my item was bought by a new ebay member with zero feedback - reassure a very occasional seller?

emchoc

I'm a very occasional ebay seller (first item since managed payments) but a very regular buyer. My BIN item was bought by a new member (joined May 2022) with zero feedback - it was £60 so I'm feeling slightly uneasy... The address is a normal residential one (checked street view) but the name is odd - it's not a persons name, but it doesn't really feel much like a business name either. Can anyone reassure me please? What's the worst case scenario?

pinkshoes

Just make sure you abide by paypal/eBay rules.

Make sure the buyer has paid (check the PayPal account to see it has gone through) then ONLY send to the PayPal address. 

Everyone has to start somewhere with eBay... Is it an item that is something people like to pull scams on?

emchoc

thanks @pinkshoes. I'd be a lot more comfortable if it was a paypal payment but this is my first time using ebay managed payments - they say "paid, send now" but I'm not sure how long it takes to actually get the money! Don't think the item is a scam magnet but I suppose you never know!

pinkshoes

emchoc said:

thanks @pinkshoes. I'd be a lot more comfortable if it was a paypal payment but this is my first time using ebay managed payments - they say "paid, send now" but I'm not sure how long it takes to actually get the money! Don't think the item is a scam magnet but I suppose you never know!

In which case if eBay have told you it's ok to send, then I'd send it as per their instructions, and make sure you have tracking.

infectedeggs

I know this will be a pain and cut into your profit but consider insuring the parcel to the full sale price.

jon81uk

pinkshoes said:

Just make sure you abide by paypal/eBay rules.

Make sure the buyer has paid (check the PayPal account to see it has gone through) then ONLY send to the PayPal address. 

Everyone has to start somewhere with eBay... Is it an item that is something people like to pull scams on?

Paypal is no longer involved. eBay manage the payments, so need to check the eBay emails to confirm its been paid and post to the address given by eBay.

Also I would suggest ensuring you have a tracking number and enter it into eBay as soon as you post the item. That way if they claim not receiving it eBay already have the evidence.

emchoc

thanks so much for all the reassurance everyone! It's packed up and labelled ready to go, tracked and insured - just got to brave the cold and drop it of now 😁

Jerry_Cornelius

I must admit, even as an occassional seller myself, i can rem my first listings having no caveats to my current listings 19 years later where there are several. One I added a good few years ago was when I used to get a lot of new 0 feedback buyers bidding and winning then not paying or even communicating, so I added the caveat in my listings that buyers with less than 5 feedback must contact me first prior to bidding, otherwise I'd cancel their bid. Don't think I ever had issues with someone who contacted me first and then bid and won, the time wasters seemed to want no communication. But nowadays I dont really enforce it that much as it seems to be less of a problem.

soolin

Jerry_Cornelius said:

I must admit, even as an occassional seller myself, i can rem my first listings having no caveats to my current listings 19 years later where there are several. One I added a good few years ago was when I used to get a lot of new 0 feedback buyers bidding and winning then not paying or even communicating, so I added the caveat in my listings that buyers with less than 5 feedback must contact me first prior to bidding, otherwise I'd cancel their bid. Don't think I ever had issues with someone who contacted me first and then bid and won, the time wasters seemed to want no communication. But nowadays I dont really enforce it that much as it seems to be less of a problem.

Unfortunately your caveat only works for auctions and for sellers who can sit and watch all of their listings. 99.9% of my listings are BIN so I couldn’t vet a buyer beforehand, although I do use immediate payment required which at least stops the non payers. 

MR1988

From my personal experience, I had more trouble with users that had high feedback than users with zero feedback. Few months ago I sold an item for £500 to a zero feedback user and he was over the moon with the purchase. Just follow eBay process and insure/track your items.

vacheron

Remember that all eBayers have to start from zero sometime.

I still recount to people that my first ever purchase when I joined eBay 22 years ago was a £3,800 wristwatch, and back then there was no Paypal, and eBay was more of an introductory service with nothing like the protection we have now. 

Wanting to bid on that watch was what motivated me to register in the first place. This buyer could be the same.

Not all new bidders are dodgy.