2010 January 20

Buyers that Don’t Pay & Feedback that is never left.. All eBay Problems

January 20th, 2010 |

Author: admin

Dear eBay Queen;

I had a Nintendo Wii, and 28 games for sale on eBay. After the action closed the buyer tells me he doesn't want it, and I should not even bother contacting eBay about this “as you can get out of buying an item as long as you don't do it more than once in period of time”. He also sent this in the email:

“eBay unpaid Item Policy

Buyers automatically enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item from the seller if they win. eBay's UPI requires buyers to pay the seller for the items that they commit to purchase.

Sellers can file an Unpaid Item dispute with eBay for each of their items that are purchased but not paid for. eBay will issue a strike on the account of the buyer who does not honor their obligation to pay. If a buyer gets too many strikes in too short a time period, their account will be suspended indefinitely. In some cases, limits may be placed on the buyer’s account in advance of suspension”.

I tried to file a dispute, and I can’t yet. (I have to wait 7 days.) My question is, do I have to pay the listing fees? I think it’s kind of funny how it's “legally binding”, when really there's nothing you can do in terms of law. What will eBay do to this time waster of a buyer?

Joe B.

Dear Joe;

That buyer is pretty bold, suggesting this to you. Did he send the email via eBay’s messaging system or directly to your email address? If he sent it to your email address, you can report him, but they don’t take direct emails as seriously as they do if they came through the messaging system. Whichever way he sent it, go ahead and report it.

If this were my transaction, I would wait the seven days and report him as a non paying bidder, regardless what he says will happen to him. When it comes to paying for the final value fees, eBay bills you once a month for your fees. If you are in the middle of your billing cycle you probably won’t have to pay for it, but if you are at the end, you’ll have to pay, then your next months bill will reflect the credit once the dispute has been closed.

If this is his first time not paying for something, then he's probably right. But you don't know how many times he's been hit before – and the fact he knows about this rule suggests he does have experience in this. Keep in mind, the only way eBay can take action with penalties is if they know about it, so even if you are the first, you are still doing what needs to be done.

Dear eBay Queen;

How do you get your buyers to leave you feedback on your completed transactions? I've recently sold about 16 items on eBay, and it's like pulling teeth to get feedback out of my buyers….yet eBay only allows me to either leave positive or no feedback as a seller.

In this case, I have left positive feedback for all my buyers…and I'm still waiting. Is there a tactful reminder that I can send through email without sounding pushy?

Sheila (1eeyore2)

Dear Sheila;

Not everyone leaves feedback, and some don’t understand how important it is to sellers. Here are a few ideas to get buyers to leave feedback.

1. Remind them before they pay. When your invoice put a short, sweet blurb in about you appreciate feedback.

2. Tape a little note to the item or packaging, thanking them for their purchase and reminding them to leave feedback for you.

3. Once the sale is over and a few weeks have gone by, send them a reminder email about feedback and offer them a coupon for 10% off of their next purchase.

I wouldn’t do all of these at one time, but it doesn’t hurt do choose a couple and see how it well it works. Some buyers might be put-off by you even asking them to leave it. For that reason, I’ve always been a bit afraid to ask for feedback.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 220539055419 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page): It you saw this would you think to sell it? Red Wing Hamms Bear Bank SOLD $345.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220539055419

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.