Advice needed on unethical buyers (resolution centre and ebay help)

[goaussies1]

I am a fairly new seller. Mainly renovation cleanout stuff, so low prices.  Some buyers seem to think this be a justification to bid and not pay. After my first bad experience I set the block to highest for non-payers. I am always professional and polite in my dealings, and give customers no reason for angst, assuming most people are basically good and will do the right thing.

 I've had mostly good buyers (18) and three bad.

1. First bid, PROLIFIC ebay buyer didn't pay. Invoice reminder sent after four days. No response to (polite) communication, no payment.  Sent to resolution centre. Buyer continued to buy before and after this failure. Closed as a non-payment.

2. Prolific buyer wins bid on a 530g item which has to be sent from VIC to QLD (details very clear on advert). Doesn't pay. On 4th day I send an invoice reminder. Postage is then queried. Gave the buyer two options (Australia post rates) confirming the weight/postage. No response (including to a second reminder on abt day 7). Sent to resolution centre. Buyer asks to cancel because postage is "way too dear". I didn't comply to the request. Believed buyer knew my postage costs were fair and their delays and responses were rude.

3. Prolific buyer outbids another. Day three/four I send an invoice reminder. Buyer replies saying they are having trouble with paypal and they have sent a request to ebay to fix. I reply:  No worries, give it a few days. Or you could pay by DD (details at checkout).

Two days later I get a msg to cancel the purchase as ebay hasn't  resolved their paypal issue and they don't have access to a bank to do a DD. This strikes me as being VERY ODD. Surely a person without access to a bank would use I/N banking. So I google their address. They have three banks within 600m of their home. I send a query to ebay, who reply that they will contact the buyer.

On 31st  I notice the buyer has marked as payment sent on 29th.  So i check my DD and paypal as I've had no alert. Zilch! So I send a msg to the buyer, asking if they have sent a cheque as there is no DD or paypal deposit record. Buyer says thay must've marked it as payment sent by mistake and they are still having paypal trouble and can I please cancel the transaction.

Okay, so my take on this is:  Buyer makes multiple bids over competition over several days. Then decides they don't want it. AFTER I send the invoice reminder they make excuse #1.  I give them time and mention the other payment option. Then they make excuse #2. After ebay contacts them, they mark as payment sent to get ebay off their back (and maybe think I will send the item w/o checking). When I query, they claim this as a mistake and paypal still not working.

So are these typical problems for sellers? Or am I just being unlucky? Do I now open a case against buyer #3? Do I contact ebay again as I have no idea what they discussed with the buyer? Is there any chance they could be genuine?

Thanks

[cq_tech]

If you want to keep this person as a possible regular customer, I'd be inclined to lodge a request through eBay for his phone number and ring him to find out if his second purchase was indeed made in error, and if so, lodge a cancellation request stating that the buyer purchased in error (I don't know what the options are as I don't do cancellations, as I explained before) or that he changed his mind. If he doesn't respond, eBay will close it without penalty after a week to 10 days. As he hasn't paid, there are no fees to worry about - it's only the defect you need to avoid.

[davewil1964]

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@hamsy3 wrote:

I'm with you ALLTHE WAY.... In fact I'll go further & say that this nonsense of having to wait 4 days before being able to open a UPI & then another 4 days before being to close it is just that - NONSENSE !!! It ties up valuable stock & money.

IMHO ALL Buyers should be required to pay IMMEDIATELY or the Transaction is cancelled. As I've often said, try going into any Shop & saying "I want you to keep that item for me & I'll be back in 8 days to pay for - if I feel like it"

A Buyer either has the money at hand when they buy an item or they don't - It's that simple !!!

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Then use the 'instant payment required' option that eBay has given you. Simples.

Noting it doesn't allow BD, combined postage or any other buyer friendly options. But you won't get NPBs.

You might get less sales, but you can certainly enforce instant payment. So why, given your IMHO, haven't you already done it?

Edit: cc stampingpaws.

Stop complaining about things eBay have given you the tools to avoid.

[**tay**]

Hamsy3, if you go to Target you can have them hold items for you for a week, so yes you can do it at B & M stores.