posted on June 30, 2000 02:16:51 PM
I've sold several items on Yahoo and not ONE winning bidder has come through with payment. They either 1) never respond when I send a payment request, 2) act dumb--as though they don't know what to do next (especially when it comes to PayPal; if you can sign up to bid on Yahoo! you can certainly sign up for PayPal) or 3) just give you a line about sending you payment and it never shows. Because Yahoo! is free, there is no incentive or punishment to deadbeat bidders.
posted on June 30, 2000 07:58:47 PM
Does anyone get the feeling that alot of negative posts are going to start popping up here and other "alternative" sites, now that alot of people seem to be leaving the big competitors?
posted on July 1, 2000 01:20:59 AM
Hi! Sorry to hear that. Even though Yahoo is free, your time is not and it must be really frustrating to you. I have only had 2 NPB - one about a year ago and one earlier this year. When I list on Yahoo I usually list books and so I don't know if it has anything to do with what is being sold. When I read your message I thought I would mention that there is a feature in the form that you use to submit the auction that allows you to require the bidder to have entered their credit card information. I haven't used this but wonder if that might help eliminate some of the NPB's. Don't forget to leave them negative feedback to warn other sellers too. I don't get too many bidders there and when I do it is rarely more than one on an item. My overall experience with the buyers have been great. I have bought there too and have had good experiences. I am glad to see a forum for Yahoo auctions here.
posted on July 1, 2000 07:59:33 AM
I understand your frustration BUT, I have been posting on Yahoo since January - have been on eBay since 1996.
1. This is the summer and many irresponsible kids are on line. You will encounter more deadbeats because of this phenomena....but Yahoo isn't alone in this, we have encountered the same problem on eBay....also, most people buying on on-line auctions are buying on impulse - then particularly in the summer they run short of funds because of vacation, entertainment, etc. expenses, and they just turn into "deadbeats" as it is the easiest out to make their funds go further....this is a seasonal problem.
*****
ONCE I got the hang of Yahoo, we did have a high rate of deadbeats, and this isn't an ad, but the fact is, we then tried AUCTIONTAMER, which works with Yahoo, to keep our business records for Yahoo, and within a few weeks our deadbeat ratio began to drop dramatically.
Keep a tight track on your winners, responses, etc. is the key. We added about 8 form letters to the ones already supplied by AUCTIONTAMER, and have made it a habit to keep a close watch on responses.
When our letter of "Congratulations" goes out we asked the "winner" to immediately respond with their full name and shipping address. If that isn't sent in 2 days, we ask a second time. (All of this is as fast as pressing a button, AuctionTamer already has all the information about the given auction, etc.) If we still don't hear after the 2nd, we send a last notice, and then leave negative feedback (which is also just another key stroke).
When a "relationship" between the buyer & seller is established, normally you won't experienced a "deadbeat." 95% of winners respond to our first letter, another 3% respond to the second, and now that leaves only 2%, and of them only 1/2 of 1% may turn into deadbeats. Some don't respond because they are paying by PayPal, and decide that we will get their name and shipping information when we receive their PayPal notice.
I have seen the FANTASTIC difference in our completed sales on Yahoo since we started using AUCTIONTAMER.....we use eBud for eBay, although I prefer the AUCTIONTAMER system over eBud....and the support from Mike at AUCTIONTAMER has been outstanding.
posted on July 1, 2000 11:56:05 AMjwpc I'll second that! I've had very good luck with Yahoo! buyers but I'm sure it varies depending on the type of item you sell. I LOVE AuctionTamer. It has some little quirks but the support is amazing and very quick!!! Ya know, I think we should be getting some sort of bonus as much as we promote this program, don't you jwpc?
posted on July 1, 2000 03:03:09 PM
petpost: Are you still around?
I asked you in another messagethread, too, if you happened to sell pet supplies.
Cuz this past half year, the big online petsupplies-etailers have been having one big ol' battle, trying to capture marketshare. Indeed, one of the big names gave out around a dozen FREE $15 coupons good for anybody, not just first-time customers, and you weren't restricted to just one coupon, so I would be surprised if alotta netizens got enuff petfood and pet toys and treats and stuff for the next year, at least.
You might get MORE than the usual number of deadbeats on Yahoo if you're selling things that kids collect (like Pokemons), or you might have just had a string of bad luck.
