Unpaying buyers Question

O

oatmeal

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1. I was just wondering when your item is sold but the buyer doesn't pay after a week,
should I open an "unpaid" case against the buyer?

2. What benefit does a seller gain from opening an unpaid case against a buyer other than
getting a credit on the final value fee (listing fee was free so that's not an issue)?

3. I read on ebay's page that if the buyer doesn't pay even after an unpaid case is opened against
them, then the buyer's account is marked with an unpaid strike. What exactly does that do
to the buyer? Does that put the buyer at risk from not being able to buy on ebay anymore or
risk them from having a suspension/ban like sellers get when they get a strike?

4. Also, if I open an unpaid case against a buyer, can the buyer still leave feedback (pos. or neg.)?
What if the buyer pays after I opened the case on them, can they still decide to leave me negative
for opening a case on them? (some people might consider it upsetting that a case was opened, then
they will pay for it, but hold the grudge and later leave you negative just for the hell of it)?

5. For fear of retaliation for opening a case on them for unpaid item, is there a way to block that buyer
from coming back and buying another item (cheap) just to leave me a negative for being upset
that I opened a case on them the first time?

Thanks.
 
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If it is a one of a kind item that you want to relist then you should definitely open the case. I rarely sell at auction anymore but I always stated in the listing my unpaid buyer policy and the deadline to pay.
After 24 hours I send an invoice to the buyer. Then around 24 hours later I send another and a message requesting payment or ask if they want to cancel the transaction. If no response I will open the case after 3 or 4 days from the sell.
Sometimes they may message back and ask for time to pay which I will allow if reasonable.
If the case is closed as unpaid, the buyer cannot leave feedback and they get a strike. I think after 3 strikes within a year there account can be suspended (dont quote me on that)
You can block buyers in your seller preferences by inputting their user ID. You can also block buyers that have had previous unpaid strikes (2 within 6 months I believe) Their is also other criteria you can set to block certain buyers as well.
Nothing can stop them from paying for the item and leaving shitty feedback cause people can be assholes. I prefer to message them and ask if they want to cancel instead of opening a case first. But sometimes you have no choice if you want your fees back.

Edit: BTW you can also set it up to automatically open the unpaid case after a certain number of days. You can state in your listing that it is automatic after x number of days.
 
oatmeal said:
I was just wondering when your item is sold but the buyer doesn't pay after a week,
should I open an "unpaid" case against the buyer?
Click to expand...

why wouldn't you?

oatmeal said:
2. What benefit does a seller gain from opening an unpaid case against a buyer other than
getting a credit on the final value fee (listing fee was free so that's not an issue)?
Click to expand...

it minimizes contact between you and the buyers so it doesn't escalate

oatmeal said:
3. I read on ebay's page that if the buyer doesn't pay even after an unpaid case is opened against
them, then the buyer's account is marked with an unpaid strike. What exactly does that do
to the buyer? Does that put the buyer at risk from not being able to buy on ebay anymore or
risk them from having a suspension/ban like sellers get when they get a strike?
Click to expand...

yes, too many strikes can cause eBay to ban a buyer's account

oatmeal said:
4. Also, if I open an unpaid case against a buyer, can the buyer still leave feedback (pos. or neg.)?
What if the buyer pays after I opened the case on them, can they still decide to leave me negative
for opening a case on them? (some people might consider it upsetting that a case was opened, then
they will pay for it, but hold the grudge and later leave you negative just for the hell of it)?
Click to expand...

They could, but if they do some sort or retalitory feeback, a call to eBay will get it removed.

oatmeal said:
5. For fear of retaliation for opening a case on them for unpaid item, is there a way to block that buyer
from coming back and buying another item (cheap) just to leave me a negative for being upset
that I opened a case on them the first time?
Click to expand...

you can block the buyer from sending you messages or purchasing anything from you
 
toml3030 said:
why wouldn't you?

Because what if the customer is pissed off that I opened a case against them, then decides to pay and leave me negative feedback?
Click to expand...
 
