Is my message to buyers annoying ????

[bigoskar2]

Hi

Thanks for your payment.

I posted your order today so 'hopefully' you should receive by Wed. 16/9

If there is a problem, would you please message me.

Kind Regards

Susan

I have sent this message a zillion times (other id). Today I received a message (rant) from a buyer requesting that I stop sending annoying messages.

A.  She does not want to be thanked for her payment.

B.  She does not want an eta as Ebay gives an estimated delivery time

C.  If I want to let customers know that I should be contacted to resolve issues prior to leaving negative feedback I should write it on       listing.  

"If you are trying to ensure that customers give you higher ratings by bombarding them with unnecessary eBay messages you are wrong. I will leave negative feedback if you send me pointless messages" Her words. 

She has already left + feedback and won't have the opportunity to purchase again.

vent over

[dylan11235813]

I was blocked from posting on another page. It was actually a test to see if I could still post (apparently I was blocked for 3600 seconds). I guess just that thread or forum post. I could post here straight away.

[bigoskar2]

"Instant, real acknowledgement of order - with so many things on eBay being automated (purchase confirmation, feedback etc), there could often be just a few minutes in between purchase and my confirmed attention to an order. I felt (and still do) that this created a better impression, especially if the purchase was on a Friday night and I couldn't post 'til Monday, because then there would be 2-3 days before a buyer could know for certain I was paying attention to them. 

Foot in the door, for lack of a better way of putting it. For 99% of problems that did arise, buyers would respond to my message. With the introduction of the request system, I'm still quite sure that could help reduce the chance the buyer will go straight to open one rather than communicate directly."

EXACTLY!!!

You are right Digital Ghost, it is split 3 ways so I figure if 66% don't mind a message I will continue as before. It takes no longer than 20 secs to open read and delete.

[harley_babes_hoard]

I would rather get a polite informative message than deafening silence and be wondering if they have sent my parcel.

[dylan11235813]

i concur

[springyzone]

Bigoskar said:

Hi

Thanks for your payment.

I posted your order today so 'hopefully' you should receive by Wed. 16/9

If there is a problem, would you please message me.

Kind Regards

Susan

I have sent this message a zillion times (other id). Today I received a message (rant) from a buyer requesting that I stop sending annoying messages.

A.  She does not want to be thanked for her payment.

B.  She does not want an eta as Ebay gives an estimated delivery time

C.  If I want to let customers know that I should be contacted to resolve issues prior to leaving negative feedback I should write it on       listing.  

"If you are trying to ensure that customers give you higher ratings by bombarding them with unnecessary eBay messages you are wrong. I will leave negative feedback if you send me pointless messages" Her words. 

She has already left + feedback and won't have the opportunity to purchase again.

-------------------------------------------------

If you sent me a message such as that, there is no way I would reply as that woman has done. You've tried to be nice, she has been unnecessarily rude back.

Back a decade ago, my sister always sent a message to buyers to let them know when an item was posted, but I don't think it is really necessary these days. I don't know about anyone else but I always look at that little bar in the My Ebay section, the one where it shows what date the buyer paid, what date the seller posted etc

Now, I definitely expect a seller to mark that. If they don't, it comes over as a bit slack (to me, anyway) and a bit annoying too as that is the key to knowing the seller has done his or her bit. & that the item is on its way.

So far I have not marked any seller down for not using it, but if they don't, I would probably feel their communication is a 4 rather than a 5 star. Actually it is lower than that but I wouldn't mark it lower as I know now that causes defects.

Whether you continue to send messages is up to you but if I were you, I would also mark that 'sent' thingy.

[cathyjoyjoy]

In one of my previous replies, I mentioned that I still couldn't track or locate the types of emails sent by ebay to a buyer on behalf of a seller.  I've located this link, so I've learned something about this that I was unaware of.  http://contact.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ManageBuyerCommunication&ssPageName=STRK:ME:LNLK

Also, as a seller, in the event that you select sent .... then later actually include a tracking number;  I think 2 separate emails are sent!!!  Also, I know for a fact that if you type in an incorrect tracking number and correct it later, that's another email that will be sent to the buyer.  It doesn't bother me, but some get a little ruffled at this ...... and this doesn't include emails from PayPal.

[harley_babes_hoard]

buyers can turn off the ebay auto messages in their preferences if they are annoyed by it.

[go-tazz]

I've always sent a message after I've posted their item.

I mark the item as posted,leave feedback and then sent this message.

Your item was posted at ,(insert time here),in time for today's outgoing mail.

Enjoy.

Yours,Corny.

So they know it's on it's way,

[Anonymous]

i too send a message after i have posted an item

ive had nothing but positive responses from doing it, and also quite a few that have commented about how good it is for a seller to give a personal touch to the process

[everard6920]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

I would venture to say that it's not so much the message that's annoying, but the fact that the buyer is sensitive to receiving messages like that in the first place, and there's always one (or a few) who seem to take it as a personal affront when (in so far as I can tell) you're simply trying to extend a courtesy. 

I used to send a message to every buyer (I can't really do that anymore as it would take too much time), despite the fact that I knew there would be someone every so often who wouldn't appreciate it, because you simply can't cater to each and every preference of each and every buyer - you'd go mad trying - so with some things you just have to cater for your own preferences.

(Just as an aside, my communication rating was a full 5 stars when I used to send a message to ever buyer. It's been more than a year since I stopped, and it's still at a full 5 stars... Take from that what you will 🙂 ).

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I used to do the same, and my communication rating hasn't changed since I stopped, either.

The only time I send a message to the buyer if it's a large order with multiple items.

In those cases, it simply says:

"Here is your tracking number. I am confident that everything is packed securely, however, please inspect your order when it arrives and if there are any issues, just let me know. I'll have new items up on [date]."

Most people message back saying thank you, or asking what those new items will be.

Because multiple items are involved, it multiplies the risk that something could be amiss, which is why I send the message. I don't want to receive 15 negatives for one order if there's a problem with ONE of the items (I know it only counts once, but 15 negatives doesn't look very good . . .). IMO, the message shows that I'm friendly and open to working with the buyer if there's a problem.