How come I can't leave negative feedback for a buyer who never paid?
Been selling on eBay since 2007. Buyer won 13 auctions of mine and didn't pay. He didn't respond to my messages or invoices for 4 days and then lied and promised to pay 3 times and never did! He didn't respond to my ultimatums to pay. While this was happening he had the audacity to bid on even more of my current auctions even after I told him to not do so until he paid for the 13 items he owed me for. I eventually was forced to cancel all 13 sales to him and block him. This created a large amount of work for me (leaving messages etc.) and I then had to unpack his box (that had his combined shipping) and then repackage and relist all 13 items again!! This also ruined the auctions for the other bidders who had bid against him!! I reported him to eBay, but eBay has apparantley done nothing! I sell on eBay because I'm partially disabled and need the money, not the hassle! eBay keeps asking me to leave him feedback for his unpaid items, but they have removed the negative button and left only the positive button!! This makes feedback inaccurate and useless!!! This is not the first time this has happened. I got cheated by a large seller once and eBay would not let me leave them negative feedback. It always seems that eBay protects the seller or buyer that has a lot of transactions and throws the smaller seller or buyer under the bus!!! How come eBay won't let me leave negative feedback so other sellers can be warned and protected from him???
vssoutlet
·2 years agoI have had an issue with this since they changed the system to only allowing positive feedback for buyers. First of all, if you can ONLY leave positive feedback for buyers, why should there be buyer feedback at all? It is never worth reading. Secondly, there is the "retaliation" argument that eBay puts forth, arguing the sellers will leave bad feedback for buyers who leave bad feedback for them. There are policies that (or should) prevent retaliatory feedback. Perhaps if buyers could receive neutral or negative feedback, they might be more willing to work with sellers if there are problems. It encourages everyone to be on their best behavior.
Additionally, since most sellers don't make the products they sell on eBay, product feedback should be separate from seller feedback. The seller feedback score should represent the selling/buying experience - not the product experience.
watermark333
·2 years agoThe best way to address this issue is by personally contacting an eBay agent. I have found that the guidelines are only sometimes helpful and often require intervention by someone working for eBay to resolve issues for sellers and buyers, rather than those issues being further exacerbated.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoNo, contacting an agent is NOT the best way to handle nonpayers. NO ebay intervention is needed or required.
The best way to address a non-payer is by waiting until after 4 days have passed without payment and canceling the sale as "buyer did not pay." Buyer will get a strike and 2 strikes can make a buyer unable to purchase from many sellers who have their preferences set to block nonpayers.
rockyroadtradingpost
·2 years agoAnd it works, I checked recently and saw a list of accounts who were unable to purchase from my listings.
anjofak
·2 years agoProbably the same reason all of our closest shipping options are from China and or you can see items you have listed here sell multiple times over on other site's..ect ect
sith-lord-of-the-rings
·2 years agoI feel your pain.
trainup027
·2 years agoUsing buy it now can be a good strategy so you don't have to deal with bidders like that.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you. FYI: I always do the first listing for an item as a auction so I can check out what the playing field is and what people are willing to pay. I make more money that way. Then if it doesn't sell I relist it as a buy it now.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoYou have been selling here since 2007. Sellers have not been allowed to leave negative FB for buyers since 2008.
The appropriate way to handle a non-paying bidder on eBay, and you can do this after 96 hours of nonpayment, is to cancel the transaction, citing "buyer did not pay as your reason.
Buyers, on the other hand, are allowed to leave negative FB for sellers in most situations; however, if the negative is about a case where the buyer was refunded, quite often eBay will remove it.
You might want to do a quick review of eBay rules and regs because there may have been other changes that you're unaware of.
inhawaii
·2 years agoWhy on earth would you want o do that?
Because they haven't paid?
Ebay already has a system in place to deal with non-paying buyers.
rockyroadtradingpost
·2 years agoAs a seller, my first layer of protection from these types of buyers is this Buyer Requirements setting:
Block buyers who caused 2 cancellations of unpaid purchases within 12 months.
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you! I've been forced to do that. GO LUCY!
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoYou should watch your auctions daily to see who is bidding on them. You have the ability to block bidders up to a certain point before the auctions end.
A buyer leaving negative feedback...have to be careful what words and wordage you are using...the seller and / or eBay can delete certain feedbacks that use words like "thief. fake, lier, etc.". You also have some ability as a seller to try to have negative feedback taken off.
And of course, block buyers who do not pay for auctions.
Do not send any invoices out after the next day...that gives the buyer another day to pay.
After 4 days cancel auction due to non-payment...not before...and this will hurt the buyer's account.
Combining 13 items...you could have uncombined 13 items after 4 days and cancel and I believe that might cancel the buyer's account with 13 strikes.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoGood information! Thank you!
