SICK and TIRED of fake accounts and bidders!!

[nells250]

I have been on Ebay since 1999 and I am SO SICK AND TIRED of people being able to set up fake accounts and win items, usually my higher priced ones!  

In this past week, I have sold two vintage car radios and BOTH were "won" by brand new accounts with similar screen names.  The first time I sent a nice note through Ebay asking if they were a real person.  They actually answered (a rarity) and they claimed it was their alternate account.  It has been 4 days and the item has not been paid for.

The item won last night has the same name only with a different bunch of numbers after it.  THAT account was created yesterday.

I AM SICK of this stuff!  I am also highly annoyed at all of the people through the years who have, instead of helping here, instead post things to users like me stuff like "how do you know they are fake?" etc, as if we haven't been having this problem for YEARS.

I have screen shots showing the user names, dates, etc.  In fact, I noticed one screen shows incorrect sale dates which is on Ebay itself (not having correct sale info).  

It's bad enough I was just whacked $7 for selling something for $33!!!   Sellers should be getting some SECURITY for the fees they are charged!

[femmefan1946]

@*trekkie

Not quite.

The new Autopay applies to Auctions, which have a very high rate of non-payment.

I was referring to Fixed Price listings, where if the buyer does not immediately pay the listing remains visible and available for up to 30 days.

This has been around for several years.

the new immediate payment setup. ...Probably also the reason why sales have dropped.

I agree.

Nothing like telling the customer to prove that they have money in their wallet before allowing them in the door to the shop.

Today's customer is into Immediate Gratification.  Auctions make them wait for seven days, only to lose their desired purchase to a last second sniper.

[femmefan1946]

BUT these REAL bidders have NO intention of paying their winning bid.

I prefe rthe term "deadbeats".

@ckimodog

etsy also has a 'vintage and antique' component.

Radio tubes would not have struck me as a good fit, since etsy's base skews female, but a sale is a sale, and I am sure there are some women tubeheads

[femmefan1946]

Remember eBay tried to implement this change and received so many complaints from both sellers and buyers that they removed the option.

They did?

When did that happen?
The removal of the option, I mean. I agree that the Autopay idea was stupid and insulted honest buyers.

Auction sellers are making their bidders wait seven to ten days to learn if they have won, but won't give the winning bidder four days grace to pay?

Rude.

[dbfolks166mt]

I'm amazed anyone who's been here for 25 years is still doing auctions.  

     I have been here awhile and that is all I use. There are multiple reasons to use the auction format. I do it from a time management perspective. 

[dbfolks166mt]

List as fixed price / buy it now set to require payment right away.   That solves that issue.

     There are tradeoffs for everything. It does solve the non-payer issue for sure. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Remember eBay tried to implement this change and received so many complaints from both sellers and buyers that they removed the option.

They did?

When did that happen?
The removal of the option, I mean. I agree that the Autopay idea was stupid and insulted honest buyers.

Auction sellers are making their bidders wait seven to ten days to learn if they have won, but won't give the winning bidder four days grace to pay?

Rude.

     Not sure when exactly they turned it off for auctions but it is no longer available in your seller preference. The one for offers remains. I never found the autopay to be stupid or any more insulting to buyers than than the IPR for BIN items.

     I use the auction format almost exclusively and have no issue with the grace period. I get a few non-payers but you have no way of knowing why or what may have happened to the bidder after they placed the bid. With BIN you know the buyer is sitting at their computer or on the apps when they hit the buy button. 

[femmefan1946]

I never found the autopay to be stupid or any more insulting to buyers than than the IPR for BIN items.

With IPR , the buyer is right there when the purchase is made. Most buyers would never notice the IPR since they are buying and paying in the moment.

With auctions, the buyer is being asked for financial information, always a sensitive point especially on the internet, just to be allowed a chance to possibly win an item at an unknown price some time in the future.

A little hyperbole there, I know.

Of course, the reason Autopay was instituted was because between the bid and the end of the auction, some bidders may have lost all interest or found a better deal. Not to mention thrill bidders, although those are actually more likely to be around in the last moments of the auction.

YMMV.

[dbfolks166mt]

I never found the autopay to be stupid or any more insulting to buyers than than the IPR for BIN items.

With IPR , the buyer is right there when the purchase is made. Most buyers would never notice the IPR since they are buying and paying in the moment.

With auctions, the buyer is being asked for financial information, always a sensitive point especially on the internet, just to be allowed a chance to possibly win an item at an unknown price some time in the future.

A little hyperbole there, I know.

Of course, the reason Autopay was instituted was because between the bid and the end of the auction, some bidders may have lost all interest or found a better deal. Not to mention thrill bidders, although those are actually more likely to be around in the last moments of the auction.

     There were pro's and con's to the auto-pay feature but with regards to the financial information eBay has had my payment method information forever which what is/was used when I purchased a BIN/IPR item. I agree with you on the potential issues with auto-pay I have always used the auction format and I have had a number of non-payers over the years some actually contacted me and in one case a family member when the bidder had passed away. I have had several non-payers contact me because they were in an accident, wound up in the hospital, had a family emergency, or had a natural disaster and lost internet service/capability for an extended period of time. Several of those non-payers worked with me to ultimately repurchase the item. 

     It's just one of the quirks with auctions that I accept and deal with. EBay should have kept the pilot in place and worked out some of the kinks rather than just pitching it. Although they may be doing just that. 

[gurlcat]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Auction sellers are making their bidders wait seven to ten days to learn if they have won, but won't give the winning bidder four days grace to pay?

Rude.

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I've seen you make this comment in other threads and I don't understand it.  Just because an auction runs for  7 days doesn't mean the winner first saw it on day 1.  When I look for auctions I sort the results by "Ending Soonest" so I can snipe ones that end in the next 24 hours, maybe few hours, maybe few minutes!  

[gurlcat]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

I'm amazed anyone who's been here for 25 years is still doing auctions.  

     I have been here awhile and that is all I use. There are multiple reasons to use the auction format. I do it from a time management perspective. 

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Amen.  Some things just do better with competition.  I had this sitting as a BIN for (I believe about) $335-$350 for months, AND with 'make offer' turned on, and auto-accept set to $300, that I remember for certain.  NO TAKERS.  I got so irritated I finally took it down for at least a year.   In fact I forgot I had it, as it was in a Priority box, all packed up and ready to go.  Last week I came across it, and Sunday I ran it as an auction starting at $25.  You can see what a happy camper I was a mere 7 days later (last night). 

Oh and if the winning bid isn't compelling enough, how about the fact that I paid only $1.99 (up front) to promote it as an auction via PLE, versus the 7-10% PLS promotion I was using for the BIN listing, and would have had to pay if it was ever finally purchased that way.  

[clemowbooks]

Love your note under Condition.

[chdes-7444]

same here even if you set up restrictions they still do it 

[isaiah53-57]

So with regard to the theme of the post,  I have asked this question a couple time now on other threads and have seen no responses or answers:

Does this type of sale help the site's total sales numbers? If no, are there any other aspects from these types of sales that could be considered beneficial to the site?

[itsjustasprain]

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@isaiah53-57 wrote:

Does this type of sale help the site's total sales numbers? If no, are there any other aspects from these types of sales that could be considered beneficial to the site?

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What do you mean by 'type of sale'? You mean an Unpaid sale? I cannot see how that would benefit any party here.

[showmecurrency4u]

real bidders and payers are ok it is the bidders that don't pay.