If you have a customer that refuses to go through checkout you can always fill in their information for them, for your records. Each step is editable for this purpose. You may want to change around the default wording of your WBN messages to see if that will coerce customers into filling it out.
posted on March 26, 2003 09:45:00 AM new
If you plaster all over your listing that the AW checkout is required and also include it in your WBN, if they bid on your auction there is no ethical problem about filling out the checkout for them -- and you don't need their permission, and you don't need to tell them. If they feel strongly about not participating in seller driven checkouts there's nothing you can do. Ebay only requires them to contact you, not to use your checkout. Just decide how many checkouts you want to do for your customers if you build a whole customer base that learns they can circumvent checkout if they want to and have you do all the work.
Not everyone is refusing because they wouldn't like to do it, however. I just had a customer that was a 1+ year e-friend of mine win an auction and not check out. She got the WBN, a 3-day reminder, and then a personal note from me asking what was going on. She wrote back saying "Why do I keep getting all this email and reminders, why can't you just send me the total so I can pay?" When I explained that I couldn't read her mind for checkout choices but would be glad to fill it out for her on a one-time basis she said that would be okay.
After everything was done, I asked her what was the problem that she didn't feel she could do the checkout. She responded "I don't do hipirlinks". Rather than seeing her as a recalcitrant, I emailed her back and reminded her that she couldn't even bid on ebay without clicking a button, and asked why the AW button was harder than the ebay bid button. Turned out she did not know how to cut and paste links into her browser, plus she was afraid to click a link to someone else's unfamiliar page for fear she would make a mistake and mess something up or get lost (also why she was afraid to click the button)--but she was too embarassed to say either of those. (BTW-she is a successful ebay seller running on simple personal email with no shipping choices, and she personally emails each client the totals with or without insurance). I taught her how to do that and how to use her "back" button to back out of anything she got into, and she's now cutting and pasting hyperlinks like a pro.
I'm thinking about including some info in my 2nd reminders about offering to teach how to copy and paste links (because I didn't know for a long time either and was embarassed to ask). Maybe AW could offer a click thru screen to briefly teach that if the customers need it on the WBN reminders. I'm also considering adding some info to reassure that they cannot end up on any email or marketing lists by using the checkout without specifically signing up. Anyone out there with lots of experience and good tips for this? Thanks.
