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The Marketplace => Selling Venues => eBay => Topic started by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 09:07:39 AM

Title: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 09:07:39 AM
I've had pretty good luck for 10 years on eBay with only an occasional non-paying buyer, but in the last four weeks I've had one test instrument (new) sell THREE times because the 3 buyers haven't paid and I had to open cases.

Each of the three had less than 4 feedback (what a surprise !). One had zero, one had 1 and one had 3 feedback.

Ten years ago when this happened you could see the feedback on these d*bags go down say from 3 to 2 or from 0 to -1, but in their WISDOM eBay doesn't even do this anymore, and a seller CAN'T block buyers who have zero feedback. That probably makes sense as everyone has to start somewhere when buying, but these flakes who have 10 or less feedback should somehow be SHAMED in the community. Buyers need protection too.

****

A non-paying buyer ties up the selling process for 3 days minimum and if a case if filed by the seller it takes another 4 days before the item can legitimately be relisted and final value fees returned.

Yes, the seller can just cancel the sale, but I think the final value fees are not returned if that happens. On a $150 item (as mine is) this amounts to a few bucks, so I just ride out the total 7 day wait and relist. Of course these people go on the "bad buyer's list" which prevents them from bidding on my items again.

eBay...love it, hate it.

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 09:13:21 AM
One of the three bad buyers I mentioned in the post above had 1 feedback and I looked it up.

It was a postive that said (essentially)...this is a non-paying buyer !  Beware, don't sell to him.

I love it when a negative remark is made in an eBay "positive" feedback. These slip through unless the bad buyer lets eBay know about it, in which case they are deleted by eBay.

****

eBay only has it's self to thank for that as THEY stopped allowing sellers to leave negative feedback.
If I remember correctly that was when Meg Whitman was chairperson of eBay.  Thanks Meg if you had any part of that...enjoy spending your millions while we try to make a buck on a used item.

Edit: The word in red above is now correct.

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: the teacher on March 05, 2014, 10:46:18 AM
When ebay quit letting the sellers (I'm pretty sure that is what you meant) leave bad feedback, it was all downhill from there.  I still sell hundreds of items on there a year, but I have an employee do it for me now....I can't stand all the crap that goes on there.......all the stupid people and gamers of the system.  I just had a guy buy a new holster.....all dimensions and the pistols it would fit were listed in the ad....he buys it for something else not listed because he "thought it might work" and then of course he doesn't so he returns it and I'm out shipping because it was a "buy it now" with free shipping.  Yes indeed.....Love/Hate for sure....but where else can you get that kind of exposure for the price?
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on March 05, 2014, 11:06:33 AM
Yeah really nothing we can do about non payers besides block them after a bad experience. This is kind of why I do exclusively buy it now listings. Even if people pay because of the volume I have if someone buys and doesn't pay for 3 day its now like 5 pages deep in my paypal account and I have to remember to pack up stuff from days ago, I like to get stuff out as soon as it comes in and be done with it.

Buyers know they can buy something and if they decide they don't want it, find a cheaper price, etc they can just not pay and as long as they don't exceed 3x a month no consequences really.

I would recommend you guys charge restocking fees. People will be less likely to buy something they "maybe" want or want to "try". Also if you do get returns you make 20% which should cover your shipping and time and you get to resell the item win win. I actually put up a post about this the other day...

http://onlinestorageauctions.com/forum/ebay/do-you-charge-a-re-stocking-fee-on-returns/
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: alloro on March 05, 2014, 11:43:04 AM
I have a store so I get to use the "require immediate payment" option. As soon as it's bought they have to pay for it or the sale doesn't go through.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: fredgsanford on March 05, 2014, 12:42:32 PM
cou can block some of them in your buyer requirements, i have everyone blocked that has more than 2 non payments in 6 months i believe

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 12:59:39 PM
When ebay quit letting the sellers (I'm pretty sure that is what you meant) leave bad feedback...

Thanks Teacher...that is what I meant and I'll go back and change it.

Yep, nothing compares to eBay for coverage of a huge audience of potential buyers. Imagine trying to sell a hundred or more of some unique, separate items each year over a 10 year period before eBay was ever around.

If you lived in a smaller community your reach would REALLY be limited.  So, eBay is the love part...some of their "rules" are the hate part !

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 01:05:48 PM
cou can block some of them in your buyer requirements, i have everyone blocked that has more than 2 non payments in 6 months i believe

Whatever the max allowed by eBay is what I have engaged, but those are very slim.  The guy I am dealing with now got his "positive"...negative feedback a year or more ago, and I suspect that's when his one non-payment took place.

