Dealing with Buyer Demands- Cancellations and Feedback Reprecussion

martyjump · #1 09-25-2017

Ok, so two different situations here. And I deal with both fairly often.

I have a 3 day business day handling time on all my items as they are made to order and ship USPS First Class Mail as it's the most economic way in this item's weight class most of the time. I begin processing the orders within 2 business days (printing out the labels, getting the packages together, assembling parts/etc)

So sometimes I have people that will order something and I know the expected delivery date is somewhere between 5 business days and something like a week and a half or maybe a little less. And I get these messages AFTER people have already ordered saying they need this item in less than the shipping time/range on the delivery date on their order and sometimes saying "invoice me for an expedited shipping"

My question is, if I respond with no, I can't guarantee anything other than the delivery date range on the order and I can only offer this in first class mail. If you absolutely need the item by this requested date I can offer you a full refund" and I get a negative feedback because of that, can I call in eBay and ask them to remove it similar to an item not received but USPS tracking shows it was delivered-esque negative feedback?

So, that's the first question.

Second scenario/question is someone places an order, I begin processing it (assembling it and packaging) and someone asks 3 days later to cancel the order because they changed their mind or "they don't have any money" or "they're going to order it at a later time" etc. If you say no, and it may be for a legitimate reason (it's in a collection box over the weekend orders waiting to be picked up by USPS or whatever) if the buyer were to leave negative feedback would this be able to be removed? Most of the time that I get cancellation requests it's not a big deal because it's within 48 hours of the order, most of the time right after. They're annoying for sure but if I haven't begun processing the order or have already shipped it, well, that kind of pisses me off.

Any input on this would be appreciated. Would like to hear how others deal with these annoyances of the eBay marketplace!

dallis · #2 09-25-2017

If it's been shipped and the tracking is input you can just select 'already shipped' and the cancellation will be denied.

You can't do anything about the feedback in most situations.

Why don't you bill them for the upgrade? What's the problem with that? What do you care if it's more expensive as long as you maintain your profit margin?

**SaiJin** · #3 09-25-2017

Don't let buyers control you. Set very strict rules yet give them good customer service.

If you let feedback control you , you'll be fearful for the rest of your eBay career. My mindset is now if I get a neg, so what. As long as I do my best and not let anyone step on my head.

dallis · #4 09-26-2017

Negs don't count anymore in your seller ratings so why worry?

TheRealist · #5 09-26-2017

First stop focusing on avoiding negative feedbacks, but rather focus on PREMIER CUSTOMER SERVICE. (I used to work for one the worlds largest banks)
Honestly speaking from my standpoint of my eBay Store, if you would like to have the most PREMIER ACCOUNT on Ebay, you should be shipping the following business day, not 3 full days. I am not sure what item you are selling that it takes 3 full days to handle?
Remember you want to stay competitive, and have your items shipped immediately, when you ship the item right away, believe you will see your feedback skyrocket.
We are in 2017 my friend, customers have never ending demands! They want what they want, as fast as they want, and with great customer service. Meet these 3 basic fundamentals and your store will strive.
Good Luck
TheRealist

**I had an account with 60k in sales in 6 months, 250 Transactions, with 99.1% Positive feedback and No cases ever decided against me

dallis · #6 09-27-2017

3 days to assemble, not 3 days to handle. It sounds like a custom item of some sort.

And TheRealist, I'm sure you're great, but there's not a big bank anywhere who's real focus is 'premier customer service', unless you call nearly collapsing the entire world's economy a few years back with rampant speculation in a hyper-inflationary real estate market an example of big banking's 'premier customer service'.

Corporations exist solely to create and maximize profits for their shareholders. They may use tools such as 'customer service', but their only true interest is profit.

TheRealist · #7 09-30-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallis

3 days to assemble, not 3 days to handle. It sounds like a custom item of some sort.

And TheRealist, I'm sure you're great, but there's not a big bank anywhere who's real focus is 'premier customer service', unless you call nearly collapsing the entire world's economy a few years back with rampant speculation in a hyper-inflationary real estate market an example of big banking's 'premier customer service'.

Corporations exist solely to create and maximize profits for their shareholders. They may use tools such as 'customer service', but their only true interest is profit.

He says "3 Business Days Handling Time" in his post, which is far too long to remain competitive, which is great advice. I am flattered by your attending and focusing on me, but lets stick to the threat topic. Further, believe me, customer service is the EASIEST and MOST profitable part of a business you can control. Reputation is everything, people WILL FOLLOW your ebay Store, and Word of Mouth will spread. Also, everyones interest HERE is PROFIT and so is yours, come on guy wake up.

nickopedia · #8 09-30-2017

I second everyone here preaching to provide GREAT customer service.

Simply communicating with your customers using a respectful, friendly tone and work wonders to turn around an angry customer pretty fast.