posted on January 6, 2003 06:55:44 AM new
Fluffy's New Year's Resolution:
Instead of being a nice sweet Fluffy and working with the non-payers who claim their checks were lost in the mail, I'm gonna proceed with NPB/FVFs on a merciless schedule.
I note that in the last quarter of 2002, some of these beauties drew the transaction out for months, what with their back-and-forth emails ( "No, we still haven't received your check" )...and then never paid, anyway! Cripes.
If I hear "I sent you a check, it must have been lost in the mail" one more time I think I'm gonna puke.
Bidders are responsible for getting their payments into my hands. Assuming that some percentage of the "check lost" folks actually did send a check and it really is lost, I think I need to amend my TOS to state what I said at the beginning of this paragraph. If it's lost in the mail, in 2003 Fluffy is gonna make it YOUR problem.
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Jan 6, 2003 07:21 AM ]
posted on January 6, 2003 07:32:32 AM newsome of these beauties drew the transaction out for months
I never allow anything to take this much time. If I do not receive payment in at least two weeks I send another email. If still no payment then I will file npb and move on.
Total time for check three weeks, that I feel is more than enough time. Most bidders that pay me by check send them out within a day or so. I have the payment in my hands in about a week.
As far as "lost checks" go, yes, thats their problem not mine. Mail can get lost, but its just an excuse for a lot of people that never mailed one in the first place.
posted on January 6, 2003 07:53:05 AM new
I agree with Trai. As a buyer I've had two checks get lost or badly delayed in the mail. As soon as the seller asked about it, I immediately sent another check. It never took more than three weeks to close a transaction.
I do think that if you file a NPB after three weeks you should get an immediate refund. The extra 10 days just draws it out unnecessarily. If they were going to pay, they'd have done it already.
Fluffy, considering some of your selling adventures I'm surprised you haven't taken a harder line sooner.
posted on January 6, 2003 07:54:54 AM new
Let's face it. There is almost no lost mail. I have sent and received possibly 30,000 pieces of mail in my long life and can count on 2 hands the possibly lost mail. And most of those were cases where it was in the interest of the sender or receiver to claim the loss. "it must be lost in the mail" ranks right up there with "my dog ate the check". lol
posted on January 6, 2003 09:29:04 AM new
One other thing I do is if they sent the payment late... postmark not within the 10 days then I send it back and proceed with the NPB that I filed.
I usually have the item relisted within 15 days so no more waiting... gave that up for last years resolution.
Good luck fluffy.. you will feel better about it... especially if they are large $ items.
Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care!
posted on January 6, 2003 09:30:10 AM new
Yes, it does seem out of character for me to let these people go for so long.
It's just that most of them sound utterly clueless. Like the one who wrote to me yesterday, protesting that we filed a non-paying bidder on her. She noted that the check had not cleared her bank and said "I don't know what to think."
I told her it seemed pretty obvious to me that we had never gotten her payment. Her response: "Oh, I was hoping you had gotten it today or just hadn't deposited it yet."
This, one month after the auction ended.
You think this sweet throw-hands-up-in-the-air oh-my-I'm-just-a-helpless-female routine is just an act?
posted on January 6, 2003 09:54:37 AM new
There used to be PLENTY of lost mail, but since I have gone to using delivery confirmation on every single package, I haven't experienced any. What an amazing thing, not only can I tell when it gets delivered, but it doesn't get lost in the mail anymore. Very interesting...
posted on January 6, 2003 10:05:23 AM new
Yeah, I use eDC on everything now, too.
Funny you should mention that. Had a customer who ordered four items, which we shipped separately. She said she got three but the fourth (the most expensive) never showed. She wanted an immediate refund. This raised a red flag.
I went to my file of eDC receipts, tracked the numbers and sure enough, all four were delivered the same day. Sent her this info, and her response was, "Oh, it just came today."
Yeah, right, you twit.
We went to eDC for everything because a large customer waited several months after she began bidding to tell us that 44 of the packages we sent her never arrived.
posted on January 6, 2003 10:09:21 AM new
Here's a thought.
The broker I use to get merchandise requires that the goods payment AND the commission check be sent by Express Mail or other overnight service. He wants the tracking numbers right away.
Maybe I should just default to PayPal for primary payment method. If you want to send a check or money order, and you're a new customer, use DC and send me the tracking number.
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Jan 6, 2003 10:10 AM ]
posted on January 6, 2003 10:16:57 AM new
I also use eDC on every package I send. Although I have not had any problems with delivery before eDC I am going to head all problems off at the pass. There will always be a first time but I hope I have that covered.
