posted on April 19, 2001 10:18:57 AM new
I have had a major rash of people paying me late because they either ended up in the hospital, or are going in for surgery. LOL It's becoming insane. Why am i the only one who has the buyers that are all injured?? I don't believe half of them i'm sorry to say, ecspecially since the last woman told me her mom had died, and forgot she told me that a few months back. I guess saying your in the hopsital is the excuse that sounds most believable. I think i'm going in for surgery when it comes time to ship the packages. LOL
Ü
posted on April 19, 2001 10:39:54 AM new
The sick/accident/death excuse isn't quite as common in the winter months. Remember, now that spring is here, there are no longer snowstorms to blame
posted on April 19, 2001 10:50:29 AM new
My personal favorite was a buyer who told me (after the first payment reminder) that they had just had a baby. Then the next week (after the final payment reminder) that they hadn't paid because they just had a kidney transplant. At least they could keep thier story straight.
Of course both of those didn't keep them from bidding and paying for other people's auctions.
posted on April 19, 2001 10:54:53 AM new
Oh i know it, it makes me insane. I wonder, do they really think i'm that stupid? I have this naughty evil side that wants to write back to the one lady and say..."I'm so sorry your mother has passed, and it must be unusally hard since it's happened twice to her" LOL I'm always nice, but i can always tell when i'm being fed a line of bull, and it really urks me. I guess because i know where you are coming from, they can't pay me, or email me, but they can still bid. Hmmmmmm....
My sister said it would be funny to put a paragraph in your auctions that says..."Please do not bid if you plan on dying, having surgery, having 3 deaths in the family, or being struck by an object from space in the next 7 days" LOL I would love to do that..but, really, i'm not THAT mean.
posted on April 19, 2001 10:55:12 AM new
RL:
I once had an employee call in to tell me that they wouldn't be making it in to work that afternoon because they had to get ***. I asked them if they thought they could come in after they hatched.
(not very managerial, just a knee-jerk reaction)
(sad, but true)
posted on April 19, 2001 12:02:33 PM new
I have often been tempted to comment on how shocked I am that there has not been an expose' on 60 Minutes regarding the epidemic of dead mothers in this country. They seem to be dropping like flies. Maybe eBay should post a warning to all new members: Sign up with us and the chance of your mother's imminent demise increases dramatically! My most recent run-in with a deadbeat involved a woman who purchased a $10 item, took nearly two weeks to contact me and told me that she had been out of town on business. I waited another 10 days for payment before I sent her a past-due notification. She then said she was a "stay at home mom" who had been saddled with sick kids. Another ten days and she was "swamped at work". Another ten days and she had just delivered a premature baby and had "spent the last month at the hospital 24 hours a day". I forwarded copies of all of her e-mails with her various excuses to her, told her to forget the whole transaction and left negative feedback. By the time I got around to doing that, she was at -5. At least her mother was still alive!
posted on April 19, 2001 12:13:00 PM new
I've got one non-payment that hits the big 30 today. He swears it was sent; I don't know and frankly don't care if it isn't in my mailbox. He had two heads up: one from me and an NPB alert. He could use PayPal or BidPay but probably won't. FVF credit and a neg are the only way to deal with people who won't be proactive about paying.
posted on April 19, 2001 12:24:43 PM new
I lost both my mother and father within 9 days of each other back in January. I cared for my mother for over a year with hospice helping the last 3 weeks, my dad went with a massive MI 9 days later. I was an only child and had to arrange everything from funeral to family visitation. Oh and my baby girl was born smack in between my mom's passing and my dad's illness. Lucky for me they were in the same hospital (I know I got frequent flyer miles on the elevator)
My point you ask? I had over 100 auctions close during that time as a seller and DID NOT miss one email or delay any shipments. This being said I have little time or sympathy for sickness, death, poor planning or cosmic involvment on eBay.
Tim
posted on April 19, 2001 04:15:38 PM new
If they have the time to email you back that something happened and they can't pay today, they are probably making an excuse. The weirdest excuses that I might consider valid are that they are waiting to have their credit card company post their last payment which they already have mailed, and they can't pay because they are already at their credit limit and therefore can't use paypal or billpoint. Another weird one was that they were waiting to go to the post office because they needed to buy stamps and money orders and they were waiting until friday when they get paid.
At least these excuses have some merit because they agree that they plan to pay but something believable is preventing them from paying.
I might add that neither is a very good excuse because in the time it takes to reply, they could have sent payment by billpoint or paypal. That way the buyer does not have to deal with the payment anymore and can deal with the death, illness, vacation, etc. Let their credit card company deal getting payment... My suggestion is to send a paypal or billpoint invoice and then all they have to do is enter their user id and password along with a few other things. It takes them 30 seconds to a minute. Just the amount of time to reply to the email.