The buyer who doesnt complete a transaction can not leave you negs
 
I'm pretty sure a buyer can still leave feedback on an unpaid item case UNLESS you have unpaid item assistant turned on which will open cases automatically for you after a set time period that you define.

I require immediate payment on all buy now listings (you have to check the box for it). I also have a terms section in my listing description which states that I require immediate payment for buy it now AND best offer listings. This is repeated in my checkout instructions. I have unpaid item assistant set to open a case within 24 hours of item end (only applicable to best offers since immediate payment box is checked and required by eBay for the listing to end). For auctions I allow more time, generally 48 hours (I turn unpaid item assistant off for auctions).

When a buyer makes an offer that I accept, I send them out a cut and paste email that briefly congratulates them on winning the item (having the offer accepted) and politely reminds them to pay immediately "so we can process your order right away". Then I thank them for their business and let them know it is an automated email that doesn't require response. All very polite.

If they contact me before 24 hours and let me know they need more time to pay, I am happy to turn off the unpaid item assistant and give them the time they need. If no contact in 24 hours the case is automatically opened and I don't have to think about it anymore for a few days.

Now eBay gives them 4 days to respond to the case (pay for the item) once it's opened. 90% of the time people pay right away when the case is opened. When they pay I immediately leave them positive feedback and Mark the item as shipped. No need to drag my feet just because they did.

5% of the time, no response and no payment. Case closed in 4 days, item relisted and no neg feedback worries. The other 5% of the time they contact me asking me to cancel the sale or tell me they got hacked or some other nonsense. Message ignored. Case closed in 4 days. Item relisted ... You get the point.

I've had 100% positive feedback as a top rated power seller for the last 4 years. I attribute that in part to the above and more importantly to super fast shipping and accurate descriptions. I should write an eBook.
 
toml3030 said:
The buyer who doesnt complete a transaction can not leave you negs
Click to expand...

Yes, but if I open a case and then the buyer pays, then they completed the transaction, which now means they can leave me feedback (+/-).
I was saying that I'm concerned at this point, they could just leave a negative on me for opening up a case on them if they were that offended
even though it is within my right.

Now, if they do leave a negative, will be ebay remove that negative and consider it a revenge feedback? I doubt it. This is my concern.
 
oatmeal said:
1. I was just wondering when your item is sold but the buyer doesn't pay after a week,
should I open an "unpaid" case against the buyer?

2. What benefit does a seller gain from opening an unpaid case against a buyer other than
getting a credit on the final value fee (listing fee was free so that's not an issue)?

3. I read on ebay's page that if the buyer doesn't pay even after an unpaid case is opened against
them, then the buyer's account is marked with an unpaid strike. What exactly does that do
to the buyer? Does that put the buyer at risk from not being able to buy on ebay anymore or
risk them from having a suspension/ban like sellers get when they get a strike?

4. Also, if I open an unpaid case against a buyer, can the buyer still leave feedback (pos. or neg.)?
What if the buyer pays after I opened the case on them, can they still decide to leave me negative
for opening a case on them? (some people might consider it upsetting that a case was opened, then
they will pay for it, but hold the grudge and later leave you negative just for the hell of it)?

5. For fear of retaliation for opening a case on them for unpaid item, is there a way to block that buyer
from coming back and buying another item (cheap) just to leave me a negative for being upset
that I opened a case on them the first time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1. It depends on your communication with them. If they're promising to pay or having trouble paying, I might give them a little extra time. If they are completly unresponsive, they have no intention of paying.
2. It can prevent them from leaving bad feedback also.
3. It means if they continue not paying or breaking other rules they will eventually get their account canceled.
4. A: Yes, but you may be able to get eBay to remove it.
B: Yes, but that's a risk you have to take. I've done it several times, and most of they time they never pay. Just be polite about it and even if they do pay later, they're usually understanding if they get what they paid for quickly.
5. If they mentioned in the feedback what happened in a previous transaction, eBay can remove it. As Old Dog said, you can block buyers.
 
oatmeal said:
Yes, but if I open a case and then the buyer pays, then they completed the transaction, which now means they can leave me feedback (+/-).
I was saying that I'm concerned at this point, they could just leave a negative on me for opening up a case on them if they were that offended
even though it is within my right.

