posted on July 29, 2000 04:46:32 PM new
Right now my minimum bidder rating is set at "0". I only started listing auctions on Yahoo in early June, so I'm a relative newbie here. I figured it would be hypocritical to require a lot of FB for someone to bid on my auctions if I don't have a lot myself!
So far I've had only one deadbeat. So far every person who's bid on my auctions & paid has had under 25 FB ratings, and almost all of them have had FB ratings of under 5. I think a lot of newbies are bidding, winning, & paying. This has been my limited experience so far. Unless circumstances lead me to change my mind later (and this is entirely possible), I'm not going to demand that my bidders be rated. I'm not making more hassles for anyone who wants to buy my stuff!
posted on July 29, 2000 08:52:52 PM new
I use mine set at zero, I don't like to exclude newbies, some of them have become some of my best customers.
As I understand it, they can bid if they are less than the rating, but they have to enter in a credit card number first. I've never had anyone with a lesser rating bid.
posted on July 29, 2000 08:57:55 PM new
I had a lot of deadbeats, mostly newbies. I also had a lot of great customers including many newbies. I tried setting the minimum rating at 1 and it didnt help. All it means is that a 0 or negative has to enter a credit card number in order to bid. The number does not even have to be theirs. The number does not get passed to the seller. So what good does this do? I found plenty of negative deadbeats still bidding. So now I set the minimum to zero. I also requrest that all new bidders email me or I can not guarantee to complete the auction. This gives me the option of cancelling a bid if I suspect a deadbeat. I have cancelled 3 or 4 bids in the past couple of months. Two of the folks emailed me and asked why. I explained about my policy and reposted the auction allowing them to bid. The two who didnt email me would probably have been deadbeats. I have had only one deadbeat in months. I used to have several a week. I sell high ticket items, which tend to get more deadbeats.
posted on July 31, 2000 07:17:57 PM new
Thanks for that valuable info yisgood. I've been considering using the min bid, because it seems I've received a rash of "new" deadbeats. I read on one of these threads that it is related to summer vacation and kids, so I hope it will stop soon. It's very frustrating when a "newbie" goes for the buy price and beats another established bidder. Then the "newbie" is a deadbeat.
posted on August 1, 2000 06:32:56 AM new
That's why I dont use the buy price. I put in my auction "this item has a buy-it-now price of $x. Bid $x, email us and its yours." Until I get the email, the auction stays open.
posted on August 1, 2000 03:56:09 PM new
I set it at 1. I had hoped it would deter fake bidders. Does it work...yes to a certain extend. Does it complete eliminate fake bidders....NO.
Does it probably eliminate potentially new buyers who don't have a credit card, yes probably?. What should you do....test the site & make your own decision. Everyone has a winning formula & they are all different enough.
posted on August 6, 2000 09:32:00 AM new
When I first started on Yahoo I used the Minimum Bidder Rating, and had it set to require a credit card to bid, because I had heard so much about deadbeats on Yahoo. Did it work yes, did I sell much NO!
It is too much of a bother for the bidder to have to enter a credit card number, they just go on to a similar item which doesn't have this restriction on the auction.
I returned my setting to 0, and because I started using Auction Tamer to keep my bookkeeping for Yahoo, I keep close watch on non-responding winners, send an automatic 2nd and Last notice letter, and have cut my dead beats by 99% - I almost never have a dead beat problem on Yahoo now, and I keep my setting on 0.