Someone who has been a buyer on eBay for "years" let's say and has just a very small feedback number is always a red flag for me, and when I get a bid from someone with a long history but a small feedback number I make a decision on whether to shut them out or let it ride to the end.

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: alloro on March 05, 2014, 01:25:54 PM
Someone who has been a buyer on eBay for "years" let's say and has just a very small feedback number is always a red flag for me, and when I get a bid from someone with a long history but a small feedback number I make a decision on whether to shut them out or let it ride to the end.

You do realize that any feedback you see is only a year old? Ebay drops feedback that is older than a year. So someone could have 10,000 positive feedbacks, but if they were for over a year ago you wouldn't see them.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 01:33:10 PM
You do realize that any feedback you see is only a year old? Ebay drops feedback that is older than a year. So someone could have 10,000 positive feedbacks, but if they were for over a year ago you wouldn't see them.

1) This guy only had 1 feedback showing in the parentheses after his eBay name.
2) That feedback was around a year or so old and was showing.
3) Any buyer or seller I have ever looked up has feedback showing going back years.
    There are page numbers at the bottom of their feedback listing that let you look through all
     of them. At least that's how it works for me.

4) There are "outside" eBay sources which data-mine eBay and will show negatives that go back years
    and years.  When I look myself up on those it shows one negative feedback I got in year one (of 10
    10 years on eBay) and one I got a year ago.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 01:55:46 PM
You do realize that any feedback you see is only a year old? Ebay drops feedback that is older than a year. So someone could have 10,000 positive feedbacks, but if they were for over a year ago you wouldn't see them.

Here’s an example of looking at feedback as it works for me.

I am looking at a person who has 6,575 feed back. He joined eBay in Feb, 1998.

At the bottom of his first feedback page there is the ability to look at 295 pages of his feedback.

I went to page 295 and there was a feedback from March, 1998, one month after he started on eBay.

*****

Using an outside eBay source I can type in this seller’s name and it will data-mine eBay and show all the neutrals and negatives he has gotten during the 16 years HE has been a member. This saves looking through 295 pages of feedback just to find neutral or negative feedback from years past.

His over 6K feedback beats my over 1K feedback and he has made a lot of money on eBay but his negative numbers are also higher of course due to his volume.


Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: alloro on March 05, 2014, 09:07:27 PM
Okay yes you can view all of the feedback if you go digging. I was talking about the initial view with the little positive, neutral, and negative word graph called the "Recent Feedback ratings". That only goes back 12 months on what it shows you.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: MovieMan on March 05, 2014, 09:19:19 PM
Okay yes you can view all of the feedback if you go digging. I was talking about the initial view with the little positive, neutral, and negative word graph called the "Recent Feedback ratings". That only goes back 12 months on what it shows you.

Yep it does, but if you want to go further back the page options at the bottom work but take some effort to get far enough back and you might have to look at a lot of pages.

The best bet for looking at solely neutral and negative feedback is the externally available services.

Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on March 07, 2014, 11:42:58 AM
I have a store so I get to use the "require immediate payment" option. As soon as it's bought they have to pay for it or the sale doesn't go through.

I could be wrong but I don't think you have to have a store to require immediate payment, I think just buy it now listings and not auctions
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on March 07, 2014, 11:44:52 AM
cou can block some of them in your buyer requirements, i have everyone blocked that has more than 2 non payments in 6 months i believe

I always set blocks on my ebay stuff but the blocks are pretty weak. I thougth it was 2 non payments in a month not 6 months you were allowed to block. IF thats the case 2 in a month is a pretty deadbeat ebayer already so doesn't help much. The other blocks agian help but not that much ebay tries to help people starting out and wants people buying because they amke money off every sale so they dont go allow too much stuff to be blocked
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: StorageAuctionFinds on March 07, 2014, 11:58:41 AM
Someone who has been a buyer on eBay for "years" let's say and has just a very small feedback number is always a red flag for me, and when I get a bid from someone with a long history but a small feedback number I make a decision on whether to shut them out or let it ride to the end.

