ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 2, 2001 04:11:17 AM new
I just bid on several items by the same seller. Only 1 of the items has ended so far and this was the EOA email I received from them. Personally, I think it's very confusing - I don't like it at all. Your opinions?
***************************************
Thanks for buying XXXXXXXXXXXX Item #xxxxxxxxx WHICH WILL BE SHIPPED UPON RECEIPT OF YOUR ADDRESS. Personal checks & PayPal (my account: xxxxxxxxxxxxx) are O.K. No need for Money Orders (unless
YOU prefer them} in a system based on mutual trust! Please print this message and send with your payment of $xx.xx plus $xx.xx S&H to:
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
IF YOU'RE MAKING MULTIPLE PURCHASES you WON'T receive any more of these High Bidder Notices to clutter your mailbox. When all auctions on which you are bidding have closed (this batch ends 3 January 2001) send me your END OF ALL AUCTIONS STATEMENT; which should look like this:
"My winning bids for the following xxxxx total $_____: [List TITLES from
your eBay Auctions I'm Bidding On page]. After calculating S&H @ $xx.xx for the
first item and $xx.xx for each item thereafter [i.e., S&H for 5 xxxxxxx would be
$xx.xx] my GRAND TOTAL of Bids + S&H comes to $_____.
Ship IMMEDIATELY to:[your address]"
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: All email re Multiple Purchases must have as its
SUBJECT "Your LASTNAMEmulti " (i.e., SMITHmulti). This is essential if
problems arise and/or refunds become necessary. When using PAYPAL (my
account: xxxxxxxxxxx) this same nomenclature should be used for AUCTION TITLE. If this procedure isn't followed we can become entangled in that web of INDIVIDUAL XXXXXXX which occasionally makes MULTIPLE
purchasing an administrative nightmare.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 2, 2001 05:46 AM ]
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corrdogg
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posted on January 2, 2001 04:17:39 AM new
MAN!
It looks like you just got a new job...
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 2, 2001 04:34:13 AM new
Isn't it supposed to be the SELLER's job to keep track of what items their bidders bid on and get them a total? Geesh! I'm a seller (full time for 3 years now) and I would NEVER think of having my customers do all the work! I'm very put off by this and am thinking of retracting all my other bids with this person.
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Meya
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posted on January 2, 2001 05:05:44 AM new
I've never had a buyer win more than two auctions at once so my experience is small in this area. Perhaps this seller has buyers who win many videos, and the method she uses to track them is based in her email replies. Perhaps she copies and pastes the info into a spreadsheet or prints them out and sorts them by subject, or something like that.
You would be keeping track of all the winning bids anyway, and you would also double check the shipping charged, so the info she is asking for you will have. If you want the videos badly enough, is it really that big a deal? Doesn't she also say she will ship before she gets your payment? Sounds like a good deal to me.
There seem to be no end of things that sellers and buyers can find to complain about.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 2, 2001 05:45:47 AM new
Meya:
I've never had a buyer win more than two auctions at once so my experience is small in this area
Well I happen to be a seller who has SEVERAL customers every day who bid on multiple auctions and I am VERY experienced in this area. I keep track of each and every auction they bid on individually and get them a total including shipping for them when all auctions have ended. I email my customers when EACH auction ends. I prefer to get EOA emails for each auction also.
I am not someone who "just likes to complain". I had a really hard time understanding his email. It's easier reading HTML! I forwarded this email to someone I know to see what they thought and they are STILL trying to decipher this rediculous email.
His EOA is full of nothing but INSTRUCTIONS! The only thing bidders should have to worry about is (1) Who to pay (2) how much to pay.
I am a full time seller and only a bidder on occasion. As a seller, I make my EOA emails PLAIN and TO THE POINT. Here's your total, here's where to send payment. This guy gave instructions all the way down to what to put in my reply email's subject line!
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twinsoft
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posted on January 2, 2001 05:54:26 AM new
It's cool he's offering to let buyers send payment together, combine shipping, etc. But I think he's relying to much on the bidders to figure everything out. That EOA reads like a murder mystery. Too confusing, too many twists and turns. MY EOAs state free shipping for multiple items, but I also send individual invoices for each auction. I liked the part about "administrative nightmares."
