ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:10:22 AM new
I had started a thread a while back (and can't seem to find it now) called "Bidders just don't read". My auctions state NO CHECKS and NO PAYPAL and I was still getting occasional checks and Paypal payments ALL the time.
Well, I took some advice on that thread and used the "NO PAYPAL" logo and put it in my auctions.
I ended up putting up a scrolling marquee across my auction with 5 "No PAYPAL" logos scrolling across the screen and then in my
"payments" table I also put another "NO PAYPAL" logo and I said something like "Sorry, we do not accept Paypal" and said something like they are just too unsafe to use and it was all in bold letters.
Then, in my EOA email to my bidders I also put in another "SORRY WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL" in big caps.
Pretty easy to see that I don't accept Paypal, right?
Wrong.
Yesterday I received 3 Paypal payments.
Today I received an email "do you take paypal?" and in this email was in reply to my EOA email that said "NO PAYPAL".
I emailed the bidder stating that in my auction it said SIX TIMES that I do not accept Paypal and that in the email she just RESPONDED TO that it ALSO says NO PAYPAL.
She responds:
Oh Im sorry, I didnt read the add...they arent that important to me....I will billpoint pay you right now.....
NOT THAT IMPORTANT?????????
So there you go. Solid proof that they JUST DO NOT READ!!!
(And no I am not referring to ALL bidders - just the ones who DON'T READ!)
On a positive note, I did get 3 customers to close their Paypal accounts yesterday! 
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sharkbaby
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:19:26 AM new
Yeah, but do you take PAYPAL???
Geez! I am constantly amazed!
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yisgood
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:23:10 AM new
I just got this email from a winning bidder:
"I have a $50 gift certificate from bidz and I will take the free shipment option. Please advise on how to redeem the gift voucher for this purchase.
My delivery address has a postal code of 2153 as appeared on my account details, however, the postal code of 00 appeared in your mail is wrong."
Now I don't know what a bidz certificate is but it certainly is not a standard method of payment for a Lycos auction. I dont know how someone has a 4 digit postal code. And I have no idea what he means by the postcal code of 00 that appeared in my mail. The only thing he got right is that the auction total was $50, or I would think he just sent the email to the wrong person.
CCS freebies and deals
digital cameras and accessories
[email protected]
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 10:58:02 AM new
"Bidz"??? I've never heard of that one...
And of course, even if your auction doesn't state that you accept it, it "just doesn't matter cause it's not that important"!!
Ugh!!
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Meya
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:01:03 AM new
If you do a search on Bidz, you'll find an auction site. Why would a buyer on eBay think they could use a gift certificate from another site?
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barkrock
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:11:16 AM new
"Why would a buyer on eBay think they could use a gift certificate from another site?"
Just a wild guess; but I'd bet it's because they don't read.
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Meya
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:20:01 AM new
It sounds like this buyer has two seller mixed up. Perhaps they won something on Bidz and on eBay, and got them confused.
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coyotefan
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:27:32 AM new
I too believe that people do not read the auctions. My number one gripe is Canadians who believe they are part of the U.S. What I finally found that helped is "$20.00 per item surcharge for Canadian buyers."
When I auction items off for friends I don't want to take checks, so I put "3 month hold on all checks." Can't bounce after three months.
You may want to do the same with PayPal. "PayPal accepted with a 6 month hold."
Gets the point across!
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coyotefan
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posted on February 4, 2001 11:27:33 AM new
I too believe that people do not read the auctions. My number one gripe is Canadians who believe they are part of the U.S. What I finally found that helped is "$20.00 per item surcharge for Canadian buyers."
When I auction items off for friends I don't want to take checks, so I put "3 month hold on all checks." Can't bounce after three months.
You may want to do the same with PayPal. "PayPal accepted with a 6 month hold."
Gets the point across!
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violetta
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:00:41 PM new
ExecutiveGirl - Have you ever tried listing your auctions with NO mention of PayPal in it at all? I wonder if the "No PayPal" notices might put "PayPal" into bidders subconscious and they don't bother to notice the "NO" part?
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:07:40 PM new
Hi Violetta:
Yes, that was in my other thread that I can't seem to find. I have tried EVERYTHING!! I took out ANY mention of Paypal from my auctions and got even MORE Paypal payments - since it didn't say NO PAYPAL they automatically assumed I did take it.
My last resort was the NO PAYPAL logos in my auctions and it seems that bidders choose not to read them (all 6 of them in my auction and then another one in my email).
