posted on June 25, 2003 08:43:57 PM new
If a seller's TOS requires the buyer to contact them and pay with in a certain time limit, shouldn't the buyer expect to hear from the seller in the same amount of time?
For example: TOS Winning bidder must make contact within 3 days of end of auction and payment must be made within 7 days.
Yet the buyer receives no contact from seller, no WBN, no shipping date-absolutley nothing until 2 weeks go by and a package arrives.
Is this fair? Is this good customer relations? Are buyer's expecting to much by wanting to hear from seller in a reasonable amount of time?
I would really like to hear some feedback on this subject.
J. C.
posted on June 25, 2003 10:01:24 PM new
Buffalo,
You hit the nail right on the head with about 90% of the sellers using vendio. They want your money now, but don't give any type of basic service in return. That is one of a main reasons that ebay is slowing down. To many sellers that don't communicate with their buyers and the buyers are leaving.
posted on June 25, 2003 10:08:54 PM new
I also agree. If you the seller expect payment within 7 or 10 days then I think the buyer deserves a email from the seller. I hate reading a TOS that says "Buyer must contact seller within 3 days". I think it is the other way around. I would never buy from a seller if that is what they said even if I wanted the item.
posted on June 25, 2003 10:29:20 PM new
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with putting a contact time limit in the TOS-a seller can't sit around wondering if they are going to get paid.
What I object to is sellers that think the buyers are being babies and need their hand held because they (the buyer) feels they should also be contacted ( see thread Need Seller's help) so they will know:
1.) That the seller is aware of them being the wining bidder.
2.) That the seller did receive their payment and it did not get lost somewhere. 3.) When they can expect shipment ( that is the least they could do when so many overcharge on shipping ( no I am not talking about handling-I realize that cost also, I am talking about recieving an item in a bubble envelope with 80 cent postage that I paid $7.00 for!)
This is not hard to do. Seller's auction program should automatically send out a WBN and payment received/shipping date are done in one email.
I buy and sell and I would never treat my customers in this manner. I really hope to get some input from other sellers on this.
J. C.
posted on June 25, 2003 10:44:48 PM new
I would NEVER leave a buyer hanging--and I can't imagine doing it. It's just part of the transaction.
Communication is everything, in this game. Otherwise, it's like calling someone on the phone, and, when they say "hello," you say nothing. Or like paying for an item in a store and the clerk just taking your money, stuffing it in the cash register, and walking away. These days too many e-mails get lost in the shuffle, and ditto for payments in the mail. It's just plain courteous to treat people kindly.
posted on June 25, 2003 11:10:45 PM new
buffalowoman: Well, now we know that you just can't stand it when someone disagrees with you.
--
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.
posted on June 26, 2003 05:45:29 AM new
fluffy:
Disagreement makes for good discussions! I started this thread because I wanted to know if I was wrong in the way I feel.
This has been very insightful for me. I think the next time I have a winning bid I will do everything your way.
I will wait 7 days before I contact seller, ( the TOS does state contact must be made in 7 days) inquiring which method the seller prefers for payment (I know the TOS states what methods they accept-but it doesn't say what method is prefered) then seller will not hear from me until they get a payment in the mail ( I will be sure to send it registered though, because I already know the seller is going to make a complaint about my lack of communication and payment)
Thank you for the advice! I now know that it is ok to keep a seller in the dark for 2 weeks ( alright 11 days- 3 days short of 2 weeks) wondering if they are even going to recieve payment, or did some nut case bid that has no intention of following through with their purchase.
J. C.
[ edited by buffalowoman on Jun 26, 2003 05:47 AM ]
posted on June 26, 2003 07:47:11 AM new
I would never stoop that low! I was trying to be funny.
The entire point was the seller never communicated at all in any way, shape or form until 7 days after auction ended. All i was after was something, anything to let me know this was a legitimate sale.
Seller's feedback is currently going down the tube. Several more negs and neturals have been posted since the end of this auction-for the same reason.
