Option to Disallow Bids from Zero-Feedback Bidders
Dear eBay,
I am writing to express a serious concern that is increasingly discouraging me from continuing to use your platform. The prevalence of zero-feedback scammers bidding on high-end items has become a significant problem, repeatedly wasting my time and creating a systemic issue that needs immediate attention.
I strongly suggest that eBay introduce an option allowing sellers to restrict bids from zero-feedback users, particularly for items priced at $100 and above. This measure would help mitigate the rampant scams that tarnish your brand and undermine the utility and reliability of your service.
Regrettably, unless meaningful changes are implemented, I am compelled to conclude that this will be my last time selling on eBay after several years of participation.
Adam / talsnet
isaiah53-57
·1 year ago@Anonymous
My guess is they wont do anything about it -
I have a theory that these fake accounts/bidders are actually beneficial to the site in that they increase user numbers that help shine up the active users reporting every quarter...
I mean WHY would there be any such thing as hordes of 0 feedback bidders taking the time to create accounts just to bid on things they have no intention on buying - Sorry - if it does happen at all, I'm sure it would be nothing but a very rare nutcase... not the numbers sellers are reporting...
In my opinion, I can think of no other LOGICAL/ REASONABLE explanation for this type of activity...
mam98031
·1 year ago"I have a theory that these fake accounts/bidders are actually beneficial to the site in that they increase user numbers that help shine up the active users reporting every quarter..."
Yet the active buyer number has been steady for quite a while now. Lower than active sellers would like, but it really hasn't increase in quite a while, so your theory should be showing an increase.
IMHO it is like most things in life. There are some bad actors, but most are just fine.
inhawaii
·1 year agoIf you owned a store, would you forbid people from buying from you for the first time?
Ridiculous.
threejane3
·1 year agoWhat about buyer accounts that are created the DAY of the auction close?
After setting filters to screen bidders with zero feedback, they still get through. They still bid.
Is it because the bogus account was created that same day?
I have stopped sending Second Chance offers to buyers. After a recent interaction with a buyer who wanted to haggle over final sale and refused the Second Chance offer, I became suspicious that they were responsible for the zero account.
Is this the scam that's happening?
nobody*s_perfect
·1 year agoThere is no way to block zero-feedback bidders. There is an option which can block them from buying/bidding on more than one item in ten days, but you can't block that first transaction.
mam98031
·1 year ago@threejane3
What are you referring to? What setting?
As to the rest, you might be over thinking it. SCOs [second chance offers] are a great way for sellers to make a little money. You should really reconsider your position. If they want to try and get the price down, I simply say that the price is as stated. If they don't want it, then they don't accept or pay.
"Scam" is a very over used word. Unless you lost money because of it or the product, you have not been scammed.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoMay I suggest you think about this for a moment: Let's just say that, back in the very beginning of eBay, sellers were allowed to refuse to deal with 0 FB buyers -- where would eBay be today, exactly?
Also, when you post a message here, it's highly unlikely to be read by any eBay employee.
And, finally, best of luck at wherever you decide to sell instead of here.
funfinds122
·2 years agoeBay would be in the same place they are today. eBay is everchanging and unpredictable.
Back in the day, eBay sellers could perfectly legally leave a negative feedback to the buyers. And where is eBay now?
And back then, eBay would supply a link to the "other items". But I digress.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoHow in the world could eBay "be in the same place they are today" if sellers had been allowed to refuse bids from 0 FB buyers?
mam98031
·2 years agoThe inability to leave negative feedback for a buyer has nothing to do with being legal. There is no law that prevents Ebay from allowing sellers to leave negative fb on buyers. They stopped the practice because it simply is a very bad business policy.
I have no idea what you are referring to about "And where is eBay now?". Publicly humiliating or trying to publicly humiliate a buyer is simply bad policy. It will decrease buyers by more than we could afford. Good buyers fearing a seller having a bad day. Sellers proved themselves pre 2008 to not be trusted with the ability to leave negative fb on buyers by posting way too much retaliatory fb on buyers. Confusing personal transaction with business transactions can be a cause of this. There is a reason why no site like Ebay allows negative fb on buyers. Good reasons. Simply bad business.
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago"Back in the day" was generations ago in etailing terms. The entire sector has moved on.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoWould agree with you ONLY IF eBay would also have a block on zero FB sellers at the same time. Many of them don't know what they are doing 'cause the haven't read and understood the rules & regulations of eBay. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
In fewer words "Sellers Ain't Perfect" either. But with out buyers there ain't no sellers.
