Archive for the ‘Non-Paying Buyer’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:

Two weeks ago I listed an item. The winning bidder did not pay, so I filed a non paying bidder dispute. The case was closed with an unpaid item strike.

This morning, I got the following message from that bidder: "I am going out of town tomorrow morning for a week, which is before your action ends. If I win this item, can you wait until the week of January 24^th for me to pay for it, or do you have a buy-now price?"

The auction never had a Buy-It-Now and of course I am not going to end it early. I am really tired of this poor item getting won and not paid for. I am leaning toward just blocking this person, canceling his bid and being done with this buyer. What do you think?

Leslie

Dear Leslie:

What is your gut instinct?  Do you believe they will pay?  I know how annoying it is to have a buyer not pay.  I would probably wait it out, the auction isn’t over yet, and your newbie buyer may not even end up as the high bidder.  Most people who do not intend to pay would not communicate with you like this buyer has.  Chances are they will make good on their bid.

Dear eBay Queen:

I shipped a Priority box on the 15th (received payment Saturday; shipped Monday); tracking shows it will be delivered today, the 17th. I use third-party software to manage my transactions, so eBay never knows if I've shipped something. I sent the buyer the tracking info (via direct email) and have no reason to think there's a problem.

I know you may wonder why I don't just follow eBay's request and upload the tracking info. Well, it's not easy to explain, but I've been managing my sales on my own computer for all these years, and I like to think of my buyers as MY buyers — they seem to appreciate the personal communication and one-on-one customer service, and I think they probably get a little annoyed by eBay's/PayPal’s canned emails full of links to this and that.

Rebecca; Olathe, KS

Dear Rebecca:

I received a few of those emails on a Sunday, when the buyer paid on Saturday!  My shipping policy is that I ship within 24 hours.  The problem with eBay’s new shipping notification system is that it doesn’t seem to recognize that 99% of all post offices are not open on Sundays.  You can turn off those notifications if you do not want to receive them.  They are generated from eBay and not by the buyer.

You are completely within your right as a seller to keep taking care of your buyers the way you always have.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, and felt much the same way you did.  I called eBay to complain about the notifications and explain to them how it would be impossible for me to ship an item on a Sunday.  The customer support person explained to me how if I would enter the tracking information for my items during that 24 hour period I promised to ship, the buyer would not be allowed to leave anything less than 5 stars on my shipping time DSR.  This little tidbit totally changed my mind, and we now package and make labels within that 24 hour promised shipping time period.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280610977454(enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): How much is an 8 year old teddy bear worth? Check out this Disney Duffy Bear 2003 Valentines Day Hidden Mickey SOLD $2550.00     http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Duffy-Bear-2003-Valentines-Day-Hidden-Mickey-/280610977454

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

Dear eBay Queen:

I am an established eBay seller with over 2000 sales under my belt.  I have this buyer from Canada who expected next day delivery from the USA.  I could have arranged this, had he told me BEFORE I shipped it, and had he been willing to pay for the overnight shipping.

The buyer keeps emailing me, asking where the item is.  I mailed it 2 days ago, and I have provided him with the customs tracking information, yet he still persists in emailing asking where his item is.  Today he emailed me asking how long it takes to mail something, and tells me I should know that “First Class Mail to Canada takes around 5 days.”

I’m not sure what to do.  It states up front in my listing and again when he paid for the item how long it would take to get to him.  I’m getting a bit fed up with his emails. What can I do once the item has been sent?

Have you had any experience with international buyers that have unreasonable expectations?  Do you have any ideas what more I can do to put an end to all of his emails? I have 100% positive feedback, and I am an honest seller. I am really worried about what kind of feedback he is going to leave me.

Joy; Williamsburg, KS

Dear Joy:

I have had my fair share of unreasonable international buyers. How long has this buyer been on eBay? He sounds like he may be new.

You definitely did the right thing by letting your buyers know up front how fast you ship.  If he didn't stipulate that he needed the item next day, this is his fault.  If this were my transaction, I would write him one more time and explain these points:

·         The date the item was shipped

·         You did not receive communication before you shipped, or the appropriate funds to send the item overnight.

·         Apologize the item won’t arrive when they wanted it to, and that there was a lack of communication.  Let him know had you know before hand, you would have made sure it was shipped overnight.

The only other thing you could do is request their contact information and give them a call to explain it to him on the phone.  Good luck with this!

Dear eBay Queen:

I sold a used laptop on eBay a couple of days ago. The winning bidder has a -1 feedback (I wish I had noted this before the auction ended. I would have cancelled their bid). The buyer sent me a message right away saying that he would only pick up and pay cash. The listing clearly said that pick up was not available.  I wrote back to him saying that pick up was not an option as advertised, and I would appreciate if he used PayPal.

