Deadbeat bidders - eBay does not care

[RobertGT]

Just was stiffed by yet another deadbeat bidder on eBay. I know a lot of the time we focus our energy on outing bad sellers, rightly so, but it goes the other way too.

Check out all the negative (positive) feedback for this guy. There must have been dozens of unpaid cases opened against him, yet he is still allowed to operate, wasting everyone's time and money for no apparent reason.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...0&mPg=3&page=1

At what point does eBay determine that a rogue bidder no longer belongs on the site? 10 unpaid cases? 50?

"No limit" appears to be the answer.

[Buythatcard]

If I had a nickel for every deadbeat bidder, I would be able to retire a rich man. In the last 2 months alone, I've had over 20 deadbeat bidders. I have opened disputes with every one of them yet they still are allowed to bid.

I do not believe that eBay cares at all about the deadbeat bidder. They are more concerned that the seller offer a 14 day return policy and 1 day handling.

I have just learned to accept the fact that this will continue to happen. The only thing that I can do is block these maggots from bidding at my auctions in the future.

Since some of these non payers also sell items, I have thought about setting up a bogus eBay account and bidding high at some of their auctions. Then when it came to pay, well you can figure out the rest.

[D. Bergin]

I was under the impression Ebay suspended buyers who had a few unpaid bidder claims against them.

Based on this guy, maybe this is another one of their web buying experience "improvements".

[glchen]

I think ebay eventually does something, but it takes A LONG TIME. I had one deadbeat buyer, and then when I checked his feedback recently, I saw that he was no longer a registered ebay user: Link

[bn2cardz]

I think people leaving negative feedback as a positive could be keeping the bidder around. Ebay doesn't read all the feedback, yet they get it entered as positive feedback so this means the transaction completed positively for the seller.

The times I have reported a non-paying customer, I was unable to leave any feedback afterwards. So I am guessing these people are not reporting a non-paying bidder the appropriate way.

I really just believe that Seller's should be able to leave Neg. Feedback for bidders. It really makes no sense that someone can't do that.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

I think people leaving negative feedback as a positive could be keeping the bidder around. Ebay doesn't read all the feedback, yet they get it entered as positive feedback so this means the transaction completed positively for the seller.

The times I have reported a non-paying customer, I was unable to leave any feedback afterwards. So I am guessing these people are not reporting a non-paying bidder the appropriate way.

I really just believe that Seller's should be able to leave Neg. Feedback for bidders. It really makes no sense that someone can't do that.

Maybe, but there's so many of them you've got to think there's got to be others who who filed Unpaid Claims and didn't leave feedback.

I've never left a "Negative Positive" so I don't know. I just file a claim when I need to. Thankfully I've been lucky and I usually only have a few a year.

[Sterling Sports Auctions]

I have learned over time to not have any expectations from ebay or paypal they both have such a poor history. Why do you think most people don't show there pickups until they have them in hand..

You just have to hope it doesn't cost you too much money.

Lee

[HOF Yankees]

Ok now I checked on some of these ebay scums and was wondering, why are they are they not able to pay on stuff well under 100, doesnt make sense, ebay is a joke lets go back to card shows, where we dont need to pay awful fees and we get some protection and our money right away.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by HOF Yankees

ebay is a joke lets go back to card shows, where we dont need to pay awful fees and we get some protection and our money right away

Not to slam card shows because there are other qualities about them besides just the instant buying gratification.

That said.

Card shows do have fees. The dealer pays to set up. I haven't set up in the last several years, but when I stopped it was because several dealers were lucky to break even. Even recently I did help at a table. The only person who left with money was my father who sold off all his stuff at deep discounts just to clean his basement.

Buyers are paying fees to get in to the show. They also, in a lot of cases, are also paying for food at the shows. So there are fees involved.

As far as protection, I know many people who have had merchandise stolen from their booths at their table, bad checks have been used, and credit card reversals from stolen credit cards. On the buyer side there are several dealers that are selling altered cards and forged autographs at shows.

Also at shows it seems to be the same dealers and same buyers recycled over and over again. Ebay allows non dealers to sometimes get a deal on cards from non collectors. The only other chance people have at buying from non collectors that were given a collection is owning a shop are being reputable and being contacted. Those people don't show up at shows too often with a table to buy from.

[Jewish-collector]

Most of the ebay sports card sellers aren't old enough to remember the pre-eBay days when it was difficult as hell to sell cards. You had to put an ad in SCD or set up a table at a show. If you came to the show as a customer to sell cards to a dealer at a show, you'd only get 50% (if you were really fortunate) from those dealers.