I don't think that is necessarily the best method, some people just don't sho pon eBay as their primary shopping method and only occasionally need to go to eBay to acquire certain things. When I first signed up for eBay I bought 1 thing then I did not buy anything else for about 3 or 4 years. Then I bought and sold a bit in a certain category to obtain some items I wanted with little money investment. This was before I got into storage auctions. Now I have fairly decent feedback IMO not too high around 250 with 100% + but I still only buy maybe once every 2-3 months. So I guess I am saying long history low feedback only tells me they just don't buy on eBay that often, not that they will be a problem buyer. I would be more scared of a 1 month history with 50 feedback already, because most sellers leave positive feedback as soon as the item is paid for, then that person scams and gets kicked off eBay but not before getting a bunch of free product and wasting a bunch of sellers time and money.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: StorageAuctionFinds on March 07, 2014, 12:01:53 PM
I could be wrong but I don't think you have to have a store to require immediate payment, I think just buy it now listings and not auctions
The option is there when you create a listing but if you select it when you go to submit, they tell you you need an eBay store to require immediate payment. I think it is 1 way they are trying to market and push having an eBay store.

I always set blocks on my ebay stuff but the blocks are pretty weak. I thougth it was 2 non payments in a month not 6 months you were allowed to block. IF thats the case 2 in a month is a pretty deadbeat ebayer already so doesn't help much. The other blocks agian help but not that much ebay tries to help people starting out and wants people buying because they amke money off every sale so they dont go allow too much stuff to be blocked

Here is a screen shot of my buyer requirements, I think it is set up about as strict as eBay will let you go.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on March 07, 2014, 04:01:14 PM
I don't think that is necessarily the best method, some people just don't sho pon eBay as their primary shopping method and only occasionally need to go to eBay to acquire certain things. When I first signed up for eBay I bought 1 thing then I did not buy anything else for about 3 or 4 years. Then I bought and sold a bit in a certain category to obtain some items I wanted with little money investment. This was before I got into storage auctions. Now I have fairly decent feedback IMO not too high around 250 with 100% + but I still only buy maybe once every 2-3 months. So I guess I am saying long history low feedback only tells me they just don't buy on eBay that often, not that they will be a problem buyer. I would be more scared of a 1 month history with 50 feedback already, because most sellers leave positive feedback as soon as the item is paid for, then that person scams and gets kicked off eBay but not before getting a bunch of free product and wasting a bunch of sellers time and money.

good point, i know people who are like i hate ebay but every now and again go there looking for a used car part or something like that
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on March 07, 2014, 04:04:27 PM
not sure if you guys ever run into competitors buying your stuff and not paying just to tie up your listing. this is probably more a problem if your consistantly selling in the same niche as its not worth the time to mess with someone who's going to sell one item and go away. anyhow, i set additional blocks to things like if someone has feedback under 10 they can only buy 3 items in a week or so many items per day. basically stops idios from clearing out my listings if i ever put up auctions. i primarily stick to buy it now anyway tho
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: truedaystar on April 28, 2014, 10:52:42 AM
In the last month I have had a run on people not paying..  Now sure what is up with people.. Had one BIN now pay and could have sworn I had it listed to require payment on BIN..
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on April 29, 2014, 06:58:19 PM
In the last month I have had a run on people not paying..  Now sure what is up with people.. Had one BIN now pay and could have sworn I had it listed to require payment on BIN..

there's a little box you have to check for "require immediate payment"
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: fredgsanford on May 02, 2014, 08:27:22 PM
you dont need a store for immediate payment
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: Just_Jack on May 03, 2014, 12:56:52 PM
This a little over a week ago was the first time in three years that I listed something for sale on ebay. I did an auction and it ended at $100. Guess what?  Caught myself a non buyer.

Do any of you guys find that this happens with a certain niche, or is every type of product effected by this?
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: alloro on May 03, 2014, 10:41:22 PM
It is an issue that spans all categories. Just make sure you file with eBay so the non-paying buyer gets a non-payer strike against him. Two of those and they can't bid for something like 30 days.
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: Cobia on May 07, 2014, 05:23:22 PM
It tends to happen for me when an item goes hot and heavy on auction and gets up in the few hundred dollar range. Sometimes I think people get in bidding wars or try to run each other up on Ebay. Other times I think it's someone who sells the same product using a ghost account to purposely mess with my auction. :41:
Title: Re: Ebay Non-Paying
Post by: rulesforrebels on May 10, 2014, 12:41:51 PM
This a little over a week ago was the first time in three years that I listed something for sale on ebay. I did an auction and it ended at $100. Guess what?  Caught myself a non buyer.

Do any of you guys find that this happens with a certain niche, or is every type of product effected by this?

With buy it now it cant happen if you request immediate payment. With auctions, especially 7 days auctions, your giving someone 7 days to shop around for a better price or to decide they don't want the product. many people may decide immediatley they dont want it but are too lazy to cancel their bid so they just let it end and dont pay and cause you a headache.