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoSellers are allowed to cancel any bid, and to block any bidder. There is no time limit on this; a seller could even cancel one or more bids during the final minutes of the auction, if they wanted to.
Cancel bid: https://www.ebay.com/bfl/cancelbid
Block bidder: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoWould that include 5 seconds before auction ends? Curious.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoSure, if your typing and internet connection are fast enough.
vssoutlet
·2 years ago**bleep**! A buyer can wait until they get 13 strikes before their account is suspended?! This sure ain't baseball!
onefootflipper
·2 years agoYou only think you want the ability to leave a negative feedback for a buyer. Trust me, you don't.
It seems like a great idea right until they open a new account and retaliate in a way that will absolutely cost you money.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the info! Q: If they open a new account don't they loose their ratings?
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoYes, but why would they care? You are not allowed to 'cancel' their bids or purchases even if they have 0 Feedback (although if you know the name and cancel for the reason of 'issue with address' and then add that name to your blocked list etc.)
But the real reason is this:
This is a selling website.
This site makes money when buyers buy something (for the most part)
Just like any brick/mortar store- buyers don't have their face on the window of the local Target store that says 'bad buyer'- just because they filled a car full of stuff, left the cart and just walked out.
If/when the buyer comes back, maybe next time they actually 'buy something' and then this site makes $ from them.
It took this site 13 years to figure it out and it how has been that way the past 16 years.
Heck, HomeClub used to charge a 'membership' fee until Home Depot came to town, then they changed their name to 'HomeBase' and stopped the 'membership'. (HomeBase now defunct).
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoGood information! Thank you very much!
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoJust like sellers, buyers are not required to respond to messages either.
If they were biding on some other items, they probably wanted to wait and pay for everything at one time.
Negative feedback wouldn't make them pay, so what good would it do?
The best you can do is cancel for nonpayment and give the buyer an unpaid item strike which would do a lot more good then negative feedback.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the info!
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoSellers have been unable to leave negative or neutral ratings for buyers since May 20, 2008. How fortunate you are to have never had occasion to notice this before now.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the info! I've noticed it before, but I usually let things slide. I don't want to be a trouble maker. I was willing to let this slide too, but eBay needs to stop asking me to give the "deadbeat" positive feedback of any kind, especially for unpaid items that I never shipped to him!!!
soh.maryl
·2 years agoWhen you state that you "usually let things slide", are you saying that you have not been using the tools eBay gives you and cancelling, using "buyer did not pay" as the reason?
That is NOT "being a trouble maker". That's, at the very least, helping other sellers. When a seller cancels, using "buyer did not pay" as the reason, that buyer has a strike. Two strikes in a twelve month period, and most smart sellers have set their buyer requirements so that they don't have to deal with deadbeats.
eBay asks you to give positive FB to the deadbeat because you've done nothing to show that he IS a dead beat if you are not following the above procedure!
As mentioned, you probably need to do some catch-up reading.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the info. It was kind of you. I did follow the procedure to the letter, used the tools, and always have. I made my complaint to them and reported the buyer. When I said I let things slide, I mean I'm "thick skinned". I have to be since I'm a Marine Corps vet and retired police officer. I didn't want to leave this guy feedback but eBay won't let me alone. My problem, in this case, is that eBay continues to ask me to send this guy positive feedback on all 13 items every time I log on! What's next? Are they going to give ME 13 black marks for not leaving feed back for a sale that never went through because of non-payment???!!!
God bless!
P.S. Someone still needs to prove to me that that they can actually show if a non-paying buyer they reported did get a black mark!
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoyou keep getting the feedback reminder because eBay does not know if the buyer possibly paid you in some other way.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThey can't pay me any way other than Paypal? eBay would know if I was paid or not. So I'm not sure if I'm following you. Thank for responding though.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agojust the way eBay has it coded. They know when something is paid for by eBay payment options, but they don't have it coded that you "have not" been paid to block other processes from happening. Buyer could have walked up and handed you a sack full of cash. Not all items have to be paid via eBay payment methods, and it just is not coded to pick and choose which are, and which are not.
It gets even stranger. A buyer can open an "item not received" even when they have not paid. Not coded to block that either because as far as eBay knows ................. they could have paid.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThey won't penalize you for not leaving feedback. Just use your thick skin to fend off the reminders. Surely they'll give up some time before the 60-day deadline for leaving feedback.
Evidence that buyers do still get nonpayment strikes can be found in (1) discussion board complaints from blocked bidders; (2) sellers receiving annoyed messages from automatically-blocked bidders/buyers; and (3) observation of a seller's "Buyer requirements activity log".
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoL.O.L. I guess I'll just continue to be thick skinned and not thick headed!
soh.maryl
·2 years agoSo you don't feel you can ignore eBay's messages telling you to leave feedback?
Feedback is voluntary/optional for either buyer or seller on eBay. So, no, no one is going to give you 13 black marks for not leaving feedback.
