Non-paying buyers by the hoards... AGAIN!

[denim-2000]

I have been on eBay since 2003 so I know how it all works. 

But eBay, PLEASE! Please make an effort (for once) and try to punish the non-paying buyers with a little more than a mild strike.

In the *real* world, auction houses must have your credit card / bank / deposit PRIOR to you bidding on something. And if you do bid, guess what?? You can't take it back. They will take it out of your account or impose a heavy cash fine on you.

So why not take a few pointers, eBay? You already have people's PayPal funds. Perhaps take a field trip to Christie's.

If I buyer bids on something, it is a written contract that they are responsible for buying it. Please enforce that.

Virtually 8/10 buyers these days are non-paying! It just wastes everyone's time!

Yes, I could put buy-it-now items instead of auctions but doesn't that kinda defy the WHOLE point of this website!?

Sheesh!

[patken123]

Look at it this way,you're better off with a non paying buyer who has bidder's remorse than a buyer who has buyer's remorse and files a "item not as described ",block the SOBs and don't look back. 

[surplusdealdude]

ebay wouldn't stay in business long if it "punished" its bidders - we already learned that lesson well.

[surplusdealdude]

And, btw, it's "hordes".  Hoards is not a noun, it's a verb.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'denim',

Bad day, huh?  Two of those "mild strikes" will make it nearly impossible for the user to bid or buy on ebay for 12 months, so what greater punishment would you require, -- chop off a hand, perhaps?

I've been to "real world" auction houses and have not had to register my financial information in advance.  But then, nothing so fine as Bonhams or anything.

I'm sure by now you have set your buyer requirements to automatically prevent people who have 2 or more strikes from bidding on your items.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html

You can also block people who do not have paypal accounts, but if you do that you will lose sales.  Any kid with a bank account, even an empty one, can get a paypal acccount whereas there are a lot of responsible payers holding healthy credit cards.  That is why so few sellers do it themselves.  If, however, you are attracting more than your fair share of zero-feedback newbie nonpayers you might like to try it for a time to see if it helps.

Some categories are a lot worse for attracting that sort of thing than others, it seems.

Ebay is so much like an online viewing catalogue, all sorts of people can ogle the goodies so yes, sometimes the many irresponsible and indeed thoughtless among our numbers will win an auction and not follow through.  Most sellers accept it's going to happen and when it does, they roll up their eyes, file the Unpaid Item case, get their fees back, block the bidder and get on with it.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

If you are not able to do that, then you really should go the 'Buy it Now' with Immediate Payment Required route.  That is the one and only way to elimitate nonpayers.  Moreover, you would not feel the need to collectively block any group - thus maximizing your sales intake.

Since the majority of your sales end with a single bidder, the stress relief you get may be worth it.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/pay/require-immediate-payment.html

What is or is not the "whole point" of the website should not be your concern.  Do what is best for you.  And right now it seems to me that you could best help yourself by trying something else. 

I wish you a prosperous ebay future! 

[i*m-still-here]

Since you posted on the Buyer's Board, I'd like to explain what it's like for some buyers.

I buy or win an item and sometimes I choose to wait a few days to pay.

There are many reasons for that, but if it's more than a few days I contact the seller.

EBay allows it and so sometimes I wait.

Some other non-auction sites do require immediate payment and so when I buy there it's with that understanding.

Sometimes, when i don't pay right away on eBay I get messages within a day or two to "Please Pay for my Item."

I find these messages harsh and rude and very annoying.

I always pay in time.

To me, when a seller has preferences set to start badgering and threatening buyers too quickly with strikes etc., it always smacks of desperation.

If you require immediate payment, then set your preferences for that and don't run auctions.

Stick to BINs.

It's under your control.

I'm pretty sure that if sellers relaxed a little and stopped going after buyers so quickly for payment that the UPI strikes would be greatly diminished.

As a seller I can provide numerous examples where a little patience and understanding has gone a long way.

[pierrelebel]

"I'm pretty sure that if sellers relaxed a little and stopped going after buyers so quickly"

I totally agree.

Unfortunately eBay has recently changed policies and now requires buyers to pay within 2 days:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

"please give the buyer 2 days to pay"

Also, eBay announced several months ago a change of policy whereby items purchased from fixed price listings (Buy-it-Now) will remain available for sale to other buyers until paid.

As stated several times, I think that new policy is stupid.  However, eBay does not care what I think.

"Reducing the impact of unpaid items: Over the coming months, to reduce the occurrence of unpaid items, eligible fixed price, Best Offer and Buy It Now items will continue to be available for sale until a buyer commits and/or pays. If you do get an unpaid item, you can file a case as early as two days after the item sold."

http://announcements.ebay.com/2013/03/2013-spring-seller-update-free-listings-for-all-sellers/ 

[rykkm]

Interesting, Pierre. So, if I understand this new BIN policy, there could be 3 or 4 people who purchase the identical item, and essentially, the first one who pays gets the item. I would be curious as to what kind of automated message the other buyers receive, as they lost the item by being too slow on the payment trigger.

For me, I have always paid immediately after the purchase, or at the next available opportunity if an auction situation. I tend to agree with you in that this is a quirky way of doing it, but I guess if I look at it from a seller POV, it may cut down on lagging payers or buyers remorse types as it gives you other opportunities to sell the item.

[pierrelebel]

"For me, I have always paid immediately after the purchase"

Different buyers react diffently, based mostlyt on what they buy.

I sell to collectors.  Typically, a buyer would purchase four to seven items on average, sometimes over the course of several days, before arranging payment combining all purchases.  Unfortunately, eBay's new policies leave buyers with the impression they need to pay immediately after purchase.  While that may suit some sellers - they have the option to ask for immediate payment if they wish - but sellers willing to wait a while to let buyers purchase many items are obviously disadvantaged.

eBay does not care.  Some large sellers told them they want policies inciting buyers to pay fast and that is what eBay did.