Yes, the auction ended on a Friday afternoon. That is why I waited until Tuesday before sending my first email.
I do not send emails requesting information I already have. If seller had provided this information I would not have needed to send any.
As a buyer, when I win an auction I pay immediatley with PayPal.
As a seller,my auction program sends WBN at end of auction ( a copy is sent to me so I know it goes out)when payment has been received another notice is sent through my auction program that thanks the customer for their payment and gives them a shipping date.
I believe this is the right way to do business-however from some of the comments I have read I am wrong and selling on line gives the seller the right to be not only rude, but not to care about customer service at all. Guess I really need to rethink my standards-they must be to high
J. C.
posted on June 26, 2003 07:57:46 AM new
buffalowoman, I don't see the reason why you need two threads on this. Please realize that not all sellers have the same standards and policies as each other. Neither do all big companies.
Over all, your experience was not earth shattering. Personally each time I have a less than perfect transaction with a seller I make certain that as a seller I treat my customers even better.
I just looked and it's been a week that you have been here wringing your hands over this and it's time to move on.
posted on June 26, 2003 08:46:15 AM new
I did not mean to start two threads. The first one was for adivice-
I started this one because I honestly wanted to know if seller's should be held to the same rules that they expect from their buyers. I simply wanted answers like "yes" or "no"
As for the amount of time I have spent on this, since I started the thread, I feel obligated to answer when replies are directed to me.
posted on June 26, 2003 10:37:25 AM new
buffalowoman
I do indeed agree that if a seller expects to hear from you within a certain amount of time, he or she should have the courtesy to do the same. I contact my buyers as soon as it's possible (I have a day job, so it's usually after work). I also contact those who pay to let them know I've received their payment. I then email them when I ship. Good communication is a must - both ways. You can avoid a lot of problems through good communication. I'd like all my byers to let me know when they have received their items (especially fragile glass items) so that I can get off the pins and needles. I still haven't figured out how to get them to do that, though.
Cheryl
My religion is simple, my religion is kindness.
--Dalai Llama
posted on June 26, 2003 11:09:13 AM new
Cheryl
I found a solution to the problem about buyers letting you know the item arrived safely here on on the eBay outlook.
When I send the "Item has been shipped" email there is a short paragraph ( already in my email template) that says something along these lines:
"Positive feedback will be left once I am notified the item arrived safely and you are happy with your purchase. The quickest way to accomplish this is through your feedback. If there is a problem, please let me know."
Not only does this let you know it arrived, it also encourages them to leave feedback. If I do not hear from them I go ahead and leave positive feedback anyway.
posted on June 26, 2003 04:49:47 PM new
OOOOOO!!! Just wait til you wake a sleeping giant with that kindly positive even though you got none from them, POW! NEGATIVE!! blah, blah, blah......Leave well enough alone! Personal Experience. Never! Do that!
It was such a beautiful Sunday morning, the birds were chirping. I was feeling all warm and fuzzy so I thought why not give all those who "forgot" to give me a feed back 40?. a feed back! (yeah! I'll build my feed back up real quick!) clicking away, positive! thank you! positive! thank you,,,,,,,,,,,,,Next day,,,,NEGATIVE! NUETRAL! NUETRAL! Oh yeah, wake that giant and POW! sooner or later. And not one of the others EVER replied.
posted on June 26, 2003 05:41:16 PM new
Gee, sounds like you are having a bad time of it!
I am counting my blessings- I have used that method for a year now with no problem. As a matter of fact I've been real lucky-I have stayed at 100% poitives both buying and selling since I joined in 1999.
Don't fret-I know my time is comming! I am way over due
J. C.
posted on June 26, 2003 11:13:18 PM new
buffalowoman, I buy quite a bit on eBay. I've noticed exactly what you are discussing, TOS that demands the winning bidder contact the seller with full information, but zero contact from the seller.