Now, if they do leave a negative, will be ebay remove that negative and consider it a revenge feedback? I doubt it. This is my concern.
Click to expand...

I open cases all the time (automatically with unpaid item assistant as I mentioned above) and I have never received a negative. The key is that you leave them a positive feedback as soon as they pay and ship that same day if possible. Also VERY important, clearly state your payment terms and explain that you use unpaid item assistant to automatically open those cases. This way they know up front and don't take it personal since it's part of eBay's automated system. Like I said, I'm a top rated power seller for the last four or five years now, thousands of sales and 100% feedback. Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.
 
oatmeal said:
Yes, but if I open a case and then the buyer pays, then they completed the transaction, which now means they can leave me feedback (+/-)
Click to expand...

I have never had this happen in my 17 years and tens of thousands of transaction on eBay. Again I think you are worrying about a highly unlikely scenario rather than focusing on the important things.
 
I appreciate the answers. We're always learning here as we go along. I've been only doing this for 8 months now and as Tom mentioned, he's been at it for 17 years, so I'm always wanting to learn as much as possible and hopefully BEFORE some of the mistakes can be made.
 
toml3030 said:
I have never had this happen in my 17 years and tens of thousands of transaction on eBay. Again I think you are worrying about a highly unlikely scenario rather than focusing on the important things.
Click to expand...

It's good to hear that it's never happened in your situation of 17 years of experience, but it doesn't mean it can't happen. I hope it won't! But knowing that he can leave a negative feedback after paying me because I opened a case on him, is very plausible and not out of the question. I'll just try and be super nice about it, but opening a case is opening a case and there's not really a gentle way of opening up a case on someone lol.
 
Wrong. Read my post above again. Set it to automatic (unpaid item assistant) and in your description state:

"Payment required within xx hours of item ending. Please note we use eBay's automated unpaid item assistant which will automatically open an unpaid item case within xx hours after listing ends for any unpaid items. If you need more time to pay, please contact me Before bidding/buying and we will try to accommodate you".

Pretty simple really. Don't be a pussy. If you let people push you around they will. The real reason I don't have negative feedbacks is cause I don't give a shit and I'm not scared to get one.
 
Alchemizt said:
Wrong. Read my post above again. Set it to automatic (unpaid item assistant) and in your description state:

"Payment required within xx hours of item ending. Please note we use eBay's automated unpaid item assistant which will automatically open an unpaid item case within xx hours after listing ends for any unpaid items. If you need more time to pay, please contact me Before bidding/buying and we will try to accommodate you".

Pretty simple really. Don't be a pussy. If you let people push you around they will. The real reason I don't have negative feedbacks is cause I don't give a shit and I'm not scared to get one.
Click to expand...

Does actually writing a little disclaimer in the description protect us if it ever comes to cases being opened, negative feedback being received, etc?
What I mean is, sometimes I want to write a disclaimer that says, "Buyer is responsible for knowing their country's import laws, customs, and other applicable taxes, fees." If I put that in my description, and later on a buyer leaves me negative feedback for having had to pay extra money when the order arrived, will ebay remove that negative feedback because I had a disclaimer in it??

See, from my experience, ebay doesn't seem to give a crap about anything I say or do except that tracking number has to show it is 100% successfully delivered. If it doesn't show that, it seems that sellers are 100% responsible for anything and everything that could go wrong between the moment the item has been shipped (so even though I don't pilot the planes, steer the ships, drive the delivery trucks, set the countries customs policies and rules, I'm still going to be responsible for anything that goes wrong?).

