feeling totally defeated

[tesa6240]

I am old and Ebay has been a great way for me to survive this economy.  I spent the entire weekend depressed and in tears.

The feedback situation has left me defeated. With the uptake of non payment, I put a payment within 24 hrs  unless other arrangements made. My lastest was from someone with no sales that said I demanded payment in 2 hours, not true.  I have purchased thousand of dollars in product, I have 750 items and tried so very hard almost everyday to post, my husband gets them out same day, I spend hours on descriptions.  My rating at 98.8% after 1 year.  and only 182 feed back out of 500+ sales. I feel so vulnerable to  have had 2 disatisfied  customers control my fate and then how much longer before another. 

Ebay did back me up lately on one customer that wanted to return, which gave me hope.

Alot of you with thousands of sales did you go though this? I worked in retail for years, but my job was not in jeopardy each time someone was displeased. Always trying to make the customer happy , but with this system you get blind sided!

When should I liquidate, as  this is very shakey ground and dont want to be holding this inventory with out recouping my investment.

[johnrj1226]

Any orders you cancelled prior to 96 hours  Pacific Coast time(4 days) earned you a defect on your  sales performance - see your Seller Dashboard - Go to  The Selling Tools box on your Overview page - see what your status is to determine if you need to walk a fine line..  These defects  remains on your account for 365 or 366 days.  Collect too many based on a stated % , your ability to  sell on eBay maybe permanently  terminated.  Seller reviews are posted the 20th of the month  for the prior months activity..  Meant to be a heads up and not get surprised/blind sided.

Your  24 hr policy  is overridden by eBay stated policy. - think of eBay as your landlord and you are just renting  space. - rules  are stated in the USER agreement you electronically agreed to.

Know the eBay rules is just like driving a vehicle - Gotta' Know The Rules of The Road Too. - am a '44 year model my self

Good Luck

[chapeau-noir]

I get a little tired of the "old" card being played - it's not really an excuse.  This neg was actually a very useful lesson in a number of ways, and I would take the lessons and apply them going forward. Tears and depression will do you no good, but taking a step back and reevaluating will, and you'll feel much better for it.  I know some of my best lessons in life have been the hardest knocks and this is just a gentle tap on the shoulder.  I think you can do fabulously with some rethinking, retooling your listings and grabbing the reins rather than feeling defeated.  Good advice given above, but your mindset really is everything.

[luckythewinner]

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@candd205 wrote:

Can we all have a little grace for this seller. I'm pretty sure she has gotten the message now.

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IMHO the OP signed away any rights to sympathy after post #16.

[iart]

We've been selling for 20+ years on this ID. Never a negative that wasn't removed (usually because a buyer bypassed our Block List and we could prove it).

The 3 tricks are:

1) Excellent customer service and fast shipping.

2) Excellent and honest descriptions with many photos.

3) And, most important, LUCK. Pure LUCK.

[maxine*j]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I get a little tired of the "old" card being played...

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Ditto.  I'm old, and I find it demeaning.  

-

[the_fancy_fox]

I was replying to OP statement “My lastest was from someone with no sales that said I demanded payment in 2 hours, not true.”

ebay CS can certainly see if that buyer is lying or not. I would assume there would be an e-mail trail between the parties. 

If a buyer posted that feedback to my account and it was a lie I would probably cancel the sale as well.  

I think it all hinges on if the OP demanded payment in two hours or not.

[fashionsandbeauty4u]

As many others have already responded, eBay Sellers are not allowed to make their own rules/policies, especially those that go against eBay's policies. You are selling on eBay's platform. Once someone makes a purchase from you, eBay will send them several reminders they need to pay. There is never a need for a Seller to send a Buyer a payment reminder, let alone several in 24 hours. That is harassment. 

If we look at this a different way, though, thousands of eBay Sellers struggle with Buyers who don't pay. The absolute BEST way to stop this is to let the fours days pass, then cancel the sale for nonpayment. That will put a strike on the Buyer's account. If you cancel prior to the four days, it puts a strike on YOUR account, plus, you don't get your eBay fees returned. And Sellers should never cancel and be dishonest saying the Buyer asked them to cancel or there's a problem with the Buyer's address. 

Sometimes it's good to take a step back, take a deep breath and regroup. There are many excellent, long term Sellers in this group. They are offering great advice. There are several eBay FB groups with people who offer great advice. If you're feeling down or overwhelmed, ask questions. I LOVE selling on eBay because for me it's fun. I honestly think you could enjoy it too. Best of luck to you.

