posted on April 13, 2005 05:38:45 PM
I have to go to Louisville KY the first weekend of June for work and then to Eau Claire WI the end of June/first of July for work/my daughters Nationals. The majority of what I sell I relist as they sell because I can make as many as I want. Should I start adding a disclaimer in my auctions NOW that I will be away during those 2 time frames and anything purchased and paid for in between those days will be shipped when I return home?
Should I post it in the first line of my auction or in the ending with shipping details?
99% of what I sell is BIN so I want to leave stuff up while I'm gone and I dont' think I'll have computer access at either place (well I might in WI, i'm not sure).
I've never done the "i'm away" thing before so any advice would be great.
posted on April 14, 2005 06:45:54 AM
I wouldn't add it until about 10 days before you leave at the maximum. When I went on a cruise in February here's what I did:
1) Changed my logo in my store with something like MOODY MOMMY IS ON VACATION 2/5 -2/20.
2)Changed my store header (the one that shows up on all your store pages: I am on vacation and will return on XXXXX. Any items purchased during this period will be shipped when I return.
3) Turned on the PayPal EOA notice and had that state that I was away and would return blah blah
4) Changed my payment rec'd notice to state away dates etc.(Vendio generated when PP rec'd)
5) emailed all my buyers when I returned that I was back and working on shipping out their packages.
6) i think you can now customize your ebay invoice that buyers see at check out under store manager and you could a blurb there until you return.
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posted on April 14, 2005 07:50:43 AM
If it is just a weekend, not sure I would bother. I've taken weekend trips (though they are getting rare these days) and not worried. I do take long trips in the winter and summer, then I do pretty much what neglus does. I also tend to make my last auction end at least 2 weeks before I leave, so there are just stragglers left. Last winter, I was gone for 17 days and did not turn off my ebay store. It was a good move, sales were pretty good. I had my store officially on vacation, and had pretty good email access on my trip so when sales came in, I invoiced people and let them know that I would be back after a certain date and orders shipped then. I think I might have gotten a neutral from someone who thought I was slow on shipping. You can get bad feedback, but for me that seems worth the risk to get some sales.
posted on April 14, 2005 03:20:35 PM
The first trip to KY is actually a 4 day away ~ Friday through Monday.
I try to ship immediately if possible so I dont want to risk any chance of anyone thinking I'm not answering emails, etc because I won't even be able to check my email. If the hotel we are staying at has a house computer (and for the price our employer is paying for the hotel they darn well should!) I can check stuff from there.
I want to make sure there is fare warning to my customers that if they make a purchase and the beginnign of my trip, especially when I'm in WI at Nationals, it will be at LEAST a week until I can take care of their order when i get home.
I dont want to risk a bad transaction but I want to keep things running while I'm gone.
I think maybe towards the end of this month I might start to add the note at the bottom of my listings.
posted on April 15, 2005 12:40:20 AM
It's way too early helga. We all know people don't read carefully - no doubt there will be some buyers that will think that it applies now and it may ADVERSELY affect your sales. Also, when you think about it, big "away" notices are like taking an ad out letting burglars know when your place will be empty. I never posted away messages when my teenaged daughter was going to be home alone for that very reason.
Frankly, for those short trips I wouldn't even bother posting anything in the listings and handle it all through email notices that are generated automatically. If someone complains later that they missed a b-day or something, then graciously refund.
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