Bidders Not Buying

[alexjames9121]

I'm having issues selling a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on eBay.

I put up the listing, then the winning bidder messaged me with "Hay im so sorry i have already won one before this one can sell this to someone eles".

Annoyed, I cancelled the order and relisted it, then the winning bidder of the second listing message me saying "So sorry I thought it was $100", then when asked if s/he was going to pay, s/he replied with "No sorry too much screen cracked ".

What can I do with these two buyers, and how can I prevent this from happening again? Am I gaining more fees for these listings? Should I relist it a third time?

[countessalmirena]

@alex.the.whovian,

These are non-payers who - in my view - are treating the bidding process with a laissez-faire attitude that amounts to contempt.

It's one thing if a winning bidder or buyer has a good reason for not going through with the purchase. It's another if it's "I've already won one" or the frankly ridiculous one about thinking it was $100. (Iit was an auction, and the winning bidder placed a bid, which s/he confirmed at the time of placing it.)

No, in both of those cases I don't think a cancellation is warranted. In my opinion your best way forward is to do the following:

1. open an unpaid item case in the Resolution Centre (and enter into no further communication with the bidder); and
2. only relist when you're certain that you have your Buyer Requirement blocks set correctly to avoid repeat offenders.

Spoiler

Have you set your blocks in your Buyer Requirements? The link is here: https://offer.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BuyerBlockPreferences&BuyerBlockPreferences=

The ones in red are the important ones; the others are optional - whatever works best for you as a seller.

  Select requirements  

    Important: Select buyer requirements carefully - they may reduce your selling success. The requirement(s) you select will be applied to your current and future listings, except as noted. eBay encourages you to learn more by visiting the Buyer Requirements Help page.    

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Buyers with Unpaid Item strikes

☑ Block bidders and buyers who have received   ②  Unpaid Item strike(s) within   ⑫   month(s)  

This requirement can help you avoid bidders and buyers with a history of not paying for the items they have agreed to purchase.

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Buyers in locations to which I don't post

☑  Block buyers whose primary postage address is in a location I don't post to.  

This requirement can help you avoid buyers who agree to purchase your items without realising you don't post to their location.

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Buyers with policy violation reports

☑ Block buyers who have   ④  Policy violation report(s) within   ⑥  month(s)  

This requirement can help you block buyers who have been reported to have violated eBay policies.

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Buyers with a negative feedback score

☑ Block buyers who have a feedback score of   -1   or lower.  (Not really relevant any more, as buyers cannot be given negative feedback, but tick this anyway.)

This requirement can help you avoid buyers who have received more negative than positive feedback from other eBay members bidding on your item.

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Buyers who may bid on several of my items and not pay for them

☑ Block buyers who are currently winning or have bought    ③    of my items in the last 10 days.

        ☐ Only apply this block to buyers who have a feedback score of    ⑤    or lower.

Consider selecting this requirement if you are selling expensive items and don't want to sell over a certain number to any single buyer. Learn more about how this requirement works.

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Buyers who haven't gone through phone verification

☑ Block buyers who haven't gone through phone verification.

      ☐ Only apply this block to buyers who have a feedback score of  ☐  or lower.

 When blocked buyers complete phone verification, they'll be allowed to bid on or buy your item. Learn more about this requirement.

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☑ Apply above settings to active and future listings.

Existing bids will not be affected.

Turbo Lister will pick up these settings after you sync each item with eBay. Third-party listing tools will pick up these settings after you synchronise the tools with eBay.

☑ Don't allow blocked buyers to contact me. (Buyer won't see the "Contact Seller" button on your Q&A page.) Note: Buyers can still contact you about existing transactions, unless you add them to your blocked list.

[alexjames9121]

Thank you for the reply!

I cancelled the first one as an act of good faith, as I'm just a casual seller, not an experienced one, and have never had a bad experience with eBay. However, I realized that this likely wasn't the case given the second case in a row of a now-uninterested buyer.