[the_fancy_fox]

And looking at their listings (beautiful stuff by the way), 24 hours to make payment is a no go.  Not enforceable. 

[creativecrisis]

@tesa6240wrote:

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@tesa6240 wrote:

Thanks for all those that helped me with my Question.  I send the prepared message from Ebay that states something like " cant send item till payment recieved and when can I expect payment" to the customers.  many have responded in kind my saying when I can expect it. I work with alot of people.  When you recieve no answers to the inquiry it has led me to believe that they are "bots" as I have had an ungodly amount of them. I will take the constructive critisum  in a positive way and learn from it.

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I don't run auctions anymore. When I did, not all buyers paid immediately or even within 24 hours. You do need to be prepared to wait a few days for payment if you want to use auctions.

While I took only a brief look at your listings, those I saw are appropriate for fixed-price format, with immediate payment required. Auctions work best for rare and highly desirable items. Your life on eBay will be easier without them. (You can bulk-edit your listings in Seller Hub to change the format.)

If you worked in retail, you already know some people can be difficult to deal with, and it's best not to take it personally. Stay professional, go on with life. You say you enjoy selling on eBay? In that case, focus on finding cool stuff to sell, making good listings, and doing right for your customers. Learn how the site works and follow policies. You'll find your groove.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@tesa6240 wrote:

Thanks for all those that helped me with my Question.  I send the prepared message from Ebay that states something like " cant send item till payment recieved and when can I expect payment" to the customers.  many have responded in kind my saying when I can expect it. I work with alot of people.  When you recieve no answers to the inquiry it has led me to believe that they are "bots" as I have had an ungodly amount of them. I will take the constructive critisum  in a positive way and learn from it.

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First, powell-memorabilia was right on & not rude.  It was blunt, but accurate & many people here don't coddle & handhold.  

Second, I would highly recommend not sending 'when can I receive payment' emails.  In case you don't know, Ebay sends an Invoice & also, Reminders, automatically, so you adding to that can be seen as annoying, esp since buyers have 4 days to pay. 

What do you mean that you think if you get no answer they are bots?  Bots can't purchase, so your items are not purchased by bots, that's not something a bot can do.  The reason you are likely getting no response is b/c people are busy & also buyers do not tend to be on Ebay daily, like most sellers do, so they probably aren't seeing your emails right away.  But like I said, Ebay already reminds them, there's no reason to email them again.  

[niftyfindsinphoenix]

We have to learn how to adapt to ebay's rules and policy's every year and plan accordingly. we all make mistakes however as others have said look over your mistakes and try to fix them. it's like my father have said "if you make a mistake fix it. there is always solutions to a problem."

[luckythewinner]

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

I was replying to OP statement “My lastest was from someone with no sales that said I demanded payment in 2 hours, not true.”

ebay CS can certainly see if that buyer is lying or not. I would assume there would be an e-mail trail between the parties. 

If a buyer posted that feedback to my account and it was a lie I would probably cancel the sale as well.  

I think it all hinges on if the OP demanded payment in two hours or not.

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Or perhaps CS would consider that the buyer might have simply made a typo and put "2" instead of "24". 

Or perhaps CS would see multiple messages from the seller badgering the buyer for payment in a timeframe that eBay does not support or recognize. 

Or perhaps CS would see that the seller apparently chose "buyer requested" as the reason for the cancellation when the buyer did not do so (at least according to the buyer's feedback). 

[soh.maryl]

You do know that some of us have more than one eBay ID -- perhaps one for selling, one for buying and one for posting here? 

[powell-memorabilia]

Aside of m60drvr, one of my accounts has more feedback than anyone else here.  But, that doesn’t make me right or wrong - that argument from authority is fairly useless.  Either I had a fair point or I didn’t.

I’m confident that you are a fine seller and an even better human being.  I suppose I could start every reply with something similar, but those nice words do nothing for your situation, other than to distract from the task at hand.  

[yuzuha]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I get a little tired of the "old" card being played...

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Ditto.  I'm old, and I find it demeaning.  

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I'm young and nothing makes me (or my peers) stop taking you seriously or even listening to you faster than pulling the "I'm old" card. At my B&M job it's almost always followed by an implied "and therefore you should bend over backwards to cater to me even if what I'm asking for is impossible!"