Last week one of my best friends bid on a dragon handle vase and won it for around $700. The auction was set up for an instant Paypal payment. He paid, but heard nothing from the seller, not one peep about thank you for your high bid, received your money, shipped your expensive vase, etc. So he called me up and asked me if this kind of thing is normal. I said for $700 he should get contact from the seller, but that sadly yes, more and more sellers are lacking in the common customer courtesies. They can't even use high volume auctions as an excuse, because if you go and look at their sales activity you see anywhere from 10 to 50 auctions in a 30 day period.
I am shopping more and more off eBay for regular items. Today I purchased a pair of $130 Birkenstock sandals in the brand new Florance style at birkenstocksd.com. Over the weekend I purchased 4 cotton summer shirts at qvc.com. Yesterday I saw some glass books being offered by a bookseller who stated in his TOS that going through his Checkout was mandatory, even though he was set up with Pay Now, and so I thought the heck with him, brought up amazon.com in my other browser and plugged all of his eBay book titles for glass that interested me into amazon and spent my money there.
The long winded answer to your question is that I back out of those seller's auctions and don't do business with them. And I now do more of my shopping off eBay.
posted on June 27, 2003 10:53:50 AM new
You've been given a number of reasons why you might not have been contacted. Sure, one of them may just be less than adequate customer service. But there are plenty of other explanations to give the seller the benefit of the doubt.
You haven't said yet whether he got your first three emails.
You've mentioned your phone calls that you got no response to --- gee, how many kids do you know that pass on good messages?? How old was this kid that answered, anyway?
Family problems could have come up, vacation time--it is summer, you know, etc. The sheer volume of email received by high volume sellers in a category sure to generate lots of questions can keep sellers backed up a couple of days. Heck, I'm a small volume seller, and I get 300-500 emails a day, most of them spam. Sometimes it takes a couple of days to get through the pile, because, believe it or not, I have other responsibilities besides reading email all day.
Maybe he hasn't automated yet? Not everyone does things the automated way, and we've seen plenty of threads from people complaining about automated emails.
Incidentally, his TOS doesn't require contact within three days, and his feedback isn't "going down the tubes." He's got 97.7% pos with 49 pos and 1 neutral since 6/20. (BTW, I've invited him over to the other thread to present his side of the story.)
If this is the worst that ever happens to you on eBay, you're in pretty good shape. Don't you think it's time you stopped obsessing over it and moved on?
posted on June 27, 2003 11:26:24 AM new
For the past 4 yrs., I have stated in my TOS that I will ship within 24 hrs. of receipt of payment. I have stuck to this at all times. Here is an example: I rec'd pmnt on Sat. morn via P/P. I had already packed the widget. Took it to the PO before noon, shipped Priority Mail, shipped it to Chapel Hill, NC. Buyer had it on Monday. She was totally amazed, wanted to know if the PO Master Gen'l was my brother-in-law. I feel that if you want payment within 10 days, then the buyer should have their purchase likewise.
[ edited by sanmar on Jun 27, 2003 11:28 AM ]
posted on June 27, 2003 12:44:55 PM new
"You didn't say if seller got your emails"
Yes, they did-I have my e-mail program set up so it sends a receipt when sent mail has been read.
"There are many reasons why seller did not contact you.."
I understand that-it is why I kept trying to touch base with them. I did finally get a reply 7 days after end of auction, but all seller did was ask me what method I used to pay-no shipping date or confirmation of payment.....now you are going to say seller needed the information to see if I did in fact pay...that information was in each and every emai, including the one they replied to.
Incidentally, his TOS doesn't require contact within three days, and his feedback isn't "going down the tubes." He's got 97.7% pos with 49 pos and 1 neutral since 6/20.
Gee, how about going back 30 days instead of just the last week and read what the majority of past complaints are for? Also, how about confirming you have the right seller since the majority of my purchases are a diffrent ID than the one I use for selling.
