This is a long story but I could really use some advice. So please bear with me

For the past few months I have had a coach handbag that I have been trying to sell. At first I started with just a buy it now price of $75 but had no interest. I tried listing it this way 2 or 3 times and then decided it would be best to list it as an auction with a starting price of $19.99 with a $75 dollar buy it now. This resulted in much more interest and eventually I sold it for the buy it now price. I sent an invoice to the buyer and the buyer responded saying they were excited about the purchase and would pay as soon as some funds transferred. A week went buy and still no payment. So I sent the buyer a kind warning that I would be opening a case if payment was not received within another week. Still no reply. So at this point I went ahead and opened a case. Several days later, the buyer responded saying she was sorry and that she had sent me numerous messages (none of which I received supposedly) and wished to cancel the transaction, So I closed the case and had the transaction canceled. I then relisted the item about a week ago. The bidding ended last night. However this time the bidding reached almost $120. There appeared to be 2 bidders battling for the item, but strangely enough both bidders were new to ebay with no feedback whatsoever. The really odd part is that I still had a buy it now of $75 in place I believe. I have sent an invoice to the high bidder and have received no response or payment thus far. I honestly believe that these are false accounts and that the bidders are purposely running up the bid and then not paying. I could just be paranoid but it seems pretty coincidental to me. Times are hard and I do not have time to relist things over and over. I just dont understand why anyone would do this though. Who has the time to bid 55 individual times on an item just for laughs. Should ebay do something about this??? Has any one else had this happen before? What should i do?

Originally Posted by vcuartsybec

This is a long story but I could really use some advice. So please bear with me For the past few months I have had a coach handbag that I have been trying to sell. At first I started with just a buy it now price of $75 but had no interest. I tried listing it this way 2 or 3 times and then decided it would be best to list it as an auction with a starting price of $19.99 with a $75 dollar buy it now. This resulted in much more interest and eventually I sold it for the buy it now price. I sent an invoice to the buyer and the buyer responded saying they were excited about the purchase and would pay as soon as some funds transferred. A week went buy and still no payment. So I sent the buyer a kind warning that I would be opening a case if payment was not received within another week. Still no reply. So at this point I went ahead and opened a case. Several days later, the buyer responded saying she was sorry and that she had sent me numerous messages (none of which I received supposedly) and wished to cancel the transaction, So I closed the case and had the transaction canceled. I then relisted the item about a week ago. The bidding ended last night. However this time the bidding reached almost $120. There appeared to be 2 bidders battling for the item, but strangely enough both bidders were new to ebay with no feedback whatsoever. The really odd part is that I still had a buy it now of $75 in place I believe. I have sent an invoice to the high bidder and have received no response or payment thus far. I honestly believe that these are false accounts and that the bidders are purposely running up the bid and then not paying. I could just be paranoid but it seems pretty coincidental to me. Times are hard and I do not have time to relist things over and over. I just dont understand why anyone would do this though. Who has the time to bid 55 individual times on an item just for laughs. Should ebay do something about this??? Has any one else had this happen before? What should i do?

Just so you know, once the bidding price reaches 50% of the Buy It Now price, the Buy It Now option goes away. So if your BIN was $75 and your starting bid was $20, once the bidded price went up to about $38, the BIN option would no longer be available. So this is why the bidded price could have reasonably gone up to $120 with nobody buying it now.

Though zero-feedback buyers do tend to be more likely to not pay, I have worked with plenty of new eBayers who have paid. After all, everybody is new once. But if it's been a few days and you haven't heard from them...it's probably not looking good.

there's nothing wrong with 0 feedback, just watch for red flags.
Look for the payment in your paypal account by going there yourself. Never click on any links in any emails.
Watch for any emails wanting something that just doesn't feel right. Come back here if you have any doubts or need opinions.

Originally Posted by liljake

Just so you know, once the bidding price reaches 50% of the Buy It Now price, the Buy It Now option goes away. So if your BIN was $75 and your starting bid was $20, once the bidded price went up to about $38, the BIN option would no longer be available. So this is why the bidded price could have reasonably gone up to $120 with nobody buying it now. Though zero-feedback buyers do tend to be more likely to not pay, I have worked with plenty of new eBayers who have paid. After all, everybody is new once. But if it's been a few days and you haven't heard from them...it's probably not looking good.

Ok I didn't know that. I'm still fairly new to ebay myself. I'm trying to be patient and hopefully it all works out. :/ I bought the bag with the specific purpose of selling it and its definitely been more trouble than its worth. Thanks for your response :)

Set up your seller preferences to automatically open a dispute in 4 days and close in another 4.

^This. There is nothing you can do with bidders who bid for fun. Best is just to send a NPB and block afterwards. As for your first buyer, you should have opened a NPB against her instead of canceling the transaction after the 4th day. Don't let buyers get away with that type of behavior or they will keep doing it.

If they can't pay they shouldn't be buying in the first place.

So after 8 days of nonpayment, I had given up but then the buyer paid! better late then never :)

Originally Posted by vcuartsybec

So after 8 days of nonpayment, I had given up but then the buyer paid! better late then never :)

don't be happy yet. People who are late with payment most likely because they are hesitant about their purchase decisions, which eventually may lead to buyer remorse (ask for return/refund/claim item not as described, etc).

Originally Posted by Chestnutty

don't be happy yet. People who are late with payment most likely because they are hesitant about their purchase decisions, which eventually may lead to buyer remorse (ask for return/refund/claim item not as described, etc).

True :/ well hopefully it will work out

hopefully it will work out...

Well its been over a week since the item was confirmed to be delivered and I haven't had any kind of negative response :) glad things worked out

good news....