Buyer - Stop Blaming The Sellers!

[arnl7178]

Why is it that a buyer will buyer an item, make no contact whatsoever, and then get mad when a non-payment dispute is open?

Honestly, sometimes sellers just can't win.

I added information in my "terms" stating I won't write to buyers after 4 days of non payment because a buyer knows they need to pay and because eBay remind them so that's sufficient notice before a dispute is opened, YET I still do send a quick message telling a buyer if they need more time, just let me know. Communication is key!

If I hear nothing, a dispute is opened.

Once it's opened, they usually pay but are then mad at me. I got my first neutral for "slow postage" recently, because my buyer was annoyed about a dispute being opened and I've had several buyers before and since really mad about me opening a dispute.

Buyers, please just COMMUNICATE with us. We don't know you need more time. We don't know your intentions. We don't know anything if you don't tell us.

What's worse, these buyers who don't let us know what's going on, have no problem using the eBay message system to show their opinions of us once a dispute is opened.

It's infuriating!

[joz*garage]

itwas my understanding a buyer had 8 days to pay

its cut down to half that now - 4 days

theres talk sellers would like that halved as well, i mean lets face it, if combined postage isnt involved, how much time does one need to pay - either PP transaction or a bank transfer?

after a couple of days some buyers would tend to forget about their purchase

[arnl7178]

itwas my understanding a buyer had 8 days to pay

Technically they still do have 8 days, but after 4, a non payment dispute can be opened, and the buyer then has a further 4 days to pay before it's closed and they receive a strike.

[bsal6160]

How much time to do you need to pay? Well Jo, what if an item is won on a Thursday night at about 11:30pm and its a long weekend on the Monday. The buyer goes away for the long weekend straight after work on Friday. Doesn't get back on the computer till at least the following Tuesday night. There's five days for a simple one.

[arnl7178]

How much time to do you need to pay? Well Jo, what if an item is won on a Thursday night at about 11:30pm and its a long weekend on the Monday. The buyer goes away for the long weekend straight after work on Friday. Doesn't get back on the computer till at least the following Tuesday night. There's five days for a simple one.

Agreed. That can absolutely happen.

But, it would be wrong for that buyer to then be mad at a seller if they returned home to find a dispute had been opened.

Maybe a lot of buyers don't realise that if they pay after a dispute is open, they don't receive a strike. It's possible that's why they get so upset.

I'd love to hear the opinions of members who only buyer and don't see the selling side of things.

[peternt2001]

I agree bsal, even though i pay 99% of my purchases straight away, i can see where buyers arent sitting at their keyboards waiting for an auction to finish. And even the ones who are, i am guessing that some of them might buy an item on Monday on ebay knowing they will pay for it when they get paid on Thursday or Friday.

When i clicked on this thread , surrounding this title are so many saying selling has stopped and no one is buying, sales are down. I think in this economic climate, sellers would be bending over backwards for a dollar, just as my boss is in my real life job. 

I guess some sellers seem to have a knack and are still doing well, and others arent really concerned about sales or customers.

[arnl7178]

whom only buy* - that should have read

[arnl7178]

I guess some sellers seem to have a knack and are still doing well, and others arent really concerned about sales or customers.

That's just it. *I* actually do care about my customers. But what do I do when I don't hear from them? My thread isn't about how long it takes a customer to pay, it's about them getting angry when I have no choice but to open a dispute when they don't communicate with me.

I agree, there seems to be a lot of sellers who don't have very good customer service, and I believe they should have even when a buyer is being difficult, but in saying that, it isn't fair to be mad at a seller if they open a dispute if a buyer hasn't paid or contacted the seller within 4-5 days of buying/winning an item either.

[bsal6160]

Well as a buyer only on ebay  arnl, if the above scenario happened to me I would be MIGHTY peeved at the seller for not allowing for a long weekend. My life doesn't rotate around the sellers needs. I know I would not receive a strike BUT it would most definitely make me NOT buy from them ever again.

[arnl7178]

Thanks for your perspective bsal.

If it were me, personally, and it were an auction, I'd message the seller once I made a bid explaining I was going away for the weekend, and I wouldn't know if I had won until I returned home. I'd put their mind at ease that I wasn't a time waster, and I would promptly make payment on Tuesday morning.

If I didn't message the seller to explain my intentions, I wouldn't get upset they opened a dispute. I personally think I'd deserve it. They don't know I'm going away. They don't know I can't see I have won. They don't know if I am going to pay at all.

All it takes is a little communication.

[bsal6160]

Arnl, as a buyer I am NOT going to explain myself to any seller. If a seller cant see past the end of their nose that it is/was a long weekend or even look at my past feedback to get some idea of my buying/paying habits, then.....why should I not be peeved at them?