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Is anyone else having issues with people backing out of B/S/T deals? Lately, I've had a number of people say that want something, then when when I send them the shipping cost, they back out. Its not like I am over charging, its just the standard shipping costs I'm offering. Its very frustrating. Especially when its a large number of items. Of course multiple packs of cardstock are going to be heavy! I waste a lot of time packaging items, then taking them to get weighed, only to have the trasnaction fall through.
Also, what do you do when someone says theywant to buy your set, you send them your paypal or snail mail address, and you wait. Now some time has passed and a 2nd person wants your item. You PM the original buyer and they DONT RESPOND. You dont know if the are backing out or the payment is on its way or what. That is so frustrating and it seems to be happening often lately. I currently have 2 transactions in this dilema. What gives?
Is anyone else having issues with people backing out of B/S/T deals? Lately, I've had a number of people say that want something, then when when I send them the shipping cost, they back out. Its not like I am over charging, its just the standard shipping costs I'm offering. Its very frustrating. Especially when its a large number of items. Of course multiple packs of cardstock are going to be heavy! I waste a lot of time packaging items, then taking them to get weighed, only to have the trasnaction fall through.
Also, what do you do when someone says theywant to buy your set, you send them your paypal or snail mail address, and you wait. Now some time has passed and a 2nd person wants your item. You PM the original buyer and they DONT RESPOND. You dont know if the are backing out or the payment is on its way or what. That is so frustrating and it seems to be happening often lately. I currently have 2 transactions in this dilema. What gives?
I've never sold anything on here but if someone were to do that in my shop, I would let them know that you need to know immediately if they still intend to purchase the set because you have another buyer interested, and that if you do not hear back from them within a specified time period, you will assume they are no longer interested and are going to give it to the other buyer. HTH.
It's the typical drawbacks to selling things in this way unfortunately. But there are a few things you can do.
If you have paypal, make payments paypal only, except if people contact you for another method you accept. Then you can decide on a case by case basis whether to accept a snail mail payment.
How are you mailing things? Priority, parcel etc?? It's best to give a fairly accurate shipping cost at the same time you post the price of your items. Most people want to know that, it is part of the price they will pay. They don't like to be hit with it later. For each seperate item, I would mention the price to ship that item. Then, if they buy more items, you can adjust the price for shipping later. Using flat rate boxes can take some of the guess work out, if you do not have a scale.
As for delayed payment, mention in our posting some ground rules. For paypal, payment should be fairly instant. Even if they send an echeck, the notice to you that payment has been submitted is instant. So mention somwhere, that if payment is not recieved in X number of days, the item will be offered to other. For snail mail, you could give them 7 days.
For how long to wait for payment, I noticed that some sellers put a time limit right in their first post. Example: "Item will be reposted if payment is not recieved within XX days".
I have both purchased and sold things through the B/S/T forum here on SCS. Once I tell someone I am interested in purchasing their item and we agree on the shipping charges, I pay immediately.
As far as selling items, I list the shipping prices right in the listing so there are no surprises. And I personally offer first class shipping whenever possible. I think $5 or more for priority shipping is a rip off when first class can be half that cost (for a small stamp set).
If I have been in contact with someone about them buying my item and we agree on the details, I expect payment within 24 hours. I do tend to wait 48 though just in case something has come up. If I don't see a payment in my paypal account by then, I pm them and ask if they still intend to purchase my item. If I don't hear from them I offer it the next interested party or put it back for sale. I have had this happen a couple of times. One lady wrote me and said, "Oh I'm very interested in your item but I'm going to Florida in a couple of days so I'll pay you when I get back". Sorry... doesn't work like that. And I never heard from her again.
Decide on your policy, put it in your listing, and if you get a bum buyer, move on to the next one.
If you limited your mailing to Priority Mail Flat rate envelopes and boxes, you'll have no need to go weigh anything as they are a set price, depending on size. You can even get the boxes sent to you free of charge from USPS. If you use Click and Ship, you can do it all from the comfort of your home and computer, and your mail person, in most cases, will pick it up. Or you can ask for parcel pickup.
I am one of those people who will not use Paypal. I know too many people who have had credit card numbers stolen when the CC was only for use on Paypal. Now, how does that happen?
Back to the subject -- when I have bought something from BST I have always asked if I can pay with a postal money order and usually that is acceptable. I usually will mail it that very day to the Seller and they send my item once they have received the money order. A money order is as good as cash so there is no need to wait for a check to clear or anything and it's always worked for me.
I am one of those people who will not use Paypal. I know too many people who have had credit card numbers stolen when the CC was only for use on Paypal. Now, how does that happen?
Back to the subject -- when I have bought something from BST I have always asked if I can pay with a postal money order and usually that is acceptable. I usually will mail it that very day to the Seller and they send my item once they have received the money order. A money order is as good as cash so there is no need to wait for a check to clear or anything and it's always worked for me.
I agree that a MO is acceptable....it just takes a few more days than PP.
I just sold a bunch of items just recently and had a lot of the same problems. But, what i did was price my sets at 50% off, set the shipping prices at priority, gave a 5 day time limit and said that no price was final. I had a few folks ask for an adjusted price because they were buying 8 sets...well, of course, that makes sense. I had a scale and used the estimated pricing online with the Post Office to get shipping for a different price other than the priority. I went to the PO ahead of time and picked up the boxes so that I had them on hand, you only pay when you are ready to ship. I also used bubble mailers for the smaller items and wheels.
I only had 1 person who never contacted me back after saying that she wanted an item.....I missed a sale because of her. It's what happens sometimes.
I know I have made a few inquiries on items asking if they were still for sale and what the shipping cost would be but have not told anyone YES I WANT THAT, HOW DO I PAY YOU...I thinks sometimes the seller assumes it is sold when it is not....blessings.
BST transactions....any advice?
