lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 08:24:11 AM new
It is my turn to vent! I wake up this morning to an email from a previous winner.
Here's the subject: Still not received
Here's the letter: What is the status on my postcard? I have not received it! Please let me know.
Ok, I sell 100 to 200 a month. How do they expect me to know who they are and what they purchased? When they paid? Or anything else?
Too early for this! Think I will just go back to bed
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Libra63
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posted on June 18, 2003 08:44:17 AM new
Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed...I can attest to that.
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jackswebb1
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posted on June 18, 2003 09:32:14 AM new
At least you have a clue, postcard. How about where's my ITEM? Oh Boy!
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neonmania
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posted on June 18, 2003 09:35:57 AM new
My cuirrent fav is the auction that ended a month ago - bidder was buying birthday present for a friend but did not know his address, would I write him and ask him for his address. Then buyer could not pay for friends bithday present so would I just send the invoice to his friend who would pay for it and he would just pay his friend back. Now the friend is trying to negotiate on shipping.
Mario Andretti - “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
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AuctionAce
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posted on June 18, 2003 10:27:45 AM new
It's amazing how many buyers think the seller has only sold one item and it was to them. 
If you save all the emails it is sometimes possible to search the saved emails for that email address. Of course, many buyers use several different email accounts and that is not always possible.
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stonecold613
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:03:50 AM new
If you are keeping proper records of your sales, it is a very simple thing to look and see who the e-mail is from and you would know when you shipped it and what card it was. Granted the e-mail they sent is pretty much garbage, but if you had better records, this thread would be a mute point.
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kiara
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:19:45 AM new
stonecold613, as usual I smile at your words of wisdom.
So what happens if they e-mail you from a completely different addy than they previously used or a different one than the one they use for ebay? It happens.
Do you sell?
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lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:26:27 AM new
I keep all info by item number...not by email address.
I wouldn't even consider keeping records that way! It clearly says in all my correspondence to refer to item number when replying or sending an inquiry.
Edited to add:
I have a Master's degree in accounting. What are your qualifications for knowledge of proper record keeping procedures?
[ edited by lindajean on Jun 18, 2003 11:27 AM ]
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neonmania
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:40:10 AM new
Of course Stone also apparently belives that all buyers actually pay, or wait more than 5 hours after leaving the post office to ask these kinds of questions.
I niavely file all sales under the shipping name. I should not have to try to figure out which particular email address is being used. Most of my customers PayPal address is different from their bidding address and they may write later inquiries from still another address - I have much better things to do with my time than record and track every address connected to a single seller - I prefer to stick with the most EFFICIENT way of doing things. I does not matter how many address they may have - they all come back to the same single piece of information - Shipping name (or item # but most of my sales include multiple item wins, names are easier.) . I too get a number of these wonderful "Where is my item " - it takes me two seconds to deal with them. I ask them to please send me the shipping name on the package - when they do I can quickly look up their delivery confirmation number and give them all the info they need.
It always interesting though to see just how condesending Stone can be while giving misleading and in many cases flat out wrong info.
[ edited by neonmania on Jun 18, 2003 11:44 AM ]
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stonecold613
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:40:31 AM new
I as well track my auctions with the auction number, but if you are not also tracking with your customers e-mail address, you are doing yourself an injustice. What happens when you get a package returned because of an incorrect address or other problems that arise. Wait until the customer e-mails you stating where is my package? Record keeping for tax purposes and record keeping for customer service is two different things but can be incorporated into one easy to follow system. Ever heard of Excel. Only need one more column and it is just a matter of copy and paste and walla, the info is there. I got a where is my item e-mail this morning very simular to the one you received. No mention of the item or the auction number. He even stated he paid with PayPal a week ago. Since I record e-mails, all I had to do is look at my chart, find the item to find he did not pay. I went to PayPal to make sure I didn't miss the payment, then e-mailed him back stating that your payment did not come through. Please check your account. About an hour later, I received payment with a note telling me he mistyped my id and now has corrected the problem. And because I had the e-mail noted, it saved both of us a lot of time.
And Kiara,
Get a clue. 99% of the time the e-mail is correct. And if not, then it is a simple e-mail back stating that I don't have their e-mail recorded from any auctions of mine. Which item did they win.
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kiara
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:41:40 AM new
lindajean, I keep records by item # or name. That's why I asked stonecold if he sold.
It makes it even harder to find the buyer now that ebay won't allow us to search by e-mail addresses.
I have almost 1000 unique items on my website and someone e-mailed last week and asked what shipping would be and never gave the item or a description of what they were interested in. They did end up buying but sometimes they must think we are mindreaders or our computers are programmed to see who they are and what they want.
