Power Sellers and questions

[sunshine2426]

Good morning PS
Recently I have wanted to buy some items on ebay from some PS. I have asked them questions and never got a respnse. How many of you have experienced this? I answer all my clients questions. I can't understand how they do so well and not answer questions.

[snoopwiz]

When I do an ASQ, and do not receive a response within a reasonable length of time (48 hours), I move on. To me, it's a giant red flag that says either they cant be bothered or, their email address has changed and they have not notified eBay as of yet. Either one spells potential problems should you have to communicate with the seller to get shipping/tracking info or if any issue does arise after you receive your item. Unless it is something you absolutely positively must, must, must have, my suggestion is to move on.

[alero0]

I agree with snoopwiz. If I don't get an answer to my question I'll just move on. There's always another seller who's selling the same product who will answer my question. I'll answer all my buyers' questions no matter how obvious the answer might be. By not getting an answer is like walking into a retail store and asking the clerk a question and them turning away ignoring that you exist. I'd walk out of that store never to return.

[jakeeangel]

I hope that 48 hours doesn't count weekends or holidays. Sometimes people are away from their computers. Not everyone sits in front of it 24/7. Computers crash, people get sick, emergencies, life happens. Please don't discount those things.

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[westernstargifts]

I am a new power seller and fairly new to discussion boards. I recently purchased some items from a PS and paid for them. I found communication with them to be terrible, with automated responses and being directed elsewhere for the answers. Then, 15 days after paying from my PayPal balance, they filed an Unpaid Item Dispute against me. I responded immediately with payment details. The response I got from them 24 hours later was to contact a certain person at their email support address. I responded and told them it is your problem, you fix it and have him contact ME. A few hours later I filed a dispute with PayPal for items not received. In the message I told them that I had responded to their dispute but preferred to settle it within the confines of eBay and PayPal. They don't do business on weekends so I have to wait until tomorrow to hear back from them. It is for a piddly amount, but I really do not feel that I have to prove to them that it is paid. It is their error, not mine. Any input or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[katiusciav]

judy-that's terrible! 😞 i hate automated anything!! in my opinion, being treated like that is just plain bad business...i would NEVER not answer anyone's questions...NEVER. today i missed a question 30 minutes to an item ending, i received it hours after the item ended, and still emailed her back apologizing for not being able to answer previously. i try and be close by when my auctions end, but sometimes, life happens.
i, too have sent questions without replies, and it does tend to be from big powersellers...i guess lots of them think that there's others who'll bid if i don't by not getting my question answered...

[westernstargifts]

Thank you for your input Kat. I attribute much of the success that I have had so far to giving good customer service. I go out of my way to give newbie buyers detailed instructions on how to do everything from paying to leaving feedback if they need the help. I combine purchases when they pay for 3 different items separately even though I told them in my listing and by email to wait until all auctions are done before paying. They say thank you and pay for them separately anyway, but they appreciate the help and become repeat customers. I told this seller that their customer service is appalling. However they are one of eBay's biggest so I doubt that they will change. Too bad for them--they will have to get lots of NEW customers. I sure won't be back for seconds!

[art-in-the-making]

This is a good example why there should always be room for the smaller sellers on eBay, even though sometimes it seems like many categories are getting swamped by semi-corporate mega-sellers. There is no possible way to provide personal, responsible service to hundreds of customers a day.

[westernstargifts]

You are absolutely right! I know that when I go shopping I do not return to stores with poor service if I have the option of going elsewhere. That is why small stores can compete with the big guys--by giving added value and personal customer service. I just finished answering a question rom a newbie buyer. She asked the same question yesterday which I answered. So this time I worded it differently, gave her more info than she asked for, and told her that it was right to ask questions and I would always be glad to answer them. And I really don't mind helping her out. I think by making eBay less daunting for newbies they are likely to shop more on eBay which is good for all.

[westernstargifts]

The saga continues! The PS that filed the U.I.D. against me 15 days after I paid has responded to the dispute they started saying that they would have their person contact me. I have to give some history here. I won auctions from two users with identical backgrounds for their items and similar products. I missed it and thought I was purchasing from one seller. They would not combine the purchases saying the other was a "sister company". Both payments showed up in PayPal as paid to one generic company name. The dispute opened by the one company has now been responded to by the "sister company". To add insult to injury, they made no mention of the fact that I have paid for these items and are "sending me a new invoice for the correct amount" duh? What does it take to get through to these people that I HAVE PAID?!

[katiusciav]

if you've paid, you'll be cleared eventually, and you shouldn't have anything to worry about. ebay/paypal will eventually find your payment and it'll be resolved soon i'm sure...

[westernstargifts]

Thanks Kat. I did escalate the dispute I filed with PayPal to a claim just now. I want to be done with it. PayPal has a record of the transaction. I am sure this seller will pay attention to them when they tell them it is paid. It is nice to have a place to come and vent. I have never run into a problem with a seller before. I find most to have excellent communication and I gave a lot of repeat business to them for that reason. Judy

[westernstargifts]

The PS finally contacted me giving the reason that he had filed the dispute. Apparently there was a $1.35 insurance charge which had not been paid. I sent a reply saying that if it did not show up on the invoice why did he expect me to pay it. The order was under $10. What a hassle for nothing. He canceled the fee and ended the dispute. If he had contacted me in the first place the whole thing could have been avoided. Communication with buyers is so important!
Judy

[flasc.sniper]

ebay is weird that way sometimes tho. I have a buyer who paid but in ebay it shows the item as unpaid. I have teh record in my paypal account that he has paid... but according to my ebay selling manager he has yet to pay and it gives me the option to open a dispute.. kinda weird.. ebay hickup I guess but I can see where it would cause confusions when selling dozens of items per week/day. there are sometimes when I just send payment reminders to everyone who ebay said hasent sent payment for 20 days or so. this one looked weird and fimiluar so I looked into it but I almost mistakenly sent him a reminder. if i double checked paypal with ebay for every transaction id need to hire someone to help me keep up 🙂

[westernstargifts]

Ebay does have its glitches and so do some of the Marketworks systems that some sellers use. I remember last year when I was buying some things and the seller's Marketworks would not let me pay. It would only take me to their store instead of checkout. They eventually got it worked out.