Yes sold for over 4 decades.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI wish people remembered this. I keep hearing "Without we sellers, there would be no buyers, and eBay would die a slow, agonized death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Uhhh...it's apparently easier to get sellers than buyers. People will always want to try to make a buck, but not so much to spend a buck.
It's a buyer's market.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoJust because eBay labels members as a seller means I R 1. It dose takes continual effort to be come successful. In my 41 year career I always set a goal for each work day - these were at least 2 changes to make my job easire,, faster or more profitable and 1 thing to make a change in how other perceived me (not how I saw myself). Didn't always a achieve that daily goal but I made consistent improvement that benefited.
still do the perception change thing - I have Grand children now. - I pretend I'm running with a lot of arm movement but short steps and ask them how to use my smarter than me phone a lo. t Many member fail to read and understand the rules of engagement when they sign the USERS AGREEMENT. You don't play baseball unless you know and follow the rules. And when the rules change you need to be ready now And it is a good idea to keep up with the competition. Sellers need to change, if you don't change you do get further behind.
From what I can tell you are NOT one of those. But many member are and they don't read the ANNOUNCEMENT or refer to the Help & Contact tab for self help - always want other to give them the answer that they will seldom recall call that LAZY. Do it your self and you will recall. - this is because of that TEAMWORK students are taught - two "smart" people do all the work the rest get the grade. Life is not like that ya' got do it yourself - when you stumped it is OK to ask questions. I was 50 y.o. before I used a PC, was issued a IMB Think Pad lap top - given two hours of instructions and then it was "sink or swim" time. I asked question worked on the laptop at home more and finally was able to swim on my own. PS was only a B C student in HS and beyond. But I learn to listen twice as much as I talked. But had the drive to succeed and still do.
mam98031
·2 years agoSimilar to something I say often. Without sellers there are no buyers, Without buyers there are no sellers.
With that said there are a couple categories in which new buyers present a bigger risk than most. Brand new zero FB buyers that come to see what they can steal. I have mostly seen this in Electronics.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoAs I recall in Sunday School. Stealing started at that apple tree in the garden of Eden. and it ain't stopped since.
Personally had more people that tried to steal from me with 3 digit FB that a zero FB buyer. Like I said they tried did not one succeeded out of 1665 items sold and shipped. Learned long ago when some one will try to run a game on me. Grew up in the shadows of a steel mill south of Detroit and working in Fords Rouge assembly plant in the summer for college funds helped my education of the streets. Was downtown Detroit when the riots of '67 broke out.
mam98031
·2 years agoCongratulations.
janet9988
·1 year agoI recognize your member ID name as street in Detroit also. 😎ðŸ˜
I grew up as a child in the surrounding suburbs.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoWould agree with you ONLY IF eBay would also have a block on zero FB sellers at the same time. Many of them don't know what they are doing 'cause the haven't read and understood the rules & regulations of eBay. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
In fewer words "Sellers Ain't Perfect" either. But with out buyers there ain't no sellers.
Yes sold for over 4 decades.
EBay does have some policies about limiting new sellers to what the can sell and how much they can sell but they don't seem to consistently apply it so we get the new seller coming on this forum to scream that they were scammed out of their $2K laptop, their cell phone or some other high dollar item.
It takes two to tango so to speak so eBay is nothing without buyers and sellers but it is the sellers that generate eBay's revenue stream. We could go through a whole month on eBay without one single sale and eBay would still see revenue due to the store, insertion and other fees. Of course the could not survive very long in that mode.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoSome days you are a diamond others a chunk of coal. John Anderson had a song about that. Saw him at Gilley's in 1984 and he sand the whole show with his eyes closed. Wife and I two stepped across the cornmeal covered floor and had a beer or 3 or......more.
FYI in real life of tete a' tete selling sales activity is never on a continual northeast curve but more like the movement of a Duncan yo-yo lots of upside downs and some times the yo-yo "sleeps" or the string breaks = save for a rainy day and make changes to stimulate business activity. Same ole same ole don't get it done. Sellers have to abide by eBays policies - it is their sandbox. Sellers like renters. Sellers don't have to pay to sell on eBay until the sell something and post 250 listings for zero each month - unless one bought into their optional feature(s)
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThere are categories in which auctions can be useful and @dbfolks166mt is in one of them.
I am occasionally persuaded by DH to list an item at auction (he ran public auctions for over 30 years as part of his stamp business) but I find that perhaps one in ten actually sells and even those few sell with only one bid.
