posted on January 10, 2003 07:30:05 AM new
Why can't bidders ask about the status of an item without adding in "I'd hate to have to leave bad feedback for you"?
This just ticks me off!
Could they not just ask "Hey where's my item?", why be so nasty?
These jerks almost always have under 20 feedbacks. They seem to assume that I chose them out of thousands of other bidders to steal from. They really seem to feel that the 3000+ other transactions mean nothing, and that I'd sell out my rep for their $5.00.
I am just so tired of it. Sorry for the rant, other sellers are the only ones who can understand..
posted on January 10, 2003 07:44:17 AM new
They threated because they can. It also has to do with the fact that they feel powerless to do anything about the transaction once the check leaves their mailbox.
posted on January 10, 2003 07:59:52 AM new
They threaten because they can hide behind their email. Remember when they pay they want that item NOW. They forget that you have to mail it, and if you hold checks that's another 7 days. The only thing that is instant on eBay is if the buyer pays by PayPal right after the auction closes and the seller gets their money right away. Of course that's really not right because it takes 3 days for a transfer to your bank account.
[ edited by Libra63 on Jan 10, 2003 08:00 AM ]
posted on January 10, 2003 09:27:38 AM new
You know, kyms, I think the only reasonable response is:
"The status of your item is [whatever]. Many sellers less understanding than myself would respond to your threatening email by leaving YOU a negative feedback. Civility goes a long way towards ensuring a smooth transaction.
posted on January 10, 2003 10:34:47 AM new
I got one of those yesterday. She paid 12 days after the auction ended. I emailed her the UPS tracking number 15 minutes after they paid. Shipped it 2 hours later.
Her email:
WHERE ARE MY SHOES???? I NEED THEM FOR A PARTY ON SATURDAY. IF THEY DO NOT ARRIVE ON TIME I WILL LEAVE YOU NEGATIVE FEEDBACK! I DO NOT LIKE TO DO THAT BUT YOU ARE NOT MEETING MY EXPECTATIONS FOR A SELLER. I WILL REPORT YOU TO EBAY. PLEASE RESPOND WITH UPDATE.
My response:
Your shoes are exactly where the tracking number says they are, on their way to you. You do not meet my expectations of a buyer. I expect my buyers to pay me within the time frame indicated, in my auctions. You did not do that. The faster you pay, the faster you get your shoes.
Like love, feedback is two way street. I am not in love with you, so guess what you will be getting for Valentine's Day?
I was in a rotten mood and not up to that sort of crap. She has not written me back.
I know she got the tracking information. The email she sent was a reply to the tracking number I sent her.
She has numerous negative feedbacks with comments like: "nasty emails", "bad attitude", "insane expectations", "awful ebayer", "claims not received trk # says she got" and "harrassing emails".
She has left 56 negatives.
I also noticed that many sellers had put the tracking number in their negative responses to her. She has 147 positives, 18 negatives and 7 neutrals. All as a buyer.
I sent an email to safeharbor hopefully, someone will boot her off ebay.
posted on January 10, 2003 10:50:31 AM new
yeah, I remember the first letter like that which I got- "I don't like this widget, it doesn't match my dress, and if you don't refund me my money NOW I will post a neg on you.... yadda yadda yadda.
I got her to return item, i refunded her, and said "Now that we have resolved our problem, we BOTH deserve great feedbacks from each other, so I will post about how good you are when a problem comes up- if you do the same for me" She did, I did, and then I saw that she had unregistered herself. Why do people do that? MAybe she was a spendaholic?
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
posted on January 10, 2003 12:21:25 PM new
I have a similar beef but it is with a seller. Here's a quick run down--
Auc. ends Saturday night. First time seller only accepts checks/m.o. No other TOS, just one sentence description.
I email to say I will be paying with m.o. through Bidpay.
She emails to say she doesn't accept Paypal or billpoint? I have no idea to what she is referring.
I go through bidpay on Sunday evening and email her to tell her the m.o. is on it's way.
