eBay Hacks

Dealing with Stragglers, Deadbeats, and Returns

Filing non-paying bidder alerts and credit requests in the event of a failed transaction.

Although sellers are responsible for paying all fees associated with an auction, eBay is not unreasonable about refunding those fees when it comes to returns, deadbeat bidders, and other extenuating circumstances.

Regardless of the terms of a failed transaction, every seller can complete the following two-step process to recover any final-value fees associated with an auction. Unfortunately, listing fees are nonrefundable, but they are never very large.

Non-Paying Bidder Alert

If a bidder never pays, if a bidder returns an item, or if you and the bidder settle a transaction for less than the final bid price, the first (and sometimes only) step is to file a Non-Paying Bidder Alert.

Tip

This is different from the “payment reminder,” available in the Selling tab of My eBay. Sending a payment reminder is optional, and is not a prerequisite to using the Non-Paying Bidder form. A Non-Paying Bidder Alert can be filed only after 7 days (and no more than 45 days) have passed since the end of the auction.

Start by going to Site Map → Request Final Value Fee Credit → Non-Paying Bidder Alert (http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?NPBComplaintForm), and enter the eBay item number as instructed.

You’ll be presented with a list of reasons. The reason you choose here will have a very real effect on the way eBay handles the rest of the process. There ...