Marketplace Etiquette

Yeah, I would put a description of the doll modeling the clothing, their eyes or wig or whatever in the actual auction. I've found that doing this cuts down the "OMG, she's so cute! What is she???" or the "I love that wig! What kind is it?" questions by 90%. If you are a high volume seller, answering those questions gets a little old after a while. LOL

 

Alright there is a trend I've been noticing in the market place: I'll PM someone saying 'hey I'm interested in such and such' and we'll talk for a bit, then when I'm ready to say 'yeah I'll take it' I get the 'I'm sorry I sold it'.
Now is it just me, or when a buyer says they are interested in thier product shouldn't the seller hold on to it to make sure that person does or does not want it? Or is it just who ever yells "I WANT IT!!!!!!" the loudest who gets it? I'm just getting a bit POed at all this...


((mods: sorry if this is off topic ^^)

 

I'd say you could combat that by being clear about exactly how interested in the item you are at first contact. From the number of complaints I've heard from sellers about buyers who PM them to chat about something for sale and then finally don't buy it, making the seller miss other sales, it's definitely a two-way annoyance. I've had both scenarios happen to me, so I try to made everything as efficient as possible by both making it clear somewhere how long I will hold something for, and what kind of commitment I'm looking for in order to hold (nope, doesn't happen automatically), and being clear about my commitment as a buyer ("Hi, I'd like to buy this and can pay, etc. Can you also answer a question?" as opposed to "Hi, I'm really interested in this but have a few questions. Please let me know if you need an answer right away..." or "Hi, I've just got some questions..." when I really HAVEN'T figured out my level of interest, in which case it would be unfair to make someone hold something).
A seller doesn't make any more money by holding out for an undecided buyer as opposed to selling right away (unless it's an auction, maybe), so a buyer doesn't do himself any favors being wishy washy. Likewise, sellers aren't doing their reps any favors by leading buyers on and selling things out from under people. If everyone's clear about everything it should stave off some sob stories.

 

I disagree. To me, "on hold" is for the time between when a buyer definitively says "Yes, I'll buy it" and the time they deliver the payment. It's also nice of the seller to put something on hold on request if someone says they're interested, but they'd like a day or two to talk it over with someone else/come up with funds/whatever. In that case, though, I don't think the seller is obligated; it's just a nice favor they can do.
"Hey, I'm interested in X" doesn't seem enough to put something on hold for.

 

Same here. As a seller I only consider an item on hold after the buyer was quoted the shipping and I receive "Yes, I'd like to purchase it, what's your PayPal address?" kind of message in return. Or if I specifically was asked to hold it while buyer is settling finances/waiting for paycheck, etc.

It's not because I'm such a strict seller, but it's a necessity of online sales every seller eventually comes to, after having people PM with "I'm interested" and then disappearing without a trace.

 

So, perhaps this is unrelated (well, it is since it comes from a different site, but the theory behind it is the same, since it's online selling, in this case, of artwork)

I was looking into selling artwork on yessy.com and was reading through all the FAQs (because I'm superparanoid about fine print and especially copyright ownership of my images) and on the shipping page <http://yessy.com/help.html?h=shipping>, came across this

I didn't go research if this is in fact a federal law (would be US, since it's a US-based company) or if they're just being super stern to keep people on track, but it seems like a good policy to stick to on a timeline for shipping (existing, non-commission) items. And would just generally solve a lot of issues people seem to have with sellers.

Full disclosure: I'm not currently a seller. I've just been reading the feedback threads to figure out what seem to be common issues and trying to figure out how to avoid them if/when I do decide to start selling.

Again, sorry if this was off topic.

 

ok, so you're trying to buy, trade or sell something in the marketplace, the potential seller/trader/buyer and you have been exchanging PMs about it, and all of a sudden they stop responding.

Maybe you'll PM once more, if you remember about it, or you just think the other person lost interest and totally forget about it and of course the transaction falls through.

But what if all this happens because you're not getting their PMs or they're not getting yours?

I suspect it has happened to me more than once.

And it was about to happen one more time just a couple of days ago, but the buyer sent me a PM because she thought her previous PM hadn't gone through.
I hadn't recieved it, of course, so I thought she may have lost interest until she PMed me again.

Has this ever happened to you?

 

It happens to me frequently. So I end up sending two PMs within about 12 hours of each other if I dont get a response and I know the person has been on the forums since then.

 

I had transactions where I was buyer fall through at least twice. That is why I and a lot of other people post "PM'ed you" on the seller's thread, so the seller knows we sent one. In addition I also refer everybody to my e-mail address after the initial PM.
The PM function is just too unreliable to be relied upon for commerce, especially when it's something you really want that you think might sell quickly.
You can also use the "request read receipt" feature to see if someone reads your PM but it's just one more thing to have to remember.
It's unfortunate that so many people flake out on deals that when a buyer or seller doesn't get a PM back and is expecting one, they just assume the person decided not to deal, instead of thinking the PM probably got lost.

