eBay

*starformers* · ‎08-25-2019

Recently I attempted to list an original G1 Starscream for sale, It sold and then non-paying bidder, I relisted and the same thing happened again. At the same time, there were some auctions that I was watching... They went higher than I wanted to pay, so I never made a bid. Then I started noticing those same auctions relisted. Upon further investigation, I stated noticing new buyer accounts opening and bidding up to 20 items the same day they are opened, win every item, and then see those items relisted a day later because of non-paying bidder. Here is my conclusion, Every single high priced item in the vintage transformers section for at least the last month has ended up being relisted because of a plague of non-paying bidders. This is everyday, All day long. Because there are such a large number of these everyday ( 100% of my listed auctions were snipe bid by a non-paying bidder that started an account that day and had zero feed, in the final seconds). For somebody to put in this much effort, It is clear that this is not a rogue actor trying to mess up ebay, This is somebody trying to control the market place and inflat the value of transformer toys by making sure nobody can sell or buy an item unless they pay extreme top dollar.

Of course, the solution presented by ebay is to do buy it now listings so that the person is forced to pay right away. If you know like I know, I can list the very same item in an auction as a buy it now, the buy it now will sit around unsold and the auction will end up selling for a higher price than the buy it now is listed. So that's a dumb solution.

So the end result, You can buy at above value top dollar price while almost not being able to sell at all. Myself I have pulled all my listings at this point because it is a waste of time knowing that there is a 90%+ chance a non-paying bidder will win the auction. I've also stop buying until ebay finds a way to work this out.

Overall, i'm not writing this message for a solution, i'm writing it to let all others who are experiencing this same thing, and I know there are a lot of you; yeah, its not just you, there are a lot of frustrated people right now.

immortalfigures · ‎08-25-2019

Same boat as me. Its not just transformers, but I have seen it there as well. I have been inundated by 0 feedback buyers winning toy auctions at the last minute then not paying. My question is. Why? I don't really see what they gain from this. My only hypothesis is that some of these bidders are selling similar items and want to knock out similar listings. Of course, my only basis for this hypothesis is that I was selling a G1 Metroplex that was won by bidder FakeName21 (thats not his real name, I can't remember it) who had zero feedback and was created the same month as the auction. He never paid. A day or so later I was puruising the Transformer listings and found a G1 Metroplex and stumbled upon a G1 Metroplex that was ending shortly being sold by seller FakeName10 who had a much more established feedback profile (around 1,000).

*starformers* · ‎08-25-2019

I've listed 5 items this month, all of them ended with a non-paying bidder, I relisted 3 of them, they also ended with a non paying bidder. I relisted 1 of them with a high start price (still lower than ending prices of prior listings) and got one bidder, in the last minute a 0 feedback bidder bid, I canceled that bid before the auction ended, its the only item I've sold this month.

dhbookds · ‎08-25-2019

This is somebody trying to control the market place and inflat the value of transformer toys by making sure nobody can sell or buy an item unless they pay extreme top dollar.

Of course, the solution presented by ebay is to do buy it now listings so that the person is forced to pay right away. If you know like I know, I can list the very same item in an auction as a buy it now, the buy it now will sit around unsold and the auction will end up selling for a higher price than the buy it now is listed. So that's a dumb solution.

Doesn't make sense to me.........IF there really are buyers to buy the stuff...... If your fixed price is reasonable with immediate payment required......why wouldn't legit buyers buy? If auctions are all bid up by non paying bidders, doesn't matter what the price is......the items don't sell to a legit buyer so not worth listing them that way......

*starformers* · ‎08-25-2019

You're right, Its not worth listing, which is why I have ended my listings.

I just watched two more auctions end with 0 feedback non-paying bidders. its legitimately every auction, not just mine. If you are selling a 100% complete G1 Transformer, it will end with a non-paying bidder, somebody is putting in that much energy where no one can sell or buy an item in this category, and its been going on for weeks. That's a lot of energy to put into ruining nearly every listed auction. So it may not make sense to you, but it makes sense to somebody, because they are doing it, and successfully.