I put a $200+ pair of shoes on ebay and in my listing, I noted that anyone with 0 feedback had to message me before bidding and also noted that I would not ship until this Mon b/c I am out of town. This buyer bid on my auction with BIN and won (she has zero feedback). I messaged her immediately to let her know she was supposed to contact me first and I asked if she might have made purchases and perhaps sellers hadn't left feedback yet. She did not reply. I wrote her again and she said she was too busy and thought she responded to my first message and asked what my question was again. Then she asked me when I would send the item. I feel a little uneasy to sell to this person because it worries me that she didn't pay attention to my listing details and I've read so many horror stories on here about buyers who have remorse and wear/return, etc. I also see now that she created her account the day she bid. What would you experts do in a situation like this?
Zero feedback buyer - what would you do?
- Thread starter vagabag
- Start date
Not all newbies are bad. I once sold a brand new pair of louboutins to a newbie and was one of my better sales, as I ended up making more than I paid for them originally. I will say though that when I spoke to my buyer, I didn't get a bad feeling from her. If you are getting a bad vibe from this buyer, its better to be safe than sorry and you should probably cancel the bid.
I'm going against the flow here.
1. Newbies aren't familiar with ebay and often find what they want and buy it.
2. The contact link is hidden way at the bottom of the page and contacting a seller is a bit complicated if they have no experience. (Heck, it's confusing for experienced buyers who know that asking questions ding a seller's account so they don't know which option to choose when ASQ'ing.(
3. Being new to ebay, she probably doesn't have her email set up to recognize ebay messages and your messages might have gone into her spam folder.
Honestly, some of my best buyers are newbies who see my item, recognize it as what they're looking for and buy it.
My first inclination is NOT to block and cancel. I don't see the red flags others claim to see.
If she hasn't paid after 2 days, open UID.
JMHO. YMMV.
1. Newbies aren't familiar with ebay and often find what they want and buy it.
2. The contact link is hidden way at the bottom of the page and contacting a seller is a bit complicated if they have no experience. (Heck, it's confusing for experienced buyers who know that asking questions ding a seller's account so they don't know which option to choose when ASQ'ing.(
3. Being new to ebay, she probably doesn't have her email set up to recognize ebay messages and your messages might have gone into her spam folder.
Honestly, some of my best buyers are newbies who see my item, recognize it as what they're looking for and buy it.
My first inclination is NOT to block and cancel. I don't see the red flags others claim to see.
If she hasn't paid after 2 days, open UID.
JMHO. YMMV.
There was a time when sellers would take a chance with newbie buyers,
it is really individual decision entirely up to the seller.
Much has changed over the few years & times are different now for sellers
on ebay.
Would not suggest telling a seller to complete a tranasaction when she feels
uncomfortable & uneasy, after all, it is her item that perhaps may be in jeopardy
& unpleasant issues could arise.
By refunding & canceling the transaction, the seller doesn't have to wait or lose any
amount of time to relist the item..
it is really individual decision entirely up to the seller.
Much has changed over the few years & times are different now for sellers
on ebay.
Would not suggest telling a seller to complete a tranasaction when she feels
uncomfortable & uneasy, after all, it is her item that perhaps may be in jeopardy
& unpleasant issues could arise.
By refunding & canceling the transaction, the seller doesn't have to wait or lose any
amount of time to relist the item..
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Well the buyer wrote me back with just a statement that she has never bought on eBay before so no feedback. There was no apology for not following my terms. What did your buyer say to make you comfortable? I don't want to discriminate against good new ebayers but there are so many bad eggs now!
Her response is very indicative of many buyers today on ebay. No apology!
No regard for you the seller's terms either, sadly speaking.
This doesn't make her a bad buyer just one that has little regard for
communicating with you the seller.
You just have to feel comfortable about the transaction. Many times
our "guts" speak to us.. For you, this may be one of those times.
Sure you will make the best decision for yourself.
*Sigh* I'm sorry. I didn't realize we had to support canceling a transaction for no good reason. I read the OP's post and saw that she was looking for opinions of experienced sellers and how they'd handle this situation. Just because my opinion is different from those posted doesn't make it wrong -- just different and another point of view.
My own experience as a seller as well as every nightmare toolhaus I've seen tells me that experienced buyers are the ones who have more experience in being scammers or just plain PITAs.
For example, this is one that was recently posted on the BBL thread. Note that the buyer is anything but a newbie!
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=tig17lv&Dirn=Left+by&ref=home
And another longtime member:
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=wilritc&Dirn=Left+by
As someone who by your own admission doesn't sell, I'm not sure why you think I'm so wrong. I do sell and can say that 100% of my 0-feedback or low feedback buyers have NEVER been problems. I haven't had a lot of issues with buyers but those I have had were with very experienced buyers.
Of course the OP can cancel if that's her desire but I thought she was looking for advice from sellers who had experience with newbies.
OP, be aware that if you cancel and she pays, she can leave feedback.
OP, also, understand that although you can request that members contact you prior to bidding or buying, it's not an ebay policy and isn't a violation of any of ebay's TOS.
I put similar terms on my listings. There was one newbie who followed the instructions and contacted me before she hit the BIN button. It was a really big purse so I made sure she understood that it was huge bag and went over the pictures with her making sure that she saw the flaws of the bag. That's one of the most successful transactions of mine. It's not the easiest but both of us were satisfied. I got a good feeling about the buyer through the exchange of messages and I was right.
Yes, there are good newbies out there BUT I prefer working with newbies who follow the rules. Trust your instinct. If you don't feel comfortable, cancel the bid.
Yes, there are good newbies out there BUT I prefer working with newbies who follow the rules. Trust your instinct. If you don't feel comfortable, cancel the bid.
SPOT ON!!
A buyer should have regard & repect for a seller's terms & if the seller doesn't
feel comfortable, the option is there to cancel as many have suggested above
doing on this thread..
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It appears that the buyer is not familiar with all of the ins and outs of EBay. Maybe be more an amazon buyer where there really is not any communication.
If your listing is accurate and the handling time is posted, it should be fine. The buyer has responded even if not how you prefer.
If she has paid, send a message thanking them for payment and simply stating that the item will be shipped out on XX/XX/XX. If they have questions, to feel free to contact you and that you hope they enjoy the xxxxxxxxx.
I have found that some of my best buyers, especially on Bonz, are brand new.
They google what they are looking for and the listing pops up; they sign up and buy.
I understand your discomfort but this is how EBay works. You are not supposed to discriminate against a new member. You have the right to cancel, block etc but you are opening yourself up to negative feedback and NPS, I believe.
Good luck.
If your listing is accurate and the handling time is posted, it should be fine. The buyer has responded even if not how you prefer.
If she has paid, send a message thanking them for payment and simply stating that the item will be shipped out on XX/XX/XX. If they have questions, to feel free to contact you and that you hope they enjoy the xxxxxxxxx.
I have found that some of my best buyers, especially on Bonz, are brand new.
They google what they are looking for and the listing pops up; they sign up and buy.
I understand your discomfort but this is how EBay works. You are not supposed to discriminate against a new member. You have the right to cancel, block etc but you are opening yourself up to negative feedback and NPS, I believe.
Good luck.