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Competitor wiped out my selling limit
 

I have a new account and had three sales all from separate buyers with zero feedback, freshly made accounts. All buyers bought between them all my listings, on a 10 item a month selling limit at the moment.

Now not a single item has been paid for, leaving me with no listings on that account for another 23 days. I'll take out cases for the payment tomorrow but its sooo frustrating! Anyone else had the same thing happen?

This is why I use the "Require immediate payment when buyer uses Buy It Now" option for Buy it Now items. You can find it when you're creating your listing, I forget off the top of my head exactly where it is but it's there.

Ahh, thanks, forgot about that as I have only used it once before. I will get change the other listings on my selling limit accounts now.

Yeah always do the require payment immediately option. I made the same mistake, had a buyer buy 7 of the same item in a row lol and didn't pay for any.. even after cancelling them and filing my final value fee credit I didn't get back those 7 listing spots.

Any similiarities in the buyers locations? If all of the addresses are within a 100 mile radius, why not do an advanced search by location and see who the competitor is who's selling the same items. I'd make it my personal goal to wipe em out.

As the buyers haven't paid then I can't see the shipping address, both accounts made the same day they bought. When the case for non-payment has finished I may call ebay and ask for it to be taken off the limit, I'll be very nice you never know I may get a sympathetic customer service representative! :shocked:

I realize that, but many stealth users use addresses within 100 miles of their own.

If you can get a general location of them, you can use advanced search feature to find a competitor within the same general area. Could lead you to the culprit.

Re: Competitor wiped out my selling limit
 

I believe in your 'item sold' email, it has the city or state where the buyer is registered

Slim is right... the address is in the your item sold email. Get that then follow up with Corleone`s instructions and as `W` used to say .... smoke em out.

Second thing is I would enable the allowed buyer characteristics in the listing and you can change the minimum feedback to 1 or whatever you want over 0 to at least slow them down in the future.

I have the addressees of the buyers now, not much of a connection.

As a test i have just opened an ebay account from Thailand and registered it to an address in the UK, via a Thai IP. Only a buyers account. Then purchased from the competitor, did not pay, and everything went through fine. I'll see if I get any emails from ebay requesting information and see what happens!!

If nothing happens that's quite scary at the possibilities.

If you want to request immediate payments you will have to update your paypal to Primer or Business account. Basic personal account doesn't support this feature.

Hey Guys, is it just me or did ebay have a rule to do BUY IT NOW with 10 to 20 feedback only and not before on newer accounts? He has a new account, maybe he can't do that yet. Unless ebay changed that up the last few years.

I think you can't require immediate payment with Buy It Now until you have 10 feedback...at least in the US.

Hope that helps

No, not true. I sell on new account(s) and you can request Buy it Now right off the back.

Time has come to also spread sales over several stealth since your items seem to be under competitors' radar

Good Point given Rsot! This will make them say "omg I hate this I quit!" or "to much work to do this" stealth is the way to go with tons of accounts!

There is one option you can use.

There is an option stating that they can only buy 1 item from you and not many if they bid or buy from your one auction! This helps out a lot! :) He would of had to do 10 times the work! Not just once!

The update on this is the guy opened 3 buying accounts and wiped me out for a month on this particular account. I'd list something, he'd make an account and buy it and not pay for it. Even if I blocked him he'd just create a new account, slight variation on the name and address but used a hotel as his address. Hmm wonder if he's a member on here .... :yar:

Needles to say I now know his selling account, through process of elimination, so whats good for the goose etc.... there will be a few negatives coming his for sure. Not the way I normally play as I get on with my own business and the others can squabble amongst themselves. :pop2:

You know if you list your item where they must pay immediately that won't happen.

On every other account I have done this now. You can't have a pay now with an auction, I do quite well with auctions and it generates people to your other listigs. He took out 3 auctions and 3 BIN's before I changed them to pay now. Hense on a new account with a 10 selling limit it went pretty quick.

Lesson learnt.

if you know the competitor is wiping you out...then at that point "doing quite well" is not as important as actually selling, and trying to keep your competitor off your butt, don't you think?

How much are these items? Hard to believe some jerk goes thru the trouble just to block a few low price items.

Where that at?

Have a feedback score of X or lower?

Isn't that a legacy setting from when you could block buyers with negative feedback score from sellers, you cant set it to a positive number.

