Help and advice please! Wary of buyer...

[pinkdiamond]

^ What northern said...plus...follow your gut. If you truly have a horrid feeling about this, then don't go through with it. I have a HUGE problem with (a) people who don't read listings, (b) people who don't follow instructions, and (c) people who don't reply to messages, and this buyer is all three.

What she said.

I ignored a gut instinct recently about a buyer and it was right. I won the claim, but it was stressful. It was also a 0 feedback buyer.

I know we should all give newbies a break, but seriously if my first purchase on eBay was a designer purse I would be very excited and I would be checking my email. I get like that now and I have been on eBay 10 years!!!

 

[blivlien]

Does the transaction specify "eligible" for seller protection? If so, you shouldn't worry. Just ensure you follow the eligibility criteria, i.e. ship within seven days of payment, online tracking or sig confirmation (depending on value) and ship to address on transaction page. Insurance is never a bad idea either.

northerndancer, I just checked and it does say I'm eligible for seller protection. Yep I always send high value items with online tracking, sig confirmation and insurance just to be on the safe side.

ladyisobel, I'm on the fence too about it. Paypal does say it's ok to send and the buyer is in the UK too. I don't know...

If I decide not to go through with it, I know I can get hit with negative feedback, but do I just refund the buyer? Is there anything else I need to do? I've got a few days to think about it and wait for contact from the buyer as I've still got time to pack and ship it out. I don't know if I'm just being paranoid and I probably wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't such an expensive item...

How many days does a buyer have to complain to ebay or try and get a chargeback/refund? I know I'm probably just thinking the worst now!

 

[blivlien]

OP would you mind posting back after all is done and dusted. I'd be interested to hear how this works out.

I guess that you must be pleased to have got your buy it now price. In a tight world economy, that's always good news.

With a new buyer, perhaps their instant payment, to them, equates making contact... All this did happen within a couple of hours as you said.. New people would not know why you would want them to email you. New members often would not even know why you might want feedback to close the loop so to speak.

As Northerndancer said, follow the protocols to protect yourself as a seller. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.

Oh yes I am pleased that I got my BIN and am surprised at how quickly it sold.

Yes perhaps the new buyer with instand payemtn did mean them making contact. I did explain why I wanted them to reply to me as I just wanted to make sure everything was ok as I've had a few dodgy buyers before, and wanted a smooth transaction between us. I googled the buyer (I'm pretty sure it's a he) and maybe he hasn't replied because English isn't his first language? I haven't a clue. I'm just assuming here.

 

[northerndancer]

^ What northern said...plus...follow your gut. If you truly have a horrid feeling about this, then don't go through with it. I have a HUGE problem with (a) people who don't read listings, (b) people who don't follow instructions, and (c) people who don't reply to messages, and this buyer is all three.

I agree with these points as well. I might give the buyer the benefit of the doubt on not understanding the feedback thing and not contacting you before bidding. If you are sending your messages through ebay, maybe they are not properly linked to his email address and he is not getting them, again stretching the benefit of the doubt.

I would send another message to his direct email address and maybe get in touch with ebay/Paypal to verify his contact information.

If you cannot get any response from him or don't feel comfortable with the response you do get, I would cancel. It is just too weird.

 

[shinymagpie]

Oh yes I am pleased that I got my BIN and am surprised at how quickly it sold.

Yes perhaps the new buyer with instand payemtn did mean them making contact. I did explain why I wanted them to reply to me as I just wanted to make sure everything was ok as I've had a few dodgy buyers before, and wanted a smooth transaction between us. I googled the buyer (I'm pretty sure it's a he) and maybe he hasn't replied because English isn't his first language? I haven't a clue. I'm just assuming here.

Thanks OP for your reply. With a valuable bag, I can understand why you are worried.

You wrote that

• Your sale went from listing to completed payment within hours!
• Your buyer has a confirmed address & is verified
• You have seller eligibility from PayPal
• You always post securely with tracking

That all make me feel less concerned, but there are many opinions here.

If it had been days of not contacting and no payment, I'd be jumpy, annoyed and happy to issue a strike.

You could be right about the language thing. I actually live in a country where the main language is not English (but mine is). It takes me a long time to write very odd, short notes (eg. "You bank I paid tomorrow would Thank you for wonderful help." ), so I use automation at every possible chance to make life simpler. eBay is a fully automated system. Click, Click and you're done. A name in itself though, almost never gives you a clue, whether the person will be fluent in any particular language on our multi-lingual planet.

Many of my buyers just click & pay with no contact from them to me.

I even took out the 'new buyers must contact me line' from my listings, because only about 1 in 10 people bothered to read it and email me! (although I did recently send someone a "Hi, just clocking in here" type email").

To be more forensic, you could also use "advance search>find items by bidder" in eBay and see if they have bought a zillion bags today... big red flag!

If I am ever nervous about a buyer, I use eBay live help to ask if there is any reason to hesitate, if I see reasons to. They can also give you advice on appropriate cancellation wording if you need it.

Go with your guts. It's your eBay, your bag, and your income, not mine. You are the one who needs to be comfortable either to post or to cancel. Good luck with however you go with it .

 

[blivlien]

Thanks for the advice northerndancer and shiney magpie!

I think I'll email the buyer directly, and contact ebay to see if I should be aware of anything. I probably am just being paranoid.

 

[KlassicKouture]

I hope it all works out, OP!