Archive for December, 2009
Should you Say Merry Christmas? and What do you do about a Buyer that keeps Paying you?
December 31st, 2009 | 
Author: Dear eBay Queen;
I have a new buyer who has sent the same payment via PayPal six times. I've refunded all of them but three. I have kept one, and I haven’t done anything with the two that came in today.
When he submitted the third duplicate payment about a week ago, (and I include a note with the refund saying he already paid and his item was already shipped), I called PayPal and asked for their help with this guy. Their advice was to email him, and consider calling him. (He lives in the United Kingdom.) Beyond that, they said there wasn’t much else either of us could do. Basically, they said to just ignore duplicate payments and let the buyer take responsibility.
You can imagine my surprise when today; I get these two additional payments from him. I guess at this point, I'll do nothing until the guy comes to his senses…..if he ever does! I won't keep the money, but maybe I'll let it simmer for a while. What do you think I should do?
I don't know what triggers his actions — something in his PayPal or eBay account is telling him this transaction isn't paid for. Doesn't PayPal have the ability to recognize duplicate payments?
Tremendous-Finds; Lawrence, KS
Dear Tremendous;
I can completely understand your frustration! I’m sure PayPal and eBay have the ability to recognize duplicate payments, but only if he is paying through eBay’s “Pay it Now” system. Do you know if he is paying through eBay or is he going to his PayPal account and sending a payment? Does the payment have the eBay item number attached to it?
If this were my transaction, I would wait for his item to arrive, then I would email him through eBay’s “My Messages” and also directly to his email address. Explain to him (before you refund the payments) that he has over paid you and you will be refunding his money. Include the same note on your refund.
Do you have any friends or relatives in the United Kingdom? If so I would email them and ask them to call your buyer to let him know how he has over paid. If after doing all of this, your buyer continues to over pay you, I would suggest emailing eBay to see if they might be more helpful than PayPal. Under no circumstances would I keep his money, even if he is sending it to you over and over again. He may not be computer literate; treat him with the same respect you would want your father or favorite uncle to be treated.
Dear eBay Queen;
I have a really neat background that I use in all of my Christmas listings. I received a comment from a buyer saying it was offensive to her that I had the words “Merry Christmas”, and the colors of Christmas (red and green) on my ad. The buyer (who also was the winning bidder) sent me a long email telling me “if she “didn’t have to have this item, for a Christmas present, she wouldn’t have bought it because of the religious theme”. I don’t know what to do!
I regularly find myself debating whether or not I should say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc. when speaking with someone in person. Now I found myself hesitating about the same thing with a stupid eBay template!
Lauren B, Wellsville, KS
Dear Lauren;
My grandma used to say “you can’t make everybody happy.” This is one of those times. There are many things the snarky side of me would like to say, but because I strive to be a professional, I would simply say this to your buyer. “Thank you for your purchase. I hope the intended gift recipient loves their Christmas present.”
You can’t win when it comes to dealing with people like this. I love how she bought the item for a “Christmas” present, but you can’t say “Merry Christmas” in your listing. The woman is a loon, block her from buying your items and don’t lose a minutes sleep over it.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 350294768348 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) I like a good pen to write with. For the price I hope this writes well! Parker Duofold China 60 Years Pen Sold $1,300.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350294768348
Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.
Posted in feedback, General eBay Help, PayPal | 
Tags: buyer that keeps paying, eBay, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, parker pen, PayPal, United Kingdom | 
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Seller Turns Down Buyer’s Best Offer..
Dear eBay Queen;
After reading about all the good deals to be found on eBay, I decided to start buying on there in November. I have bought maybe 5 to 8 things on eBay, and LOTS of items on the internet. I recently learned of eBay’s Best Offer service. I made offers on 2 different items, and I received some rude answers back from the sellers.
My first item was a Christopher Radko Santa pin. The seller wanted 24.99 with free shipping. I offered $10.00. The seller countered with $12.00. I countered back with $8.00, and sent a note to let them know that the same pin another seller was selling for $8.99. The seller declined my offer, and told me to buy it from the other seller! I can’t believe they would be so rude!
My second item I made a best offer on was a pair of Nike Shox running shoes. The seller had $70.00 or Best Offer with free shipping. I offered $35.00. The seller countered with $59.00, I countered back with $29.00. They didn’t counter back, but just declined my offer and told me they were blocking me as a buyer!
What is going on with sellers these days? Don’t they want to sell their items?
DHK; Paola
Dear DHK;
I always like to hear that new people are buying on eBay. I hope you will continue to bid and make purchases there. eBay needs people like you bidding and buying. Best Offer is a great tool for buyers and sellers. Sellers like it because it sparks an interest from buyers and buyers like it because they can bargain with the seller.
I believe the problem with the sellers you mentioned, might be in the way you are using Best Offer. Many sellers would take your offers as a slight. You made offers to a seller that are half of the asking price, and when they countered with a different figure; you went lower than your first offer. This might seem like an insult to most sellers. I completely understand that you want a good deal, (we all do), but many sellers make a living by selling their items this way. I hope you won’t be discouraged by these two sellers reactions.