Now, it's so trivial to sell cards !!! So, as a relatively NEW low-end, low volume seller, I actually like eBay !!!

[Tony Gordon]

I'll take a card show over eBay every time. I sell at card shows every weekend (I'll be at Two Hearts in St. Louis on Sunday) because I make much more money at shows than on eBay and I find much better buys. If you factor in PayPal fees, I pay more to sell on eBay than I do in table fees.

I really dislike eBay. I've been on the site for 11 years now and in that time I've had to buy two computers, countless system software upgrades, and a new scanner and printer just to be able to continue to sell on the site. It's also sooo time consuming, i.e., searching my inventory for stuff to sell, scanning, filling out the sell form, dealing with questions/offers, packaging items and going to the post office every day.

As far as deadbeats go, I just had a guy stiff me on 14 items. I closed all 14 cases and the guy (I Bleed Dodger Blue) is still in good standing. I usually get several non-paying bidders a month. Also, eBay is constantly changing the site and its rules -- none for the better in my opinion. Now eBay wants me to give delivery confirmation on every item I sell or I lose my fee discount. Well, I sell a lot of post-war $5- $10 cards. I'll lose my shirt if I purchase delivery confirmation for every card. I may just have to finally throw in the towel and stick with shows. Did I say I dislike eBay?

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Tony Gordon

I'll take a card show over eBay every time. I sell at card shows every weekend (I'll be at Two Hearts in St. Louis on Sunday) because I make much more money at shows than on eBay and I find much better buys. If you factor in PayPal fees, I pay more to sell on eBay than I do in table fees.

I really dislike eBay. I've been on the site for 11 years now and in that time I've had to buy two computers, countless system software upgrades, and a new scanner and printer just to be able to continue to sell on the site. It's also sooo time consuming, i.e., searching my inventory for stuff to sell, scanning, filling out the sell form, dealing with questions/offers, packaging items and going to the post office every day.

As far as deadbeats go, I just had a guy stiff me on 14 items. I closed all 14 cases and the guy (I Bleed Dodger Blue) is still in good standing. I usually get several non-paying bidders a month. Also, eBay is constantly changing the site and its rules -- none for the better in my opinion. Now eBay wants me to give delivery confirmation on every item I sell or I lose my fee discount. Well, I sell a lot of post-war $5- $10 cards. I'll lose my shirt if I purchase delivery confirmation for every card. I may just have to finally throw in the towel and stick with shows. Did I say I dislike eBay?

I grew up at Two Hearts shows.

You talk like ebay is an inconvenient, yet you seem to leave out having to make a drive to the show with your entire inventory. If you are going out of town you have to get hotels (unless you have family/friends to stay with in each town) and you are still only hitting a certain market in your area.

I have a lot of complaints about ebay, but to act as if one is FAR superior over the other is a hard case to make.

There are definite pros/cons to each. I like going to shows for the interactions and seeing things first hand, yet I rarely buy at shows because I don't like trying to negotiate prices. Some people are comfortable doing that, I am not one of those people.

[Tony Gordon]

Even with the drive and hotels, I still come out far ahead at shows. I live in Chicago and travel all over the Midwest for shows, so I see a lot of different customers each weekend. Many of the Two Hearts dealers travel country-wide for shows. I generally avoid the 10- to 20-table shows and set up at shows with 50 to 100 tables.

Simply put, as a dealer, my sales at shows far exceed my sales on eBay. It's no longer worth the time, expense and hassle for me. As long as shows continue to be profitable, I'll continue to set up.

In addition, eBay's inventory has really suffered over the years as they administered anti-auction/collectible rules for sellers. The best stuff has long since left eBay. I've been blown away by the selection of cards listed these past several month by the likes of REA, SCP, Mile High, Sterling, Legendary, etc. My wallet is also much lighter.

Come out on Sunday, I promise a discount... without any negotiating!!

[Jewish-collector]

I do agree with Tony that eBay is so very time consuming, i.e., searching my inventory for stuff to sell, scanning, filling out the sell form, dealing with questions/offers, packaging items and going to the post office every day.

[HercDriver]

I quit selling on Ebay quite some time ago. I find the B/S/T a lot more enjoyable...mostly because I can get trades going in lieu of selling if I want to. If I can't get a trade and I'm trying to raise a bit of cash for something I want, I just start it at auction for $1. You know the buyer is good, and you'll get pretty much what it's worth. The extra percentage you'd get on Ebay is eaten by fees and the knuckleheads who waste your time. I only sell about once a month, but I wouldn't do it any other way!

