posted on November 16, 2001 07:34:06 AM new
I have a few people that haven't paid. . .it's been about a week. I send a reminder after 3 days.
How do you guys hand this. Send another after 7? Then what? How long do you wait before leaving them negative feedback and filing a NPB? I was thinking 10-14 days but maybe that's too lenient?
posted on November 16, 2001 07:52:00 AM new
A reminder after three days seems a little too early for somebody paying through snail mail. I'd give them at least a week. My system is like this:
- Friendly reminder after 10 business days
- File NPB after another 10 business days
- File FVF and leave neg if no payment after another 10 business days
This all assumes that I don't hear from the person at all - otherwise I cut them a little more slack. My only absolute is that I will file for NPB before the 45-day time period is over, no matter what excuses they've come up with.
I know this is a very lenient system for most sellers, but I figure I'm selling collectibles which aren't exactly necessities, and I'm generally not so strapped for cashflow that I need immediate payment. Most of my buyers pay up within a week anyway. Another nice benefit of being lenient is that if I'm dealing with a true deadbeat, they are frequently suspended before I submit my FVF which cuts down on the chance of getting a retaliatory neg.
posted on November 16, 2001 07:52:51 AM new
I love my bidders who pay within 10 days, but they are the exception and not the rule. I never file NPB until after 21 days.
posted on November 16, 2001 08:06:21 AM new
I have at least 1/3 of my customers just send a check without returning my email. I request they send me their address so I can have the package ready to go in my EOA, but some just ignore that and mail the check anyway. It's ok as long as they write their address where I can read it and put the ebay number on the check.
I have had some where I had to email back to ask if this is who they are and what they bought after receiving a check in the mail with no information on it. I sell records so many end with the same price and it is impossible to tell from cost alone.
A couple wrote so badly I actually cut out the return address portion of their letter and taped it to the box. They all made it there so I guess the post office is pretty good at deciphering poor writing.
As far as others getting higher bids for same items, the key is to get people to look at your auctions. After a while you build up a customer base who buy from you regularly, and those people will keep an eye on everything you sell which does help the ending price.
posted on November 16, 2001 08:26:00 AM new
some sellers engage in shell bidding to push the bid amount UP,which is not allowed on ebay.
some sellers could have paid ebay extra like bold prints,gallery pictures,featured category etc,dual listing in 2 categories.
posted on November 16, 2001 08:30:51 AM new
Building up a base of regular customers (along with your reputation) is a great way to increase your bids. But my merchandise is so "all over the place" that there's no way for me to establish a set clientele. I make up for it by doing a good bit of research on the closed auctions - see which ones worked and which ones didn't, then base strategy on that info.
Selecting the proper keywords is most important, but category selection is very important also. If you're selling collectibles, then try to think like the collector. Try to target multiple collecting audiences through creative use of keywords and dual-category listings.
For instance, I did some research on a book that I recently sold. It's a kid's adventure that features a much-collected breed of dog. Somebody had previously listed it under the very general Books:Fiction category without mentioning the breed in the title. Their book sold for about $20. I put the name of the breed in my title, then dual-listed it under that dog breed's category as well as the "Young Adult Book" category since I know that "young adult" book series have become very popular. My auction ended at $66. Note that dual-listing doesn't always get you more bids, but in general it's worth the extra 30 cents to get more pairs of eyes to see your auction.
[ edited by holdenrex on Nov 16, 2001 08:32 AM ]
posted on November 16, 2001 08:34:37 AM new
Thanks, guys!!
As for the Shill bidding, I had a friend of mine that has been on eBay for a while look at her auctions, and she said she thinks it looks like a shill ring. . .based on some stuff she saw as far as user IDs. . . but who knows.
posted on November 17, 2001 02:20:11 AM new
lindajean, something that has helped when they do not answer email. after I receive the payment, I email them;(i am a small time seller though)
"I received your payment today, thank you. I will be glad to ship your item as soon as I receive and email verifying your address."
I have a buyer right now that we have been trying to complete the deal for almost 2 months. this is an item geared to young adults and he really wants the item. he came into a bad time financially and ran out of ready cash. very nicely asked me to be patient.
