Al, thanks for your input. A sellers perspective would, I expect, be
somewhat different from a buyers. And, there is really no way to measure
whether you have lost business or not when you limit your sale to certified
funds. I can say that in most ebay auctions, if the buyer only accepts
certified funds that I normally do not bid - because of the hassle of
getting a m.o. or trip to the bank. As a seller, you may not have lost the
sale, but you may have lost some money.
As to my post, I was hoping for more discussion than has been generated. I
am a bit underwhelmed by the response! I thought maybe some of the folks
who have had problems would speak up and offer some comment.
In any event, I appreciate your having taken the time to read my post and
reply.
Cal Hyer
----- Original Message -----
From: Al & Jeanna Figols <ALJF@mhonline.net>
To: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 6:00 AM
Subject: Re: DML: DML, Trust & a Thought for Discussion : Please Read
> I sell alot of car parts on ebay and over the net and I also do quite a
> bit of buying aswell. From a selling stand point I've had to adapt a
> policy of "moneyorder or pay-pal only" for payment and ship only after I
> receive the payment. In the beginning I used to ship COD, accept
> personal checks and in some cases ship before I receive payment. I
> quickly found out that the hand full of dishonest people out ther were
> ruining it for the rest of you. I would get refused COD's(which means
> I'm in the hole for shipping), bounced checks(I'm out the part and the
> bounced check fee) and sometimes No payment at all!! Needless to say I
> put an end to it and to be honest with you, I haven't lost any
> business. If people want references I tell them to check out my
> feedback or I forward them to a few web sites where I'm known. If
> that's not good enough, I let them walk away. It's not worth the
> aggravation or loss of money to me.
> As for buying on the net....for ebay I won't bid on any item where the
> seller has a feedback rating of less than 10 or 2 negatives in 6
> months. I've NEVER been burned this way! For other sources, simply do
> your homework by asking for references. This system has worked quite
> well for me for the past 3-4 years.
> Al
>
> Alex Harris wrote:
> >
> > That's an interesting notion, Cal. In all the cases I've purchased over
the
> > net, I've always had to pay first and then cross my fingers and hope
that I
> > was dealing with a reputable person. And you're right, sometimes this
> > involves hundreds of dollars.
> >
> > Obviously it would have to be voluntary, there's no way to regulate
usage.
> > And someone would have to be willing to do it. Pay would come from
where, a
> > surcharge on all transactions? Would people be willing to pay that for
the
> > peace of mind and security it adds? I would be tempted to use an escrow
> > agent, especially for higher-ticket items. But then again, for many
> > transactions it might be unnecessary. Also, what if someone returns an
item
> > that they used and/or damaged, who will be responsible for the dispute
> > between the vendor and purchaser as to whether money should be refunded?
> >
> > Would there be enough transactions to make it worthwhile? I just don't
know
> > if the volume is high enough to warrant someone committing resources to
it.
> >
> > My $.02
> >
> > - Alex
> >
> > > From: Cal Hyer <clhyer@hom.net>
> > > Reply-To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
> > > Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 05:37:34 -0800
> > > To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
> > > Subject: DML: DML, Trust & a Thought for Discussion : Please Read
> > >
> > > I am going to ramble for a few minutes, but I hope that you will stay
with
> > > me.
> > >
> > > I do a substantial amount of my purchasing over the net. And until
last
> > > year, I had my own Internet business with custom woodworking. I have
> > > purchased many (100+) items from ebay ranging from a few dollars to
over
> > > $100. I have been burned twice on small ticket items. I have
purchased
> > > used tools from $100-$300 from individuals that ran classified ads on
my
> > > favorite woodworking site: Woodmagazine.com without a problem.
> > >
> > > This brings me to my Dak and the DML. I have upgraded and added
accessories
> > > that I have purchased through ebay and online businesses. Without
problem.
> > > I have traded trinkets and advice with many of you - without a catch.
> > > Unfortunately, when it comes to a business deal with "some" fellow
DML'ers I
> > > cannot say the same thing. Why is this? In no particular order,
consider:
> > >
> > > 1. The number of people "unhappy" with QuickD recently due to a
lack of
> > > communication and no parts being shipped and the DML messages.
> > > 2. The number of people "unhappy" with R&D Performance for past
(and
> > > recent) transactions.
> > > 3. I recall 1 or 2 other incidents with folks on the DML having a
tough
> > > time getting parts ordered from other DML'ers.
> > >
> > > Generally, I believe that we are talking about items over $100 here.
A
> > > throttle body, an intake, shift kit, core charge or whatever.
> > >
> > > I have an idea to throw out. Patterned after ebay's "Tradenable". If
you
> > > want to do business with someone (be it Tony, Patrick or anyone else)
but
> > > you are uncomfortable because of reputation or simply because of the
amount
> > > of money involved - we establish the following: A third party to act
as an
> > > escrow agent. If you are unfamiliar with this type of process, it
would
> > > work like this:
> > >
> > > 1. You place your order with (for illustration - R&D) for the part and
> > > notify R&D and our escrow agent that payment will be placed in escrow.
> > > 2. You send payment to the escrow agent, depending upon payment type,
the
> > > escrow agent will then:
> > > a. with a personal check, wait a given number of days (Tradenable uses
> > > 10 days) for the check to clear and then notify R&D that payment has
been
> > > received.
> > > b. with certified funds, immediately notify R&D that payment was
> > > received.
> > > 3. R&D ships the product, upon receipt,
> > > 4. You notify the escrow agent to issue payment to R&D, or
> > > 5. If you are unhappy you send the product back and notify the escrow
agent
> > > to refund your money.
> > >
> > > You can immediately see the advantages. The escrow agent is a
disinterested
> > > third party. If you get your product you are happy and the seller is
happy.
> > > If you don't get your product, you can at least be assured that you
will get
> > > your money back. If you are interested to see the info at ebay, check
this
> > > link: http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/escrow.html
> > > You will note that there is a fee for this, depending upon the amount
of the
> > > transaction. We would also have to pay for this. The escrow agent
would be
> > > devoting time, postage, and a bank account (which are not cheap in
this
> > > area) to the process. This would be a totally optional service, but
for a
> > > fee to the buyer. Also, the seller would have to agree.
> > >
> > > The only downside that I can see is that it might slow up a
transaction, but
> > > then it may not.
> > > What do you all think? Would you use it if it was available? Our
vendor
> > > choice for good accessories is a very small pool. This may help us to
get,
> > > and keep, more.
> > >
> > > Please give me some feedback!
> > >
> > >
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:59:57 EDT