eBay

tomorrowman! · ‎09-17-2018

This month I've had 3 buyers (whose names I will not post) win my auction and then not pay. One said sorry but I won the same item at a better so I won't be paying. The other won and then said I just noticed in your description that this item Only Shipped Inside The Continental USA Only, so just cancel my order. The third has ignored my messages for payment. I've opened disputes with eBay but have had no response to date. I feel that ebay will be of no help since I relisted and sold items at a lower cost. How often does this happen to sellers and how do you deal with it. Did eBay ever help resolve the issue?

candd205 · ‎09-17-2018

I hope you did not relist and sell the item before the previous sale was resolved. You need to finish resolving the previous case, or you won't get your final value fees back. When you are resolving the previous case, the unpaying buyer might all of the sudden pay, then you will get a defect for not having the item to send to him.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-17-2018

Personally I would have cancelled the second one (problem with address OR buyer request) since it sounds like an honest error.

For the other two, you have 48 hours to open an Unpaid Item Dispute, and the buyer has 96 hours to respond, preferably by paying.

If he doesn't you have to actively ask eBay to step in and escalate to a Claim before you can close it and gt your FVF refunded.

If one of those deadbeats turns out to be just an annoyingly slow payer, you will have two buyers for one item and then it will be necessary to decide which transaction to take the Out Of Stock Defect on.

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎09-18-2018

If you have a buyer request to cancel I would use that and cancel right away. There's just too much that can go wrong with an unpaid item dispute AND it takes at least four days.

softersilk · ‎09-18-2018

File the UPI reminder 48 hours after the purchase. Close it in another 96 hours. Even if the buyer asks to cancel, file UPI. Do it promptly. These buyers need to earn UPI strikes.

Then sell with fixed price/immediate payment required. Solves the problem.

luckythewinner · ‎09-18-2018

@tomorrowman! wrote:
This month I've had 3 buyers (whose names I will not post) win my auction and then not pay. One said sorry but I won the same item at a better so I won't be paying. The other won and then said I just noticed in your description that this item Only Shipped Inside The Continental USA Only, so just cancel my order. The third has ignored my messages for payment. I've opened disputes with eBay but have had no response to date. I feel that ebay will be of no help since I relisted and sold items at a lower cost. How often does this happen to sellers and how do you deal with it. Did eBay ever help resolve the issue?

Case #1:

By eBay rules buyers are allowed to cancel within an hour of winning. After that the buyer can request to cancel and sellers are asking for trouble if they do not agree, because a false SNAD or return would cost far more.

But in your case it sounds like the buyer simply told you he wasn't going to pay. So you file an Unpaid Item Dispute after two days, and if the buyer doesn't pay then and close it four days later. If you feel that ebay will be of no help, you are correct - because the Unpaid Item Dispute is eBay's process for handling these case.

Case #2:

In this case, you cancel the transaction by selecting "Buyer Requested". If you feel that ebay will be of no help, you are correct - because canceling the transaction is eBay's process for handling these case.

Case #3:

Like Case #1, you file an Unpaid Item Dispute after two days, and if the buyer doesn't pay then and close it four days later. If you feel that ebay will be of no help, you are correct - because the Unpaid Item Dispute is eBay's process for handling these case.

How often does this happen to sellers? For some seller it happens so often that they leave. For some it happens oocasionally and they deal with it. For others it almost never happens. There really is no 'typical' experience.

How do I deal with it? As noted above. I cancel if the buyer asks, and file unpaid item disputes if the buyer does not pay. But I am lucky because I seldom have this issue.

Does eBay ever help resolve the issue? There is nothing for eBay to resolve. They cannot force a buyer to pay, any more than they can force a seller to ship. And they don't have a time machine to go back and stop a buyer from bidding. I suppose they could suspend the buyer's account, but since it only takes a couple seconds to create a new one that would just be a time-wasting "whack-a-mole" exercise.

tomorrowman! · ‎09-18-2018

Already relisted and sold 2 of them. One Buyer just said cancel. The other said I will not be buying. The third I'm waiting on for one more day.

tomorrowman! · ‎09-18-2018

The first one was just rude to win and cancel because they won the same item at a better price. The other was an honest mistake not reading about shipping. The third could be as you said an annoyingly slow payer despite not answering my messages.

tomorrowman! · ‎09-18-2018

That's what I did. But once I did that I relisted and sold items. I probably should have waited but needed the money.

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎09-18-2018

Are you here to teach grown adults lessons or run a business? A UID is a request for payment. If the buyer pays angry there are so many things they can do to harm you.

I have no problem with sellers who file UIDs when they don't hear from a buyer. However if you DO hear from a buyer, cancelling with buyer requested is better for everyone.

If they pay and you've already sold to someone else, you will earn the out of stock defect kiss of death.

castlemagicmemories · ‎09-18-2018

And no matter which buyer doesn't get their item, most likely there is negative feedback waiting in the wings from the disappointed buyer.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-19-2018

For some seller it happens so often that they leave.

I wonder if those sellers would do better if they actually looked at the listings that were not being paid for.

I have noticed that most of the problem transactions ar auctions. Which is why I tend to suggest moving to Fixed Price, since the customer has 'instant gratification' instead of seven days to reconsider her impulse.