non-paying bidders

[stickersnstuff78]

When is Ebay going to do something about non-paying bidders? I am at wits end with non-paying bidders. This week alone, I have 9 non paying bidders!! This is half of my revenue for this week!

Filing non-paying bidder complaints just isn't enough. There needs to be some other way to identify and dissuade people from bidding on auctions and then not paying. Consequences need to be more serious.

Out of the 10-20 auctions I do weekly, there is almost always atleast 1-3 non paying bidders

Non-paying bidders should be marked in some way so that sellers can see who the potential non payers are. We can't leave them negative feedback, so what can we do...it's so unfair!

If I quit selling on Ebay it's only going to be because of the non-paying bidders, and the non-existant protection that I have with ebay

If each time a non paying bidder case is opened against someone it should be information that is publicly visible. That alone would dissuade many I think. There names should appear in big bold red letters, or a big fat asterisk alongside there name or something along those lines.

In most cases, it's not the the members with low feedback scores that cause the problems....it's the people with lots of feedback. The people who know how the system works, and use it to their benefit. They know what they can get away with.

It's depressing to spend hours and hours during a week to setup honest auctions, only to be sucker punched afterwards by non paying bidders.

What is everyone else's view on this matter?

[mr.elmwood]

My view? You are wasting your time with your rant. This topic has been beaten to death, resurrected, beaten to death again.

I think you need to factor deadbeats into your sales.

[stickersnstuff78]

Well, you probably are right...it is a rant, and a useless rant at that probably.. But how can one factor in 9 deadbeats in a weeks out of 20 auctions? I do expect one or two per week.....but this is just ridiculous now. And why doesn't ebay help?? That's the main question.

[recped]

.it's the people with lots of feedback. The people who know how the system works, and use it to their benefit. They know what they can get away with.

What exactly are the "getting away" with? If they don't pay they don't get their stuff!

Out of the 10-20 auctions I do weekly, there is almost always atleast 1-3 non paying bidders

That's definitely on the high end. Are these "never pay" or "slow to pay"? Do you send follow up invoices? Do you file UPI's? Do either of those work to get paid? Do you block buyers with 2 non-payment strikes in the last 12 months?

If I quit selling on Ebay it's only going to be because of the non-paying bidders, and the non-existant protection that I have with ebay

eBay provides tools to completely eliminate non-payers, it's called Fixed Price with Immediate Payment Required, of course you have to use it for it to work.

[stickersnstuff78]

They're getting away with bidding on auctions, and not paying!

When I speak of non payers, I mean non payers, not slow to pay.

And yes I block  the buyers with strikes and no paypal account

fixed price with immediate payment is fine...but what's the point of auctions then?

[recped]

Auctions are for sellers whose buyers usually pay. I get stragglers and I get a few that ultimately don't pay. Probably runs somewhere less than 2% of transactions at worst..

Of course I would prefer they pay but it's not a major issue in the general scheme of things. Other than requiring Immediate Payment there is not a single thing that eBay can do for you.

Thrill bidding is something a few people think is a fun thing to do, sure it's annoying but it's the way of the world. Over the years dozens of ideas have been put forward unfortunately none of them are feasible beyond what already exists.

[mr.elmwood]

BIN with IPR, my prices went up. My aggravation went down.

[femmefan1946]

fixed price with immediate payment is fine...but what's the point of auctions then?

Well you are starting your auctions at 99 cents with $5 shipping.

Have you considered reversing those numbers? $5 starting with $1 shipping. Or better, $5.99 starting with Free Shipping.

People hate paying for something as 'insubstantial" as shipping.

At the moment all your items would attract a rather flibbertigibbet demographic, young (?) men with dreams of fast cars. That demographic may be part of your problem. They are impulsive.

Going Fixed Price/ Immediate Payment is like putting the gum at the cash register . Want/Pay/ Done.

I assume that you rarely sell your sticker lots for $1. If you work out the average selling price, you would have a good idea of the market value of the lots.

[73rhc]

Everyone has their formula for potential success. eBay is still an auction site, though some may argue. But it' still an auction site. So there has to be a solution, from eBay, to penalize these deadbeats. Not a virtual slap on the hand.

Some will tell you to up your prices and offer free shipping. Some will tell you to do BIN with instant payment. But that's their thing. I still get enjoyment out of seeing how an auction will end. I still charge for S&H. So what. I do this as a hobby. Some make it a full time business. All that being said, if eBay still offers these options, then they should do the proper enforcement. Instead of trying to funnel everyone into a non auction site.

My opinion and my two cents.

[rose-dee]

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@73rhc wrote:
Everyone has their formula for potential success. eBay is still an auction site, though some may argue. But it' still an auction site. So there has to be a solution, from eBay, to penalize these deadbeats. Not a virtual slap on the hand.

Some will tell you to up your prices and offer free shipping. Some will tell you to do BIN with instant payment. But that's their thing. I still get enjoyment out of seeing how an auction will end. I still charge for S&H. So what. I do this as a hobby. Some make it a full time business. All that being said, if eBay still offers these options, then they should do the proper enforcement. Instead of trying to funnel everyone into a non auction site.

