Why can't sellers communicate properly?

Moglex

Why is it that most sellers are too idle to send out a "item dispatched" email. It wouldn't take them 15 seconds and could save them and their buyers grief.

I bid and won something about three weeks back. I wasn't in any hurry for it but after a couple of weeks I thought I'd better let the seller know it hadn't arrived.

He emailed back saying he hadn't received my cheque.

I immediately (5 minutes later) replied that I'd paid by pp and sent copies of my receipt and "payment details" screen from ebay itself.

This was Thursday, and he still hasn't replied. I've done business with him before without problem (although he doesn'ts seem to bother to leave feedback) and I've no reason to believe that this is anything other than a genuine mistake.

The point is, though, why can't sellers communicate?

In this digital age it's so easy.

Had I been wanting the item urgently the delay whilst I waited for it, assuming it had been sent, would have been completely avoidable if only seller had the courtesy to email on despatch.

I know ebay make matters worse by actually telling people that the seller will probably not inform them of despatch, but given the boost the the perceived professionalism of a seller when they send out despatch notifications, you'd think they'd be falling over themselves to do it.

Plus, proper communication could well save them from the odd neg from a trigger happy newbie who is miffed at the non arrival of something that could have been sorted out had they known if and when it was despatched.

rose_sparky

There's absolutely no excuse not to communicate when ebay has ready made templates to use.

I find buyers really like being kept up to date and usually show their appreciation in their feedback.

mrsb_5

I always let buyers know when something is posted - usually by replying to the paypal receipt that gets sent to me as it is fr their email address, with people who send cheques or po's I always let them know when they have arrived and when the item is posted. You're right, there is no excuse for not communicating, it takes all of about 15 seconds to reply to an email

Hintza

With my sellers hat on, i found this one of the cheapest and most effective ways of keeping buyers on side. I get losts of positive feedback commenting on my "nice" e-mails and packing slips. Ans in most cases probably result in repeat orders on items most people will only buy once.

It also has a hugely beneficial effect when things go pear shaped, buyers are much more understanding as long as you communicate with them effectively.

mom23

I have just come back from PO and have just emailed all buyers to let them know parcel now in post.
I always do this straight away and it takes very little time to do!
Having said that i can count on one hand how many times i've been informed that parcel is in post!!!

grandslamgirl

I use the automated eBay service and find that alot of the time the supposed automatic item dispatched email does not arrive in the buyer's inbox at all.
As a buyer I fully understand how frustrating it is to not be kept in the loop but it is blinkin annoying as a seller to get grief when eBat fail to live up to their side of the bargain.

Moglex

It's really nice to see that sellers here have such a professional attitude to communications.

Good on y'se all!

black-saturn

I have my "congratulations I have posted your item" email saved as a word document. Then all I have to do is copy and paste. All of my buyers get a "thankyou for your payment" email and an "I have posted it" email. Your right it only takes a couple of seconds.

Dead_Eye_Jones

surely you get what you pay for, ebay is full of people trying to offload junk for a quick buck, they are hardly professional business people, Im sure there are some people out there who do things well, but as the original poster highlights, many are quite frankly rubbish. I think this is quite simply a risk of using ebay and expectations should be pitched suitably low. Id personally never hand over money I couldnt afford to lose through that website.

If you want that kind of service its prob best going to a 'proper' online shop where you can track your order at every stage. You may end up paying more, but as I said, you get what you pay for...

Moglex

Dead_Eye_Jones wrote:

If you want that kind of service its prob best going to a 'proper' online shop where you can track your order at every stage. You may end up paying more, but as I said, you get what you pay for...

The words 'baby' and 'bathwater' come to mind.

As you can see from the responses of sellers here, there are plenty of professional sellers on ebay.

What's irksome is that there are a lot of sellers who seem quite professional in other ways but let themselves down on the communications front.

soolin

Dead_Eye_Jones wrote:

surely you get what you pay for, ebay is full of people trying to offload junk for a quick buck, they are hardly professional business people, Im sure there are some people out there who do things well, but as the original poster highlights, many are quite frankly rubbish. I think this is quite simply a risk of using ebay and expectations should be pitched suitably low. Id personally never hand over money I couldnt afford to lose through that website.

If you want that kind of service its prob best going to a 'proper' online shop where you can track your order at every stage. You may end up paying more, but as I said, you get what you pay for...

I really can't agree with this statement. Most of the time when buying on ebay I do get contact from the seller, in fact if I don't it tends to stand out a bit.

However in the past month I have bought three things online from real shops, one of those items bought 7 weeks ago and costing £300+, as yet I have had nothing from them except responses to my emails asking where my stuff is. Another shop turns out to be selling stuff they don't have so I have give them one more week to deliver my items before I cancel the sale, and yes they have taken payment already, 3 weeks ago.

Probably my experience leads me to believe that most ebay sellers are at least as good at contacting their buyers, if not better than some online shops. All my buyers get a note telling them when and how their item was shipped.

Soo