New After Sales Tools Prototype

**Andy** · 26-05-10, 12:23

We are in the process of gradually introducing some new seller tools, which we hope will make the process of managing sales (especially for larger sellers) much easier and more streamlined.

Please read the following article on the new after sales tools and provide us with feedback where appropriate. Please note that this is a prototype and is still subject to change (potentially significantly).

**BumbleBee** · 26-05-10, 13:17

Hi Andy, very impressive so far! If I had a hat it would be off :D

This is what I've been doing so far. I am using Outlook Express to manage my orders. I have rules set up so that when an order is placed the mail will be moved into a folder called "Orders Received", once I have received a payment for an order I will "flag" the message. Once the order is posted I will send the tracking number to the buyer and move the message to a folder called "Orders Posted"

If we could have the Order Status set up with something like: Payment received, Partial Payment Received, Cancelled, Posted and maybe 1 or 2 tags that sellers can define themselves?

Looking forward to seeing these tools evolve :)

**lilythepink** · 26-05-10, 13:25

I am not a big seller but a quick look impresses me! Looks like a great tool, Andy.

**brands online** · 26-05-10, 13:57

Hi Andy,

The idea of having the orders completed automatically is fantastic. So too the idea of some sort of automated system to send out tracking no.'s. We currently use Excel to manage orders. This alows for colour-coding of orders processed, in processing, ready for despatch, etc. I think allowing sellers to set their own labels for the various tags(A,B,C,D,E) leaves more room for sellers to integrate their own procedures into the new setup. Perhaps having the entire order highlighted in the colour of the tag chosen would allow for quicker visual recognition too.

Will dabble a bit and perhaps throw some other ideas around... Thanks for the effort at making our lives a little easier. Much appreciated.

Ciao!
"brands online"

**RAG Auctioneers** · 26-05-10, 15:40

Excellent excellent!

We currently use a PHP developed system to manage all our orders.

1. How does the system group orders...ie: If a buyer buys three days ago, and buys today, does the system put it into one order, or two separate orders?

2. We work extensively off the "Spreadsheet view". If you guys could please please dont forget to move that feature over :-)

**ATA STAMP CENTRE** · 26-05-10, 16:13

Hi ,It would be great to have any facilty to make it easier for sellers.Concept looks fine but would we as sellers be able to type onto the order page various info like,payment received date,tracking no, and date despatched-If i could do this then it would be tremendous,NEIL

**mellowred** · 26-05-10, 19:48

I'm also impressed so far.
a) Would like to be able to define my own fields
b) Agree with RAG - also would appreciate a spreadsheet view as I work a lot on excel.

Thanks a million for making life easier. You guys are really working on the system lately and it does not go unnoticed.

**Tananka** · 26-05-10, 21:50

I agree with both Ata Stamp Centre and mellowred.

**Asha Craft** · 27-05-10, 09:59

Function to send out tracking nrs would be a dream come true!

Just btw, what does A-F mean? Or can we decide by ourselves

**RAG Auctioneers** · 27-05-10, 10:54

I think we are meant to decide for ourselves. :D

**SProducts** · 27-05-10, 11:39

This surely what any seller needs, it will simplify everything in managing orders. The ability to automatically email tracking number through the system will save us a lot of unnecessary negative rating ratings.
Looking forward to the system.

**Andy** · 27-05-10, 11:53

Thank you all for your feedback so far.

Originally Posted by BumbleBee

If we could have the Order Status set up with something like: Payment received, Partial Payment Received, Cancelled, Posted and maybe 1 or 2 tags that sellers can define themselves?

There is a potential issue for us to bring in payment information to the statuses themselves considering that for online payments (bobPay EFT, bobPay Credit Card and PayPal) the status of the payment is recorded separately to the order status e.g. “Awaiting EFT” or “Payment Completed” (and these can be used to filter on separately from the order statuses in the new tools). For offline payments (where for example sellers accept EFT payments directly into their own bank account) it obviously would make sense for sellers to use one of the order statuses to keep a record of this however we would be reluctant to enforce an order status label on all sellers for “Payment Received” for example (bear in mind that some sellers only use online payments in which case this could become confusing).

Originally Posted by RAG Auctioneers

1. How does the system group orders...ie: If a buyer buys three days ago, and buys today, does the system put it into one order, or two separate orders?

This functionality is not in place yet but currently we envisage it will work as follows:
1. This is applicable only to auction orders (as Buy Nows and Personal Offers currently always have an order associated with them).
2. If a buyer wins multiple auctions from the same seller within 7 days (this period is open for debate) then all the winning bids will be grouped into the same order.
3. If the seller changes the status of the order i.e. from the current white (A) status to any other status then subsequent won bids from the same buyer will be placed in a new order even if it is within 7 days of previous won bids.
4. If the buyer completes the checkout process then subsequent won bids will be placed in a new order even if it is within 7 days of another won bid with the same seller (buyers will be informed that if they expect to win more auctions from the same seller and wish to combine shipping they should wait to complete the order).

Originally Posted by ATA STAMP CENTRE

Concept looks fine but would we as sellers be able to type onto the order page various info ...

Yes, this is the intention. There will be an option for sellers to add multiple notes to an order (private and/or to be shared with the buyer as well as a tracking number)

Originally Posted by mellowred

a) Would like to be able to define my own fields

This is the one part we are not yet sure about i.e. whether we should fix the status label names, keep them very generic like they are now (A, B, C, D, E and F), provide functionality for sellers to define their own status labels or perhaps some kind of a hybrid. In order to provide feedback to buyers e.g. informing them that their order has been shipped will be more difficult if every seller can have their own meaning for each status however as has been pointed out it would provide sellers with more flexibility to integrate with their existing processes.

Currently there are 6 generic statuses (A, B, C, D, E and F). Any thoughts on whether a hybrid naming system would work? Perhaps something where 2 statuses are defined by the system and the other 4 can be customised by the seller:

A – New / Unprocessed
B – Custom Label defined by seller
C - Custom Label defined by seller
D - Custom Label defined by seller
E - Custom Label defined by seller
F – Completed / Shipped

This way the bidorbuy system would be able to inform the buyer that the item has been shipped but for statuses B, C, D and E the bidorbuy system would only be aware that the order is in some kind of pending (not new or shipped) state?

**Andy** · 27-05-10, 12:25

Originally Posted by brands online

We currently use Excel to manage orders. This alows for colour-coding of orders processed, in processing, ready for despatch, etc.

Is there any possibility you could see these new tools (once fully developed) replacing the current process you use with Excel completely? If not, what do you see would prevent this from happening?

**Tananka** · 27-05-10, 16:40

Hi Andy
I also use Excel for my bookkeeping and currently import everything into my spreadsheet for bookkeeping purposes. If we could save this new system into a format that is compatible with Excel, it would be good for record-keeping. i need to save my files for tax purposes, etc.

**Asha Craft** · 27-05-10, 18:01

Originally Posted by Andy

Yes, this is the intention. There will be an option for sellers to add multiple notes to an order (private and/or to be shared with the buyer as well as a tracking number)

Perhaps something where 2 statuses are defined by the system and the other 4 can be customised by the seller:

A – New / Unprocessed
B – Custom Label defined by seller
C - Custom Label defined by seller
D - Custom Label defined by seller
E - Custom Label defined by seller
F – Completed / Shipped

Fantastic! I love the notes idea that will have a private (for yourself) and a shared option (for the buyer). This would be a tremendous help to us all.

Two defined statuses A (New) and F (Shipped, with auto email to notify the buyer) with the freedom to personalize B, D, E and F sounds really good.. Like admin heaven!

Oh my goodness I can't wait! :D