eBay non-paying bidders since 2020

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

I've been on eBay since 2004/5, but I've never seen this. Since 2020/21, I have a ridiculous percentage of non-paying, non-answering, deadbeat buyers.

Sometimes it's as high as 50% of the sold items which don't get paid and no reply whatsoever.

I'm not packing stuff in advance anymore because of this, and also, I get charged fees first, need to wait 1 week before cancelling the auction for non-paying reason, and later eBay refunds the fee on the next bill. It's totally unfair.

I guess serious buyers have fled eBay and are now using Facebook and other social media groups to buy and sell. Which is a good thing frankly. Except that I don't have Facebook.

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

You never get the $0.30 listing fee back.

non paying bidders are infuriating. But at the end of the day it’s part of the gig. Take it or leave it.

Facebook marketplace is the lowest of low for selling an item. It really is its own culture. It’s full of bots, scams and resellers. Rarely do I sell at a collectors price (10%-20% off fair value) I always have to price at nearly 50% of fair value to move an item on Facebook.

Edited March 31, 2023 by docile tapeworm

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

I know it's part of the game, I've been playing it for 20 years, but in 20 years I've never seen anything like the last 2-3 years.

If you don't want it, don't bid. I ain't shipping anything without payment first anyway (been there done that).

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

Ya I’ve been playing the game for 21 years. It has gotten worse. I think it’s part of market manipulation.

[RH | 4,895]

Weird. I don't sell much (probably 10-15 items per years) but I can't recall the last time I've had a non-paying buyer.  But to be fair, I try to find stuff in a very cheap price range and  then I list it on eBay at a cheap BIN price.  So long as I have margin, I'm happy.

Regardless, I've always had buyer buy my auctioned items but now that I think of it, I tend to only auction the rarer items I have.

With that said though, I'm not afraid to use the Watch Item button.  There's stuff I want to buy and stuff I just want to track.  I see a tone of auctions being relisted after they sold.  For a long time I shock my head and just assumed it was either manipulative sellers OR they weren't happy with the final sell price so they cancelled and relisted.  I guess it could 100% be by dead beat bidders.  I thought eBay had something like a 3-strike policy for that behavior?   If they don't do that any more, it's just further proof that a new dog needs to come into the market that really give them a run for their money.

And I get it, there's been CraigsList, FB Marketplace, apps like Mercari and they have tried to fill that void but if someone had deep enough pockets to sink into a venture that could create a similar type of site but a huge portion of their initial investment into reasonable fees paired with top-notch customer support and problem resolution, it'd kill all of the above.

It would be hard (as in it'd take a lot of money) to create a site that mimics eBay but also manages the market place, but if someone did it, I think people would be busting down the virtual doors trying to use the system.  You either get the "wild west" or a company that's willing to let it's infrastructure crumble because they know they are the top-dog and "no one can challenge them".  

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

@RH there is a 3 strike system. But just make a new account if you want to bid up an item without any intention of buying. I’m always leery of a eBay member with low feedback when it comes to getting paid.

Edited March 31, 2023 by docile tapeworm

[a3quit4s | 4,093]

I sold my MacBook Pro on eBay last month or the month before. The first person that bought it didn’t pay and the second they won it someone messaged me from a different account trying to get me to send it to a different address when it hadn’t even been paid for yet. I’m not sure if it was the same person trying to scam me or what. 
 

Luckily the second time I put it up someone bought it, paid right away, and left positive feedback when they got it. I hadn’t sold anything in quite some time, but same ole scam filled eBay. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by a3quit4s

[Nugfish | 652]

I havent experienced that high of frequency, but this has always been my experience. I only post BIN anymore. That way they have to pay to purchase the item.

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

In the last 20 yrs, selling anywhere from 20-200 items a year, Ive only had a non payer 1 time- and It was an old iphone. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

35 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

In the last 20 yrs, selling anywhere from 20-200 items a year, Ive only had a non payer 1 time- and It was an old iphone. 

Crazy. Been selling 20+ as well. Last few years it’s like a shot in the dark if I get paid on an auction.

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

2 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

Crazy. Been selling 20+ as well. Last few years it’s like a shot in the dark if I get paid on an auction.

Never had a non payer on an auction, just BIN. You probably move more material than me however. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

2 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Never had a non payer on an auction, just BIN. You probably move more material than me however. 

I was thinking it’s probably connected to my lower shelf items and the clientele that comes with that territory.

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

On 3/31/2023 at 9:26 PM, docile tapeworm said:

@RH there is a 3 strike system. But just make a new account if you want to bid up an item without any intention of buying. I’m always leery of a eBay member with low feedback when it comes to getting paid.

that's not true, at least not for me.

the only buyers i can block are those with 2 or more unpaid strikes in 12 months. can't set lower than 2 strikes, and can't set more than 12 months time. that makes it easy for deadbeats to stay in the game forever, as the counter resets after 12 months in the worst case.

and they have recently removed the option to block buyers with feedbacks of -1 or lower. i clearly remember this option enabled in my account, and now it's gone. i just googled and other sellers confirm this.