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lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:51:28 AM new
Stonecold: You may be surprised if you check a bit further. I use CA and all items are kept in "invoice" file by email address. But, at least 50% of the time I receive payment through paypal from a different address than the one they use on Ebay (Really!).
kiara: Most of my sales are single item only. I do occassionally sell a couple to the same person if I have two postcards listed from the same town.
As it turns out, this person did use the same email address and by time I had my second cup of coffee (and before Sones reply) I did find the item and email him that payment had not been received. Auction ended on 6/5. I still have not heard back regarding my email.
My point was: If a person wants to know about any item, he should give more details. And, I consider myself in the top 99% of those offering quality customer service. Emails when payment is received, emails when item is shipped, and emails just answering questions or chatting if they send one wanting to talk about some particular card.
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neonmania
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:52:04 AM new
Stone - if I get a package back - I pull the hard copy of their order- takes me about 30 seconds. If the addresses match - I pull the email address from that hardcopy and contact them. I have had to do this all of twice in the past year
Best part is that the last guy I did this with ook two weeks to get back to me (despite 4 emails in the meantime) with a corrected address and then negged me for being disorganized. Sometimes you can't win.
Mario Andretti - “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
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trai
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:53:29 AM new
stonecold613
The bottom line is that the idiot should have at least some brains to give you their name, addy, item, item number.
That would be so easy to do. There is no reason why the seller should have to waste their time hunting down clues. I do not care if its 10 seconds or an hour to do this. I will not waste my time with them.
They get one email back to send the proper info or I can not help them. I am not a mind reader.
I find a lot more than 1% with different email addys that don't send the number or say what they bid on.
Methinks kiara has a lot of clues, how about you?
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lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 11:55:43 AM new
Stonecold: I have NEVER had an item returned to me as undeliverable.
But, if it should be, I would just open it up and look at the nice copy of the invoice I sent with the item.
It has: item number, their email address, their Ebay ID, and the item description. Everything I would need.
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kiara
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posted on June 18, 2003 12:11:54 PM new
stonecold, of course I keep the e-mail addresses of my buyers. I run a business so each parcel goes out with an invoice inside, the same way lindajean does it.
I think you missed the whole point of this thread.
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AuctionAce
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posted on June 18, 2003 12:20:49 PM new
I love all of this grilling of StoneCold but he does have some valid points that email records can be used to help solve these rare email inquireies from buyers that do that give any clues as to the item they are refering to. I use hotmail and every email I send out I carbon copy myself a copy and then place it in the drafts folder on hotmail and also blind carbon copy a copy to a free POP mail account. The Edit and find function lets me easily search every letter in the folder. At least 25% of the time the person with the vague email letter has used another email account and that method will no longer work. Then a simple email to the person usually solves the riddle.
It seems very ridiculous to use to get these types of emails because we sellers have dealt with numerous auctions before but many buyers are new to the online auction scene and unknowledgable about the complicated process of auction selling. These buyers must be hand held and taught the auction process with polite letters explaining the need for basic things like an auction number or date.
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lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 12:30:52 PM new
Auctionace: How many items do you sell? I have sold as many as 300 at a time and I couldn't possibly save or search through all these. I usually sell 50 or so a week and that also ads up over a month. Especially since each customer gets a minimum of 3 emails from me. I just delete them and go on with my life and depend on the customer to use a little common sense.
Glad some of you have unlimited storage space for emails, the patience to search through them, and the time to do it all! I keep very busy with a "real" job, Ebay, a family and sometimes, if I'm real lucky, a few hours sleep a night.
Edited to add:
Not that Ebay isn't a "real" job. It just doesn't pay enough to support me
[ edited by lindajean on Jun 18, 2003 12:34 PM ]
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lurkyloo
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posted on June 18, 2003 12:31:54 PM new
stonecold, if you're going to chastise someone for not keeping adequate records, please have an adequate knowledge of the English language. The word is "moot," not "mute," and this thread qualifies as being moot since one of the definitions is "open to or intended for discussion."
Not lurkyloo on eBay
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msincognito
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posted on June 18, 2003 01:58:22 PM new
No doubt about it. lindajean's bidder is an idiot.
There is an easy way to find a bidder even if you don't sort by email address, though. If you use Outlook or Outlook Express, just click on the word "from" in the bar above the message-list panel and your in-box will automatically sort by email address. The last email from that bidder will be right above the one you just received.
-------------------
We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.
------------The Talmud
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on June 18, 2003 02:07:14 PM new
auctionace:
I use hotmail and every email I send out I carbon copy myself a copy and then place it in the drafts folder on hotmail and also blind carbon copy a copy to a free POP mail account.
If you spent a few extra bucks for a real ISP and used a full-function mailer, you wouldn't have to go to all this trouble.
