Did I do the right thing?

forgotmyname

alykatz wrote: »

Op did say in their initial post that everything is made to order.

Made to order yes, but didnt mention being customised to the buyers prefs etc.

I can sell you a custom made to order item and ship it within a couple of days, if you want it to a specific size or finished then it will take longer.

Especially as my machine is down awaiting a part.

Carer

As expected I got my first Neg.

This was what he said "No acknowledgement you took payment. No item shipped. No offer of recompense."

And my reply:
"Ship date not passed but buyer insisting on compensation, so we cancelled order."

I've also reported him for unfair feedback but I won't hold my breath.

Still have no idea what he means about the payment. Every time I buy from Ebay I get a whole host of emails from Ebay and Paypal saying what I bought and when.

I'd much rather not sell on Ebay at all, we actually only use it as a means of advertising. Everything we make is to order and to the customers specification so Ebay sales are not really important (or very frequent) as most customers see it on Ebay and then come to our website to order.

I know the 10 day dispatch is an issue but that's just how long it takes if we're busy, not much I can do about that. What we make is very specialised and not available anywhere else in the world.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sorry to hear about the feedback, I don't think eBay will remove as you cancelled the sale but to be honest feedback doesn't make much difference these days.

Be sure to block the buyer:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

campdave

Carer wrote: »

Still have no idea what he means about the payment.

You're in the right.

However, that does not defend you against the legion of ebay buyers who buy an item, don't look at the delivery date and expect it to pop through the letterbox the next day.

You could protect yourself from this happening in the future by sending a message once payment is receiving reinforcing your turnaround time (be specific - it's either 10 days or it's not, you buyer doesn't know when you're bust and it's not their problem) and what date their order will be shipped by.

I have no idea in what volume you sell to say what workload that will add, but ensures you and your buyer are singing from the same hymn sheet.

You have little to no hope of having the feedback removed as any rep will see that you cancelled the order in a fit of pique, no matter how much your buyer prodded you. Understandable, but unprofessional.

Flyonthewall

Carer wrote: »

As expected I got my first Neg.

This was what he said "No acknowledgement you took payment. No item shipped. No offer of recompense."

And my reply:
"Ship date not passed but buyer insisting on compensation, so we cancelled order."

I've also reported him for unfair feedback but I won't hold my breath.

Still have no idea what he means about the payment. Every time I buy from Ebay I get a whole host of emails from Ebay and Paypal saying what I bought and when.

It's not about emails from Paypal or ebay. He knows he paid, he thinks you don't seem to realise as you didn't ship the item and, I'd guess, didn't send any message yourself about how you were making it to order and the time it would take. You personally did nothing to acknowledge the payment in his opinion as he'd been waiting days and days after paying without a word or dispatch notice from you.

He obviously paid and expected you to send it far sooner. He's not bothered about the shipment dates, he obviously doesn't feel it should take that long and waiting until the end of the shipment date to send isn't acceptable to him.

Due to that he feels lied to/messed around/annoyed at the wait/you were rude and that he deserves compensation for it.

He should have known - perhaps he does and was hopeful of a discount - but that is what he saying.

I'd much rather not sell on Ebay at all, we actually only use it as a means of advertising. Everything we make is to order and to the customers specification so Ebay sales are not really important (or very frequent) as most customers see it on Ebay and then come to our website to order.

I know the 10 day dispatch is an issue but that's just how long it takes if we're busy, not much I can do about that. What we make is very specialised and not available anywhere else in the world.

Is it not possible to partially make things and then finish them off to the customers specifications or make certain parts ready? Is there nothing that's commonly ordered that you could pre-make in order to get items sent out sooner? If it's say personalised could you not do a blank item or put something general on it and sell that on ebay as a way to advertise rather than the custom product as then you wouldn't have the wait time?

Ting-Tang

I reckon you absolutely did the right thing. Your buyer was too thick to read or understand a simple description and somehow thinks it's your fault.

TKPeters

Buyer could have purchased on mobile, where the description is not easily found.

As long as your actual despatch time is set to 10 days, call eBay CS & see if its removable, as the despatch time had not passed.

paulc333

campdave wrote: »

You could protect yourself from this happening in the future by sending a message once payment is receiving reinforcing your turnaround time (be specific - it's either 10 days or it's not, you buyer doesn't know when you're bust and it's not their problem) and what date their order will be shipped by.

.

agree fully with this.

A message after purchase thanking them for their order and reinforcing the despatch time would be as your current buyer said "acknowleging the order"

RFW

It's all pretty much been said, but always assume people don't read descriptions no matter what you put in. I think If I was selling a product with a ten day lead time I'd be inclined to phone after payment is received and let them know with an estimated arrival time, probably add a couple of days so they're pleased they get it earlier. Once phoned I'd confirm with an email. I'd usually say just email but there's always a chance they don't receive that. A text message may also be a good idea as an alternative to calling.

As Etsy is a lot of custom made people will probably expect it, Ebay they expect to receive in 5 days at the most. Pretty much no one reads the despatch times until they think the item is late.

usefulmale

The only thing I would have done different is cancel and refund when he said he had bought replacements elsewhere.