Anyone else having trouble with Fake bidders on Ebay?

[waza_p]

Like numerous other reports online and my listing a few years ago (in which I had a fake bidder with 0 feedback who did not purchase, which meant I had to wait 4 days before requesting a fee refund from eBay and being able to relist my item) I suspect the same has occurred to me today.  This time the user who has today won my auction has not paid as yet (its been a few hours) and I now see they have a 0 feedback since joining 9 months ago and that they put in a very high bid to out bid the next bidders maximum bid. I contacted eBay and they also suspect this to be a fake bidder but confirmed I have to wait 4 days before doing anything. I think this is not good enough. That eBay should better protect sellers. I have been a long term eBay member of 21 years who has sold alot on eBay but this has made me question if eBay is still a viable option for me to sell moving forward. Unless I can be satisfied this wont continue to happen to me, I think not.  Any suggestions as to how I can ensure this doesnt happen to me in the future?

[papermoon.lady]

I don't think you can block buyers with 0 feedback from bidding. Not all bidders with 0 feedback are bad either. We all must start somewhere, and there are also experienced buyers who might have the account with 0 feedback as a second account and just want to use it because eBay offered them a coupon. Many of the members here with 0 feedback are experienced buyers and sellers.

If you wish, you can also cancel immediately, but that will mean a defect apart from when you say there is a problem with the buyer's address I think (I am not a seller, but I read threads here) 

[papermoon.lady]

It is too late to edit my post. I just wanted to add that maybe he does need a wireless router. But... he placed a bid with another seller too for a similar item, and if he won the other auction too at a better price it might be a problem. I hope yours is the router he decides to keep and pay for. If he doesn't pay, cancel after 4 days and block him from bidding in the future.

[padi*0409]

I might be wrong Papermoon, but I think if the OP cancels the bid then the bidder with the 10 feedback will get the router for $40.00.

[jellybirddesigns]

There have been fake bidders just about as long as Ebay has been around.

Ebay cannot force them to pay.

To ensure this does not happen in future, you could set a Buy It Now price with Immediate Payment required.

I did this many years ago and it 100% solves the problem.

I get quite a few 0 feedback buyers, but with the BIN in place, it's not an issue. And anyway, everyone starts with zero feedback, so you can't block them. You can only block buyers who are consistently problematic.

[waza_p]

Thanks papermoon.lady. I apprerciate your contribution. I agree with the comment that we all have to start somewhere and that all 0 feedback are not bad buyers but it is the combination of all the odd things that send a red flag. In this case, 0 feedback, no activity for 9 months, a rediculously high bid which out bid the next bidder days before the auction end and put off other bidders, a very strange user name. If it is the case users have multiple accounts, then eBay shouldn't enable this. Perhaps eBay should better identify users (i.e. link them back to a payment account as one example). Of course there are always ways to cancel an auction. My issue was I didnt think to monitor the bidders, but should I have had to, or should eBay have been doing this? Shouldnt eBay be about protecting both buyers and sellers alike.  Hopefully this thread is being monitored by eBay and they do something to address this.   

[sandypebbles]

No, eBay do not read anything members post here

eBay also consider buyers can do no wrong, pretty much and have little interest in protecting sellers

eBay also allow people to up to eight accounts

It could be possible in *some* cases that there are hijacked accounts and the real owners are not the ones doing the fake buying 

[waza_p]

Hi jellybirddesigns, I appreciate your feedback but to be fair. I first tried to sell this as a low ball Buy Now ($160 which was well below what others were selling for) with Offers and I only had watchers. In the end I listed it as an auction to let the market decide. Im not suggesting I should be able to block 0 buyers but perhaps eBay can better identify users to reduce this from happening.     

[waza_p]

Hi sandypebbles, I appreciate your feedback. Not good if this is true. One would think it is in eBays interest to protect their product and people that use it.

[sandypebbles]

I would not be posting if it were not true

eBay are all about the buyer

Many years ago, when I had an issue with a buyer as dodgy as the day is long, an eBay cs rep informed me 'buyers don't lie' 

I've not seen anything to show their opinion has changed in the years since