Question for emergency situations and your store??

[hanna_emma]

Ok, I am 30 weeks pregnant and this is my 3rd, so pretty sure I'll go before the 40 week mark like last time 😉

My question is, what do I do about my store and customers? I mean if I go into labor, which we all know is not predictable as to when, I won't be able to sit here and post all new announcements and update my store preferences 😉

How can I manage it so my customers don't get all miffed and start posting negs demanding for their items? Obviously I would not be able to get on my PC for about 5 days when this happens 😉
(FYI they are e-mail patterns and come as soon as they pay, but I do manual sending as I've had HUGE problems with the automated system I had.)

Any ideas, suggestions or comments appreciated.

[jakeeangel]

Shut it down. Use the vacation settings option and make it so that your listings are not visible. Nobody can see them and nobody can buy them.

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When you find doing what's right hard to do - you've got a problem.

[ewa-jo]

I'm pregnant too (35 weeks, but totally expecting to go until the beginning of March) and I am having my husband cover my store while I'm in the hospital. I've got 400+ items right now, but everything is fairly well organized so I think he'll be OK putting together parcels and going to the post office and sending notifications to everyone. He used to sell on Ebay for fun, so he has a good idea of what I do. I will be giving him my super-secret ebay log-in so he can access my account.

I won't be putting up any new listings or anything, but I think it's important for stuff to get mailed promptly... especially since some people think parcels are delivered by magic carpet and should come the next day.

If you have someone who could help you, organize your inventory so everything is easy to find, keep a stock of envelopes/boxes with your return label on them, give them some $ for the post office and save a template of the notification email you send after you've shipped stuff.

[hanna_emma]

Jake: I have thought of that, but how would I know what EXACT dates to put ahead of tme 😉 LOL!! Baby could decide she's ready tomorrow, or in 9 weeks KWIM?!

And as for hubby... Hes a computer dummy!! I am going to TRY and show him some stuff, but I am SO AFRAID he'll make everything worse 😉 LOL!!

I am hoping that I won't go into full labor right away, tho I have been warned by my Dr 😉 So I hope I can struggle through contractions to put the vacation settings on.

VACATION SETTINGS: Does this mean all sales are suspended for that time? And customers can't buy? Hope so!

[futuretech_liquidations]

Hann_emma - Most hospitals now have internet access -- ok just joking here but I know what you mean - we are 2wks away from our 1st child due Feb. 13.

The vacation setting does not suspend all your listings it merely put up an ALERT to the buyer that you are away for a period of time by inserting a small block of text that appears above all your listings.

The problem is that the ALERT MESSAGE is most often missed and the buyer is unaware that there will be a delay in them receiving their item.

The safest way to protect yourself is to also have some wording inserted in the beginning of all you ads.

Good luck,

TIM @ FTL

[momoftwingles2]

You have a choice when using vacation settings of whether your listings are visible and purchasable (with a message from you) or completely NOT VISIBLE. And, you can also put a personal message. The NOT VISIBLE is your best bet, but use this option ahead of time so that you are not caught in the midst of labor! Good luck, Susan

[hanna_emma]

^^ Thanks 🙂 That is very helpful!

I am going to start to re-do my instant messages for my customers and then see if my hubby can understand how to do the changes... If not, which is VERY LIKELY, I will do the non-visible thing 😉 LOL!! I wish he knew more than how to play games on the PC. Ha Ha!

[numero_1]

easier thing would be put an out of office on your email and this way everybody who writes you knows aprox when you will be back.

also consider ending your auctions early as you won't be able to sell for some time

i purchased something from a seller who was out of town, sent him the payment waited waited and 3 weeks after his wife got back to me explaining me that he was gone and she was pregnant

obviously i understand the situation but it took them 3 weeks to let me know, i cannot guess and had already claimed my $ back for no response

put yourself on the buyers shoes