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Meya
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posted on January 2, 2001 06:01:04 AM new
I also keep my EOA emails plain and simple, with clearly defined totals etc. I also sell more than I buy. I have received quite a few EOA emails that didn't quite match up to what I consider to be my standards when I compose EOA letters.
If I'm confused, I write them and ask them to clarify. I try to give the benefit of the doubt when I've been asked to do what could be considered "their job", such as filling out Andale forms etc. I wanted the item, I followed their method. Would I bid again on their stuff? It would depend on how badly I wanted that particular item.
I speculated that this seller has a particular way of record keeping that uses the subject line in their emails. Maybe they are just lazy...I don't know.
They do offer to ship before payment is received, so it sounds like they are trying to be good sellers. It reminds me of all the different types of B & M stores. Some are full service, some are self serve. If you want the products they sell, you put up with perhaps "less" service, but hopefully there is a gain in doing that. In this case, it is items shipped before your payment is sent. Sounds like a good trade off to me.
You asked for opinions, I gave mine. It wasn't meant to be an attack on your position.
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smw
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posted on January 2, 2001 06:13:26 AM new
What do the TOS look like in the auction? Is there any mention of "if you win multiple auctions I require you the buyer to do my record keeping" in the TOS?
I sell on eBay too and have for more than 3 years and would NEVER ask a buyer to do my work, or send such a convoluted EOA. If you win multiple auctions I am happy to keep track and figure out the lowest cost for the best shipping method.
No wonder this person has "administrative" problems with such a confusing and demanding EOA. With so much competition on eBay it amazes me that sellers who have "buyer requirements" such as this stay in business.
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twinsoft
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posted on January 2, 2001 06:15:04 AM new
BTW, if you're going to ask the customer to do that much work, you could implement some kind of Java web page or shopping cart for each transaction. Yahoo! PayDirect offers something like this. Seller fills in the form, Yahoo provides a button linked to an automatic credit card payment page. Tell the buyer to pay online. Use the transaction number as the file name; for example: 1234567890.html.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 2, 2001 06:44:23 AM new
As a matter of fact, I did write to him yesterday asking him questions about his email and I told him I found his EOA email quite confusing and hard to understand. So far he has not responded.
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Shoshanah
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posted on January 2, 2001 09:34:39 AM new
That is a lot of work...Which way to "spreadsheet 101" please?
I seriously do hope that, should anything go wrong, the Seller will take responsibility for his actions (or lack thereof)...Be sure to save ALL the correspondence...yours and his.
Personally, I would feel uncomfortable with such garble...
Of course, in fairness, I must say that I never won multiple bids, and have only sold multiple purchases once; so it was easy to just combine the shipping cost.
Still, the Seller should do the footwork, not the bidder.
Gosh Shosh!
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/rifkah/
[ edited by Shoshanah on Jan 2, 2001 09:35 AM ]
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amy
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posted on January 2, 2001 09:57:57 AM new
Why start the year out on such a sour note?
Your seller has his own way of doing things...as each of us do. His way works for him, your way works for you.
He isn't the only one who does this. There is a seller of salt and pepper shakers who does something similar....you contact him after your last auction ends (on multiple purchases) to get a total. I have bought from him several times, was no inconvenience.
Your seller is trusting you to send him the money after he ships (immediately, he says). I would think that kind of service would outweigh the small amount of time it takes to comply with his multiple purchase methods. If it is really such an inconvenience then don't bid on his auctions again...but cancelling your bids is wrong.
Why not make it your New Years resolution to be a little more laid back and accepting of the differences in selling methods you find on ebay? It would make your life more stress free 
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libra63
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posted on January 2, 2001 10:15:19 AM new
It's probably automated besides. If I received that EOA I would have to copy it, decifer it and then proceed. (maybe about an hours worth of time). It's like your high school english class where you have to
diagram a sentence. I am sure that the power sellers have to use somekind of automated emails and to me that is so impersonal. People talk about ebay as an auction and they don't like the BIN because it takes away from the auction. I feel the same way about the automated email.
