Non-Paying Bidder Changes
Change to the Non-paying bidder policy
In the next few weeks, eBay will tighten the Non-paying bidder policy. Please check the announcement board periodically for the exact launch date:
The Change to the Non-paying bidding Policy
eBay's existing Non-paying bidder policy states that members will be indefinitely suspended from using eBay when 4 warnings are received from unique sellers. This change will tighten the rule so that members will be will be indefinitely suspended from using eBay after 3 warnings are received.
How will this change affect existing members who have already received Non-paying bidder warnings?
Members with one to two warnings from a unique seller will be subject to the new policy.
Members with three warnings from unique sellers will be subject to the existing policy, i.e., the account will be suspended indefinitely after receiving the 4th warning from another unique seller. These accounts have been suspended for 30 days per the existing policy.
While you are suspended, please be advised that you are prohibited from using eBay in any way, which includes registering under a new account name or using another account. It is important to note that if an attempt is made to re-register and use eBay, it may result in the permanent suspension of your eBay account(s), which will not allow for a future reinstatement.
As our User Agreement explains, if you are the high bidder on any item you are expected to honor your bid and are obligated to buy the item. Our Non-Paying Bidder Policy exists to help us enforce our User Agreement with respect to non-paying bidders and helps to keep eBay a safe place to trade. Learn more about eBay's Non-Paying Bidder Policy.
If you believe you have received a Non-Paying Bidder warning in error, please review the Non-Paying Bidder appeal instructions.
If you paid for the item, please ask the seller to fill out a Non-Paying Bidder Warning Removal.
Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay your account balance due. Please use the links below to check your balance and make an immediate payment.
posted on June 23, 2001 04:55:17 PM new
It doesn't state specifically, does the second warning now result in a 30 day suspension?
[ edited by sandvet on Jun 23, 2001 04:56 PM ]
posted on June 23, 2001 05:19:23 PM new
I think it's great that eBay is doing this. One question I have, however, is that twice during the several years I have been doing business on eBay, I have been mistakenly sent Reminder to Pay Seller e-mails from sellers. Both times payment had already been made--and, in fact, I had already received the merchandise!
I'm not sure now whether I received NPB warnings or just an alert to pay the seller. If I have two warnings then I could be in serious trouble if one more seller errs in the future (I will always pay my sellers).
I never did anything about these eBay e-mails, besides respond to the seller with "I already paid you, here is the information, etc., etc." I no longer have the information on these incidences that eBay requires to have them removed, if indeed they are on my "record".
Maybe someone can tell me what an NPB looks like so it might jog my memory as to whether I got one (or two). I know I only got one e-mail from eBay in each of the two incidents. If you get an NPB will you have received several e-mails from eBay?
Isn't there somewhere on eBay where we can check to see what is on our record?
I hope sellers are careful regarding this sort of thing. I've never dealt again with the sellers who sent non-payment warnings and will not do so. I didn't leave negative or neutral feedback, however.
posted on June 23, 2001 05:51:44 PM new
As usual ebay throws us a bone, a tiny scrap of one, a plastic one. it really feels like they aree giving us the bone instead of throwing it....the new policy is a JOKE........basically you get 3 warning instead of 4.........WOW, that will stop all the games i bet.......what a joke, the policy should be 2 times and you are gone, no excuses, no BS.........
posted on June 24, 2001 06:12:59 AM new
I love this new NPB policy!
I'm thrilled that eBay is FINALLY looking to the bidders for being responsible for their own bidding/buying activity.
someone asked what would happen if you already have 2 NPBs.
It is my understanding that eBay will send out educational emails for folks with 2 and 3 previous NPBs as a means of informing them of their current status and educating members about how they can remain in good standing.
Regardless... it is MY OPINION that ANYONE who thinks they might have previously (even accidently) received NPB warnings (even if they are wondering if that NPB "reminder" was actually a warning or not) should TAKE THE TIME TO CONTACT EBAY NOW WITH QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR OWN ACCOUNT STATUS.
tmarieb: I strongly encourage you to eMail eBay support NOW and get some answers to the questions you posted earlier in this thread.
If you have OLD previous "accidental" NPB Warnings... you might not know you're sittin' on the edge of a 30 suspension until you receive another NPB (out of the blue or for whatever reason) and then it's too late! Better to find out EXACTLY what the NPB status of YOUR account is and work out any discepancies NOW.