No one here can prove to you that a nonpaying buyer got a strike. eBay doesn't work that way. There have been some sellers, however, who reported that an indignant buyer asked why he was not allowed to buy from them and it turned out that two strikes were the reason why.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you. That makes sense.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoIn a later message, the OP says that he's been letting it slide because he does not want to be the bad guy.
heckofagame
·2 years agoYou cannot leave negative feedback for buyers, however, if there were other bidders on those items, you might be able to take advantage of second chance offers.
Making a Second Chance Offer | eBay
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the info!
fashunu4eeuh
·2 years agoSellers have not been able to leave negative feedback for buyers since 2008, i believe.
In addition, it is a policy violation to leave a negative statement under a positive heading.
No need to warn fellow sellers. Sellers know they assume all the risk for an eBay transaction. Best way to help other sellers is to wait 4 days. Then if the buyer has not paid, cancel the transaction using reason “Buyer didn’t pay.†That gives the deadbeat a black strike. Then all sellers who have their Buyer Requirements set up can block that serial non-paying user. This is a far more effective way to deal with the issue. See policy link below for more info.
By the way, every time you send an invoice, it resets the payment clock and grants an additional 4 days to the buyer to pay.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/setting-buyer-requirements?id=4152
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you so much for the information. I guess my question should be is how does one really know if eBay gives a person you filled a complaint against a so-called "black strike"? Also, why does eBay continue to daily request me to give the deadbeat feedback (with positive being the only option) for unpaid, cancelled orders?
gator08041971
·2 years agoThis is not true.
I have sent invoices during the 4 day wait period, and eBay STILL automatically cancels the purchase after 4 days. So not sure where you are getting that info, and I haven't found this anywhere in writing. And this is the second time I have seen someone say this.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThe invoice re-sets the time IF the seller has not set up automatic cancellation. This observation is based on experiences reported on these boards about delays in being able to (non-automatically) cancel transactions for nonpayment.
gator08041971
·2 years agoAhhhh
Okay! But there is no information on this in the help pages? Or at least none I could find.
And yeah, I have mine set to always be 4 days then auto cancel, and buyers are warned of this in the listing. If they read that far.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoWhen eBay reformatted the Help pages a few years ago, many of them were rewritten in ways that removed key details, as if they were written by an intern who had never sold anything on eBay.
Examples of this vaguification include not only this thread's invoice situation but also this statement about adding a Buy It Now option on auction-format listings. "In some categories, the Buy It Now option may continue to be available after the first bid for a limited time." Well, WHICH categories? And WHAT is the "limited time"? The old Help page listed the 4 categories and explained that the persistent BIN would disappear when bidding reached 50% of the BIN price. Why on earth would they remove those details??
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago....................................
I type too slow. already answered
keziak
·2 years agoMy understanding is that (supposedly) in the old days sellers left malicious FB for buyers and ebay decided to be buyer-centric and not allow us to leave them anything negative. In your remarks you mention "ultimatums" which if detected in your messages by ebay might get you in trouble.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoThank you for the message. You are right. However, I used the term "ultimatum" in this post only, which makes it sound harsh. Here is a cut & past of the message I was referencing too (I've redacted the buyer's name): "Hello (buyers first name). I mean no disrespect what-so-ever my friend, but you committed to buying 13 auction listings of mine almost a week ago (2/11/24). I normally require payment in 72 hours for auctions, but I’ve given you extra time based on your high feedback rating and you appear to be a valued customer. However you have told me 3 times when to expect your payment and yet as of today you have not payed me as you promised. And now I see that you are bidding on more of my items. In fairness to myself and other bidders and after numerous messages and invoices, I kindly now must ask you to please pay me right away. I hope you can see my side of this situation and I thank you in advance for your help in this matter. Respectfully, Hedges Collectibles".
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAnd you "normally require payment in 72 hours after auctions"? Unless your listings had "immediate payment required, your buyers have 96 hours to pay.
There is no reason to keep on messaging any deadbeat. Just cancel after 96 hours.
Again, how about some remedial reading?
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoBeen there. Done that. Bought the Tee Shirt.
hedgescollectibles
OP2 years agoFYI: I may say 72 hours, but I always give them about a week before canceling.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoWhy waste your time on messaging? Has not paid in96 hours? Cancel.
rugerskick
·2 years agoYes but buyers leave malicious and lying feedback as well. Its not just one sided. Its been so hyper over-corrected its not funny. You don't get rid of a dandruff problem by decapitation.
Ahd it wouldnt be a big deal if ebay would even enforce its own feedback policies for sellers when buyers violate them, but now ebay won't even do that, or if they do, they may remove comments but allow the negative. Its just insane. Extremely anti seller. More unnecessarily adversarial and punitive behavior towards sellers from Ebay.