First time buyers :(

[traclkes]

God I hate them  , 6 times now I have an experience where I have posted an Item and for some reson or other they have not paid or responded, . I really wish there was a way to block first time buyers or at least make it so that they have to bid with actual money or be referencedby someone who has sold or bought things reliably in the past, and if things go wrong then  the referee's reputaion will also be affected. The goleden rule on Ebay should quick pay quick post. for me at least as soon as i get money for an item I can send it  right away no hassle.

[digital*ghost]

The buyer is the one at fault, but I would also recommend not mentioning disputes in messages when you contact them about late payment, just because most people tend to see it as a threat and will usually become defensive (and for a lot of people, the best defence is an offence, eg rude replies / bad feedback). 

I now just send one message, worded in a way that I think is relatively firm, but positive, friendly and inviting, plus I think/hope doesn't contain any judgement or accusation, just a follow-up on progress and request for a response (so that if they don't respond to it or make payment and I subsequently open a dispute, it's a bit difficult to blame me. Though not impossible  ).

Funnily enough, it's rare a 0 or low FB member doesn't pay - all my NPBs have FB in the hundreds or thousands.

[thecatspjs]

Yes, in the past I found there was a mix of buyers who did not pay, with varying levels of feedback.

However, I have recently had a number of 0 feedback IDs not paying on this and other IDs, including some of those being IDs that have been registered for years ? ?

[digital*ghost]

Maybe it's connected to the voucher fiasco - I think the vouchers were primarily sent to IDs that either have never purchased, or haven't purchased in a really long time. 

[thecatspjs]

Mmmm, yes indeed could be linked .....

those **bleep** vouchers ......

^^^^^^ rhymes with ham  ^^^^^^

[ajarnjenny]

Yes... I can see the wisdom of that, but I have the automated start a non payer dispute after 4 days thingo and I thought it was polite to tell them.

I was very polite.

I replied to her message with apologies for offending her as that was not my intention, and she messaged back that sometimes she doesn't pay for ten days and has never had a non payer dispute opened.

I feel it is not going to end well.

[clarry100]

We usually send the following reminder message after about 4-5 days:

"Hi
You have purchased this item from us but so far we have not received any payment from you. Perhaps it has slipped your mind.
I understand this can easily happen when you have a busy schedule.
However, we are ready to ship your order as soon as we receive your cleared payment.
We look forward to being able to send your order out very soon.
Regards ..."

Quite often we receive back a response that says somethig like oh sorry yes I had forgotten and then they pay.

[digital*ghost]

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@ajarnjenny wrote:

I replied to her message with apologies for offending her as that was not my intention, and she messaged back that sometimes she doesn't pay for ten days and has never had a non payer dispute opened.

---

Oh wow - not a buyer I envy you. o_O 

I reckon maybe add a line to your listings about payment time-frame - I state either 5 or 7 days, more so that I have a frame of reference when communicating with buyers who want or expect special arrangements; it just helps draw the line, if you know what I mean.

[phorum_junkie*]

I send an invoice after three days with a note on asking them to contact me asap with details of their payment as I have been unable to trace it and an automatic unpaid item dispute is opened after 4 days if payment has not been received.

I also have on most of my listings that if buyers are not paying by Paypal within 4 days to let me know so I can exempt them from the automatic UPI dispute process.

I have very few non payers, most pay up before a dispute is even opened never mind closed and of the few that do i have not seen a particular trend for them to be newbies.

I am actually expecting to see an increase when I reopen next month looking at the number of threads about problems with the mobile app and daft, incomprehensible voucher schemes. i actually feel sorry for newbies who do not realise that they are using a defective app and give up when it all gets too difficult thus accruing strikes and ending up being blocked from using some of the best sellers.

[ajarnjenny]

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@phorum_junkie* wrote:

I send an invoice after three days with a note on asking them to contact me asap with details of their payment as I have been unable to trace it and an automatic unpaid item dispute is opened after 4 days if payment has not been received.

I also have on most of my listings that if buyers are not paying by Paypal within 4 days to let me know so I can exempt them from the automatic UPI dispute process.

I have very few non payers, most pay up before a dispute is even opened never mind closed and of the few that do i have not seen a particular trend for them to be newbies.

I am actually expecting to see an increase when I reopen next month looking at the number of threads about problems with the mobile app and daft, incomprehensible voucher schemes. i actually feel sorry for newbies who do not realise that they are using a defective app and give up when it all gets too difficult thus accruing strikes and ending up being blocked from using some of the best sellers.

---

That is pretty much what I did. Asked if there was a problem and told her that the automated thing would open a non payer dispute and got a really agressive reply that she has seven days to pay and would pay when she was ready. Also a bit of rubbish about it being such a small payment and was I so desperate for $5.30 that I couldn't wait for it.

Not really the point, is it? 

[davewil1964]

I normally send a message on day 4 and open the dispute on day 5.

Except for the current one, where the buyer bought 4 books from 3 sellers and only failed to pay me. Maybe because my price was significantly higher than the others (different books, same author). And not realising that they could have bought all 4 from me and paid less as I combine postage properly.

Their loss, their strike tomorrow.