My deadbeats seem to come in bunches---I'll have a month with none, then a month with 9-10% of auction bidders not pay me. On Yahoo I sell mostly new nonfiction books (like Peggy, though perhaps not the same KINDS of books), and she's been VERY, VERY LUCKY to have only had two deadbeats (out of how many total sales, I wonder??????). JWPC is ALSO very, very fortunate with a deadbeat rate of only .5%.
I'm currently selling 75-80 items a month on Yahoo (out of about 250 constant listings), which is half my number of sales early this year, and one-third the sales I had last fall (though recently changing my listings to "buy price" and "first bid wins" has helped my sales REMARKABLY). Retail sales everywhere have been declining for months, and online auctions are no exception. Add the summer sales slump and kids at home from school looking for "fun" on the computer, and you end up with a high number of deadbeats.
I average 5-7% deadbeats on Yahoo out of total auctions with bids. No number of "reminder" emails sent to bidders or "threats" to bidders of being cancelled or being given bad feedback has changed that percentage in the 10 months I've been on Yahoo. These are mostly adults that, for whatever reason, don't pay for their auction winnings. It's so common that I don't leave bad feedback if they decline the purchase RIGHT AWAY (with assorted "catastrophe" excuses like fires, accidents, and loss of job) instead of leaving me hanging for weeks, or if they CLAIM to have sent the payment and I never get it (more common for international buyers--and hard to categorize as "deadbeats".
Since I usually have duplicates of my listings, I relist immediately upon auction's close. When the winner of one of my "single" items doesn't pay within about three weeks (and three emails), I cancel them and relist...sooner if they don't answer email AT ALL or have recent "no-pay" feedback. Other sellers give buyers MUCH LESS TIME to pay---that's up to you and your situation.
It's VERY IMPORTANT to leave negative feedback for Yahoo deadbeats. If already registered to bid without a credit card, they'll have to register WITH a card when negs accumulate. Yahoo is also requiring some NEW users to register with a card, though I'm not sure exactly what their new policy is on that. Does anyone know????
Just remember, your deadbeat bidders could have been on ebay auctions, and you'd be out listing/gallery/whatever fees in addition to your time and trouble. Ebay sellers are having MAJOR problems with no-pays, too---just check their boards.
posted on July 1, 2000 08:16:14 PM
Granee, I was reading Yahoo's new policy on buyer credit card confirmation. It says that if you are a new user and are bidding on multiple auctions you will need to submit credit card info. Now I'm not sure what "multiple" auctions means because I signed up and bid on 3 items within an hour, then 3 more the next day and it never asked me for credit card verification. My credit card wasn't on file yet for selling, either. Hmmmm.
posted on July 1, 2000 09:30:18 PM
Hi! I thought I better post again as to not make my post seem so misleading to others. Hi granee - you brought up a good point. I have very limited experience with Yahoo but overall it has been good. I first tried it out last summer and listed a small quantity of items. I checked my closed auction list and the most recent i have is from January of this year. Last summer I think I sold 5 not counting the one that didn't pay at least these are the items that come to mind. I gave up on yahoo and then posted some items again in January. Since January I have only sold 25 items. So perhaps it is not a very good ratio. I have mostly sold on ebay but am not what you would call a steady seller. I think the most items I have ever had listed on Yahoo at a given time was 50 but usually it is much less. I like the fact that there is no fees to sell. I certainly would like to see more bidders over there as well as a number of other changes such as better bid increments and a category for history books - when I list I list way too many items under the category of other in the book section - how about you? I did send them an email with that suggestion and was sent an email that it would be taken under consideration. When I saw that new categories were added I was at first excited but then very disappointed when I went to check it out. Well, I am hoping to get very motivated this coming week and list on ebay and Yahoo. My user id on yahoo is pages_from_the_past and on ebay it is peggloria. granee, do you sell on ebay too. My sales have dropped there. It used to be about 3 out of 4 and now it seems to be about half on the first go around. I only have 3 inexpensive travel books up right now and I have no clue if travel books sell.
azrae - hi! Are you by any chance from Arizona. I am in North Phoenix.
It is certainly nice to find a board to discuss Yahoo auctions and nice to meet all of you.
posted on July 1, 2000 09:46:23 PMWallypog Where exactly did you see that? I looked & I can't find it, do you have a URL? It would be great if they enforced it.
