Hi, I’m a new seller and am wondering what to do in this situation. I had a potential buyer give me a deposit for an animal and agreed that temps were to low to ship. I told them that I would keep an eye on the wether and communicate weekly which I have. I messaged them last week that I could potentially ship this week but never heard back. I messaged them again this past Sunday stating that the forecast changed, temps looked too low but next week looked pretty good. No response. I messaged them again Monday asking if they were getting my messages and if there was a better way to reach them. No response. My question is how long should I hold this animal for them? I feel that I should message them again this Friday updating them on shipping next week and that if I do not receive a response in 48 hours I will relist the animal and they will forfeit their deposit? I want to be fair but want to find a home for this animal - and with a responsible owner. Thanks for your help people!
Does your store policy address your rules for deposits? I think your timeline is good - message again Friday and then give them until Monday to respond. But personally, unless your store policy specifically addresses it, I would refund the deposit and relist the animal.
From MorphMarket’s default store policy:
Deposits are non-refundable if Buyer backs out of a deal. Any amount paid by Buyer that is defined as a “deposit” in the ongoing transaction is considered a non-refundable deposit. If Seller does not specify that additional payments are non-refundable or sales are final, or does not specify the percentage of a full payment that represents the non-refundable portion, that amount shall not exceed 10% of the asking price.
If Seller backs out of a deal that Buyer has paid money into, Seller is responsible to pay back 100% of the money, including any portion labeled as non-refundable. Seller must also refund any additional amounts paid by Buyer for the shipping label.
I’m not sure whether no response qualifies as the buyer backing out, so to be safe I agree with @solarserpents on what direction to take.
In addition to the excellent feedback you have already received, I generally use the following thought process when dealing with issues like these. Is a relatively meager deposit going to be worth the potential damage to your reputation if that individual gets on Facebook and spends a day or 3 putting your name out negatively? Doesn’t matter if you are technically in the right keeping his deposit (which you seemingly would be), is the hours, days, weeks, months of potential fallout and your time worth the $50 (or $200)?
It doesn’t but I’ve updated it now so as to not have issues with this in the future.
I agree with what you’re saying. I will go through as planned. If they respond I will refund their deposit - $25. Can I leave them a negative review even if the purchase was never completed? People should be aware of buyers like this.