Does anyone feel like their duty on eBay as a seller is to constantly open cases for unpaid items and unresponsive/uncooperative buyers?

[chaldo2010]

I'm simply getting agitated with those certain buyers who "wi" my auction(s) and become unresponsive to my friendly message reminders for not having paid, and that my eBay assistant would automatically open an unpaid item case after day four when payment has not been made.

What's worse is those buyers pay for other transactions which I can see in their 'detailed buyer rating' page, taken place much after they have "won" my item.

I like eBay as a hobby, but some people just ruin the experience and make it more chaotic for the seller.

[piterpater005]

Big reason why I started using fixed price listings with immediate payment required.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

PayPal payments only. Buyer must make payment within 4 days after auction end.

*** PLEASE NOTE:   NON PAYING BIDDER ALERTS ALWAYS FILED ON DAY 4 ***

I will NOT accept bidders/buyers with ZERO feedback score, unless payment is made theSAME DAY of auction end. Otherwise, I  will cancel the sale and re-list the item.

Payment policy

Payments must be made within FOUR days after auction end. Please don't bid on my items if you are not planning on making payment.

If you have a ZERO feedback score you MUST pay by Paypal IMMEDIATELY after auction has ended, 

otherwise I may re-list your item and leave appropriate feedback.

This rant may be part of the problem, along with your policy of not accepting returns.

These notes are a put-off for honest buyers, and ignored by the sketchey ones. In addition, you cannot refuse zero-feedback buyers, although you can put in some controls which may discourage them.

I noticed in one listing, for jeans, the size was given as “medium” with no further information, but the above polemic was in large red letters.

How does this help make the sale?

Further, since you have opted to refuse returns, why would a customer take a chance that those jeans “might” fit? Add full measurements, including inseam, since the previous owner may have shortened the garment.

Do you have your listings set to Block bidders who do not have Paypal accounts? This will Block many newbies who don’t have their account set up yet. If you are selling at Fixed Price, you can further set your Seller Preferences to leave a listing open until it is actually paid for.

Another useful Seller Preference is a Block on bidders with Unpaid Item Strikes. You are part of this process, so be sure to complete UIDs for the benefit of all sellers. The more this is done, the easier it is to deal with buyers who are actually buying and not browsing.

You can also set up your transactions to automatically open UIDs on Day Four (96 hours) after the sale, if no payment has been received. In my line, about half of these Disputes result in a payment and an apology along with positive feedback. The others ? Disappear forever, with a UID strike on their record. (This varies from category to category. My customers are buying books and therefore are probably actually reading the listing.)

So in short:

Set up the Blocks in your Seller Preferences.

Remove the negativity from your listings.

Allow returns.

Add more measurements.

Your photos are very good, by the way.

[chaldo2010]

Thanks for this info:)

I sell as a hobby like I mentioned so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

I have done most of what you have mentioned - UID reports manually and now set for day 4, I have blocked international buyers who's country I don't ship to (another problem for me), and those with a history of non-payment strikes.

I have recently started to slowly but surely revise my listings to include garment measurements (takes a lot of time)...but I'm getting there... This was the initial reason for the many pictures to display accuracy for buyers. Measurements do matter - you're def right. 

Don't get me wrong, there are amazing buyers out there who give me zero hassle. I appreciate that as it makes the sale a much more smooth of a transaction.

Thanks again!:)