 

uhm, I wonder why this got merged into the Marketplace etiquette thread if it wasn't about a person sending or not PMs, but the PMs getting lost?

Mods? o_O

 

I totally agree Jinnayah and Bunny Boo. People back out too easily if you put the item on hold after an "Hey, I'm interested."

Not to mention I've been on the buyers end of a similar situation before. When I was buying a doll it came down to which one of the interested (and this time willing to pay) people could PAY RIGHT THEN. I just happened to luck out.

So unfortunately the marketplace isn't always first-come-first-serve, it's first-person-waving-money-first-serve because sellers can't rely on the ingegrity of the buyers anymore. T_T

 

I have a question about marketplace etiquette. After how many days after PMing someone about already sold item should you make a paging thread?

 

Thank you.

 

Commencing thread resurrection!

I've been wondering about something, and since duplicate threads are a no-no, I figured this would be a good place. How do you all feel about sellers (or buyers) who do not leave you feedback? Is it rude to remind them? Was it rude for them to not leave feedback in the first place? Do you continue to do business with them in the future?

I've had four marketplace transactions so far and left feedback for all four sellers, but only two of the sellers left feedback for me in return. I very much wanted to buy from one of the other sellers again, but since she didn't leave feedback for me, I am not sure I want to. I figure, with all the people here selling items, why not support those who are courteous enough to help me build up positive feedback? Am I nuts?

 

I would remind them. Sometimes I remind people. "Would you please leave me feedback?" basically.

 

I will do that. Thanks! This is frowned upon at some other places I've been a member at, so I wasn't sure.

 

Usually asking for feedback is a good thing here. People just simply forget, and that's nothing bad. If you look through my feedback, you can see an example of a couple of people there that simply forgot to leave feedback. It happens.


Also, since this topic has been revived and new MP rules are in place, I'd like to add my 2 cents.


Photos. Please post clear photos of your items. This is probably beating a dead horse, but I still see artsy photos that do not clearly show an item for sale. I still come up on low light and blurry images of items for sale.

You don't need a professional camera to take clear photos, just take time out of a day off to get clear photos of your items. As long as the item can be seen clearly, I feel that is enough.

This is an international forum, and timezones differ significantly. As do prices. It is not the fault of the seller that shipping an item overseas cost almost as much as the item you are buying. It is not the fault of the seller if you have to pay customs fees. Please be aware of your country's policies.

I deal a lot with international buyers/sellers, and I do my best to accommodate them. However, I will not ship doll parts or doll items in a flimsy package and without insurance to save on costs! The risk is too great, and if your item is lost/damaged/destroyed in the mail...there is no way you can be compensated. That is what the insurance is for, and a sturdy shipping box.

Which leads to my next point, and probably beating the dead horse again.

If you don't have the money, don't buy. I'm perfectly fine with someone telling me that they can't afford my price. I am fine with someone telling me that they cannot accept my offers, too!

I DO mind when I am waiting for a response. After about 3 days I will just drop you off the list and move to the next person. (with the exception to people who state that they have slow response time due to whatever reason)

Please be courteous in your communication, and please pay promptly or at least pay on a reasonable time frame. Some people who are selling items, really need that money and depend on your prompt payment, or your scheduled layaway payment. It's also just good business to be on time.

I had an emergency a little while ago, and could not ship my items out on time. Life just throws out curve balls like that. Please be courteous and let your buyers know. At least as soon as you can.
I somehow manage to ship things out, even when I AM the one heading into the ER! Or I just got out of the hospital. :I I don't recommend this at all though!! (only do it if you are well enough!!!)

If you can't ship at all, or it really is impossible to do so...just refund your buyer. It's better that way than dragging things out and causing a lot of drama, getting yourself paged or even banned. If you can't do it, you can't do it! No need to add insult to injury.


anyways...that's all I can think of for right now.

 

I always try to conclude transactions (so far only as a buyer) with "and don't forget to leave feedback ^^ "... and if they do then sure remind them (don't pester them at 12 hour intervals just because you can though ;p . I got sick right when a package arrived and it took me a few days to remember to leave feedback. So do realize too that sometimes... 'life happens outside the doll world'. Also something to note is the little dot beside a persons name... I watch for the 'green' ones... those indicate they are online 'now' and especially for PM's I try to hit sellers when they are online. So far it has worked even when I am seeking information about something.... and most of all...

If you like/want something..... check the sellers feedback FIRST! Little feedback... check to see how new they are maybe they have yet to build up or maybe.... ? I will also look at a profile and check out threads they post in to see the tone thier posts take... there are all kinds of subtle ways to check out sellers/buyers. ^^