As long as BIDDERS take responsibility for THEIR bidding/buying activity and take responsibility for FOLLOW UP correspondence for THEIR OWN ACCOUNTS, this New NPB policy shouldn't be a problem for ANYONE.
This new NPB Policy is a major HELP for SELLERS, since I believe it will assist with weeding out the Cherry-Picking, Deadbeat, Sport Bidders MUCH SOONER!
posted on June 24, 2001 06:44:06 AM new
I agree this is good news for sellers! Three strikes seems like a good number to me . . . I am currently waiting to hear from a slow responder (deadbeat?) who has three negatives from sellers who state he never responded or paid . . . it will be interesting to see if he gets zapped in the next day or so, as I assume he will if those sellers also carried through with the NPB process?
tmarieb, I believe if you received only *one* email from eBay in those cases, that you are okay - I think that would be just the reminder to pay seller, which does not count against you. I think you'd have gotten another email if the seller had filed for a refund of fees. Perhaps Dottie or someone can verify that??
posted on June 24, 2001 07:07:12 AM new
I suppose it's something.... 3 instead of 4. NOW if only eBay would not allow deadbeats or potential deadbeats to leave negative feed back they would be doing something really constructive. I know a lot more deadbeats would be turned in! I know... NPB.
Still like eBay's original words. Dead beat.
But of course that was back when eBay was FUN.
posted on June 24, 2001 07:29:00 AM new
kudzorose: That is the way it's suppose to happen (regarding the NPB Alerts Vs. NPB Warnings)
But GLITCHES apparently DO occur within the system, and if it were ME and MY ACCOUNT in question, I'd be eMailing eBay NOW to make SURE what my status (NPB tick level?) is... and KEEP THE CORRESPONDENCE so that there would be no questions in future dealings IF it ever came up.
As a BIDDER/BUYER, that would be the RESPONSIBLE thing to do. (I think)
posted on June 24, 2001 07:32:51 AM new
tigressofluv
once again you can't see the forest for the trees
rip off sellers are not being stopped by feedback fro those wronged, all they would have to do then i make their FB private. a sign of trouble, to most yes, but people would still bid.
blocking Fb for deadbeats would be a great service, but ebay would have to set up some guidelines so proof of deadbeatness could be shown. what those guideline should be is another question.
i would say over 80% of retalitory Fb for sellers is from deadbeats. no i do not have anyproof to back that up, other than my own fb, over 1000 pos. and 17 negs, ALL FROM DEADBEATS who retaliated my neg to them......
it seems to me you have not been in the game very long and don't really comprehend the reality of ebay...this is not a personalattack but merely an observation based on this and other posts, especially the garfield and tweety ordeals.
posted on June 24, 2001 08:01:24 AM new
truthseeker: Maybe one way would be to postpone feed-back til deadbeat issue resolved. If they get their black mark then they could not leave the feed-back. As far as the "other" post is concerned....I feel I don't need to answer to people that don't know what's going on. Waste of time.
posted on June 24, 2001 08:15:57 AM new
rags too
you are correct sir about answering to those in left field....but i must say when there is time to sapre it can be quite entertaining.
posted on June 24, 2001 10:49:27 AM new
I'm with ragstoo on this one. As the recipient of 7 retaliatory negs from a deadbeat bidder who failed to pay over $700 in auctions he'd won, I believe jerks who do not honor their payment obligations have relinquished their right to leave feedback on that auction. Granted, there may always be some extenuating circumstances...perhaps some sort of review could be instituted. But, since feedback is "transaction" related, it seems to me that once an NPB has been filed by the seller on that transaction, the "non-payer" should be barred from making a negative comment on that transaction. Even though this incident happed almost 6 months ago and I wrote a response to each of the retaliatory "negs", that big red "8 negatives" is STILL up there at the very top of my feedback history...and it still rankles!
posted on June 24, 2001 11:08:19 AM new
On the surface, I would agree that it seems unfair to allow for NPBs to leave feedback... but since the system is automated... that could put HONEST BUYERS at risk of NPB abuse in addition to Fraud and other unpleasant dealings within the venue.
Example:
Buyer bids on and wins the item. Buyer promptly pays for the item, but the item never arrives. Buyer contacts seller regarding the where-abouts of the item... seller "responds" by filing an NPB.
If the filing of an NPB alert (or even the finalizing with an official NPB warning) were to automatically prevent the other party from sharing any feedback... HOW would they let others within the community KNOW about a possible fraudulent seller?
