Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
do you send before referring the problem to the auctioneer?
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Not a seller yet but 3-4 days acceptable after receiving an invoice - unless vacations etc and the customer is responsible to inform the seller about delays. One reminder after a week or so should be enough. If your customer is so rude that they can't show some consideration, then you are better off without him. Which brings up a question. If you have one of these who also continues to bid on your lots, can you as the seller cancel his bids??? Or hire a hit man?
Just some thoughts.
Tad
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"If you have one of these who also continues to bid on your lots, can you as the seller cancel his bids??? Or hire a hit man?
"
Hopefully we won't have to make them an offer they can't refuse LOL!!!
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Why would you want to shut down someone who is buying your items? If someone is bidding on my items, I let them continue. I stay in communication with them to make sure they know where they are at in their total purchase. If the total starts to run high, and they still want to bid on more items, I send them an invoice to pay off what they have already bought, and they can continue to build up another batch for the next invoice.
My terms give someone two weeks to "add on" additional purchases into one invoice. Sometimes I vary from that T&C depending on the buyer.
If you put it in your terms of sale how long you will wait for a buyer to make additional purchases, then the buyers know how much time they have.
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12:52:51am
If I understand Tad and Theresa correctly, they are addressing situations where the Buyer has been invoiced and has not paid, while ignoring communications relating to that nonpayment; and despite the fact he/she is indebted to them, is ignoring attempts at communication and continuing to bid on their current auction lots.
My advice would be to contact the auctioneer (David Teisler - Amsd) and give him an opportunity to get the matter resolved. He is very effective!
Hope this helps.
Bobby
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Michael is correct, in that any seller wants to encourage ever more buying.
But I think that Bobby has gotten to the heart of the question posed, and I'll proceed as if that's true.
Our rules are pretty clear: transactions are time-limited. Fine to make alternate arrangements, but in the absence of such, any seller has a right to see payment within a week of invoicing, assuming we're not talking about mail from Abkhazia or, worse, Montreal.
No, I will not cancel bids. I will suspend a bidder's rights and, if necessary, exclude said bidder from subsequent auctions.
Most of these problems are either email problems or carelessness.
Please try to resolve these yourselves, but, failing to do so, please contact me offline with details: buyer, email, invoice(s), any correspondence already sent, etc.
Buyers who are perpetual problems will be removed from the auction.
David, the auctioneer
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I admire David as Stamporama's auctioneer.
Despite the many rules and regulations he
has to oversee, there is still room in his head
for common sense.
John Derry
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Thanks for the excellent answers. It is never easy to badger people for money and I really don't like to do that, but it is par for the course when selling I suppose.
I've sent a reminder to my 6 late invoices. I'll wait another week. If I don't get a payment by then I'll hand the matter over to our excellent auctioneer.
No worries! It's all good. 
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A late responder got a reminder invoice. It's a good thing I don't throw really big rocks at others' auction houses.
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11:24:09am
The buyer receives an automated notice of the sale and is responsible to do the polite and, in fact, business-like thing, Communicate.
Unless there is an alternative agreement with a good previous buyer, the seller should at the most send a an invoice, (NOT the ITEMS !!!) then a second reminder.
Receiving no communication back, cancel the sale.
Since our average age is probably well over fifty years, things do happen and sometimes a buyer is unable to communicate back (Illness, hospitalization) but will eventually send a note which should be in the form of an apology and explanation. If the item is still available re-instate the sale. But if it is sold or there are active bids, the process should be completed.
The key is communication and that implies a two way conversation.
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Charlie, that is so true. However, I can tell you from my experiences of selling stamps through mail approvals and online selling, it was several times when the communication was one-sided as the buyer for various reasons in addition to illness and death fell silent and disappeared:
- thieves: mail order approvals; buyer pays appropriately for the smaller selections to "build" the seller's trust. Then when they get a larger selection they keep it without intention of paying
- over-purchase: bought more than they could afford; they go silent hoping the seller will forget about them. Communication with the seller would almost certainly arrive at a payment plane to cover the purchases.
