Winning Bidder doesn't pay.

[peterevelyn]

I sold an item and after 14 days the bidder didn't pay, and even stopped responding to my messages.

Apart from losing a sale, and having $140 deducted from my account (the eBay commission) until the issue was resolved, there is a significant effort in terms of communication, reporting, resisting and storage until the item is finally sold. Besides, even a month is a significant 'ageing' of a relatively new computer.

I suspect this is not a first for the bidder, as they buy and sell used computers on a regular basis. Is there some penalty for non-payment? How many strikes before they can't hijack further auctions (and then send a private offer to buy the item at a lower price...

They have a good rating for selling, so as far as the world is concerned they are an honest trader...

Very unhappy.

[mspirit57]

If the buyer has not paid in 2 days, open an unpaid item case. 

[johnrj1226]

You can't force a buyer to pay but you can use the Immediate Payment option to minimize the number of non payers..  Read this link -

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/immediate-payment-works?id=415....

To get your eBay selling fees back you need to open an Unpaid  Item (UPI) case thru the resolution center.  Then after 96 hours (4 days) close the case and eBay will credit you the funds that they have already deducted.

Hint:  Don't  haggle  around with a non payer in hopes  that they will pay - waste of time.  Just open an UPI case  after 48 hours after the listing close.

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

In their Site Preferences, sellers can choose to automatically block bidders/buyers who have gotten two or more nonpayment strikes in the past 12 months. I know of no other penalty.

As advised in the other posts, there is no point in negotiating or nagging; just file the unpaid item claim and then close it 4 days later. And you can avoid this mess altogether by listing in fixed price format with Immediate Payment Required.

[peterevelyn]

Didn’t know about the blocking of non-payers option. Most helpful.

thanks for the useful advice. In future I won’t wait.

Still smiling.