8 days no payment, no contact UID opened - buyer wants another 2 weeks - To wait or not to wait

[designers*n*more]

 So auction ended 8 days ago, I opened an UID yesterday. Had no contact whatsoever from the buyer until now. She emailed that she had bills to pay, she wants the items but wants another 2 weeks before she pays. I really don't want to wait this long, if it was only a couple of days I'd be fine with it but 2 weeks is a bit much. Just having trouble how to word my email without sounding snooty so to speak. Any help would be appreciated.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I would say something like "I'm sorry, but I am unable to hold this item for another 2 weeks. If you have sent me a message prior to buying the item asking for extra time to pay, there wouldn't be a problem". Or, just ignore her and close the case in 4 days. We all have bills to pay. If there are a lot of bills, buying on eBay stops. It's not rocket science.

[justajunk]

I agree with sheep's idea to ignore it and just close the case in 4 days. Then add the buyer to your blocked list. The story that the buyer is giving you sounds a little ridiculous, and are you really going to trust her if it took THAT long for her just to communicate with you?

I had a similar sob story a few weeks ago. Item sold for $2.75. A couple of days after the IUD opened, buyer messaged me to state that she needed a further 5 days in which to pay for it (a likely story for such a cheap item). I just ignored the message and let the dispute automatically close after 8 days had elapsed.

I suppose it might be a bit different for you if the product that you sold is worth somewhat more than $2.75.

[vintage_bargains65]

You get this stuff all the time... I have been in hospital,I have cancer,my internet has been down for days,my mother died etc etc..I have had all these.Why on earth do they bid and confirm the bid if they can't pay? Makes me sick!

[justajunk]

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@vintage_bargains65 wrote:

You get this stuff all the time... I have been in hospital,I have cancer,my internet has been down for days,my mother died etc etc..I have had all these.Why on earth do they bid and confirm the bid if they can't pay? Makes me sick!

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I dislike non-paying bidders as much as the next person but I think I understand why it happens.

Bid retraction is not something that eBay encourages or makes simple for buyers to use, and I would bet anything that over 80% of non-payers have experienced a change of mind. Most of the time, I find that a non-paying bidder placed a bid with 5 or more days left to go on the item. That's plenty of time to find it somewhere else, cheaper or quicker (i.e. in a physical store).

[vintage_silverville]

True but my last buyer bid within hours of it closing and still didn't pay,there is the confirm button after all.I don't think they care that they have made a commitment to buy or for the inconvenience to sellers.We just have to close dispute and hope it doesn't happen again too many times.

[digital*ghost]

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@justajunk wrote:

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I dislike non-paying bidders as much as the next person but I think I understand why it happens.

Bid retraction is not something that eBay encourages or makes simple for buyers to use, and I would bet anything that over 80% of non-payers have experienced a change of mind. Most of the time, I find that a non-paying bidder placed a bid with 5 or more days left to go on the item. That's plenty of time to find it somewhere else, cheaper or quicker (i.e. in a physical store).

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The ones I don't get are those who purchase a BIN item, multiples available so it's not like there's a chance they'll miss out if they don't grab it there and then, and then just disappear, or come back several days later to tell me about some tragedy that just happened. I've had all the same excuses in these kinds of circumstances, too, and I just sit there and think... nan was alive and kicking at the time they made the purchase, so even if that's the reason for non-payment now, it hasn't been for the last week.... 

The last time I had someone say that, I told them that under the circumstances, the best thing I could do was start the process to cancel the transaction, and that they wouldn't need to do anything else as the transaction would be fully void in 4 days. I then opened a UPI and they paid within minutes of my doing so (not that I particularly wanted them to, by the time I have to open a UPI, I tend to prefer the buyer doesn't pay). 

[toygirl70]

You opened the UID, so now you have to follow that path. Don't bother listening to the reasons...why did they bid in the first place? However probably leave the UID for 14-20 days in future as then no one can have any excuse...

[justajunk]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

(not that I particularly wanted them to, by the time I have to open a UPI, I tend to prefer the buyer doesn't pay). 

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Same here. It has never happened to me (yet!) but I have seen other sellers with negative/neutral feedback along the lines of "Not impressed that seller opened unpaid item case against me". Sounds like you handled that buyer well though.

Buy-It-Now non-payers are certainly a bit weird. It's never been a problem for me though, because I always tick the 'Request Immediate Payment' option whenever I list an item as a Buy-It-Now. The only possible downside is that immediate payment prevents you from combining shipping, but then again, all of my items (nowadays) are free post.

I would still imagine though that a number of your Buy-It-Now non-payers would be in the "change of mind" category. What better way to bookmark an item that you're thinking of buying than getting in your purchase history? No, it's not very respectful, polite or considerate to do so, but eBay are really so lax on insisting that buyers pay that the idea of 'Commit to Buy' just doesn't have the weight that it theoretically should.