 

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

I can block a guy from bidding on multiple items i'm selling but i can't block a guy with negative feedback or with one unpaid strike in recent weeks/months.

shows what ebay really thinks of sellers on their website (i.e. "give us 15% of your sales and if a buyer complains about anything, refund him completely, shipping included, and also, shut up, coz we have the final word on it and we are the law on here").

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

They should make the non paying bidders pay the $0.30 listing fee. That might help cut down on it.

It boils my blood when I have to pay that $0.30 listing fee even though the buyer never paid.

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

It's not refunded? Basic listings are free for me, so I don't have this issue.

Today, same item, second time someone buys it and again it's a deadbeat, 5 days, no contact, no payment. Wasting one week every time before relisting is such a waste of time. I can cancel earlier, but you need to wait a week to be able to mark it as "buyer didn't pay".

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

20 hours ago, Tyree_Cooper said:

It's not refunded? Basic listings are free for me, so I don't have this issue.

Today, same item, second time someone buys it and again it's a deadbeat, 5 days, no contact, no payment. Wasting one week every time before relisting is such a waste of time. I can cancel earlier, but you need to wait a week to be able to mark it as "buyer didn't pay".

The $0.30 listing fee is not refunded. Basic listings are “free” but actually they cost $0.30 no matter if you get paid or not.

I’ll be surprised if this person pays. Has a feedback of 240

 

[docile tapeworm | 4,196]

Well that last guy paid immediately after I posted that. Let’s see if it works again lol

this guy is taking his sweet time…

 

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

Here's a good one.

Item posted to USA March 13. End April, tracking still shows "16 March handed over to carrier". Buyer asks me why he still hasn't received his package and threatens to open a non-receipt case on eBay. I tell him to be patient a bit longer, until 2 months have passed, because then I can ask the Hong Kong post for a refund.

In the meantime I submit a tracking request, and I find out that the item was delivered March 27.

Buyer is just trying to get a free item by using the lack of updated tracking information. Not cool. Buyer blocked.

 

And here's the bad news for eBay sellers sending their packages to major destinations:

<< Major overseas destinations, including the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia, have ceased to provide tracking information of registered mail. >>

 

Then I would like to ask these geniuses: what's the point of paying extra for registered mail, when it's not providing at least the very basic tracking (item posted / loaded on plane / arrived at country of destination / delivered). These are the 4 basic steps that should be provided.

 

Which means a malicious buyer who has received his package but who sees that the tracking is not updated, can easily get his money back by opening a case with eBay - since eBay make a decision based on the tracking information.

This is pretty crazy, and forces sellers to use a more expensive shipping method, which basically means NOBODY will buy from you anymore (20$ game with 30$ shipping is stupid). Or it forces them to take an additional risk with their buyers.

They're basically doing everything they can to kill their business. Or they just don't give a shit. It shows how much the people at eBay have no idea how posting an item works. They still consider that adding a tracking number means the package has been shipped. Man, this hasn't been the case for at least 10 years! People can prepare their label in advance now, with a preregistered tracking number.

I think they don't want business from private sellers anymore. Which goes perfectly with all the rest that they're pushing on us socially and economically.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Tyree_Cooper

[fcgamer | 4,719]

27 minutes ago, Tyree_Cooper said:

I think they don't want business from private sellers anymore. Which goes perfectly with all the rest that they're pushing on us socially and economically.

It's gotten ridiculous to try to side-hustle anymore. Then people say that our generations are lazy and don't want to work and what not, but no matter what one tries to do, there's unnecessary red tape out the ass to accomplish something that should be simple. 

My snack box company sent a parcel to a guy in California last month, lo and behold it showed up about a week ago in Taiwan again. I had to pay $12 return shipping fees, even after paying $25 to ship it originally. Contacted the buyer, he said that he was never informed of the box, the reason for return was listed as "unclaimed". Unclaimed, yet the buyer said he was never informed of its arrival, though the guy's phone number is on the box?! Said his address didn't change either.

Resent it out this week, if it gets returned again then I'm shutting down the whole operation or at least banning US customers, as at that point I have nothing to conclude other than it being an issue of incompetency on the US mail side of things.

/endrant

 

Sorry guys for the above rant, but the way that everything is going just really frustrates me.

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

I agree, postal services (especially public ones, though most of them aren't public anymore) hold the customer tightly by the balls and whatever happens, he's the one that gets screwed.

When you learn that the refund for a package that's lost or damaged (once THEY decide that it fulfills THEIR rules for a refund) does not include the postage fee paid, you realise what a joke this all is.

So you pay 20$ shipping, declare 50$, it gets lost, they ask you for a proof of value or invoice, so you show them your eBay sale which was actually 30$ (you included the shipping because you thought you were smart). They refund you just 30$ and you can consider yourself lucky that they didn't pick an excuse to refuse the case.

[Link | 2,708]

What if you sell for $50 with "free shipping"?

[Tyree_Cooper | 747]

I could do that, but customers who see a higher price are most likely to stay away. They may not see that shipping is free when they search and scroll down dozens of auction titles.

[Link | 2,708]

I know I consider the total, with the shipping. $20 is a big difference when it's 67% of the item price and I might balk at that. People concerned with price should be doing this imo

You could try it and see, and change back if an item doesn't move quickly enough. Or experiment if you have two of the same, list one for $30+20 and one for $49.95+0.