4 of 4

Write now Article Tools

As in life, so on eBay, prevention is better than cure, so do your best to avoid being at the mercy of a deadbeat bidder. In your item listing, make your description as full as possible. You're not being charged by the word, so put in as much info as you can. Make it clear where you will ship to, and also where you will not ship to and your reasons for this decision. Once you've drawn up the rules, use the eBay resources to set up even more safeguards.

On the 'My eBay' page, scroll down to 'Related Links' and click on 'Selling Resources.' There, you can set up your Buyer and Bidder Requirement Preferences. You can block bids from people who have a negative feedback score, or have had two unpaid item strikes in the last 30 days. It is also possible to block bids for particular members. Go easy on this, as you may unwittingly freeze out genuine bidders. Once you have set up your Blocked List, you can amend it at any time, so this tool is really flexible and should weed out most of the time wasters. If you have a really good customer who you will allow to bid on any item, no matter what, you can exempt them from your preferences to allow their bids.

It is also possible to cancel bids from buyers, but you must have a very good reason to do this. An acceptable scenario would be if someone had placed a high bid on your item and you were unable to contact them. EBay frowns on members who don't provide correct contact details, so that would be your reason for cancelling the bid.

Always, whether buying or selling, check out the feedback comments on your trading partners. If anything rings alarm bells, consider whether you really want to place or accept a bid, particularly if someone suddenly starts getting a lot of negative feedback or has a score of less than 80% positive feedback. Yes, they may have problems, but you don't want to share in them. Feedback is a guide, and it is by nature subjective, so keep an open mind. Don't assume that someone with negative comments against them is bound to be a deadbeat bidder.

I was concerned about one bidder, as he asked me to ship the item offshore. As it was a heavy item, the cost of shipping was well over 100 - almost as much as the cost of the item concerned. When I checked the bidder's feedback, I noticed that he had some recent negative comments. I phoned the eBay help line, and was advised to request contact details for the member and speak to him personally. This is useful, as you can usually tell if someone is genuine by

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Tips on dealing with deadbeat bidders on eBay?
We want to hear your view. Write now!