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Selling iphone on @!!&**#& ebay

S

sdmac

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 2, 2007
53
0
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
 
This would be a good question asked in the ebay fourms...
or perhaps Mr Google would know the answer.
 
sdmac said:
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
Click to expand...

Here is what I do.

Go into your buyer requirements and make sure you set it so it will not allow buyers with more than 2 negative feedbacks, etc (there are a few like this) and make sure you check Must have confirmed paypal address. Then, in your auction in big bold capital letters write "I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ALL BIDS I BELIEVE TO BE FRAUDULENT. BIDDERS WITH 0 FEEDBACK PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING OR YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED!"

This way, if you receive any 0 feedback bids you cancel them right away and other bidders will not be put off because you made it clear in your auction. legit 0 feedback bidders will contact you. I have found that these combo of things have helped me avoid selling iphones on ebay (have sold 2 and about to list a 3rd). Trust me, it will not inhibit the value you get as i just sold my 3g in good condition for $400+
 
sdmac said:
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
Click to expand...

Isn't there an option in the settings when you set up the item for sale?
 
Yeah I hate ebay... posted my phone, it and a 0-feedback-bidder placed a bid with seconds left and won the phone.

But he doesn't pay immediately, even though he JUST bid. He knows he won.

So I send him the invoice and a msg on ebay and he says he's not going to pay because he uses t-mobile.

What a headache. I made a 'second chance offer' to the second highest bidder but no response yet... going to have to repost it I bet :| I was so thrilled with the selling price too.
 
dhy8386 said:
Here is what I do.

Go into your buyer requirements and make sure you set it so it will not allow buyers with more than 2 negative feedbacks, etc (there are a few like this) and make sure you check Must have confirmed paypal address. Then, in your auction in big bold capital letters write "I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ALL BIDS I BELIEVE TO BE FRAUDULENT. BIDDERS WITH 0 FEEDBACK PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING OR YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED!"

This way, if you receive any 0 feedback bids you cancel them right away and other bidders will not be put off because you made it clear in your auction. legit 0 feedback bidders will contact you. I have found that these combo of things have helped me avoid selling iphones on ebay (have sold 2 and about to list a 3rd). Trust me, it will not inhibit the value you get as i just sold my 3g in good condition for $400+
Click to expand...

Gracias. Thanks for the help
 
No, you can only block bidders who have feedback LOWER THEN minus one (-1). Pretty dumb if you ask me.

I always put in "If you have less then or equal to only +2 feedback I will cancel your auction and block your future bids." I've done it many times.


sdmac said:
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
Click to expand...
 
Post it for sale on Craigslist. I did NOT want to use eBay specifically for those "overseas" bidders. I sold my 8gb 3G for $400 unlocked and jailbroken. Granted, I did get a bunch of those assclowns who wanted to pay $700 if I would ship it to their daughter in Nigeria, or their boss in Uganda, but I just ignored those and waited for a true biter. It took less than two days. Those T-Mobile guys are like moths to a flame for the iphone if it's unlocked.
 
Mine is on eBay and ending in a few hours......I don't like the way this is looking LOL.

High bidder is someone with no feedback......:confused:

EDIT: SOB, and located in India! *&%* @#
 
sdmac said:
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
Click to expand...

i made the same mistake
you can block both international AND negative feedback bidders (no 0, just negative)

my first time I had a 0 feedback bidder bid $1000 and never pay (on my first gen+accessories), then for my 3G the winner was from nigeria.

gonna have to relist again
 
Posted on craigslist and all I got was scammers wanting to send a money order but they are located in Africa or somewhere ridiculous.

Not sure why trolls with zero feedback like to ruin auctions. I guess they have nothing better to do.

Okay, I've blocked international bidders as well as people with -2 feedback or more. If anyone places a bid with zero feedback, I am going to automatically cancel their bid.
 
sdmac said:
First listing and winner was an international bidder even though I specifically said I wouldn't ship overseas. My mistake as I didn't block international bidders in my auction. Anyhow, winner claims they lost their credit card and was waiting on the bank to issue another one....whatever.

So I relisted and this time the winning bidder has ZERO feedback. Contacted buyer via email and sent invoice...Natta, nothing, zip.

Is there a way to block people from bidding with zero feedback? Maybe third time is a charm.
Click to expand...

I beleive it is an option.
 
sdmac said:
Okay, I've blocked international bidders as well as people with -2 feedback or more. If anyone places a bid with zero feedback, I am going to automatically cancel their bid.
Click to expand...

Guessing I can not do this with under 24 hours remaining on my auction....
 
Craigslist is the way...

I posted my 16gb 3G on Criagslist Friday when I upgraded and got mostly scammer responses. I won't even entertain the option of a buyer unless they can form a complete sentence. I posted again yesterday and had numerous responses that appeard legit (at least 20 within an hour). I picked the one who seemed the most normal. We met in a very crowded Starbucks and made the exchange. $350 cash, enough to cover my new phone and a new case. :)
 
I wrote "0 FEEDBACK, PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING!" in huge red letters on my listing. Some kid with +1 feedback sent me a message about an hour before listing's end letting me know he "wasn't wasting [my] time" and that he was a "serious bidder." He wins, and sends me another message: "Sorry, I realized I don't have enough money to pay for this iPhone. You would probably be better off relisting it." AGGHHHHH!!! :mad:

Lucky for me, the second-highest bidder (at just $6 less) accepted a second-chance offer. Hooray. :cool:
 
I almost never use the normal auction format. I list as a fixed price with best offer enabled.