Thanks for the suggestions on the Buyer Requirement blocks; I've set them as required. I'll open the Unpaid Item Case on the 22nd (as the minimum wait is 4 days after the auction ended) for the second buyer; unfortunately, I can no longer do this for the first buyer given the cancellation. I'll relist the phone later today.

Cheers.

[justkidzbiz]

It's really frustrating.

i sold an item to a buyer, who then messaged me with some sob story and I could I cancel the transaction. I obliged, but then found out a few days later the reason she gave me was a load of bs. She had bid on the same item elsewhere for a whole $2.00 cheaper. So essentially bidding on several items the same to see which she could get cheaper.  Cannot stand time wasters,

[countessalmirena]

Alex, don't relist until the case closes!

Also - you'll want to read through eBay's Fee credits page, relevant to exactly this sort of situation.

It is frustrating having to wait until you can open the Unpaid Item Case, then waiting for 4 days until the case can be closed, but this is the only way to make sure that everything goes smoothly and that you are following policy... so that you'll get back  your final value fee.

Did your previous non-paying bidder agree to cancel the sale? Just keep an eye on your eBay invoice to be certain that you have been/will be credited the final value fees for that non-sale, too.

@justkidzbiz, it's annoying, I know. You can rarely be certain about whether or not a buyer's story is genuine... I don't think erring on the side of compassion is a bad thing, but if your gut is telling you that there's something a little suspicious about it, then the world won't cave in if you open an unpaid item case. At worst, the buyer will receive one striike, which isn't going to stop him/her from buying from anyone on eBay (since the minimum block is for 2 strikes). That one strike won't stay there for ever; it isn't visible; and buyers can appeal strikes by contacting eBay with a reason or a sufficiently determined approach, anyway.

I'm a buyer, not a seller... I have never failed to pay for an item, but let's say that one day something bizarre happens. Perhaps my cat goes dancing on the keyboard, and hits precisely those keys which open an item on eBay, hit on the right buttons to bid or buy now, also hit on confirm, and voilà. If it weren't an item I wanted, I think I'd contact the seller with profuse apologies and an offer to pay their final value fees and relisting fees. I'd add that if they were to send through a Buyer Requests Cancellation, I'd immediately accept it with gratitude (so as not to keep them waiting with relisting, etc.), and would also say that if they decided to open an unpaid item case, I would accept with grace that this was what they thought necessary in the running of their business.

Mind you, has any of those stories about the cat or the child or a mysterious entity of some sort buying an item ever actually happened...?

[springyzone]

Very frustrating. Do what the countessa says, it's all fantastically detailed advice.

I think there are some people who don't take the bidding process all that seriously.

The problem as I see it is if you cancel an auction & cancel it as your choice, then I think you do pay the fees. If you tick it was buyer choice, I think they are supposed to respond to that to verify it. From the sound of it, that isn't what happened. The problem is if they don't respond, you're left in limbo for a while till it times out.

I think I would reply to the bidders & say you understand they don't want the item & to just ignore any messages from ebay about paying, but you have to go through the official notification process in order to get your selling fees back.

I'm not entirely sure these customers understand that if they don't pay, you get charged fees anyway unless you do something. I'm sure they imagine ebay would only charge fees on finalised transactions so it's no hassle for you. But it is. it wastes your time, it knocks out pretty much any chance of the second highest bidder wanting it by the time you're clear to sell it again and it is costing you money unless you go to some effort to reclaim the fees.

I don't see why the bidder shouldn't suffer some consequences.

[collect247]

Are there still defects also for cancelling a sale yourself?

[countessalmirena]

Yes - unless you cancel with either of the following two reasons:

1. problem with the buyer's address, or
2. buyer requests cancellation.

If you cancel for the reason that there's a problem with the item or it's not available/out of stock, then whack! It's a great big defect.

[collect247]

Why I asked was because it looks like OP might have cancelled the sale without the 2 reasons you've mentioned, hopefully they didn't and said it was the buyers choice.

[countessalmirena]

I hope so as well, kollector.