Ebay buyer has zero feedback - need advice.

[scrap disney]

Hi -
I need advice. I buy things fairly regularly on eBay and have not had problems. I recently purchased 4 one day tickets for Disney at a charity auction. The tickets expire in a couple of months. We were suppose to go at Christmas but an injury forced us to cancel the trip. I figured that I would just sell the tickets on ebay - I realize now that probably wasn't such a good idea.

The individual who won the auction has no feedback - they have been an ebay member for 18 months. This just feels like I am walking into a scam??? The person hasn't paid but it has only been 12 hours. Should I be worried?? Can I cancel the auction??

Not sure what to do. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Kaytie]

Have you checked ebay's policies?

 

[starry_solo]

I think you might have to wait a few days before you can do the non paying bidder.

You can ask to cancel the transaction but if they don't agree, you will still be responsible for the final value fees.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I checked your sold listing. I would be sketched out too. It's odd to me that you had two separate bidders with zero feedback. Ebay's policies are clear, but you can't sell an item that has been damaged or not as described. If you do decide to go through with the sale, I would insist on signature confirmation. That's a lot of money to get hosed on! You have 48 hours after the sale before you can open a non paying case. Buyer then has 4 days after the case has been opened to pay.

Perhaps contacting the buyer would put your mind at ease. Maybe they only use Ebay for buying Disney tickets and the sellers just never left feedback. Who knows?

 

[SMD]

All the person has to do is claim that the tickets didn't work at the gate and you'll lose their dispute. A buyer having feedback doesn't really protect you from an opportunist, but past experiences on eBay would make it seem like zero feedback does increase the risk.

 

[JediBonas]

Do not cancel, you will get a defect on your account. Please remember that everyone needs to start somewhere on eBay. If you don't sell a lot and don't care if you lose the ability to sell you can cancel, but remember your account will be put at risk. Personally, I'd wait and see if they actually pay. Make sure the money is in Paypal, don't trust any emails you might receive. Also make sure you mail, with tracking, the tickets if they DO pay, no just emailing the ticket numbers. If they don't pay open an unpaid item dispute and don't forget to close it (I think it's three days after opening) to get your fees back. I've found a lot of the times when something I have sells to a buyer with no feedback they never pay.

 

[scrapquitler]

Every Ebay buyer had zero feedback at some point. There's a first purchase for everyone.

 

[scrap disney]

Original poster again - I was kind of just hoping the buyer won't pay but the person has paid.

I know that I can cancel the auction but I would be out the fees associated with the auction (slightly over $50.00).

The buyer seemed pleasant and the message indicated that they were going to Disney over the holidays. I know everyone starts with no feedback but I would have felt better if the person had some feedback. I want to believe the person is honest and good but I am still nervous.

This experience has provided several good lesson for myself - I won't make this mistake again! I think I will likely ship the tickets (with tracking and signature required and hope for the best.)

Thanks for your opinions - I do feel better knowing that this is a little odd.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Also in the future you can set the seller settings so people with no feedback can't bid on your items if that makes you more comfortable.

I hope it all works out with no problems!

 

[la79al]

If it makes you feel ANY better, we do a lot of selling on eBay and have seen a TON of buyers with 0 feedback in the past month or so. A ton! So far, we have not had any issues.

 

[LovesTimone]

If they are new to eBay you might want to send them an invoice, and as well as a email about payment and ask if they still want the tickets, If not then you can do a cancellation which they agree to and move on, if they don't respond I would open a case and wait to relist them the allotted amount of time.

When I was selling on eBay regularly I had twice that the customer was waiting for a invoice to make payment. Once I sent it they paid right away.

Don't ship the tickets or anything you sell on eBay until you receive payment.

 

[Alicefan]

Original poster again - I was kind of just hoping the buyer won't pay but the person has paid.

I know that I can cancel the auction but I would be out the fees associated with the auction (slightly over $50.00).

The buyer seemed pleasant and the message indicated that they were going to Disney over the holidays. I know everyone starts with no feedback but I would have felt better if the person had some feedback. I want to believe the person is honest and good but I am still nervous.

This experience has provided several good lesson for myself - I won't make this mistake again! I think I will likely ship the tickets (with tracking and signature required and hope for the best.)

Thanks for your opinions - I do feel better knowing that this is a little odd.

If the buyer paid, I'm not sure what you're still worried about? As long as you have a tracking number to ensure the package arrived, your end of the deal is done.

 

[supersnoop]

If the buyer paid, I'm not sure what you're still worried about? As long as you have a tracking number to ensure the package arrived, your end of the deal is done.

She's worried they're using a new account that they can throw away in an effort to scam her after the tickets arrive. If they claim the tickets didn't work or weren't delivered, paypal will give them their money back.

Frankly, that's a risk with every deal no matter how much feedback someone has. eBay accounts are compromised all the time. I had a car listed, and someone actually hit the buy-it-now and paid the deposit with a hijacked account.

 

[Alicefan]

She's worried they're using a new account that they can throw away in an effort to scam her after the tickets arrive. If they claim the tickets didn't work or weren't delivered, paypal will give them their money back.

Frankly, that's a risk with every deal no matter how much feedback someone has. eBay accounts are compromised all the time. I had a car listed, and someone actually hit the buy-it-now and paid the deposit with a hijacked account.

Yeah I agree. Feedback means nothing if someone decides to go rogue. lol I made the mistake of not getting a tracking number for an item and of course I was told it never came and had to issue a refund. Lesson learned. Luckily it was only a $15 item but still. Who will ever know if the item made it or not. I have a feeling they saw a sucker in that I had never sold anything before. Only bought. :/

 

[scrap disney]

Thanks for the info everyone has provided - I mailed the tickets with tracking and signature confirmation. Now I just wait and hope that the buyer was an honest person. I will come back in a month or so and update the situation after the time has passed for a buyer to open a dispute.

 

[ceecee]

I have been selling for a while now and have 4000 feedback, I must say most people now don't seem to leave feedback at all. Ebay changed that years back so as a seller you can't really leave negative. I have had 2 people leave positive feedback and then say they didn't get the item. Paypal always seem to side with the buyer.

 

[kniquy]

If the buyer paid then i guess you have nothing to worry about. Think about how the buyer must feel too. I guess there is always some uncertainty with ebay, but if you are using paypal for either the buyer or seller i think there are some protections. I have had a few instances where i was the buyer, I paid, but never received my goods -- paypal has protection and i received my money back