neglus
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posted on February 22, 2005 06:27:22 AM new
GRRRR!!! I have gotten three negs this year (2005) -
THe first one came from a buyer who sent payment in a biz envelope with merely a check enclosed and no auction id # or title - no phone number on the check. I held the check thinking that eventually I would hear from the buyer and it would get straightened out. First time I heard from him was when I got a negative - his check was not cashed. I ended up sending him the card and asked him to remove the negative since it was HIS failure to follow my instructions in identifying this payment. Yeah right - so far nothing has been done. I think he is a priest.
The next one came while I was on vacation - same deal. Check sent with note in the memo section : "ebay item" - no phone number on the check. Buyer said he emailed but I never got any emails . Check has not been cashed.
Yesterday I got one from a French buyer - no payment received, no communication - just gives me a neg with a comment "never received". His feedback is private! GRRRR.
I admit I should be following up on my non-payers but often the amount of the sale simply does not justify the time expended to recover my fees. I usually sell about 750 items/month and 99% pay me promptly - just not worth time I could better spend listing in following up on the 1% of payments I don't receive! I simply refuse to pay the postage to return a mystery check for a $5 item and I am not about to go searching through telephone directories trying to contact them. Contact information through ebay won't work because I don't know user id's.
I slapped a neg right back at the French man - and gave the other two a royal chewing out and blocked them. Ok - done ranting 
**********************************
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh@#...what a ride!"
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 22, 2005 07:51:37 AM new
I'm sorry to hear about your negs! Situations like that are extremely frustrating! Here's a couple thoughts that might help you avoid these situations in the future:
1) How do you send out your invoices? If you send them through eBay's invoice system... you can click on the "view payment status" link after the invoice is sent. This will show you a summary of the invoice... PLUS it will show the buyers shipping address!! I record this address immediately after sending the address... and then can usually match it up with checks that arrive with no information (although it doesn't always work with the idiots that send money orders with no address information and don't have a return address on their envelopes!)
2) As for emails not arriving... do you use any SPAM filters? If so... I'd recommend that any major ebay seller turn them OFF! They do catch about 95% of the SPAM... but they also catch about 0.5~1% of the valid emails. Even though that's a small percentage... I know I can't afford to lose even that number of email messages from my buyers! You'll end up spending a little extra time manually deleting SPAM... but at least you'll know you're getting your messages. (now if we could only convince buyers the same thing so they'd receive OUR messages!!!)
Anyhow... not sure that this would have helped in these cases... some transactions are just lost causes... but maybe it can help for future cases. Hope it helps! Nothing stings more than an undeserved neg!
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sanmar
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posted on February 22, 2005 02:09:13 PM new
I got one last week from a buyer who wasn't happy with the plate(didn't have "correct) backstamp. I told her to send it back & I would refund her payment which I did, but I didn't refund her postage for returning it. My TOS states very plainly "Be advised I will not refund your postage. I refunderd ther postage it cost to send it, but not for her to return it. It proves my point that people DO NOT read the TOS.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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Gtootie
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posted on February 22, 2005 06:26:11 PM new
Here's one I got last night, 30 minutes after the auction ended.
"I need to pay for this item, but it wont let me check out dont why?"
He did not e-mail me and ask why. And his e-mail address is invalid. I turned him in to eBay and filed to have the feedback removed. We'll see if it works.
This was the neutral I got:
"Love the item, no communication, didn't respond to my email regarding ship. info"
Guess what her e-mail ends with...AOL. Her FB was 3, now it is 2.
This was another neutral, left within 30 minutes:
" thanks...but I do not have a PayPal account...how can I pay you? "
I am really sick of newbie buyers. And I am about to get burned out on eBay.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
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ebayvet
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posted on February 22, 2005 07:23:10 PM new
I use Eudora for mail, and one thing that works great for me for tracking buyers is their zip code. I do a search for all messages, and so far I am 100% finding those morons who send a check and nothing more. I got 2 of those today, what used to be a very frustrating thing now is not that big of a deal. I am sure this will work with any email program.
Feedback withdrawal has been very effective, I have been successful 4 out of 5 tries. The one neg that stuck that didn't get withdrawn was because I did not leave this buyer positive feedback. After reviewing her history, looks like she bids on ebay just to get feedback. I would have given her a positive if she would have asked me, but she threatened me with a negative unless I left positive. After the threat, there was no way I was going to leave positive feedback. She is probably scratching her head (or some other part perhaps) wondering why she is getting so much poor feedback!
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Gtootie
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posted on February 22, 2005 07:43:49 PM new
Are you talking about mutual feedback withdrawal or filing for eBay to withdraw the feedback?
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
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neglus
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posted on February 22, 2005 07:50:01 PM new
ebayvet - I am not following what you do with the zip codes....can you elaborate?
**********************************
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh@#...what a ride!"
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards
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ebayvet
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posted on February 22, 2005 08:00:33 PM new
Sure, the end of auction notice has the buyer's zip code in there. I do a search for old messages with the zip code, and have always found the end of auction notice that goes with that buyer.
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neglus
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posted on February 22, 2005 08:07:44 PM new
Oh that won't work for me - I delete the EOA notices..what do you do with them besides the zip code search?
**********************************
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh@#...what a ride!"
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards
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ebayvet
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posted on February 22, 2005 08:15:39 PM new
That's all I use them for. They go in my trash folder, which I keep current for one month. The trash folder on Eudora only gets deleted when I want it to. I also use them for store purchases, to send a notice that payment was received if they pay by check or money order
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stonecold613
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posted on February 22, 2005 08:36:03 PM new
Oh that won't work for me - I delete the EOA notices..what do you do with them besides the zip code search?
Wow,
I keep them until either the auction is paid or NPB & FVF is filed. It is my way to track if someone hasn't paid after two weeks. I do keep a chart with all my auction winners in it, but the e-mails are a great way to see who hasn't paid yet either.
Ebayvet has a pretty good idea with the zip code thing though.
.
.
.
Alive in 2005
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mandaray3
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posted on February 23, 2005 11:32:07 AM new
eBayvet, I'm also wondering whether you used the mutual withdrawal process, or had eBay remove the negs for you. If you use mutual withdrawal, do you leave a retaliatory neg to inspire the other person to cooperate with the withdrawal, or does eBay frown on that if they end up getting involved (in an instance where the mutual withdrawal doesn't pan out)?
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ebayvet
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posted on February 23, 2005 11:40:04 AM new
I guess it is what you define as retaliatory. I don't consider leaving a negative for someone who has left you a negative over something you can't control, or who does not abide by ebay's guidelines of contacting a seller first with a problem as retaliatory. I consider that a negative transaction.
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mandaray3
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posted on February 23, 2005 12:32:04 PM new
eBayvet, I only used the word "retaliatory" for lack of a better one. I completely agree with you, and would have left a negative in return too...Just wondering if that's what you did, and if these were mutual withdrawals, rather than eBay removals.
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Gtootie
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posted on February 23, 2005 12:32:24 PM new
I was beginning to get really down about eBay and all the rude, nasty buyers that have started showing up. Then I read this. I guess knowing I'm not the only one helps.
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=410484671&tstart=0&mod=1109188934527
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
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