OR... say the buyer pays for the item and the seller ships. The buyer gets the item but is not happy (due to either his own error in not reading the description OR the sellers misleading discription)... Buyer contacts seller to work it out before leaving feedback... seller FILES NPB on the buyer.
I can see where there is a risk of abuse of the NPB feature, and unless (or until) eBay can be made aware of a viable solution... for their "hands off" approach to encouraging HONEST trading within it's venue, I'm afraid we're going to be stuck with the FEEDBACK ABUSE. (at least THAT doesn't COST eBay anything).
posted on June 24, 2001 11:34:28 AM new
Dottie...I agree there could be some circumstances where an NPB could be filed by a "shady" seller. In those cases, certainly the buyer should also have some venue to express his dissatisfaction. That's why I suggested a possible "review" of the total situation. I, for one, wouldn't mind "jumping through a few hoops" (filling out an "on-line" form explaining in detail the NPB action, for example) in order to eliminate retaliatory negs. It certainly would be nice, since eBay is revising/updating its current NPB policy, if they'd correct this one glaring flaw in their feedback system.
posted on June 24, 2001 12:32:24 PM new
blueyes29: I know what ya mean! *smile*
And I've definitely made those very same statements a time or two to the PTB at eBay, because retaliatory feedback on sellers who are merely attempting to regain a portion of their fees from an NPB situation is one my pet peeves too!
But basically, eBay prefers to use the "we're only a venue" stance... and the solution you (and I) offered would - at some point - require eBay to get involved via a judgement call on the situation. That's something that eBay wants to avoid.
SOOooo while the idea of not allowing NPBs to leave retaliatory feedback during the NPB process would probably help honest sellers attempting to rightfully recover their final value fees and place an earned NPB tick on deserving deadbeats... it would also prvent honest buyers from rightfully expressing their experience with the seller via the voluntary FEEDBACK forum.
I still agree that eBay should FIND a way of removing the risk of blatant retaliatory feedback... but the all around FAIR solution for EVERYONE just hasn't presented itself.... YET!
posted on June 24, 2001 12:43:04 PM new
eBay wrote...
While you are suspended, please be advised that you are prohibited from using eBay in any way, which includes registering under a new account name or using another account. It is important to note that if an attempt is made to re-register and use eBay, it may result in the permanent suspension of your eBay account(s), which will not allow for a future reinstatement.
Could someone please tell me how they can enforce this one?
Last month I had a winner on 22 of my auction...well as we were
trying to collect....other sellers submitted NPB claims
and she became a NARU with in hours ....she resurfaced one week later
with a new ID new user info....I know it was her because
many of the items she bid on was the same as before and her ISP
was the same.....luckily I spotted her can canceled her bids...
I just looked her up a few minutes ago.....Guess what ? she’s NARU
once again.....
.
ONE LOVE.......
EBAY ID
JUMPIN*JACK
.
[ edited by jumpinjacko on Jun 24, 2001 12:44 PM ]
posted on June 24, 2001 03:22:49 PM new
Jeez...I'll drag out that old saw..."You'd think if we can put a man on the moon, we'd be able to figure out a fair and equitable feedback system"! Of course, in order to solve a problem, there has to be the "will" to do so and apparently, eBay doesn't think this is a big enough problem. Maybe if all of us who'd received unfair retaliatory negs wrote Meg and she received a deluge of mail, we'd convince her. As a matter of fact, this issue has gotten me all steamed up (again) and I've just written...letter goes out in the mail tomorrow. We'll see...
posted on June 24, 2001 06:15:29 PM new
To my delight, a lying NPB was suspended. I had been after her for 5 weeks to pay, she kept promising to pay but never did.
I relisted the item and sold it. After she was suspended, she then paid with PayPal and wanted me to remove the NPB claim.
I said sorry, she was given ample time to pay, and I had already sold the item. She remains suspended and unable to bid.
posted on June 24, 2001 10:13:59 PM newMaybe if all of us who'd received unfair retaliatory negs wrote Meg and she received a deluge of mail, we'd convince her.
Ok. Understand the reality. Resolving disputes is expensive and no one wants to pay for it.
In that context, eBay would be willing to do almost anything that they thought would work. They're sympathetic to the victims of retaliatory negs, particularly from NPB's. However, it's not that they haven't thought through the scenarios. They have thought them through, and none of them work.
[ edited by roofguy on Jun 24, 2001 10:15 PM ]
posted on June 25, 2001 05:19:43 PM new
Thank you all so much for the advice. I will contact eBay as soon as I can locate an e-mail address so that I can find out what my history shows.
