Non-Paying Bidder Keeps Creating New Accounts to Win and Not Pay for Same Item

[plasticmemories]

I've never had this problem on eBay before and I don't know how to deal with it. Someone seems very determined to keep winning one of my items and then not pay for it.

The first time, the buyer who won had a feedback score of 10, but when I looked at it, it was full of sellers leaving "positive" feedback that was actually about this buyer being a fraud and not paying for items. One seller even left a list of alternate accounts this buyer users. I ended up blocking the non-paying bidder and their alternate user names.

But now someone with a brand new account with a similar name won the auction for the same item, and it appears that I'm in for another five-day wait to cancel the item and list it again, possibly to be won by the same buyer using yet another new account.

Does eBay offer ANY way to prevent people playing these games from bidding on your auctions? I've limited users with non-paid item strikes, but is there no longer a way to block bidders with zero feedback? Can eBay customer service look into this bidder and find a way to block them altogether?

It's starting to seem like I'll never sell this item. I can't even fathom what this person's agenda is, other than maybe they're a seller who has listed a similar item and wants to sabotage the competition?

[plasticmemories]

Thank you for clarifying. I must be misremembering that as being an option. I've certainly had several positive experiences with new eBay users and gladly left them their first positive feedback. I wouldn't want to eliminate that possibility long-term.

[metaltech1]

You know what may lessen this problem and reduce scams?

Make buyers sign up for Managed Payments just like the sellers have to.

They have to verify who they are and have a bank account tied to them just like sellers.

[plasticmemories]

I wish, but we all know know eBay does whatever they can to create an easier buyer experience.

[albertabrightalberta]

It's possible that the non-paying bidders are different people. 

When a newbie signs up for a new account, ebay generates a random ID  with various letters and numbers. Your non-payers are probably just different new users who haven't chosen unique names yet.

[plasticmemories]

Not outside the realm of possibility, but one of the user names they had before started with the word "marvel" and so does the new one. They just have different numbers at the end. 

[asset_liquidators]

Yes but how long before they stop. Back in the late 1990's / early 2000's there was someone who was referred to in the networking community as the "cisco raider". This person did this for years to anyone who sold high end Cisco. If I recall correctly they also did it with all of your high end 3Com SuperStack gear also.

It was a sport for this person and it went on for a long time.

[buyselljack2016]

Last that I knew, when a listing ends with a winning bid, the buyer potential shipping address can be checked to see where the shipping may be going . Of course that address could change with a payment as the buyer could be shipping elsewhere.

Are you seeing any relationship location wise from these non-pay winning bids?

[sessimaetel]

couple ways they can benefit.

potential competitors to take your item off the market until they sell theirs or drive the 'market price' to more than what they listed at so potential buyers/auction bidders go to their store instead. 

arbitrage buyer/seller that try to flip the item they won with a certain profit margin added, if they don't sell the item within certain time they just don't pay.

i imagine these bids and 0 feedback accounts are autogenerated by scripts that periodically search certain keywords and bid on the items that matched what the competitor himself is selling, the account names generally follow the same theme/pattern with different numbers at the end. couple years ago i had bunch of alpha#### and delta##### accounts bidding on my auctions with obvious no intentions of paying. 

[plasticmemories]

I tried to go back and look at the address of the person who won the auction the first time, but it no longer appears to be visible since I canceled the sale. Both buyers have kinda similar female names that are all in lower case, but that's not strong evidence.

[philsumm]

Make buyers sign up for Managed Payments just like the sellers have to.

They have to verify who they are and have a bank account tied to them just like sellers.

Judging by the outcry from sellers being forced into Managed Payments, I can guess how well that would go over with buyers. I would NEVER give my financial info to some site just for the ability to bid on an item.

[dbfolks166mt]

     About all you can do is continue to report the buyers and block them on an individual basis. There is a chance, although about as good as a snowballs chance in h..., that eBay will make the connection through the IP address if it is indeed the same individual. That is provided of course the buyer is not using a VPN which a lot do. I suspect most scammers are also utilizing a VPN to prevent a connection between the individual accounts they have. 

     As much as I hate to say it you could always use BIN with immediate payment required. 

[weatherloach]

I used to sell action figures too and stopped. Too many kids in this category, it's a nightmare getting paid. I would say a kid is messing with you.

Good luck

Weatherloach

[plasticmemories]

It could be. The strange part is that the address the most recent buyer listed appears to be a nursing home or senior care facility.

[21thegreatone]

Ebay doesn't care.  That, in itself is the sad part.

There was a time when sellers could (literally):

SHARE blocked/bogus/bad bidder lists...

Leave NEGATIVE feedback for these types, thus alerting other sellers of this nuisance...

Seek Ebay help, and that Ebay would clear em off the books lightning fast...

NOT ANYMORE.  

And after 20 years with them, it is sad to see that "EBay" has become akin to being "Craigslist 2" anymore.

They NEED to really get their act together, as so many great sellers are leaving because of this.

[inhawaii]

Non-Paying Bidder Keeps Creating New Accounts to Win and Not Pay for Same Item

What do they stand to gain by doing this?

Once. Twice. Ten times.