Should eBay Give Negs to Nonpaying Buyers?

by: iheartjacksparrow

When I first started selling on eBay in 2000, there was a policy that if you did not pay for three items, you were kicked off the site. Then, a couple of years later I had a buyer not pay for an auction win, and when I checked his feedback, there were about ten negatives for non-payment. When I spoke to a CS rep about why this guy was still able to buy on eBay, I was advised that they review the account before they take action on the buyer (there were two or three positives before the avalanche of negatives hit the account). So in a very short span of time eBay decided all buyers were the good guys and most sellers were the bad guys.

Non-paying buyers are frustrating and a waste of time for sellers. I've have thought for a long time that buyers should be suspended for failure to pay for two items. (Perhaps for a year's time if lifetime ban seems to harsh.) I can understand that emergencies arise or a person might realize they can't afford an item, but if you have more than one emergency or don't have excess funds to spend, maybe you should stay away from online shopping until things improve.

As for giving negatives for certain behavior, in eBay's eyes that would create an unpleasant experience on their site, which is what they are trying to avoid at all costs. There's a reason you can only leave positives for a buyer.  

by: GetAGrip

You want ebay to give their favorite buyers a negative..................So funny.

by: Marie

It is not only Ebay that doesn't allow negative feedback on Buyers.  And no I don't think this is the answer to non paying buyers.

Sellers have the tools in which to curb this behavior if more sellers would just use the tools available to them.

1.  When a buyer does not pay after 96+ hours of the purchase, file the cancellation using the reason the buyer did not pay.  This puts an unpaid strike on the buyer's account.

2.  Set your Buyer requirements to the strictest possible in regards to unpaid strikes which is 2 in the past 12 months.

If sellers would work together and make sure they did this, these buyers that don't pay will get pretty tired of seeing the message on their screen that they can't purchase from this seller or that seller.

We can significantly curb this behavior if we work together in the two little steps I outlined above.  But some sellers don't bother to file for the cancellation because they weren't charged any fees yet so they aren't worried about that.  But they should file them to help everyone with this problem and to protect their own feedback as the buyer would not be able to post feedback if you file the cancellation for non payment.

by: HardWorkingSeller

I buy a LOT on eBay.  Big ticket items.  I've plenty of unpaid item strikes.

The cause in all cases is that dumb sellers set their account automatically to cancel the sale after 4 days (a setting that I can't see as a buyer), but they can't be bothered to get back to me with combined shipping quotes or other issues that legitimately gate payment being sent.

If you aren't going to be responding to messages in close to real time including weekends and holidays then my advice is to handle cases individually and don't use a 4 calendar day automated setting.

I pay quickly once they've taken care of my query and often by definition I'm person who sees the greatest value in their item.

I can't see what they think are gaining by being unresponsive and ultimately turning away my business?

by: Tahiti_Tom

This just shows how poor upper management (still) is at eBay. Yes, as sellers we miss out on a few hundred dollars a year for non-payers. eBay, on the other hand is losing enough money on this to affect their quarterly reports. It used to not matter as eBay would take .30c per item, even when not paid. Someone realized that this was a possible class-action suit and stopped taking the money. Now everyone loses on every dead-beat non-paying buyer. At Least Poshmark makes you pay immediately when you accept an offer.

by: Shanna

What eBay never understood was they were a consumer to consumer website, there were hundreds of them out there. All allowed true tit-for-tat feedback. If you had a bad experience, you were allowed to post that. That allowed other consumers the information they needed about potential traders. But eBay, under Donahoe, decided they didn't want to be a C2C website, they wanted to be Amazon or Walmart. Of course Amazon and Walmart don't rate their customers, because they are not part of the C2C model.

If I am a member of a collectible widget website, and I want to trade my widget for someone else's widget, or trade my money for someone else's widget, I need to know if I can trust the trading partner. So mutual feedback is warranted.

Now that eBay protects every purchase on the site, feedback is no longer necessary either way. Why complain in feedback if you can get your money back through eBay for any slight issue you have?

Just drop feedback altogether, it is meaningless now. Bad buyers are not held responsible, and bad big box stores get their feedback scrubbed by eBay, what use is it, other than a cudgel for eBay to charge more fees.  

by: AddyUp

Non paying bidder strikes are a good idea. But my problem with them is that they are invisible and I can't really see if my non paying bidder really got  a well deserved strike.

The far bigger problem is, because it's invisible, I'm required to have faith in eBay. That this system is working as I expect it too. That it's not full of bugs and going off the rails every other week. That is a big problem for me.

by: Snapped

“…. after 96+ hours of the purchase…”

…anybody that was planning to actually pay is now long gone buying elsewhere.  Meanwhile your item remains in eBay limbo.  And even if it is watched and resisted, everyone thinks there’s something wrong with it (or you).  And in the case of bids (which don’t allow for compelling IPR), even as if it does sell (again), it sells for less than the first time.  