- under-purchase: buys only a couple of low-priced items and doesn't want to pay the shipping cost, so they go silent hoping the seller will forget about them. Communication with the seller can result in a reduction of the shipping fees for such a small mailing.
- over-bids: gets into a bidding war with someone else, wins the item for more than what the buyer thinks is a fair price and reneges on the purchase. Buyer ignores requests for payment, or responds back to the seller saying that the item can be purchased for less than what the winning bid was, so the buyer refuses to pay.
- fake-purchase: buyer was only playing with the system and never had any intent to make a purchase.
On the mail-order approvals, it takes alot of guts to send approvals to unknown people. Sellers/dealers trust the collectors, and then get "shop lifted" by the collector. Interesting since so many collectors call dealers crooks. I gave up selling stamps on approval. Lost about 25% of what I sent out.
For the other examples, all of this involves unnecessary work for sellers. Web sites close items posted for sale when items are sold. Wasted time trying to communicate with buyers not willing to complete the transaction. On commercial sites, the seller is charged posting and final value fees. The seller loses the posting fees, and has to go through hoops to try to get back the final value fee. Then the seller has to relist the items and pay the posting fees.
Fortunately, the number of these "persons" is minimal.
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08:23:58am
"... Fortunately, the number of these "persons" is minimal. ..."
And with constant vigilance it should remain so. Most of the issues brought up by Michael indicate some degree of malicious intent and those bidders should be shut down as soon as a seller reports the problem to the auction manager.
The problem of illness, personal or in the family, can be worked out as soon as communication is re-established.
Having been hospitalized more than a few times these last few years, I have one daughter in particular who has access to the passwords and can post an announcement as well as send a note within a few days.
During the period of grief that sometimes accompanies such misfortune trivial things like a hobby may not be at the top of the list but once the family regains control announcements and notes should be sent.
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I would like to ask other sellers how long do you wait for payment and how many reminders
do you send before referring the problem to the auctioneer?
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re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
Not a seller yet but 3-4 days acceptable after receiving an invoice - unless vacations etc and the customer is responsible to inform the seller about delays. One reminder after a week or so should be enough. If your customer is so rude that they can't show some consideration, then you are better off without him. Which brings up a question. If you have one of these who also continues to bid on your lots, can you as the seller cancel his bids??? Or hire a hit man?
Just some thoughts.
Tad
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re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
"If you have one of these who also continues to bid on your lots, can you as the seller cancel his bids??? Or hire a hit man?
"
Hopefully we won't have to make them an offer they can't refuse LOL!!!
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12:36:29am
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
Why would you want to shut down someone who is buying your items? If someone is bidding on my items, I let them continue. I stay in communication with them to make sure they know where they are at in their total purchase. If the total starts to run high, and they still want to bid on more items, I send them an invoice to pay off what they have already bought, and they can continue to build up another batch for the next invoice.
My terms give someone two weeks to "add on" additional purchases into one invoice. Sometimes I vary from that T&C depending on the buyer.
If you put it in your terms of sale how long you will wait for a buyer to make additional purchases, then the buyers know how much time they have.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
05 Nov 2014
12:52:51am
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
If I understand Tad and Theresa correctly, they are addressing situations where the Buyer has been invoiced and has not paid, while ignoring communications relating to that nonpayment; and despite the fact he/she is indebted to them, is ignoring attempts at communication and continuing to bid on their current auction lots.
My advice would be to contact the auctioneer (David Teisler - Amsd) and give him an opportunity to get the matter resolved. He is very effective!
Hope this helps.
Bobby
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this post
Auctions
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
Michael is correct, in that any seller wants to encourage ever more buying.
But I think that Bobby has gotten to the heart of the question posed, and I'll proceed as if that's true.
Our rules are pretty clear: transactions are time-limited. Fine to make alternate arrangements, but in the absence of such, any seller has a right to see payment within a week of invoicing, assuming we're not talking about mail from Abkhazia or, worse, Montreal.
