Selling and Vacation

[tabbycat320]

I sold a pair of Chanel tights yesterday (Monday).  Even gave a discount and free shipping.  They didn't pay right away, which always bugs me when I give a discount.  I am going out of town tomorrow (Wednesday) and won't return until a week later.  I sent this info to the buyer to encourage them to pay today so I could ship today.  Crickets.  No response.  I'm certainly not going to ship until I get paid, but do I relist if they don't?  And within how may hours do they have to pay?  96?  Should I leave negative feedback or is this a special case since I'm going out of town?  I don't think I've ever left negative feedback, so I probably won't, but I think when I give a discount, people should pay asap; like, immediately after I accept their offer.  Sigh...  I've set up my listings to inform people I'll be out of town, so people can buy, but I can't ship until I return.  This is all new for me...

[toysaver]

"Should I leave negative feedback"

Sellers haven't been able to leave negative feedback for years.   Looks like a small item, is taking them with you and mailing while on vacation an option?

[dentalsales4u]

1st off, sellers can't leave buyers negative feedback. It's been that way since 2008.

If they don't pay within 4 days, on the 5th day you can relist AFTER you file a non paying buyer.

This gives them a strike on their account and gets you your FVFs refunded to you.

Keep an eye on it if you can and file as soon as you can if buyer doesn't pay.

[traditonalproducts]

Toysaver is correct, box the item and take with you. You will have to eat more freight cost since you will need to utilize USPS counter or a shipping service. Remember to enter the tracking number ASAP so u don't get dinged for a late shipment. Get the ebay app on your phone so you can complete the transaction.

[hartungcards]

eBay sellers aren't allowed to go on vacation.

[my_boston_baked_beans]

You are reminding me of a fact I had forgotten. If you accept BEST OFFER that does not go hand in hand with immediate payment like fixed price. You can accept a buyers offer, but they do not have to pay immediately. I have been bitten by that with non-payers. Silly me to try that method again. 

We can no longer leave negative feedback only the buyers can which is not fair. Sellers have no way of knowing how creditable a buyer is without feedback.

You can of course file non-payer after 4 days get your fees back and relist, but what a headache!

[my_boston_baked_beans]

That would work if you  have a manner in which to print out the label..

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@my_boston_baked_beans wrote:

That would work if you  have a manner in which to print out the label..

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If the seller takes the item with them and doesn't have access to a printer, they can hand-write the label and mail the item at the local Post Office.  They'll have to pay retail, which will probably be more than the original online label would have been -- but it could be less, if the vacation spot is closer to the buyer than the seller's home is. If they do have access to a printer, they should adjust the shipping label's "Shipping from" location to reflect the ZIP Code where they'll ship from; again, because the postage cost might be different.

As noted in another post, sellers have been unable to leave negative or neutral ratings for buyers since May 20, 2008.  How fortunate this seller is, to have never had occasion to notice this before now. And also to have never needed to now he details about how to handle an unpaid item, so here's the Help page about that:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items-buyers?id=4137 

[mynewfindstore]

Couldn't she use the QR code and go to a Post Office and they scan and print the label?  She would just have to have the item in a bag already.

[cstpos]

@tabbycat320You can change your account settings to Immediate payment Required on Buy it Now purchases. It doesn't count if it's an Offer Accepted sale. Did you change your account to the 'Away' status? Just putting in the listing descriptions that you will be gone will still allow people to purchase and expect their items to be shipped.

Maybe buyers think you're just being nice by giving a discount and don't know you expect them to pay immediately. They have 4 days to pay, as already mentioned. Sellers can only leave positive feedback - and can't leave negative comments with a positive rating. Very frustrating for honest sellers.

At least the tights are small and light - I would pack them just in case. Or do you have a friend or family member who could mail them for you? I'm not sure if you're going out of the country.

If you don't want to be bothered bringing them and trying to ship while you're away, and don't mind a ding on your account (either for not shipping if they do pay, or for canceling) you can always cancel the order and take the ding. You could let the buyer know that you tried to wait until they paid, but had to go out of town.

[tabbycat320]

Okay.  No negative feedback.  All of my listings are Buy It Now so I guess I have to wait the four days (96 hours) before cancelling the sale and relisting.  

I am driving from Texas to Indiana tomorrow to visit my 91 year old mom who does not have internet.  She can barely operate her phone and tv.  I do not want to bring any eBay stuff with me just so I can ship it to someone who is unable to pay responsibly or communicate their intent.  I need to focus on my mom.  It is almost 3pm here and still no word from buyer.  My gut tells me they will not follow through....

Four days is tooooo long to give a buyer to pay - especially for a discounted item.

[inhawaii]

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@tabbycat320 wrote:

Okay.  No negative feedback.  All of my listings are Buy It Now so I guess I have to wait the four days (96 hours) before cancelling the sale and relisting.  

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And what happens if the buyers PAYS within those 4 days?

Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but you should have anticipated this when you accepted a last minute offer.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Nothing irresponsible about it.  They have 4 days to pay, that's what the site gives them (I think it's too long too), this is not the buyer's fault.  They are not required to pay immediately unless you have IPR on & even if you di, it's negated when you either send or receive an offer.   Best bet is to take it with you, since it's your responsibilty to ship it if she pays. 

[wastingtime101]

That's an easily packable, small and lightweight item to ship while away. Pre-pack and pre-weigh.

If buyer pays, generate a label through the eBay app on your phone with the QR code option, take it to the PO and they will scan the QR code and print the label for you. Use your phone's data plan if your mom doesn't have wifi.

If you don't want to take the item with you and the buyer pays while you're away, you can either:

- Ship late and get a late shipping mark. (Most accounts can sustain one without issue.) If the buyer files an Item Not Received claim before you return you'll have to refund.

- Cancel the order as out of stock which will put a serious defect on your account. I'd go with shipping late and if an INR is filed just refund.

In the future, plan to have any auctions or offers end a week before you leave to avoid situations like this. eBay's working on an auto-pay offer feature, but it's still in testing phase, not yet rolled out site wide.

Here's the page about Time Away settings:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-tools/time-away?id=5137

If you allow sales while away, make sure you read all the exclusions carefully.

There's also an option to set up an out of office auto-response within the Time Away settings.

Keep in mind that you're still responsible for handling any return requests, claims or payment disputes that are filed while you're away. If you won't have internet access to check in every day or two, I suggest setting up automated return rules. You can turn off the automation after you return.

https://www.ebay.com/rtn/Return/SellerRules

Regarding unpaid items, you can set up your preferences to automatically cancel after 4 days (or  your desired time frame), but it will only apply to future transactions. You'll still have to handle the current transaction manually.

https://www.ebay.com/Cancel/Preference/UnpaidPurchase

[traditonalproducts]

You would need to go to a USPS counter or a shipping freight counter, pay the freight which would be at a higher margin so it can be done not utilizing your Ebay shipping.