posted on January 8, 2008 01:48:35 PM
When someone wins one my auctions, I usually reply directly to their email address. One reason is that I want to display my store referral link, and also, I find it more convenient. Had a buyer last Thursday, I have sent a couple of emails with no reply, so I send one through "contact buyer". Got a reply almost immediatly, "sorry, I never check emails, just messages". Who never checks emails? Well, I guess I have answered my own question, this buyer.
posted on January 8, 2008 02:17:27 PM
I know so many people who don't check their email. I don't understand it, but it just goes into the large pile of things I don't get.
posted on January 8, 2008 02:30:24 PM
I have a buyer id that is tied to a yahoo account. I rarely log into it. Just pay for my stuff and read the eBay messages.
I'm not going to disagree, but why have an email account if you never read it?
BTW, the way the top two (family and friends) sometimes contact me is through email or phone, on the unimportant list. Unfortunately, all of my family and friends don't live next door (never mind, that would involve the doorbell)
My in-laws don't have an email account, so if I want to contact them, I phone them. However, if they had one, and I sent them an email, I would expect it to be read within a day or two.
posted on January 8, 2008 03:29:46 PM
I didn't say I never read email. It's on the Unimportant list, though. I may answer the phone. I'm much more likely not to. If you really need to talk to me you can leave voicemail. I probably check it twice a month.
In this life, everyone chooses what they want to be a slave to, whether or not they realize it.
Some people absolutely have to watch the evening news. I can't imagine why.
I am not a slave to the phone, the doorbell, the news or email.
posted on January 8, 2008 03:49:37 PM
Fluffy: As all my children are married and living a distance away, phone and email ARE my family contact. I think it is important to answer the phone and check emails, we have often done that and it has been an emergency, like an injured or sick family member.
posted on January 8, 2008 03:52:10 PM
Would you not agree however, amber, that it is unreasonable to expect others to have priorities identical to yours?
posted on January 8, 2008 05:01:57 PM
back to the original question, I think some of my Vendio notices go in the buyers spam file. so I send a ebay invoice after a couple of days.
Fluff have you never had a buyer send you a email to your address and not through ebay??
posted on January 8, 2008 05:04:43 PM
Amber: I find it strange, especially since they are purchasing online. I HATE the ebay message system and REALLY HATE the ebay "ask a seller a question".
Emails and phones are very important and necessary to me.
posted on January 8, 2008 05:16:27 PM
I get so many questions from potential buyers in my e-mail that I'd hate not to be checking it regularly. I may be one of the minority that doesn't check My Ebay messages there. To each his own.
What I don't understand is an eBay buyer who doesn't look at his e-mail. Seems very odd to me.
And communicating with friends and family is a top priority for us. I can't imagine losing contact with our far-flung friends all over the globe.
posted on January 8, 2008 05:43:11 PM
I prefer e-mail and I do check it however I can choose to answer it or ignore it!
All my working life I was tied to a telephone and in later years also a Pager and since I retired I find I don't want to answer the telephone nor do I want to make any calls. I flinch each time the phone rings.
My DH is the complete opposite, he forwards the home phone to his cell phone each time we go out of the door in case he misses a call. I have given up teasing him about it.
It just goes to show that everyones priorities are different....even in the same household!
posted on January 8, 2008 06:07:40 PM
fluffy: I certainly don't expect people to have my priorities. What I do expect is that if people are doing online transactions, they should be checking their emails, if not, they should be doing their shopping in stores. An eBay message is also an email, so if you read them, why not your other emails.
posted on January 8, 2008 06:24:39 PMWhat I do expect is that if people are doing online transactions, they should be checking their emails, if not, they should be doing their shopping in stores.
Now, see, that's another one of those "people can be different" things. I buy stuff on eBay and elsewhere on the Web all the time, but I sure don't check my email for those transactions. I usually don't even read it. It goes straight into the Saved Trash folder.
I buy, I pay and if it doesn't arrive in a couple three weeks, I'd probably follow up, but basically I'm a buy-it-and-forget-it type.
As a seller, certain emails are automatically generated. I don't send any myself, nor do I expect any email from my buyers. They either pay or don't pay. I used to do the judge-and-jury thing of weighing whatever excuse they had for not paying but I just don't care any more. Everyone who doesn't pay gets treated the same.
Generally I don't read eBay Messages, either. I glance at the top five or six but that's about it. It's too much work for too little payoff. If someone has a problem, they'll file a PayPal dispute, so I'll hear about it anyway.
You realize of course I am being extremely frank about all this. Many people and practically all businesses publicly claim they have outstanding customer service (whatever their actual internal policies may be). My customer service consists of shipping the exact product that people pay for and doing it in a reasonable time frame.
posted on January 8, 2008 10:35:01 PM
My original response pertained specifically to eBay shopping and my buying ID. I find checking the eBay message system is sufficient for my online buying at eBay.
For selling and for family it is a different story. I always have my GMAIL open to one of my accounts and monitor it pretty constantly.
I find that most of my customers contact me through the eBay system, which is OK since I usually have my eBay account open constantly too.
Like fluff I refuse to answer the phone just because it is ringing. No one ever rings my doorbell so that is not a problem
