One more reason why ebay is dying.

[eSCHEn]

I got the same from that company
I don't know were they make thier money but if a fair proportion is selling thier units to fabrication firms that's a big downer
I respond to all contacts even if I decline to quote I will give them another firms details etc

Did you use the sales@ or technical@ address Kent? I used Sales as usually they're a bit hungrier for the business but nada.

 

[Kent]

Did you use the sales@ or technical@ address Kent? I used Sales as usually they're a bit hungrier for the business but nada.

Can't remember they replied quickly when I asked to trial a certain plant. Then when I asked a technical question it all went quiet

 

[sardine]

Gumtree really pees me off, at least 50% of buyers are time wasters that never turn up, or try to get something for nothing.

PS

But my steps in the for sale thread.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Gumtree really pees me off, at least 50% of buyers are time wasters that never turn up, or try to get something for nothing.

PS

But my steps in the for sale thread.

My IP is banned off Gumtree, no idea why, I sold an MX5 about 10 years ago, a very happy buyer at the time and still happy last time I saw him, never used it since and tried to list something last month and 'computer says NO' go away and don't darken our doorstep again sort of thing.

I should probably try and find out why but can't really be bothered, I'm not loosing any sleep over it.

 

[Kayos]

I've just bought some bits to repair a boiler, didn't even look on eBay and went to a local shop. For a laugh I searched for it, at least £25 more on eBay

 

[hunter27]

I usually use Ebay for stuff like this but after reading the first post here yesterday I had a look at the Baconsdozen website, I was after some imperial Allen keys. I found a set on there, bought it using paypal and they have just been delivered (next day). I will certainly be book-marking them for the future. I have no other connection with them apart from being a satisfied customer.
Pete

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

Just been sorting through and organising my years reciepts for submitting my Self-assessment. I came across one for an item I bought from E-bay with a slip attached stating 'please visit our website, where you can find more items at cheaper prices!'

 

[graffian]

I hardly ever buy anything offline, but the price determines where I buy.

 

[TechnicAl]

I bought a car cam. Looked on line and they were about £140. Went to Maplins so I could actually see it. They were £170 and a Memory card another £24. I bought it from Maplins. The other day it didnt record. Im not sure if it had gone wrong or if I had done something I shouldnt have, so I took it back. They replaced both Cam and Card, no questions asked........That wouldnt have happened if I had bought it on-line

 

[ajlelectronics]

Very true....

I have been trying to buy a pricy Hi-Fi turntable and accessories. All local ish dealers have nil stock. Two of them were going to call me Monday / Tuesday with availability and didn't. So far I have waited since Saturday, when I could have gone to Amazon and have it working Monday evening. Sometimes it is just so hard to follow your heart and give your money to an established personal business!

I did get the promised email response from Sevenoaks in Cheltenham though and they are getting the business. Sadly their email got SPAM-trapped, but that wasn't their fault!

 

[Farside]

I have given up on looking on ebay as the categories get stuffed up with other unrelated crap. Example i put in Harrison lathe, but the sellers put Harrison, Colchester, Myford after Harrison to maximise views. So the adds you want to see get buried under pages of garbage. Cant be arsed with it.

I use fairly standard regular expressions on ebay searches, eg; Harrison -Colchester,-Myford,-Whatever. One thing I used to do regularly was bracket the searches and use other exclusions and conditions. Some of them got complex, but the fine-tuning produced some excellent filtering. There's an ebay help page on searching which appears to be gobblegook at first, but is actually quite useful.

 

[Farside]

Me too. I emailed a local firm for the price of a piece of glass for my blast cabinet. I didn't get a reply.

I've emailed many businesses with queries and the response rate has improved over the years. Sometimes it takes a few days, but for most things it's usually quicker than that, which is fair enough if it's not urgent.

 

[rtbcomp]

Clarke responded within the 24hrs they said they would and having not heard from the other two Clarke got the order.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, If you want to buy locally go in the shop and ask them price and availability. It is easier to ignore an email than someone standing in front of you. For the retailer to have you standing in the shop is more of a commitment to buy than an email will be.

Colin

 

[rtbcomp]

If businesses aren't prepared to answer emails they shouldn't publish email addresses and invite people to communicate that way.

I prefer to use Email rather than phone because everything is in writing, it gives the shop time to find the information I'm looking for, it doesn't tie my phone up for incoming calls and its free.

 

[MattF]

If businesses aren't prepared to answer emails they shouldn't publish email addresses and invite people to communicate that way.

Couldn't agree more.

I prefer to use Email rather than phone because everything is in writing, it gives the shop time to find the information I'm looking for, it doesn't tie my phone up for incoming calls and its free.

Can always tell a Yorkshireman. Another reason is that you have plenty of time to word things exactly, and double check what you're asking/saying, with e-mail. Less chance of fluffing what you say. Plus, if anyone else is like me, I have a bad tendency to stammer/stutter on the phone. Don't know why, as I never do it any other time, but phones and I just don't mix. Much prefer e-mail myself.

 

[Farside]

I sent an enquiry to the business listed in the OP - two days ago. Nothing back yet; and yet, this is a business that's supposed to be web-aware.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, As I understand it websites have to publish contact details, would you buy from a website that didn't have that. How many times have people on here moaned because ebay hide their contact telephone number? If you were the shopkeeper and someone walked into the shop and an email pinged, which one would you deal with? You're more likely to get a sale from someone that's taken the trouble to come in the shop. Or someone who is idly punting round the internet trying to see if he can get another 2p off? I know it depends on the type of sale.

Colin

 

[rtbcomp]

Deal with the person there and then - the beauty of emails is that you can attend to them when convenient. Nobody should expect an instant response to an email. It's better than asking a customer to wait while you answer the phone, or you let the phone ring out whilst you deal with someone in person.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Couldn't agree more.



I have a bad tendency to stammer/stutter on the phone.

That's interesting Matt. I was brought up in Birmingham and always had trouble in saying what I wanted, I would just come out with rubbish sometimes. Then we moved down to Gloucester and the problem largely disappeared. My assumption is that the brain is working faster than the mouth and trying to modify what you are saying in real time. As the speech speed is fairly quick in the Midlands, there is no time to do that. The pace of life is slower here and people speak much more slowly, so there is time for the brain to do the mods and interrupt the output stream correctly.

May be nonsense, but it would seem that on the 'phone, you may be thinking on top of your "rehearsed" conversation.