Of course there are a lot of people who bid on items they cannot afford and have to search for enough money to pay. ($1.50 under the couch, $3.00 in the piggy bank, $10 from savings account, etc.) That is why they give the excuses.
Personally if the seller doesn't take paypal, then payment will normally wait until the weekend (friday night) because I designate that day of the week to pay my bills and mail checks, but not because I get paid on friday, but rather because I don't have time until then. If the auction ends over the weekend I make a second round of check payments sunday night if needed. Some buyers don't have time to go to the post office to buy money orders or pay their bills except on the weekends or friday, or whatever day they start work late or get off early.
With my personal policy of making payments only on the weekends, payment is never delayed by more than 4 days, and it arrives (normally) with 10 days.
I hope this gives some of the sellers a better idea how ONE buyer operates. Many of the people I know have similar policies of only paying once or twice a week because of the time involved with paying for a dozen or more auctions a week. Needless to say, the UPS and Fedex people are beginning to know us by name because everthing seems to be shipped with delivery confirmation, signature required.
posted on April 19, 2001 06:59:01 PM new
My worst excuse received this week is that someone said they aren't buying my item because I never contacted them, so they had to buy another one from someone else. Of course, I sent them an email 1 hour after auction closed, and I sent her proof. But she "never received" that email, and didn't think to email me herself before she decided to buy the other item.
BUT the weird part is that I looked up her bids, and she bid on the other item THE DAY BEFORE my identical item closed. So I busted her in a big ole lie, but she never would admit it. My final email let her know that I would have to report her to Ebay and give her negative feedback. Her mature response: "What-ever!!!!!" (with many more exclamation points than I felt like typing here.) I just had to laugh.
I have had a slew of these lately, the integrity of bidders is at an all time low for me right now.
posted on April 19, 2001 10:35:38 PM new
At least you HEAR from the bidders who haven't paid you. I've had some auctions close with a higher "Buy It Now" price within a few hours of listing, but I'm not getting paid and have never received any response to my emails.
I thought people bid the "Buy It Now" price when they're in a hurry to get something.
posted on April 20, 2001 04:51:43 AM new
I recently sustained head injuries after a truck drove into the back of my car at a stop sign. Despite headaches, dizziness and blurred vision which kept me away from the PC for six weeks, not one of my Ebay customers ever knew that it was my husband and not me that replied to their emails, banked the checks, packed up their stuff and left the feedback. Had my husband not have been around I would have found someone to cancel the bids, email the bidders and end the auctions early.
Maybe I was fortunate in that my husband, who photographs all my stock, is an IT Manager, so taking over for a few weeks was no problem. All my emails have templates. I even have html templates, so after a few weeks he was able to start posting new auctions as well. Obviously it helps enormously if you have someone to assist you. And I was able to advise him where necessary. But even without him, had I been bidding on anything, I still could have written checks and gotten someone to mail them for me. Or gotten someone to write the checks and maybe just signed them. There are ways around most things.
What I would like to know is this. I appreciate that people have a hard time when there is death or illness in the family, and sometimes things can get put on hold for a while. But lots of these people still carry on paying their utility and credit card bills and loans. So why should their Ebay obligations be any different? Do people think that when you enter into a transaction with a private individual, that it is somehow not as binding??
I know many customers who have continued to pay on time despite terrible difficulties. And a seller who sold me a pattern and apologised for taking three days to put it in the mail because his wife had just had heart surgery. Not everyone can do this I know. But if people are genuinely in difficulty then a little common sense is in order. If you are up to your ears sorting out a loved one's estate or organising a funeral, bidding on Ebay is perhaps not the best thing to be doing.
As to people who invent complicatiions to avoid obligations...they are beneath contempt, all the more so because they may have the effect of reducing our sympathy for those who are really in need of our undertsanding and support.
posted on April 20, 2001 05:07:08 AM newAs to people who invent complicatiions to avoid obligations...they are beneath contempt, all the more so because they may have the effect of reducing our sympathy for those who are really in need of our undertsanding and support.
This is very true, and it's why I always give the bidder the benefit of the doubt if the excuse is within the realm of possibility.
Some people are just gonna be deadbeats. Some people are just gonna lie. But some will be telling the truth. I have come out way ahead IMO (both financially and and on the happiness meter) by giving the bidder the benefit of the doubt except when it was obvious that they were lying. A deadbeat will be a deadbeat no matter how you react the his excuse. If you treat the bidder with respect (yes, even if you ultimately find out that he doesn't deserve it) your potential loss is the same as if you don't. But the potential gain is much higher. Some of my best repeat customers would never have became my customers had I not given the benefit of the doubt a few times.
