Most common buyer messages

[iamalwaysright]

What is your most common topic in the buyer messages you get?

Mine is buyers trying to negotiate lower shipping, both before and after the sale. I only mark it up to cover FVF fees on it. Pretty much all of them ask for prices lower than the actual cost. The messages don't annoy me, but it just tells me that many buyers continue to not grasp the actual costs of shipping packages.

[anjofak]

Iv seen sellers on here asking why they had to pay for shipping because they had clicked free shipping..

[inhawaii]

"Please pack the item well."

...and...

"I need it by __________"

[lightlily_arts]

I get my share of messages from buyers attempting to negotiate shipping charges.  Most of these are from buyers that are located in the shipping zones furthest from me.   I truly understand  their pain and I always try to ship with the lowest cost For larger heavier items the USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes help,keep the cost down. Nonetheless, I point out that if they check the postal rates for their location they can see that they are only paying what it costs me to ship.  I don't negotiate shipping, but sometimes I can negotiate the item price.

[Anonymous]

"Will you sell it for 50% less than your asking price?"

[katzrul15]

Most common is about price and will you take less?   Or to ask for an order discount.

[ckimodog]

"How quick will I receive this?" 

[pickermall]

I used to get those messages years ago. My reply was basically "Sorry, I can ask the USPS to lower their rates, but I don't think they will"

[divwido]

I get a few of the 'please package it carefully' and I always reassure them that I do.  But that only seems to happen on eBay-which is a little alarming.  No one else seems worried.

[divwido]

USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes help,keep the cost down

I haven't shipped a flat rate box in two years.  The cost is obscene unless you are shipping concrete or rocks.  I'm doing a whole lot more Fedex Smart Post these days to offer cheaper (slower) shipping.  Often they are delivered by USPS anyway.

[luckythewinner]

---

@iamalwaysright wrote:

I only mark it up to cover FVF fees on it. 

it just tells me that many buyers continue to not grasp the actual costs of shipping packages.

---

What it tells me is that you might want to charge the actual cost of postage, and add your "markup" to the item price instead of to the shipping cost. 

Or you could even move an extra dollar of the shipping cost into the item price, and show that you are charging less than actual postage. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

I rarely get questions - three or four a year maybe - and when I do, 99% of the time they're asking if a certain recipe is in a certain cookbook or recipe booklet, one that their mom or aunt or grandma used to make.  No big deal, I just check the book or recipe booklet to see.   The other 1% is usually asking if the paper smells musty (it doesn't)

[blingfling123]

Lately it seems to be messages asking for a price reduction that just happens to match the shipping price to their location. 

[wrong66]

Exactly. If you're trying to recover fees by raising the price of shipping, that is likely what's concerning your buyers. Without seeing any of your listings, it's impossible to say. Inflated shipping fees does not produce a good business model.

[duffy4444]

This is no joke or tooting my own horn:

   The most common message from my buyers is "thank you",  because I do keep in touch with my customers about the item during any possible transit problems or questions. On every sale, I always wet-sign a thank you on the packing slip, which also lets them know I really appreciate their business.

   On some other sales I send a message when shipping their purchase, that their item does not come with a tracking number because the USPS does not issue tracking numbers for certain FC envelopes (many customers say, "Oh, I didn't know that - thanks for telling me... now I know why some of my small purchases don't have a tracking number")... and it's been years since I've had an INR scam attempt on me because of no tracking number.

   I don't get too many low-ball complaints about shipping, since over the last 20+ years I offer free shipping on nearly all of my listings, and still keep the prices competitive. I discovered early on that if the buyer sees the shipping cost on their sales notice, that's an open invitation to nickel-and-dime me or complain.

Cheers, Duffy