Can't even report a serial bad buyer anymore?

[anjie234]

I have a situation with a buyer and would appreciate any input you may have as

to what to do next. This person made an offer on an item, and I accepted it.

They immediately requested to cancel saying she "made a mistake".  That's fine,

except they made this SAME EXACT offer before on the exact same item, and

requested the same thing! How can one mistakenly do that?

Anyway, I messaged them and just explained eBay policy about offers, and asked

them how this is happening. They got SOOO inflamed! And several nasty messages

followed.

When I looked at her feedback, she has 100% positive...   However when I looked closer,

I saw that some sellers (unable to leave negative feedback) chose to reveal in the

comments that this person habitually does this like some kind of a game!

I figured I'll just let it go, in which case eBay automatically cancels the sale and gives them

an 'Unpaid Item strike'.  

The sale has not yet been canceled and is in "Awaiting Payment", But today I received a few more nasty messages from them. And NOW they have given me a NEGATIVE feedback!!! When I click on "Report this buyer", the options are so specific and there isn't one that would be correct!  At the top it says "If your buyer hasn't paid, please open an unpaid item case."  When I click on that, I'm taken to the normal Cancel an Item page where the only reasonable option is "Buyer requested a cancellation".  It's NOT going to give her an unpaid item strike!!  They buyer just gets their way, and nobody will know what they are really up to. AND I have a tarnished feedback rating!!!       What can I do?

[klhmdg]

Once you cancel for non-payment, you can get the FB removed.

You can also repost the "buyer" at that time.

Add this "buyer" to your BBL. and dont bother to read their messages.

You can report the messages from the top right drop down (...) on the message. 

[ebooksdiva]

Why are you not canceling when the buyer requested it?  Now you can cancel for nonpayment add the buyer to your blocked buyer list and ignore and delete any messages.

You should have placed that buyer in your blocked buyer list when you had your first encounter with them, if you did, you wouldn’t be dealing with this now. 
 ETA:All buyers have positive feedback. eBay removed the option of negative and neutral feedback for sellers to give buyers in 2008.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@anjie234 wrote:...

I figured I'll just let it go, in which case eBay automatically cancels the sale and gives them

an 'Unpaid Item strike'.  

The sale has not yet been canceled and is in "Awaiting Payment", But today I received a few more nasty messages from them. And NOW they have given me a NEGATIVE feedback!!! When I click on "Report this buyer", the options are so specific and there isn't one that would be correct!  At the top it says "If your buyer hasn't paid, please open an unpaid item case."  When I click on that, I'm taken to the normal Cancel an Item page where the only reasonable option is "Buyer requested a cancellation".  It's NOT going to give her an unpaid item strike!! ...

---

Since you have opted in for automatic cancellation, just wait for that to happen; there's no need to worry or to communicate with the buyer.  eBay's policy is that if the transaction is canceled based on nonpayment, eBay will remove the neg that they left.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

eBay has a separate policy for buyers who request cancellation within an hour after the transaction, but to me it sounds like this only applies if the item has been paid for:

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/buyers-can-cancel-order/buyers-can-cancel-order?id=4004 

[ittybitnot]

 It's NOT going to give her an unpaid item strike!! 

@anjie234 

I have a feeling you are correct.  A couple of other sellers have reported that if the buyer asks to cancel (within a specified time) and it is not granted, then the option to file for non-payment will not appear as it normally would on day 5. To be more specific, it is NEVER going to appear.  The buyer will not get a strike for non-payment.  If that information is correct, then it is a fairly new "enhancement". 

Has it been 5 days since the offer was accepted?  Have you sent a payment reminder/invoice  that now appears to extend the time the buyer has to pay by four more additional days? 

[luckythewinner]

This person made an offer on an item, and I accepted it. They immediately requested to cancel saying she "made a mistake".

Buyers use offers to shop for the best deal. They make offers to a bunch of sellers, and them only pay for the best deal they find. It has been a flaw since offers were introduced.

How can one mistakenly do that?

They didn't Some people lie rather than tell you they found a better deal.

Anyway, I messaged them and just explained eBay policy about offers, and asked

them how this is happening. They got SOOO inflamed! And several nasty messages

followed.

Lecturing and antagonizing people who have power over you is foolish.

The sale has not yet been canceled and is in "Awaiting Payment", But today I received a few more nasty messages from them. And NOW they have given me a NEGATIVE feedback

Now you see why it is foolish to lecture and antagonizing people who have power over you.

When I click on "Report this buyer", the options are so specific and there isn't one that would be correct!

You do not "report" buyers for non-payment by clicking "report buyer". You "report" them by canceling the transaction for non-payment. when it is appropriate to do so.