Once upon a time, when FB for buyers actually reflected their trustworthiness, their proclivity for ‘sport bidding’ (eBay as a video game) was visible to all.  Now, all it takes is a sob story to eBay for any ‘strike’ to be eradicated.  Actually, that was always true.  

“… these buyers that don't pay will get pretty tired of seeing the message on their screen that they can't purchase from this seller or that seller.”

Ok, now that was funny.  

by: pete

I have been a buyer on Ebay for over twenty years . I almost strictly bid on auction items. I am based in the U.S. , But buy many items overseas. The people I buy from have always given me 14   to 30 days to pay. That way I can bundle items for one shipment. It not only saves me postal fees . It save the seller having to pack multiple shipments . I have never not paid , Or retracted a bid. I have 100% feedback.  Ebay has made it harder for sellers to  enact policies that benefit people like me , Who bundle items. They want instant payment.

by: Marie

@Tahiti_Tom

Ebay does not keep any fees on an unpaid item because if it isn't paid for no fees have yet been charged to the seller.

" It used to not matter as eBay would take .30c per item, even when not paid."  I'm not sure where this comes from.  Prior to MP Ebay never charged a 30 cent per transaction fee and again it ONLY gets charged if the buyer pays.  

Prior to MP it was PayPal that charged the 30 cent per transaction fee, again not charged unless a buyer paid.

I think you simply misunderstand something.

by: Marie

@ AddyUp

I can see why that would bother you, but it is private account information.  Just like buyers don't have the right to see when a seller gets a defect on their dashboard for one reason or another, we don't get to see when an unpaid strike is on a buyer's account or how many.

However, if you do have your block set in your Buyer Requirements to block buyers with a certain amount of unpaid strikes in a certain period of time, in that same area in your Site Preferences is a Report you can view that shows you due to your Buyer Requirements how many potential transactions were blocked.  That can be a very interesting report.

by: Marie

@Snapped

I know it is hard to give any credit to Ebay as there is so many things that need to be improved.  But on this SPECIFIC subject, Ebay has changed things over the years to benefit sellers.  Or would you prefer to go back to the time it took 336 hours [2 weeks] to process an unpaid item dispute from start to finish.  

There were a few changes made between the 2 weeks and the 96 hours we have now.

While it isn't perfect, 96 hours is so much better than the older rules.

You can laugh all you want.  What I originally said on this blog is true and correct.  It doesn't matter if you don't like it, that doesn't make it untrue.  I'm sure there are many that don't like it as there is never a rule change that will make everyone happy.  Again, while not perfect, it is far better than the older rules.

by: Michael in BC

I'm blessed to run into very, very few non-paying "buyers".  As a high percentage of my buyers are cross-border or international, I'm very tolerant, and wait 14 days from the close of sale, then send a reminder invoice with a cheerful short note.  If I'm not paid. or don't receive a response  in the following 48 hours, I cancel the sale, use the auto-relist, and add the NPB to my blocked bidder list.  At that point, I don't care how high their feedback count might be - if they're so discourteous that they can't make any sort of contact, they'll never be able to purchase from me again.

by: papergoy

I did laugh at the comment about true tit-for-tat feedback as that was certainly not how it was.  A seller would send something damaged etc, a buyer would leave a negative and magically the buyer would then GET a negative- the ability to give buyers negatives was simply a cover for poor sellers (as they could extort feedback that way).  So every time someone suggests buyers should be able to get negative feedback, I remember the bad old days.  As to nonpaying bidders- I always give longer than 4 days- just because I'm on the site daily doesn't mean others are- and I try to be understanding of that.  

by: pace306

.... geez, SOMEONE over in SJ must be thinking that somehow a neg on a buyer will help them stem the tide of issues (less sales and less buyers) .... is there something in the drinks over @walkers?

Despite a certain young ladys assertions that somehow eBay is being "kind/righteous" with the 96 hrs baloney - its 2022 not 1995. EVERYONE has a cc or a debit card and everyone has a bank account. eBay is NOT Amazon, eBay needs to GROW UP and be like other sites that ask you when you register to input your cc info so that its there and they dont have to chase you later.

It works on Mercari and Posh (and Im sure others as well).

NONE of this would (conversation about immediate payment and what happens if you dont make it) be needed if there were GROWN UPS running eBay, but alas idiots like Sleeping Griff and his buddy Burke the Jerk are too busy using eBays free gym after too many burgers @Walkers.

As for eBay giving out NEGS to buyers? NEVER, eBay only reserves the iron fist for sellers, buyers get the velvet glove. eBays loosing buyers each quarter (blame it on Covid) theres no way on gods green earth that eBay would DARE hurt any buyer (their poor feelings).

by: The End

For Cryin' out loud !
Of COURSE stupid nonpaying buyers Should get a Negative.