I honestly say I have never lost any letter mail or package mail at the post office and reading your post Fluffy I am sure your buyers use that as an excuse. Of course I don't do the volumn that you do but you can't run a business with excuses, you have to be firm. Good Luck. Keep us posted.
posted on January 6, 2003 11:02:55 AM new
This is something I just had a buyer claiming her package never arrived, so to keep my feedback i sent out another, this time I put eDC,well she E-mailed me 3 days stating she didn't receive it, i asked her to wait 1 day well the next day came i checked USPS eDC and it was delivered, she emailed me telling me she didn't get it, I then gave her the tracking #and told her to check her mail and it was a miracle it was their. It wasn't an expensive item it was the point she was trying to rip me off I feel and I feel she got 2 Barbies plus I returned her shipping cost I sent both priority and 1 with eDC that saved me a few bucks should have done it to begin with.
posted on January 6, 2003 12:08:04 PM new
I know that some of you have very small pkgs. & USPS is the right way to go. I am shipping almost everything by FedEx Ground. I costs less & I have the tracking number. The only one I had a problem with was my own fault, I transposed the street number. Took almost a week longer to deliver it. Other wise no lost pkgs. I DO NOT TAKE CHECKS, so none are lost in the mail. To each his own way of doing business.
posted on January 6, 2003 12:08:19 PM new
Last year at Xmas, I had several packages get "lost" in the mail. It did not cost me anything. I offer Insurance as optional, if you don't pay, it's your problem. This year, with all packages having eDC, not a single package got lost. It's just amazing how that happens.
posted on January 6, 2003 01:53:54 PM new
I don't give buyer a choice, if they bid on my auction, they pay priority insured rate. (Unless sale is under $10.00) If it gets lost, I will happily send receipts so that they can work with the PO. I've never had a package get lost.
Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular
posted on January 6, 2003 02:01:01 PM new
What's the website for eDC. How much is it? I have paid out my fair share of "it's lost in the mail" refunds, and I just figure that in with the cost of doing business, but if it doesn't take up too much extra time (I work full-time and do about 200 auctions a week) I may consider it.
posted on January 6, 2003 02:30:48 PM new
trai, it is the customer's problem. According to Paypal's site, the seller has to have proof of shipment. If the package is lost in transit, you have to take it up with the shipper.
[ edited by stormypetr on Jan 6, 2003 02:32 PM ]
Sign up with Endica.com for your postage printing. Flat rate cost is $9.95 per month. Print your own postage, include the eDC & the postage log allows you to print receipts & check on the package status.
Also using the "stealth" feature does NOT print the cost of the postage on the label.
I don't mail anything without eDC (even 1st class).
[ edited by bear1949 on Jan 6, 2003 03:51 PM ]
posted on January 6, 2003 03:55:15 PM newit is the customer's problem. According to Paypal's site, the seller has to have proof of shipment. If the package is lost in transit, you have to take it up with the shipper.
Paypals user terms state... online tracking, dc is not online tracking by itself.
If the buyer pays via their CC, they will not care about " take it up with the shipper". They will just cry to their bank and voila, chargeback! And there is nothing that paypal can do about it but pass the cost down.
When it comes to insurance they will not get a choice with me as I will charge for it and include it in the shipping price.
The way I look at this is simple, if you want insurance protection then pay for it. Problem is that so many do not want to pay for it, yet expect the insurance benefit if something goes wrong.
posted on January 7, 2003 06:04:17 AM new
Paypal accepts on-line tracking as proof of shipment for items up to $250.
No one can protect you if the customer decides to dispute it with their credit card company. You might have a chance if you have your own merchant acct since they will listen to your side. Paypal does not care. The customer could flat out lie and say they did not get something when the eDC shows they did. The USPS won't pay if the eDC shows delivery, insurance or no insurance. That is why I take the money out of my Paypal acct ASAP. I would let my acct be closed before I would give a liar back his money.
posted on January 7, 2003 08:29:52 AM new
STORMYPTR, NICE THINKING BUT IF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT HAS OVERDRAFT PROTECTION, THEN THE MONEY WILL STILL BE WITHDRAWN AND YOU WILL THEN HAVE A NEGATIVE BALANCE.
I HAVE SEEN IT DONE, A CC CHARGEBACK ALMOST ALWAYS GETS A BUYERS MONEY BACK AND LITTLE A SELLER CAN DO ABOUT IT.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
