Dealing With Newbie Ebayers, Your Thoughts Please

Everybody has to start someplace. However, in the instance of your buyer, I'd neg him right off ebay. If he walked into ebay thinking there weren't rules to follow (or perhaps he's one of those semi-literates who don't know how to read nor comprehend terms of service and contracts), then he has no business on ebay.

I know that many sellers state that if a buyer has ten or fewer feedbacks, then they either can't bid or must contact the seller before bidding. I don't know if a block can be set up on such bidders (I've never checked), but it seems to me a reasonable idea given the numbers of fraudsters on ebay on both the buying and selling side.

We have very few problems selling to people with low or no feedback. We have found that, if you take the time to educate new buyers, they can be life-long customers. If a new buyer wants to back out of a deal, we respond with an email explaining how the process works and why they would need a very good reason to back out. Once the fees and inconvenience are explained, most will fulfill their obligation. Oftentimes, new members simply don't understand all that is involved with the selling process.

We don't turn new eBayers away and, so far, it has worked out fine for us. A seller just has to be willing to spend a little more time with someone new.

My experience is that I get paid about 25% of the time if a buyer has less than five feedbacks, even if they are positive. I no longer accept bidders with less than one year's worth of 25 feedbacks or more, all positive. I have been burned too many times.

I also saw that.

I remember my first buy. IT was a 1923 One Dollar Silver Certificate. Bought it from a guy in the UK. He didn't hesitate one bit.
Ty

Normally, I would agree with acceptance and encouragement of new eBayers, but this one's offense was so egregious that I question whether keeping him as an ebay member would be worth the effort. In the box where one clicks to "confirm bid", it clearly states in bold font, "By clicking on the button below, you commit to buy this item from the seller if you're the winning bidder.". What part did he not understand? It did NOT state, "You can change your mind after you win.".

Along the same lines but not quite as bad as the above, I've had buyers win items on my PayPal-only auctions, then state in an email, "I don't use PayPal. My check (or money order) will be in the mail tomorrow.". Or worse, I'll wait and wait and wait for the PayPal payment with nothing heard from the buyer, then finally receive cash in the mail. Since I drive to town to check my mail only once per week (or less often), there's a significant delay before the buyer receives his/her item resulting in less-than-satisfactory transactions at both ends.