posted on March 7, 2003 10:42:53 AM
Hi. The title line says it all. In my terms of auction (IN BIG LETTERS), I state that deadbeats are not to bid. Don'tcha know they bid anyway! So as I promised, I cancel their bids and block their future bids (on THAT id. Who knows how many other fake ID's they might have?). Anyway, it never fails. I always seem to get an e-mail from the cancelled deadbeat that blames everyone for his poor feedback, except of course himself.
So then.... does ebay notify the deadbeats that their bids were cancelled? If yes, it's as though ebay enjoys pitting the sellers that pay ebay against the "bidders" that don't pay.... period.
posted on March 7, 2003 10:52:24 AM
I don't know if Ebay emails them. Block them not only as a bidder on Ebay, but in your email program and move on. Ebay does not pit anyone against anyone else. They have no interest into getting into dramatics. They are just out to make as much money as they can.
It would be courteous of them to inform a bidder his bid was cancelled, but I doubt they would spend the time and energy. Ihave emailed a bidder once to tell them why I cancelled their bid (rating of -4). I didn't hear back, but would have blocked email if I'd thought of it or needed it.
posted on March 7, 2003 10:57:36 AM
If you put them on your bidders block then they can not bid on your auctions in the first place.[With that I.D.]Save your time by blocking their emails also.
posted on March 7, 2003 11:02:03 AM
Are you saying you will not accept a bid from anyone who has a neg for non payment? Regardless of when they received it or why?
Maybe check was lost, maybe seller is one of those people who want payment in 7 days and leave feedback before it arrives...lots of reasons. (And, no, I don't have any negs for nonpayment so I am not defending anyone or anything).
A deadbeat is simply a person who won't pay their oblifgations, whether on Ebay or elsewhere. It doesn't usually means the rare case where a person forgot, or some innocent mistake. A deadbeat in the overall sense of the word doesn't pay their bills.
On Ebay, I define deadbeats as those who never answer your email after the auction, even though their email is good, or who contact you and say the payment is on the way and no payment arrives for two weeks or more, or never arrives. They may or may not have some previous negs for same, or get a pi$$y attitude about trying to change the TOS after they have won, may refuse to pay if you won't do what they want, or other similar situation.
Understand this clearly: There are actually a small percentage of BAD people out there who make a habit of bidding recklessly or frivolously and think they are not obligated. It is matter of personal responsibility. We are talking about irresponsible people, not a good person who makes one error.
This ia not directed at you Linda, and no attack intended. I have noticed there are just a few posters on the boards who always want to give someone the rest of know is committing a crime against others "the benefit of the doubt". There are truly evil people who calculatingly do bad things against others in the world more than they do good. They are a small percentage, but they do exist.
I believe most people are basically good. There are shades of gray. It is not all black and white. Nobody is all good or all bad. One must take each situatiuon at hand an handle it, not apply a "black and white formula".
The ability to perceive what is actually in front of one is a very valuable skill. It allows for proper handling of situations in life. One must constatntly evaluate, not rely on a formula. Sure, one uses guidleines.
If blackjack says he had a deadbeat, I believe him. It's his call.
posted on March 7, 2003 03:54:22 PM
Hello again everyone, and thank you for the replies. Patty, you summed up my feelings perfectly. I really could not have said it better myself. Linda, I see your point also, and thank you for your question regarding what I consider a deadbeat. I check all available online evidence on a potential deadbeat before blocking them, cancelling their bids, or making a value judgement on their reliability. I look at the complete picture, in as short a time as possible because there are so MANY of them that ebay turns a blind eye to. But then again, ebay wants to keep these bidders to keep their "registered members" figures up for public relations purposes and for Wall Street.
By the way, I did indeed get contacted today and cussed out by Mr Deadbeat, which completely confirmed my instincts (and research) all along. I've had to deal with hundreds (yes hundreds and I kept detailed records of them all) of deadbeats over the past few years, and the main things I've learned are 1) Don't plan on ebay helping you no matter what, and 2) Do not reply in kind to the angry or threat making deadbeat, no matter how much you know you could outcuss, outwit, and beat the livin peanuts out of these monkeys.
posted on March 8, 2003 03:22:59 AM
I would like to know what your criteria is that makes them a deadbeat? is it 3 neg feedback, 4, 5 , what?
I have been selling for about 2 years and have only had maybe 3 true deadbeats. do I keep records of them? no, just put them on block bidder list and move on.
do i check feedback of all my bidders? no, some newbies worry me and I check those feedbacks but out of my few true deadbeats they were anything but newbies.
in fact I am dealing with on right now who has over 200 positive feedback but six days after auction I have still not heard one word from them, they are now on my blocked bidder list.
One makes a decision using JUDGEMENT, not a set number. One must observe and decide. I usually don't check a buyers' feedback unless I have trouble after the sale. If I was selling high end merchandise, I would check each bidder during the sale.
One cannot apply a set rule to everything in life. One must use observation and logic and decide for oneself, along some basic rules that are flexible.
That's where responsibility comes in. The more responsible a person is, the more he/she will make decisions based on actual observations in any situation, and decide based on the greatest good.
I apologize because it was not meant to sound combative....it is just that you keep mentioning responsibility and formulas and keys to reasoning...but you never mention what your criteria are?
I will give you a prime example of what I mean;
my mother and sisters and many others advised me to get away from the man I later married, stating that he had no sense of responsibility and would never amount to anything....
well, we have been married for almost 30 years, have nine children and 21 grandchildren. Any woman would give their right arm for a man like the one I married, including all of my sisters and my mother.
Thank god I did not listen to them and gave him a chance to prove himself.
The criteria is trust your own judgement based on what you know and observe. There is no substitute for your personal observation or what you personally know. If you want guidelines, laws and moral codes are a good place to start. They are there to guide people as to proper handling and behavior.
If telling a lie would save one person person from death, it may be worth telling. But life is very complex and one must take each situation one at atime and make a judgement. You do it every day. Like whether to run a red light or not. If you hear a fire engine coming, you move out of the way and don't go trough the light. If you have observed there are no other vehicles or pedestrains, you might instantly decide to go through on yellow.
You can't plan ahead with rules for every possible situation. You handle each as it comes up. You actually do many of these each day already. they can be a simple as "do I take my shower first or eat breakfast now". If you're really hungry, you eat first. Obviously, life gets more complex than that.
One must take responsibilties for the decision and handle the consequences. One can't go through life not making any mistakes. You just try to do the greatest good based on what you can observe and know, and correct you actions when you need to.
In the situation with your husband, listening to your family would have been relying on the observations (perhaps faulty) of others, not relying on your own personal observations and knowing. You did the right thing.
There is no substitute for what you individually personally have found true for yourself. Think for yourself. It's okay to politely listen to the opinions of others. Sometimes they can enlighten you with information you didn't know. But keep your own counsel on what you plan to do in sticky situations and decide based on what you know and observe yourself.
Negative chatter based on opinion (say, that of your family in regards to the hubby) was just that and of no real value. If they knew, let's say, he'd gotten another woman pregnant and left her, that would have been data that should have affected your decision.
You saw something they didn't, and relied on what YOU knew. I'd say you did pretty well.
If you'd like to read some of the books I have (with practical information on the question at hand), email me privately at [email protected] and I'll give you the names and where to get them.
Here is a link to a modern basic guide to one's actions in life that has skyrocketed in popularity in that last few years:
