Why does eBay do nothing about fraud buyers?

[apic2013]

I placed one item for auction, and got some bids. When the listing expired, the highest bidder refused to pay, with some flimsy excuse. "Since item is used, I don't want to pay." The item condition is prominently displayed near the Place Bid option, and if he didn't want a used item, he shouldn't have placed a bid. Beyond this point, he did not respond to any communication.

eBay's T&C clearly states that a bid is a legally binding contract, but the buyers don't take it seriously, and eBay does absolutely nothing about it. The only option I have is to claim refund on Final Value Fee and a report a buyer unpaid strike. The unpaid strike doesn't appear on the buyer's profile (or if it does, I don't find it easily), and one can only leave positive feedback for the buyer, or no feedback at all.

Anyway, I relisted the item, and now another buyer is doing the same thing. Unlike the previous buyer who at least refused to pay, this buyer is not even saying anything or responding to my messages. If the bid is a legally binding contract, why is it so hard to enforce? All that eBay has to do is make the buyer pay when placing the bid, and then at the end of the auction, all non-winning bidders can be refunded.

What a waste of time to sell on eBay.

[sudhad_in1]

I was a buyer turned to seller on ebay recently. As a buyer I faced only once or twice wrong products issue . But being a seller now I see lots of buyers waste not only their time but also sellers time by not paying after bidding . Wish ebay could control buyers on bidding items . Does ebay confirm their ids as they have no feedback even after being member for 4 -5 years ?

[bhaktavarenterprise]

I too suffered same kind of non payment problem and I had raised 12 such cases in last 1 month. Best way to get rid is restricting buyers who have unpaid item case or who have policy violation cases against them through buyer requirement link. I think some people do this to block the sale of the product so that they can sell their own. So always remember to open case against them so that some other seller may be saved from them. Even if they buy the product under pressure there are chances that they may put negative feedback. So best way is provide a higher shipping cost on bid item then send them a discount later on in the invoice. Buy it now is only for those listing where you have multiple quantity and good sale cycle.

[goldwingtoka]

Dear fellow member I asked the same question on answer centre.One fellow member suggested me to use fixed price format.The sale may be slow but there will be no payment problem.He also suggested me to edit buyer requirement otion for auction listings or directly from your ebay account.By this you can prohibit buyer with previous record of non payment,buyer without sms verification,buyers with low feedback ratings.Your listing will be safer.But there's still some jerk buyers,who claim for refund providing fake proof.Ebay doesn't give a **bleep** about sellers.So we the sellers have to create & share innovative solutions to the problems here