I checked and he was not bidding on anything else and had nothing but positive feedback, so I waited. He kept me informed and I did receive payment this week. But,,, the item needs to ship UPS due to the size and weight...and all I have is his PO box number,,,now waiting for street address.
posted on November 17, 2001 09:54:37 AM new
sellers who sell for years on ebay can sense who are going to be deadbeats,fraud or just late payers.
if payment does not arrive in ten days,there is a good chance it may never arrive.
protect yourself and start the ebay procedure for getting final value fee refund.
some folks will tell you they dont like to get ebay notices,but those who have decided to play deadbeats are so thick skinned,they dont let these emails bother them.
posted on November 17, 2001 02:57:22 PM new
"if payment does not arrive in ten days,there is a good chance it may never arrive. " That is not true, I just had my 4 year anniversary on ebay last week. I sell a pretty wide variety of collectible mechandise, but I also specialize in one category. I can count the number of deadbeats I have had on one hand, this is in 2500 transactions. I say in my auctions that I would like payment in 10 days, most do. Others take 2-3 weeks to pay, that is fine with me. I run a business and this is how I make my living, works for me.
I like to look at auctions by new sellers, they are the worst with the harshest tos. They are always asking people to look at their massive feedback of 15 and "bid with confidence."
posted on November 17, 2001 03:12:19 PM new
okay,so HOPE Springs ETERNAL,lets wait forever for their payment then.
one year i sent all deadbeats a postcard reminder at the end of the year,and 2 sent payments.
these days if i dont see their payment say in 2 weeks,i can pretty much tell myself,there is just a slim chance i will see their payment
posted on November 17, 2001 03:19:48 PM new
Obviously, you had trouble comprehending what I posted. 99.9% pay me within 10-15 days, I don't hound them for payment, if they aren't going to pay nothing you do will make them. At 30 days I filed an npb and move on. I don't obsess about when they are going to pay, I have better things to do. And I make damn good money doing this so I think it must be working.
posted on November 19, 2001 05:07:13 PM new
I just recently started selling on eBay, had about 150+ sales in the last two months, all clothing merchandise so far (though after I read the dumpster diving thread, I may branch out, hehe).
Out of all of that, I've had three deadbeat bidders. I gave each of them plenty of time (nearly a month before I even sent the E-Bay NPB), sent friendly e-mails and gave them the benefit of the doubt, figuring that if worse came to worse I'd get my listing fee back, relist and someone else would buy it. Not getting paid isn't something I really worry about. I worry about something else all together...
My roommate (and coincidentally best friend) and I do this together. Recently, I received a payment from a bidder from a Paypal account that was not the same as their EBay e-mail address. That, in and of itself isn't *too* strange, but to top it off, the name on the Paypal account didn't match the name and address that they placed in their WBN response.
So, the paypal account, name, address and e-mails all differed. This struck me as a little bit odd, but I didn't really worry about it. My roommate thought that we should create a policy where the two must match... paypal addy and e-bay addy, but I wasn't convinced that it was something to worry about. What she was concerned about is someone trying to steal the bid so to speak... paying us and hoping that we won't notice the difference and send it to them instead.
posted on November 19, 2001 09:09:52 PM new
Still waiting on a bidder who won a bid three months ago. Every now and then, I'll get an e-mail asking if I have "his" merchandise. This is after filing a FVF. I keep telling him that I do (I generally sell the same merchandise). I just read his "How Are You Doing, Do you have my merchandise" email and put it in my deleted file folder. It is sort of humorous.
By the way, mommacude, some individuals feel like their being nagged. My sister sent a reminder after 3 days and received a nasty e-mail back. After she explained that she'd be out of town during the holidays, they buyer calmed down.
I normally wait a week before sending a reminder via e-bay.
posted on November 24, 2001 04:34:06 PM new
If the buyer has not responded to my EOA or sent payment within 10 days I send a reminder.
One more reminder at 14 days if no communication.
If I still have not received a reply I file NPB on day 21.
posted on November 26, 2001 07:53:28 PM new
I loved wowwow85 (I may have spelled the name wrong) response.
My policy states something like 10 days but I usually wait about a month before I get truly aggravated.
I would rather get the payment very late than give a neg and get no payment so on this premise I have been known to send letter reminders up to 3 mos after the end of an auction....
Probably silly, but I figure I'd really appreciate if a seller was that patient with me....
jpj
