Advise needed for a business seller

PurpleKym

Hi

My OH and myself have recently set up a new business ebay account to run alongside our website.

We have only made a couple of sale since we set up and started listing which was just at the end of nov so we have low feedback but positive.

A buyer email us last sat night (after 9) and asked if he order an item when would it be delivered, to which I replied that I would need to check with the manufacturer on mon but if they could send on mon it would be delivered on the tue(new years eve) if not it wouldn't be delivered until the Friday. The buyer bought it and payed straight away.

I contacted the manufacturer on the Monday who advised due to the holidays nothing would be going out until the Thursday for delivery fri (yesterday) I ordered and advised the buyer of this.

This was the first thing the buyer was unhappy with as he needed it next day so he could fit it before going back to work on the Thursday so demanded I delivered it next day as agreed as he would have to cancel work and loss money otherwise. I didn't agree to this so apologised and offered to cancel the order and refund so he could try and get it next day from someone else. He refused and said it was too late to do this and would have to wait and lose money (it was before 10am so could have been done).

I advised the buyer is was dispatched on Thursday which was fine. He then emailed on Friday and asked for a time for delivery I said I couldn't give a time but I could give him a tracking number so he could check he refused I checked and told him it was out for delivery. He then contacted us at 5.20 and asked where it was as he had waited in and it still wasn't there again I apologised and advised that tracking states that it was delivered at 5.12pm and could he confirm that he had it. He emailed back and said the yes it was delivered at 6pm and he wasn't happy having to wait in, losing money ect so again I apologised.

I thought that would be the end of it and if we got neg feedback we would just have to deal with it but now he has emailed again and said that he has just opened the item and it has a big dent in it and could I give him an email address to send pictures!!! And asking what are we going to do about it. Have we just been very unlucky with this one buyer or do you think he's at it? We sell loads of these each month and have never had a problem and they are very well packaged OH thinks he may have dented it trying to fit it but we can't be sure.

Sorry for such a long post but any advise how to handle this or what to do next would be gratefully received

soolin

A couple of basic observations if I may. Firstly you cannot run an eBay business exactly the same as you run a private web sale page. As for despatch times, you would have needed to set that when you placed your listing , so what did you put? For a business the usual expected despatch is 1 working day.

Also, you are supposed to have the items in stock or declare that they a being drop shipped, and with buyers happy to start hitting stars for every day an item fails to arrive drop shipping is not a good way of keeping a good account in eBay. You are basically letting a third party have control over your stars.

As for the damage, as a business you need to have a plan for dealing with this. He should already have your email address, as well as your full geographic address , so no harm in letting him have details again. If he opens an eBay case you can insist the item is returned (and it is advisable to refund the costs of this return), or your business model may be to refund without return on just photographic proof. That ally spends on your business model and cost of item of course.

soolin

If you drop ship the majority of your goods then you really need to be watching your expanded seller dashboard :

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4260911

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin wrote: »

For a business the usual expected despatch is 1 working day.

Based on what?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP the buyer doesn't need your email address, they can either attach the photos to an eBay message by using the attach photos button (which is next to the send button) or they can open a case by sending a message under the header "item received wasn't as described" and can then attach photos to the case itself.

If the item is damaged you'll need to advise them to return it for a full refund including return postage. Unless you can prove the buyer damaged the item there's nothing you can do really even if they did.

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Based on what?

Based on the fact that sellers on here report that buyers expect it and hit stars if they feel they are waiting longer than a couple of days but by all means choose a longer despatch time but remember it is not always visible on a mobile device.

Worth remembering as well that business that have a longer that 1 day despatch time will not be able to achieve TRS and will already be losing out on Best Match.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin wrote: »

Worth remembering as well that business that have a longer that 1 day despatch time will not be able to achieve TRS and will already be losing out on Best Match.

I assume you mean you won't get the Premium Service badge, you'll still be TRS and get a boost in search and sales vs impressions still plays the large part. Equally some categories have fewer Premium service sellers and as such it might not make a difference anyway.

Expected dispatch times will vary by product, someone buying a white goods is less likely to expect it turn up 24 hours later in comparison to someone buying an off the shelf £5 widget.

There's 30 BIN cookers before you come to a Premium Service listing.

All depends what on OP sells really.

Back to their problem return for a refund is the answer, if it's a large item the OP should hopefully have something in place to allow for collections and maybe some kind of returns agreement with the manufacturer.

campdave

I tell people who absolutely must have the item the next day I can't help - they're almost always awkward and there is no margin for error on the courier/postal system, so any mistake they make ends up costing me.

Perhaps next time they'll be more organised and give themselves enough time to order and receive the item for when they need it.

Brooker_Dave

Offer 2-3 day shiping, and try to actually get stuff out same day, that way people are thrilled when it appears quickly, but you're not tied to getting it all there next day.

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Offer 2-3 day shiping, and try to actually get stuff out same day, that way people are thrilled when it appears quickly, but you're not tied to getting it all there next day.

That's almost good advice, as Soolin points out above it will affect searches and stop you ever getting TRS (top rated seller) status if you offer anything slower than one day dispatch.
One way round it is to offer second class post and send first, in several instances that is only 10p difference.

campdave

Dispatch time doesn't affect TRS but it will stop premium service being available on an item.