Anyone use the "Away Message" to auto-reply to messages when you're offline?
So after a few threads about super impatient buyers (and some of mine are like that before they purchase), I've put an away message (which will go on for the next couple of months) to respond to every message to tell them messages are answered between 5pm and 9pm ET and on Sundays.
I get numerous messages during the day during the week while at work that I can't answer, and sometimes it's "I can't answer because I need the item", other times it's "I can't answer because I'm at work". Often times I need to check something online like a tracking number or a listing, to answer a question.
I did add a sentence to indicate that shipping occurs 2-3 times a week. I sometimes get the "when will you ship" message, and putting that in gives an immediate reply that shipping is 2-3 times a week to give them some kind of answer before I can reply personally about when their item is going to ship.
C.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoHey C. I use the out of office response when on time away, but have used it on occasion when I'm particularly busy or unavailable to respond to messages quickly.
Your situation:
- Unavailable to respond during the day
- Potentially long delivery as you consolidate your packages, get them to Chit Chats who couriers them over the border from Canada to the US to ship with USPS in Niagara
I think those are good reasons to use an out of office message during the day and on Saturdays.
I suggest turning it off during your eBay-working hours. If it remains on and you're having a back-and-forth with a buyer to discuss something, the buyer will get the out of office message every single time they send a reply.
sin-n-dex
OP2 years agoIt's a good suggestion (to turn it off when I'm online). I hadn't thought of that.
One thing I wondered is if having the away message on suppresses my items from search. I have had it on for a couple of days and there hasn't been the usual amount of activity.
Since I can't message buyers immediately when they buy or respond immediately to messages, it seems like having the message on is a good idea. But I suppose it's annoying if there's a back and forth, and those do go on sometimes during the evening. I think my record on an email chain is 48 messages, but he ended up buying 400 tokens, so I didn't mind. I just kinda wish he'd reply to the message I sent to start a new thread, it was getting long in my email.
C.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoI've never seen that type of side effect and I've used the out of office message a lot. Your sales volume the past few days is probably unrelated to the out of office message.
sin-n-dex
OP2 years agoI'm going to test this out and see if I can remember to turn it on and off again... I sit at my computer almost every evening during the week, so there's no reason it can't be off if I'm able to answer messages. It's useful to tell those buyers who are asking that I'm AFK (sleep or work) and won't answer until x time later.
Normally I have a few too many more parcels than time to pack in the morning, but the last couple of days I've had free time after packing which suggests to me ordering is down. There are still some orders, but more usually come in at night than have been for a few days.
I guess that's one question I have to ask is if doing a certain action lowers me in the search or hides my items from search.
I am going to update the templates on the handling time (since it doens't need to be 10 days anymore, hasn't needed to be that for a couple of years), I'm going to put it at 5 days though in case I can't ship for a few days for some emergency reason, then at least I won't get dinged by eBay.
C.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI had this whole post to send you...but when I looked at your shipping time...wow...I ship 3-5 business days but usually ship the item out the next day.
Why the long shipping time? I would say buyers of yours are not "impatient buyers".
10 business days handling time!
I can understand why you get a lot of emails for delivery...I have never gotten one I can remember when would I ship.
Those buying on their cellphone or iPhone won't even see that handling time.
Which is why you are getting so many emails.
Maybe instead add something like "if you need your item immediately email me first "....somewhere in your description...
You shouldn't be getting more than maybe 1 email a week or less... unless it's for combined shipping.
sin-n-dex
OP2 years agoRealistically it can be reduced to 5 days now, I just never bothered to do that yet... I was shipping only on Mondays a few years ago, and it would take a couple days for FedEx to deliver the box of packages to my shipper to transport to USPS (which meant at longest shipping was 7 business days).
The people who message me about when I'm going to ship do it a few hours after buying on Sunday when the post office is closed, or buy at 2am and message at 5am to ask why I haven't shipped yet.
Realistically the longest shipping time is purchase on Friday and it ships Monday.
C.