ebay non payer

[milly143]

I sold my iPod shuffle on ebay and the winning bid was �85.00. This was last Wednesday and I have had no contact from the buyer. I sent him an invoice and yesterday e-mailed him. Ebay gave me his phone number but do you think it would be seen as hassling him to call? All i want to do is sell the blasted thing and get the money for it. I was going to relist it today but then I thought, what if he does contact me and still wants it after I have already sold it to someone else. Any handy advice anyone????

[rarll]

Call him. I had to do the similar when I bought a CD. After 3 weeks of no delivery, I got his details and rang him.It worked. He was very apologetic. Certainly didn't see it as hassling him. Definately worth a go. 

[Picc45]

I'd kick him/her into touch- check the item's bid history & offer it as a "second chance" to the next highest bidder- there could be as little as 1p between the winning bid & the second highest. I would then file a non paying bidder report with eBay- you need to do this to get your Final Value Fee refunded- as far as eBay are concerned, you have been paid for the item unless you inform them otherwise & are charged accordingly. If you get no response from the second highest bidder- use the "relist" facilty on the drop down menu on your "sold" page. In my experience-anything longer than a week & you won't be getting your money. There are a lot of timewaster bidders I'm afraid- best cut your losses & sell to someone who really wants it. It is always wise to put in a clause in your payment instructions "payment to be received within ? days" (you decide the timescale). Shame these people get their jollies by wasting others time but it happens. 

[Solarjunkie]

If you start non-paying bidder proceedings, the first thing that happens is that Ebay sends the buyer an email and this often seems to kickstart the process.

If you still have no response a couple of days after doing this, then complete the non-paying bidder proceedings to get your final valuation fees refunded and then either go to the next bidder or relist.

I left a negative feedback after a week, once, and then got a very apologetic email from the winner who had had computer troubles and had not been able to contact me! I got paid, but the negative remains, and I feel bad about it, which is why using the non-paying buyer "nudge" could help.

[slimjim]

Bear in mind, he may have posted a cheque and what with the bank holiday, this is taking longer than usual to get to you. Give him a chance. What's his previous feedback like?

[milly143]

I have given him 8 days, he didn't respond to the invoice, my e-mail, a reminder from ebay and did not return a call, I would have thought after all this, if he had sent a cheque he might have just replied to let me know he had done so. He does have some negative (some positive also) saying that he has not paid. I've given up on him now, reported it as unpaid and gone for the second chance offer. Thanks for your suggestions guys.

[Adampy]

Did you place a note in your payment instructions ie "Payment must be received within 3 days" If so, then dont bother with him/her and relist. Then file a non-payer report with ebay. If he/she wasn't able to pay within the said time period, he/she shouldn't have bid on the item in the first place. Should you relist the item, your first listing price can be refunded to you.

[kazza12345]

I know this wont help you now, but in future, on your listings put a sentance something like "please contact/pay me within 7 days of item ending, or i will relist and report you as a non paying bidder"

then you wont feel like you are hassling, asyou have clearly stated your terms

[Gef]

Probably realised that he (oe she) can buy one cheaper in the shops.

[gerry]

milly,you could send him/her another email saying that payment should be sent within the next 5 days & if no payment is sent then the iPod is being sold to someone else & negative feedback will be left.

[milly143]

gef - as its the 1GB one then you cant get it cheaper then 85 quid in the shops, goes for about 100. Well I habe put it back up now if anyone wants it, but you'll have to find it!

[MargeB]

Second chance offers are hard to use, because many people assume they may be getting scammed (it happens).

If the item is valuable enough, you could consider court action. Many people bid then don't pay, thinking that it's fine, when in fact the seller is left high and dry. They may think twice if they knew the contract was enforceable. This fact, and some dodgy sellers, is doing Ebay real damage. Check out their stock price.

You can threaten court action, and you would win. It's a contract.

[milly143]

Thanks MargeB and everyone else for your answers. The second chance offer didn't work so I have now relisted the item but this time clearly stated a time in which payment needs to be received and that I will leave negitive feedback for time wasters. To be honest I can't be bothered with the hassle of legal stuff for the sake of 85 odd quid. It is good to know you can do that though. I put it back up yesterday and have 12 watchers already so hopefully there will be some genuine bidders in there.