eBay

3islanders · ‎10-05-2017

I'm wondering if it's a Thing, to get bids from apparently inactive I.D.'s. I sell very little on eBay, and there seems to have been a disproportionate number of non-paying bidders for the few items I have listed over the past few years.

Recently 2 more items got bids, from users who have only 1 and 2 transactions for the past 12 months. Now, I realize not everyone does a lot of regular buying on eBay. But the first one didn't pay, no communication... got the fees credited back for that one. The 2nd item has a 10-feedback "buyer" who hasn't paid yet & I'm just waiting for the timeline so I can file an unpaid item on that one.

I wondered, for people who sell a lot on eBay, is this common, and is it possible that there is some glitch or these inactive accounts got hacked or something (although what would be the point of that, I wonder). ...?

Just curious...

thestuffofchris · ‎10-05-2017

Just thinking out loud here since I don't sell a lot either, and thankfully this is not something I've personally had to deal with.

Another possibility is they are impulse bidding and figure it's easier to just let it go without paying if they win rather than contacting you to cancel. Of course, they probably don't realize more than one unpaid item will greatly restrict their ability to buy on eBay, but that's their problem not yours.

femmefan1946 · ‎10-06-2017

I agree on the impulse bidders.

More and more bidding is from a phone.

Have you looked at your listings on a mobile to see what they look like? It could be that they are impulsively buying then realizing that the whole price is more than the selling price alone.

I noticed that some of your items, like the sheet music, can ship by LetterPost/Light Packet.

Since those items have a set rate for anywhere in Canada/USA/overseas, have you considered moving to Free Shipping on those?

Don't Panic!

This just means including the shipping cost in the asking price.

Which is cheaper ?

A $4.00 lot of sheet music with $6.50 shipping?

Or a $10.50 lot with Free Shipping?

Which is easier for the bidder to understand at a glance just before the bus arrives, or before coffee break is over?

Bonus-- Free Shipping items are easier to list on dotCOM, which has a wider audience, even among Canadian buyers.

And $8.50 US sounds cheaper than $10.50 Cdn.

For that matter $9.99 US sounds cheaper than $10.50 Cdn.

Obviously, if you must use parcel rate, Free Shipping is not possible, since those rates depend on distance as well as dimensions and weight. Those must be Calculated Shipping and stay on dotCA.

There do seem to be more hacked accounts being reported (and anecdote is not data of course).

One way of spotting them is an account that has not been used for six months or more, then suddenly doing a lot of buying.

Your product lines don't seem to be the sort of thing those scammers go after, though.

BTW-gorgeous orchids!

momcqueen · ‎10-06-2017

Almost half of my buyers come from accounts without purchases in the past six-to 12-months. My assumption is that they come to ebay only when they cannot find what they want anywhere else. The Unpaid Item Case users aren't necessarily restricted to those very-infrequent buyers, either. It seems like those are anyone.

3islanders · ‎10-06-2017

@femmefan1946 wrote:
Since those items have a set rate for anywhere in Canada/USA/overseas, have you considered moving to Free Shipping on those?
BTW-gorgeous orchids!

Yeah, that's a thought. But since overseas shipping for something that size costs quite a bit more than domestic, I'd have to price it for the possibility of an overseas buyer, which might then deter the Canada/U.S. bidders...? I'm not sure many people would want to pay over $10 for a few old sheet music. Another thought I had was to put more together and sell a bigger lot, for a higher price.

Nope, no mobile. I have a little basic flip phone.

Appreciate the ideas.

Hope the orchids find a good home 🙂

cumos55 · ‎10-07-2017

What appears as an inactive account could mean that the buyer has several accounts...

Or...

it could mean this is a seller's account, and is used selectively... and rarely...

ypdc_dennis · ‎10-07-2017

@3islanders wrote:
@femmefan1946 wrote:
Since those items have a set rate for anywhere in Canada/USA/overseas, have you considered moving to Free Shipping on those?
Yeah, that's a thought. But since overseas shipping for something that size costs quite a bit more than domestic, I'd have to price it for the possibility of an overseas buyer, which might then deter the Canada/U.S. bidders...? I'm not sure many people would want to pay over $10 for a few old sheet music. Another thought I had was to put more together and sell a bigger lot, for a higher price.

You would only price Canada or USA shipping for free -- International would have a shipping cost.

ricarmic · ‎10-07-2017

@3islanders wrote:
@femmefan1946 wrote:
Since those items have a set rate for anywhere in Canada/USA/overseas, have you considered moving to Free Shipping on those?
BTW-gorgeous orchids!
Yeah, that's a thought. But since overseas shipping for something that size costs quite a bit more than domestic, I'd have to price it for the possibility of an overseas buyer, which might then deter the Canada/U.S. bidders...? I'm not sure many people would want to pay over $10 for a few old sheet music. Another thought I had was to put more together and sell a bigger lot, for a higher price.
Nope, no mobile. I have a little basic flip phone.
Appreciate the ideas.
Hope the orchids find a good home 🙂

As a free shipping example, here's one for my stuff in order as it appears on the selling form (note I list on .COM and I use flat rate shipping)

Free shipping USA (domestic because I'm on .COM)

Free shipping Canada

$22.50 shipping to China or Brazil (I force tracked shipping)

$5.50 shipping to the rest of the world

I charge the difference/extra for the non US and Canadian folks.....this has worked well for me .....

(I should mention standard shipping from outside the US for the US and standard international shipping for everything else)

3islanders · ‎10-09-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
You would only price Canada or USA shipping for free -- International would have a shipping cost.

Duh... Some time later I realized you could do that... Obviously I don't sell much.

Maybe I will try these ideas when I re-list.

Thanks, all 🙂

(I doubt it might be a rarely used seller account -- there are no items listed, at least visible on .ca, and they have one transaction in the past year. Even if they were selling in Chile, where they supposedly are, some feedback should be visible. I don't expect payment and am waiting for the 'unpaid' process to run its course.)