ebay etiquette

Ohio

This is quick and probably has easy answers.

1. How long is it reasonable to wait for positive feedback after I know a buyer has received their item? The buyer paid me through Paypal but the money's "on hold" until I get a positive response from the buyer. I know the buyer received their item 2 days ago but I've got no feedback yet and my money just sits there on hold. How long should I give the buyer before I send them a message asking for feedback?
2. How long should I wait to hear from a seller whose auction I won? I won an auction yesterday afternoon and paid through Paypal immediately. Twenty-four hours later I've heard nothing from the seller, no indication they'll be shipping my item soon, etc. Is this normal?

bowen

A day or two should be the most you wait in both cases in my opinion.

illig

i give 24 hours either way.

when i'm the seller, i also notify the buyer when i ship (usually give them the DC# or tracking#) and ask that they give me positive feedback as soon as they receive it since i need it to receive the money... it's a small reminder, but some people don't realize the money is 'on hold' till then

ApexMirage

illig wrote: »

some people don't realize the money is 'on hold' till then

As a novice ebayer(buying only so far), I had absolutely no idea of this. I guess it's not common knowledge.
A few days sounds reasonable.
I'm assuming that the tracking number has indicated it was delivered? Otherwise you obviously can't just assume it was delivered.

Spacemilk

ApexMirage wrote: »

illig wrote: »

some people don't realize the money is 'on hold' till then

As a novice ebayer(buying only so far), I had absolutely no idea of this. I guess it's not common knowledge.
A few days sounds reasonable.
I'm assuming that the tracking number has indicated it was delivered? Otherwise you obviously can't just assume it was delivered.

Wow, I didn't know this either, and I wish I had because I can be very forgetful about feedback. Definitely drop them a note letting them know, especially if they haven't participated in too many auctions.

urahonky

I don't think that's true. I've sold stuff within the past 4 months, received the money, and still haven't got my feedback. I could be wrong, however.

Werewolf Gamer

It's really up to the buyer/seller for feedback. I've both sold and purchased on ebay for years. Sometimes I get feedback and sometimes I don't. Other times 2 months after an auction ended i'll suddenly get a feedback from the seller. I'd give it a few days and it wouldn't hurt to email them after a few days and just say how much you appreciate them winning your auction etc and if they would be so kind to leave you feedback it would be appreciated etc etc.

AtomBomb

Are they only doing this to new sellers? News to me, but ebay has been doing everything in their power to screw over the average seller. I've sold plenty of stuff and never gotten feedback, and I've also forgotten to leave feedback plenty of times. My wife usually does it for me though, but I've never had a seller say their money was on hold.

Delzhand

Check the auction listings. They'll usually say X business days for processing - it's something you have to fill in when listing an item.

onceling

The money isn't going to stay on hold forever. They tell you how long it is. Usually around 10 days or so, check your messages and info from them.

As a buyer, I don't always leave feedback. Especially if I'm away on business and when I get back I've forgotten, or if I'm kinda peeved that the seller made a profit on shipping or something (which I won't know till I receive the box).

Sellers sometimes don't say anything to me, stuff just arrives in the mail. Unless there's a reason I need an email from them I usually just wait. It's a bit rude, I agree. I would say if you want/need a response then give it 48 hours and then ping em just to check everything is ok.

eternalbl

onceling wrote: »

As a buyer, I don't always leave feedback. Especially if I'm away on business and when I get back I've forgotten, or if I'm kinda peeved that the seller made a profit on shipping or something (which I won't know till I receive the box).

Silly goose, ebay sellers deserve to make something for their time for packaging and shipping your item. You thought the price, all things considered, was good enough to buy the item, right?

EggyToast

I get money from Paypal immediately, but I've had an account for over a decade. The only time I have to wait is when a buyer uses an e-check, but Paypal tells them it takes time to clear so the onus is definitely more on the buyer.

In my case, I keep good communication up with the buyer. When I get the paypal note, I reply to that email, deleting most of the text but keeping the item and the address, and say "Just letting you know I received your payment, and will ship out on [day]." Sort of like a receipt.

I then leave my positive feedback usually a day or two later. When I leave positive feedback it tends to remind the other end to do it as well.

As for the "paypal holds my money" aspect, I have received an email from a seller who was simply upfront about it. "Hi, just letting you know that I shipped off your item today. I packed it without the battery installed, you'll see why when it arrives. Oh, and if everything is as you expect, could you leave feedback on eBay when it arrives? Paypal holds the money for this until after you leave feedback, and for obvious reasons I'd like to transfer that into my bank account since I'm not a business. Thanks!"

Anyway, I've found that most people are very nice on eBay if you use some semi-folksy professional courtesy.

Delzhand

onceling wrote: »

The money isn't going to stay on hold forever. They tell you how long it is. Usually around 10 days or so, check your messages and info from them.

