posted on March 24, 2001 09:13:27 PM
A certain seller has posted in all his auctions, words to the effect, "If you have 0 feedback, don't bother bidding" (I'd give an exact quote but it would be too easy to search--gotta make you work a little bit).
I've got an 859 fb rating and this guy isn't getting my bid on anything. In my opinion, a zero fb bidder isn't a bad risk, and we need the influx of new buyers continually. Growth is good. This seller doesn't get it.
So what if the occasional 0 fb bidder doesn't come through. I've had people with 120 feedbacks not come through as well.
posted on March 24, 2001 09:29:31 PM
Yes. Not to mention that a 0 fb bidder could be an underbidder helping to raise the final price of his auction. Just plain stupid.
posted on March 24, 2001 11:55:48 PM
wow...I'm amazed that we don't have the usual suspects here to sing that tired old refrain 'well if he puts it in his listing then tough luck and don't complain about it!' as if anything any seller does is automatically OK....
posted on March 25, 2001 05:28:33 AM
If I did't accept bids from 0 feedback bidders I would be out of business in a hurry. A LARGE number of my bidders have 0 feedback, and (I'm guessing here) 90% of them haven't even attained the awe-inspiring yellow star yet. Of course I'm sure that it's the types of items that I sell that draws so many newbies. But I LOVE 'em.
[ edited by dubyasdaman on Mar 25, 2001 05:29 AM ]
posted on March 25, 2001 06:34:55 AM
Outrageous!
One assumes this seller must have had a zero beside his name at one point. And a buyer took a leap of faith and actually sent money to him anyway. The buyer is certainlly more vulnerable than the seller, the seller holds the item until payment is received. There ought to be a law....
posted on March 25, 2001 07:08:46 AM
How about this one, I abide by all ebay regulations, as the buyer you must contact me within 3 days failure to do so results in apropriate feedback being left, If you have 50 or less feedback I do not accept bids, No Personal checks, No pay Pal, No electronic monies. I reserve the right to hold money orders till I deem it timely to ship. I found this last night when I was searching for some prices before listing. I think the real crazy thing about this statement is he /she starts of with I abide by all ebay rules and states the 3 day contact,and where does it state the buyer must contact the seller? I would not bid with the one you found so I certainly would not bid with this person either.
posted on March 25, 2001 07:13:33 AM
This seller makes me want to borrow Jim Carrey's line, "Loser!"
lattefor2,
In the guidelines for buyers, it does mention to buyers that if they haven't heard from the seller to contact them.
Interestingly, I don't recall ebay stating specifically that the seller MUST contact the buyer..you'd think they'd make it a bit more definate but they don't.
posted on March 25, 2001 07:14:11 AM
lattefor2 - Good grief, that seller doesn't accept bids from anyone with less than FIFTY feedback??? Are they actually selling anything with those terms??
posted on March 25, 2001 08:12:51 AM
I thought I would copy their exact TOS, but apparently I did not. Then I saw Loose cannon's thread and said this is perfect.
Eventer: you are right, it does not state, the seller must contact the buyer. that is rather ambiguous.
Joanne: the seller had 400+ feedback, member since 1998. What I found interesting was they mentioned do not bid if you do not
have feedback of 50 or more, After all that scrutinizing they did not mention 50 positive feedback.
I would like to know when they deem it right to ship after they receive a money order. How Long to Hold a Money order?
So far all my 0 feedback buyers have come through beautifully, I have enjoyed leaving their first feedback for them. They usualy respond with a nice thank you.
posted on March 25, 2001 08:50:35 AM
The zero feedback bidder can be the answer to a seller's prayer. Often overly anxious, too covetous of the item being auctioned, and too caught up in the novelty of eBay, they bid again and again and again in the first days of the auction, driving the other bidders crazy and the selling price ever higher. I have had instances where zero feedback bidders push the bid well over a hundred dollars, only to be outgunned in the last minute by more seasoned bidders. But without the zero feedbacker, the bid never would have climbed that high.
Well worth the risk, in my opinion, as only two or three with zero feedback have ever stiffed me over the years.
posted on March 25, 2001 08:55:25 AM
No, I probably wouldn't bid on such an auction, but it doesn't make me hot under the collar either. It's the seller's business how they want to list something, after all. Will he/she lose business? Yes. But that's the seller's problem, not mine. Will he/she last long with such restrictions? Maybe not. Will he/she tick off people? Certainly. But all that is the seller's problem, not mine.
With eBay there are incredibly few things these days that are so rare that, if there aren't other people selling them concurrently, won't appear again in a couple of days or weeks. That means if a seller has unreasonable demands or prices, it doesn't bother me to walk away from a particular auction without bidding.
When you see such auctions just shrug & smile in the certainty that they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.
posted on March 25, 2001 09:13:07 AM
I have the impression that sellers of certain really hot items, like PlayStation 2, are experiencing a lot of problems with no pays. I can understand why someone in that situation wouldn't want zero feedback bidders for those items. It's hard to run a business if you have to continually relist the same items due to no pays.
posted on March 25, 2001 02:42:19 PM
Frankly I always get a small chill when I see Ended and a 0 feedback top bidder. I know that the overwhelming number of them come through and are often better than my experienced bidders, but many require additional effort as well. Part of the selling game.
This is a FIM* TOS seller and there are plenty more like him.
yet. Of course I'm sure that it's the types of items that I sell that draws so many newbies. But I LOVE 'em.