Unresponsive Buyer (already paid) who didn't specify variations - what to ship?

[archmeyer37]

Hello,

I recently had a listing with a Buy It Now price for a 'Lot' where buyers could choose out of many variations, and I requested that buyers just let me know which variations they wanted when they checked out. (because as far as I know, (and please correct me if I'm wrong!), you can't easily use variations and lots in the same listing).

I had a buyer checkout and pay for their lot, but they never told me which variations they wanted. I've messaged them twice asking and reminded them they can cancel if they changed their mind, but I haven't received a response. I'm not sure what happened - either they misinterpreted the listing and thought they were receiving every unit, not just a small 'Lot', or forgot to specify, or something else came up. 

I will definitely edit my listing, so that this does not happen again. In the meantime, what is the best way to proceed? I don't want to cancel without their approval, and I need to ship something before the shipping deadline. Should I just ship them their Lot and choose random variations?

Any input/advice would be appreciated - thanks in advance! 

[bigdeals.etc]

Go to the "get buyer contact information" page and get the buyer's phone number and call them. You're on the right track with editing your listing. If you want to keep it as them messaging you with a choice, make sure you put a line that says if no choice is made, you will send one out at random. If you have individuals and packs choices, make sure the dollar amount matches the qty you think they are buying.

[d-k_treasures]

You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

[bigdeals.etc]

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You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

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Yea I was questioning that too but was too lazy to look up policy. Just know that you are taking a risk with making that listing if @d-k_treasures is correct which I would believe to be.

FYI, there are ways to put individual quantity along with lots in the same listing... it's really tricky though. Honestly not sure if some of those are against policy or not as well though, but at least it will eliminate your problem with "choice"

[archmeyer37]

I thought that variations of one type of item was ok. Once I edit my listing I'll get rid of the lot feature and have the official drop-down menu for the variations by the each, so that there is no way this can happen again. 

[archmeyer37]

I'd rather make it as simple as possible in the future and forget about the lots. It's fine to just do the variations with a drop-down menu, and then make the quantity variable, right? 

[generaluser3]

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You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

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I've read on this forum that this is the rule, but is it stated specifically in ebay policies?  The reason I ask is I've seen quite a number of "choice" listings.  There's a bookseller in particular that does a very nice business with You Pick/Choose type of listings, and it's been going on for years, as far as I've noticed. 

I've always thought that "choice" listings would be nice to do, since the buyer can then choose exactly what they want.  But the obvious downside is what the OP is going through now. 

[city*satins]

Oh dear. That listing is a disaster waiting to happen on a number of fronts.

1. Your title says 

Ty Beanie Babies Over 40, Choose your Lot of 4 - Great condition

The first number a potential buyer sees is 40.  So chances are that's the number of beanies expected.

2. Although you are offering 4 items, your listing invites the buyer to make you an offer on fewer than 4 or greater than 4 items and states a s/h price for these and a sale price for varying quantities.  But although you suggest that the buyer make an offer, you don't have your listing set up to allow this.  And you are silent on what might happen next after the buyer makes this "offer".  For instance, you neglect to suggest that if the buyer wants fewer or more than 4, you will create a special Buy It Now listing for their specific request.

The net result is that if eBay looked at this listing they could easily see it as an attempt to avoid fees and get grouchy about that and remove the listing.

I know it's extra work, but really, you should just offer these in a VARIATIONS type listing, allow buyers to put their choices in their CART and set up a s/h cost based on the quantity.

If you don't want to do that, then relist but you will have to rephotograph every time you sell a lot, so that the items sold are no longer pictured.

There is currently no policy I can find against CHOICE listings - in the past, the only stipulation was that all of the items had to be available to satisfy all buyers if you offered it in a QUANTITY of >1  as a FP listing.  But using a variations type FP listing where you hardcode the quantity of each variation makes that unnecessary since it removes no-longer-available items from the counter.

[d-k_treasures]

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I'd rather make it as simple as possible in the future and forget about the lots. It's fine to just do the variations with a drop-down menu, and then make the quantity variable, right? 

