eBay

navyvetwatchseller · ‎02-26-2022

I am relatively new to selling on Ebay, a week ago I had a potential buyer (I'll call her Karen) place multiple bids on an item I had up for auction. It was a 7 day auction. In the last few minutes of the auction Karen was outbid by Jake and then at the very last minute Karen jumped in and placed the final bid. This was for a pretty pricey item, after cost and shipping and tax, the amount was $450. I sent Karen an invoice, congratulating her on the winning bid and to please send me her remittance so I could get it shipped out....I never heard from her again. All through the auction she never contacted me with any questions. On her ebay site, she had only one review, even though she had been a member since 2015. Ebay sent her multiple invoices and so did I. I had to wait 6 days, the auction ended on a Friday, before I could cancel her and try and contact the next bidder Jake, but of course, by that time the momentum was gone and Jake never responded either....So there it is, I could have sold to the next bidder but Karen prevented me from doing that, on top of screwing me in the auction, I don't think she ever had any intention of paying. Jake on the other hand did have interest, but as I said the momentum was over. I am very angry, ebay won't let me rate her...it seems the penalty that she incurs is minimal, relative to the damage that I received. I just relisted the item for a flat fee, but not getting many views. I'll probably pull it off for a month or so...and then resubmit. Please any suggestions or comments? Thanks.

mtgraves7984 · ‎02-27-2022

@navyvetwatchseller wrote:
Thanks for your input. How do I block her?

@navyvetwatchseller

Seller Hub/Shortcuts/Block bidders. Add the user ID there and hit Submit.

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katzrul15 · ‎02-26-2022

@navyvetwatchseller

Not sure I understand based on how you worded it - you did let it timeout for non-payment correct, so the Buyer would get a Strike? Not sure why for you it was 6 days? E-Bay will cancel the order automatically after 4 days has passed if you have your Buyer Settings set up to do so?

We do not do a lot of auctions any longer, but in the past, I would reach out to the 2nd bidder to let them know the winner had not paid, was not paying/replying and that I would be sending out a 2nd chance offer to them shortly, if the winner did not respond. No idea if that helps or not.....but by the time you were at 6 days, your 2nd place bidder could be bidding on another one or already purchased another one, etc.

Really sorry about your Buyer. Make certain you put them on your BBL.

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beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-26-2022

This is one of many things ebay needs to improve. It needs to get a payment from the highest bidder immediately after the end of the auction. Not serious bidder-don`t waste seller`s time. But since there is no real binding, non-payers just playing with their bids knowing ebay won`t charge them.

Same with offers - no payment, have to wait 4 days to relist. There were some news about 6 or so months ago that ebay is starting to require immediate payment after a buyer accepts an offer, but it is still not working. Wasted serious buyers as well on some players.

lamber9347 · ‎02-26-2022

@navyvetwatchseller

As you are relatively new to selling, your words, you don't realize you actually dodged a bullet here so no reason for you to feel you were damaged. Anything that is sold online can be returned. All a buyer has to do is claim the item wasn't as described because this platform offers a money back guarantee to all buyers.

Karen could have opened a case against you, then shipped back her old dirty jewelry instead. She would have won, check out the numerous threads on this forum. You would have been out the item plus your shipping, and all fees. Also, the return would sit on your selling account for 18 months. So, by her not paying, you still have your item to sell again.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Best to put this behind you and think positively that a better buyer will come along soon and purchase it again. You wanted to sell the item, that's why you listed it. Just put out those positive vibes that it will sell again. Best of luck to you....

evry1nositswindy · ‎02-26-2022

No need to send invoices or reminders. EBay already does this and it could tick off some buyers.

evry1nositswindy • seller since 2013
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downunder-61 · ‎02-26-2022

If a buyer hasn’t paid within 4 days, on the 5th day you can go to your Seller Hub to cancel the transaction using the “Buyer hasn't paid” reason and this gives the buyer a strike and you can relist. In future to have eBay automatically cancel your transactions due to non-payment:

Go here: https://www.ebay.com/Cancel/Preference/UnpaidPurchase

You then could have offered to the second highest bidder.

Set your blocks to 2 strikes in 12 months so you will no longer have these deadbeats mucking you around

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gorgons-gallery · ‎02-26-2022

Hi,

I agree with the comment of dodging a bullet! Don't forget to block her so she can't come back, (unless she creates another account of course.) But what happened to you happens all the time, it's just part of life as a seller. Anyone who doesn't pay me is blocked unless I get a reasonable explanation, and there are sometimes. Put the item back up for auction, if one person will buy it so will another. Remember most people are honest, sometimes feckless, but well meaning. You didn't sell an item, get used to that, it happens a lot.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-26-2022

About Strikes.

They are not shown publicly, unlike feedback and retracted bids.

But they are serious.

Most sellers have set their Seller Preferences /Buyer Requirements to automatically Block customers who have Strikes for non-payment. The strongest Block is for just two UID Strikes in the past 12 months.

This means that the deadbeat can try and try to buy on eBay but most of the time she will be turned down.

By the way, there are ten times more UIDs on auctions than on Fixed Price listings, although auctions are only about 15% of listings.

If you know what price you want, go for the Fixed Price. If you want to be paid immediately, add Immediate Payment Required.

soh.maryl · ‎02-27-2022

Any seller who wants to get immediate payment can list fixed price, immediate payment required.

navyvetwatchseller · ‎02-27-2022

Apparently you didn't read what I wrote, that's exactly what I did...however it was over a weekend and apparently ebay does count that as days only working days, that's why I had to wait 6 days. Thanks for your input.

navyvetwatchseller · ‎02-27-2022

Thanks for your input. How do I block her?

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-27-2022

I am talking about OFFERS, not fixed price listings. That is why many sellers refuse to send offers to buyers - to avoid the headache of non-payers.

mtgraves7984 · ‎02-27-2022

@navyvetwatchseller wrote:
Thanks for your input. How do I block her?

@navyvetwatchseller

Seller Hub/Shortcuts/Block bidders. Add the user ID there and hit Submit.

zip-a-deedoodah · ‎02-27-2022

@downunder-61 AMEN. If an auction winner hasn't paid, I literally watch the clock and as soon as the second hand moves past 4 days, I cancel the auction, block the bidder and relist.