Why do buyers commit but not pay?

[rohkey]

Just curious. Had this happen a couple times now and it’s always the same scenario:

I list an expensive $100 - 250  item (expensive for trading cards as least, which is what I usually sell) and within a day someone makes an offer for about $10-20 less than listing. I accept but then realize they have 0 feedback. I send a buying reminder a day later, they never pay, I file an unpaid item claim.

So my question is simple. Why does this behavior exist? The “buyer” is wasting some of their own time and clearly had no intention of paying. They even go through the effort of making a reasonable offer. 

Putting on my tinfoil hat for a second, maybe these are competitors using bots / troll accounts to lock up my listing while I go through the claim process, making it more likely for their item to be purchased? Maybe it’s someone testing what I’ll accept for an item? Maybe it’s a troll/bot hoping somehow that I ship before payment?

Any ideas?

[ed8108]

Rohkey wrote

Why does this behavior exist ?

Unfortunately some individuals feel entitled to not fulfill their obligations and not be held acccountable for their actions.

[dhbookds]

Could be any of the things you mention.........  if it's constantly on specific items, I would adjust the price to what you would take on a b/o and list it with Immediate paypment required.....

[best_vintage_photos]

I have seen some buyers - ESPECIALLY collectors of items, simply 'bite off more than they can chew' when it comes to their buying habbits. Collectors of anything can be both obsessive and compulsive. 

If they are well off financially, there is no problem with them. They can and will be some of your very best repeat customers as long as you continue providing them with what they want while always delivering great customer service.

It is the obsessive collector who may NOT be so financially well off that can become a problem to deal with. They are people who want certain items to the point where they begin to NOT 'live within their means'. They start bidding on far more items than they would ever be able to pay for.

It is possible that 'good intentions' were involved, but i have noticed people out there who are simply not always honest with themselves and they may rationalize. 

They see an item on eBay. They want the item. So they place their bid or hit the 'buy-it-now' button. Deep down, they know they really can not afford this item, BUT they tell themselves little lies like: As far as payment goes, I will be able to figure this out somehow. As far as payment goes, I will cross that bridge when i get to it.

Some of them get to that bridge, but still have no cash for you. 😕

The person who would buy or bid on an item that they can not afford is clearly irresponsible, obsessive and compulsive. It is most likely a sign of a larger mental health issue.

[plumbingspecials]

It seems some members think this is a game of some sort. Those individuals have no understanding that another human being is involved in the transaction.

Be sure to open Unpaid Item cases on these transactions so you get your final value fee credit.

[atikovi]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Could be any of the things you mention.........  if it's constantly on specific items, I would adjust the price to what you would take on a b/o and list it with Immediate paypment required.....

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Or just let that person know you will revise that listing to their offer price. And when you do, make sure it's with immediate paypment required. If after 24hrs they don't buy, revise it back.

[luckythewinner]

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@rohkey wrote:

Why do buyers commit but not pay?

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You've answered your own question. Because they haven't really committed to anything 🙂

But seriously ...

Put yourself in the buyer's shoes: 

If you make an offer and the seller accepts it, what is the first thing that runs through your mind?

"Maybe I could have gotten it even cheaper. "

So what's the next step? Offer an even lower amount to someone else. 

[gotitinpdx]

Exactly what we do after learning those who make offers often don’t pay.  

This method has worked great.  But we only give an hour or two for payment rather that 24 hours.  If not received we change it back.  Have had pretty good success with this method. 

[atikovi]

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@gotitinpdx wrote:

Exactly what we do after learning those who make offers often don’t pay.  

This method has worked great.  But we only give an hour or two for payment rather that 24 hours.  If not received we change it back.  Have had pretty good success with this method. 

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An hour or two seems short. People aren't glued to their computers. If I make an offer in the morning, I many not get back online until after I get back home in the evening.

[gotitinpdx]

Yeah,  I think it depends on what your selling and what works for you.  That method has worked well for us with the sale completing 99% of the time within a few minutes.  

When I do change it back if they don’t complete the purchase, I also message the “potential buyer” and let them know to message me if they are still interested (when they are ready to complete the purchase).  As we do everything from our phone I am available to respond quite quickly.

For others who aren’t as readily available or with a different customer base, a longer period may be necessary. 

[7606dennis]

Alas!  Not being gifted with psychic abilities, I'm not able to answer your question.  However, I believe that the anonymity offered by the Internet and the sense of entitlement prevalent in today's society, are contributing factors.

[brianc3784]

I really hate when this happens. It's really not fair to me or other potential buyers that my item is not displayed for a week while someone else could've bought it and potentially at a better price for me. Just last week, I had an item where an offer was placed and the buyer never paid. I had several watchers on it within a couple days of posting. Now that it's relisted, I have no watchers and not as many views so that really hurt me. I had many potential buyers on it before and now none. I think they should make it so that if you place an offer, it will deduct that amount from your PayPal and if the seller doesn't accept, you get your money returned to your account. And I think you should have a few feedback scores before you can place offers. For this reason, I might start automatically declining offers from users with 0 feedback. But many of these users had plenty of feedback and still didn't pay. They should know better. If they got a better offer from another seller, they should cancel my order so I can get my item back out there. It's not making me money if it's not being shown in the listings. 

[lookng2015]

They experimented with leaving a Best Offer item still available until paid for but it didn't seem to work very well.

[cardscoinsnmore]

On some higher priced items, I require immediate payment, by clicking on that box in each listing. I think that is a requirement if you opt into the 1 day shipping program. That way, if they buy, they pay.  I seldom have any dead beat buyers.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@rohkey wrote:

Just curious. Had this happen a couple times now and it’s always the same scenario:

I list an expensive $100 - 250  item (expensive for trading cards as least, which is what I usually sell) and within a day someone makes an offer for about $10-20 less than listing. I accept but then realize they have 0 feedback. I send a buying reminder a day later, they never pay, I file an unpaid item claim.

So my question is simple. Why does this behavior exist? The “buyer” is wasting some of their own time and clearly had no intention of paying. They even go through the effort of making a reasonable offer. 

Putting on my tinfoil hat for a second, maybe these are competitors using bots / troll accounts to lock up my listing while I go through the claim process, making it more likely for their item to be purchased? Maybe it’s someone testing what I’ll accept for an item? Maybe it’s a troll/bot hoping somehow that I ship before payment?

Any ideas?

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There are many reasons.  It could be competitors, as you say, or someone who is just testing to see what you will take but is not serious (although that is not allowed)  

It could be they found it cheaper, or were not fully committed to start with, or they could have belatedly realized they should not spend the money.

Or they are off in pursuit of the next shiny thing that crossed their path.

You might try fixed price, immediate payment required listings.  

Good luck.