I am therefore happier with Fixed Price where I know I will get more interest and be visible for longer - even if longer tends to be months. My products are not bulky, with books being the worst and those only take up four bookcases. (Of the 19 in our home.) If your products are bulky, you want them to move faster.
Actually I do use auctions - in reverse- by using Best Offer with Accept /Reject parameters set. This allows a little haggling action from the customer who likes that sort of thing, but with the parameters set, they are haggling with robots not me.
But my opinion doesn't mean yours is wrong.
@mam98031 When I say auctions are eBay's "brand", I mean that eBay is I believe the last generalist site still offering auctions at all.
Hobby sites do use them and of course there are auction houses that are online.
The current crop of online sites that have 3rd party sellers are not, to my knowledge, auctions.
And eBay advertises to newbies that they can ,perhaps should, use auctions - they are even still telling newbies that they should start at 99c which has been Bad Advice for nearly two decades.
The general public thinks of eBay as an auction site, and also as a garage sale. Neither is still true.
simba6
·2 years agoIt's not always new buyers. I had the worst trouble with a buyer that was also a seller and had shooting star level feedback.
mam98031
·2 years agoOh this is so true. Especially if the seller had a recent bad selling experience. For some reason they feel better if they can pay it forward to other innocent sellers. This has happened to me many times over the years.
fashunu4eeuh
·2 years agoIn general, we sellers cannot eliminate retail scamming/loss due to shrinkage, including online, but i found it can be mitigated some, which does require more time/expense to attempt a reduction of it. With some luck too, in 15 selling years, have never been defrauded by a buyer. (Can’t say the same for sellers, sadly. Endured a few scams perpetrated by sellers.) For those interested, these are some practices i follow to manage the problem.
1) Setting one’s Buyer Requirements to the strictest settings can offer some help in quelling serial non-payers, who can be blocked after the second offense in 12 months. Every seller who utilizes their Buyer Requirement’s settings can benefit when a fellow seller waits the four days allowed for remittance, and then gives the buyer a non-paying strike. But i primarily use:
2.) Fixed price with Immediate Payment Required turns scammers away in search of easier prey. Btw, then Best Offer cannot be used as it voids immediate payment.
3) Non-payers go on my regular Block list as well, as do IDs with criminal or egregious behavior.
4) I am cautious, and therefore avoid listing items in high fraud categories. This is tech such as PCs, smartphones, tablets and the like, electrics, gaming goods, designer luxury items like handbags, and some other high dollar things like particular trading cards.
5) Many years ago, after selling for a couple of years, i decided to offer Free Shipping and Free Returns.
It was my observation that fewer buyers had a grasp of the actual costs for mailing packages. So i roll all costs (fees, shipping, handling etc.) into the selling price and offer the free shipping. This stops all questions or concerns from buyers about what shipping costs and how i choose to ship it. Less chance for unhappy buyers.
As for Free Returns, i did that as a safety measure to protect my account from performance changes eBay made at the time. (This was long before they implemented the seller metrics we know today.) As it did not increase my return percentages, i eventually adopted it as my usual practice. Thus, a buyer will never have to open a bogus case in order to side-step return shipping costs, as well as know that an arising issue will be handled to their benefit. I never need question the veracity of my buyers or fight over a return. The extra costs are handled by the next step:
6) I keep a suspense account with cash from every sale. A few cents from each sale over the years has built up a reserve that pays for returns and subsequent shipping when needed. It also acts as self-insurance though that is rarely necessary.
7) I mainly use Priority shipping (or UPS Ground for the occasional heavier package). My items are usually on the pricier side and I lean towards boxing over padded envelopes for added security for the contents. The quicker i can get a package to the buyer, the fewer opportunities for dissatisfaction.
😎 The most important deterrent i saved for last—it is critical for every seller to know the policies that govern this site in order to avoid mistakes leading to trouble in their accounts.
The Money Back Guarantee policy and the eBay User Agreement are Must-Reads. Without this knowledge, sellers are doomed when it comes to dealing with fraudsters who do know the policies and how they can benefit from them.
+++
One or two of these measures on their own would not dissuade a scammer, but altogether it has helped me avoid them, i believe. There are easier targets, newer less-experienced sellers with lower feedback and higher dollar goods that are much more attractive to the scamming-minded. I waited to become a seller until i had built up some feedback history in my other ID which is only used for selling now.
It is important to accept that any item can be had by any buyer simply by invoking the Money Back Guarantee or going to one’s credit card to open a dispute. Fortunately most people are honest.