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avmom
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posted on January 2, 2001 10:21:48 AM new
I'm with ya, Executive Girl. That is very confusing....imagine if it's someone's first auction on Ebay. Ha! It just might be their last.
From the gist of your message, this seller must be successful with listing so many items. It seems to work for them, but this may lead to a large margin for errors and clarification by the buyer. Okay so the seller might not bog down your emails with notifications, but how about clarifications?
avmom (not avmom on eBay)
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DWest
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posted on January 2, 2001 11:03:56 AM new
I think that would lead to administrative nightmares if the seller has a lot of auctions running at the same time. Especially since a fair percentage of the bidders do not follow simple instructions. Where a problem might occur is when a bidder is new, has multiple bids with multiple sellers and doesn't know about My Ebay, or the other methods for tracking bidding.
I have several repeat customers that like to bid on 5 to 10 auctions at a time. My auction terms state that I have a $5.00 flat rate for shipping, insurance and delivery confirmation. The shipping cost for additional items included in the same package is $1.00. These customers seem to appreciate a recap of all of their winning bids and a breakdown of the shipping costs. I've looked at their bidding history and they have a lot of multiple bids. Needless to say, they are the type of customers I want to please. Administrative nightmares? I don't think so. I love multiple-auction bidders!
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 2, 2001 12:49:10 PM new
Thanks for your replies. The seller did respond saying he keeps trying to perfect his reply emails and it's a "chore" when dealing with over 400 auctions at a time. I did write him again explaining some of the points you all made. Hopefully he will take it into consideration when writing to future bidders.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 5, 2001 09:07:39 AM new
Update!
This is just too funny. I ended up winning 4 items from this guy.
I did just as his instructions stated and emailed him payment immediately.
Today I receive an email from him stating "Thanks for the swift payment, but you did not include the $6 S&H".
WRONG!! I *DID* include it! I copied his instructions exactly - even using his "template" he gave me to follow in his email. He can't even follow his own instructions!
UNBELIEVABLE!!!
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on January 5, 2001 10:20:19 AM new
He can't even follow his own instructions!
Well, at least we know why he wants somebody else to do the math
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 5, 2001 03:48:37 PM new
He emailed me back, apologizing, saying his "math was off"... He actually seems to be a nice guy but I think in desperate need for a better "system"!
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sharkbaby
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posted on January 5, 2001 03:54:58 PM new
geez! sounds like you almost need to get an attorney to wade through all the rhetoric!
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amy
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posted on January 5, 2001 04:00:08 PM new
Or maybe it was just a case of "if something can go wrong it will"
You know those days...the ones where nothing goes right. Sometimes there are transactions like that...everything that can go wrong does, on ONE sale!
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katzname
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posted on January 5, 2001 05:50:54 PM new
Gee ~ what a nightmare ~ My auction management software lets me know when someone I am sending a EOA to is a high bidder on open auctions ~
Would you mind telling me your ebay id? ~ I would like to look at your auctions. My email is [email protected]
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pumpkinhead
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posted on January 5, 2001 06:02:04 PM new
All I can say is OMG. I would pray I didnt win more than one auction after receiving that EOA! As a matter of fact I would probably have to retract my bids. Way too confusing for me!
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 5, 2001 06:07:02 PM new
Katz - why do you want *my* ID? I'm not the one who sent those EOA emails - I was the bidder who received it.
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katzname
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posted on January 5, 2001 06:13:18 PM new
Sorry ~ did not mean to upset you.........I just saw last night on the wrinkle clothes thread about you ironing all your clothes and how many auctions you post and just wanted to look. You just sound like someone I would like buying from.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 5, 2001 07:10:53 PM new
You did not upset me. But we both sell clothing so that would make us competitors, so I wish to remain anonymous.
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thekismeme
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posted on January 5, 2001 07:15:29 PM new
[ edited by thekismeme on Jan 5, 2001 07:18 PM ]
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katzname
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posted on January 5, 2001 07:24:34 PM new
Fine by me ~ but............I personally invite you and anybody else reading this to please feel free to look at my auctions ~ and feel free to bid..................GeeWiz!
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