help - what is a "deadbidder"?

moongarden

i've just had an item on ebay close at £310. its a phone worth around £80 to £120 and none of the later bidders have got any feedback.
someone then emailed me via ebay and told me that it looked like i got deadbidders bidding and that he would buy the phone for £75.

i'm thinking now that i should have put in the description that bidders with less than 10 feedback should contact before bidding then i should have deleted any who bidded without contacting me.

I've sent the winner an invoice and ive emailed ebay help and asked them to look at this.
what on earth do i do now?

p.s. just for a moment there i thought i could afford to put some food on the table over Christmas (i'm temping at the mo, no work - no pay).

chompie

it may be people who bid to get points from certain afiliate sites, with no actual, intention or desire to purchase the item

or i have heard of a practice where two mates, bid each other up to a level where no one else will want to bid, and then at the last minute one cancels their bid and the price drops right down.

don't know what it's called though?

scroogey

Isn't that called Bid Sheilding? Might be wrong though
And could it be had some of these 0 rated bidders are actually the guy who is offering you £75?
oh I think a Deadbidder is likely to an action wrecker, ie someone who wins with no inention of completing the sale

jonnyb

can you give us the ebay item number ?

Agutka

Bidders who have no intention of paying or even probably contacting you - unless the scam requires them to do so. It is highly likely you have not sold you phone this time round. You would be better off putting in disclaimers about the minimum feedback, but anyone out there to wreck your auction will not pay attention to these. Also does not stop people bidding at last minute as you can't cancel them then. I think you should put your phone on buy it now with a price you're happy with. Just make sure your description is personal and friendly, so buyers know they are dealing with a real person, who has a good phone for sale.

moongarden

thanks for the advice so far guys. here is some more info.
i am currently thinking that i should relist it as i have added 8 of the same phones from other sellers ending soon and they have gone for £85, £145 and £360 (this actually appears to be a real bidder).

Should i relist with 3 day auction or buy it now? i would expect to get £130-£250 for it. I've not done 'buy it now' before and i would be tempted to put £210 on it.

No reply from ebay help team yet.

Item Number: 5837342297

Copy of email received from winner:
I'm Pleased to be a winner of your auction.I live in uk but presently on official assignment to Bangladesh..I'm relatively new to Ebay as you can see,I have never bought anything on this site. I heard its very convinient and easy thats why i'm trying it now.This item is a gift for my Son who is studing at University of Ibadan in Nigeria, I'm buying it for him as he requested for this and to show him i care about him due to distance between us.

I will be paying you by Bidpay poster order from Bidpay Auction Payment Company.......for this deal to be conclude very fast since i am having problem with my paypal account....Please let me have the total cost plus shipping down Ibadan Nigeria,I'll be paying for the cost and I will like you to send it through Global Express (3-5 days).

I will want you to kindly give me your Full Name,Contact Address and your direct telephone number for quick payment......Note..Immediately i make the payment..bidpay wll notify you and your money will get to you in 2-4 working days from payment confirmation date.
Do get back to me ASAP.
Ciara
(i have replied via ebay to send the invoice and i wrote the following reply)

Hi Ciara,
Welcome to ebay. If check below the description of the phone it you will be able to see what methods of payment i can accecpt. I also say in the advert that i will only post to UK or Europe but as a special favour because you are new to ebay i would this time be able to send you the phone to Nigeria provided you pay all the postage costs.
Can you please read again the description and the payment details on the page and let me know how you want to complete the transaction.
Thank you
(my reply - of course i would expect payment first as this looks really dodgy)

Copy of email from another bidder:
hey there! it looks like some deadbidders had some fun with your auction. i will be willing to take over the auction for 75 sterling pounds + 14 sterling pounds for posting to the united states. please check my account for authenticity.
(i've not replied yet)

Kaminari_2

Do not under any circumstances send the phone to Nigeria. Please spend some time reading other posts on this in this forum. This is a scam.

Daisydoll

I ditto the above post it's a well known scam, do not by any means send the phone out!!

Kimberley

Actually whenever you see the word "Nigeria" dump it..

moongarden

if she paid me first i would send her the phone. which is more or less what i said in the email to her.

i can't really dump it as she has bid an won and i now have to give her 7 days to pay up. not sure what else i can do?

rchddap1

The second you see the word 'Nigeria' read it as a scam. They'll try anything to get you to send them the item....and not pay for it. Eg, cheques that bounce after 3 months so that you think that you've been paid, but really haven't...and loads of other ways. Don't bother with this at all and report it to Ebay.

Do not send the item as you are being scammed.