how is it possible that this guy is not banned yet ?

[vxgo]

Hi guys,

I am writing here tovent my disappointment and also am asking for advice, here goes:

I listed iphone 5 last friday and the auction ended last sunday. I found it strange that the buyer hasnt paid until yesterday night, because obviously it is a reasonable assumption that if you buy an iphone 5 you will want to pay for it ASAP so I can send it ASAP.

I check the buyer's feedback page, and look what I found: http://feedback.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=hsvgts1977&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true

He has about 8 feedbacks, thats right, 8 !!! saying that he has not paid for his items. Realising that I will probably be his next victim, I messaged him saying please pay immediately if you are interested or I will offer it to someone else

he is replying by saying that its just only 1 day and how I am so impatient and asking me to go on to sell it to other people, I told him that fine if you are really interested in buying then I will wait for the payment but please dont waste my time, and no more reply after that

obviously any reasonable person at this point will assume that it is very very likely that this guy will not pay

So I contacted ebay through customer chat saying that could you please cancel the transaction, I do not want to pay the final value fee to which the customer replied i have to wait 4 days for the buyer to pay, and then additional 4 days to wait for the case result

THis is just not possible for me to do since this means I will not get cash for my iphone 5 for the next 8 days at the very least. I told her that I need to sell my iphone soon because I need the money ASAP. Additionally iphone is only valuable as long as apple does not have stock, once they have stock why would anyone buy from me ? But she just kept repeating that no I gotta wait 8 days there is no way around it..........

At this point, I am utterly speechless at ebay's service and the quality of protection it gives to its customers. The fact that this guy who is obviously trolling everyone (I have his name and address when I sent him invoices, its not even his real name. its a weird combination of number and letters), including 9 sellers in ebay, and seems to not be banned yet and also have 100% positive feedback just baffles me

Suffice it to say that I have learned my lesson and I will try to never ever sell any big ticket items anymore in ebay. Meanwhile I need to sell my iphone 5 ASAP. I can sell it to my friend outside ebay who already agreed to buy, but the problem is if the guy eventually pays for the item (very small probability if possible) then it will be me who look like a fraudster

Advice ?

thank you

[digital*ghost]

how is it unrealistic for me to complain that someone that had not paid for his last 8 items is not banned and hence is able to bid for my item ?? the system allows this, hence the conclusion that the system is flawed

The system will work but is reliant on people being aware of it and using it.

eBay see value in a buyer that pays for at least some of the items that they purchase and therefore seem to be overtly reluctant to impose any consequence that means they won't purchase and pay for anything (such as banning would), so the the system they have put in place leaves it up to sellers to decide what calibre of buyer purchases from them.

[gigabean-au]

it is pretty disconcerting that this guy is allowed to continue as he/she is... but as mentioned above, people should be opening unpaid item disputes against them rather than postiive feedback with negative comments.

That said - it's definitely a user to add to your ban list.

[vxgo]

Yes it is weird that all those 8 sellers didnt do anything isnt it ?

hopefully this is more of exception rathen than the norm

[davewil1964]

The problem is, vxgo, that eBay don't know about this buyer because numpty sellers keep leaving them positive feedback.

If they (and you) set their blocks properly and closed the non-payer case correctly, then the buyer wouldn't be able to bid on very much at all.

On the other hand, I would ask why you bought an iPhone 5 specifically to sell it when it left you short of money. If I wanted an iPhone it wouldn't be so urgent a requirement wish that I would pay over the odds just to get it a few days sooner. I'm sure iPhone 4's will still work for a while.

[vxgo]

I did not buy an iphone 5 specifically to sell it

Unlike some people in ebay, i actually preordered iphone 5 to use it, and then changed my mind on wednesday (bought galaxy s3 instead), but by then it was too late to cancel my preorder, hence the reason for selling

I did not expect any profit, jsut would like to get my money back

I do not really need the money ASAP, its more that Im worried that if I have to wait for 8 days, apple would have stock by then. Now why would an yone buy from ebay if they can buy apple store, hence I will get less money in 10 days than what I would have got if I sell it today

[vxgo]

that friend is going overseas on saturday, she is buying it for her mom, and now it seems unlikely that this will be resolved in 8 days. of course i can still sell it anyway, but if the buyer then decides to pay (no matter how small the probability is), i will be the one who is infringing the terms and conditions of the sale becasue then I will not be able to provide him with the goods

[patchoo78]

It's not unlikely, it's definite that nothing will happen before 8 days.. You have to wait 4 days before opening a dispute, then can close it after 8 days if the buyer doesn't pay.. 

A lot of the time opening a dispute will push the buyer to pay.. If you do sell this item and you haven't waited the full 8 days, then you could end up with a neg and a policy violation for being a non performing seller.. 

Sorry, but you'll just have to wait until the buyer does or doesn't pay then you can decide what to do with the goods

[i-once-was-bump]

This is most likely not allowed but I will mention it just incase it is possible to do.

Sell your phone to your friend.

If your eBay buyer finally pays you then go and buy a phone from the Apple Store and send it to your buyer.

That way you would get the money from your friend and you put it aside until the non paying bidder is sorted and you will have the money to go to the Apple Store to pay for the new, new phone.

This would only work if the Apple Store has more stock available of the phone you are selling.

You could get marked down on the dsr for slow postage due to having to go and buy a phone once your buyer pays you but maybe that would be better to cop than any of the other violations you might face if you resell before the dispute is finalised.

I would not do this until someone can tell you if what I have suggested is wrong or not allowed or maybe it can be done.

[i-once-was-bump]

I would like to make it clear that I do not think this should be done with any other transactions but I only mentioned due to the buyer failing to pay for their last 8 purchases.

It is an exceptional case and this advice relates to this sale and this sale only.

[the3coopers]

you seem not to understand my concern

if you read my previous posts, it will be obvious that

the concern is not immediate payment, its more about how someone with such bad feedbacks are allowed to bid for items

YOU are the only one who is allowing people like that to bid on your listings. If you don't want to deal with such people, then you need to use the tools that eBay provides you...

Go to My Ebay > Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements

Set ALL the blocks inside there, specifically the one about blocking people with 2 or more Non Payment Strikes in the past 12 months.

Tick the box to apply to current listings, then click Save.

Done - problem is solved.