The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I recently listed my Omega Seamaster PO on ebay.
Even though I had a "Anyone with less than 5 feedbacks, please contact me before bidding!" notice, I had two buyers with 0 feedback bid on it.

I retracted the bids and sent them a message to explain why.

Basically, I have had a couple of auctions (one for a Hugo Boss watch £170 and the other for a Louis vuitton wallet £150) where the winning bidders had 0 and 1 feedback respectively. In both cases, neither payed up.
Although ebay refunded me my insertion fee, it was a bit of a hassle chasing the winners for the money, and then having to relist and wait another week for the items to sell again.

When I sent an invoice to the winner of the LV wallet and asked him to pay, his response was he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to pay up because he was unsure of its authenticity. I had supplied enough clear pictures to show it was genuine, and if he was unsure, then he shouldn't have bid on it in the first place.
This really P'd me off and I just kinda decided from that point onwards to not deal with 0 feedback bidders.

Just wondering if this is a little harsh? and wondered about your dealings with people who have 0 feedback.

I know alot of people will say "we all have to start someone", that's true, but when I started on ebay, I bought mainly from BIN listings where I had to pay instantly, before moving onto the auctions.

If I was selling say a £10 t-shirt I would probably be happy to sell to those with 0 feedback. But for a high value item I can't risk non-payment and losing out on a sale from someone who would have honoured their bid.
Also, I think a bid from someone with 0 feedback can make the seller look bad. It may look like they are using another account to bump up the price.

Your thoughts?

I dont let them bid on expensive stuff unless they contact me first and prove their intent. Yes, you have to start somewhere; unfortunately, it will not be with me

Cheap stuff doesnt really matter. They are less likely to screw you with a chargeback or something, and if they do its not that big of a deal.

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-RJ

Agree with RJ, if it's a cheap item, it's a decent opportunity for them to get their foot in the door, but with a high-ticket item, I'd probably require they contact me first, at the very least-- I feel that's wholly fair on your part. If someone doesn't even have the capacity to read the full listing before bidding on an expensive item, chances are they're going to cause trouble further down the line.

I set my listings to block bidders who have less than 3 positive ratings. I also set my listings for BUY IT NOW so payment is immediately required. I sometimes allow people to submit their best offer but I NEVER allow offers to be automatically accepted because then payment isn't immediately required. I decline 99.9% of the offers; the reason I allow Best Offers is to find out who is interested in my item then I can email the bidder and try to work out a deal. It works pretty well actually.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

I didnt know that could be done. I think my last listing a couple of weeks ago only allowed me to block bidders with negative feedback,

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-RJ

Yep, less than five for an expensive item means i want them to contact me first.

This seems reasonable enough. You're not refusing to do business with low feedback buyers; you're just asking for greater reassurance they really will do what they claim. I don't have a problem with that.

On the flipside...

I bought a Breitling from ebay on Sunday and it was
only my second ever eBay purchase (and the previous one was way back in 2002 !!)

paid up within hours of the auction ending, I just hate eBay and only use it for something I absolutely can't get anyother way

It's not all timewasters !

Yes. There is no way to keep someone with 0 feedback from purchasing your item.

I recently sold my Navitimer World to a person with 0 feedback. I would not ship the item until the funds cleared my account, and I informed potential buyers in my description. Transaction was smooth and I had no issues.

~Brian

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Breitling Super Avenger
Fortis Flieger Chronograph
Rolex Submariner Date