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Limiting buyers and negative feedback
Ebay should, but does not allow sellers to limit buyers based on low feedback or private profiles. I had a buyer that had a very low number of feedbacks and a private profile, purchase an item for $5,000. I got a very bad feeling, and since the item was not eligible for Ebay's authenticity guarantee (where the item gets sent to Ebay first) there was no protection for me if the buyer claimed I sent an empty package. There is no question that if this happened, Ebay would side with the buyer. I feel it is unconscionable for Ebay to require me to risk being scammed out of 5k when there is no seller protection. I called customer service and the agent I spoke with completely agreed with me, said he would have done the same thing and advised me to request removal of the feedback. Ebay sided with the buyer. Ebay does not allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers. The whole situation is so unscrupulous. And why would customer service advise me to waste my time requesting something that was automatically denied?
comics-scifi-collectibles
Mentor8 months ago@coolkitt10 Agents often say what a member wants to hear so they get a good rating.
Good news is that i do not see any negative feedback on your account.
A couple of tips to protect you from bad buyers is to block buyers with 2 or more strikes AND require a payment method prior to making a bid or offer.
Add the buyer to your blocked buyer list so they don't try to buy from you again:
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock?
Have you set up your buyer requirements in account settings
Click this link: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements Then block buyers with 2 or more unpaid items in 12 months.
Also block buyers in locations you do not ship to.
Then at the bottom of the screen look for buyer Payment Requirements put a check next to both of these:
Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.
Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.
These settings will cut down on your non paying buyer issues.
If you require payment prior to bidding on an auction AND allow invoice requests then buyers have up to 7 days to keep shopping and combine shipping.
If you do NOT allow invoices then the buyers auto payment will be charged one hour after auction.
Invoice settings are on this page> https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf
coolkitt10
OP8 months agoI contacted an agent on the Ebay facebook page and because the customer service agent gave me incorrect information, he removed the negative. I have already done the things you suggested, but a nonpaying bidder was not my issue. The buyer paid for the item. Due to the buyer's profile (private and low # of feedback), It seemed that he was likely a scammer. My concern was that after sending him the item he could either claim the package was empty, initiate a return and send back an empty package or any other method the scammers use. Ebay would refund him, I would be out the 5k and he would have the item. I would not have completed the sale even if the negative was not removed because a negative feedback is a small price to pay to prevent being scammed out of $5,000. Since ebay does not offer any protection to sellers, my only option is to set an artificially high price and encourage buyers to make an offer. That is the only way I see to potentially screen out scammers.
comics-scifi-collectibles
Mentor8 months agoYour idea to price the item high with best offer is the only way to screen your buyers and is a good idea with such a high priced item. Scammers usually do not want to provide a payment method before placing a bid or making an offer so it does help weed out some of the problems.
However keep in mind that all buyers start with zero feedback that doesn't mean that they are necessarily a problem.
In regards to the answer being marked as BA that is done for two reasons.... one I gave the best answer I could based on the information you provided. Since it bothers you I can unmark it.
The other reason is that members see the Best Answer notifications when they sometimes miss an answer otherwise. It's just a way to make sure you see what was said. It doesn't mean we "solved" an issue, just it's the best answer based on the information provided.
coolkitt10
OP8 months agoCurious - who decides that my question was "solved" , or the best answer? Although I appreciate your thoughtful answer, it did not provide any information I didn't already have and certainly did not "solve" my problem.