Dealing with snotty eBay members
How to deal with snotty eBay customers
Greetings everyone, I hope you all survived the mini-UK heatwave. It looks like we are back to normal today so at least it gives me a chance to write this weeks newsletter for you! This weeks newsletter may turn into a “mini-rant” so please accept my apologies if it does!
This week I will be looking at how to deal with snotty eBay members. This all stems from an email I received earlier this week, I have dealt with snotty customers before but this one really got on my wick!
I`m sure you have all come across the problem with ebay/paypal and making payments to international sellers. When you try to pay using eBay`s checkout you will get a message saying:
“This transaction has been cancelled”
Usually eBay members are good enough to contact me about the problem, I then reply telling them the problem is with eBay and that you need to send payment manually to my paypal email address. This works fine for 99% of all cases but earlier this week I received this:
“Hi
You have a problem with your paypal account. I find this totally unsatisfactory and you should cancel the transaction immediately or I will report you too eBay and paypal.”
/ / / – – / / /
I have just released the first ever screenshot of Auction SOS. You can view it here:
https://elpassoblog.com/auction-sos-spy-screenshot-1
Remember if you aren`t on the Auction SOS launch list yet you will need to get your skates on! – www.auctionsos.com
/ / / – – / / /
I managed to bite my tongue with this eBay buyer and just sent the usual reply explaining what the problem was. They didn`t reply to the email and haven`t paid for the item, but that got me thinking why are people so snotty?
I don`t just sell on eBay, I am also a regular buyer. I often have problems with transactions so I email the buyer. NOT ONCE in my 5 years of trading on eBay have I ever sent a snotty email and I never will. Can somebody tell me what sending a snotty email achieves other than getting yourself added to my blocked buyers list?
I will be interested to hear how the rest of you handle snotty emails from eBay customers, do you find that a nice polite reply is the best way to go or do you let rip! I always use the polite reply technique but sometimes it`s very tempting to tell them exactly what you really think.
Likewise if you are one of those people that sends snotty emails please leave a comment and let us know what sort of results you get?
Personally I am much more likely to help a person if they send a nice polite email, if I receive a snotty email I will answer the question but I wouldn`t go out of my way to help the person, what do you think, should we make a stand against the snotty email senders? – feel free to leave a comment!
Thanks for reading, sorry it wasn`t as long as usual but I have just been recorded for Bold Business Talk radio so I haven`t had much free time on my hands!
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Hi, Dan. Any chance of letting us know the URL of where we can have a listen to your radio broadcast. It’s nice to put a voice to the writer! LOL!
Hi Dan,
You have to be a little careful with emails like these as I had a very similar one sent through to me.
The email looked like a genuine ebay email and was apparently from an ebayer that I had no dealings with and turned out to be a piece of spam.
I can only guess that they where probably trying to get me to log into ebay through the link in their email so they can capture my username and password.
Hi Donna,
If I don`t sound like too much of a fool I will post the link on here 😉
@ Mark, thats a very good point. The email I received was 100% genuine as it showed up in my Ebay Messages, but I know exactly what you mean about the spoofs. You have to be on your guard 24/7!
Hi dan,
I have one customer similiar (maybe the same one) as you. It turned out she did not know how to use paypal or was just sloppy in using it. I firmly corrected her and then gave her the option fo proceeding with the sale or canceling within 24 hours. She never replied even though I sent two emails 12 hours apart. My last email was a cancellation for non payment. Dan
P.S. As stated above, no one should ever log into Paypal using anyone elses link. I will even close my browser and then reopen it before going to paypal when I receive any email mentioning problems with paypal. I made the mistake once and it cost me a lost of $300 before I realized what was going and could change my login info.
Hi Dan and others
Every so often I get rude emails from ebayers, who say they didnt get a link, have i posted the ebook(???) yet, etc etc ETC bloody ETC, generally they get an nice reply but never send one back.
These people know you have worked hard to maintain your feedback, so they know they already have the upper hand so to speak.
One of the most annoying things is people buying ebooks for say 99p, not paying but leaving feedback, they seem to think you only list for the feedback which is nuts!
There will always be grumpy ebayers, but i guess so long as you want to keep your feedback in good standing, you will just have to turn the other cheek! 🙂
Hello 🙂
I did a lot of buying on Ebay before I began to sell. I don’t recall once ever where I was snotty or impolite with my seller. Coincidently, if I did email my sellers with questions or concerns; I always received a polite response. Not all my transactions went perfectly smoothly, but I always felt that I had a MUCH better chance to resolve any issues by staying nice and polite than by chewing up the seller. And in the end, it has always shown to be the best way to handle myself on Ebay.
