'Bought your work' e-mail confusion

hi.

i am feeling a bit confused and was wondering if somebody could help me please.

i expect this has been discussed before…

i received an e-mail saying somebody has ‘bought’ a card from me, complete with all their personal details, but then it was not paid for.

i contacted them and they said they had decided not to go with me and had bought from somebody else…!
i then felt stupid for contacting them.

my question is then - at what point is an item classed as ‘bought’ ?

as in this case, it was clearly not ever ‘bought’.

thanks,

sally.

An order is ‘confirmed’ by the buyer during the checkout process and at that point the item is shown as ‘sold’ in your shop, and you receive an email from Folksy. If the buyer doesn’t continue with payment, it’s usually either because they’ve changed their mind or had problems with paypal/checkout. I always contact the customer in case there’s a problem, but if they want to cancel the order or don’t respond, you can go to the order details and delete the order yourself. This will return the item to your shop and reverse the Folksy fees. You used to have to wait 24 hours before you could cancel it, but you can do so at any time now as long as the customer hasn’t paid.

You shouldn’t feel stupid for contacting them - people do change their minds sometimes, and it’s better to offer help in case of a problem rather than ignoring them. A brief enquiry as to whether they would like to continue with the order or not, and whether they are encountering problems with the checkout process is usually sufficient. Keep it professional and don’t take it personally if they decide to cancel.

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thanks v. much for this … just seems a bit odd to say it has been ‘bought’ when it hasn’t …

Yeah, it’s a Folksy ‘feature’…you get used to it…lol :smile:

i wonder if buyers are experiencing more difficulties at checkout than previously as I’ve had a couple of sales where I’ve had to contact the buyer as they haven’t paid at the time- the first time the buyer actually sent a paypal payment not via Folksy and I marked it as paid.

This never happened to me before (except with people who had no intention of buying), so it seems odd that it should suddenly start happening.

@SallyandtheFreckles glad you posted here , as I hadn’t seen your shop before. Now I have a Capybara card for my (capybara loving ) sons 18th :slight_smile:

The Folksy system is odd , it is definitely worth contacting the buyer though, as more often than not it is a payment problem and they do complete the purchase with help.

thanks so much. i love capybaras. they are the best !

i contacted the ‘buyer’ - they had bought a card from someone else which was a bit embarrassing…

Don’t be embarrassed, its just the way Folksy sales work. I have at least one non payer every month, it’s always the same item, strangely! I had one just yesterday! I have given up emailing the non payers and now cancel the order the following day. I did ask admin about this once, when I had a big run of non payers in a row, but they seemed to think there wasn’t a problem, hey-ho! Best Wishes with your shop, Sue x

thanks for this.

I’ve had the same experience as you and felt silly contacting the buyer. But then on other occasions I’ve cancelled the sale when it hasn’t been paid, and the customer has got in touch to say they had problems with paypal and they do want to buy the item!

So I think it’s always worth a quick email.

I always contact the buyer. In 99% of the cases they’ve had a problem with paying, Paypal for one reason or another. I never ignore and just cancel as I know there are issues with the way Folksy / Paypal interact.

thanks for your help.

This is one Folksy quirk that really bugs me!
No only do items show as being bought now - which I’m okay with - they then translate on the front page to ‘‘sold’’ when they haven’t been paid for…and stay there till another item is bought and reclaims the spot!

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it’s all a bit odd - makes my brain go fuzzy.
surley ‘bought’ means paid.
like when you go in a shop - you don’t say you’ve ‘bought’ it until you’ve paid for it … !?

just to say this happened again with another customer yesterday. i e-mailed them and they said they had a problem wioth paying then tried again and it worked. so a happy ending.
thanks for your replies.

Hi, I have also found great value in contacting the buyer as often they have removed the item from sale, had a foul up when trying to make payment and then can’t find the item to complete the purchase (although should still be in their basket). There have been a few time times where I have had to re-list one off items in order to allow the buyer to start again.

Ps I also love capybaras … and cavies too :smile:

Mandy

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Never say I miss a marketing opportunity :smile:, but there are a couple of capybara prints in my shop - I thought I was unusual in thinking they are soooo cute!

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thanks for this - i’ve decided best to contact them - so far people have seemed v. understanding and pleasant.

i think it’s just me and you covering the capybara front on folksy !

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