Selling insects. Why do I bother!!!!!!!

Hi Stringer,

It's always unpleasant to receive a negative feedback on Ebay, but I do not find much interest in reading your post ?

A+, Michel

sorry about the thread mygos, please feel free not to read any more posts by me, it is the porch light section.
just wondered if anyone else had shared a similar situation thats all.

Thank alex, who are you on ebay? private message me.
regards
pete

hello wollastoni
To be honest, the buyer is a very good honest and trusted ebayer. i wouldn't want to discredit him in any way. I was just shocked that he did not collect his parcel and then tried to claim the money back. If the beetles were not M. ugandensis (which are expensive to buy direct for me) I would have given him a partial refund, but i did not make that much profit. It was yet again, another parcel posted to france. It always seems to be france for me that i loose anything.
Thanks again
pete

HAHAHA lmfao

I had a USA customer who claimed to have not received one of my cheap $29 domes. So, I sent him another which he claimed he also did not receive and opened a case against me. I provide free shipping in the USA and charge overseas customers about half of the cost. I settled by refunding his money, fully confident that he had received both domes (just prior to Christmas) and then I put a block on him in my store to prevent further purchases. I do not track domes under $200. Overseas shipments can't be tracked anyway via the US Postal Service. The customs form # only tracks to the port of exit from the country.

I would NOT have refunded money for a much more expensive dome and would have fought it as you did.

I also learned that postal insurance is useless. I had an Australian customer receive an expensive dome which was crushed during transit. I double box and double cushion as you do. Both boxes had been pierced and disfigured, probably by a fork lift and the dome inside had been shattered. The package had been insured. I sent the customer another dome, which arrived fine, while I awaited resolution on the insurance claim. I triple box and insulate domes above $400.

The US Postal Service sends a form to the receiving post office which has 30 days to complete the form and return it to the US Postal Service. If not returned inside of 30 days the case is closed and they rule against you. In this case though, the receiving post office claimed the dome was not well packed and the US Postal Service said I had no claim. I ceased buying postal insurance after that event as it is a complete waste of money. I have saved enough on insurance to more than pay for any future damage should another dome suffer a similar fate.

All in all, an Ebay store is a whole lot cheaper than maintaining a brick and mortar store, plus you have a readily accessible worldwide customer base, whereas a brick and mortar store is subject to the local economy and a very limited customer base.

As in any business, there are ups and downs, but the bottom line IS "The Bottom Line"...are you making a significant profit year over year? Brick and mortar stores absorb a 10% loss via theft and breakage. If you are NOT making a profit worthy of the problems you must face, then you have a bad business model and need reassess the way your business is set up.

I would not lose a wink of sleep over a negative feedback. I only check mine to learn the arrival date of a package and that data is added into a database for each country or US state. I do not check feedback on any of the Ebayers I purchase from. I simply look at the total number of feedback and if they are a power seller or higher. That is sufficient confirmation to me that I am dealing with a reputable seller. Aside from that, if you are a high volume seller, that one negative feedback will quickly get lost far down the list.

Do not abandon your business unless you are NOT making money. Roll with the punches that will inevitably come and rather than watching feedback, stay focused on The Bottom Line.

despite being more expensive, I always use registered parcel !
more difficult for the customer to "say" "not received" and easier to proove that the package was presented to his recipient.
I never had problem until now (and I had some before using the normal postage service).
In case of doubt about the quality of the item (broken, etc), I first propose to refund or replace it.
of course you lost some costumer for one 1 or 2 items because of the fees higher, but you gain peace.

While we are on this subject, does anyone use Western Union to transfer money overseas, I just have and it has turned into an absolute nightmare, the transfer was declined, they would not tell me why, but the money has left my account, held in suspension somewhere,who knows where, the Bermuda f!!!!!!g triangle perhaps, the seller is not happy as he has already sent the specimens, must think I have conned him, but I cant afford to pay him twice, I need my money refunded before I can find another means of payment but I just keep being passed from one to another, apparantly its nobodys fault but I still dont have my money back, twats.