@digital*ghost wrote:
@englishrosegardens wrote:
If I get a note saying to contact a seller if there are any problems it always makes me wonder whether they expect there to be problems and I'm not as comfortable as I would have been if they hadn't said it. I have confidence in my products and I don't expect problems so I don't like to create that sort of expectation with my buyers. There are probably some products that it might be appropriate to say it, but generally I'd expect things to be checked before I buy them.
In the same way I'm always wary of sellers who make a point of saying in their descriptions saying problems can always be sorted - makes me wonder whether they just list as quickly as possible and sort problems later (if buyers bother asking). I've been watching one seller who's got mistakes galore in her listings and she repeats the bit about sorting things amicably two or three times - she'd be better spending her time checking things properly before she lists them than sorting problems afterward. I run a mile when I see this sort of comment, same as I run a mile when people say "I list to the best of my ability". I even saw one the other day that said they list as well as their failing eyesight allows.
Do you feel the same way about eBay and PayPal's protection policies? (As in, because eBay plastered the MBG advertising on every page, do you feel like that's undermining their sellers and putting the expectation of problematic transactions on the table before people even start browsing - genuine question, because I personally would prefer eBay highlighted / drew attention to more positive things first).
But... in all reality, and the seller with error-filled listings that you mention aside, most of those kinds of statements on listings, or on invoices, notes etc, are usually intended to inspire confidence, and/or work as defence mechanisms, not lazy failsafes.
By defence mechanism, I mean for every seller who just wants their buyers to know they'll sort out something if an issue occurs, there's at least one who's had a no-contact neg or neut and doesn't know what else to do to get people to at least notify them of a problem so that something can be done about it. For every seller who does get a message from a buyer who notifies them of a problem, but is understanding and/or forgiving about it, there's at least one other seller who gets a message that's all guns blazing and assumes whatever issue occurred was intentional or at least all the seller's fault. It's undertsandable for people to start wondering what the best way is to try and counter that kind of behaviour.
And really, what other options are there, other than to say nothing at all? Lots of businesses have money-back guarantees that cover all of the same kinds of consumer complaints that occur on ebay, but perhaps it's just how they word and/or present it that stops people from assuming the worst when the see it. eg Coles have something like "we're not happy unless you're happy", and offer unconditional money back guarantees, but I certainly don't avoid them because of that, so I wouldn't avoid a seller on ebay who tries to make it clear they'll listen to me if there's a problem. 😉
Don't worry, I hear what you say! This applies to mbselections as well. Sometimes one little word can change the way it comes across, as to whether it inspires confidence or sound plain accusatory! A lot of sellers have one line about fixing mistakes in the description, which doesn't necessarily come across as helpful, or they have a couple of paragraphs explaining everything, which can sound defensive or like they're accusing everyone of being a nightmare customer.
As far as sending notes is concerned, I prefer to say what I have to in my listings so that they feel comfortable before they buy from me rather than sending a note afterwards. This is why I think mbselections' note in the descriptions is done very well. I just don't feel it's necessary in a lot of cases because feedback will often speak for itself (depending on the product). I also feel that emailing each and every buyer to say I've sent their item (as well as clicking on Sent) would make them feel I'm more approachable in the event they weren't happy.
If I was going to put something in a note I'd be more likely to say something along the lines of "If you're not happy, tell me; if you are happy, tell others", but I don't because it's designed more as a slogan for a b&m than it is for online selling. At the small business course where I heard this 20+ years ago they told us that for every person who tells their friends about a store or business they were pleased with, 13 will tell their friends about a business they weren't happy with. On that basis, we're lucky to get any positive feedback at all!
I'm not sure how I feel about their blatant advertising of the mbg policy, except to say that it's going to make bad buyers worse and it'll probably have no effect at all on the others. I don't know that they're making it sound like there'll be problems before you get started because any newbies that see it won't realise just how bad some sellers can be. Anyone who's been around for a while will already know what to expect and doesn't need ebay's advertising to tell them.
I can understand why a lot of buyers leave bad feedback before contacting a seller. I've done it myself on occasions where I feel that a seller was so blatant about sending me dodgy goods that I felt it was a waste of time saying anything. I've always found it interesting that a lot of sellers think they're entitled to a second chance, but the poor buyers never get a second chance when making a decision as to whether to buy from them. I had an argument with a seller once who listed Hush Puppy shoes but sent me Homy Peds, simply because she hadn't looked at the shoes properly - and she expected me to pay return postage for her mistake. Her description was woefully inaccurate as well (rusty buckle, worn heels, scuffed toes, all supposed to be "as new") so I didn't trust her to reimburse me once I'd sent them back, and she got upset about my lack of trustt. I'd been done once so why would I trust her again and outlay even more money? There were no protections at all in those days. Ebay is full of sellers like this and I can fully understand why people get tired of having to argue to get what they paid for and eventually give up and just give negs. As always, the bad ones make it hard for the good ones - both sellers and buyers.
I also feel that feedback was originally designed to warn others what to expect, and it should still be used for that. If a buyer knew they were going to have to spend a couple of hours of messing around over a $5 purchase to get what they paid for, most wouldn't buy, and the only way they'll ever know is through feedback. A while back I bought some brand new sewing needles - clear pictures showing brand new packets with brand new needles, but two out of the three needles I received were rusty and it was quite obvious to me as soon as I opened the envelope. The packet was covered in brown age spots and was nothing like the picture in the listing. She claimed they were new stock, but they looked ancient. She saw my neg and offered me more, but the next lot were even worse. She contacted me after that to see whether I was happy but I couldn't see any point in wasting any more time communicating with her because everything I'd already said had fallen on deaf ears. Yes, I got my three that I originally paid for but I had to do a lot of messing around to get it and I would never have bought from her had I known what to expect.
All this messing around is why I've started my own website and will push it as much as I can. No matter what you do here you can't win. It seems like people don't want to read descriptions and know what they're getting, but then they blame you if it turns out different to what they expected. I've spent hours wording my terms and descriptions with the help of a friend but we both know that everyone who reads it will interpret it differently anyway, so is it worth the bother? Thankfully I sell products that don't attract scammers and I have very few problem buyers, but how long that'll last is anyone's guess. Ebay breeds mistrust in the way they go about things, and part of that is probably because they've gone all out to discourage communication, even a simple please or thank you. If you don't communicate you can get an automatic 5 stars but if you do communicate you can end up penalised for it. That doesn't make sense to me!
@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
Side note: Having bought from Digi I can say that she is one of the most helpful, lovely people here not just on the boards but as a seller 🙂
(The cheque is in the mail 😄 )
Although I use my buying ID to post, I don't actually mind if (most) people know my selling ID - it's mostly the lurkers and unpredictable fly-by-ers that keep me from using my selling ID to post. (That's not to say I'm openly inviting all and sundry to ask, but there aren't many people, that regularly post, who I'd refuse to tell 
😛 ).
