posted on February 1, 2001 11:17:42 AM new
How paranoid are the rest of you sellers about past NPB's bidding on your stuff? I just checked my newly uploaded auctions and my first NPB has bids on TWO of them. I gave her her one and only negative for non-payment MONTHS ago, after waiting, and waiting, and waiting....for payment. Then the very day the FVF credit was filed, I got an email saying that her puter had been fried and she'd just gotten it fixed. Of course, cynic that I am, I thought "Yeah, right." She has a feedback rating of 80+, with no other negatives and has built that up by about 40 since our last encounter.
What do you think? Should I let it ride, and hope that she honestly wants to buy the stuff, or should I cancel the bids and send the "Don't bid in our auctions" email I should have sent when I filed the NPB? Is there a better way to handle it, without getting retaliatory feedback months after the fact or upsetting a customer who really intends to pay?
posted on February 1, 2001 11:23:08 AM new
I would let it ride. Puter's get fried all the time. And if she has racked up 40 more positives and no negs since yours she is probably telling the truth. Also, if she does win this auction and follows through, you might even consider going back and adding a nice response to the neg you left (completely up to you of course). Bad things do happen to good people and if she is on the up-and-up, she just might turn out to be your new best customer.
Of course if she deadbeats again, it's not my pocketbook being hit so it's really your call. But my advise is to give her the benefit of the doubt this time.
posted on February 1, 2001 11:37:11 AM new
Sounds like a good chance to see if they were lying to you or not, but sounds as if it was a real problem and now have their act together.
I would let it ride.
posted on February 1, 2001 11:39:45 AM new
I recently had the same situation happen.
Months ago i had a bidder who bid on one item of mine...no response to email after 2 weeks. but in that time he bid on a second item of mine so I just waited till the second item was finished and sent another email. He paid for the second by paypal but did not pay for the first. I sent another email reminding him about the first item and said I could give him a break on shipping if both items went out together. Never heard from him. Sent a NPB alert on first item and he responded and said he had not heard from me and figured it was because the reserve had not been met he bought the item elsewhere (item was a no reserve auction!). Both items were pieces to an antique dinnerware set that he obviously collected (had many feedback for that pattern and his me page said he collected that pattern)
I sent him an email inresponse to his contact after the NPB and restated the payment info. He never responded again. I negged him for the one item and gave him a positive for the second.
Last week i had 2 more auctions for the same pattern. He bid on both. One of those I had up for sale was the same piece he had deadbeated on (that he had bought elsewhere). I too pondered cancelling his bid but decided against it. He ended up being outbid on both items but his bid helped push the price up.
I figured that since he had several negs for deadbeating (and ALWAYS had an excuse), he didn't realize he was bidding on an auction from a seller who had negged him.
posted on February 1, 2001 01:00:45 PM new
cix ~ if only it would work that way. Filing multiple FVF against one bidder only counts for 1 strike against them (that is, unless ebay has changed it since last time I looked)
posted on February 1, 2001 01:28:00 PM new
I think the best thing to do is preventative
when someone stiffs you;cc Safeharbor in an email that you don't want them bidding. This way they are NARU'd when they bid again and you tell Safeharbor.
(that is, unless ebay has changed it since last time I looked)