# Ebay Question. (bidder not responding to email) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190 "2002-06-27T05:54:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![renigademaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@renigademaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/renigademaster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/1 "2002-06-27T05:54:50Z")
I auctioned off my VHS collection of movies and someone won 3 of the aucitons. I have sent 4 emails, and submitted an invoce for them to pay, and have had no reply. It has been 7 days since they won the auction. What should I do next? The total of all the sales is only 72 dollars, so its not like it was a large amount of money. Do I contact ebay first or do I try to get hold of them for a while longer and leave negitive feedback? Ben ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/2 "2002-06-27T07:28:54Z")
I’ve only used eBay a little, but I’m sure they have FAQs that answer these sort of questions thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/3 "2002-06-27T09:18:38Z")
Try to contact them again, If that fails you can ask E-bay for their phone number and call them (I never do this) or file for Non Paying Bidder which sends a letter from E-bay to them telling them they need to pay for the auction. If after 10 days after you do that if they don’t pay you can file for a refund of your fees and relist it or sell it to the second highest bidder ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/4 "2002-06-27T10:51:34Z")
I waited for two full weeks after e-mailing a winning bidder. My auction terms had clearly stated that contact had to be established within 10 days. On day 15 I left negative feedback: “Non-responsive and non-paying bidder. Waited 2 weeks for response.” or something like that. I then requested a fees refund and relisted the item. I heard back from the guy about two months later. He complained about the feedback and said at the time he’d been unable to afford the item (it was around $100). I think he thought doing nothing was the right thing to do in that situation. :rolleyes: That’s no excuse; if you can’t afford something, you shouldn’t bid on it. I wrote him back telling him that, basically. Even if retracting my comment was possible, I wouldn’t have done it. Calling to pester the bidder is just a bit too confrontational for me. YMMV. And hey, $70 is nothing to sneeze at. Besides, try not to look at the dollar amount alone-- consider it a contract broken. And deadbeat bidders should be penalized for breaking contracts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/5 "2002-06-27T11:50:00Z")
Send him an email giving him a certain time limit or you will consider him a non-paying bidder and will leave negative feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/6 "2002-06-27T12:13:11Z")
You can fill in a Non Bidding Payer form, and you can offer a Personal Offer to the second highest bidder. IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/7 "2002-06-27T14:55:03Z")
I wouldn’t recommend offering them to the number 2 bidder, since any dealings you have with this bidder would not be covered under eBay’s terms of protection. File the NPB and relist the items. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/8 "2002-06-27T15:06:40Z")
If you are not in a personal hurry, I’d give it a few more days. It’s possible he was called out of town unexpectedly, or lost internet access. It never hurts to give someone the benefit of the doubt, even though the usual ebay terms call for a prompt settlement of auctions. I’d give it a few more days, then you can go through the regular process of informing Ebay that your high bidder disappeared and relisting the items. There is no charge for that, IIRC. I’ll never forget the time I bid on an auction that ended on Thanksgiving. The seller FREAKED OUT when she hadn’t heard from me in three days. Um. lady, it’s THANKSGIVING. I was out of town like millions of other Americans! I should have anticipated this and dropped her a note before the auction was over, telling her that if I ended up being the high bidder at the close of the auction there would be a slight delay. My error. Still, she could’ve done a little guessing and waiting another 24 hours for the holiday weekend to end, to see if I’d turn up. Of course this is a different scenario–I’m not saying you’re anything like her; you’ve got a legitimate concern about where your bidder ran off to. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/9 "2002-06-27T15:11:29Z")
Yeah, I agree with CrankyAsAnOldMan , maybe they are on vacation? maybe they can’t get to a computer? Maybe their ISP isn’t letting your email through? Etc. Also, Ebay has extensive documentation on what to do & they have forums too. WHat is this person’s feedback like? ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/10 "2002-06-27T15:26:19Z")
I would begin the process of the non-paying bidder alert; it takes 7 days after the alert is sent before you can actually request the credit, so if the winner gets back to you in the meantime, you haven’t lost anything; if s/he doesn’t, then you have less time to wait. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/11 "2002-06-27T19:16:22Z")
I had trouble getting hold of two recent winning bidders. One turned out to have an ISP that was blocking two (2) of the standard email addresses I use. I had to use a third. So I suggest try contacting via a different email system. There’s a lot of spam blocking going on nowadays. The other never did respond from any email address. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/12 "2002-06-29T01:16:08Z")
I’m with **Cranky** on this one - a little time and patience. **ftg** brings up an excellent point, one I confronted this week. A guy was selling a wrecked car and had no bids. I sent him a little note offering to purchase a single part that I needed. No response. I checked the auction a few days later and he had added a postscript: “if you are (my name), please call me. My emails to you are getting bounced back.” Turns out I had BLOCKED yahoo from sending me mail, and that was his ISP (bad spam problem a few weeks ago). He may be trying to contact YOU right now, and you’re blocking HIS mail. Give it a few more days, and don’t leave him a neg until you are positive he’s a deadbeat and not a slacker or an earnest (blocked) customer. What is his feedback now? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-question-bidder-not-responding-to-email/116190/13 "2002-06-29T14:54:09Z")
One time I got payment but no response to emails. It was like $220.00 so I searched the net & called the lady on the phone & she thanked me for letting me know that she forgot to put her new email on her ebay account.