Plus you'd have the credibility of an actual domain.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
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AuctionAce
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posted on June 18, 2003 02:26:18 PM new
I sell about 30 items per week. I have had cable access for almost 3 years but refuse to use the virus-prone Outlook Express email address. Each email is only 1 K and you can store several hundred on a free hotmail account. I'd never delete the first email I send or the one they send with their return snail mail address. I can not envision someone merely deleteing this important records when they can easily be stored and used if needed. I delete them after 2 or three months.
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kiara
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posted on June 18, 2003 02:46:23 PM new
I have been on cable for 5 yrs and I use Outlook and have never had a virus. Nortons protects me and I update it regularly. In Outlook you can click Edit and Find and then do a search for the e-mail address or the auction #, the item or the name of the bidder.
But it is wasted energy if you get the e-mail from the bidder who is using an entirely different addy than previously and has no subject, no ID at all as to what the auction was for.
Yes, many of these are new bidders and they learn as they go. This year I have noticed lots that start a new e-mail each time instead of hitting Reply.
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lindajean
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posted on June 18, 2003 05:15:36 PM new
Auctionace: I never open an email once it is received and read. I guess I am missing something, but after selling on Ebay for 5 years now I just do not find that important information.
If I need to get in touch with them I can do so through my invoice view at CA or through Ebay direct. Important information? not for me.
Kiara:
I also have cable modem and use outlook. No problems with viruses either. I did have one pop up which Norton quarantined and I'm not sure what happened from there but I didn't have any other problems. I also have my other email addresses in my address book so I would know if a virus slipped through since it would send me a letter as well.
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Libra63
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posted on June 18, 2003 06:10:50 PM new
If I received an email like that and all I sell is post cards I would email them back and ask for auction information. Until they do that I would do nothing.
I think if a bidder emails you it should be from the email address that is registered to eBay. But of course many don't. When I send my WBN I ask that all correspondance be done with the original email I send them. Works sometimes and of course sometimes not. This is what I say. "Please acknowledge by using this email with your name and address" because I use the email address on the EOA and when you click it on it puts the auction # and title in the subject line.
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neglus
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posted on June 18, 2003 06:14:54 PM new
I have had the same thing happen to me Linda Jean...if you are using Vendio post=sale you can do a search by email address to find the mysterious purchase ( unless of course you have been blessed by having the person win more than one of your pc's)
To do email search go to sales manager and then to post-sale..there is a drop down that will let you search by email address.
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Roadsmith
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posted on June 18, 2003 06:46:00 PM new
Good, lurkyloo! YOu and I may be twins separated at birth. "Moot" and "mute" are so often confused, even on TV news and talk shows, and it drives me crazy. And - this is something a spellchecker would never catch because they're BOTH SPELLED CORRECTLY!
One aside: We inherited a cabin from my husband's grandparents and aunt. Their surname was "Moote," so we put a sign out at the road for "Moote Pointe." (And his grandfather was an attorney! - perfect name.) People who understand that pun smile as they pass.
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KarenMx
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posted on June 18, 2003 07:06:42 PM new
> but if you had better records, this thread would be a mute point.
If you had better grammar skills, you'd know that it's MOOT point, not mute.
Moot (in this context): deprived of practical significance
Mute: silent
> and walla,
Et voilà, he manages to hit both of the grammar & usage errors that bring me out of lurk mode. "Walla" isn't a word in either English or French. The word you think you're using is both spelled *and pronounced* with a "v"--VOILÀ.
Karen, willing to live without the accent, but "walla" is worse than fingernails on a blackboard
[ edited by KarenMx on Jun 18, 2003 07:08 PM ]
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jnash
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posted on June 19, 2003 04:50:01 PM new
Hotmail - Hee Hee
Outlook Express - Hee Hee
Mute Point - That's a button on the remote ain't it? Or is that "point and mute"?
Moote Pointe - Very good name for a cabin! I like it!
E-mail? I use Eudora. I own several domain names. I have my own mail server.
So I don't need to use Hotmail or Rocketmail or whatever but it's whatever works
for the user. Some nice people use Hotmail.
Records in a spreadsheet. Records in Notepad. Records in a fancy database.
Records in a shoebox. Again it's whatever works for the user.
I'd tell you to use a old shareware spreadsheet on a DOS boxen since that's
what I like but you could hollow out the old DOS machine and store them inside
there, too. Just a better shoebox. Different strokes for different folks.
If you can't figure out what someone wants you could just e-mail them back and
ask them for details. Or you could try to figure it out on your own if you have the
time and energy for it.
Sys Admin - the guy in the Main Computer room who's laughing at your typing.
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jnash
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posted on June 19, 2003 04:55:45 PM new
Walla? Ya'll know I went to school with a fellow named Walla but teacher allwas called him Wallace!
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