No, I will not cancel bids. I will suspend a bidder's rights and, if necessary, exclude said bidder from subsequent auctions.
Most of these problems are either email problems or carelessness.
Please try to resolve these yourselves, but, failing to do so, please contact me offline with details: buyer, email, invoice(s), any correspondence already sent, etc.
Buyers who are perpetual problems will be removed from the auction.
David, the auctioneer
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
05 Nov 2014
02:47:05pm
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
I admire David as Stamporama's auctioneer.
Despite the many rules and regulations he
has to oversee, there is still room in his head
for common sense.
John Derry
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
Thanks for the excellent answers. It is never easy to badger people for money and I really don't like to do that, but it is par for the course when selling I suppose.
I've sent a reminder to my 6 late invoices. I'll wait another week. If I don't get a payment by then I'll hand the matter over to our excellent auctioneer.
No worries! It's all good.
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
A late responder got a reminder invoice. It's a good thing I don't throw really big rocks at others' auction houses.
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this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
08 Nov 2014
11:24:09am
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
The buyer receives an automated notice of the sale and is responsible to do the polite and, in fact, business-like thing, Communicate.
Unless there is an alternative agreement with a good previous buyer, the seller should at the most send a an invoice, (NOT the ITEMS !!!) then a second reminder.
Receiving no communication back, cancel the sale.
Since our average age is probably well over fifty years, things do happen and sometimes a buyer is unable to communicate back (Illness, hospitalization) but will eventually send a note which should be in the form of an apology and explanation. If the item is still available re-instate the sale. But if it is sold or there are active bids, the process should be completed.
The key is communication and that implies a two way conversation.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
02:51:43pm
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
Charlie, that is so true. However, I can tell you from my experiences of selling stamps through mail approvals and online selling, it was several times when the communication was one-sided as the buyer for various reasons in addition to illness and death fell silent and disappeared:
- thieves: mail order approvals; buyer pays appropriately for the smaller selections to "build" the seller's trust. Then when they get a larger selection they keep it without intention of paying
- over-purchase: bought more than they could afford; they go silent hoping the seller will forget about them. Communication with the seller would almost certainly arrive at a payment plane to cover the purchases.
- under-purchase: buys only a couple of low-priced items and doesn't want to pay the shipping cost, so they go silent hoping the seller will forget about them. Communication with the seller can result in a reduction of the shipping fees for such a small mailing.
- over-bids: gets into a bidding war with someone else, wins the item for more than what the buyer thinks is a fair price and reneges on the purchase. Buyer ignores requests for payment, or responds back to the seller saying that the item can be purchased for less than what the winning bid was, so the buyer refuses to pay.
- fake-purchase: buyer was only playing with the system and never had any intent to make a purchase.
On the mail-order approvals, it takes alot of guts to send approvals to unknown people. Sellers/dealers trust the collectors, and then get "shop lifted" by the collector. Interesting since so many collectors call dealers crooks. I gave up selling stamps on approval. Lost about 25% of what I sent out.
For the other examples, all of this involves unnecessary work for sellers. Web sites close items posted for sale when items are sold. Wasted time trying to communicate with buyers not willing to complete the transaction. On commercial sites, the seller is charged posting and final value fees. The seller loses the posting fees, and has to go through hoops to try to get back the final value fee. Then the seller has to relist the items and pay the posting fees.
Fortunately, the number of these "persons" is minimal.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
15 Nov 2014
08:23:58am
re: What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for payment?
"... Fortunately, the number of these "persons" is minimal. ..."
And with constant vigilance it should remain so. Most of the issues brought up by Michael indicate some degree of malicious intent and those bidders should be shut down as soon as a seller reports the problem to the auction manager.
The problem of illness, personal or in the family, can be worked out as soon as communication is re-established.
Having been hospitalized more than a few times these last few years, I have one daughter in particular who has access to the passwords and can post an announcement as well as send a note within a few days.
During the period of grief that sometimes accompanies such misfortune trivial things like a hobby may not be at the top of the list but once the family regains control announcements and notes should be sent.
Login to Like
this post