As a seller, yes I do perfectly remember a couple of snotty people who bought from me….they sounded exactly like the one you have delt with recently (don’t they all sound the same? lol) As hard as it is, I just bite my lips to keep my mouth shut and focuse on my fingers NOT to type something nasty right back….I always stay polite, calm and treat the other person with the same respect I would like for them to give me, even if they don’t…..it is also a sort of “satisfaction” to leave their nasty message in the reply box; I always hope that they will re-read themselves at the same time and realise their unfair attitude.
But regardless of it, snotty people earn a golden place on my Blocked Bidder List…and I hate to admit it, but I do take the time to put a snotty look on my face when I add them to it 🙂 🙂
Kathleen
Hi Dan,
I am a seller as well as a buyer. I have had snotty emails from both sides of the fence. There are just some people that are not happy about anything. I decided long ago I am not going to let one whacko ruin my day or my business.
I reply in a very positive way and let them go on their merry way.
I don’t have time to entertain the snotty attitude. I am on eBay to make money period. Not to engage in a verbal battle.
A few years ago (when I first started on eBay) a woman bought a brand new dress from me that was well documented on the sales page. After she received it she said “That she didn’t like it.” She left me a negative feedback the only one I have out of 300 feedbacks. She wrote me a really nasty email but I responded in love. P.S. She left 3 more negatives that day for other sellers.
Just stay cool and let it pass.
Thanks Bob
I have been buying and selling one Ebay for a few years now, although only recently offering Paypal as a payment option.
I have had numerous customers not able to pay via Ebay and I couldn’t understand what was going on. I’m so glad to know it wasn’t just me! I haven’t had any snotty emails about the problems though. Any emails I receive I have always replied giving clear instructions on how to pay without going via Ebay. Even if I don’t receive a personal email after that, many have added a nice comment in the comments section of the payment, or left nice comments in feedback referring to the help received.
I did have a problem with one ebayer a few months ago who kept asking (demanding) that I leave feedback for him as he had left feedback for me. Only problem was, he had not paid for the item. He just needed 10 feedback to be able to sell under that user id and kept telling me that in his emails! I stuck to my guns on that one and refused until the item was paid for. It took an unpaid item dispute and a negative feedback before he did finally pay – first time I have ever left a negative for a buyer!
I am a buyer and seller on Ebay. I am not a big seller and had kept up a 100% positive rating until one buyer informed me two weeks after purchase that he had not received an ebook that he bought using Paypal. All my ebook sales are dealt with by MyDD with no problems and I have received confirmation of sending. I then tried numerous times to contact the buyer all with links, including a freebie, to the product that they had purchased. I heard nothing for a for a couple of weeks when I just happened to login and noticed a negative feedback. I tried again to contact this buyer but still got no reply so I felt obliged to leave a negative for him in return. Didn’t like doing it but I am not going to accept a negative feedback from somebody who refuses to communicate. I think the feedback system sucks though as you are either god’s gift or something that someone just trod in. There is not enough room to give a full and correct feedback.
WOW, I just popped out for a couple of hours and found all of these comments. Thanks for taking the time to write back to me, I enjoy hearing your views!
Im glad I am not the only one that gets the ebay whackos!
@ John Lee, I like your domain name!
@ Sarah, I actually sell a 1p test delivery item for the EW Portal script. I get loads of FB seekers buying that and then bugging me for FB. My system only leaves FB when the item is paid for, they are a real pain in the backside!
@ Robert, are we in any way related 😉
Very good rule to remember = You can always get a lot more with Honey than you can with Vinegar.
I’ve got to say, I treat like with like. If people are genuine and feel they need to bring something to my attention, then I respond in kind.
However, if they are rude or arrogant, I respond in like.
I don’t see why anyone should have to put up with nastiness, either on the net or in the ‘real’ world. It’s inexcusable, and unless we take a stand, society will never change the negative path it is heading down.
Wolfie x
I’ve been a frequent buyer on Ebay for several years.
I’ve had a few rocky transactions, but never had a
snotty or rude response to my inquiries about lack
of download access, or whatever. Most of the sellers
concerned went out of their way to satisfy me and
even followed up a few days later to make sure I
was happy with their service.
Once I fell across a link for an ebook I wanted and
did the PayPal thing for the purchase and never got
the ebook. I emailed the ebook vendor and got a
surprising answer…they hadn’t even put their site
online yet and hadn’t advertised the ebook for sale
anywhere. They sent me the ebook and a free one
of my choice from a list. They were never paid for the
book I purchased, but filled my order anyway. That’s
pretty good customer service.
Pat Graham
Something else just as annoying as snotty ebayers:
sellers that do not answer their auction questions from potential buyers.
There have been several auctions in the last few weeks that I just cant get the seller(s) to answer very simple questions. I understand 1 missed email. I even told one seller that I think I’m going to start a web-site of non-answering sellers, still no reply….. hmmm, maybe i should. If you cant get them on feedback – try another route..
