I sell on other sites and Folksy’s ordering notification method seems very strange. Everywhere other large site I’ve sold on vendors only get notified if someone completes the ordering process by paying for an item. I don’t quite see the logic of getting notification from Folksy if someone has only put an item in their basket - it doesn’t mean they are going to buy it (I’ve done that lot’s of times to check delivery prices or just hold it there in and think about it).
It says in the help guide that if payment’s not received you should contact the buyer to confirm they want to order - but I find that a bit like hassling the customer. As a customer I would just ignore an email like that if I got one - seems pushy. I think it’s a bit much that we should be doing that and doesn’t really give a good impression (especially if there are problems with checkout - there shouldn’t be! I’ve never run into problems purchasing or selling on other sites through Paypal).
Can anyone help me understand Folksy’s logic? Maybe I’m missing something.
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You only get the notification once the buyer has clicked on the ‘checkout’ button, not when they put the item in their basket. You can compare it with eBay - you click the ‘commit to buy’ button there and then go on to make the payment. In both cases it is possible to abandon the transaction before completing the payment.
In the past all the marketplace sites using Paypal that I know of worked in this way, it was a huge thing when Etsy developed their integrated payment and took them months and months (possibly even years - they were promising it for that long) of development, I remember waiting for it impatiently!
ETA: the process for a site like this one is made much more complicated than other sites using Paypal by the fact that the buyer may be paying several different sellers individually.
i find this confusing too - in fact when i first started and got the first e-mail (and then no payment) i contacted the ‘buyer’. she said she decided to buy from another shop in the end ! So to me i can’t understand why we get the first e-mail as in reality it doesn’t mean much and in fact can end up causing you more woe than not having it.
i would like to know reason too as i always wonder about it …
It’s because some sellers offer alternative means of accepting payment other than PayPal. I took bank transfers and cheques too so a customer could “buy” from me stating bank transfer in the message to seller box then I’d email them the Iban number.
The first email confirms that they’ve bought something the second just confirms they’ve chosen to pay via PayPal.
ETA admittedly it does seem like an extra unnecessary step/email if you only take PayPal but it’s helpful the way it works if you accept other payment methods.
HTH
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I have also had the first email for a purchase, but not the follow up email to say the customer had paid. I emailed the customer thanking them for their purchase, but that payment had not been received and if they still wished to purchase the item then I was happy to send it on receipt of payment. The customer was glad I contacted her as she had got distracted while purchasing and hadn’t completed the Paypal bit. She then paid and all was well.
I think as long as you are polite and not pushy in your email it is fine to contact the customer on these occasions. After all, they have clicked to buy the item, not just put it in their basket.
Kim
x
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Hi, thanks very much to all for the replies and clarification on how this works. Will take some getting used to:)