Have you ever gotten a Yahoo wallet, maybe from Yahoo Shopping? Then they would already have your CC info on file.
posted on July 2, 2000 12:11:02 AM
WALLYPOG, when I registered on Yahoo about last August no credit card was required, and I've never paid to "feature" anything, so they don't have my card number. If a new user can bid on 6 items in 24+ hours (like you did) and Yahoo doesn't qualify that as "bidding on multiple auctions", then WHAT DOES??? A new policy does no good if they don't ENFORCE it.
PEGGY, if you've had 31 Yahoo auctions close "successfully" between last summer and now with 2 no-pays, then you've had 6-7% deadbeats, which is about the SAME overall NPB percentage I'VE had on Yahoo. I've seen people post that 1/3 (or more) of their Yahoo winners are no-pays, but I think that may be related to the types of items they're selling.
I sell new price guides and special-interest nonfiction books, and I try to NEVER list them in the book category (same with ebay). I put them in the SUBJECT category (so a Barbie doll price/ID guide will be under Barbie dolls). As far as I'm concerned, LACK OF APPROPRIATE CATEGORIES is Yahoo's BIGGEST WEAKNESS. I have antiques and collectibles I don't list on Yahoo because there's not an appropriate category to put each one in, and my experience with ebay taught me the RIGHT CATEGORY for the listing is ESSENTIAL (especially since Yahoo's SEARCH isn't as good as ebay's).
Selling half your listings the first go-round on ebay is probably very typical now, unless you're GIVING the stuff away or you have RARE/VERY DESIRABLE items (or BOTH). Every few months I put some books on ebay to "test the waters", and about half sell (most with one LOW bid). Sell rates for relisting has gotten so bad I don't even bother (it was different when ebay's relist was FREE). Of course, I research current and closed ebay listings before listing mine, to see what the competition has, and it's not encouraging to find closed auctions with BARGAIN opening prices and not a bid in sight.
Half.com isn't helping things, either (you might want to list some of your newer books there, if the list price is high and competition is low).
A few suggestions: 1)Copy a nice, big, crisp book scan from Amazon.com when you can, so you won't have to make your own (saves lots of time); 2)SCAN the book front and (when necessary) pages rather than using a camera--it's faster and better quality, and you can crop out all the background BEFORE making the final scan; 3)If you don't know the value of an older or out-of-print book, research it on barnesandnoble.com (as well as ebay). You'll see how much used bookstores are selling it for, and you can list it on Yahoo with a reasonable price. 4)Sell internationally. I sell a LOT to foreign bidders.
Ebay's heyday is over for "ordinary" listings. You might as well save the fees and list your "everyday" collectibles on Yahoo. Then again, if you know the value of your better/rarer items, you can try listing them on Yahoo, too, and save the fees on those as well. Maybe if we ALL did that, Yahoo would have all the high-end listings that ebay has!!!
posted on July 2, 2000 06:15:46 AM
I have to agree with VeryModern somewhat. As someone who only bids, I have been seeing more good items to bid on at Yahoo, not yet up to the amount of ebay, but seems to me to be improving.
I have won about 30% of the last few auctions from yahoo and have never had a problem.
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on July 2, 2000 12:51:38 PM
VeryModern observed, "Let's just hope they don't merge."
~ ~ ~
Ya know, everything's entirely diff for me, nowadays, particularly in so far as my psychological approach to the entire Net. I have a real detachment, even when I surf across fascinating websites, it's just ho-hummmmmmmmm. So much has changed for the worse on the web, I won't invest even one molecule of emotional investment on ANYTHING associated with the entire worldwide web.
I realized how much I'd changed months ago, when I happened to switch teevee channels and came to an interview with Yahoo's Jerry Yang.
What he stated, in answer to the interviewer, really startled me, and I discussed it later with dh, as it was the first I'd heard, but as I'd *known* it myself for a couple years, I finally was substantiated by an "Expert."
Was all the right ingredients for a "Stockholm Scenario" where psychologically you end up being in great gratitude to someone whom your inner self registers as having "rescued" you.
Nope.
Ain't gonna be NO fan of Jerry Yang or of Yahoo, cuzza all this Internet changes & changes & changes to benefit big e-Biz and corporate ameriKa. YAWN, yawn, yawn.
I don't trust NONE of 'em, not a one of 'em, although I do still respect some of the techies.....
posted on July 2, 2000 01:41:17 PM
Yes there are a lot more deadbeat bidders in Yahoo than eBay but guess what, I guarantee you they are all from the same idiots. Last few weeks, I've been getting deadbeats from eBay more frequently than in Yahoo.
