This is all very good advice. The more you communicate and are open
minded the better you are. Also a good idea on the discount if not
satisfied. I sold a table to a lady once and it seems to have had
shipping damage. It was so much easier to refund her some money than to
get it back.
If I ever run into a serious problem when selling......I just reverse
the sale and refund the money. I know I am selling good stuff and
representing it properly. I don't need the hassle if the buyer does not
agree.
Then every once in a while you run into the jerk. I sold a guy a lens
and he did not like it. It was actually my mistake and he went
ballistic. The guy was over seas before he even read my e-mail to
return the item he submitted a scathing negative review calling me a
crook. He sent me this long explanation later saying he was a lawyer
and and and........
Dick Lague
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of George Relles
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 10:26 AM
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] Re: Am I out of line? (Ebay politics)
Hi. I'm new to this group but have done a fair amount of Ebay
transactions,
mostly as a buyer. I think much of the advice has been good but I would
like to add my 2 cents.
Whether buying or selling, if a dispute arises, I follow these rules:
1. I communicate with the seller(s) and in my note to them, I assume the
very best of them. I assume that they didn't carefully inspect the
object,
or that someone goofed in the shipment or that they just goofed. In
other
words, rather than begin a war of words (which is what e-mail can too
easily result in) I am careful to leave the person a way out...rather
than
back him or her into a corner.
2. I offer several clear alternatives to resolve the issue. These
usually
involve offering a choice of undoing the transaction, putting everyone
back
at the starting point. And usually I also offer another solution, such
as
changing the price to reflect the mistake. For example, once I sent a
lens
to Japan only to have the buyer object to finding mold in the lens. I
had
inspected the lens for everything BUT not for mold. So I assumed the
error
was mine, assumed the person was truthful, and refunded enough of the
purchase price so that the buyer could have the mold cleaned. He was
happy
and so was I.
Similarly, when I bought a digital camera the seller claimed to be in
"perfect" condition, it arrived with a somewhat scratched LCD screen. I
asked the buyer to rescind the transaction. But I also offered to move
ahead if he would refund me $25 for his error. He did and again, further
hassles were avoided.
3. I never threaten a negative rating. Instead, I make it clear that if
we
can resolve this amicably, we can give each other a positive ebay rating
when all is done to everyone's satisfaction.
4. If the dispute is prolonged, I try to talk to the person on the
phone,
which allows for a better exchange of ideas and nuance that email
doesn't
afford us.
5. In all communications I am firm but very polite and as clear as
possible.
So far, with over 100 Ebay transactions, I have kept my 100% rating.
More
importantly, I have made some mistakes myself and gone out of my way to
rectify them to try to keep the "integrity" of interpersonal commerce
using
the Internet.
I hope others find my comments helpful and forgive me, please, if they
are
a bit Pollyana-ish.
Best wishes to all.
At 12:45 PM 12/29/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Thanks to everyone for their advice. I've told this guy over and over
that I
>would have to hold the lens until my bank said the payment was final,
but I
>guess I just needed to tell him one more time. The feedback situation
will
>be interesting, and I'll surely reciprocate any sentiments he
expresses. It
>would be a sad that I'd get negative feedback for sending a damn fine
lens
>immediately after his payment clears, but in my experience there are
just
>some people that are hard to please, period.
>
>I was thinking about throwing some assorted OM swag into the box as a
"thank
>you" for his patience and cooperation (his previous emails expressed an
>understanding of my situation), but now I'm not all that interested in
going
>out of my way to please anyone. Guess the holidays bring out the best
in all
>of us ;)
>
>-mike
>
>
>On 12/29/04 10:13 AM, "Timpe, Jim" <Jim.Timpe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Hold your ground Michael. The purchaser erred in the first place by
his
> > choice of method of payment. Don't know if I'd counter-threaten
him, but
> > I'd certainly carefully explain the reality of the situation to the
person
> > once more, that you're not obligated nor willing to part with your
> > merchandise until you've got bona fide cash in hand, and that it was
his
> > payment method that's got that hosed up and on hold.
>
>
>
>==============================================
>List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
>List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
>==============================================
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|