The Non-Paying Bidder

Unfortunately, you are likely to encounter a non-Paying bidder somewhere in your business experiences with eBay bidders. eBay provides suggestions to help ensure that your auction goes smoothly, but no matter how hard you try, there are people out there who through inexperience, stupidity, or intention will refuse to pay you. They will generally claim that they didn’t understand the terms or didn’t understand what they were bidding on. 

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If you encounter a non-paying bidder, here are some suggestions for bringing about resolution to your problem:

• Review eBay’s Unpaid Item Process.
• Always communicate with your problem bidders using eBay’s communication tools. NEVER USE ANY OTHER METHOD OF COMMUNICATION. If you do, eBay will not have a record of the attempts you have made to communicate with your non-paying bidder. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use eBay communication tools.
• BEFORE 45 DAYS FROM THE CLOSE OF YOUR AUCTION HAS TRANSPIRED. When you are unsuccessful in your attempts, use eBay’s Report an Unpaid Item Dispute. EBay will remind the bidder of their commitment and obligation to complete the auction.
• The buyer must respond to eBay’s message within 7 days. If they do not respond, you can apply for a Final Value Fee credit and for a free re-list credit.

This proven process has worked in many cases to help the experienced non-Paying Bidder, and will sometimes encourage the reluctant bidder to pay, but there are no guarantees. No mater what transpires, do not pursue receiving feedback on this auction and avoid leaving feedback unless feedback has been left for you first.