Buyer with zero feedback, member since: date of auction close
Have a buyer who won multiple auction lots yesterday. As I was invoicing I checked their history. Location: Thailand. Zero feedback. Member since: date of auction close. That is, the auctions closed on November 9th. This buyer's status lists "Member Since: November 9th."
Ebay says I can cancel orders for non payment as of November 14th, but something tells me this is not a legit buyer.
Why does Ebay not allow sellers to filter out bidders with zero feedback, or memberships with a start date the same day as an auction closes? I would prefer dealing with buyers that have been members long enough to accumulate some feedback or have been a member for more than a few hours.
15 comments
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoAllow sellers to 'block 0 bidders'?? !!!
So that would be like not allowing 'new' customers in a Walmart store. Then, there would just be 1, and it would have closed in 6 months.
That is NOT how business, on ANY level-works.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoWalmart has the ability to refuse service to a customer like any other business. If there was an opt-in for zero feedback customers that required them to contact you before purchasing your customized parts, maybe that would eliminate any confusion/misunderstandings about parts fitting correctly. (just as an example) If sellers had the option to decline sales (or accept to sell to them) to these buyers, i don't think it would change much on the site. JMO There are many sellers (most that post on these boards) that have no issues with how it currently is set up. Yes, it is not the best business model to refuse business to customers but some items DO need more qualifying so there is a better understanding of the product/expectations. Specially on higher value, tech support items that are more complicated than clicking on a BUY IT NOW button. IMHO
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoWas this buyer in Thailand the high bidder on your Thai stamps?
If so, you have caught seller paranoia, which is rampant and contagious among parts of the seller community.
I doubt if there are many Thai sellers who are buying stamps on Ebay.com
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoIt would be prudent (IMHO) if eBay did enforce certain practices for new buyers. For example, immediate payments should be a prerequisite (or at least an opt-In for Sellers) for all new buyers. (First 10 purchases and/or sales amount) IMHO Most of these deals (with zero bidders) end up not having any issues but sellers should have the ability (option) to throttle (limit) new buyers. Another option would be that sellers could require (opt-in) to have any New Buyers (under 10 feedback) have to message sellers before bidding/buying a product for them. Basically, an offer/message that the seller can approve or decline the sale.
Some categories require more attention than others so giving sellers the ability to qualify and/or decline certain parameters can help. It does not say zero bidders are necessarily bad but gives the seller options to protect/insulate themselves from miscommunications.
I highly doubt eBay would want to limit ANY possible sales so don't hold your breath for any changes.
mam98031
·1 year agoThey likely would have to assumed most were coming to the site to defraud sellers, which is not a correct assumption for anyone to make. But with that said, the seller isn't going to ship before they have payment. Or shouldn't.
Or if the listing was BIN the seller could require IPR. Or if it is an auction, the seller can require that they give their payment source before bidding.
Sellers have the ability to protect themselves at least in the ways you believe would help.
Throttling new buyers = less buyers signing up for the site. Feeling unwelcomed will just send them elsewhere. We aren't the only game in town.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoWith some categories, zero feedback bidders are a PITA! (Generally speaking)
Throttling new sellers already exists so it would not make a difference IMHO. (Throttling selling limits)
There is no data that suggests anyone would FEEL unwelcomed or there would be LESS buyers signing up.
It's not about fraud as much as it is about communication. New users will have less experience on how eBay works and that may lead to purchases/returns that need to be more qualified.
Yes, those users who detest any customer interactions, this would not be the best method for them. For those sellers that sell higher end items, it may help keep the new buyer happy, informed and welcomed to the site. But i am assuming and know what works best for me.
mam98031
·1 year agoNew sellers are not throttled. While I have no links to share, I was told years ago that for new sellers they are given a little boost in the search returns to help get them started. That sounds very logical to me.
You aren't incorrect that some categories do get more scammers than others. For me, I was just responding to the OP of this thread, not trying to answer in a way that covers everyone.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agokenneth686321
·1 year agoThere are nothing wrong with zero feedbacks. Most come to buy that one hard to find thing that is only sold on eBay. I have never had a problem with any zero feedback buyers.
If the buyer pays great! if not, issue them a non payment strike, block and relist.
You have bigger problems btw
1. You are shipping stamps to Thailand using UNTRACKED international letter post. eBay gives roughly 2 weeks delivery date. I'm not sure thats sufficient time for it to arrive. You can't guarantee that your package won't be lost along the way. You are putting yourself at risk for multiple INR cases being opened which you will 100% loose since you can not prove delivery. You will be forced to refund and loose your item.
2. International non USA to Canada returns are extremely inconvenient and problematic. You can't buy a Thailand Post label on Shippo or Pirateship nor do you want to the hassle of paypal ing the buyer money in a foreign country to facilitate a return.Your no returns policy does not cover Item Not As Described returns. You will be forced to refund and loose your item.
If those risks are not acceptable to you I suggest that you refrain from selling to buyers outside of Canada and the USA and change your buyer settings.
aatu_93
·1 year agoShould be perfectly fine! eBay international shipping program has seller protection you send to east coast and they ship rest of way. Got a Burberry tshirt going to Thailand
kenneth686321
·1 year ago@aatu_93
eBay international shipping program is not available to Canadian sellers unfortunately. Wish it was.
Seller is in Canada, the item location is in Canada, shipping service offered is Canada Post and item is priced in Canadian dollars.
dy60609
·1 year agoDoes Canada allow shipping merchandise internationally as a "letter"?
I thought it had been posted that doing such was not allowed.
cambriachick
·1 year agoMaybe the buyer just recently decided to trust eBay to buy some hard to find items for his collection. He might be thinking the same thing, "Wow should I chance that this is what it appears to be?" If he was in the US would you be more comfortable with it? You have enabled international sales, so this should not be totally unexpected. IMHO you should follow through with the sale. That's what you're on eBay for isn't it?
inhawaii
·1 year agoYes we should all be able to block 0 feedback buyers.
Oh wait, then there would be no new customers.
That wouldn't be very good for business.
mam98031
·1 year ago"Why does Ebay not allow sellers to filter out bidders with zero feedback..."
For sellers that come here to build a little business, new members to the site are critical to the growth and survival of that seller and the site as a whole. Without new members it simply is NOT possible to grow.
If all we ever have are the buyers we have today, then you, me and the site will be gone at some point.
I'm sure when you started you were a zero feedback buyer / seller. Did that make you somehow bad?