posted on December 20, 2000 09:34:40 AM new
OK, I've got what may possibly be my first Yahoo! sale to go south. Auction ended Dec. 14 (No, I'm not going to act immediately, but it's got me wondering). No reponse to the initial EOA or to a "second notice" with a duplicate copy sent from another email address. What's the process for dealing with NPB's on Yahoo!? Obviously, fee credits are not a concern. There's no 2nd bidder, and I understand that it might be in my best interest to just let this ride because of the "sell through ratio". Suggestions??? Do I leave feedback indicating that there was no response, no pay, if it comes to that?
always pickersangel everywhere
posted on December 20, 2000 09:41:35 AM new
One of the joys of a free auction site is that there is no npb. Don't other contacting yahoo, at most you will get a canned response on an entirely different subject. You might want to give bad feedback but think carefully. The buyer can just come back under another ID. But if he negs you back, you will carry that neg in your record. As a seller, you cant change IDs like the buyers can. My advice it to just forget it.
posted on December 20, 2000 11:03:04 AM new
I give LOTS of time to get answers, I send a second notice maybe 3 or 4 days after 1st then will even wait another couple of days for third notice.
Now if no answer to all of those, then I go in and give a NEUTRAL fb, Sorry we couldn't do business, maybe next time. No neg, but shows they didn't respond if anybody is looking....
Also at this time of the year I realllllllly wait a long time to move on when they don't answer. Too many things going on with holidays and etc, and I give them full benefit of the doubt...
Just being a softy I guess.
posted on December 20, 2000 11:55:11 AM new
Someone, labbie, I believe, suggested sending a Paydirect invoice as a kind of Yahoo NPB notice. If you are a Paydirect user, this sure seems like a nice alternative. The fact that it is something official coming from Yahoo may be enough to get the bidder's attention.
Fortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet, though.
posted on December 20, 2000 12:25:15 PM new
My EOA email asks for the buyer's address, but half or more of my bidders NEVER reply to it---they just pay me. If they pay online, I often have to write and ask them AGAIN to give me their address (especially with PayDirect), telling them "Thanks for the payment, but I'll need your address to ship your purchase to you!" So it's much too early for you to assume this is a deadbeat.
Like justjoan, I give LOTS of time for responses. I don't send a second email for at least a week, and a third for another 2-4 weeks after that. After about 6-8 weeks I neg for nonpayment, even though I might get negged in return. You can also report a bidder for nonpayment on Yahoo's Abuse Feedback form http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/auct/cgi_abuse, but I would hesitate to report someone for "Bidder Not Responding", since so many send the payment but NEVER respond, as stated above.
At this point, we don't really know if Yahoo is USING our "sell-through" rates anymore (for determining listing placement or anything else), and the bidder might come back later (after you've raised the price), wanting you to honor his lower bid. So cancelling his bid is a decision you have to make for yourself.
And so is the amount of time you give for the payment to arrive. If you have duplicates that you can relist, you don't really lose much by waiting for a slow payment (and if it's a snail-mail payment, it could be VERY slow right now). On the other hand, an expensive, unique, one-of-a-kind item can be tied up for several months with a slow-payer, something you might not be able to afford, or want to deal with.
The difference is, on ebay you have a time period restriction in which you can file to get your FVFs returned to you because your bidder didn't pay you, but on Yahoo (because there are no fees returned, except half of Featuring, which is automatic) you don't have to worry about it. Simply give your bidder WHAT YOU CONSIDER to be "adequate" time to pay you, then cancel and relist.
The PayDirect request for payment IS a good idea for last-ditch effort, but I wouldn't send it until all else has failed, since it confuses people who plan to pay another way.
posted on December 21, 2000 11:30:16 AM new
Thanks for your help and suggestions; I really appreciate it! Next ignorant question: Is there a deadline for leaving feedback about a transaction?
posted on December 21, 2000 01:36:17 PM new
pickersangel
Access to a 'closed' auction ends at one point in time. Which also ends your ability to leave FB. I'm not sure what the time frame is now, but I know it used to be about three months, (unless it's changed). Plenty of time to leave FB. Personally, I would never tie up any of my items that length of time anyway.
posted on December 22, 2000 12:48:35 AM new
Let me share with you what I do. It seems to work 99.9% of the time. The first thing is that I put all my email reply and payment requirements in my auction. for instance" Winner bidder agrees to respond to win Email within 72 hours. Payment must be received within 10 days of auction close. Payment accepted in" etc etc Then when I send the winning email I restate pretty much the same thing again. If I do not hear from the winner within 4 days time, I email the winner again. I dont get threatening or anything like that. I just forward my original email, asking if there is a problem or if they are still interested in the item they bid on. Asking for a reply within 48 hours. Also stating that if one is not received I may need to cancel their bid and relist. Usually that works. I very rarely have to go any further than that. The last step would be to leave a neutral/average feedback, stating that they havent responded to my emails and asking them to respond and state that if there is no reply within 72 hours, bid will be cancel. If they dont respond, I have all my documentation of the transaction in the open. A negative feedback left at that point wouldnt be a surprise to the winner. I VERY VERY RARELY have to go that far. Usually there is a good reason why people dont respond to emails. And then there are those non payers we all love! I hope this helps
posted on December 22, 2000 06:11:03 AM new
justjoan
That is about how I handle "deadbeats," also. I send 3 notices - if no response to any, I leave neutral feedback AND put “Never Responded to Seller's E-mails.”
I've never gotten a negative back with this approach.
It is a waste of time to report anyone to Yahoo, unless you are one of the "keepers of the site" who try to eliminate competition by reporting other sellers for violations in your attempt to get them closed down, so you items will sell better.
