Not accept bids from users with zero feedback

Question

The following occurred 3 times in a row for the same item I placed into an auction:

The auction was won by someone that did not pay. In all 3 cases, the buyer had an account with zero feedback.

It is extremely frustrating for a seller when the buyers seem to be completely un-vetted and can choose not to pay for an auction they have won with impunity.

Is there a way to prevent bids from people with 0 feedback?

woodland_gnome · Answer

You cannot block bidders/buyers with low feedback for that reason (except on a case by case basis by adding them to your Blocked Buyer List as they come to your attention). You can however LIMIT the number of items a user can buy from you in a 10 day period and exempt those with more than 5 feedback score from the restriction (eBay phrases that differently, but the way it is worded people tend to read it as absolute block on anyone with 5 or less rather than a tweak to the main restriction).

The minimum for the limit on the number of items is one, so nobody is blocked from bidding/buying/making offers until they have won/bought at least one item from you in the past 10 days or are currently the leader on an active auction.

eburtonlab · Answer

No.

After four days you can cancel the transaction for nonpayment to give the buyer a strike and prevent feedback from being left. If you cancel earlier or for other reasons, the buyer will not get a strike.

Add the user to your Blocked Buyer List to prevent that particular user from bidding on or buying any more of your listings, regardless of what other sellers do.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/blocking-buyer-ebay?id=4082

Be sure to set your Buyer Requirements to preemptively block bids or purchases from users with two or more unpaid item strikes in the last year.

You can avoid unpaid items by listing your item for a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting offers.