If someone wants the item at the listed fixed price they can only end the listing with instant payment via PayPal. My PayPal is configured to only accept payment from users in the US.

If someone wants to make a best offer I can then use that offer's info to look at the buyer's history and see if they "seem" like a legitimate buyer.

The only downside is that if you accept a Best Offer, instant payment is not enforced and the buyer pays at their leisure. This is why I review the feedback rating and comments of those who make offers on my items.

Ebay has turned into a very dangerous place to sell if you don't watch everything very carefully. Just look at all the scams on there with AppleCare plans (speaking of which, do NOT buy from ebay seller FromTheHeartLLC)!
 
Yeah I just went through this last week. My first auction I had about 10 bids and the final bidder had a feedback of 25. So I thought cool it should be ok. The phone sold for $400. Anyhow he doesn't reply back until a day later and makes this excuse that his brother used his computer and placed a unauthorized bid. So I had to relist, lost 2 crucial days in the meantime and sold it the second time for $300 (white 16gb model). Anyhow, second listing went through and I collected the money already. But man......
 
For those who are getting these id10t bidders/winners, make sure you go through the ebay process to hit them as non-paying bidders and get your listing fees back.

People make up all kinds of excuses why they can't/won't pay, but the simple fact is that they are bound by a legal contract to pay if they win. If they do not, then report them to ebay. If they try it enough and get marked as non-paying enough, they may lose their accounts.

That would be good for the rest of us if we can weed the bad buyers out. It's not like we can even leave negative feedback anymore. You can't even leave a "Positive" feedback with negative comments or YOU get in trouble! Ebay is a buyer's market. It would be nice if there were less bad buyers.
 
notjustgc said:
I wrote "0 FEEDBACK, PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING!" in huge red letters on my listing. Some kid with +1 feedback sent me a message about an hour before listing's end letting me know he "wasn't wasting [my] time" and that he was a "serious bidder." He wins, and sends me another message: "Sorry, I realized I don't have enough money to pay for this iPhone. You would probably be better off relisting it." AGGHHHHH!!! :mad:

Lucky for me, the second-highest bidder (at just $6 less) accepted a second-chance offer. Hooray. :cool:
Click to expand...

Bill the little bugger for your listing fees then, and what ever the cost of having to deal with relisting.
 
I think I need to unlock and jailbreak my 2G phone before relisting.

I listed as "Can be unlocked and jailbroken" but I guess I need to step up and do it myself.

I have the 2g with 3.0 virmware installed.

A little nervous on doing this but I think I found the correct link?

http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=4302
 
Block international bids on eBay, and block international payments on paypal. Set the auction up as BuyItNow and not an auction, require immediate payment.

They won't be able to complete the buying process unless they send you the money.

This will weed out most of them as they'll have to send you a legit payment for the full cost of the item before they can attempt to scam you.

If you're selling on Craigslist, hide your e-mail address and require people to text you. In my experience scammers won't text you for whatever reason, they only e-mail.
 
Bono2Beagle said:
I posted my 16gb 3G on Criagslist Friday when I upgraded and got mostly scammer responses. I won't even entertain the option of a buyer unless they can form a complete sentence. I posted again yesterday and had numerous responses that appeard legit (at least 20 within an hour). I picked the one who seemed the most normal. We met in a very crowded Starbucks and made the exchange. $350 cash, enough to cover my new phone and a new case. :)
Click to expand...

I did the exact same thing and got the exact same price. Craigslist has its headaches as well but apart from the few scammers there are more legit people looking to buy plus its always nice to do the exchange in person and walk away with cash in hand :D
 
eBay is a real pain. You can't block zero feedback bidders. You can put all the messages you want in your auction but you can't block the bids. And if they win you are obligated to sell. :(

Also if an auction winner doesn't pay (I had that recently) eBay will refund the listing fee so you can relist for free. I now use buy it now with immediate payment to PayPal required. If they don't pay within a short period it is automatically relisted. Best solution I've come up with. :cool:
 
you guys forgot too that after struggling to get a "real" or "serious" buyer, then you have to jump through the paypal hoops. dont plan on getting your money the instant it is sent:
(From paypal email)

Make sure to ship the item right away, so you'll have access to the funds sooner. We’ll release the hold in 21 days unless you receive a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal on the transaction subject to the hold. We may release the hold earlier if either of the following occurs:

The buyer leaves you positive feedback on eBay.
We confirm that the item was delivered.* We can confirm delivery if you ship the item with USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either use PayPal shipping labels or upload tracking information from the transaction details page. This applies to transactions within the United States.
Click to expand...


I understand protecting the buyer. How about protecting the seller? I have 100% positive feedback and have been a member since 866mHz and a "premier business member" with paypal. Im about to drop them from an option next time. good thing i have a decent job and not worried about getting my money sooner than 21 days later :mad:
 
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