Dear eBay Queen;
I just received two neutral feedbacks from a buyer that I filed a NON-payment against. She did not pay for either item for 18 days. She eventually paid for it, and I sent it the same day she paid. I never received an email from her, but in the feedback she left, she claims the first item, a set of Depression glass sherbets arrived broken. The second item was a box of old children’s books. She remarked in feedback how I used an old box to ship in (she liked the books, but hated the box).
When I emailed her about the neutrals, she told me I was lucky she didn’t leave a negative. She wasn't happy from the beginning because I wouldn't combine shipping. I explained to her that I could not send both items media mail, and I thought she understood I was actually saving her money by sending them separately.
What should I do? I can’t believe I get to look at these two neutrals for a year. SANTA, if you're out there, please put all the difficult buyers in my Blocked Buyers list.
Teresa; Wellsville, KS
Dear Teresa;
I am really sorry about the neutrals. I think the best thing you can do is respond to the neutrals, and contact eBay to let them know what happened. You will want to explain your case, and let them know how you were upfront with your buyer before she paid. eBay will know, but explain to them how you can not send books and glassware media mail together. You will want to include all of the communication between you and the buyer.
Most people, even frequent buyers and sellers don’t understand all the shipping rules and regulations of the post office. Here’s to 2010 being neutral and negative free.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 170415041340 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Did your kids ask you for Zhu Zhu pets this year? Do you want Santa to deliver them? Here’s a guy that can make it happen. Zhu Zhu pets delivered by Santa on Christmas Morning! ASKING PRICE $50,000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170415041340
Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.
Posted in Auction, feedback, General eBay Help, Product Help, Shipping |
Tags: Best Offer, Christoper Radko, depression glass, Free shipping, neutral feedback, non paying bidder, santa pin, zhu zu pet |
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Social Media is Scary.. Please Help me figure it out!
Dear eBay Queen;
I’ve been selling on eBay for several years. I’m trying to understand social media. I don’t think I’m young enough, or cool enough to identify how posting on a social networking website equals traffic to my eBay site. Could you explain it to me? What are the sites I should be a member of to effectively market myself?
Old Coot; Lawrence, KS
Dear Coot;
Social media can be a little daunting. There are many ways to be connected through social media. Here are a few:
- Blogs or weblogs; like WordPress, LiveJournal, or Blogger. A blog is like an online journal. You can write about any topic, post photos and give your opinion. Blogs are very popular these days. I have a blog, and I talk about everything from eBay items that didn’t sell, to weird stories involving my family. Blogs are fun to read and write. If you aren’t interested in writing a blog, you can just post comments on other people’s blogs and leave a link to your eBay site.
- Internet Forums or chat rooms. This would be on any site you post your opinion, ask questions, or respond to someone else post. To do this you simply chat, or answer questions. When you sign your name, put a link to your eBay store.
- Picture sharing; like Flickr, Photobucket, or Picasa. Host and share your photos with your friends and the world. Make sure you add a link to your eBay items.
- Social Networking sites: Facebook, My Space, Twitter or Linked In. On these types of sites you create your account, find friends or followers (on Twitter). Post to your wall, or page, and it is automatically broadcast to your friends or followers.
- Video sharing; like YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo. This is similar to photo sharing. Upload your videos, share them with people, link your stuff you’re selling to it. According to most online marketing experts, video will be one of the hottest ways to connect with customers. http://smub.it/dnfi
I do advertise my items occasionally, but I could do a much better job than what I am doing currently. My favorite social media sites are Facebook, Twitter and Blogging. I did find a new site that will automatically update your Twitter status with eBay items you list or sell. http://thetweetbay.com/home Just sign in for free, and your new listing and sold items will post to your twitter account.
Good luck navigating the waters of social media! It’s not hard, and can actually be a lot of fun.
Dear eBay Queen;
My computer crashed a few months ago. I lost a lot of data including my eBay inventory. I purchased a program that would recover my data, and for the most part, it did its job, but some of my inventory numbers were off. I went over this with a fine tooth comb and thought I had fixed all of my inventory numbers, but one of them was purchased today.
A guy in Canada, with one feedback, bought something that was sold two days before the crash. I called him to explain the situation, and he's cool with it (he hadn't paid yet). The only problem is, he didn't understand the request to cancel the transaction that I submitted, and he responded by refusing it (he hadn't yet read my email explanation; this was before I phoned him). I received a message from eBay saying no FVF credit (which is not a problem), and telling me to complete the transaction.
Can I resubmit the request to cancel? The "Resolve a problem" button is no longer on the auction page. If there's no way to resubmit the request, does it matter? My only concern is that this newbie will keep seeing the reminder to leave Feedback on his My eBay page, and will eventually leave a neutral or negative, even though I'm shipping him a similar item at no charge.
Joe; Kansas City, MO
Dear Joe;
When this kind of thing happens you’ll need to email eBay directly. To do this go here: http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactUsNextGen Fill out the online form, making sure you explain how the buyer clicked the wrong button, and the transaction was not cancelled.
Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 300368938953 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page). Swarovski Christmas Ornaments SOLD $1575.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300368938953
Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.
Posted in Auction, Best Offer, eBay Store, General eBay Help, Non-Paying Buyer, PayPal |
Tags: Blogging, Canadian Buyer, Internet forms, resolve problem, Social Media, Tweet, twitter, Wordpress |
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