Of the 2 negative feedbacks I have out of nearly 1,000 transactions, 1 negative was from a guy who was angry that he had to pay extra money when the shipment came to him. He blamed me for it (I quote him, "Seller charged me extra $15 when shipment came"). I couldn't get the negative feedback removed, I contacted ebay about it, and they never replied, never seem to do. The only thing I could do was reply to the negative feedback and say that it was not ME that charged him an extra $15 but it was the policies of his country/customs.
 
of course! otherwise you will lose all money! report him/her. ...by the way all these questions or issues will be processed by ebay customer help assistance support so dont worry
 
wanessmark said:
of course! otherwise you will lose all money! report him/her. ...by the way all these questions or issues will be processed by ebay customer help assistance support so dont worry
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have to ask so many ebay related questions on this helpful forum if it wasn't for the fact that ebay has made it nearly impossible to communicate with them or reach them via email or live chat. Either that or I haven't been able to find it.

I'm stuck with having to call them but since I do not reside currently in North America, calling them not only costs me a fortune (long hold times), but also the time difference. I think you guys are able to call them for FREE so it must be a joy just to be able to pick up that phone and talk to them all day long if u need to.
 
Look there's never any guarantees with anything. Don't worry about it so much. Create policies, clearly lay them out and stick to them as much as possible. Don't be intimidated or let anyone push you around, if someone is gonna neg you theire gonna neg you no matter how much ass you kiss so keep your nose clean (no brown nosing).

Make clear accurate descriptions and ship quickly and 90% of buyers will be very happy. The other 10% you can't please anyway so fuck em.

As a side note I've been trying my ass off to get a negative feedback since this thread started. I've been rude to customers, accused one of outright fraud and opened up a non payment case on another. I'm seriously trying to get a negative feedback here and you wanna know why? The last time I did get a negative (5 years ago) my sales immediately went up. Curious to see if it happens that way again, but alas already 2 positive feedbacs out of 3 abused buyers so far. Oh well maybe this next guy will neg me.

You see I honestly don't give a shit and that's probably why I don't get negged. I treat the 90% of good customers like gold. The shitty 10% go on my block list and I don't take any shit from them. Im much happier this way.
 
Actually, I don't care so much for feedbacks anymore as much as I care about the DSR now. DSR is where it's. I didn't know this until just this year. When I lost my TSR, my listings hardly get any views now and sales have dropped to less than 1 sale per day. So I realize now they punish you for dropping in DSR rather than feedbacks. And I wish it was 90% to 10% ratio like you said. But they don't even allow us that much room. You have to be 99.65% success rate and the even just 1 defect and you'll become a below standard seller! How disheartening.

Sometimes I like to look back at my feedbacks and read the hundreds of amazing comments I get from buyers who were amazed, thrilled, super satisfied, called me the best seller ever, best communication, fast shipment etc.....but I guess 99.40% doesn't cut it and now I'm a below standard seller for having 99.40% success rate (nearly 900 perfect happy transactions, 3 were cases that went unresolved and ebay refunded the buyer. I look back now and realize I should have just taken the losses and refund them because who cares about losing $20, $50, even $200, because it's not worth having your TSR gone and making next to no sales when your listings get pushed to the bottom and hardly get any listing views now).

The problem I have is that I always think of things as what is "right" and "wrong". Instead, ebay selling is simply about "smart" and "not smart" lol. Even if I'm right, the buyer will win the cases and I should just refund them, eat the loss, and move on because there is always more money to be made and I'll quickly make more than I lost, even if the buyer was a scammer. It's not about right and wrong, it's just about making sure you get 0 defects lol. I think I'm learning now.
 
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Yeah I hear ya. I think they just changed that whole DSR thing as of a month or two ago though. I don't think DSR matters anymore the way it used to. You have to look at their updated seller policy because I don't remember the details right off hand but I think it's a completely new way of grading now and if I recall I was pretty happy about the changes. Seemed more fair. Take a few minutes and check it out.

But yeah man bottom line, do the best you can, be true to yourself and sleep good at night. The only thing that will help you sleep better is adding new streams of income outside of eBay that way all your eggs aren't i n one basket.

I'm moving more and more away from eBay all the time. It was my main source of income for several years but the market started changing so I got back into CPA and other Internet marketing stuff to supplement. I'm looking to shift eBay into total hobby mode in the hopes that it becomes fun again. I'm always adding new income streams, even if it's just a few extra bucks a month. It all adds up.
 
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