When you create a listing or edit, towards the end of the listing
" Set up buyer requirements "

Pretty sure you can't limit it to people with a specific feedback amount. i recently went through hell with someone who would make private accounts and buy and actually pay... with random names and paypals.. None of their numbers worked and i even shipped empty polys to the people.. and they all got either forwarded or were returned to sender as nobody lives there.. they'd buy the item , pay the $16 and leave the negative feedback.Had a rotation of like 6 . fortunately they did it to about 4 of my accounts and i reported them on all the accounts, and were able to find them on google searches before they went private and contacted all the sellers and had them reported also... 2 of the accounts got suspended and the rest eventually feedback auto removed

Geeeeez, competition on ebay & amazon can be ruthless sometimes.

Wow, that is pretty extreme. It sucks running into cutthroats like that.

Just had something similar where a few 0 feedback items tried to bid and win on my auctions. I was monitoring actively (thankfully) so I caught them all and cancelled bids/banned the bidder - pretty annoying - my intuition was right on the money.

Competition has become aware they are better off screwing with someone then lowering prices etc.

Be prepared as more and more sellers see competition in a different way anymore. They know that ebay is hell bent on hoping many help them police their site by using the report button more then in the past.

I had a buyer buy an item from my main account today. Whilst I was sorting the shipping out I saw the address was in Thailand, not far from me!

I checked the feedback from the buyer and he's only ever left negatives. So I looked at the Paypal address and the paypal address is the same as an account who is one of my biggest competitors. The address he has given is non existant, along the lines of:

123 Me Street
My House
Bangkok

My account has 500+ positive is a top rated seller, power seller and in very good condition!

Not sure how to approach this, I have reported him, listing all the details but not sure if they will listen or do anything.
In the meantime I have this item to ship that I know is not going to arrive. I was going to send empty envelope EMS (only $1 within Thailand) then I have the tracking showing it coming back to me with address unknown.

When he leaves the negative it will either be:

item not arrived - I have proof of it being sent
Item is broken etc etc - I have proof he never received it


Anyone else got any ideas how I can get around this if eBay won't ban him?

either way, sausage...the neg would stll stand, so your proof does not matter...

the best thing is not to ship, cancel the order and report.....

I have had a couple of negs removed when people have said the item never arrived on the negative feedback, but has to prove it arrived in the estimated shipping time.


I think if I cancel the order I'll get a neg straight away and I have nothing eft to fight. I'm going to phone .com tonight and plead my case :juggle:

Show proof that address is none existent to eB. E-mail him saying post office shows your address as undeliverable - what`s the deal? Or refund money and cancel transaction. Lot of choices...if he does leave a negative, you will have to approache it differently - 1 negative is unlikely to destroy you

Submit a contact buyer.

You want to let them know there is ........... (some issue whatever)

Fill in the blanks so you want to speak to them by phone to arrange alternative ways to conclude the sale.

With luck, no phone number on file etc etc etc....

Dont plead any case until you have made such sincere efforts to try to do the right thing for this buyer
:boink:

Spoke with T&S, they have made the report and are looking into it. Can't do much till he leaves the negative but if I can prove the address is ⊗⊗⊗⊗ then they will remove the neg with a letter from the PO saying its not an address here.

SO I have sent an empty envelope out EMS and expect it backin two-three days. Pictures taken of the EMS sticker on the envelope, Postwoman in the shop briefed to keep it there if it returns and I'll collect it - its a stealth account.

Sent the goon an email telling him to cancel the sale and leave a positive or ebay will be informed of the ⊗⊗⊗⊗ info he has given which is a straight ban for break of eBay policy. He's not replied.

AFter this is finished he'll be getting a few sales via a vps buying account and woooosh! :yar:

You are actually doing a lot giving these odd circumstances - props.

Maybe I am, but this morning his account is no longer a register user, and the main selling account has no listings and I still have my 100 positive feedback. I protect my accounts from any negative, and usually get there. If it takes me all day I have had negatives removed that others have said is impossible, once I get my teeth in I will not let go tilli get what I want.

OH yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subtle ( underhand) methods work.

Thrilled for you, Sausage.
Righteous, imo.

:cheer:

You have protected it well Sausage - should write a guide of your own with buyer handling :P

Awesome job!

Never giving up and protecting your interest.

:clap: