posted on February 18, 2003 04:16:49 PM new
My buyer emails me the following email, after she wins the auction.
"But why are you charging $6.00 for such light weight items?"
Usually I am very polite with my reply, but yesterday, well........it was just a frustrating day, so this was my reply to her....
"This was a question that you should have asked before you placed your bid. The cost of shipping was listed in my auction.
Now here is the web sit for the United States Post Office. USPS Domestic Calculator Mailclass Selection Page ................
You can go and check it out for yourself. The xxxxxxxxxxx weight is 1bs & 3/4 before packing..................after being packaged so they don't break, the weight is.....2 1/2lbs..................the cost according to the USP site
is...........Priority Mail $8.55
Parcel Post $6.32
Which I am shipping them parcel and as you see that is not even enough money.
Her next Email reply to me:
Also, I guess you can't send until after you receive my money order. You don't accept Paypal? Just the money order forms of payment, correct?
My reply:
I am sorry but I did state in my auction that I do not accept Paypal. but any of the above payment method that you choose would be fine.(which were checks, bidpay or payingfast, or money orders)
Please maybe some of you Sellers can tell me .............do you loose it sometimes when this situation happens to you to.
I am always very polite when it comes to sending emails, but lately, my buyers don't seem to read anything in my listing.
posted on February 18, 2003 04:28:06 PM new
The easiest way to get a customer to follow the agreement is to put in an extra charge after the fact and watch how quickly they spot it.
There are times I am tempted to reply "By the way, there is an extra $5 handling fee." Then when they reply that it wasn't stated in my auction, I can answer "the shipping was stated in my auction, the fact that I don't take paypal was stated. Since you seem to feel that what is stated doesn't really apply, I thought I can change some terms, too. However, if you agree to abide by the stated terms then so will I."
Haven't done it yet for an auction but I have tried similar tactics on clients who try to change our agreements after the fact.
posted on February 18, 2003 06:13:07 PM new
Honestly, I have to say that I am very guilty of losing my temper in email. By checking my feedback, you will see that a couple of my negatives state that I am rude. Well...the truth is, I can be. Unfortunately, it's not a good way to handle business but, like you, some bidders catch me on a bad day or insult me and I fire back. Oh well...such is life.
posted on February 18, 2003 07:45:34 PM new
HEY, I state in my TOS in RED letters that I do not take personal Checks. Today I received a che cck from buyer in NY. She says "Cash the check wait for clearence & then send me my purchase. I am still debatin whether to return the check or wait & give her a neg after she gives me a pos. What is with these idiots?
posted on February 18, 2003 08:01:09 PM new
Tonimar, I think your reply WAS very polite.
And you were to correct to point out to her that this type of question should be asked before she placed her bid.
However this type of customer is not interested in if you are polite, only if you are not.
And you can not do enough for them, so stop trying. You notice how appreciative she was after you stated that you did'nt charge enough for shipping? surely you did'nt expect her to volunteer to pay the difference...no, she completely ignored the subject and went on to press another issue. I have customers all of the time who ask those important questions after the auction ends. I don't debate the issues or justify them, in reply I state (cordially) "the shipping charges/ terms are xxxxx as stated in the item description". I don't care if they leave feedback for me or not, I have been paid and they have their item.
Don't spend your valuable time worrying about customers like this, just focus on the majority of your customers who are pleasant to deal with. And yes, it does seem like my terms and the item descriptions are being read less and less lately. Yisgood, I would LOVE to use your reply sometime!!
posted on February 18, 2003 08:03:29 PM new
The best thing to do when you feel that way is to just pull back and do something else till you calm down a bit.[I know, its a tough act some days] No matter how you feel, never let it get in the way as we are all in this for the bucks.
You may even get a great repeat bidder in the end. If you think emails are a pain, try dealing with the public in a real b.m. store where you have to look at them every day.
No wonder so many merchants drink!
posted on February 18, 2003 08:58:46 PM new
When I get buyers like that, I won't send a reply til the next day. That way I don't slam them with a nastygram.
If I do it the next day, they will get a tactfully worded response to their STUPID IDIOTIC questions.
posted on February 19, 2003 06:06:38 AM new
It IS very frustrating to get the same stupid questions over and over again. Especially if the information is included in your auction and your bidders are just obviously not reading the auction. However... remember that you are the same seller. The bidder asking questions is different each time. I kind of feel that because of that you have to respond to each bidder like it's the first time that question has been asked. (after all... for them, it IS!) While it's hard to bear-and-grin it... polite e-mails help build your future customer base. That's why it's a good idea to keep a stock-pile of well thought out form letters to answer the unavoidable stupid questions.
posted on February 19, 2003 07:28:19 AM new
keep a stock of form letters is a great idea! There have been several examples in these forums, and sometimes I've been on the ball and copied and saved them into my drafts folder where I can find them and use them. I have to change a couple words each time, to suit the situation, but what a help!
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
posted on February 19, 2003 08:10:22 AM new
Form letters are really helpful for these situations. They should be short, matter-of-fact, and non-arguable. For example, my standard answer to someone who questions my shipping rates post-auction is:
"We charge a set rate for shipping and handling for all our auctions. Thanks for asking."
I don't try to justify or explain or give them any room to argue about it. Same thing with payment arrangements.
"Our policy is to only accept ______, _______, ________, and ______. Thanks for asking."
posted on February 19, 2003 09:07:51 AM new
many bidders do not read,there are so many individual sellers on ebay,many spent 3/4 page to describe their terms,you would think time would be better spent describing the item,not the terms.
what turns bidder off is that they act like they are the only game in town.
but they are not,do a search on anything,and hundred of items show up,years ago i searched on coffin and many items which mentioned coffin showed up
