Bidders asking questions AFTER winning the auction
Has anyone here actually been asked questions after the bidder won the auction because they're trying to decide if they want the item? What do you do in this situation? Do you answer or do you treat this person as a potential NPB and not answer their questions, etc?
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It depends on how friendly they seem to be. Could be innocent enough. Or it could be ebay or a competitor trying to suss you out. I would be nice enough at the onset--they are a customer after all--but be firm. Under ebay guidelines they did win and are responsible for paying. If they don't, they're in violation and you can npb, neg, or whatever and then offer to the next highest bidder or "relist" as ebay likes to say.
I've had some limited success asking the "buyer" to pay part of the fees. It is after all their fault so I see nothing wrong with their footing half the bill.
I'm treating this bidder (zero feedback) as hostile since they're accusing me of being a potential scammer for no reason. You meet all sorts on ebay. It's never a question of if you'll get some idiot bidding on your stuff but when.
i would get questions like that all the time. sometimes i would post them, usually i would not even bother with an answer. i hate it when i don't answer the question and they buy it anyway. then with their payment they add a comment like "for a filter that will fit my 78 camry". then i would have to do an unpaid item dispute and refund the money. it seemed to me people would buy anything f you tell them it's what they want.
We should start a thread with the stupidest buyer questions.
My favorite buyer question recently was after the item was sold. The buyer said she had some PayPal issues and wanted to pay cash. Then she asked since her boyfriend's birthday is the following week, would I send here the item without getting paid for it first?
I put in my auction that all sales are final and if you bid and win its yours..no questions asked after the auction will be answered unless item is not received during the promised time frame. If you don't pay you will get an unpaid strike. end of story!
from my experience most buyers don't seem to care about reading any of that. they see it and buy it. no matter what the return policy is for any individual seller, the buyer knows if they pay by paypal they can get their money back. all they have to do is send it back with a tracking number and paypal will reverse the charges. yet another, if not the best, reason to not use paypal.
or, of course, you get the negative feedback threats. those are always fun to deal with.
I've had a moron like that a few days ago. After I kept sending him invoices and reminders for 4 days, he responded (first response) saying "stop sending me bills, its too expensive i dont want it". Well why did you bid on it then?
I try to first resolve it through eBay's credit system, if that doesn't work, I have eBay neg them. But only as a last resort, because it potentially gives me a negative feedback too. I never leave negative feedback without receiving negative feedback back first, though.
"Can I return this? I bought if for my girlfriends birthday and gave it to her a month ago, but she didn't like it" (ASKED A MONTH AFTER THE FACT!)
And I love "how much is shipping?" WHEN ALL SHIPPING CHARGES ARE LISTED IN THE Auction!
Yeah, no matter what you are selling, idiot buyers DON'T READ!
I had almost the exact thing. This was 7 weeks after the auction ended and buyer gave me positive feedback. They claim there was no return policy (I now say 2 weeks per EBay's changes to the bid page where they have the sport for the return policy). I told they should have told me a month before.
Since I told them I wasn't accepting the return, they told me that they would never buy from me again. I should be so lucky!!!!!
I've had a moron like that a few days ago. After I kept sending him invoices and reminders for 4 days, he responded (first response) saying "stop sending me bills, its too expensive i dont want it". Well why did you bid on it then?
I try to first resolve it through eBay's credit system, if that doesn't work, I have eBay neg them. But only as a last resort, because it potentially gives me a negative feedback too. I never leave negative feedback without receiving negative feedback back first, though.
Last night, I got the old "I just lost my job and can't afford it," If the $40 sports memorabilia item is that crushing, maybe you shouldn't bid for it in the first place?
It just seems like the ebay community is CURSED with so many deaths of loved ones, hospitalizations of self and loved ones, and car accidents and unemployment all precluding completion of ebay sales.
Oh, and the old, "I didn't know what I was doing and bid by accident" Hmm, that's why ebay has 2 or 3 screens to confirm your bid before it's finalized.
"i never placed a bid on your item. you are some kind a SCAMMER that got my password, logged into my account, and then placed this bid. i am reporting you to ebay"
that was a good one
"why did my bid go up when i increased my maxium bid? i am going to report you to ebay" blah blah blah
Bidders asking questions AFTER winning the auction 