As a buyer, I don't always leave feedback. Especially if I'm away on business and when I get back I've forgotten, or if I'm kinda peeved that the seller made a profit on shipping or something (which I won't know till I receive the box).

I always have a $2 handling fee on my auctions. I never know if I'll have a box or tape handy, and the post office is out of my way. Some people think it's a dick move, and they're free to bid $2 less than they would otherwise, or not at all. I don't think it's unreasonable. But if someone gives me negative feedback because of it, eff them and the horse they rode in on.

onceling

Delzhand wrote: »

I always have a $2 handling fee on my auctions. I never know if I'll have a box or tape handy, and the post office is out of my way. Some people think it's a dick move, and they're free to bid $2 less than they would otherwise, or not at all. I don't think it's unreasonable. But if someone gives me negative feedback because of it, eff them and the horse they rode in on.

Oh $2 would not even get a second glance from me. I live in Canada and my last win charged me $36 to ship something. Postage when it arrived? $4.25. Yep.

Plus I never said negative.... I said I didn't leave any fb.

Delzhand

Oh - in that case, that is some shit.

Bionic Monkey

urahonky wrote: »

I don't think that's true. I've sold stuff within the past 4 months, received the money, and still haven't got my feedback. I could be wrong, however.

They hold the money for, 3 weeks I think, or until you receive positive feedback, unless you have over 100 positive feedbacks in your score.

I recently ran into this too, and was more than a little annoyed at having to wait for the money. Just drop them a line letting them know you're aware the item was delivered. Make sure everything is acceptable, and mention that positive feedback soon would be appreciated because of paypal's new policy.

Edit: Yeah, shipping charges are ridiculous. I'll usually estimate since I want to put the charge up front, and apparently I'm pretty good at it, since I'll usually come out a few dollars ahead as often as I'll come out a few dollars down. Though ebay is again, really screwing the average seller here. I recently sold my complete Buffy collection (upgraded to the new slim cases), and ebay wouldn't let me charge more than $3 for shipping, full stop, because it was a DVD. They had no way to account for seven full-season DVD collections.

EggyToast

Yes they do, you use the "charge actual shipping fees" option. You give them the weight of the package and the shipping method, and then the shipping is based on the buyer's zip code.

Beltaine

I've started to just offer free shipping and bump my buyouts/minimums/reserves accordingly.

There's something subconscious about free shipping that will sway buyers, even if the listing is a little higher.

Also, USPS's flat rate boxes are the shit!

urahonky

Beltaine wrote: »

I've started to just offer free shipping and bump my buyouts/minimums/reserves accordingly.

There's something subconscious about free shipping that will sway buyers, even if the listing is a little higher.

Also, USPS's flat rate boxes are the shit!

This man speaks the truth.

EggyToast

Buyers almost always incorporate the shipping price into their bidding patterns, so it's not like it's something that people can sneak by. The listing that charges $20 shipping will typically go for $15 less than the one offering $5 shipping.

A lot of sellers prefer that, though, because eBay only charges fees on the ending auction price, not the total. Selling a $10 item for $1 with $9 shipping gives them more revenue. That's also why eBay is reining in shipping fees in certain categories, so they get their cut ;D

Delzhand

As a side note, I really dislike how eBay has gotten big enough that they're comfortable fucking over the seller base in favor of the buyer base. I worked for an eBay store back when sellers were allowed to leave negative feedback, and it is sometimes the only leverage you have (to get a customer to work with you to resolve the issue) when a customer who simply did not read the listing leaves you a negative.

To me, "Buyer did not read listing, we do not ship internationally" is exactly the kind of feedback that is useful to a seller. On the other hand, sellers check bidder feedback far less than buyers check seller feedback, so maybe it's a wash.

Professor Snugglesworth

Slightly on topic, but maybe you guys can help me with an Ebay-related issue.

I've had several occasions where I'd sell something, and the seller ends up being this no star asshole who bids on my item, doesn't send payment or answer any e-mails, ultimately forcing me to make an unpaid case that refunds my listing fees but also delays sales for a week.

I don't know why the fuck people think it's hilarious to bid an something and never pay for it, since it puts a negative strike on them, but how do I filter out my future sales so that only people with a decent buyer history are allowed to bid on my items?

urahonky

I think there's a way to keep people with less than a certain rating from buying from you, but you have to remember that everyone starts somewhere.

Professor Snugglesworth

Well it's happened at least four times so far, so I'm thinking a filter might be necessary.

If I could filter it so that they bought at least one or two things, that would be fine for me.

Delzhand

Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements > Block Buyers Who (edit)

There are a whole bunch of options there. You can't block 0 feedback users, though.

Shark_MegaByte

This is another reason to always use delivery confirmation (or the equivalent). PayPal has a form where you can enter the tracking # for your shipped ebay item, and they release the money when your # shows as "Delivered."