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Since you are discounting multiple buys, someone should be along to tell you how to set this up(I only sell thru auctions, and never used a variation listing).

But you would need to list every one as a variation same price, quantity of 1(unless you have multiples of one in the same condition). Then you can set up a promo of 5-10% off each additional one.

Of course, most likely the buyer would have to add them to the cart (ugh) to get the promo and not be forced into paying for them one at a time.

[d-k_treasures]

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wrote:

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wrote:

You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

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I've read on this forum that this is the rule, but is it stated specifically in ebay policies?  The reason I ask is I've seen quite a number of "choice" listings.  There's a bookseller in particular that does a very nice business with You Pick/Choose type of listings, and it's been going on for years, as far as I've noticed. 

I've always thought that "choice" listings would be nice to do, since the buyer can then choose exactly what they want.  But the obvious downside is what the OP is going through now. 

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Would this be the large seller who tanked the book categories by loading up a million books in the cookbook category where most didn't belong there?

[faithandbutterflies]

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wrote: 

There is currently no policy I can find against CHOICE listings - in the past, the only stipulation was that all of the items had to be available to satisfy all buyers if you offered it in a QUANTITY of >1  as a FP listing.  But using a variations type FP listing where you hardcode the quantity of each variation makes that unnecessary since it removes no-longer-available items from the counter.

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I agree. I've seen a lot of this when I'm searching for a DVD or Blu Ray. I will see in the results listings offering many different DVDs. You pick your DVD from a pull down menu then buy it that way. Each DVD is a different price depending on which one you pick.

[city*satins]

But you would need to list every one as a variation same price...

Your variations don't have to be all priced the same.

quantity of 1(unless you have multiples of one in the same condition

OP has some duplicates. I didn't read closely enough to note condition. 

[generaluser3]

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wrote:

You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

---

I've read on this forum that this is the rule, but is it stated specifically in ebay policies?  The reason I ask is I've seen quite a number of "choice" listings.  There's a bookseller in particular that does a very nice business with You Pick/Choose type of listings, and it's been going on for years, as far as I've noticed. 

I've always thought that "choice" listings would be nice to do, since the buyer can then choose exactly what they want.  But the obvious downside is what the OP is going through now. 

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Would this be the large seller who tanked the book categories by loading up a million books in the cookbook category where most didn't belong there?

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I had to check to make sure they didn't add a million books to their inventory!  But, no, they are a small bookseller (154 listings).  This is just an example of pick/choose listings I've seen in the book category.  I think it's a nice service, though I would imagine it gets dicey when the buyer is nonresponsive, as in the OP's case. 

[d-k_treasures]

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But you would need to list every one as a variation same price...

Your variations don't have to be all priced the same.

quantity of 1(unless you have multiples of one in the same condition

OP has some duplicates. I didn't read closely enough to note condition. 

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Right - but the seller is selling them all for the same price, so I tailored my response to them.

The conditions differ on the duplicates, so again, I tailored by response to them.

[d-k_treasures]

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wrote:

You aren't supposed to have 'choice' listings.

---

I've read on this forum that this is the rule, but is it stated specifically in ebay policies?  The reason I ask is I've seen quite a number of "choice" listings.  There's a bookseller in particular that does a very nice business with You Pick/Choose type of listings, and it's been going on for years, as far as I've noticed. 

I've always thought that "choice" listings would be nice to do, since the buyer can then choose exactly what they want.  But the obvious downside is what the OP is going through now. 

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Would this be the large seller who tanked the book categories by loading up a million books in the cookbook category where most didn't belong there?

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I had to check to make sure they didn't add a million books to their inventory!  But, no, they are a small bookseller (154 listings).  This is just an example of pick/choose listings I've seen in the book category.  I think it's a nice service, though I would imagine it gets dicey when the buyer is nonresponsive, as in the OP's case. 

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Be easier with a variation listing - that way the seller doesn't have to edit the listing every time something sells.