Unpaid auction item

[arragon33]

Hi recently sold an item at auction only to receive an email from the successful bidder that were no longer going to pay for it - what’s the best course of action - thought successful bidders were obliged to complete the transaction ??

[davewil1964]

Wait until the option is available then cancel using 'Buyer did not pay'.

What you thought and what is enforceable is fluid.

You COULD take the buyer to court.

Good luck with that. Or cancel when you can.

[springyzone]

---

@arragon33 wrote:

Hi recently sold an item at auction only to receive an email from the successful bidder that were no longer going to pay for it - what’s the best course of action - thought successful bidders were obliged to complete the transaction ??

---

They are supposed to but plenty don't.

Your best bet is to do as dave says as very soon you should be able to open an ebay cancellation.

You really need to do it for 2 reasons.

1. Ebay will refund you the fees on the sale. You don't want to be left out of pocket for something like this.

2. Ebay will issue that buyer with a strike for non payment. Don't worry, it isn't something anyone else or even the buyer can tangibly see. It is just in ebay records. If the buyer gets 2 of these in a certain period of time though, many sellers have their settings adjusted to block purchases from buyers with 2 or more non payment strikes. In this way, the buyer doesn't get off scot free. Ebay might not be able to force your buyer to pay, but you can give them a strike.

3. You can also block the buyer right now so they can never 'buy' from you again.

[*sons_n_daughters*]

If it's the watch, then definitely cancel as suggested, or that's a lot of fees you are going to have to pay. The option to cancel should be there in your dropdown next to the sold item. Keep checking it daily until the unpaid option appears. I've had it appear after 2 days, but it could take 4.

I'd also be tempted to offer it to the second highest bidder as a second chance. They only pay what their highest bid was, but it might mean a sale that goes through, instead of having to relist and start again.