Should eBay start charging non-paying bidders?

[whatagoodprice]

I like many sellers are annoyed with the constant array of non-paying buyers.

Although eBay does compensate final value fees (by using the unpaid item dispute process) listing fees for fixed listings are not refunded.  

All buyers receive is a strike which is nothing compared to the consequences handed out for those who participate in shill bidding - no restriction on buying/selling on eBay no tutorial which buyers must complete so they understand that non-payment is unacceptable.

Perhaps if eBay fined non-paying buyers between $2-$5 every time they refused to pay it would stamp out this practice of non-payment. This would also save eBay effort and the money raised could be donated (at eBay's discretion) to benefit local charities.

I look forward to other buyer's opinions on this issue...   

[thecatspjs]

IMO NP strikes should show on buyers feedback page, same as bid retractions.  At a minimum, it would serve as a deterrent to some non-payers.

It would be no biggie, to buyers who make payment.

By a tally of NP strikes showing - it would also make ebay a little more accountable for its action/inaction in relation to non-payment.

[***super_nova***]

 Obviously this person has at least 12 non payment strikes so how can they continue to bid???

obviously they do not have 12 strikes, some sellers do not follow through. 

I am assuming that you do have your blocks in place?

Saying all that, there might be legitimate reasons why some people lately won items and did not pay.  Remember floods, fires, storms, power outages lasting days, over this summer?  In this moment there are many people in Victoria on notice as more fires have broken containment lines.  While my friend in Townsville is talking about torrential rain with road closures.

I think it is a good idea, when somebody does not pay, to have a look on map and see if there is anything happening/happened over past week in their area.

[leamarsie]

I have blocks in place now & yes I have opened a NPD.

This person also has a dodgy address. Only a first name & no street number, just Sydney.

[davewil1964]

Generally I think posters use their selling and buying ID... I think a very small amount of people actually post using a posting ID... The fact can be proven by the amount of red doors and items for dasle you can find on most of the IDs in the buyimg and selling forum..... except for the few staunch regulars

How do you know nova is an experienced member... did they tell you?

why should the other poster trust your assertions?

Where is ebays information regarding posting ids ? 

Should all members just trust and not question FORUM posters with low feedback given the importance that ebay places in it??

I know who nova is.

[***super_nova***]

This person also has a dodgy address. Only a first name & no street number, just Sydney.

That is a reportable offence, so report them 🙂

[davewil1964]

Further to my previous, colic (FB7), I believe a member asking questions on the boards should check out the information supplied, rather than the alleged experience of the provider of same.

Does it matter if 'Do x to achieve y' is recommended by a 100,000 fb member or a 0 fb member? Assuming the answer is correct? Or even if the answer is incorrect? Does a member's feedback level reflect their experience? In life? On eBay? In posting facts?

[spoltzs]

What is even more annoying is the length of time to settle the dispute. 

auction ends > wait for payment > no payment > wait to open dispute > wait to close dispute. Sale lost. 

Cant leave negative ( should be an instant negative from ebay saying non paying bidder ) and then you have to resist and go through the whole auction again.

mist admit there are more npb than ever ATMATM

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

I think this is something that annoys many sellers. I have between 5 - 10% of sales result in non payment. I have blocks in place but have noted that very often non payers are buyers with low feedback. The nonsensical system of allowing buyers to create a new ID circumvents the whole process.

As for it not costing money.... For those of us that sell elsewhere we remove that item from sale, so have to effectively relist and readvertise/put it back out for sale elsewhere and not just on ebay. This takes time. Given the average time for payment is 4 days, and the dispute is open for 4 days, there is 8 days lost where the item could have potentially been resold if it were available for sale. For those that have multiple items in stock it may not be such an issue, but for those that sell out of the item, list single items etc, the loss in revenue can be significant. Then there are the relisting fees which are not refunded when the item quantity falls to zero. (Not sure why ebay does not offer a pro rata refund for these?)

I agree forcing buyers to pay is not feasible, and also do not like taking the stance of opening an UID when someone politely asks me to cancel a sale for a legitimate reason. EBay have suggested that this is the appropriate course of action to take, but there is a negative connotation attached to it. I would imagine a good buyer that requests a cancellation and has a dispute opened in response may feel a bit offended. There are of course many situations where an opening an unpaid item dispute is warranted.

I would like to see along with feedback the number of cancellations requested by the buyer (these should not have to be instigated by a seller when it is the buyer that requests it as is the present situation), as well as the number of unpaid item strikes, INR and SNAD claims, negs left for sellers etc. We should not only be able to add members to blocked lists based on the unpaid items strikes, but should also be able to use other criteria to add members to our blocked lists. I am sure there are others that buyers can think of to add with respect to sellers too.

[davewil1964]

8 days.

If you set your blocks to exclude serial NPBs you up your chances of having them unable to bid. As you seem to attract NPBs I assume your listings attract them, or you don't have the available blocks in place.

Auctions are so noughty.

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

8 days.

If you set your blocks to exclude serial NPBs you up your chances of having them unable to bid. As you seem to attract NPBs I assume your listings attract them, or you don't have the available blocks in place.

Auctions are so noughty.

I have blocks in place but as I have mentioned a lot of them that slip through have very low feedback. This leads me to believe they merely create a new buying account after they rack up the strikes.

I sell BIN items (have only sold the odd item via auction). I think auctions may attract many buyers that are in it for the thrill of the win, the excitement of nabbing a potential bargain. After the win, their enthusiasm dissipates and the seller is left with a non communicative buyer...