I do believe there is no solution to this problem. Paypal's logo is "send a Paypal payment to ANYONE - even if they don't have a Paypal account". So if you ask me, this is all Paypal's fault. They should not allow payments to be sent to someone who does not have an account.
Then I get all these emails with "You've got cash! Just register to claim your money that's waiting for you..." .... uhhh.. no thanks!!
<sigh>
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violetta
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:31:18 PM new
ExecutiveGirl -- <sigh!> I was afraid of that. This sounds like a serious problem. I haven't encountered it yet because I'm not selling very high volume right now. But I've been watching these kind of threads to see what to do to head it off. I guess there's not much one can do! I don't know if it'll help or not, but I did remove my selling email address from my PayPal account (which I use strictly for buying, for auctions that accept PayPal only). I HOPE that will prevent automatic acceptance of funds if they are sent.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
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sharkbaby
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:37:02 PM new
Well, AS USUAL, they just don't read!!!
Just got a response saying "I will be sending payment in the form of a personal check...blah blah blah"
I DON'T TAKE PERSONAL CHECKS! In my EOA ltr I specifically mention the online svcs I accept and "Or, if you would prefer to send me a MONEY ORDER, yadda yadda yadda...
Geez! Well, atleast we can vent this stuff and get a little distance from it! haha
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:39:23 PM new
Violetta: When my customers email me their Paypal payment - it's being sent to a completely closed account and they bidders don't even care (or read, obviously). So I'm afraid that even having your primary email address removed, it's not going to help.
What Paypal needs to do is NOT allow payments to be sent to someone who does not have a Paypal account.
So until then (and I'm sure they will never do that) we are stuck with these bogus "you've got mail!" emails... ughhhhh
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:45:30 PM new
Sharkbaby: I hear ya! I also do NOT take checks and get the occasional check or the email that says "will be mailing check out tomorrow"... Then, I REPEAT to them what is stated in my auction and ALSO in my EOA email and tell them to PLEASE not to send a check because it will not be accepted and to please use one of the methods I accept that is stated in my auction...
I thought maybe the NO PAYPAL logo would help since it seems bidders only look at pictures and not the words in an auction but as my bidder above stated, they don't read the ads because "it's just not that important"!
<<pulling hair out>>
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sharkbaby
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posted on February 4, 2001 12:48:55 PM new
Yeah, I saw that NO PAYPAL logo a couple weeks ago and I thought, how much more concise can it be!!! Well, I guess I was wrong.
Do you ever feel like you don't fit in on this planet anymore??? The gene pool is reallllly getting polluted!
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december3
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posted on February 4, 2001 01:00:32 PM new
I've had sellers try and cram paypal down my throat. Their TOS said they took MO, checks and Paypal. When I emailed that I would send a MO they told me I should sign up for Paypal. I told them I used Billpoint, but since they didn't mention it in their auction I would send a MO instead.
It seems whether they are buying or selling all paypal clients are very persistant.
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twelvepole
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posted on February 4, 2001 01:18:45 PM new
EG are you getting paid eventually by these bidders?
Ain't Life Grand...
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 02:16:42 PM new
Just sent out some more EOA's for auctions that just ended. In my EOA, of course, is my mailing address for Money Order payments.
Just received this email:
I will be sending a money order for the entire amount, could you please let me know where I need to mail it and I will take care of it right away.
And, this was in REPLY to my EOA email. My EOA email was below her message to me. My address was as clear as day.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Feb 4, 2001 04:12 PM ]
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granee
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posted on February 4, 2001 02:37:26 PM new
Meya, you said "If you do a search on Bidz, you'll find an auction site. Why would a buyer on eBay think they could use a gift certificate from another site?"
barkrock, you said "Why would a buyer on eBay think they could use a gift certificate from another site?....Just a wild guess; but I'd bet it's because they don't read."
Meya, you said, "It sounds like this buyer has two seller mixed up. Perhaps they won something on Bidz and on eBay, and got them confused."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to point out that yisgood originally had said,
"Now I don't know what a bidz certificate is but it certainly is not a standard method of payment for a Lycos auction."
It seems that SELLERS DON'T READ, EITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
[ edited by granee on Feb 4, 2001 02:40 PM ]
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nycrocker
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posted on February 4, 2001 02:41:16 PM new
Exec Girl -
I do not like it Sam I Am 
Rocker
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Meya
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posted on February 4, 2001 02:53:52 PM new
Nope, it's just what happens when I read the boards while watching TV. I saw the Lycos reference, and typed eBay instead of Lycos in my post.
