Comments on: eBay auto emails : what your buyers will see (it ain’t pretty)

By: Ashcan

Ashcan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:25:16 +0000

I really don’t care whether these auto emails have typos or other errors in them. I also don’t care it eBay say they are improving them.

All I want is a button so that ……………. I CAN SWITCH THEM OFF ! ! ! !

By: whirly

whirly — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:13:13 +0000

Hear, hear.

By: northumbrian

northumbrian — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:57:30 +0000

11 years on ebay and I have never come across anything as idiotic as an 48 hour payment reminder that you have no control over,
who ever thought that one up and who ever allowed it should be sectioned

By: northumbrian

northumbrian — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:49:31 +0000

plus, we have an aussie, who did not realise the shipping costs, so we agreed to forgo the transaction, next thing we know ebay fires off a payment reminder,
to say hes confused and annoyed is an understatement,
yes we should have did a mutual yes we should mark items paid yarda,yarda, yarda,
though in between all this bollocks and bullshit we need find some time to list and to sell

By: northumbrian

northumbrian — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:42:40 +0000

sod ebay I do it my way, the way that has worked quite well for over a decade
we dont remind buyers that often, and even then it needs to be a week or more

after 48 hours is pushy grasping foot in the door ,pikey, and in your face

By: board_surfer

board_surfer — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:57:27 +0000

a stab in the dark…

maybe if you marked them as paid ebay would count them as paid.

not guaranteeing anything mind you.

By: northumbrian

northumbrian — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:43:58 +0000

I am peeded off with
receiving emails from the

Concerned of Dildo on the hill
types

because ebay has sent them reminders on items they paid for by cheque weeks ago

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:43:35 +0000

p.s I would even go as far as to say some at HQ are “embarrassed” …

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:42:45 +0000

I can say with confidence, as of Friday 13th, folk at eBay HQ are looking into improving these automated emails. Watch this space!

By: Loopy

Loopy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:44:26 +0000

What a joke, yet another disaster foisted apon us by the Ho and his corporate cronies,(he really is a moron) by the way if you take a really good look at Ebay’s OWN ToS, they are violating by sending out these notifications.. they CLEARLY state they do NOT interfere in the auction process as it is between the seller and the buyer exclusively… OH really now….so what do you call this newest interferrance

I’m also curious as to why the shareholders who surely MUST see all the negative impact, the vastly reduced sellers, the vanishing buyers etc ad infinitum are NOT baying for the Ho’s blood. The mind boggles.

By: whirly

whirly — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:50:33 +0000

I own 18 websites, everyone has a checkout, everyone makes me money.

I agree, free shipping across the board. Paypal only. Lets get it over and done with ffs. This would save us all spurious amounts of corporate bullshit.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:47:10 +0000

I just went and checked – my emails have been deleted from SMP….. grrr.
I spent ages on those last week and for them to be replaced with this load of tosh! I was trying to up my communication DSR to get TRS not get myself negs

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:41 +0000

Whirly they tried it – it was called ebay express and it failed. Everyone seems to forget that.

Buyers don’t like buying from multiple sellers all at once in the same basket with massive postage to go with it. There’s no room for combined shipping for obvious reasons. The only way that is ever going to work is if free shipping is compulsory across the site.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:56:33 +0000

“but until you either marry me” Is this a proposel ?

By: Bigpoppa

Bigpoppa — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:56:30 +0000

Quite right…by the way good luck with the job interview…

By: JD

JD — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:38:57 +0000

And remember I am already upset by having had 3 reminders (at just 48 weekend hours) to pay for this modest order of 3 items.

By: Cambridge_Blue

Cambridge_Blue — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:29:15 +0000

You mean that amazing ecommerce innovation that has been around for 20 years or so – surely not sir
Perhaps the ‘disruptive innovation’ executive team at eBay will rediscover it just before the Hoe departs and takes his pension pot with him.
pip pip

By: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:25:48 +0000

“the full p/p amounts are shown against each item”

Arrghhh… don’t you just hate being told you might have paid more than you thought you did!

By: David Brackin

David Brackin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:52:32 +0000

Thanks Chris – I enjoyed meeting you and thanks for lunch too.

Jimbo — there are still a few trading assistants around. We keep an eye on the space — we’re pretty relaxed about competition and have a friendly relationship with other TAs that we know. Looking around I’d have said there are fewer professionals out there than, say, 18 months ago when A4U closed.

AuctionPeople have been around for a little while but have recently grown sharply, and whilst they are still showing quarterly GMV below £3k, I’d expect them to double or triple that if they can keep getting good stuff in.

We hope they can make a go of it, and hope to meet them if they want to get in touch.

By: JD

JD — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:36:20 +0000

As an update, I have just had my first ‘despatch email’.

There is a typo in the text (that wasn’t in the SMP sample preview):

Hello xxxxxxxx,

Thanks for shopping on eBay. To help you track of your purchases, we’re sending you this order update.You can also keep track of all your purchases in My eBay.

Would also benefit from a space between sentences 2/3.

It was an order for 3 items with combined (discounted) p/p.
There is no mention of this in the email and the full p/p amounts are shown against each item.

The sellers customised message was delivered in full and provided proper information. Non SMP subscribers are at an unfair disadvantage.

Still need that opt out for the payment reminder.

If eBay was a pub, not many peeps would drink there…….
……..unless of course it was the only pub.

By: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:40:22 +0000

I don’t want to be rude, but until you either marry me or buy out my business interests what I do, what events I attend, who else attends the same events, and where I go is absolutely nothing to do with you and will remain that way.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:07:26 +0000

Chris, I disgaree completely that it’s none of my business. If you did have lunch or a meeting with anyone from ebay why shouldn’t I ask what whether these appalling emails were raised and what the response is? Or was the meeting just to talk over PR for ebay?

If you didn’t have lunch or meet anyone is Jenny Thomas making up that she saw you yesterday then? http://twitter.com/jennythomas25/status/5564971816

(Jenny Thomas is Corporate PR bod for eBay UK for those that don’t know)

By: whirly

whirly — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:18 +0000

Correct, again

By: Sue Bailey

Sue Bailey — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:25:38 +0000

Merely fixing the spelling is not going to get over the fact that these are HORRIBLY written emails. The language itself is poor, the concepts are useless, and whoever wrote them seems to have the idea that if you begin a sentence with “thank you”, you should always end it with an exclamation mark.

By: whirly

whirly — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:20:36 +0000

I don’t understand the silence then, a thread on PS board has been running for a week about it, Patrick has posted on TameBay today.

If they have fixed the typos and spelling why can’t I see it in my SMP previews and why hasn’t someone from eBay just said ‘it’s ok folks weve changed it and it’s now correct, some of you may see the old one bla bla bla’