Ben,
I have to agree with you about the emails. Last week I sent a question to a seller about an item that I was interested in buying for my daughter but I still haven’t had a reply. Looking at the feedback comments it seems to be a common problem with this seller. They’ve missed out on a sale as I’ve now bought a similar item from someone else!
My main problem lately has been receiving questions on my listings but they are just spam emails from overseas sellers advertising their sites for wholesale supplies. I’ve been receiving 5-8 a day lately.
Any ideas on how to stop them?
@ Sarah – If another eBay member is spamming you with questions that are unrelated to your auction then you can report them to ebay. Be careful they aren`t spoofs either. I get a lot of “Ask seller a question” spoofs.
I get a lot of spoof emails as well but they usually come to my other email address and don’t show up in My Messages on Ebay. They use slightly different fonts to the genuine ebay messages and if I run my mouse over the links the web address is not ebay. I always delete them.
The latest ones this past week have been coming through Ebay messages and are showing up in my Ebay Ask Seller a Question emails. They are mostly from user id’s with 0 feedback, or at most 3 and the id is made up mainly of numbers instead of a name.
I know I’m posting this a little late, but I have to many e-mail addies and to many messages.
I’m an ebay buyer and seller and I have seen some of the dumbest people. I’ve had questions about my listings when the answer was in the listing itself. Rude people (buyers and sellers) are all around. I can’t stand the fact that I have given more feedback than what has been left for me. Seriously people, if you don’t like my service or product, let me know so I can recify it. And the feedback system, ya, it does suck. For the most part, I believe that once payment has been made by a buyer, they should receive positive feedback right away. After all, they’re obligation is over. I can’t stand seeing these listings that say “negative=negative”. And of course, the idiots that leave negative feedback in retaliation, I swear. I’ll admit, I have 100% score, than again, my feedback isn’t very high. But I have seen some negative on both sellers and buyers that shouldn’t be there. The system deffently needs to be revised.
Hi guys,
I’ve not yet had to deal with snotty emails from buyers, but when the time comes (and I’m sure it will), I simply remember that you can’t always choose your job, but you can always choose your attitude. I’m not going to let someone who is ticked off about something ruin my day.
I have a few simple rules and I make sure I follow them.
1. Take care of business. I don’t care who it is or what they said, I will always remain business-like. No biting their head off, no name-calling, just take care of business. Don’t be snotty in return, be business-like. They may be used to bullying other sellers, and many sellers fall for it, but they’ll find out fast it won’t work on me.
2. Kill them with kindness. An eye for an eye gets you nothing buy negative feedback and kills your ebay business. If I get a negative,
I’m going to take care of business and dispute it. Immeadiately. Chances are very good I didn’t deserve it. But I’m also not going to go out of my way to leave a negative for someone else unless they really deserve it. And even then, I’d think twice before sending it.
Leaving someone a negative will only increase the chance of them doing the same in return out of spite. That’s one fault of the feedback system.
3. Do whatever it takes to make the customer happy, within reason.
You can’t please everyone all the time. But being in business means you have to do what you can, within reason, to satisfy your customer.
Follow rule #1 and #2, but always remember rule #1 above all. I never forget why I am in business: to make a profit. I very seldom will please a customer if it’s going to cost me money to do so, but there is an exception:
I have been a vendor at flea markets and swap meets for 11 years, every weekend. I deal in face to face sales.
I will go out of my way to please a long-time customer even if I don’t make a profit, even if it actually costs me a little money, because I know I will make a lot more money from them over the next few months if I keep them coming back. Repeat customers are very valuable to me.
If someone has purchased many times from me on ebay and we’ve had a disagreement, once it is straightened out I will even go so far as to send them a free gift along with a note simply thanking them for their business. (And not a piece of cheap junk, either.) If they keep that chip on their shoulder, fine. But good will goes a long way toward smoothing over the rough spots, helping to create a repeat buyer and putting more money in my pocket later.
Another important thing to remember: many people cannot accurately convey their feelings through writing.
Since I deal in face-to-face sales, I hear the way someone says something, see their facial expressions and know exactly what they mean.
It is all too easy to read what someone wrote in an email and get the wrong idea. You may think they are trying to anger you when that was not their intention. They may write something in jest only to have it taken the wrong way, creating bad feelings without even knowing it. Some people use the F word all the time when they are talking with their friends and they don’t mean anything by it when they add it to their emails. They aren’t thinking. They are just writing the way they talk.
Try not to ‘fly off the handle’ when you read an email that seems to be quite rude to you. Ask yourself if that is what the writer intended to convey before you do something to escalate a situation that did not exist.
I have followed those rules and have prospered. By always taking care of business first, you give the impression that you will not put up with their baloney, and they will think twice before trying it.
I hope this has been helpful to everyone. Good luck!
Allen