Thanks for pointing out my failure. I'll try to do better from now on.
I still say there's a good chance this bidder has two auctions confused. I just had a confused bidder of my own. He replied to my EOA email, said payment was on the way. 3 more emails came in, one stating he paypay'd the money, then another right after saying he emailed me instead of another seller about the paypal payment. Then a third popped in re-explaining what happened, and apologizing.
[ edited by Meya on Feb 4, 2001 02:54 PM ]
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lotsafuzz
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posted on February 4, 2001 03:18:37 PM new
I don't know if this is part of the problem or not, but this is the way I act when I buy:
Do a search....usually end up with TONS of listings (depending on the time factor I may or may not redefine my search):
I start clicking:
This is how I 'read' an auction:
Quick scan: (using beanies as an example):
I catch the words: Mint, Non-smoking...
Words there: Keep scanning
Words not there: hit back button
Shipping bad: hit back button
Shipping good: keep scanning
Check payment methods:
PayPal yes: keep scanning
PayPal no: hit back button (nothing against people who don't take PayPal...I've just got some excess cash in there and want to use it).
If I'm still looking at the same auction I check feedback:
Feedback good: keep scanning
Feedback bad: hit back button
Then, and only then, do I go back and read the entire auction (looking for all those 'clues' like missing comma's! LOL).
My point? I'm guessing that many buyers (for whatever reason: time, lack of experience, reading 20 auctions in 20 minutes, whatever) skip that last 'reading'. My guess is that the only way a buyer will change their habits is when they get 'burned' (either by a bad seller or having to take the time to get a money order or whatever). Until then there doesn't seem to be much that a seller can do.
I also think that buyers who are also sellers tend to assume that other sellers do things the way they do. How many of us have gotten zinged by assuming that $3.20 means priority shipping? Why? Because those of us who use priority shipping know what the cost is and assume that other sellers are as honest as we are.
Of course, there will always be those buyers out there that figure sellers are so desprate for a sell that the buyer can push the seller all over town. My guess is that many times that buyer has the correct assumption. I know I've been guilty of bending further than I wanted to just to make the sell (or, more often, just to get the widget out of my house!)
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cmbtboots
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posted on February 4, 2001 03:50:22 PM new
yisgood If you won't accept a bidz gift certificate, can I use a Dillard's credit card to pay you? Or perhaps you will accept 5 magic beans?
Sellers, picky, picky, picky.
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sharkbaby
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posted on February 4, 2001 03:56:09 PM new
I have some oceanfront property in Nevada...
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cdnbooks
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posted on February 4, 2001 04:08:56 PM new
...perhaps, if you want fewer problems, you could change your TOS to "Paypal gladly accepted; FREE shipping to Canada".....
Bill
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nannybeth
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posted on February 4, 2001 05:24:02 PM new
Excutive Girl---- what is your problem? Do you expect everyone to feel and think like you? I get the feeling that you are not someone that I would like to do business with. I never bid on something that has cap's in the terms. Cap's mean you are hollering at me and I don't do well with hollering. It's not hard to be nice--give it a try. I sell on ebay as well as bid, so I see it from both sides. I take and like Pay Pal and have not had any problems with them.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on February 4, 2001 05:55:32 PM new
Nannybeth:
A bidder tells me she purposely didn't read my auction terms because "they aren't that important" and you think I'M the one with the problem?
For your information, I have had over 5,000 transactions and my feedback rating is 99.96% positive. I didn't get that excellent rating by being "not nice" as you so put it.
By the way - NOTHING in my auction is in all CAPS. I have a NO PAYPAL LOGO and it says "We're sorry we do not accept Paypal" next to it.
So if you are going to accuse me of something please make sure it is true first. I do not believe I was rude to you in any way so I would appreciate the same in return. If you have a comment about something I said, then say it - but try to take your own advice and "be nice".
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Feb 4, 2001 06:01 PM ]
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cdnbooks
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posted on February 4, 2001 06:19:45 PM new
....temper, temper....
Bill
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biggness
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posted on February 4, 2001 06:24:50 PM new
I also DO NO PAY_PAL and often get notices of money awaiting me!!!! Then I have to resend to buyer and remind him what my auction stated " NO PAY_PAL". It also says personal checks with 20 or more feedbacks, which seems to work very well for me. I have not had one bad check in the 1,200 personal checks I have recieved!!!
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