I hope eBay pays attention to the scam-bait they invite onto the platform with the current policies. But sellers need to be fully versed in eBay policy to best protect themselves from schemers. If one is not adept at policy matters here, they are at an extreme disadvantage.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years ago1) Setting one’s Buyer Requirements to the strictest settings can offer some help in quelling serial non-payers, who can be blocked after the second offense in 12 months. Every seller who utilizes their Buyer Requirement’s settings can benefit when a fellow seller waits the four days allowed for remittance, and then gives the buyer a non-paying strike. But i primarily use: Agreed on the settings.
2.) Fixed price with Immediate Payment Required turns scammers away in search of easier prey. Btw, then Best Offer cannot be used as it voids immediate payment. If I was a scammer this would be EXACTLY the type of listing I would go after. It would allow me to expedite the scamming process. I would not want to wait 7-10 days for an auction to end or bicker back and forth with offer/counteroffer.
3) Non-payers go on my regular Block list as well, as do IDs with criminal or egregious behavior. I always reach out to non-payers before I block them but I use the auction format almost exclusively so I have a different situation and a LOT more possible reasons why the bidder/buyer may not have paid.
4) I am cautious, and therefore avoid listing items in high fraud categories. This is tech such as PCs, smartphones, tablets and the like, electrics, gaming goods, designer luxury items like handbags, and some other high dollar things like particular trading cards. Agree 100% unless it is an item that goes through one of the authenticity programs and provides an additional layer of seller protection.
inhawaii
·2 years agoI'm trying to figure out how to ban even numbered feedback.
They have been nothing but trouble for me.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI'm trying to figure out how to ban 21 to 30 feedback sellers.
They have been nothing but trouble for me.
If this isn't sarcasm then turn on the auto-pay feature. See @mam98031 response.
frankenhobbit
·1 year agoReally? That's an odd request. 🙂
mam98031
·1 year ago@inhawaii was being sarcastic.
a_c_green
·1 year ago@a_c_green looks like he is about to start typing something, then changes his mind... ðŸ˜
fbusoni
·1 year agoThe 🙂 that is appended to the end of the reply above is meant to convey that @frankenhobbit is aware of the sarcasm.
At least that is my reading.
frankenhobbit
·1 year agoHe said he wanted to get block buyers with EVEN feedback.
I said that was ODD.
Geddit? 🙂
certifiedcitynet
·2 years agoOur company faces Ebay scammers almost every day but has multiple safeguards to stop them in their tracks.
Just follow Ebay's terms and conditions and you will usually be protected from fraud.
If a scammer has posted false negative feedback, simply call Ebay to have it removed.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoDon't use auctions.
EBay encourages new and occasional sellers to use auctions because that is their brand.
But over 85% of transactions are Fixed Price and even the few auctions usually include a Buy It Now or Best Offer option which ends it for immediate sale.
If you are having problems with non-payers, use Fixed Price /Immediate Payment Required and not only will your listing be available for 30 days instead of seven but it will only sell if someone pays.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoDon't use auctions.
EBay encourages new and occasional sellers to use auctions because that is their brand.
But over 85% of transactions are Fixed Price and even the few auctions usually include a Buy It Now or Best Offer option which ends it for immediate sale.
If you are having problems with non-payers, use Fixed Price /Immediate Payment Required and not only will your listing be available for 30 days instead of seven but it will only sell if someone pays.
You are also guarantee that you will never get more than your BIN price unless it's some type of scam. There are a number of reasons for using either auction or BIN both have their pro's and con's but BIN is not and never has been a silver bullet. It may end the non-payment option if you use IPR, you can quasi now do on auctions, but there are trade offs for everything.
mam98031
·2 years agoAuctions haven't been "Ebay's brand" for many years. Auctions still work well in some categories but not at all in many others. Which is why Auctions now only make up somewhere around 15% of the listings on Ebay.
This link says 12%.
https://www.edesk.com/blog/ebay-statistics/
Now Ebay just purchased an Auction company. So maybe things will change in the future. But as of now, Auctions are a big thing on Ebay in most categories.
an-57470
OP2 years agoThanks everyone for the feedback and ideas. You're right, we all started at zero feedback once, and now I know how to set my auction to avoid "bid and disappear" situations.
duffy4444
·2 years agoScammers generally go after high-value items because it's worth the effort.
What you as an online seller need to know: Online selling for eBay and the other sites is NOT the place to sell higher-value items. That will cut down to close to zero the concerns about losing a big-ticket item to a scammer. Not always, but the vast majority of scams can be avoided.