I assume Bidpay mails on Monday. She sends me my first ever payment reminder from ebay yesterday (three days after m.o. is mailed). Boy was I steamed!!! I have over 2000 feedback and always pay within 24 hours.
I wrote her a *nasty* but sugarcoated email about how it's only been 5 days (2 of which were weekend days) since auction ended and mail does travel across the country from city to city in planes and trucks, etc. so it will take time. Very sarcastic.
I gave her all the m.o. info including the 800 number to call about the status. Her feedback is a whopping (21) with zero sales. She must think I'm some kind of idiot. I have yet to hear from her.
Anyway...thanks for the rant. I'm still iritated to no end over this one. I'd like to give neg feedback just for her impatience. What's more, her ID refers to teaching and that makes my skin crawl.
posted on January 10, 2003 01:52:22 PM new
This came in the mail to me this morning - a coffee maker I sold worked once and then didn't work anymore. I agreed to refund his money, but told him I was on my way off to work and would look into how he paid at noon time during lunch. Here's the response I get: I paid throught paypal, I will be waiting for a credit back, I will not give a bad feed back if we can take care of it promptly..
Well geez - give me a second to eat my lunch! I responded to him: Refund has been processed - you should receive notification shortly. Whether you leave me a negative feedback or not is up to you - I would have refunded your money either way.
I don't care anymore (more or less) about feedback that way. I got a neutral today who said "slow shipping paid 11-26 and books arrived 1-6-03. So I emailed her to say why didn't you contact me? She says "I know it wasn't your fault because it was postmarked 11-26, that's why I didn't give you a negative." Huh???? I told her media rate to Hawaii takes a long time - anyone who lives in Hawaii or Alaska should know that (especially since she has a high feedback and sells too). So she wrote back - why didn't you send them first class then...the price isn't that much different. I said - because you bought 4 pounds of books and I can't ship them first class. You could have paid $10.00 or more for priority rate instead of $3.00 for media mail if you wanted.
I just don't get it anymore.
[ edited by ihula on Jan 10, 2003 01:53 PM ]
posted on January 10, 2003 02:21:29 PM newI assume Bidpay mails on Monday.
Not your fault, since BidPay does NOT publish this on their site, but BP does not issue a money order until the third business day after the m.o. is approved.
Thus, if you buy it on Saturday and approval is quick, it gets mailed out on Wednesday.
posted on January 10, 2003 02:24:34 PM newYour shoes are exactly where the tracking number says they are, on their way to you. You do not meet my expectations of a buyer. I expect my buyers to pay me within the time frame indicated, in my auctions. You did not do that. The faster you pay,the faster you get your shoes.
Like love, feedback is a two way street. I am not in love with you, so guess what you will be getting for Valentine's Day?
I have nothing to add; I just liked this so much I wanted to see it in print again.
posted on January 10, 2003 03:16:52 PM new
Thanks, Fluffy! I had no idea it took that long for them to mail. As a seller, I have received payment through them every once in a while and the m.o. came very quickly!
I have been housebound after emergency surgery on the 1st and had to send payment through them. I was hesitant because of the extra $2.95 fee but if you figure the cost of a m.o. from the post office, the stamp, envelope, and most importantly your time, it almost makes sense to do it this way. I also got to use my Paypal card as a credit card and got my 1.5% back!
She still should be satisfied with the fact that the m.o. was purchased within a day and both myself and bidpay emailed her to notify her of that point immediately proceeding the transaction.
Anyway, I'm trying to hit her but "it may take a few days" LOL!
posted on January 10, 2003 03:48:50 PM newI just don't get it anymore.
People want what they want when they want it, and they want it dirt cheap.
Also stated as: "Cheap. Fast. Good. Pick any two."
This is the customer-driven reality of retail. Businesses are suffering because of it.
