Originally Posted by
ashtonsser 5 weeks is nothing to wait for something over seas.Agreed, but if you listen to the way derm tells it, he'd been waiting 5 weeks for
a tracking number. That's completely different. I have no idea if a tracking number was requested by derm, and/or promised by Charles, but that's because neither derm nor Charles cares to tell us.
Originally Posted by
ashtonsser Hell my manifold i ordered from taiwan took 3 weeks to get here and thats because i paid for it to come faster. There is a process it has to go through.I don't say this often, but it took me
9 months to take delivery of my wheels. For a good
8 months there was no communication between the seller and me. I trusted the seller and he told me at the beginning it would take a while to get the wheels.
I've waited
6 months for window glass before. Again, I was told it would take some time to get the glass, and I trusted the seller.
These sales went through drama free. At the time of order the seller told me not to expect quick turn-around so I could have gone elsewhere if time was important.
I sold a custom piece that didn't exist yet to a forum member that took
4-5 months to ship. I kept him informed most every week as to the progress and the sale went off without a single problem. No clusterfuсk. No drama.
Originally Posted by
ashtonsser This is exactly the reason why i will never sell anything to anyone over seas or hell even out of the country. Screw that crap.I wouldn't hesitate to sell to someone outside of the country. I would make sure they knew it would take a very long time for the item to arrive. I would insure the item and get a tracking number to the party ASAP and keep communication open until the customer reported they were happy. I would make sure my plate wasn't full of personal life stuff and work stuff for that entire period. I have two items right now I've been wanting to sell for months but haven't posted yet because I know I am not free to take complete care of the buyer for the next (worst case scenario) couple of weeks or months.
That's just basic customer service 101 right there as far as I'm concerned.
These people we see getting upset after waiting weeks for their stuff seem unrealistic compared to other stories of waiting months, but they were probably never informed how long they should expect to wait which as far as I'm concerned is the seller's mistake for not being upfront with that information (verbal communication or tracking info).
Would derm be here today if Charles said at the beginning "You can expect to wait upwards of two months to receive these items and in the mean time I might have some things that prevent me from keeping in touch with you during the duration of that wait. You won't get a tracking number, but I give you my personal guarantee that I will make sure you get the items or if all else fails, a refund in the event of an unforeseen disaster."?
I realize that sort of honesty might have lost Charles the sale, but that's what I expect from my vendors (shouldn't we all?), and that's what I give my customers. It could have easily prevented Charles from losing his paypal account (if that is indeed going to happen).