Non-payin' ebay bidders...what to do...

[warmsoul]

I'm wondering how all you crafty ebayers deal with the deadbeat bidders. It's gotten to the point where i don't accept money orders since probably 75% of the people who want to pay with them a) never send them or b) only send them after repeated hassling. I'm all for the good old fashioned money order, but I can't wait around for the money and hold the merchandise.

I'm leary of just leaving bad feedback because i don't want tarnish my own rep--and i hate putting all those restrictions on my listing about, "you must do this, you must do that, you must ride a camel and pick up your merchandise in person...OR ELSE!!!" I'm always turned off by those listings but now I see why those people are like that! How can you be firm about your policies and keep your good rep without being a beotch?

[meexie]

It isn't bitchy to be specific about what your terms are.  Look at a different way - it's very thoughtful of you to let potential bidders know up front what they will have to do, rather than finding out later that you expect a camel to be ridden.  This will also make it easier to leave neutral or negative feedback, e.g. "auction specifies payment within 5 business days.  Bidder did not send payment within that time."  Again, being specific, not nasty.  

I've had good luck with money orders, and I think being very specific about when I expect payment and what the penalties are helps.  If I don't get payment in the specified time period, the auction gets re-listed and that bidder is blocked.  I ask that people using money orders e-mail me to let me know that they are sending one so that if the post office delays delivery, the bidder won't get screwed.  

For the most part, a deadbeat bidder is a deadbeat and there isn't much I can do besides relist the item and fill out the eBay forms for deadbeats.  Every time I've had this problem, it turns out that they've been burning other people and eBay cancels their accounts.

As a buyer, I like seeing specifics about payment and shipping 'cause it means less hassle for me - no having to email them to find out what shipping cost will be or when they will mail it etc.  

[sarah_1980]

I agree with meexie - if you don't want to accept certain types of payments, then make sure you state it in the listing and then there can be no "grey areas" when your bidders end up not paying. I also hate the listings where there's 1001 rules so just make it simple and to the point.

As for dead beats who end up not sending payment, I usually send a follow up email saying something like "its okay if you don't want to proceed with the transaction, just let me know and we can cancel it but I will still have to lodge a non-paying bidder notification with ebay to recoupe my listing fees and final value fees".

I think that's kinda non-threatening but still tells them that its a bit serious, at the same time.

Then if I still don't hear from them I put them on my blocked bidder list.

Then (depending on what sorta feedback they've given other people and what sorta feedback they've received themselves and how many feedbacks they've received, how long they've been registered, etc) I weigh up whether to submit a non-payig bidder thingy and whether to leave negative feedback.

I think its important to weigh up the risk of doing this because obviously you're exposing yourself to retaliatory negative feedbacks. But like meexie said, often you'll find that once you submit a non-paying bidder they get banned because they've been doing it to everyone else!

Then of course I re-list the item (and add in there "due to a non-paying bidder I am re-listing this item").

[warmsoul]

this is my normal stategy. i list the "paypal only" in bold at the beginning and end of my description as well as the ebay box about payment info. but i get alot of people who say they didn't see that and "how rare of me" to only take paypal. my next response is to ususally tell them they may send  me a money order if i receive it in ten days. maybe that's why i'm getting so many people that don't send it? because they aren't observant enough to begin with? what do you think?

maybe l am just being to wishy washy....i need to toughen up!

[plastikvodka]

nope, you aren't the only one! I stopped letting people send me money orders because 50% of the people wouldn't send them, and the other half would send the wrong ones (no matter how specific I was in saying it has to be an INTERNATIONAL money order, it must say this ON THE MONEY ORDER AT THE TOP). I had so many bidders tell me that I could still deposit the ones that say "negotiable onlyin the USA", despite my being in Canada... and when you ask them to send another and sent theirs back, of course you never get paid. Even with only accepting Paypal, I get a suspiciously large number of people who say that their paypal isn't working properly, can they have an extension on the "payment within three days of auction close" and can they pay by check or money order! To be honest, I've never had one of hese people end up paying me.A few times I've had 90% of my auctions end with deadbeats- and I've only ever gotten one retalitory feedback comment, and it was a neutral. The great thing is that you can respond to feedback comments- so you can add that it's retalitory and such. I have to admit though, all those deadbeat bidders are really turning me off of Ebay.... make sit so much more work!

[Amanelle]

You can also check the feedback of the bidders and cancel their bid if they have negative feedback. I usually put in "I reserve the right to cancel any bid where the bidder has negative feedback" At least that's the way it used to be, I don't think I've sold anything on Ebay in a year.

[cdsommer]

I state very clearly in my auctions what my terms are and the deadline for receiving payment. I only take paypal and money orders and I only accept US bidders. I clearly state that payment MUST be received within 7 days. That's 7 days - not business days. So, if they are paying by MO, they better get their butt in gear fast! I've ony had 3 non-paying bidders in all my time.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you follow up with the Non Paying Bidders! You can file a Non Paying Bidder Alert 7 days after your auction ends. I send an invoice right away, and then a follow up in 3 days. At 6 days, I remind them it is due tomorrow and request immediate action. I usually wait until day 8 and then file the Alert. HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART: 10 days after filing the NPB, you must file a Final Value Fee Credit. This will credit the final value fee eBay charged you, back to you. It will also put a mark on the Non Paying Bidder's record. AFTER THEY RECEIVE 3 MARKS - THEY ARE SUSPENDED! You don't even have to deal with feedback if you don't want to.

Regarding feedback: I am not a slave to feedback. I've only had 1 negative and I could care less. If a NPB negs me, I would just respond with "Non paying bidder. Period."

Hope this helps. There is a ton of information on the eBay community message boards. Check Seller Central.

Good luck!

[OldQlts]

i'm not sure why you're getting so many NPB's ... i've been on ebay for nearly 7 years now, and i don't think i've even had 1 NPB per year (and i've had over 1300 transactions, most of them selling rather than buying).

i definitely prefer paypal, mostly because i use their "billpay" service to pay a bunch of my bills!!! but it's also quick, convenient, and allows me to get this stuff out of here quicker. i list things for 2 other people, as well as selling my own things, so that means there's a LOT of stuff going thru here!

[katiekat82]

I think the number of non-payers you get depends on the type of items you sell. I always get WAY more nonpaying bidders on items that are appealing to the under-18 crowd (gee, I wonder why...)....  Honestly, I don't think there is anything you can do about it- no matter what you will have some nonpaying bidders. You just have to be TOTALLY clear in your listing that you accept Paypal ONLY and if someone says "Can I send a money order?" just say... "Nope- Get a Paypal account." If they're illiterate, they wouldn't have bid on your item in the first place. Most people who say they "didn't see it" are just lying. You may be a little nicer and tell them to use www.auctionpayments .com (AKA Bidpay), which sends an email when someone pays so you KNOW it's on the way-- or also www.payko.com.  This way they can send a money order using their credit card over the internet.

Always always always file your NPB warnings though. First of all, sometimes that gets them to send the $$. Second of all, once they get three, they can't go around bidding on other seller's items anymore.

[girlypirate]

i love paying with paypal because it's such a hassle for me to get money orders.  i have to go to a gas station or grocery store and pay extra money and blah blah blah.  it annoys me when people _don't_ accept paypal, especially when it's so easy to do so.  i just sent out two money orders today two weeks late because i completely forgot.  do i feel bad?  yes, but if they accepted paypal they'd have their money already and i'd have my stuff.