Just read a WSJ article about how Amazon lost a bunch of customers during the Christmas season. Amazon is stubbornly wedded to its Free Shipping gimmick, but in order to keep costs manageable, they have to do a lot of contortions with inventory. Your Free Shipping package may take two to three weeks to get to you, because the book you ordered may have to travel across country on a pallet to be boxed with the DVD you ordered. For folks who remember when Amazon had near-instant shipping (I got one book overnight once), this is an unpleasant change. Books that were shipped Priority Mail in the past are now shipped Media Mail. Folks who waited until mid-December to order did not get all of their gifts in time for Christmas. Even some folks who ordered Dec. 1 did not get gifts in time.
But Amazon keeps insisting that people will not buy unless they can get Free Shipping.
I think a panel of seasoned eBay sellers could have told Jeff Bezos that people believe Free Shipping is their birthright, and Quick Delivery is guaranteed in our Constitution. I used to think Amazon had a lot to teach us, but at this point, I think they should be learning from us.
posted on January 10, 2003 07:39:51 PM new
A couple quick comments, based on things
I've read in this thread:
1) USPS Priority Mail is just USPS First
Class mail that weighs 13.1 ounces or more.
It is not treated any differently, except
that you get a sticker on the package.
2) I have a rule, if someone attempts
feedback blackmail or threatens Negative
feedback they automatically get one.
Then again, I always leave feedback. I
know some sellers don't because they are
afraid of Negatives, and they once bothered
me too. Now I don't sweat it. My standard
response is "Yes, please ignore the xx% who follow through and just listen to the deadbeat x%", where xx and x are your own
personal percentages. Good luck!
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on January 10, 2003 08:04:33 PM new
[i]1) USPS Priority Mail is just USPS First
Class mail that weighs 13.1 ounces or more.
It is not treated any differently, except
that you get a sticker on the package[/i]
And it gets to the purchaser 3-5 days faster.
I had a seller ship me a package priority mail from California the same day another shipped me one lst class from Georgia. I am in Florida. The package from California got to me first. Priority is consistently quicker than 1st class, when I buy items.
I leave feedback and my nasty buyer will be getting some on February 14th...unless I can't control myself and need to leave it sooner.
posted on January 10, 2003 08:14:16 PM new
I have so many stories that it's not funny! (As I am sure most of you do!) I actually have 2 favorites! The first neg. I received was from a NUT who stalled and stalled and gave me the old fashioned story about being terminally ill. I bought into it at first, but had a suspicion and just watched her auctions for a while (ie spending habits on ebay) Well, after putting me off for about 6 weeks, low and behold she has a feedback posted where she purchased an item similar to the one that she won from the the day AFTER she won my auction! She paid for that one, but not mine! So I posted feedback to the effect of being selective to whom she paid (she had several negatives before ebay finally booted her off!) for similar items and she left me a negative for watching her feedback! LOL! Now I have one threatening me because she has not received her pkg. that I mailed out Oct.9th and she did not insure it! How can I be responsible once it leaves my hands uninsured?!! She is threatening negative feedback and she can see that I am a reputable seller by my feedback! She also sells, so she should understand that a seller cannot be held liable for uninsured pkgs that have shipped!
Thanks for letting me rant! This has been eating at me about uninsured pkgs! She also insinuated that in her 4 years on ebay that this is the first time this has ever happened! (She lives in GERMANY and so this package has been on trains/planes/auto/boat and has a long journey!!!
posted on January 11, 2003 12:04:17 PM new
Well, This is a good topic! I have been is customer service for 25 years. All the Customer really wants is communication. Contact and reasurance that there is really someone on the other side of their computer screen. One of the best things about Auction watch and how it interfaces with Ebay is that it ties buyer and seller together, from pre-sale until the end of time! All you have to do is talk to your customers, and most important listen to them! Don't assume that just letting the automation run is satisfactory to all customers.
posted on January 11, 2003 12:44:34 PM new
Fluffy, sorry, but the rep must have mis-informed you. I have had bidpay contact me same day to say money order is in the mail and it was here two days later, from NY to FL. BidPay is the only way for payment on my International's due to their fast payment, and I don't have to pay the PayPal extra fees for International funds.
