posted on May 28, 2004 10:07:44 PM new
Bizzy: You'll be surprised to know that I do my end of auction business the oldfashioned way, manually. I sometimes have 30 auctions a week for a month or so, too, and granted I'm a really fast typist. . . .
I have a cut and paste EOA message I send to their e-mail when the auction is ended. First paragraph tells them what they owe and when it's due. The rest is a couple of paragraphs I paste in. I sent this message to them by clicking on their e-mail address in my EOA email that comes from Ebay. And I change the subject line to read "From your seller: (and then the description as given by Ebay).
I have a small piece of paper, about 4 x 8, "for office use only," so to speak, and it has notations and codes for all the steps that will need to be done to complete the auction. I'd gladly share that with you if you want.
I print the first page of the auction and staple my small sheet to it, file it in "Hold for Reply" file. When they reply and say when $$ is coming, I check that off and put their sheet in my "Hold for Payment" file. Etc.
It works for me, and I know it sounds totally archaic. I also know that if I were selling more than 20-30 items a week (and they all end on the same night, by the way, for ease of handling), then I might have to automate it. Some of the more savvy folks here are probably hooting and hollering at my system, but it works well for me, and I never get confused about who's paid and who hasn't.
___________________________________
As I've Matured...
1. I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in...
posted on May 29, 2004 01:37:45 AM new
Roadsmith: Let 'em hoot and holler - I do exactly the same as you. My cut and paste EOA message is easy to personalize for each buyer. If they haven't responded in three days, I send an eBay invoice. I don't like checkout forms - they are a PITA. Much easier for the buyer to just hit the PayPal button.
posted on May 29, 2004 03:54:43 AM new
I pretty much do what Roadsmith does. Each buyer receives an individual email, done manually, cut and pasted from a master. I cut and paste their email and the subject line from the auction itself.
Waiting until mid-morning on Monday means I've only a few to write as most have already paid. Takes maybe two minutes, if that, for each one.
As far as the number of auctions I run, it's probably not as many as some here, certainly not high volume.
However, there's a lot of variety in what I sell. Each auction needs it's own pictures, which can take a while. I usually put in at least three. I never scan anything, my things just aren't scannable.
If I always sold the same type item and used scans instead of photos I could at least triple my volume and not spend any more time doing it.
Right now I'm thinking of Fluffy. She successfully runs an amazing number of auctions. Obviously she is super-efficient and has gotten it down to a science.
posted on May 29, 2004 05:04:51 AM new
I had thought about ending all of my auctions on one night, but because of what I sell, it would cut into my profits. I have many repeat customers who do the bulk of the buying of my patterns. I try to spread out the auctions for them over several days so that they can bid as well as afford to buy them without getting zonked with a big bill all at once.
When I didn't use the Vendio re-direct checkout, I would occasionally miss a payment that was sent directly to paypal, which really concerned me. I can put into my listing that if they have concerns over using Vendio's checkout, to let me know and I'll send them an invoice directly from E-bay. That would also alert me that they are paying outside of Vendio's program so that I don't miss a payment. Does this sound like a good idea?
posted on May 29, 2004 05:50:50 AM new
Diane - I don't use Vendio check-out and I usually have between 100-200 sales/week. I use the eBay invoice right after closing and have the paypal payments imported. I manually update check/money order payments. I send mass shipping nofications and leave feedback when I ship. (I can tell who has paid because they have a "3" marked). I am just a one person operation (husband helps out on Saturdays). If you faithfully update the Vendio post-sale you can easily see who has paid and who hasn't. Before I get too nasty with my reminders, I verify that I have not sent out the item. It's "do-able".
Edited to add: I never rely on emails or Vendio import for PayPal payments. I log into PayPal when I am ready to ship and take the information right from there. I file each item after I have the information. All of the payments appearing on my opening page are ones that have not been processed yet.
posted on May 29, 2004 06:08:16 AM new
Neglus -- I think I understand how you keep track. I'm going to try that myself. I'll turn them off and see what happens. I certainly don't want to annoy any of my customers.
Thanks so much to everyone for all of the help! I'm going to try to get a new system in place ASAP.
posted on May 29, 2004 09:58:03 AM new
Bizzy, this works well for me who, like you, is not terribly computer literate.
From Libra:
"What I do is print out a copy of the EOA. When the buyer responds or pays I print that on the back of the EOA."
I use a very similar method for sorting those sales (auctions and store).
On my desk, by the computer, I have a three-tier stack tray.
The top tray (1) holds the new sales (EOA notice print-out).
Waiting for payment.
(I accept all forms of payment, but prefer PayPal, and this is stated in my auctions, store listings and EOA notices.)
The second tray (2) holds the paid (printed on the back of the EOA) paperwork.
Waiting for packing and shipping.
The third tray (3) holds the "shipped / leave-feedback / send shipped notice" paperwork.
Delivery Confirmation is stapled to the EOA / Paid sheet and the ship date and ship fees are noted.
From this "completed sales" stack I do my logging of sales (Profit and Loss) statements each Friday, and consolidate them at the end of the month for tax records. All completed paperwork is filed, by month, for the current year.
I end my auctions on Sundays and Thursday, and "we ship on Tuesdays and Fridays following payment confirmation" (which is in my TOS and EOA notices sent by eBay).
Fortunately, I rarely have NPBs, and those few are designated with a colored stickers (those round little things you can get at the dime store). Yellow=Reminder Sent / Red=NPB filed / Green= FVF requested. I write the date of the process on the little colored sticker and note same in My eBay "note".
This system combined with My eBay keeps things running very smoothly for me.
As a few of you may recall, I was a buyer only for a long time. I asked questions (as a buyer) on this board and received some sound advise. From that in-put I began this "system" as a buyer, and with a few changes it has adapted well to selling, which I am enjoying immensely!
Good luck, Bizzy, in your "getting organized" project. Like you, I fumbled for awhile, but have found my way and so much of that "seeing the light" is due to the generous sharing of sellers right here!
posted on May 29, 2004 01:02:40 PM new
I'm with fluffy on this one. If I see that the seller requires checkout, I automatically will bypass the auction. If they make me do it at the end of an auction and did not disclose it in the auction, automatic negative for non-responsive seller.
