35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

I was out of town from Friday until Monday and have received 35 emails from one buyer. That was the last count up until a few minutes ago. She mentioned that she knew I was away (vacation settings were On) but still asked if I would "save" this and that for her as there was only one left of each. No mention had been made of my having access to a computer while I was away.

And then endless repetitive questions regarding how to combine shipping, how to pay, how to use the "cumbersome" eBay messaging system which is so "unfamiliar" to her.

And then, after politely explaining, in great detail, how to pay by PayPal, not to pay if all items did not show up together & to request an invoice from seller before paying....she paid on 2 separate invoices. And then said that PayPal made a mistake and split the payment in 2 even though she paid on "one invoice".

Also she mentioned in a large number of them that she wanted to substitute one design for another (not a problem) and still kept mentioning it even after I had politely told her several times that I had already made note of the change.

She bid on an auction which hasn't ended yet so I told her I would combine shipping if she wins if she waits for a revised invoice. She replied that she didn't think that was possible since she had already paid for the others so she would just have to learn her lesson. I have sent a reply explaining that I can revise IF SHE DOESN'T PAY & WILL WAIT FOR THE INVOICE....but I didn't scream it at her though by now I would have liked to... And, of course, she doesn't remember bidding on the auction and denied that she had done so. I sent her the Item # and explained, in detail, how to find it. She then tried to retract her bid but, of course, it was too late to do so. She then quoted policy to me regarding getting me to agree to retract. It was too late for me to do so as well and I have now offered to file a mutual cancellation if she agrees to check the box in eBay's email....I am keeping my fingers crossed that she can actually understand that one but I am not holding my breath. I wonder how she was able to FIND eBay policy!?

When she paid for the first order she received the automatic payment rec'd notice very quickly. The other one didn't come in until about an hour later and she was "in a panic" because she thought the payment had gone who knows where. This, by the way, was happening in the wee hours of the morning when I was online trying to catch up with emails...mostly hers....etc. Then it continued today...all day.

She then went into PayPal to see if the payment had gone through and to look for my email address because of the "cumbersome" eBay messaging system.

It should be interesting to see what she does after the auction ends this evening. This buyer has over 50 FB and still does not understand combined shipping, paying by PayPal, how to contact the seller (that was another one). I don't know how she ever managed to complete all the other transactions.

The good thing is that she has made multiple purchases and did pay promptly. The rest is all part of doing business but sometimes you could just tear your hair out in the process! This is just a sampling of the content of her emails.

And now I am waiting for the flood of emails when the auction has ended....I can hardly wait!....?:|
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

Our customers are baby boomers to grave and we get those types every now and then.

Pick up the phone and call. Be patient. Could turn into a great repeat customer.

Bernie
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

It is all your fault:
"was out of town from Friday until Monday " 😉
Message 3 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

I got a nutcase right now from another fellow Canadian.

Email me 16 times during the past 30 days saying things like " i'll be at this location for 15 minutes, bring your stuff over",

and about 20 text messages so far saying "how's your schedule today for pick up" and back and forth a few times and then ended up with no reply.

plus couple more phone calls saying "i am at your office location"....
:(

I want to be out of town 🙂
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

jakeeangel
Community Member
Good golly!

BBL for sure!
Message 5 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

Our customers are baby boomers to grave and we get those types every now and then.

Pick up the phone and call. Be patient. Could turn into a great repeat customer.

Bernie
]

There wasn't time to get on the phone as I was trying to catch up on packaging sales from the weekend and answer other emails as well. Some of these people will keep you on the line for 2 hours if you let them. I think she will turn out to be a good customer anyway. She has already added me to her Favourites, thanked me profusely for my help and DID check the box fro the Mutual Cancellation. All in all, it was a pretty good sale. These things always happen, though, when you are the busiest. The emails ended at about 40.

It is all your fault:
"was out of town from Friday until Monday "
😉

:^O...Yeah, and we had a great time too!

I got a nutcase right now from another fellow Canadian.

Definitely block that one...and lock your door.:O
Message 6 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

I think she will turn out to be a good customer anyway.

There you go, that's the spirit.

Bernie
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

The transactions were finally completed and the merchandise shipped. Then I received another email from the buyer this evening.

Hi Judy: I looked up by feedback from you for me as a buyer. I can't believe that you gave me a good report! I sent you so many messages and the invoice got sent in two pieces. All in all I think I understand how to do a combined shipping now but not sure! Thanks for the good feedback. I know that shipping from outside the US takes longer. I just got a bracelet from India which took almost a month by India post.


