Question
This is my first UPI dispute since they initiated the whole process while I was taking a hiatus.
Buyer won two auctions which ended 10/16. She sent an "I will be sending a money order" that night. No payment, no message, so I sent my usual reminder email on 10/31. No response, so I sent an Invoice reminder through eBay on 11/02. No response. Buyer has been bidding a good bit right along, so it's not a no-access-to-a-computer situation.
Finally I opened the UPI dispute last week, on 11/11. Late last night she replied to the dispute. On one item she said "I sent the payment today, so you should have it soon", on the other she said "I will send money order in a few days". (I wonder which reply to believe? )
I haven't replied to either yet, because I'm not sure exactly what I want to say. My first impulse replies have been rather curt, so I thought I should think about it a little before I actually respond.
What would you say? Both of the items have the blue checkmark that says they're eligible for FVF credit. Does that mean I'm not obligated to wait & see if the MO's show up? How long would you wait for the payments to arrive before you close the disputes? Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Wow, I sound like a newbie here. I guess I've been really lucky, because I've only had a small handful of NPBs in 4 years. In the past I just sent reminders until 30 days had elapsed, then filed FVF credit requests. I know eBay says they set up this dispute process to help sellers & buyers work out their differences, but I'm sure it had more to do with their thinking sellers weren't trying hard enough to get paid.
Answer
I have the same thing going on with me too! This person has 100% positive feedback and I can't get them to respond at all. I've filed NPB and now I'm just waiting.
I think you can select the option not to deal with the buyer anymore and get your fees returned. Good luck!
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While you're mulling over your options, don't forget to put that bidder on your banned bidder list. eBay has that option buried off the My eBay All Selling Selling Resources page. Here:
http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyan...STRK:MESRL:009
You have full choice of waiting or not. I'd not wait on the one where she is delaying sending payment even past 30 days. Close and claim your FvF back. On the other, if she mailed it, I'd probably give her 5 business days to get it to me and then I'd only accept full payment. If it isn't full payment, photocopy it for your records, perhaps scan an image, and then send it back to her and close that one for FvF. You may want it for proof in dispute. If proper payment comes in a timely manner for the one, then process it.
I'd review my terms too and make certain that they clearly state when you expect contact, when you want to be paid, and what payment methods are permitted leaving nothing to their imagination.
Dennis
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"I will be sending a money order" is code for "you will be filing soon"
dstuber is right, block them. You can always unblock them later if you want.
I wouldn't say anything.
When it gets to this point the only communication they get from me is via the UPI form. I don't email them directly at all.
If payment hasn't appeared by the time the blue check mark shows up I end it and get my FVF back.
The moment payment arrives I proceed as though they paid me 5 minutes after the auction ended. In that case you can reverse the FVF.
The object of the game is to get paid. If you don't get paid, move on and sell the thing to someone else.
Answer
Thanks for the good advice... I did block her before I filed the dispute.
I'd checked it yesterday for the blue check & didn't see it, it must've appeared during the night. Half of me thinks I should give her until Friday, (not very long if she mailed payment yesterday, but more than 30 days after EOA), the other half of me says the blue check mark means by eBay standards I've done my part.
I'm glad that I'm not obligated to reply to her message. Am I? EBay is not at all clear on what a seller can reasonably expect in terms of buyer performance. Mag, do you mean that since there's a blue check, you would just close the disputes as unpaid?
Dstuber, I did look over my listing & EOA terms of service. Both include "payment is expected within 10 days of End of Auction". I've just revised my new listings to include "Buyer should contact me within 3 days of End of Auction".
Thanks for the good wishes, Aunt Bee! My buyer has 100% positive, 5 to be specific. Oddly enough, she won 33 auctions in October, from 27 different sellers, but only got 5 feedback, the last one on the 20th. I wonder if other sellers are having similar experiences with her. Considering that many sellers still leave feedback upon receipt of payment....
Good luck to you, too!
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Originally Posted by Boo_boo
Mag, do you mean that since there's a blue check, you would just close the disputes as unpaid?
That's precisely what I mean. If you haven't received payment yet I'd close it and give her the unpaid item strike. You can remove it later if she decides to pay.
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Make sure that you select the one that says you don't want to wait for the buyer, ebay sometimes/often defaults to the one that says you two worked it out and you don't get your fees back.
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My ads clearly state that I don't "babysit" the buyer. It states if I don't receive the payment within 10 business days, I will file a UPI and follow through to the refund of FVF.
The messages that you post in the dispute area are strictly for each other to read, so the buyer can't claim they never received an email from you. Ebay does not monitor or act on any of these messages.
If the buyer pays, you never have to complete the UPI, then no harm will result to the buyer.
Every time I have a slow payer, I always file the UPI claim to get the ball rolling. If they pay, I select to dismiss, if they don't, I claim the FVF and they get one UPI strike in their account.
The fact that they have 100% positive feedback doesn't mean much because like most other sellers, I don't give them a negative for fearing retaliation, which has happened to me often in the past.
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I give negatives, but wait until they can't retaliate.
ETA-Do you realize how often ebay reverses the FVF strike? ALOT
Originally Posted by superman
I don't give them a negative for fearing retaliation, which has happened to me often in the past.
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...wait to give negatives until they cannot retaliate...
I had thought there was a timeframe - 90 days - at the end of which a party could leave feedback that the other could not respond to, unless they saw it prior to the end of that period.
Well, the other day some PS' updated us on that. If we keep track of the eBay item number even a printout of the auction for example, then we can enter the feedback at any time after the auction and we suspect clear up to a year after the auction. The ability to find the auction without the number may be gone, but apparently not the ability to post feedback.
I am not speaking from experience on this one - rather repeating what I heard. And it was a surprise. Other comments certainly welcome.
Dennis