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?

[repentatleisure1952]

Time to get out the tape measure.

[domino-710]

34 x 24 x 30. lol

[janeababe]

Hi waza….

firstly, my ID is my only ID.

I know at least 8 members here who indeed have selling accounts, buying accounts and then a zero feedback account simply for posting here on the boards.  
It’s just a safety measure and nothing else.  Nothing sinister going on here. I’m sure you are aware that there are many weirdos on the internet, eBay is no different. 

I don’t sell anymore. And I haven’t for over 15yrs. But I do buy and this last week, I can tell you that if your buyer is using the eBay app, then there is a high chance they have not received a notification from eBay telling them they’ve won your item.  
I have had two wins and not been notified.  I ‘accidentally’ discovered a win on Friday (I’d completely forgot I’d bid on this item about 5 days before it ended) and I won it….. but I didn’t get any form of notification.  Friday glitch I guess.

I sent payment with an apology to the seller stating I didn’t get a notification. Whether they believe me or not, I can’t say.  I guess I’ll have to wait to see if I get my $50 item or not 🙃

Your buyer has 4 days to pay. Remember we’ve just had a long weekend, so give them the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays out. 

If the zero feedbacker doesn’t pay, submit pay reminder after day 4.  If they still don’t pay, issue them with a strike, then offer it to the second highest bidder at $270. (The 10feedback buyer) 
…..although, tbh, your 10feedback buyer reekes more of shill bidding than a genuine bidder imo, which doesn’t look good for you! 😉

But, with your 21 yrs of selling experience *cough*….. I guess you already knew this! 

[springyzone]

Well, how did you get on?

I had a look at the bid times on that auction and I noticed that the last bid was put on 2 days before the auction ended.

It's possible the person doesn't even realise they won. You would definitely expect though that anyone genuinely interested in a purchase of that price would have a look back to see the results of the auction, especially when they knew they had the highest bid. A keen buyer wouldn't be relying on a notification, they would be logging in to see if they won.

But you started this thread at 1.18pm on 2 Oct. Your auction only ended at 11.34am. That is less than 2 hours.

Not everyone is online 24/7 and auctions will, by their nature, have more of a wait time for payment than the other selling methods.

Wazza's last post was, I think, close to 10pm on 2 Oct. I would expect anyone bidding $275 on something to have perhaps had a look in by that time, so I don't think it is looking great for a payment but you never know.

Waza, you said the 4 day wait was not good enough. There isn't much you can do about it though. That is just the way things are with ebay Aust, though I did read once that in USA it is only a 2 day window. Not sure if that is accurate or not. If so, then perhaps it will filter in here eventually.

It doesn't make ebay unviable as a selling platform, it just means you have to factor it in. It isn't likely to happen to every auction, it doesn't stop you relisting.

You can also sell as buy it now rather than auction. Maybe have immediate payment required. 

But your 4 days are pretty well up-did you ever get payment?

[*sons_and_daughters*]

Seriously Springyzone, your previous post indicated that you thought the buyer would be a non payer because several hours had passed and they hadn't paid. Just because you might pay immediately, doesn't mean everyone does. As Jane said, the buyer may not have received a notification of their win. 

Now you're wondering if the buyer has paid given the 4 days is up. The sale was Sunday, today is Tuesday. That is 2 days, not 4. As I said in my reply, it's possible the buyer is buying other things and plans to pay all at the same time. Stranger things have happened. 

If the buyer hasn't paid by Thursday, which is 4 days, then the OP needs to cancel the sale with the excuse of buyer didn't pay. The way it's set up now is that the cancellation is immediate, you don't have to give them another 4 days. Last year I had a non payer and wanted to see what would happen after 2 days, and the cancellation actually went through, so maybe you don't have to wait 4 days any more.

[padi*0409]

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

Last year I had a non payer and wanted to see what would happen after 2 days, and the cancellation actually went through, so maybe you don't have to wait 4 days any more.

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I know a lot of eBay is bot-driven, but I wonder if perhaps the non-payer in your case had a history of renegging on payment and that's why you were able to get a cancellation after just a couple of days.

[countessalmirena]

That’s an interesting point, padi. While eBay don’t reveal the private details of buyer sanctions, that suggestion makes good sense.

[papermoon.lady]

Well, waza, now the 4 days are definitely over. How did it go?

[springyzone]

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

Seriously Springyzone, your previous post indicated that you thought the buyer would be a non payer because several hours had passed and they hadn't paid. Just because you might pay immediately, doesn't mean everyone does. As Jane said, the buyer may not have received a notification of their win. 

I didn't think they would be a non payer just because they had not paid. It was the combination of factors. Being a zero feedback buyer was one. Before everyone rushes to say oh new buyers have to start somewhere, I know that, but a zero feedback buyer still presents a bit more risk than someone with a solid history behind them.

The other red flag to me is although I don't expect any buyer to be online at the end of an auction, I would expect anyone bidding up to several hundred on an item to remember that and have a look in after the auction to see how they went.

I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that a buyer might check within 12 hours of the end of auction.

I also feel a serious buyer, even if they weren't ready to pay, might message the seller when they check and let them know when they intended to pay. No contact doesn't scream keen.

Now you're wondering if the buyer has paid given the 4 days is up. The sale was Sunday, today is Tuesday. That is 2 days, not 4. As I said in my reply, it's possible the buyer is buying other things and plans to pay all at the same time. Stranger things have happened. 

I suppose that could happen but as you said, it would be strange. That sort of scenario is one I have heard of more in relation to a person buying several things from the same seller. Sometimes they hold off paying till they have finished and a combined postage charge can be made. I can't see any real advantage in delaying payment for a one off purchase from a seller, just because other pruchases were being made from different sellers.

If the buyer hasn't paid by Thursday, which is 4 days, then the OP needs to cancel the sale with the excuse of buyer didn't pay. The way it's set up now is that the cancellation is immediate, you don't have to give them another 4 days. Last year I had a non payer and wanted to see what would happen after 2 days, and the cancellation actually went through, so maybe you don't have to wait 4 days any more.

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I did say waza just needed to wait the 4 days (and yes, I miscalculated those 4 days, but they are well and truly up now). That's just the way it is on ebay here. 

Plus I'd be putting that bidder on my blocked list.

In any case, I think we can take it that our (waza's and mine) forebodings were correct and the zero bidder didn't pay or make contact. If you have a look at completed listings, waza relisted it as a buy it now and sold it yesterday.

I get the impression that although waza hasn't been back for a while, he or she took some of the suggestions on board so I guess in that respect, the board advice was useful.