[ edited by dubyasdaman on Apr 20, 2001 05:08 AM ]
Sorry to disagree, but I think it would be better said that "the only place buyers can get away with this is at on line auctions, because this excuse phenomena occurs on all "on line" auctions, not just eBay.
” My sister said it would be funny to put a paragraph in your auctions that says..."Please do not bid if you plan on dying, having surgery, having 3 deaths in the family, or being struck by an object from space in the next 7 days"
LOVE IT - LOVE IT - I'd LOVE to see something like that done!!!!
BUYERS, how would you react to a posting like TrumTrum proposed?
posted on April 20, 2001 01:13:27 PM new
>> BUYERS, how would you react to a posting like TrumTrum proposed? <<
I would like it, a lot! It would show that the seller was smart and had a sense of humor, both qualities that I admire in someone with whom I do business.
It's a nice alternative to the threatening, humorless ToS you usually see on eBay.
posted on April 20, 2001 01:34:33 PM new
trumtrum-you think it was hard on the bidder having her mother die twice-it must have been REALLY hard on her mother!!
posted on April 20, 2001 03:21:17 PM new
Looks like it's time for me to drag out my "Ode to a Deadbeat Bidder" once again...
Ode to a Deadbeat Bidder
[Or, "These Are a Few of My Favorite Excuses"]
If you're awfully sick
And just can't mail that check
Yet you still find the strength
To keep bidding at length
You just might be a deadbeat
If your house has collapsed
And your payments have lapsed
And your car has been stolen
But that bidding keeps rollin'
You just might be a deadbeat
If your aunt has the flu
And you don't know what to do
And your dog bit some kid
Yet you continue to bid
You just might be a deadbeat
If you suffer from hives
From eating bad chives
But in spite of the pain
You go bid once again
You just might be a deadbeat
If your bank account's bare
And there's no money there
Yet you just can't resist
Adding to your bid list
You just might be a deadbeat
If your life is a wreck
'Cuz you bought too much dreck
And you say "that's enough!"
And then bid on more fluff
You just might be a deadbeat
If your husband got drunk
And ran over a skunk
And everything stinks
But you still bid on things
You just might be a deadbeat
If your whole town exploded
And you're feeling railroaded
By some government thug
Yet you bid on a rug
You just might be a deadbeat
If the Universe ended
And space-time is bended
And it's now Judgment Day
But you still bid on eBay
You just might be a deadbeat
If you say you can't pay
Yet you still bid away
All night and all day
Then I just have to say
The chances are good
That in all likelihood...
YOU'RE A DEADBEAT!!!!
If the National Guard
Has surrounded your yard
And placed your latrine
Under strict quarantine
Because of a virus
That threatens to mire us
All in a plague
[Though the details are vague]
And you can't go outside
But must stay in and hide
And the Commies have landed
And your neighbors are banded
All together in fear
And you know death is near
And your house has no juice --
Whate'er the excuse,
Whate'er you might say,
If you're bidding away...
YOU'RE A DEADBEAT!!!
If you stepped on a tack
Slipped, fell, broke your back
And your cat got run over
By a two-ton earth mover
And your wife ran away
Declaring she's gay
And your life has no hope
And you feel like a dope
And your feet smell so bad
That your neighbors are mad
At the horrible stench
And one just took a wrench
And dismantled your porch
And then took a torch
And set it on fire
Like a funeral pire
And there's been a bad drought
So it just won't go out
And, in a nutshell,
Your life is just hell...
Well, I'm sorry to say
That if you go to eBay
And keep bidding away
And won't send me my pay
Then I don't really care
If your life isn't fair
Because, mon frere,
YOU'RE A DEADBEAT!!!
If you're so uninspired
That your boss had you fired
And there's no longer money to earn;
If you sit in your room
'Neath a black cloud of gloom
Feeling just like a large wilted fern;
If the stock market plunged
And your wealth got expunged
And your insides have started to churn;
If your house is a mess
Like a pool full of cess
And you're shocked to suddenly learn
That the reason it stinks
Is 'cuz two little finks
Put a bag full of poop out to burn;
If you think you've gone crazy
'Cuz your memory's hazy
And you don't know where else you can turn;
Well, I would sympathize
With the tears in your eyes
And the pain in your thighs
And the warts big as pies
And all of your problems galore,
But it just isn't funny
When you won't send my money
And yet you keep bidding on more
So, no matter the reason
[What, it's the holiday season?]
If you are still bidding away,
Well, I'm not Santa Claus
And you're busted because
I only have this much to say:
YOU'RE A DEADBEAT!!!
Regards,
Barry
---
The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
[ edited by godzillatemple on Apr 20, 2001 04:31 PM ]
