Selling your stuff on Amazon - Part 6- Advice for newbies in first post

redcar_2

Arghh Have just had a mail from someone I posted the book to on 12th Aug saying the book hasn't arrived. She also asked if I could remind her of the title as she had been ordering loads of books and didn't know which one I had sent (!) so I'm hoping that once she checks she will find she has had it. I included the packing list though...

I just wanted to ask what the usual procedure is here. I'm guessing I should refund to her but should I do this now (once she has confirmed she hasn't got it) or query with PO first?? I have a certificate of posting but not sure how to sort this out with the post office? The number on the bottom of this 08567 740 740 only seems to take me to options which don't seem relevant such as how to check a postcode? On the PO website it says to allow 15 working days for 2nd class to arrive. Any advice?

apprentice_tycoon

Hi redcar - what a nuisance! maybe you're right that she's got her books muddled up when she has a proper think about it all will be well, if not refund her payment then ask at the PO for a claim form for missing post, you'll need to COP and evidence of the amount that she paid you, you can hand it back over the counter....and wait.....

redcar_2

Thanks I'll wait for her to reply and confirm one way or another. I'm really glad I have the COP as I haven't been consistent doing this! Sounds like it can be a bit of a trial to get the money back from your ...'s ?

funkyfunkymonkey

redcar wrote:

Thanks I'll wait for her to reply and confirm one way or another. I'm really glad I have the COP as I haven't been consistent doing this! Sounds like it can be a bit of a trial to get the money back from your ...'s ?

Hi Redcar

I rarely get a COP, but I recently had a person ask for a refund for a book that was damaged during transit. I filled out the claim form on line, printed it out and then posted it off. I sent them a copy of the 'Sold Dispatch Now' email as that detailed how much the buyer paid and eventually RM sent me a cheque.

It would all have been very painless if it hadn't been for the first mistake in processing my claim. They said they couldn't pay out compensation as I didn't have Proof of Posting :rotfl:

I eventually got through on the rather useless phone number that you mentioned and the person I spoke to said it was an error on their part, obviously I didn't need POP because the buyer had the damaged item so it had clearly been posted and received.

I was lucky that my buyer was very understanding and patient waiting for the refund. They ended up with their money back plus the damaged book. I ended up with a cheque for the full amount that they had paid. Amazon lost their fees because I issued a full refund and RM lost out because they had to pay the compensation.

This is the link for 'lost/late' post http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/customerservices;jsessionid=MCHPTUUJSMSMUFB2IGEEPLQUHRAYUQ2K?catId=400144&pageId=cs_filter&csd=late&gear=authentication

This is the link for 'damaged' post http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/customerservices?catId=400144&pageId=cs_claimform&csd=damage

FFM

katchambers

Hi,

Had a good day postage wise, nearly all of my books cost less, but I had to make an adjustment, takes a bit longer but saved me a lot of money, see if it helps you:

I bought a pack of 25 C5 sized brown envelopes and 50 c4 sized, just plain thin envelopes without the padding for £1 from poundland, also has them in tesco, slightly more money tho. Then I bought a big batch of foam from ebay, see here if you don't know what I mean by foam:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&item=110020977655&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

The foam is only 1mm in thickness which is less than jiffy padding. It cost £4.90 iinc postage on ebay, could be less tho if look around for more, its 20 metres in length so will last a long time.

What I did was cut the foam into book sizes and then wrapped it round the book, only one layer thick otherwise will not fit in envelope. I then put in the thin envelope and voila it fit nicely through the 25mm slot, when I tried the same book in a jiffy envelope it did not fit. I managed a couple of normal sized paperbacks and even 2 textbooks!! My textbooks saved the most money as the price would have doubled if didn't go through slot.

I buy my postage online because my local postoffice is absolutely horrible so I feel no guilt about not giving them my business, plus it saves me time and I know I am paying the cheapest price - I don't trust them. She has no problem accepting my parcels tho when I take them in. I don't think they could really refuse to take them.

A question AT and others that were doing this last year...

What were your sales like over christmas? Was it alot more, like double the sales you make now, what were you selling more of? Just wondering what to expect and what I should stock up on ready for the xmas rush.

Thanks
Kat x

apprentice_tycoon

Hi Kat, I've just searched my trasactions for November to the 3 week in December and I sold 90 books in that time, but the thing is I can't remember how many books I had for sale then.

In October I had 300 ish because that was when I went Pro so that figure sticks in my mind, from going Pro I gradually built up my stock levels to the 900 it is today so I'm guessing that by Nov/ Dec I will have had around 450 items listed so 90 sold is OK but not extraordinary. The titles sold were mostly all 'personal' book purchases rather than gifts (I assume) so there was nothing different in what sold

January was dire though, the wailing that went on in the thread could be heard for miles.....

funkyfunkymonkey

Hi Kat and AT

I thought I'd have a look back and see what my sales were like for Dec and Jan. My sales bear no relation to numbers of books listed because I only started in August 2004 and by December 2004 did not have many listed (800 maximum I would guess). By December 2005 I would guess that I had 2,500 to 3,000 listed.

Dec 2004 I sold 149 books
Jan 2005 I sold 191 books

Dec 2005 I sold 115 books (probably 16 of these were gifts)
Jan 2006 I sold 127 books (probably 9 of these were gifts)

I don't know what the explanation behind the numbers of sales could be. Possibly with lower numbers of listings you can keep a better eye on prices - I tend to list books and never get around to repricing - too busy adding new books.

Also, maybe there are more books and sellers so the number of sales is spread a bit thinner.

But an interesting exercise none the less.

FFM

jordylass

I have been selling on Amazon for some time but only a few books that i have had or read, I picked up some books from a freecycler for reading and among them is a Dickens book printed in 1901, will this be sellable, I don't think I can on amamzon. Does anyone have any suggestions?

funkyfunkymonkey

jordylass wrote:

I have been selling on Amazon for some time but only a few books that i have had or read, I picked up some books from a freecycler for reading and among them is a Dickens book printed in 1901, will this be sellable, I don't think I can on amamzon. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi Michelle

First stop for me is always https://www.bookfinder.com

FFM

funkyfunkymonkey

Good news for users of the lick and stick type stamp, and other types of DIY stamping:

Taken from the PostWatch Website, under the section titled "Is there any provision for those adversely affected?"

For users of ordinary stamped mail Royal Mail will not penalise customers for genuine underpayment mistakes for an, as yet, unspecified period.

Full details can be found here: http://www.postwatch.org.uk/issues/CurrentIssues.asp?id=12

FFM