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In going to some of the older pages of posts I notice the dates are really old-like last year.
Do listings "expire" a la EBay after a certain time? Do I need to contact each seller before buying to be sure the item is still available?
I didn't see this addressed in the FAQ's Thanks for any help. MW
MW - I think at this point it is up to each seller to make sure the items listed are still available. I'm not saying there may not be a few that are traded, forgetting that they are listed for sale . . . but that percentage is low, I think. It wouldn't be a bad idea either, to ask the seller, if that makes you feel better. I know I have some items listed from 2008 that I still have available . . . and since they are, I haven't updated the listing.
I keep the number of plants avaliable current but I don't cancel items and repost because I have seen a few threads where ppl felt that was unfair and a way to keep your item on top. But I think to keep the confusion down it would be a good idea to repost as a new item every few months just to keep ppl from thinking that its too old.
Thank you all for your input- it helps to know that just because a post is older doesn't mean the item is no longer available. Now I can shop DG first!
As long as the item is still for sale, there is no reason to change anything at all, unless you decide NOT to sell it. I will give you a prime personal experience that my statement is based on.
A year ago today I posted my first DG Marketplace ad for a Custom made Copper Dragonfly. The item was listed for $175.00 plus shipping. It was one of the first items to go into the Arts and Crafts category. (There are now *8* Pages of listings in that category!)
I haven't done regular checking on the statistics but will share what I remember seeing over the past year. About 6 months ago I checked on the number of views and there were about 450 at that time (if my memory is correct.)
2 days ago, I received an email stating that the dragonfly sold to an Elementary School in New York. I was very honored that the Elementary School chose to purchase a dragonfly from me. At any time in the past year, I could have lowered the price and sold it, but chose not to. The school purchased it at the original price I placed on the item.
I got to thinking about the amount of time that ad was on Dave's and went back to look at the ad. The ad was placed on May 17, 2008. During those 363+/- days, 928 people had looked at that item.
The purchaser signed up on Dave's Garden that very day. This tells me they found the ad some place OTHER THAN DAVE'S. It also tells me that I need to be on my "p's and q's" about this sale because this purchaser doesn't KNOW they must come back to Dave's to see the invoice, pay for the item, or communicate with me in any way. I said all of that right there in the ad, but it was at the bottom of the ad and the purchaser might not have looked closely at that. I will send them a letter by mail, with an invoice, just in case.
I've had a few cases where a new signer on Dave's purchased something in the past and then never showed back up to finish the deal and I just shrugged those sales off.
I don't want to take any chances with this sale. I don't want this school, with a multitude of potential Dave's Garden members, just because they don't know how things are done around here, to get frustrated with Dave's when their item never arrives on their doorstep. So I plan to follow up on this sale very carefully.
The only reason I am letting you all know about all of this is to let you know that older ads CAN and DO sell.
Thank you Dave for allowing me to sell on this site. If the buyer of this item wants to complete the transaction via postal mail, instead of on this site, I will instruct the buyer to come back to Dave's to "complete" the sale so you will get paid for your willingness to host this ad.
I just thought I'd update you all on this situation because it turned out so well.
As I said before, this buyer signed up on Dave's the day she purchased the dragonfly. After not hearing from the buyer of my dragonfly I sent copies of the dmails I'd written via postal mail to the address she gave as the shipping address, along with instructions to check back on Dave's to complete the sale.
I still didn't hear back from her until yesterday. She sent me a check via postal mail along with the "invoice" I'd printed (which was the original dmail I'd sent her from Dave's).
You all may think that was a lot of trouble to go through for one sale. I didn't think so and am now $195 richer for my "troubles" of following through.
Janet...that is great and I'm glad it worked out so well. That was a beautiful piece!
Every sale is different and that's why I never leave negative feedback for any orders that were placed and never responded to. Many of these customers have come back...sometimes months later. In this day and age, I'm very thankfull for any sales I receive on here and sellers have to understand that people's financial situations change daily.
Hope you're doing well and Congrats on your nice sale!
I'm doing very well. I hope that life is treating you well and that your enjoying your beautiful gardens.
Connie and I finished the body of the dragonfly today. All that is left to do is add the beads and then I'll ship him to her.
You are so right about people's financial situations changing. These are tough times for many folks. Like you, I"m very thankful for the sales I receive here.
