Posts Tagged ‘Merry Christmas’
Accurate Listings and Simple mistakes = Negative Feedback
January 7th, 2010 | 
Author: 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.
Should you Say Merry Christmas? and What do you do about a Buyer that keeps Paying you?
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 | 
No Comments »
