Non-payers ..

[legacy_rare_coins_and_collectibles]

So three high bidders this week haven't paid to the tune of $650 in lost sales ... how common is this?

If I give them bad feedback, I'm concerned I'll be targeted for this treatment ...

What's the best solution?

One of them had (1) feedback and only weeks on the site .... can I restrict or qualify my bidders?

[heckofagame]

Sadly, buyers bidding or accepting offers and then not paying is becoming quite common. 

Wait the 4 days and then cancel for reasons of non-payment, then place that buyer on your blocked bidders list. That's about all you can do. Relist the item and move on. 

As a seller, you are only allowed to give positive feedback to buyers and those feedbacks cannot contain negative comments. 

[mr.emk]

That happens frequently with auctions.  I get a few a month.  I give them four days to pay and if no payment I cancel the sale and relist the items.   It's not a good idea to leave any derogatory comments on the non-payers.   It's against eBay policy.   Just block them and press on.  Best of luck with future auctions.

[soh.maryl]

You DID cancel, citing "buyer didn't pay" as a reason, right?

It's a little surprising that someone who has been here since December of 2014 would be unaware that buyers cannot be given negative feedback.  

So have to ask:  Are you aware that you can set your buyer requirements so that you do not have to deal with any buyer who has had two nonpayment strikes in twelve months?  

[12345jamesstamps]

Need to check your bidders every day...You have one bidder now with "19 bid retractions"...and one bidder with only "4 bid retractions". I don't think I have done a bid retraction in a year or such.

Just my own opinion and mine only. When I do auctions I check who is bidding and check their ID.

[dbfolks166mt]

     Not uncommon with auctions and I use the auction format almost exclusively mostly for time management reasons. I have no issues with non-payers. I simply wait the 4 days and cancel for non-payment. I may or may not add them to my BBL depending on their past history. 

     The thing about an auction is sometimes it gives the buyer time to shop around and they possibly find the item at a cheaper price or they simply change their mind. I have had a few where the buyer  died, had a medical or family emergency but those are in the minority and most contacted me and I ultimately sold the item to them. All except those that died. 

     I would much rater deal with a non-payment because the buyer found it cheaper elsewhere or changed their mind since it is no loss/no gain. However a BIN transaction where the buyer changes their mind after you have shipped and they have received the item is another can of worms and may present cost/gain issues and impacts. 

[chapeau-noir]

You can automate unpaid item cancellation by enabling the unpaid item assistant.  You can set your preferences in increments anywhere from 4 to 30 days.  Mine is set up for 4 days and I don't even bother with invoices, reminders or anything (don't need them) - if the payment doesn't come in in the specified time, the order is cancelled and the 'buyer' given a strike, that's it - I never look at it again.

You can set your buyer preferences to block those who have had 2 or more UPIs in a rolling 12-month period.

[femmefan1946]

Still better a bid retraction than an Unpaid Item Dispute.

Even though the current UID system is faster than the previous (four days grace then four more days to pay) (two days grace for US-based sellers)  it still interrupts business and prevents relisting for a paying client.

Auctions are the worst for non-payers.

And Best Offer is still a sort of auction if you hold your tongue right and squint.

[luckythewinner]

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@legacy_rare_coins_and_collectibles wrote:

So three high bidders this week haven't paid to the tune of $650 in lost sales ... how common is this?

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Some sellers have high nonpayment rates, and some sellers have low non-payment rates. I haven't had a non-payer in five years or so. Others have them daily.

So knowing how common it is overall is not really going to help you much. The only thing that really matters is how often it happens to you.

[mam98031]

DON'T be sending them reminder invoices.  That resets the timeframe in which you can cancel them for non payment.  If more than 96 hours has passed since the auction closed or you last invoiced them, then cancel the transaction for Payment Not Received.  That puts an unpaid strike on their account.

Make sure you go to your Site Preferences and then Buyer Requirements and set your requirements to the strictest possible which is 2 unpaid strikes in the past 12 months.  That will prevent buyers from being able to bid on anything of yours if they have 2 or more strikes in the past 12 months.

Once you have done the cancellation, just post your items again.

[mozartbach1971]

I have an auction that sold for over $200 and I notice the buyer has many people saying they don't pay on their feedback so it looks like I'll have to relist it.

[mam98031]

It happens most frequently on Auctions.  Unless you are making good money on your Auctions with paying buyers, you might consider doing Fixed Price listings and you could even do IPR [immediate payment required].  That means the buyer has to pay to purchase the item

But changing to fixed price will likely take away most of this problem for you.

[soh.maryl]

If those "many people" had taken the correct action, you would not have had to deal with that buyer.

Why? Because sellers can set their buyer requirements to not have to deal with buyers who have two or more UPI strikes in twelve months.  Those sellers obviously did not do the right thing, which would have been to cancel, citing nonpayment as the reason.

And, incidentally, am sure that a seller with your experience is aware that eBay does not allow sellers to leave negative FB for buyers.