The subject is SICK buyers on Etsy! I have encountered my actual first - as opposed to the nut job that hit many of my friends. Someone bought my Tiger Eye bead yesterday. As this is a bead I loved and it took a LONG time in the flame to get it right, I had serious doubts as to whether it would EVER find a home!
And I was overjoyed when I got the email it had sold...but there was no payment. I foolishly sent her a convo explaining how Etsy works. I have had customers not make it all the way to check out in the past - so I assumed.
But last night, something told me to check her feedback. She had 109 and negative and 21 neutral feedback! In all my years on ebay, I only got one negative (from a seller who changed the list of items AFTER I auto bid. I stopped payment through PP and she stopped taking PP!). As I read her feedback, my heart sank. She clearly buys stuff and doesn't pay FREQUENTLY. But her rating is still 95% positive thanks to over 2100 positive transactions.
Clearly Etsy is making money because this woman shops A LOT! So they have no reason to care.
But let's look at the issues created by someone who puts an item in their cart and mere SECONDS later, decides not to pay for said item.
The seller has to:
- waste time trying to contact a buyer they may think is legit (if they haven't read her feedback).
- lose money in Paypal fees if she initiates payment and asks for a refund...which this buyer has done!
- lose hits and views while the item is not listed, therefore missing potential income.
- has to cancel the sale and explain to Etsy why the listing fees and sales fees should be refunded.
- Relist the item
- All previous hits and, more importantly, hearts from LEGITIMATE customers are lost! REAL customers assume incorrectly their hearted item is gone!
So, this is the letter I wrote Etsy. I implore other sellers to beseige them with similar letters.
I am writing to you in regards to my most recent sale!
Etsy, you MUST give sellers the option to BLOCK A BUYER. This woman has SERIOUS impulse control! With over 100 in negative feedback for non payment issues, she should be permanently blocked by you. Since you make money off of her, you won't grow a pair and do it and protect your sellers!
But you should give us the option to BLOCK such sick people!
There are mere SECONDS between purchase and payment. This woman KNOWS she has NO INTENTION OF PAYING!
But it is us lowly sellers who have to take the time to relist - LOSING ALL OUR HITS, VIEWS AND HEARTS!! (Hearts from LEGITIMATE PAYING customers)
Then we have take more time to get our LISTING FEES AND SALES FEES -she caused us to pay - back! Who has the time to deal with such sick people!
Seriously, if you were a seller and saw her feedback, would you want to risk doing business with HER? I DON'T! It's hard enough to make a living without dealing with this crap!
PLEASE LET US BLOCK BUYERS!
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3 comments:
Holly, I think you have the wrong target here. I think the public flogging should be for the buyer. She's the problem, in this case, not Etsy. I know your buyer b/c she's done the same thing to me twice. Her non paying targets are glass people for the most part. I would agree that Etsy needs a way for us to be able to block buyers, but we can refuse to allow them to buy from us legitimately on Etsy. I've actually written to her and asked her not to buy from me again. It seems that once you give her negative feedback, she stops buying from you. Make sure you give her feedback before you cancel the sale. Sorry this happened to you, but you aren't alone. I would advise that you choose the right target next time. It's not Etsy's problem, it's the buyer's problem. I feel sorry for her.
Rosebud, while I agree this person is SICK SICK SICK, it's Etsy that HAS the power. They don't care because she has THOUSANDS of positive sales that they make money from.
Because they refuse to give us the power to block a sale and not have to spend time dealing with this is the reason I hold them accountable!
It's just as much Etsy's problem as it is the buyer. If Etsy would take action for people who receive so much negative feedback based on the same issue of nonpayment, then Etsy is just as much to blame for allowing the same behaviour to continue.
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