It is up to you as to the threshold at which you are willing to risk losing. Mine is $80, and depending on the category sometimes $100 or so. My higher-value and bulky items have been 100% successfully sold on Craigslist.
NEVER, EVER sell, and especially ship, any item online that you are willing to run the risk of losing to a scam, in addition to the added insult of being forced to refund your payment for it back to the scammer. It is best to sell those high-value items for CASH locally, by auction, or thru a venue like Craigslist, where you have control of both the item and full cash payment for it. That way, there are no shipping scams, return scams, or credit card chargebacks you have to worry about. It may take a little more time to sell the item, but you won't get scammed as easily when you use common sense.
A lot of sellers on eBay don't list their higher-value items because of how easy it is to lose it to a scammer with eBay doing next to nothing about it. Yes, it is eBay's loss of massive fee revenue that could otherwise be gained. But until eBay gets their act together and faces the problem with better anti-scammer programs and seller protections with real teeth in them, it is up to us sellers to use common sense and NOT list or ship our higher-value items anywhere online.
I've been constantly saying this for many years on this forum, as have other sellers.
Cheers, Duffy
ckimodog
·2 years ago@Anonymous
Hi there Adam...
Sorry for your situation. You are not addressing eBay, Inc. here. This is a community discussion forum for buyers and sellers. eBay will not see your message.
At one point we all started with "0" feedback & worked out way up. I have no problems with customers with 0 feedback. They pay and are usually very happy with their purchases.
If you want this behavior to stop disrupting your day and time you spend on your shop, simply list all of your items at a fixed, buy it now price, immediate payment required and NO best offers. Sport bidders and non payers will steer clear of these listings as they must pay instantly. Less headaches in my opinion.
You don't accept returns? No returns on eBay does not mean no refunds. I would change that policy before you get hurt. Scammers watch sellers who state "no returns"
I hope this has been helpful.
Happy Selling
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago"no returns" is mostly only a problem for sellers that do not know how to handle a return request on a "no returns" listing
"no returns" .......................... when I used it for years, and years .................... only meant that I did not want a "remorse" return.
Scammers gonna scam, and the "no returns" means nothing to them.
funfinds122
·2 years agoWell, I don't offer returns for most of my items except clothes and shoes. So far no problem, knock on the wood.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoNo returns DOES NOT equal NO REFUNDS. In some cases it has been proven that the buyer gets a refunds and gets to keep the item too. It all depends on how the seller handles the issue and what the buyer claims.
Read and understand this policy eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers, ask specific questions of anything that is unclear - FYI buyers can and will make an item is not as described whether actual or otherwise - a fib for short. Also some credit card co have a 150 or 180 money back for claims of items that were not as described
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210&st=3&pos=1&query=eBay%20Money%20Back%20Guarantee%20policy&intent=eBay%20Moneyback&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1238
Have A Good Day
mam98031
·2 years ago@funfinds122
As long as you realize you can enforce that the buyer doesn't return the item, but on INADs you can't enforce no refunds.
funfinds122
·2 years agoAm not talking about INADs
mam98031
·2 years agoWho knew? You certainly didn't say that. The only type of return you can deny is a properly filed Buyer's Remorse return. A problem with that is far too many buyers file an INAD instead because they know you have to process that.
I get it. A no return policy can help protect a sellers. It is surprising how many sellers don't realize that they do have to process an INAD, clearly you are aware, but others just aren't.
bennotbill
·2 years agoI can see the point of this if you are selling a very expensive item. No zero's or guest buyers.
But if I have a very expensive item to sell, eBay wouldn't be my first port of call.
az93
·2 years agoAll a person has to do is buy something to get one feedback. If ebay does not allow sellers to cancel bids from buyers with zero feedback, maybe they should. This is a major ebay complaint. Ebay cannot force people to pay. I'm sure ebay is as unhappy about this situation as the sellers are.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@az93
Your suggestion would make a great new ad campaign:
We want your business!
(On second thought, maybe we don't!)
The answer is not for eBay to punish all new buyers, but to start cracking down on the scammers.
fbusoni
·1 year agoScammers have feelings too.