It was very frustrating for me in Yahoo at first. But once I got over the fact that there will be idiots everywhere, I found it extremely pleasant to use Yahoo.
I hate to share with you guys all my secrets . All I do now is relist & forget about e-mailing the bidder 3-4 times. Hey if he doesn't pay, big deal. My deadbeat rate went down a lot after I started to ignore those buffons. Like I said, I bet they are all from the same person & once you don't give him the attention he needs, he is gone.
In truth now, I get more deadbeats in eBay than in Yahoo because all the Yahoo deadbeats know, they are not going to get the attention they need from me.
posted on July 2, 2000 02:45:05 PM
comic123: I thank YOU so much for adding your comments to this thread! I'd like to know something, however; do you send the NPB any "reminder" email, whatsoever?
Or, do you simply wait to see if the NPB responds to your EOA winner's notification?
And, also, please tell me precisely how long do you wait, before you re-list?
posted on July 3, 2000 06:18:36 AM
Radh, I have on occasion e-mail the bidder a 2nd time asking him politely is he is still interested in the auction. Usually a deadbeat won't even bother reply which is fine by me because I really don't want to here his story about why he can't pay me. The cute poodle getting knock down & needing medical attention gets pretty darn lame after 2/3 times.
I relist an item 24 hours after it closes. I have so many repeat buyers & I get bids everyday. But my sales in Yahoo are small though in terms of the dollar value. Some of the guys here are really doing well I see.
posted on July 3, 2000 12:00:12 PM
Comics123, so you are saying that if I bid on one of your auctions and didn't contact you within 24 hours of the EOA you would send me one e-mail reminder, then relist? What if I didn't get my e-mail checked for a day or two? I would be very disappointed if I had won the bid only to find it re-listed 24 hours after it ended.
Some people don't check their e-mail every 12 hours like many of us (especially auction sellers) do.
posted on July 4, 2000 03:06:17 PM
Not only is the deadbeat ratio higher but the rudeness is way higher. When I first started many wouldn't even email me, they'd put a message in my feedback that they haven't heard from me (under a neg or nuetral). Look, the rules state the buyer must contact the seller within three days, not the other way around. I wait for that first contact, and if I don't get it I send an email asking if they're still interested in the item. If no response within three more days, then I neg them. I don't waste anymore time.
The lying is bad, too. "I sent my money order!" Come on, three people all saying the same thing in a week and the payments all got lost. That is really farfetched. Then I tell them to do a trace on the money order and never hear from them again.
The overall picture I see of a Yahoo buyer in general is of a "consumer vigilant." The one who wants to save the world by leaving negs if you don't act like the "perfect" seller by contacting them right away and stroking their head, "nice buyer, nice buyer." The other picture is of a real immature person who just discovered a way to create havoc and do pranks. This is not the 50% good buyers on Yahoo, just the other half. Thank goodness ebay buyers are not as extreme, although of come across a few. I think Yahoo gets a better cross section of the population and not your regular auction buyer type like ebay's.
The problem is only going to get worse as more of the population goes online. Hopefully I will be on to new adventures by then.
posted on July 4, 2000 03:12:41 PM
I mean no disrespect to other posters, but this is not my experience at all.
I have 5-7% deadbeats and to date no one has ever been even remotely rude. On the contrary, I find Yahoo buyers to be ultra friendly, very easy going, and even diligent about leaving feedback.
posted on July 4, 2000 05:13:46 PM
wallypog, yeah but I am not selling a 'one of kind' item. I am selling items like video tapes, books etc. To put it mildly, I have duplicates. As long as you mail me money, you get the goods. Doesn't matter if its 2 months from end of auction, you shoot me some good old money & I mail you item.
Regardless WHAT Yahoo's rules say about the buyer contacting the seller, the seller should send his auction winner an email as soon after the auction closes as he can. Buyers EXPECT the to be contacted by the seller, not the other way around.
If you never contact the buyer until he has written you FIRST, I'm surprised you're able to complete ANY of your auction transactions.
It's too bad you've had what you consider a 50% bad buyer rate on Yahoo. Perhaps if you'd contacted your buyers after your auctions, you would have had a much higher rate of pleasant experiences like the rest of us have had.
