My eBay Experience: Winning Bidder/Buyer Did Not Pay after Auction Ended. What I Handled Well, What I Didn't…

88mph on 28/04/2021 - 13:59

Taking the time to write this blog, as I sought (and found only limited) advice on the net when this happened to me (twice).

Take I
I’ve sold stuff on eBay for over a decade, never had an issue. Recently listed a used electronic item as I’ve done dozens of times before, detailed description with many clear pictures from different angles. Auction concludes after ten days, a buyer with only a (1) positive feedback rating (some random accessory purchase) wins the auction. My gut tells me I’m up for some trouble…

Patiently wait a day, nothing. Send an invoice after two days, nothing. I then check out the winning bidder’s profile on eBay, he’s selling two used cars on eBay (yes, cars), horrendous, blurry, misaligned pictures and spelling & grammar that would put a five year old to shame. I get the feeling this is some deadbeat who has no clue how eBay works, and a timewaster.

Check out eBay FAQs, seems I have to wait 4 days before logging a non-payment case. I contact chat support on the second day anyways to see what my options are. eBay chat advises the following:

  • Recommended option, wait 4 days, log a non-payment case, wait another 4 days for buyer to respond (i.e total 8 day wait from auction end) and if he does not – they can put a black mark on him and I can leave negative feedback, seller fees refunded, and then initiate a Second Chance Offer to the next bidder (whom after 8 days would have most likely moved on)

  • Non-Recommended option (which I took): Cancel the sale immediately (with 1 of the 3 default reason’s eBay gives – pick the third one “something is wrong with the Buyer’s address”). Sale is cancelled, eBay support refunds my seller fees whilst on chat, and initiate Second Chance Offer to next bidder immediately. Ironically, the winning bidder had to acknowledge the cancellation despite him being the cause. He obviously doesn’t so the sale is cancelled by eBay systems eventually. Also, sadly in parallel, the next bidder in line ignores my Second Chance Offer, so I have to relist my electronic item a few days later (with an added BOLD statement – serious bidders only, don’t bid if you don’t intend to pay)

Take II
Auction progresses well, after another ten days won by a bidder with a (79) positive feedback rating, so I’m pretty confident things will go well. However end price was $50 less than the first auction, so the 1st douchebag above cost me $50 – but hey fact of life, what can I do.

Wait a day, nothing. Send an invoice after two days, still nothing. I’m like, what the… not again! Especially from someone with a (79) positive rating. This time, I take matters into my own hands – offer a Second Chance Offer to the second bidder, and she accepts, pays via Paypal immediately, I post the item, all ends well.

I then cancel the sale with the winning bidder (cough, 2nd douchebag) directly (this time with reason “item is out of stock”) and send some bad karma vibes his way.

Sadly – in both cases, as the sales were officially cancelled in eBay systems – I am unable to leave negative feedback to both douchebags.

Had I gone thru the whole 8 day rigmarole of waiting for them to pay (which they certainly wouldn’t if they didn’t pay within a reasonable two days) I can then leave negative feedback, but lose out on sending a Second Chance Offer to the next bidder within 48hrs whilst the iron is still hot.

TLDR – douchebag buyers exist on eBay, if one hits your sale – you have to wait 4 days for payment, only then can you log a non-payment case, and wait a further 4 days before negative feedback can be left, and item relisted. Else you can cancel the sale immediately, but lose out on giving feedback, but may strike it lucky with a Second Chance Offer to the next bidder in line.

Open to comments on how this situation may have been handled better, first for me…

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Comments

  • Cheaplikethebird on 28/04/2021 - 14:14
    +1

    Is this a GPU? I'm going through the same thing. You can block the bidder and also register a complaint.

    I was very tempted to send a strongly worded message to them but decided that only risks creating an enemy who can create endless accounts and mess with me continuously. Better to just block, log complaint, erase it from my mind and not give the person the win of wasting my mental energy.

    • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 14:55
      +1

      Yes I did block both, but that's only effective for future sales :-/

      Interesting, eBay chat support was sympathetic but never gave me the option of lodging a compliant, only the 8 day rigmarole…

      Agreed on last sentence 👍

  • Hithere on 28/04/2021 - 14:32
    +6

    Sellers haven't been able to leave negative feedback for scum buyers for a few years, and they know that so keep on being scum.

    If you do eBay will remove it - I've seen it happen.

    • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 14:57

      What the… really 😑

      • lgacb08 on 28/04/2021 - 22:21

        yeah, where've you been since, MySpace?

        • 88mph on 29/04/2021 - 07:18

          Never had to leave, or try to leave negative feedback for anyone, until now.

