mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@wpt05 wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:….
If you are running BIN listings that do not have Immediate Payment Required [IPR] or auctions, you should NEVER leave your payment terms to the imagination of a buyer. You should state them. When you don't state your TOS, then your buyers may assume they have a week to pay or something else......
It is possible they are planning on bidding on another item. Many sellers have combined shipping, but they give a time limit. For example: Combined shipping on multiple wins in the same week, or combined shipping on auctions won within 3 days, etc..
That doesn't mean you leave your payment terms to the imagination of the buyers. It should always be a part of your TOS.
For example on mine I ask that buyers communicate with me within 3 days of the purchase and payment is due within 7 days of purchase. IMHO that gives buyers plenty of time to relax, shop and get what they want or desire. I ask them to communicate so it just reassures me that it isn't a hit and run buyer. These terms have worked for me for a whole lot of years, so I stick with them.
@around-the-block wrote:As soon as I possibly can. If a buyer doesn't pay within the first 24 hours 99% of the time they will not pay.
I'm sorry it works out that way for you. The same is not true for me.
@no_zero369 wrote:
@disneyshopper wrote:I allow my buyers 5 days to pay, in order to encourage additional purchases for a combined shipping discount.
I'm interested in that idea. Can you expose on this? How it has worked for you?
I'm not answering for Disney, but just for myself. On all my craft supply and pattern listings, I allow my customers up to 7 days to pay. Inherit in these types of purchases, buyers often want a few different things. So allowing them time to purchase and shop promotes multiple purchases.
Along with allowing them the additional time for payment, I also say in my TOS that I offer combined shipping and I give instructions for getting the best rates.
I do however ask that buyers communicate with me within 3 days of their purchase. That is just so that I know they are continuing to shop and not a hit and run buyer. Most times they do touch base with me during that period and if they don't, I will send them a nice note on day 4 thanking them for their purchase and ask them if I can help them locate anything.
This process has worked very well for me for many years.
You are welcome to pop into one of my listings to see how I state my TOS. You will find the type I'm talking about here on all my craft supplies and pattern type listings.
I hope this helps.
@wpt05 wrote:
Yes, I agree with you.
This buyer could still be shopping, but you would think they would message the seller. If I were the buyer in this situation looking to buy more records, I would want to pay all at once to save with combined shipping and save the seller money on paypal fees with one payment. I would send them a message letting them know that though.
As an occasional seller, I have rarely had non paying buyers. If I run auctions, usually the price is so outrageously low that buyer pays immediately.
I had an item sell a few years ago that was not paid for. (I had no other items for sale at the time so I knew they were not waiting for combined shipping. ) When I opened the Unpaid Item Case the buyer messaged me and asked why I opened the case for such a low priced item. My response was "it was opened automatically through ebay" (which it was because I have the Unpaid Item Assistant set up for 4 days). What I wanted to say was "if it is such a low price then why didn't you pay?" lol
That is why in my TOS I ask buyers to communicate with me within 3 days of their purchase. If on day 4 I haven't heard from them, I send them a nice note as I stated in my post just before this one. It has served me well for many years.
Buyers can and do have all kinds of excuses from time to time.
I had my customer service hat on. I try to be courteous at all times. Having done customer service in different forms I've learned to not take things personally and remain calm. You never know what a buyer's situation is. They may be having a bad day, or month, or year. 
@wpt05 wrote:
I had my customer service hat on. I try to be courteous at all times. Having done customer service in different forms I've learned to not take things personally and remain calm. You never know what a buyer's situation is. They may be having a bad day, or month, or year.
Outstanding, you are restoring my faith in humanity. Many here don't have your experience, and that can lead to problems, but one would think courtesy and common sense like yours would prevail.
Hopefully what you have is catching!
@castlemagicmemories wrote:
@wpt05 wrote:
I had my customer service hat on. I try to be courteous at all times. Having done customer service in different forms I've learned to not take things personally and remain calm. You never know what a buyer's situation is. They may be having a bad day, or month, or year.
Outstanding, you are restoring my faith in humanity. Many here don't have your experience, and that can lead to problems, but one would think courtesy and common sense like yours would prevail.
Hopefully what you have is catching!
I take exception to that and I believe it is misleading. While absolutely there are sellers that act badly from time to time. Is it "many", I doubt it, is a a few, more likely.
With the way Ebay tracks its sellers if a seller is consistently mistreating their buyers in any way shape or form, it will catch up to them and they will get sanctioned by Ebay.
You are going by what you see on the threads. I respect that. But it is also VERY important to see the big picture and with over 180 million active buyers and over 25 million sellers worldwide, the stories shared on these forums are a fraction of a fraction in relationship to the membership of Ebay.
Problems arise on both sides of the fence. Just because a seller gets upset doesn't mean the seller is wrong. But taking it out on a buyer is wrong. The same falls true for buyers. While some don't like to admit it or acknowledge it, it is a two way street.
If both buyers and sellers treat each other with respect when a problem arises, it is more likely it will get worked out quickly and in a fashion that meets the needs of the buyer.
Far too often because these are not face to face transactions, people misbehave. Either the seller or the buyer. They feel emboldened by the anonymity that is inherit with online transactions. If it were a face to face transaction either party may very well think twice before getting rude and upset with the other party. Some tend to forget that there is a real person at the other end of that message or they simply don't care.
Sellers do have more responsibility than the buyer does in keeping the communication as polite and professional as possible. But that doesn't justify bad behavior by anyone.
