eBay time wasters

[CanucksTraveller]

So this has happened to me a few times and I wonder why people do it.

The other day I posted a really nice, 3 months old mint condition child's bike on eBay with a desired price in mind of at least £100, (older, well used ones go for 80-90), reserve was set at £90. Local collection only, payment by PayPal.

Within 2 hours someone local with an okay ish history (some years, a slack handful of purchases) made an offer of 100 and I accepted. I ended the auction, invoiced, and messaged him to say once payment was received I'd supply address and phone to arrange collection. A few hours later he messaged back and said "I'll collect tomorrow".
No payment has been received, no mention of payment, and no further contact since. He could have paid instantly in the time it took to type "I'll collect tomorrow". I know from experience that this kind of buyer has no intention of paying.

I know that I simply report him for non payment, and he gets some form of warning (judging by previous time wasting experiences they're not banned), but does anyone know why people do it? What can they possibly get out of it? It's a faff for me as I now have to relist and eventually get paid further down the line. It's blimming frustrating behaviour.

 

[Globalti]

People do it because their lives are chaotic and disorganised and they are incompetent and have not been educated about the importance of keeping your word. They flit from project to project without actually finishing anything because they lack the willpower to see it through. We have a neighbour who is lovely but her house and garden are a mess because she's incapable of finishing anything; we know that because we see her occasional garden blitzes, which never get finished.

We have sold about 250 items on Ebay including a few bikes and only ever had a couple of problems but maybe that's because the suff we have been selling has had quite limited appeal, a pair of ski climbing skins for example or a used derailleur, the kinds of things that would only interest somebody with a very specific requirement. I've never used any other auction site but I've heard some pretty bad reports about Gumtree, for example, especially relating to phones and computers.

 

[Spiderweb]

It is really frustrating, I was selling a friends Trek eMTB with a starting price of £2k, only one person bid but never made contact. The same bike was relisted with more bidders this time and sold for £2,440, the winning bidder then contacted me and said he only had £1600, he then upped his offer to £1800!, unbelievable.
The bike did sell on the 3rd listing for the £2k starting price.

 

[welsh dragon]

Because they can and because they are sad lonely, pathetic human beings that like to be unpleasant and cause problems and upset to other people. These type of people seem to be more prevalent over the last couple of years.

Make sure you complain to eBay. He deserves it.

I hope you have better luck the next time you advertise the bike.

 

[Mfezela]

I have a tent listed for £120. Received message, not official offer, for £30! I refused, stating my minimum. He/she replied with increased maximum of £50 stating "I don't really want it anyway". ????

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The same bike was relisted with more bidders this time and sold for £2,440, the winning bidder then contacted me and said he only had £1600, he then upped his offer to £1800!, unbelievable.

That's appalling behaviour.
Do you have any knowledge of what happens to these people when you report it to eBay? I've had it about 4 or 5 times in maybe 10 years and around 100 transactions and yet they always keep their account intact. You can't even leave negative feedback because the transaction never completed. I think it's such a basic piece of clear dishonesty and breach of agreement that it should be an immediate ban, sadly it never is.

 

[Spiderweb]

That's appalling behaviour.
Do you have any knowledge of what happens to these people when you report it to eBay? I've had it about 4 or 5 times in maybe 10 years and around 100 transactions and yet they always keep their account intact. You can't even leave negative feedback because the transaction never completed. I think it's such a basic piece of clear dishonesty and breach of agreement that it should be an immediate ban, sadly it never is.

I never reported this to eBay as I doubted anything would be done.
As you say it is absolutely appalling behaviour.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Some people always try it on - bid £x - then offer to just pay 3/4 of it - some people advertise on ebay because they are desperate and feel they need to accept it
so they think they can get away with it and try it again
I had the same thing on Gumtree - put an ebike up for £400 - got an immediate interest who said he would buy it - then said he would only pay £200
When I refused and told him I would not accept - he became quite insulting - said I was lucky to have something worth £400 to sell and should be grateful for him making an offer of £200
Which suggest that he accepts it was worth £400 - but that anyone putting something up for sale must be desperate and he is quite entitled to offer half of what I ask - and I am being unreasonable in not accepting it

made me think about how people operate - looking for desperate people and how to make a profit from them

 

[Profpointy]

So this has happened to me a few times and I wonder why people do it.

The other day I posted a really nice, 3 months old mint condition child's bike on eBay with a desired price in mind of at least £100, (older, well used ones go for 80-90), reserve was set at £90. Local collection only, payment by PayPal.

Within 2 hours someone local with an okay ish history (some years, a slack handful of purchases) made an offer of 100 and I accepted. I ended the auction, invoiced, and messaged him to say once payment was received I'd supply address and phone to arrange collection. A few hours later he messaged back and said "I'll collect tomorrow".
No payment has been received, no mention of payment, and no further contact since. He could have paid instantly in the time it took to type "I'll collect tomorrow". I know from experience that this kind of buyer has no intention of paying.

I know that I simply report him for non payment, and he gets some form of warning (judging by previous time wasting experiences they're not banned), but does anyone know why people do it? What can they possibly get out of it? It's a faff for me as I now have to relist and eventually get paid further down the line. It's blimming frustrating behaviour.

Not to say you're wrong, but every time I've picked something up I've paid cash on collection; ditto selling. I reckon I'd be reluctant to pay up front before collecting, and likewise if selling I understand it's a common-ish scam to pay by paypal, collect, then claim non delivery and get a refund

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Not to say you're wrong, but every time I've picked something up I've paid cash on collection; ditto selling. I reckon I'd be reluctant to pay up front before collecting, and likewise if selling I understand it's a common-ish scam to pay by paypal, collect, then claim non delivery and get a refund

Thanks - good to know - probably best to photo them collecting it then
or get them to sign for collection - but they might be reluctant to do that if they are scammers!

 

[marinyork]

No mention of the phenomenon of buyer's guilt. This is probably applicable to some cases. Buyer's guilt is something that's seen every day in supermarkets on the frozen section where people chuck electronic items, fresh, knives, clothes and tins into the freezer out of sight when they change their minds, often resulting in damage and a loss to the seller.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

No mention of the phenomenon of buyer's guilt. This is probably applicable to some cases. Buyer's guilt is something that's seen every day in supermarkets on the frozen section where people chuck electronic items, fresh, knives, clothes and tins into the freezer out of sight when they change their minds, often resulting in damage and a loss to the seller.

True - especially on auction sites where people get carried away
but in this case I would expect an apology or something - some people just EXPECT - in which case I would expect they have done it before and will do it again - which is different

You do always have to allow for people making a mistake - we have all done that and had to explain it to a spouse (bike - what bike - oh that bike)

 

[Knightly85]

I'd never sell on eBay again, they cost to much. Charge you for listing and something like 10% of final selling price! Other apps like Spock or Facebook you can sell it all for free.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Selling phones on Ebay is a nightmare. A chap bought a Sony off me years ago, no payment, then sent an email with a Lagos address to send to and requesting my bank account details for payment when phone recieved.
The exact same thing happened with an iPhone 4, at which point i gave up.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Why do you want to be paid by Paypal? You have zero protection, somebody walks up to you says they've paid by Paypal, take the item, genuine person turns up no item to give them, you're screwed, genuine person turns up, takes the item, claims they never got the item, you cannot provide provide an electronic tracking number you're screwed, genuine person turns up, takes item, everybody's happy including Paypal whose just screwed you put of another 10%

Paypal & collection is a big no no as far as I'm concerned