Non-Paying Buyer - eBay Queen Articles: eBay Help

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eBay Buyer Offers Can Be Unrealistic and Not All Seller Disclaimers are eBay Legal

June 10th, 2010 |

Author: admin

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

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:

Not respond to her email.
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.
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.

Posted in feedback, General eBay Help, Non-Paying Buyer, PayPal, Shipping |

Tags: ebay buyer, expectations, hallmark ornaments, Lost in the mail, make offer, Media Mail, PayPal, refund buyers money, seller disclaimers, snarky buyer, tracking insurance |

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Buyers that Don’t Pay & Feedback that is never left.. All eBay Problems

January 20th, 2010 |

Author: admin

Dear eBay Queen;

I had a Nintendo Wii, and 28 games for sale on eBay. After the action closed the buyer tells me he doesn't want it, and I should not even bother contacting eBay about this “as you can get out of buying an item as long as you don't do it more than once in period of time”. He also sent this in the email:

“eBay unpaid Item Policy

Buyers automatically enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item from the seller if they win. eBay's UPI requires buyers to pay the seller for the items that they commit to purchase.

Sellers can file an Unpaid Item dispute with eBay for each of their items that are purchased but not paid for. eBay will issue a strike on the account of the buyer who does not honor their obligation to pay. If a buyer gets too many strikes in too short a time period, their account will be suspended indefinitely. In some cases, limits may be placed on the buyer’s account in advance of suspension”.

I tried to file a dispute, and I can’t yet. (I have to wait 7 days.) My question is, do I have to pay the listing fees? I think it’s kind of funny how it's “legally binding”, when really there's nothing you can do in terms of law. What will eBay do to this time waster of a buyer?

Joe B.

Dear Joe;

That buyer is pretty bold, suggesting this to you. Did he send the email via eBay’s messaging system or directly to your email address? If he sent it to your email address, you can report him, but they don’t take direct emails as seriously as they do if they came through the messaging system. Whichever way he sent it, go ahead and report it.

If this were my transaction, I would wait the seven days and report him as a non paying bidder, regardless what he says will happen to him. When it comes to paying for the final value fees, eBay bills you once a month for your fees. If you are in the middle of your billing cycle you probably won’t have to pay for it, but if you are at the end, you’ll have to pay, then your next months bill will reflect the credit once the dispute has been closed.

If this is his first time not paying for something, then he's probably right. But you don't know how many times he's been hit before – and the fact he knows about this rule suggests he does have experience in this. Keep in mind, the only way eBay can take action with penalties is if they know about it, so even if you are the first, you are still doing what needs to be done.

Dear eBay Queen;

How do you get your buyers to leave you feedback on your completed transactions? I've recently sold about 16 items on eBay, and it's like pulling teeth to get feedback out of my buyers….yet eBay only allows me to either leave positive or no feedback as a seller.

In this case, I have left positive feedback for all my buyers…and I'm still waiting. Is there a tactful reminder that I can send through email without sounding pushy?

Sheila (1eeyore2)

Dear Sheila;

Not everyone leaves feedback, and some don’t understand how important it is to sellers. Here are a few ideas to get buyers to leave feedback.

1. Remind them before they pay. When your invoice put a short, sweet blurb in about you appreciate feedback.

2. Tape a little note to the item or packaging, thanking them for their purchase and reminding them to leave feedback for you.

3. Once the sale is over and a few weeks have gone by, send them a reminder email about feedback and offer them a coupon for 10% off of their next purchase.

I wouldn’t do all of these at one time, but it doesn’t hurt do choose a couple and see how it well it works. Some buyers might be put-off by you even asking them to leave it. For that reason, I’ve always been a bit afraid to ask for feedback.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 220539055419 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It you saw this would you think to sell it? Red Wing Hamms Bear Bank SOLD $345.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220539055419

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, Non-Paying Buyer |

Tags: buyer doesn't leave feedback, Buyer won't pay, hamm's bear, non paying bidder, red wing pottery |

1 Comment »

Accurate Listings and Simple mistakes = Negative Feedback

January 7th, 2010 |

Author: admin

Dear eBay Queen;

I really messed up twice in the last couple of weeks! I had a pretty silk scarf on a Buy it Now, it sold, and when I went to wrap it, I noticed that a sticker from the place I bought it was still on it. I took it off, and the scarf looks discolored under there. I emailed the woman who bought the item two times. I have yet to hear from her! I told her I would refund or sell it to her for 1/2 of what she won it for. Is there anything else I should be doing?

My second mistake is on an auction that ended Dec 19. I sold a KU Sweatshirt. When I went to ship it, I realized I had two sizes in the listing. One was in the eBay drop down item specifics box, and the other, I had typed in the listing. I only have the size XL, not the Medium I think they thought they were getting.. This is my mistake.

I emailed the buyer, asking what size they were hoping to get, explaining what I had done. I offered to refund her payment. I emailed them THREE times. The only email I got back from them was one asking if I had sent them an email. Last night, I emailed again, figuring since many go away for the holidays, maybe she was replying from a mobile device.

Overnight, I got a nasty message saying in a nutshell: "Sir (which I am not!), I won the auction on Dec 19, it's now Jan 4. I told you two weeks ago I want my money back!!!!" Ouch! I wrote back, saying I had never received their email, apologized, and refunded the money. That will teach me about these drop-down item specific boxes and my text! What can I do to make these situations; better? (ie..not get a negative.)

Joslyn, Lawrence, KS

Dear Joslyn;

I understand your frustration. In times like these, it probably wouldn’t hurt to call the scarf buyer, to let her know what happened. To find a buyer’s contact information, do this:

· Click the Advanced Search link at the top of most pages.

· In the Members section on the left side of the page, click the Find contact information link.

· Enter the user ID of the member and the transaction's item number

With the KU Sweatshirt buyer, I think you’ve done everything you can do. I know first hand the item specific boxes can really be confusing to the buyer and the seller. When selling items that have sizes, I always make sure to have the size in the title and in the description.

I hope both your buyers leave positives for your good customer service!

Dear eBay Queen;

I wanted to give Lauren B. from your 12-31-09 article a little more perspective about using Christmas themes. I am a 58 year old Jewish woman, and I get a little turned off with something that drips of the Bible, (ie, God Bless, Jesus Provides, quoted scriptures).

It's my opinion that unless you have a religion based business (like a faith based bookstore), mixing religion and commerce is bad business. Sooner or later, you're going to offend some people, and lose customers and sales. Please realize I am not referencing Christmas per se, or any particular religion. I think it’s important to know, there are lots of people out there looking at your store. You never know what religion they are, or what holiday’s they celebrate.

Why knowingly do anything that will sooner or later cost you money and it’s something that's easy to avoid doing? I think "Happy Holidays" is a lovely greeting that includes everyone, excludes no one, and gets the point across just fine.

Shoot4Stars, Lawrence, KS

Dear Shoot;

Thank you for your perspective. I’m sure it will help other sellers choose their templates and backgrounds.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 130349418698 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) I Love Lucy, and I guess other people do too! Check out these Lucille Ball Drinking Glasses. Sold $493.88 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130349418698

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, Negative Feedback, Non-Paying Buyer, Product Help |

Tags: Buy it Now, dispute article, eBay screw ups, Happy Holidays, KU sweatshirt, Merry Christmas, silk scarf |

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