Can you imagine the outcry? NYT headline:
"A group of eBay scammers filed suit in a California court today, alleging that eBay violated its promise of "Economic Opportunity for All" when it decided to terminate their accounts on the platform. eBay attorneys were unavailable for comment."
mam98031
·1 year agoIt likely wouldn't go anywhere because they weren't operating with Clean Hands.
bennotbill
·1 year agoJudge Judy would agree with that.
mam98031
·1 year agoOK not sure what that has to do with it, but OK. ðŸ˜
inhawaii
·1 year agoheckofagame
·2 years agoRemember, you were once a zero-feedback buyer. We all were.
an-57470
OP2 years agoYes, I get it. But now days EVERY TIME a 0% bid comes in its a scam.
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoNo it's not. You're just seeing confirmation bias because you've caught on to scammers that were using new accounts. Scammers are just as likely to use old accounts, though, and you can lose money on a sale when it isn't a scam too.
mam98031
·2 years agoWell that is simply not true and a complete Over statement due to your frustration. Everyone that is new to the site is not out to get you.
For Ebay to grow, which increases our sales, we need new buyers. Without them in a short few years the site would die off.
It is hard for us to assist you because you haven't given us much to work with. The ID you are posting with hasn't had any sales for quite a while, Your feedback pages show you sell mostly things under $100. That is NOT an insult, it is an observation. I sell stuff much lower in $$ value.
As you are aware you do have a higher $$ value item listed now. Take @buyselljack2016 's advice and revisit your Site Preferences for Buyer Requirements and look closely at how you have your options set. There are two newer setting towards the bottom you can consider.
https://www.ebay.com/sub/subscriptions
johnrj1226
·2 years agoSolution stop using the auction format very passe with the I want it now generations. Sold on eBay tried auctions little results - used fixed price with immediate payment required - life was good - shipped 1665 items at my price and expected profit margins met. Stopped select our now 5.6 year old grandson son made us do it. - see we are '44 & '45 year models - yes we spoil him in between doctor visits - aging is not for sissies.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agofunfinds122
·2 years agoBut that was a long time ago. Nowadays most everything is different.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoSet your buyer requirements to have the bidders preauthorize payment before bidding.
@Anonymous
an-57470
OP2 years agoAh, I didn't know that. Great, thank you!!!
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoJust be aware that many legitimate buyers get annoyed with having to "preauthorize before bidding".
Sometimes a "fixed price" listing with the "immediate payment required" box check marked is an alternative to auctions where there may be a non-payer or scammer
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoJust be aware that many legitimate buyers get annoyed with having to "preauthorize before bidding".
Sometimes a "fixed price" listing with the "immediate payment required" box check marked is an alternative to auctions where there may be a non-payer or scammer
I doubt a scammer really cares whether it is an auction or a BIN and they would probably actually prefer the BIN since they don't have to wait for the auction to close to work the scam. Non-payers are another issue and while BIN/IPR may fix that issue it may introduce others it's not a silver bullet.
An auction may give a buyer time to change their mind or shop around and compare prices and while they may not pay I prefer that over a return because they changed their mind or found it cheaper. Sellers also tend to immediately jump to the conclusion that a non-payer on an auction it bad or intentional when in fact there are a LOT of reasons the buyer may not have paid. I use the auction format almost exclusively and have dealt with a lot of them. Bidders: died, ended up in the hospital, had a family emergency, lost internet capability usually the result of a natural disaster. I am not sure Texas has fully recovered from Beryl. Some bidders may not have a place to ship to at the moment even if they did pay.
ittybitnot
·2 years agoSet your buyer requirements to have the bidders preauthorize payment before bidding.
@buyselljack2016
Great way to turn away PAYING bidders as well. You will always get paid if at least ONE bidder complies once their ID is forced to participate, but it will likely be less. You won't get those "Zeros", but you won't the those long time "5000+" bidder such as myself. If one wishes to do auctions set the 2 in 12 buyer block for Non-Payers.
And eBay should allow buyers to request to cancel twice in a year..... as unlimited requests to cancel are allowed, they becomes more of a problem than a flat out non-payers. Can't even give the non-payer a strike if the buyer who does not wish to pay asks for the cancel in the first hour.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoyou are correct to the ............. turn paying bidders away........................... as I also posted about 25 minutes earlier
ittybitnot
·2 years agoas I also posted about 25 minutes earlier
@buyselljack2016
I was apparently late to the party, and my apologies to you. When I was a seller I think I had maybe ONE person who didn't pay in twenty or more years. Back when I first started though, non-paying buyers got booted from the site for that behavior. They also got feedback in the minus range, and that counted, too...LOL. I will never forget the day the woman VP of some eBay department declared: "WE WANT ALL BUYERS EVEN IF THEY ARE BAD." I suppose that still applies.
itty
eBay dinosaur