eBay

2012sincity · ‎05-20-2014

Hi All.

Not that I get a lot but why does it always happen that butyers need to file a claim first. Talk to me. Im very accommodating.

2012sincity · ‎05-20-2014

I just wanted to add that because they file a case it then places funds on hold, and why is it that if you sell on Ebay.ca , you cant respond unless you go to .com. ( usa buyers). Can you imagine what would happen if all US buyers were told that you have to switch to Ebay.ca to file a claim or respond to a claim.

recped · ‎05-20-2014

Claims/Cases are opened on the site the purchase was made not the site the listing was posted.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-20-2014

I have yet to figure out the rhyme or reason behind the way I, as a buyer, am allowed to contact sellers after a sale.

Sometimes I can contact the seller directly about a purchase, but many times I'm forced to file a case as the only means of communication.

(It's also not unusual not to be able to do anything at all for weeks following a purchase and being forced to wait a full 30 days. That seems like a long time.)

It's true that it is possible to use the paypal email address on the receipt, but since one never knows what will develop that's not the best option either.

When things go wrong It can be very difficult for buyers as well as they are often forced to open a case just to communicate with sellers even when they'd like to keep things friendly.

rose-dee · ‎05-20-2014

@2012sincity wrote:
Hi All.

Not that I get a lot but why does it always happen that butyers need to file a claim first. Talk to me. Im very accommodating.

Do you send your buyers a post-sale email, thanking them for their purchase and asking them to contact you directly should they have any questions or concerns? Preferably send this from your personal email to theirs (get their email from the Paypal transaction details). Yes, it may mean a couple of extra minutes spent on each sale, but this can go a long way to mitigating the problem, and may save you much more time later spent trying to deal with the opened cases. I also put a similar little thank-you slip into each parcel, inviting customers to contact me at my direct email.

Inexperienced buyers may think that the only reliable way they can work out an issue with a seller about a purchase is through opening a case, and eBay certainly makes it easy for them to do so. Many buyers may not realize that the majority of sellers are more than happy to accommodate them to "make it right".

Make it easier for buyers to think of emailing you first, rather than turning to the claims route that eBay makes the most obvious for them.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-20-2014

2012......... I just went to a random 5 listings I've won recently and tried to contact the sellers as a test.

I wasn't able to do that for even one of them without opening a case.

Sometimes I can contact sellers without filing a case but I have no idea why the system allows it for some transactions and not others.

Perhaps your buyer had no choice either.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-20-2014

You weren't given the option of clicking on other as a choice of topic?

rose-dee · ‎05-20-2014

@i*m-still-here wrote:
I just went to a random 5 listings I've won recently and tried to contact the sellers as a test.
I wasn't able to do that for even one of them without opening a case.

Use "Contact Seller" from the drop-down list on the far right of any purchased item but be certain to choose 'Other' from the topics that appear. This will not initiate a case, but will take you to the option to contact the seller directly. Or click on the seller's ID and use the general contact feature -- this completely bypasses any possibility of opening a case on a particular item.

Sometimes I can contact sellers without filing a case but I have no idea why the system allows it for some transactions and not others.
Perhaps your buyer had no choice either.

Buyers always have a choice, some just aren't experienced enough to know it, some get routed to a case they never intended to open because eBay makes it the easiest thing to do. Direct contact is always available however, and experienced sellers try to make it easier for buyers to communicate with them first.

I've purchased a great deal on eBay over the years and have never yet opened an unwanted case, but that's because I know as a seller how to contact sellers post-sale. I realize many of my buyers may not be as savvy, so I give them a bit of a heads-up after every sale as I noted above. I would not be surprised to hear that the OP hasn't been doing this.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-20-2014

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
You weren't given the option of clicking on other as a choice of topic?

One could lie about the reason for the contact but is that the better choice?

pierrelebel · ‎05-20-2014

"I wasn't able to do that for even one of them without opening a case."

My customers never have that problem. Upon receipt of every payment, I send a confirming email to their PayPal email address thanking them for their purchase and prompt payment, confirming positive feedback had been posted, and advising the shipping date (typically same or next business day).

With this email message, they have my email address if they need to contact me.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-20-2014

Very Good Work Pierre.

Great system.

However, not for everyone for a myriad of reasons.

Timely post though.

Yesterday I received a message from a buyer I traced down to someone who bought from me about 4 years ago and I exchanged a few private messages with.

So, she had my email on file........

Here it is.

I edited this but ..........

...............We made a trip to Turkey and had our bags stolen and all our credit cards are gone.. The embassy is willing to help by letting us fly back home since we still have our passports, We just have to pay for our ticket and settle ......................

