Dealing with Deadbeat Bidders

From: Brent Crouch
Monday, 9:41 p.m.

Hello Friend,

Nothing irks me more than seeing someone place a winning bid on an auction and then watching as that winning bidder refuses to pay for the item they bid on. In general, these eBay buyers (or "non-buyers" as it were) are referred to as deadbeat bidders. Unfortunately, there are a number of deadbeat bidders on eBay causing headaches for many of the eBay sellers. If you want to avoid taking a beating from these cretins, there are some things you need to know.

Every time you list an auction on eBay it costs you money. When a deadbeat bidder bids on your auction, they are not only wasting your time, but they could be wasting your money as well. When a bidder doesn't pay for something they bid on, you can file an unpaid item dispute and then request a final value fee credit. If the bidder doesn't pay for the item, the final value fee gets credited to your eBay account. At that time you can also re-list your auction and if the item sells, eBay will refund the additional listing fee. However, if your auction doesn't have a winning bidder the second time around, the deadbeat bidder has cost you the amount of the auction's listing fee.

There are a few tips and tricks you can implement to avoid having deadbeat bidder issues. First, edit your seller settings. In your eBay account under your seller preferences, you can edit your buyer requirements. This function allows you to block bidders with a feedback of -1 or less and bidders with more than two unpaid item disputes in the past thirty days from bidding on your auctions. Doing this can cut out a lot of the deadbeat bidder riffraff.

You may also want to implement a zero-feedback policy in your auction descriptions. Oftentimes, requiring bidders with zero feedback to contact you prior to placing a bid will discourage deadbeat bidders from bidding on your auctions. If a zero-feedback bidder places a bid without contacting you, send them a message asking them to confirm their bid via email. If they don't respond, cancel their bid and block them from placing future bids on your auctions.

While these steps won't absolutely guarantee that you'll never have a problem with a deadbeat bidder throughout your time on eBay, they will definitely put a dramatic dent in the number of deadbeat bidder issues you experience.

If you have any questions, please email me at support@jillianentertainment.com.

Sincerely,