Take Care,
Geno

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Tony Gordon

Come out on Sunday, I promise a discount... without any negotiating!!

I was thinking of going this weekend, but didn't end up making it out. Now that I have seen this post, I wish I would have

[RUSH2112]

To make matters worse, every negative comment left only improves his feedback score.

I closed my account several months ago after a 5 year relationship. I was a 500+ transaction seller.

They told me after I complained about an unwarranted negative feedback I received, and that if I wanted to improve my feedback score to make up for the negative, that I should I start buying more items.

[BCauley]

I've been listing off my modern stuff so I can be done with it and focus solely on vintage...and have much more room and less chaos. So far I've been lucky and only had one guy not follow through in the past couple of months. With that said, I've only sold about 50 things.

In regards to buying cards, ebay has become my last resort. When it comes to cards I want, I hang around the B/S/T and wait for it to come up or I check the vintage dealer links up top. While I can very easily find the T206s I want on ebay, I'd much rather deal directly with someone one here. The number of transactions I've done on here are minimal compared to most but I've been satisfied every time.

[olrac44]

Anyone know why sellers can't leave negative feedback on bidders who don't pay for items they've won?

I had to relist the same item 3 times now thanks to bidders winning the auction and backing out.

[Chris D.]

Ebay has become more and more pro-buyer over the last few years in the name of customer service. Sellers really need to cover themselves in case an issue arises. I try to do as little as possible on Ebay. I love being able to make deals here. Sterling has been great too.

[KyleTexas]

Ebay's #1 concern is their own bottom line... a anyones expense

Ebay used to be more fairness oriented but anymore they just want to make money .. they figure if someone buys at least something sometime at least they get increased fees... this is more important to them than fairness or integrity and it shows.

I use Ebay but cringe almost every time I do.. I'll be first in line to leave them when someone builds a better mousetrap.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Tony Gordon

I really dislike eBay. I've been on the site for 11 years now and in that time I've had to buy two computers, countless system software upgrades, and a new scanner and printer just to be able to continue to sell on the site.

How in the heck has Ebay forced you to do any of that? If you've maintained that 11 year old computer, it's still plenty powerful enough to scan stuff and list it on the web. And if you've bought a computer in the last 11 years, THAT one is powerful enough. Ebay doesn't force you to buy a new printer. Ebay doesn't force you to buy a new scanner. Ebay certainly doesn't force you to do "countless system software upgrades".

This complaint seems like a red herring.

Tabe

[Tony Gordon]

Tabe, I don't think you sell on eBay. Here's my sordid tale: I am a MAC user. When eBay periodically upgrades its site, certain functions cease to work unless I upgrade my system software. So every few years, I update my system software so I can do things like list pictures in my auctions. At some point, Apple came out with system software that would not load on my Mac G4. So in order to continue selling cards on eBay, I purchased an iMac with the latest system software about three years ago.

In regard to the printer, Ebay is now requiring sellers to have delivery confirmation on 90 percent of sold items. Most cards I sell are post-war and are below $10, so I don't get delivery confirmation on these items because it's not cost effective. But now that I'm required to do so, eBay offers discounted delivery confirmation if you purchase it through them. So I bought a printer for the sole purpose of printing out an eBay shipping label with postage/delivery confirmation.

The scanner. I have an old scanner that was actually top of the line when I bought it in the 1990s. It stills works great. However, over the years my scans started to appear foggy and I received alerts from eBay that my scans were not "optimal." So I went out and bought a new scanner and apparently my scans are now optimal.

Obviously, eBay didn't hold a gun to my head and force me to make these purchases. But I've come to rely on the income from my eBay sales and in order to maintain the status quo, I made the purchases.

[RUSH2112]

Originally Posted by olrac44

Anyone know why sellers can't leave negative feedback on bidders who don't pay for items they've won?

I had to relist the same item 3 times now thanks to bidders winning the auction and backing out.

Corporate greed says buyers are good because they spend money thus no implications for being a bad one. All are welcome on this money driven website. Buyers now have the upper hand and you are a prime target for feedback extorsion and getting your paypal account picked.

As well, after listing your item a second or third time, all your previous bidders won't bid again because they think your item was shilled.
Of course ebay doesn't care, it's your money being lost and not theirs.