Thursday, May 24, 2012

Ready for Tomorrow

I've had a very blah day today. I'm just feeling very ho-hum, low-energy, not myself. I got a few new listings up this morning. I'm encouraged to see my unlisted inventory pile steadily decreasing.  I had been running a 50% off clothing sale the last few days, which really made my sales soar. But that sale ended last night, and with it, my actual sales. I sold 2 jars of shoe cream today, and I think that's it. lol.  So I'm running another sale right now. We'll see if that helps.

A neighboring borough requires permits for yard sales. This weekend, they've lifted that requirement and are having a community-wide yard sale. I thought I would be very excited about it, but I'm having a hard time mustering up the enthusiasm required for a marathon yard saling weekend. I hope to get out some on Saturday morning, hopefully to find a few goodies. If I do, I'll be sure to post about them.

I sold a Brooks Brothers sport coat for $25 + shipping the other day during my 50% off sale. As I was getting ready to package it, I noticed that the undersides of both sleeve cuffs were quite stained. I have no idea how I missed that. But what's more, I just had it dry-cleaned. I have no idea how the dry-cleaner missed it too! So I sent the buyer some pictures, asking how he wanted to handle it. I offered either a partial refund or a cancellation. Normally, I am very averse to partial refunds. But in this case, I wanted the dumb jacket gone. It was CLEARLY my error. And I only paid $1.50 for the thing. Plus I had it dry-cleaned during a special promotion. I think I paid $2.99 for that. So the buyer wrote me back, thanking me for catching the problem. He said he was hoping the stains would be small, but he sees that they are actually quite noticeable. But he still wants to complete the transaction, because he can just keep it at his office as a spare. So I offered him half off. He seemed quite pleased with that. I sent him his refund, and his jacket will go out to him tomorrow. No, not much of a profit at all. But a happy customer!

I've had a couple poo-ey buyers leave me less than stellar feedback and DSR's, so that's got me down too. I try really hard and take my business very seriously. The crazy lady with the Hello Kitty slippers is all mad because I "used the rules as an excuse to avoid refunding her immediately."  lol. She actually said that in her neutral feedback (thank goodness it wasn't a negative).  Seriously. Like anyone is going to read that comment and feel that it reflects poorly on me as a seller. That I followed the rules. How dare I.

And I had two other buyers leave me a (1) for communication. That I don't understand at all. The one was an offer that I accepted. I immediately sent an invoice (as I always do), and on day 3, I sent a 2nd invoice (as I always do). After day 4, my UPI assistant opened an unpaid item case against her (as it always does). She paid the next day, with a note apologizing for not paying earlier - she didn't realize I had accepted her offer. Really? The 2 invoices from me and the reminder from eBay weren't a clue?? She had left me a positive feedback, stating that the items were good but that communication was very poor. Sigh.

The other (1) for communication is a true puzzle. I think it was for a shoe cleaning starter kit. The comment just said "All around great kit. Long process."  No idea what that means, and why that was deserving of a (1) on communication. But whatever. Onward and upward.

I need today to be over. It was not a good day personally. I am ready to start over tomorrow, with a new outlook and a fresh perspective on life.

5 comments:

  1. Are you not eligible for the auto 5 star communication if there is none? And is sending an invoice considered communication? Is Ebay's auto payment reminder considered communication?

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  2. This is a pretty horrible chain off events, but focus on anything positive related to your business, no matter how small to keep you going through this difficult period. I have concluded that people selling really well right now are making drastic price cuts to their inventory and I wonder if this is what it takes to make a decent living.

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  3. Lorraine, that's an interesting point. With the first woman who said she didn't know I accepted her offer, SHE messaged ME to tell me that, which voids the auto-5 star.

    Anonymous, thank you for your words of encouragement. Yesterday was just a dark day for me, and it wasn't really eBay-related. All the eBay junk piled on top just made it seem worse. Today will be better :)

    I think you're right. When I was running that sale and getting tons of sales, the items I was selling were mostly half-price. Still a good profit, but I think this time of year, it's either that or nothing.

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  4. Sorry for the bad day.Sometimes you just have to slog through..
    Crazy Hello Kitty buyer made me LOL-you cannot fix crazy, you can only medicate it.
    I love reading your blog.

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  5. They say things come in 3. Maybe crazy does to. Hopefully that will be the end of it. Unfornately dealing with customers can be difficult. Everyone has their own personality (or personalities) and sees things differently. When I get a bad one I just walk away for a bit and do something I love. That usually puts things into prospective.

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