eBay

ricarmic · ‎06-23-2017

WOW!

Just as it is odd that sales go quiet for a while then there is a burst of them, this is the 2nd or 3rd time this has happened over the years too, but this time it sets a new record...

The most INR type situations on the go at the same time.... 5 of them, 3 of them today! 2 I already had to refund.

From time to time I have one on the go, it seems normal to have folks in California or overseas asking a bit early when they should be getting their package. 2 at a time is frustrating and has happened before, but 5 at a time is shocking! They're from a variety of shipment dates, it is strange that the folks all waited till now to let me know!

I certainly don't like setting records like this one!

Just to raise the "spider senses" today's shipments included one to Indonesia, one to a forwarding company sending to Japan and another to a forwarding company sending to Saudi Arabia.

There's also a "next payday" situation that took time and I chose to eat the fees on that one today. (Long story behind it, I'm sure there's some "I told you so's" out there but time will tell what happens in the long run).

The "reversed payment" situation in the PAYPAL thread seems to have resolved positively which is a big surprise to me. Hopefully that sticks, at least one turned out positively!

Well enough venting for a day, back to the paperwork to clean all today's stuff up.....

hlmacdon · ‎06-23-2017

That is quite a cluster in a short time. I thankfully rarely run into these now since shifting mailing over to USPS, but when I do they always seem to group together, the proverbial getting kicked while you are down. I wonder if the inbound logjam at Canada Post is causing a diversion of resources that is slowing down the outbound side?

jt-libra · ‎06-23-2017

"Keep Calm and Carry On".

Hopefully you feel better for venting and this won't ruin your weekend! I sympathize with you.

thestuffofchris · ‎06-23-2017

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if the fact it's Friday has anything to do with it. Perhaps some people see earlier in the week that it is past the estimated delivery range and think to themselves "I'll wait and see if anything comes by Friday before doing anything about it".

I don't know how other buyers think, but maybe it's that? (And hopefully the fact there are 5 in one day is just a coincidence.)

silverpinups · ‎06-23-2017

From time to time I have one on the go, it seems normal to have folks in California or overseas asking a bit early when they should be getting their package. 2 at a time is frustrating and has happened before, but 5 at a time is shocking! They're from a variety of shipment dates, it is strange that the folks all waited till now to let me know!

You have my sympathies.....

I switched all my shipping services to Tracked-Packet which is less stressful and guaranteed to arrive.

But on the flip-side I lost a lot of International sales this year because of the price increase of Tracked Packet-International ... so which is better?

I've never lost a package shipping Small Packets-International, but I'm getting older and don't need the extra stress.

Buyers always complain that shipping is too high (Tracked Packet-International) but when the un-tracked package doesn't arrive they just file a "item not received " claim and their guaranteed a refund.

So it's win-win for the buyer...

hyperrush · ‎06-23-2017

amazinggg

silverpinups · ‎06-23-2017

Your damned if you do and your damned if you don't......

ricarmic · ‎06-23-2017

At least in my experience Mondays are the worst days for people reporting INRs, that seems to be the most common day to get queries for me. Saturdays are likely the next most common day.

A burst on Friday is certainly weird.

Mailing dates are Apr 21 (2 separate envelopes to Russia, same buyer, has me wondering), May 31 California, May 31 Saudi Arabia (Is tracked), June 7 Oregon.

Even if they all need to be refunded I'm still well within my "normal" loss rate...

I just keep saying in my head "it is just part of doing business, it is just part of doing business"....when I start saying it out loud that's when my family will begin to wonder, or perhaps just wonder more! 😉

Still doesn't make it fun tho.

Won't bother the weekend, I got all the paperwork/communication done around them, that's the part I hate the most, and I had a wee run of sales in the last couple hours, that always cheers one up....

momcqueen · ‎06-23-2017

I feel your pain. Although I also switched to tracking for 85 per cent of all orders placed. My only weak spot is domestic lettermail and the occasional light packet but that's for merely 15 per cent of my item line whereas it was once 100 per cent of items potentially could be mailed without tracking. Certainly, small international orders have dropped but I do sleep better at night.

Having to issue a half-dozen refunds in a day would totally be painful on the amount balance.

Ouch.

ricarmic · ‎06-23-2017

Well I'm one of "those people" who wants to have contingency plans for everything.

Since "the beginning" I've always considered it a good business practice to maintain enough funds in my PAYPAL etc account to:

-survive refunding at least one large order and a number of small ones

-a couple months of ebay etc fees

-a decent payment to one of my suppliers

Wayy back in 2003 I (and most of my family) were in a catastrophic car accident that nearly expired me (about 4 times) and left me unable to sell for a few months - I was in a morphine induced coma for 5 weeks and I can't remember how many months it was after that before I could start listing again (I had a real job plus was eBaying then). That contingency plan cushion saved an awful lot of ebay problems for my family and me.

I'm lucky because I started doing that when eBay etc wasn't my only source of income. Sometimes since then it has been tough to maintain the contingency amount, but so far I've managed to.

Now if I could only find a way not to worry about everything quite so much, that would be some achievement for me!!

aubreyclay56 · ‎06-23-2017

i do not ship any wear but us and canada,always tracked,not worth the trouble

femmefan1946 · ‎06-23-2017

It depends on your customer base.

I rarely use tracking because my customers (like ricarmic's) know how to read and actually enjoy following instructions. (readers, sewers, and philatelists).

I'd be terrified of not tracking in some categories (men's fancy sneakers, sportscards, dolls, horsetack, motorcycle memorabilia).

jt-libra · ‎06-23-2017

@ricarmic wrote:

Now if I could only find a way not to worry about everything quite so much, that would be some achievement for me!!

When you're a conscientious person, as you clearly are, it's difficult not to worry. You want all your buyers to be happy with their transactions and, more importantly, you always want to have that contingency plan in place for your family.

You've been through a lot -- and this too shall pass 🙂