And in the end it was all worth it. I sent her a nice reply telling her that she deserved positive FB because she took the time to ask questions and tried very hard to get it right. She also paid promptly and was courteous.

And usually WE worry about the kind of feedback a buyer will leave US.
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

The number of emails from this buyer are now well in excess of 40. I received this one today.

Hi Judy: I've had very good luck til recently. Everything was either extremely nice or very passable. So I leave 5 stars for everyone. But recently got an item from a seller which is very unsatisfactory. An Inca Cross which was fine but on a macrime --supposed to be a necklace which is totally unfinished and much too short for me to wear. So I don't want to put the seller out of business. Can't be bothered returning it, going to the resolution center, all that stuff for sure. I'm thinking of leaving a five star as usual but finding his outside e-mail account on paypal.com and telling him that product is really substandard there. He should know. What do you think?

So now I seem to have become an adviser for all of this buyer's transactions with myself and others. I have had to walk this buyer through making a purchase, paying for the purchase, leaving feedback, how to contact a seller, what to do if an item is not as described and have repeated many of them over and over again. I think my next step will be to refer her to eBay's buyer policies. Many more emails and it will be BBL. This buyer has 95 feedback and has no difficulty contacting me. I am beginning to think she just wants to chat aimlessly.

There should be an icon for "tearing my hair out"....:_|
Message 9 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

LOL

We have one that phones (toll-free #) several times a week asking questions on how to use product he purchased from the competition. That has been going on for months.

When I see his # on call display I let it go to voice-mail and then call back as our plan includes unlimited long distance.

He is a piece of work but is buying more and more from us every week, so I guess it's worth it 🙂

Bernie
Message 10 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

Judy, poor soul probably does not have too many opportunities to socialize, so she confuses you with a friend. Perhaps you got too personal before. She got a signal that you are willing to chat somewhere, so depending on your personality you can cut her off by:

"Xy, I cannot answer questions unrelated to our transaction" or by simply ignoring the emails. Setup a filter in your email program, so the emails are routed to special folder you check once per week.
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

I don't mind going the extra mile for some people, especially if it helps them to understand eBay better. We all know that newbies are the ones who are quick to leave negative feedback. If we take some time to do eBay's job and educate them I think it helps everyone else too.

However....lol....there is the odd person like this one who will take advantage of a seller's willingness to answer all of the questions and emails. I don't like to ignore emails so I may just tell her I will answer questions related to her transactions with me. If it still continues I will just ignore her.

Unfortunately it is my nature to be helpful and I get taken advantage "in real life" too.....
Message 12 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!


We have one that phones (toll-free #) several times a week asking questions on how to use product he purchased from the competition. That has been going on for months.


That was why we dropped our toll free line. Our customers tend to be older than Boomers.

As one harrassed looking lady said about her retired husband "I married him for better or worse, but not for lunch."

But they think of long distance as expensive so they don't call with their $5 orders and 20 minute chats.
Message 13 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

Different approach I guess. Our monthly phone bill is $50 - $60 and monthly sales $20,000+, a very small cost of doing business.

Besides, I more than upsell the cost of the phone bill simply by having customers to talk to he-he.

Average age of our customers? About 65 and many do not have a computer. I WANT them to call me and stay on the line nice and long until they have loaded up their shopping cart.

Bernie
Message 14 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

' Hi, Needy,

I'm so sorry to hear that you have had some problems with another of your eBay transactions.

Unfortunately, eBay does not consider it appropriate for one seller to get involved in another seller's transactions (in fact they could suspend my account for doing so), so I'm afraid I cannot help you. My advice is to email directly to eBay buyer support - there is a contact button on your Leave Feedback page.

Good luck, and Good Riddance

Sincerely,
Judy'
Message 15 of 16
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Re: 35 emails from buyer & they are still coming in!

' Hi, Needy,

I'm so sorry to hear that you have had some problems with another of your eBay transactions.

Unfortunately, eBay does not consider it appropriate for one seller to get involved in another seller's transactions (in fact they could suspend my account for doing so), so I'm afraid I cannot help you. My advice is to email directly to eBay buyer support - there is a contact button on your Leave Feedback page.

Good luck, and Good Riddance

Sincerely,
Judy'


Good answer! I couldn't have written it better myself! (Love the Good Riddance part). 😄
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