          And no, joined eBay in 2007, I believe the dawn of the Facebook era ;-)

      • Bad Wolf on 30/04/2021 - 11:25
        +1

        Yeah it’s been 5+ years.

        What used to happen was buyers were leaving sellers negative/neutral feedback so seller responds with negative feedback and a request to mutually withdraw feedback.
        Buyer wants to maintain their “perfect 100%”feedback so they agree.

        • 88mph on 30/04/2021 - 13:31

          Interesting. Well it took me 14 years of selling to hit my first pair of douchebags, I guess it was a bit of a charmed run till now.

  • MoshPitShaq on 28/04/2021 - 14:43
    +2

    Happened to me. A buyer bid on a large item of furniture and won > I relocated the item to a more favourable destination for their pick up > They said they need 2 weeks to pick it up > 1 week 6 days later, on the night before, they request a refund and stated that they found a better item.

    eBay found the case in their favour. So what I learnt is, you can bid on an item, essentially putting it on hold for yourself, and continue to search for other options. This meant I couldn't sell my item to someone else for over a month.

    I don't sell on eBay any more - fees and $#1T experience not worth it. No consequence to the false bidder.

    • SF3 on 28/04/2021 - 15:31
      +1

      So what I learnt is, you can bid on an item, essentially putting it on hold for yourself, and continue to search for other options. This meant I couldn't sell my item to someone else for over a month.

      Yeah, thats f***ed up…

  • jan1var on 28/04/2021 - 14:44
    +4

    Maybe ditch the auction format. Set a buy-it-now price and tick the option that requires immediate payment.

    • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 15:01

      But wouldn't they have ghosted me anyways? Both options offer payment via PayPal only.

      I usually list auction as some of my used or refurbished electronics appeal to collectors, so the price does get feverishly high occasionally.

      • thatonethere on 28/04/2021 - 15:48

        The buy it now with instant payment stops the ghosting. Of course they can mess you around with SNAD etc later…

        • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 16:42

          Ah, I see.

  • mini2 on 28/04/2021 - 14:47
    +1

    Nice, I thought they got rid of negative feedback from seller to bidder years ago.

  • lyonesse9 on 28/04/2021 - 15:30

    Happened to me few times.
    The annoying thing is when I sold the items during the eBay promotion like the $1 final value fee and the buyer did not pay after winning the auction.

  • Cave Fire on 28/04/2021 - 18:01

    Yeah, could have been their first time buying and they are not seeing their messages. Happened to me once when the new system started (around 2010). I would have sent a message and waited one more day, even though three days of no contact is the ebay guideline.

    • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 18:53

      Technically I believe 4 messages were sent:

      1. Auto message by eBay once auction concluded advising buyer they were successful, with pay now link via PayPal.

      2. A simple message from me 24hrs later asking buyer if they will pickup and pay cash if local, or planning to pay via PayPal for me to post.

      3. An eBay formal Invoice 48hrs later.

      4. A final eBay Payment Reminder before cancelling the sale.

      They had the opportunity to respond to either one, if they ever had the intention to do so.

      • Cave Fire on 29/04/2021 - 01:34

        yeah either they knew and were ignoring or completely oblivious. Easy to check with their other ads I guess.

  • bongom on 28/04/2021 - 18:26
    +2

    As a buyer my point of view is probably different to sellers who have to constantly deal with crappy bidders.
    eBay sends the winning bidder an email advising they have 4 days after the auction to pay for the item.
    I won an auction recently having not won an action for many years, so when I received the email I knew I had 4 days to pay before non payment was an issue.
    Item was below $50 so I needed to find another item to purchase so I could pay using the one time use $50 eBay plus voucher.
    So I didn't pay till day 3 after the auction and didn't consider the time frame for payment excessive.
    There can be many reasons why someone doesn't pay for an item immediately?

    • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 19:01

      You do have a point, but in that case, a simple response to either of the above 4 messages would have put my mind at rest. Only takes a few seconds to reply to an eBay message.

      • frenzalanimation on 28/04/2021 - 20:11

        Not all people see eBay sellers as people to message and be polite to. If the system is saying 4 days then basic accounting would tell me to pay my supplier as late as possible in order for me to put the money to better use in the meantime.

        If as a seller you are wanting immediate payment specify it in the listing.

        Not saying this case wasn’t a legit reason for cancelling early but buyers play by the rules they’re given.

        • 88mph on 28/04/2021 - 20:31

          That was a conundrum before cancelling the second sale, wait another two days for the chance of payment (low, IMHO), or cancel and initiate a Second Chance Offer to the next bidder. Considering I lost the Second Chance Offer the first time, I decided to opt for the latter.

          In hindsight, no regrets on that decision, as I certainly didn't want to relist for a third time.

          Interesting insights though 🤜🤛

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