My opinion and my two cents.

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I can understand your views, and would agree, except that eBay is morphing itself into something quite different than what it was even 2 years ago, and is fairly quickly forcing sellers to change too.  I think they really don't want to be an auction site anymore; I think they want to encourage professional full-time sellers, or at least sellers of a type you'd find on any e-commerce site.  

That's the reality of the "new" eBay.  It may be possible to hang on for some time as a seller using methods that are comfortable, but my belief is that it's going to get harder and harder to do so over the next couple of years.  It's been uncomfortable for me to adapt to eBay's seller expectations and policy changes, but I've had to make myself do it in order to continue to survive here.  In the end, it's eBay's platform, not our own, they still give us some choices about how we sell, but they are making the "old" choices less and less attractive and lucrative.  Just my view of it. 

[pierrelebel]

"eBay is morphing itself into something quite different than what it was even 2 years ago, and is fairly quickly forcing sellers to change too."

I do not see it that way.

The marketplace at eBay has changed because buyers wanted the change.  Over the years, buyers have consistently increased their demand for fixed price listings, available for immediate purchase, immediate shipment.  As a result, sellers moved a lot of their listings away from auction (where buyers determine the selling price and listings are generally open for seven days) to fixed price where sellers determine the selling price and can buy/pay immediately.

eBay simply adjusted its platform to the new reality.

Auction format is still available and represents about 10% of all listings on eBay (over 25% of the total value of all transactions).

[73rhc]

I can see what you are saying. And I will leave eBay the day it comes to that. Otherwise I'd be on other sites like Amazon...

I will also put more effort into selling locally. Kijiji and Craigslist are still free. For the time being.

However, when that day comes, eBay must still do something about these delinquent bidder. ( I also called them buyers, but can't if they don't pay)

[pierrelebel]

"I will also put more effort into selling locally. Kijiji and Craigslist are still free. For the time being."

I am sure eBay does appreciate you listing on Kijiji (owned 100% by eBay) and CraigList (where eBay owns a large minority equity position).  Either way eBay makes money with you!

[mr.elmwood]

If I want my sales to drop to nothing, I will move my listings to: Etsy, Amazon, Kijiji, CL.

[73rhc]

Poor you. I guess you're pigeon holed in the eBay machine. I've sold many things on Craiglist and Kijiji. I've also bought from there too. Even car parts. Never an issue with shipping! And your listing stays until you remove it. Unlike eBay, where it's gone (auction) once someone has AGREED to purchase!

[73rhc]

"I am sure eBay does appreciate you listing on Kijiji (owned 100% by eBay) and CraigList (where eBay owns a large minority equity position). Either way eBay makes money with you!"

How?I do not pay for anything. It's free! And I know that they are eBay owned. So what, they can appreciate all they want. It costs me, ZERO!

[pjcdn2005]

As long as I have been on ebay there have always been complaints about non paying buyers. As Pierre suggested, I don't see it as having anything to do with ebay forcing sellers to change. There might be more non payers now but I think that it is at least partly because more and more people want instant gratification. Bidding on an auction may seem really cool at the time but by the time the auction ends, the buyer may have moved on to something else that they can buy right away.  That's not right but it's a fact of life.

Perhaps another reason for more non paying buyers is that there is so many more places that we can buy online. In the past, ebay was one of the few places where that was possible but now, it's possible to buy almost anything anytime.

[73rhc]

Agreed, for the most part. But the issue at hand is the buyer! eBay has put so many rules and limitations on the seller. How about freezing their Paypal account when they don't pay! Or freezing the bidding capability! Oh my, did I open a can of worms...lol

[rose-dee]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"eBay is morphing itself into something quite different than what it was even 2 years ago, and is fairly quickly forcing sellers to change too."

I do not see it that way.

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I should have been clearer with this comment.  

When I said "forcing sellers to change" I was not thinking of any actual obligation directly placed on sellers, but the many ways in which eBay policies have been altered (in the last year in particular) so as to "shepherd" and indirectly pressure sellers into what eBay obviously knows buyers now want -- a more immediate and commercial e-business site, with professional-style sellers.  I could cite the numerous policy changes in this regard over the past 12 to 18 months, but I'm sure I'd be repeating myself.  Suffice it to say that, ultimately, "resistance is futile".  I think this is where the OP is feeling the pinch. 

Sellers can certainly still choose how they want to sell, but some choices are now less advantageous and more narrowly-defined and restricted than they used to be.  By "forcing" I meant that sellers who don't bend with the wind (a wind driven by the buyer trends eBay reflects in its policy changes) are more and more going to find themselves behind the eight ball. 

[73rhc]

Not unlikely. But if I use my crystal ball, I foresee eBay coming to an end. Or at the very least, a massive reduction in listing. I see more specialized sites becoming the norm. Why sell books here when you sell on Abe.com? And so forth...