eBay Protocol if Buyer Reneges?

lonewolf on 11/06/2020 - 15:35

Hi Guys,

First time selling on Ebay, I was selling some Gym equipment that i had for spare and hadnt used for years as people kept telling me its taking up space and nows a good time to sell. Anyway it got sold more than 2 weeks ago (It was also on a 10 day auction) so i guess i had it advertised about a month ago or so. Anyway I sent off the invoice and follow up messages as i never heard back from the buyer, then i started a case as it was about 10 days or more with no response, and the buyer finally responds with. Sorry it was a mistake made by my son. Having never sold on ebay before i am not sure what i do now? I am quite annoyed by this as the feeling i get is they were waiting to see if social restrictions will be changing soon and the time line and thats why waited more than 10 days to respond. But also because i had other bidders who have probably now also moved on to other equipment as it took so long for this buyer to "make up their mind". I also thought on ebay, you cant just change your mind once a sale has been made? What do i do?

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Comments

  • NuclearWessels on 11/06/2020 - 15:47
    +5

    From memory I think eBay charges you a fee because it has technically sold and you'll have to get this back.

    Unfortunately eBay doesn't give you any recourse against the buyer and I think you just have to suck it up. I avoid selling on eBay purely because they are so biased in favour of the buyer and do little to protect the seller.

    • Bonsaichop on 11/06/2020 - 15:59
      +6

      Not correct. You can open up an unpaid item dispute with the buyer through eBay. The buyer then needs to respond within a certain amount of time (usually 4 days) and then if they don't or respond you can request eBay to close it and be reimbursed for the eBay fees both listing and final credit.

      It's annoying as hell but just part of dealing with the cycle of people on eBay. Much like no-shows on Gumtree/FaceBook Marketplace.

      We have run an eBay store for over a decade and used to deal with unpaid items frequently especially with auctions which is why for 99% of the time use fixed prices with immediate payment required.

  • Meho2026 on 11/06/2020 - 15:54
    +4

    Follow the information here on "reporting an unpaid item" https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-…

    paying particular attention to point 2

    "After opening a case, the buyer has 4 days to respond or pay for the item. On the fifth day, you can close the case by going to the Resolution Centre - opens in new window or tab and selecting Receive fee credit, then Close case on the following page. Under Have you received payment from the buyer?, select No. The unpaid item is then recorded on the buyer's account, the final value fee will be credited back to you, and you can relist the item."

  • lonewolf on 11/06/2020 - 15:57

    Thanks guys, I will follow through with your suggestion, shame really.

  • FireRunner on 11/06/2020 - 16:54
    +3

    You should be able to make a second chance offer. Basically sell the item to the second highest bidder for their bid. It's been a while as you said but I guess it doesn't hurt trying

    With a Second Chance Offer, a non-winning bidder gets the chance to buy the item at a price equal to their last bid. You can make Second Chance Offers up to 60 days after an auction ends.

    It's free to make an offer, but if the buyer accepts, you pay a final value fee.

    You can use Second Chance Offers when:

    Your winning bidder didn't pay, and you already tried to resolve the issue with them
    Your reserve price wasn't met
    You have more of the same item available for sale

    full eBay help page

    • lonewolf on 11/06/2020 - 17:11

      Yeah i came across that and did that but sadly this was only after i raised a case which was after 10 days from when the item was sold. So I think a lot of times the other prospective buyers would have moved on to purchase other items.

      • brendanm on 11/06/2020 - 18:01
        +2

        Just send them a message, sometimes they are still keen.

        • FireRunner on 11/06/2020 - 19:07
          +1

          I don’t think you can contact the bidders other than the winner

          • brendanm on 11/06/2020 - 19:21
            +1

            @FireRunner: I'm sure I have before. Could have changed.

            • lonewolf on 12/06/2020 - 17:27

              @brendanm: Once i opened the case and sent the second chance offer to the next bidder, there was an option to contact them as well.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/06/2020 - 18:25
    +2

    9 out of 10 times if the buyer doesnt pay within 24 hours, just open an unpaid item case and move on

  • Gareth on 11/06/2020 - 19:02
    +1

    An alternative if you're cynically minded, is perhaps the 'buyer' was actually selling a similar item - so by winning your auction he took out some of the competition of his own item. I have seen this happen.

    It seems that nobody takes any responsibility for their actions (it is interesting how often people apparently let kids play with their auction accounts), and largely eBay doesn't care less.

    • FireRunner on 11/06/2020 - 19:13
      +2

      I think if you do it too many times becomes suspicious. Sellers can also ban buyers that have unpaid claims against them. I reckon it’s unlikely this has happened, more likely just buyer’s remorse.
      You could check sold items and see if anything has been sold by the buyer if you were so inclined

    • lonewolf on 12/06/2020 - 17:28

      Yeah this didnt make much sense, what are the odds of a kid getting onto your ebay account without your password and making multiple bids over a period to win the item and then 10 days later you notice and say you didnt mean for the kid to get on…thats just BS. IF it was straightaway and only 1 bid…

  • amanvell on 11/06/2020 - 19:03
    +1

    Had this happen for the first time recently. You don't get the fees back unless you open an unpaid item dispute (and I couldn't cancel the sale unless I did this). Check the help link posted above, or contact support they will guide you.

    If you used an offer for the listing (no listing fees, no fees at all, etc…) contact support. I had all my fees refunded on the 2nd sale because of the jerkbag screwing up the first and the offer expiring while waiting for them to pay.

  • Quantumcat on 11/06/2020 - 22:58
    +2

    They should make it that if you don't pay for an item you won you have to pay the seller's ebay fees. Maybe as a deposit to be allowed to make a bid.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/06/2020 - 08:30

      Completely agree with this. Great idea!

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