When I click on that, I'm taken to the normal Cancel an Item page where the only reasonable option is "Buyer requested a cancellation". It's NOT going to give her an unpaid item strike!!

You have probably not waited the appropriate amount of time to cancel for nonpayment. I believe you can only do that on the fifth day after the date of the sale or the most recent invoice you sent, whichever  is later.

What can I do?

Learn from the situation. Either cancel transactions when asked, or stop accepting offers and simply lower your prices instead.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

I'm a little surprised that the buyer who did not pay was still able to leave negative feedback. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

They were able to leave feedback because the transaction has not yet been canceled for lack of payment.

[anjie234]

You should have placed that buyer in your blocked buyer list when you had your first encounter with them, if you did, you wouldn’t be dealing with this now. 

The 1st time it happened I believed that it was an honest mistake, so I canceled as requested and didn't think anything of it.

Yes, I suppose I should have just canceled again and added them to blocked buyer list. 

At the time I thought then they get away with what they are doing and nobody knows...   

However, now they are getting away with it anyway and I have a big, fat negative.

Yes, YES... live and learn.

But it sure is total **bleep** that all buyers have a 100% positive feedback rating!!

What's the point then?!

[wastingtime101]

---

@anjie234 wrote:

This person made an offer on an item, and I accepted it.

They immediately requested to cancel saying she "made a mistake".

---

Was it a formal buyer cancellation request through eBay's system within an hour of accepting the offer?

Or did the buyer send an eBay message asking you to cancel?

It makes a big difference @anjie234.

If you haven't already: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock

[anjie234]

I can't edit (add to) my original post!  I wanted to include:

The purchase was made on 6/1, and since the policy states that a cancelation due to non-payment can

be made 4 or more days after the date of purchase, I should be able to do that today (6/5), right?

When I try to cancel, I'm given the following options:

1. Item out of stock

2. Buyer asked to cancel

3. Issue with buyer's shipping address

If I choose option #2, it is not reporting an unpaid item 

The policy states

• If you canceled the order because the buyer didn't pay, any feedback left by the buyer will be removed and your seller standards won't be affected.")

The policy also states:

• Buying an item or bidding on an auction on eBay is a commitment to complete a purchase. Buyers should pay for items within 4 calendar days or the seller can choose to cancel the order. If buyers have excessive canceled orders for unpaid items, they may be subject to the consequences outlined in our Unpaid item policy and Abusive buyer policy

But neither of these can be true if I cannot report their non payment.  Why would I not have that option?

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: This buyer did NOT open a request to cancel. I did not receive anything from ebay.

They just sent me a message using "contact seller"

[anjie234]

Thank-you!

Purchase was 6/1. Today is 6/5. Policy says I can report an unpaid item after 4 or more calendar days.

But, when I try to cancel, I'm given the following options: (nothing re: unpaid item)

1. Item out of stock

2. Buyer asked to cancel

3. Issue with buyer's shipping address

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: This buyer did NOT open a request to cancel. I did not receive anything from ebay.

[anjie234]

Thank-you! I hope you're right.  Today should be the day, right ? (Purchase was 6/1. Today is 6/5).

Policy says I can report an unpaid item after 4 or more calendar days.

So I tried it, and I'm given the following options: (nothing re: unpaid item)

1. Item out of stock

2. Buyer asked to cancel

3. Issue with buyer's shipping address

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: This buyer did NOT open a request to cancel. I did not receive anything from ebay.

[wastingtime101]

If you handle unpaid items manually then you can cancel after 4 full calendar days (after midnight tonight).

If you have system preferences to handle automatically, system will cancel 96 hours after the sale (if that's the time frame you chose).

Check your settings - link found on this page along with details on the process. If currently handled manually and you switch to automatic, the automatic process will only apply to future transactions. You'll still have to cancel this one manually.

Once it's cancelled for nonpayment, the buyer's neg FB should be automatically removed within a couple days.

[anjie234]

Thank-you so much!

A couple of other sellers have reported that if the buyer asks to cancel (within a specified time) and it is not granted, then the option to file for non-payment will not appear as it normally would on day 5. To be more specific, it is NEVER going to appear.  The buyer will not get a strike for non-payment.  If that information is correct, then it is a fairly new "enhancement".     
Oh boy!  HOWEVER, does it matter that the buyer did NOT open a Request for Cancelation? 

   They just messaged me. So I didn't receive anything from eBay.

Has it been 5 days since the offer was accepted?  Have you sent a payment reminder/invoice  that now appears to extend the time the buyer has to pay by four more additional days? 

Today would be the day I think!?  Purchase 6/1. Today is 6/5. Policy says "4 or more days from purchase"