No, the TOS does not have a "contact time" but eBay does-
READ THE RULES!!!
Just for your benifit I am posting them for you.
Establish Communication
After an auction has closed, a seller should contact the high Bidder, or respond to their email within three business days.
If you are unable to get an email response from your Seller, you can request the member's name, phone number, city and state directly from eBay.
Note
In order to obtain contact information from another member you have to have a transaction in common.
Problem establishing communication
When you win an item or use Buy It Now to purchase an item, you'll receive an End of Item email from eBay letting you know that the listing has ended successfully. You can contact the seller using the seller's email address in the End of Item email or through the "ask seller a question" link on the item page.
If you are unable to contact your seller through email, you can request the seller's contact information.
If there is a problem with your seller's contact information, please report the situation to eBay through the false or missing contact information policy page.
The key word here are "Unable to contact your seller", there is much more on this if you check out Seller's Overview- there it also states that the buyer should get in touch with you to let you know about shipping.
posted on June 27, 2003 01:30:03 PM new
i am most ANXIOUS to find out what the seller has to say ,i am also DYING to know what item did buffalowoman buy that she has to call twice besides emailing??
is it the HOPE DIAMOND?? OR THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND AND RUBY TIARA??
posted on June 27, 2003 01:30:04 PM new
i am most ANXIOUS to find out what the seller has to say ,i am also DYING to know what item did buffalowoman buy that she has to call twice besides emailing??
is it the HOPE DIAMOND?? OR THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND AND RUBY TIARA??
posted on June 27, 2003 03:19:29 PM newIn response to your other post-bjaytraders is not my buyers ID
Well, who the heck IS buying on that ID? The Phantom Bid Fairies? DynoMutt? Ghost in a Jar? WHO! WHO! Tell us, 'cause someone is bidding away on that ID.
posted on June 27, 2003 03:27:00 PM new
shop4shoes:
I will say this slow so you can read it maybe it will sink in. I did not say I do not buy under that ID- I said it is not my buyer's ID.
Anyone that can read would be able to see 99% of the fedback on that ID is with me as a seller. Out of the feedbacks listed ..31 are as a buyer and out of that 31, 26 were made over a year ago when I established the ID.
Once in a while I will make a last min. bid and not take the time to change to my other ID which has been regestered since 1999
J. C.
I am sure there is no one in your family that buys or sells under your name. I realize I am the only woman in the world that has a spouse, adult children and family members that buy through my ID.
[ edited by buffalowoman on Jun 27, 2003 03:37 PM ]
[ edited by buffalowoman on Jun 27, 2003 03:43 PM ]
posted on June 27, 2003 03:45:50 PM new
Some buyers are overbearing with their 10 emails to complete a sale routine.
I won the auction please send info...(I will if you relax for 2 minutes)
Did you receive my Paypal payment,I just sent it. (I guess that's why Paypal says transaction completed)
When will you ship ? ....(Usually tomorrow when the post office opens or as soon as you stop emailing).
Okay make sure you pad the items with peanuts and place in a plastic bag.
Oh,since I paid and you acknowledge receipt of payment can you leave feedback for me tonight.
No wonder some sellers take a week to ship,they are busy answering all the uneccessary chatter emails.
Did you saty this was a "Poll" quesytion or did you mean "Troll"
[ edited by horsey88 on Jun 27, 2003 03:56 PM ]
posted on June 27, 2003 04:04:21 PM new
Buffalo...And my answer is : Some sellers have their expectation level a bit too high and disjointed.. You buy I ship the next day,you get good product,I say "Next !".
I do not have to chat with the buyer about the pink widget that's similar to mine that Aunt Nellie inherited from Uncle Jake.
I don't have to tell you the date and time that I will be depositing the money in my bank or that I will watse that money on cheap women and slow horses.
None of that baloney was listed in my TOS.
And last check...Feedback was still OPTIONAL and Uncle Sam still says that sellers have 30 days to ship.