I don't allow pick ups any longer because I had a bad experience with other people wanting to pick up their items.  I’ve had people repeatedly calling to ask for directions while on their way to my place, some people turning up in the middle of the night and some buyers trying to haggle down the price.

My buyer still hasn’t paid, and I don’t know what to do next. I know I can go through eBay's dispute process but that means I could possibly not sell my laptop before Thanksgiving and I need cash now.

Any ideas what should I do?

LapTop; Topeka, KS

Dear Top:

I completely understand why you do not want someone to do a pick up.  I have not ever allowed anyone to pick up items at my house.  I always meet them at a public place like McDonald’s. 

You could open a dispute against this buyer, and since they did not pay, you would win.  The dispute could be settled within 7 days; you could relist your item and quite possibly have your money before Thanksgiving.  If this were my transaction, I would consider meeting the buyer at a public place (with a friend) and taking the cash.  I understand you have had problems in the past, I think that was because they were coming to where you live as opposed to meeting you.  If you meet at some place like McDonalds, they will be able to check out how the laptop works and you’ll receive your money without having to pay PayPal fees. 

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 190462914899 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Are you crafty? How about making a few wreaths? Thanksgiving Pilgrim Wreath SOLD $289.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/RESERVED-CUST-ORDER-SUZANNE-Thanksgiving-Wreath-2-/190462914899   

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

Dear eBay Queen;

I sell Hallmark Christmas ornaments. I’ve been doing this for quite some time, and I make enough money to support my knitting hobby, which is really all I ever wanted.  I just got an offer on a Hallmark ornament that is pretty rare, and normally sells for around $99.00 to $125.00.  I really think this is the rudest offer I have EVER had.  Here’s what she sent me:

Hello Kansas; Nice Ornament! I suspect the mailing fee to my zip of 02322 to be less than what eBay states as “$4.95″.  I recently had a similar item come to me from California for 1.93. This ornament retailed for $12.95 + a fair shipping cost should be $2.50.  I am so tired of sellers these days thinking they can ask whatever price they want for an item.  Be realistic for Pete’s Sake!  The most the thing cost was $12.95!

My offer is $15.45, total to include the mailing cost, and be mailed ASAP.

Thanks

T

It will actually cost me $4.95 to mail this ornament to her the way I package it.  I have already added them to my block buyer list. I am wondering what your take would be if you received this kind of an offer?

Blast From The Past

Dear Blast;

Whoa! This buyer is a little out of line and out of her mind.  We all know this is a free market, and we can put whatever asking price we want on an item.

There are three ways to handle this.  You could:

1. Not respond to her email.
2. Respond, letting the buyer know how you came to putting that price on the ornament, giving her links to sites that justify the price, or maybe closed eBay auctions.
3. Respond by saying “Thank you for your offer, my price is firm on this.”

I am wondering if she actually made you an offer, or if she simply emailed you through eBay’s email system.  If she emailed you through eBay’s system, I would actually report her.  It is against eBay rules to offer an item for sale outside of eBay.

If this were my transaction, I would most likely respond with #3’s answer.  I know that it is frustrating to have your time wasted by buyers like this.  I hope your item sells quickly!

Dear eBay Queen;

If a buyer says she never received an item, and you list a disclaimer like “tracking or insurance at your request and expense, not responsible for items lost in the mail,” in your auction,  are you obligated to refund that person’s money or not? I have a buyer that did just this.

I have my post office receipt showing this media mail item sent to her zip code on May 31^st, but I don’t get tracking unless a buyer asks/pays for it.  I guess the buyer can always file a claim against me if I don’t refund her, couldn’t she?  SIGH….  I think I just answered my own question.

Erika, OVP, KS

Dear Erika;

In this day and age there is no reason to NOT put delivery confirmations on EVERY PACKAGE you send out.  It is currently a standard in our industry, and required by PayPal to have “Seller Protection.”  I know this isn’t what your question is really about, but you should consider using PayPal shipping to make labels with delivery confirmations.  As long as you use priority mail (with PayPal shipping) your delivery confirmation is FREE and with other mail classes only 19cents.

In regards your buyer, I would email them back and ask them to wait one more week.  Since the item was sent media mail, it does take up to 3 weeks for an item shipped this way.  Let them know if the item has not arrived, after next week, you will refund her money immediately.

You might also want to reconsider your “instructions” section.  eBay made a new rule about who is responsible for insurance, and guess who that is?  The seller, we can no longer charge for insurance.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 380235581376 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): Collect Presidential items? Check out this JFK White House Stationary. SOLD $340.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380235581376

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.