, 2006 12:54:42 AM OhMsLucy, wrote,
Yeah, right, I'm gonna ship a $500+ package halfway around the world without insurance? Dream on, dream on...
Do it worldwide all the time in discrete little packages with no special marking (unregistered, sans insurance) provided they pay into our bank account (thus no chargeback risk for us). Of course we obtain certificates of posting as proof we sent their item, and all items have a generic return address incase they are the one in a thousand "undeliverable".
posted on January 16, 2006 12:30:18 PM
I have found the last two people who cautioned me to 'pack carefully' received a 'damaged item'. No way that could be true on either one of them, but they did not buy insurance. I refunded because they were low dollar items but they aren't going to get me again. I do value my good feedback and it is worth a few dollars to keep it. I will insure those packages where the people are so worried about my packing!! In 7 years I have had maybe 8 packages received by buyers that have had damage, counting these two people!
posted on January 16, 2006 06:01:55 PM
I usually refuse to ship Parcel Post - the problem is it takes so long to get there that they buyer may file a non-receipt claim if they used Paypal. Same with surface mail for international. I'm not taking the chance, even if they request it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
Caroline