BUYERS NOT PAYING FOR ITEM - a bit fed up!

malteser

Hi
I'm fairly new to selling on ebay and have only been doing so for a few weeks. I have twice had buyerss bid and win an item only to find that they have not paid and will not complete the transaction. I don't understand why this happens and what can I do to prevent it happening again. I suspect its going to happen another 3 times this week as the items won on Sunday have not been paid for and there is no communication from the buyer when I have tried to contact them.....Everything is all packaged up and I just want to send it Grrrrrrr !
Its such a waste of time and I dont think ebay are much help. I have opened a case but all that happens is I have to wait a set no. of days before relisting and its all just taking forever.
Any tips ? What can I do to try and protect myself?
These are not high end items, mainly toys and clothes between £2.99-£20.00 plus postage
Just needed to vent - thank you!

cyberbob

I'd have a good look at your listings as you seem to be getting higher than average non payers. (I've had 2 in the past 6 months).

Check you haven't got any silly unenforceable terms and conditions as these can attract the Muppets.

malteser

Hi this is an example of a typical listing from me :

This auction is for:

A BRAND NEW BOXED NEUROSMITH MUSINI PRESCHOOL MUSICAL TOY

This toy has won numerous awards

MADE BY NEUROSMITH ~ "Smart Toys for Developing Minds"

Get your child moving with Musini Preschool – a brand new way to make music!

Playing is easy – children simply start moving! Musini Preschool magically senses every step, touch and tap and responds with music. Children can dance to the music of their own movements, play interactive instrument games, or add their solo touches to background music – and they can do it all just by dancing, running, skipping, jumping and having fun!

Easy to use sensitivity control adjusts to all indoor and outdoor settings – from tables to carpet to concrete!

My Items are from a PET FREE, SMOKE FREE, IMMACULATE HOME

Happy Bidding and please ask any questions

TERMS
Please make payment within 3 days of the auction having ended.
I am happy for items to be collected by arrangement and would prefer cash on collection.
Please note all sales are final and therefore no returns will be accepted
Payment by PAYPAL accepted.
====

Any comments on what to change would really help . thanks

kazwookie

I thought the buyer had a min of 4 days in which to pay.

soolin

Just a few tips really. Take out the terms about 3 day payment, you can't enforce it so don't bother saying it. You also need to be more patient, if somehing sold Sunday and you sent an invocie you shouldn't really be looking at contacting the buyer again until at least tomorrow. I usually send a new invoice on day 3 or 4 with a note asking buyer to contact me if they have and additional questions regardeing payment, then i open an NPB the day following that. After 4 days I close it and reclaim my fees, but it rarely gets that far.

Your non payers are considerably higher than normal , mine have got worse but i'm still only at about 1 in 300-500 sales. You haven't made enemies or anything that have tracked you down and are ruining your auctions on purpose?

cyberbob

Totally agree with Soolin. Also take the line out about no returns excepted as all a buyer needs to do is open a dispute and say it's not as described to be able to return. By putting that in your listing buyers are more likely to open a dispute before speaking to you.

malteser

Thank you for your advice, I guess I am impatient but that has only come about because I have noticed that if buyers have not paid by the second day then they are probably not going to.
Yes you're right they have 4 days in which to pay and then I can open a case, most people do pay immediately and so I thought that 3 days was fair but its probably pointless as ebay gives them 4 days so I will remove that as its a contradiction.
I can't think of any enemies or any reason to have any so no but its got me worried now that people could be doing it intentionally rather than just getting carried away and then realising they can't afford it or have changed their mind...
hmmmm its really putting me off ebay sadly.

snagglepuss16

wonder if we're dealing with the same customers lol! i had my first NPB in ages and did the usual messages after almost a week, nothing, opened the case a week after selling and havin no responses to my communication, then surprise surprise i get an email the same day as i open the case (buyer has 7 feedback)"sorry i no longer want the item, sorry for any inconvienence"
so i got on my high horse!!!i replied "thats not how ebay works i'm afraid, i will still be continuing with the case. You could have informed me sooner"
not much help, but you know you're not the only one, and it gives me a chance to vent too!!!:mad::j

Crowqueen

malteser wrote: »

Thank you for your advice, I guess I am impatient but that has only come about because I have noticed that if buyers have not paid by the second day then they are probably not going to.
Yes you're right they have 4 days in which to pay and then I can open a case, most people do pay immediately and so I thought that 3 days was fair but its probably pointless as ebay gives them 4 days so I will remove that as its a contradiction.
I can't think of any enemies or any reason to have any so no but its got me worried now that people could be doing it intentionally rather than just getting carried away and then realising they can't afford it or have changed their mind...
hmmmm its really putting me off ebay sadly.

Possibly, but since eBay now only give them 4 days to pay instead of 7 then there is less time for you to sit frustrated anyway. As Soo says, you may have done your own research or noticed your own patterns, but by being patient, you have very little to lose.

NPBs are an occupational hazard of eBay, as the system is geared towards closing the item out before payment is made rather than making closing the item conditional on being paid. It's a "feature" largely of auctions and the buyer not having to be online when the auction ends. I don't like the way that it extends to BIN but then again you also used to have a lot of people wanting to pay by paper payments (cheques, POs, etc.) so to make allowance for this eBay didn't originally force people to use a proprietary electronic system which worked in a similar way to sites such as Amazon or Play, or small seller websites. Now a lot/most people use Paypal, on the other hand, they have shortened, but not eliminated, the payment window. It's really not necessary to get so wound up about them and you're the only one who will get hurt by this in the long run. Dealing with them professionally and firmly is the way forward, and investigating why you have a high default rate helps a lot.

I very seldom bid on people who demand payment in less time than it takes to open an NPB. It looks greedy if done in the wrong way, and while your terms are perfectly OK and very professionally worded, as Soo says, you can't enforce anything before 4 days, and I wouldn't particularly want to go harrassing my buyers two days after the auction closes out, particularly if the weekend is involved (one slow payer in the summer won an auction on Wednesday and paid on Saturday, and some people may only have internet access at work so choose to pay for items won over the weekend on Monday). I always pay when I've won, and I always do disputes, but I've had very few NPBs in the past year or so.

I also dislike sellers who demand payment within 48 or 72 hours and then have long dispatch times (e.g "Payment within 24 hours, no timewasters please!....bla bla bla...I'm a single mum, live ten miles from a PO and really busy so I can only post on every other Friday..." - that's an extreme example but you understand what I mean). Check your payment times and dispatch times are as reasonable as possible.

malteser

Thank you I will make some ammendments to my terms and try and learn some patience before putting more items up! Talking of which when is the next free listing day?

Crowqueen

Usually there's one every two weeks.