I am sorry, but I had to delete your postbecause it was promotional in nature. Posts promoting competitive sites or services are prohibited per AuctionWatch.com's Community Guidelines.
posted on July 5, 2000 06:59:59 PMQuickdraw
I have never heard of this
"Look, the rules state the buyer must contact the seller within three days, not the other way around. I wait for that first contact, and if I don't get it I send an email asking if they're still interested in the item. If no response within three more days, then I neg them. I don't waste anymore time."
I've won hundreds of Yahoo auctions & the seller has always contacted me first. I don't know where you got your info but here is a cut & paste I did in Yahoo just now (it was the same rule when I signed up a year ago)
Bidder Guide
"Congratulations! You won the auction. What should you do next?
The seller will contact you by email: The seller is obligated to contact the auction winner as soon as possible after the close of auction. If the seller does not contact you in a timely way, you should try to get in touch."
No seller has ever taken more than 2 days to email me, most do so within hours. I contact my buyers immediately and wait patiently for for my sellers to write me.
posted on July 5, 2000 07:27:18 PM
kasmoon, it states the buyer & sellere should contact each other within a certain amount of period. Doesn't state buyer must contact seller & seller cannot contact buyer.
Not saying what you are doing is wrong. I actually added a statement that request winning bidders get hold of me with address upon receiving Notice from Yahoo. Add that to your winning notices. You can do that.
I had one bidder who got pissed because I didn't contact him within 24 hours. I think this attitude is a carry over from eBay where its pretty much a norm for sellers to contact winning bidders. Anyone I usually contact the bidder first. Its no big deal who contact who...as long as they pay up & we as sellers deliver.
I've had buyers that mail me money 3-4 weeks after end of auction. No big deal. I relist them immediately anyway. Of course this will not work if you are selling 'One of a Kind' items.
posted on July 5, 2000 07:29:41 PM
azrae, how long do you think the good times will last in Yahoo before we are flooded with all the cry babies from our distinguish competitor (our only competitor I might add) I was just rambling on in another post here about that haha.
posted on July 5, 2000 08:36:37 PM
comic123: forgive me if i'm mistaken, but i have a very strong psychic hunch that a wave of listing will appear on Yahoo over the course of this month, but they will come from the lurkers, the serious sellers, people who are too busy with their own business to have the time or inclination to be Net Cops. I believe we'll see the numbers of listings rise, accompanied by an influx of bidders who accompany either the sellers, or are attracted by the large number of neat listings. I don't perceive your fears coming to materialize. Let's hope my hunch is accurate. It is very strong.
posted on July 6, 2000 01:06:47 PM
I have been active on Yahoo for over a year. I must have great luck with over 80 rating and only one neg.
I have read articles about auction fraud and most mention that Yahoo has the highest rate of any auction site. This is due to the fact that Yahoo does absolutely no verification. Users have signed on using non-existent email ids. Recently Yahoo claims they now verify that. As for credit card verification, all they do is check that the number is valid. They do NOT check to see if it matches the name and address given when the account was created. If you go to the Seller Zone (a yahoo club for auction sellers) you will find out about folks who have 80 ids and hundreds of negs, still active and deadbeating.
I have started a policy which is working for me. I state in my posts that unless the bidder emails me upon bidding, I will cancel the bid. I have only done this once or twice. The bidders email me and with one exception, everyone who has done so has followed through.
posted on July 6, 2000 01:30:42 PM
Can't say I have had many deadbeats, some people do need more time than others to get their money, for whatever reason. I just simply remind them about their bid, and ask them if they still want it. It eliminates plenty of hassle. Face it, sometimes things come up where they might have placed the bid in good faith, and something came up. It is unfortunate to see people lumped into groups, like deadbeats, slow pays, etc. Just ask them plain out and move on!
.
I did send them an email with that suggestion and was sent an email that it would be taken under consideration. When I saw that new categories were added I was at first excited but then very disappointed when I went to check it out. Well, I am hoping to get very motivated this coming week and list on ebay and Yahoo. My user id on yahoo is pages_from_the_past and on ebay it is peggloria. granee, do you sell on ebay too. My sales have dropped there. It used to be about 3 out of 4 and now it seems to be about half on the first go around. I only have 3 inexpensive travel books up right now and I have no clue if travel books sell.
I have antiques and collectibles I don't list on Yahoo because there's not an appropriate category to put each one in, and my experience with ebay taught me the RIGHT CATEGORY for the listing is ESSENTIAL (especially since Yahoo's SEARCH isn't as good as ebay's).