. I was thinking of asking you to lend me ($2,850USD) that I can give back as soon as We get home. We really need to be on the next available flight. I'm so confused at the moment I need urgent help.

She goes on to direct me to Western Union.

Yikes!

Now, I know they have access to our private emails but why make it easy?

That is very good the way you do it though and it works for you.

Your efforts and the time you devote are commendable.

pierrelebel · ‎05-20-2014

"I know they have access to our private emails but why make it easy?"

???

I get at least one similar email a month. So what?

What does that have to do with eBay? or PayPal?

Anyone can have an email address sold to a mailing list, purchased by crooks.

Since your buyers already do have your email address through PayPal, what difference would it make to use it to communicate with them? There is no added risk.

pierrelebel · ‎05-20-2014

PS - In addition the buyer's email address is available for about 6 weeks on the Selling Manager. There is no secret about it.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-20-2014

I've never had an email like on my personal address EVER before. Hotmail yes, but not on my paypal home address which I also use for my main selling id.

This came directly from an eBay buyer and as a result of directly communicating there with her and not some crook in Nigeria.

Big Difference!

In any case.

It sounds like you are working very very hard but for me this is a little too risky not to mention labor intensive.

As femme has pointed out several times, collectors of postage stamps are more controlled than the unruly masses are.

Good Job! You've found something that works for you.

rose-dee · ‎05-20-2014

@pierrelebel wrote:

Since your buyers already do have your email address through PayPal, what difference would it make to use it to communicate with them? There is no added risk.

I completely agree. Once a sale has been made there is absolutely no additional risk in providing your direct email to a buyer in a message -- they already have it anyway, so there's no un-ringing that bell. The risk was inherent in selling to the buyer in the first place. The only way to avoid disclosure of one's email address is not to sell at all.

Incidentally, buyers all have our addresses (and probably phone numbers too), which could be far more worrisome for those apt to be nervous about personal exposure. I'm not particularly -- I consider such exposure to be a very small concession to be able to do business online.

In all the years I've sold, I have yet to have a former eBay customer use my email address inappropriately, let alone attempt to extort money out of me or target me for any other apparent scam. As despicable as such behaviour may be, it's no risk in any event as long as one doesn't respond -- the simple way to solve the problem and avoid risk is to ignore the message and delete it.

I do, on the other hand, get a whole lot of "schemers" emailing my private email address on a regular basis for nefarious reasons from sources other than my eBay buyers. I do the same thing with those messages -- immediately into the trash.

As we all (should) know, most email programmes have filter options available to automatically route email from a particular source straight into the trash. If I ever received a suspicious email from a former buyer, I would ensure that any further message(s) from that individual would be automatically dealt with by my email system, quashing any risk.

I want to mention here the other side of this subject which is the positive reality of direct email contact with buyers: I can't remember the number of times a buyer has kept my personal email address and contacted me later about listing (or creating) something in particular for them. And that, as the phrase goes, is priceless!

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-21-2014

@i*m-still-here wrote:
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
You weren't given the option of clicking on other as a choice of topic?

One could lie about the reason for the contact but is that the better choice?

smh

Why do you always have to twist other people's comments?

Since you didn't answer my question I will assume that the answer was yes..you did have a choice of using the message option of 'other' but just didn't bother mentioning that in your other post.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-21-2014

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
smh
Why do you always have to twist other people's comments?
Since you didn't answer my question I will assume that the answer was yes..you did have a choice of using the message option of 'other' but just didn't bother mentioning that in your other post.

pj: I don't always twist comments so why say such a thing?

I was just keeping it simple and to the point.

The point was/is that there are times when I can just ask the seller a question about why an item has not arrived without having to click any box whatsoever.

That's a feature that gets changed frequently and seems to change day to day.

Currently I'm forced to file a case if I click the correct the box.

The point is that the system forces buyers to open cases and the average buyer isn't going to consider moving the cursor to "other."

The average buyer is also not going to consider going to the paypal email address to contact a seller when something goes wrong.

In any case, I've tried that numerous times as well and trust me: That is not a viable option either.

reallynicestamps · ‎05-21-2014

We're seeing two viewpoints here.

Yes, any seller could enclose a note to the buyer with her personal/paypal email for use with potential problems. But not every seller does, and it seems likely that the sellers who have the most problems are the ones least likely to make the (tiny) effort.

The real problem is as imnothere says; eBay does not make it easy and transparent for a buyer to contact a seller with a question without opening a case.

I often see questions attached to completely random listings, because a customer can't figure out how to attach the question to his actual purchase. And my customers are brighter than average, in my opinion. Many of them are eBay sellers