Some explanation is needed...

[madelaine]

And by the way…person can’t mix real life and Internet I mean real stores where people go in and buy and Internet shopping

No, you can't. If I am refused service in a shop, only those who happen to be there when it happens will ever know. One of my usual usernames with a strikethru is on the internet forever to be seen by anyone in the world.

As for using Western Union etc... it is not eBid's responsibility to prevent me from making mistakes. It's my responsibility.

[Gothicina]

I've had 9 newbies buy from me so far this month - 2 of them have strikethrus. This is not statistically significant but this is the only figure I can access, of course.

One of those has told me what the problem is. Ebid want her phone number. I do not blame her not wanting to give it.

I strongly disagree that this system is fine right now.

I agree the system needs a rethink, & I agree with Astral, ditching the email only approach, if there is a problem with the account, & giving the opportunity to sort things out online, would be a start.

But your buyers problem was NOT caused because she did not get verification emails, BUT because she did not want to give her phone number. I've seen other accounts receive a strikethru for filling in blatantly fraudulent location information.

For eBid to request this information from buyers is hardly unusual, I'm pretty sure I had to give my phone number & postal address to Amazon, I've only ever been a buyer there.

I know I did this morning when I bought an item from a company website.
Out of the last 15 or so online purchases I've made from websites, I've needed to both register by email, & to give my full name address & phone number, before I could purchase anything, they didn't rely just on the information pulled from my card.

[bykimbo]

I agree the system needs a rethink, & I agree with Astral, ditching the email only approach, if there is a problem with the account, & giving the opportunity to sort things out online, would be a start.

But your buyers problem was NOT caused because she did not get verification emails, BUT because she did not want to give her phone number. I've seen other accounts receive a strikethru for filling in blatantly fraudulent location information.

For eBid to request this information from buyers is hardly unusual, I'm pretty sure I had to give my phone number & postal address to Amazon, I've only ever been a buyer there.

I know I did this morning when I bought an item from a company website.
Out of the last 15 or so online purchases I've made from websites, I've needed to both register by email, & to give my full name address & phone number, before I could purchase anything, they didn't rely just on the information pulled from my card.

One of the consistent complaints by sellers, outstripping this current fuss in terms of volume and longevity of the complaints, is NPBs. I know that this is something that concerns eBid, and their registration rules for buyers are aimed at reducing that problem. Anything like this is a juggling act between differing views of what different sellers consider a priority. I think this then strays into the area of allowing sellers to opt for "force instant payment" on fixed price purchases. I think the best solution is going to be one that involves that function as well. It's certainly NOT a simple problem with an easy solution, unless eBid wants to rewrite their system to suit a few posters who happen to be making the most noise at the moment. If they solve a problem like his with a knee-jerk reaction to a particular push, you can bet the recoil will be just as ugly and another set of sellers will start making their own noise!

[DZAMBO]

No, you can't. If I am refused service in a shop, only those who happen to be there when it happens will ever know. One of my usual usernames with a strikethru is on the internet forever to be seen by anyone in the world.

As for using Western Union etc... it is not eBid's responsibility to prevent me from making mistakes. It's my responsibility.

I understand you Madelaine…no problem…I just saying in my opinion Internet can do much more damage for person from real life…and auction sites all around is the a perfect place for that for a start…I mean you can see all records and numbers from the past 15 to 20 years how much money…scammers…fake stuff…identity theft…and many more similar things happened in the Internet…In my opinion all this is much more damage for regular peoples all around from a sample how much Wall Street make damage in real life for regular people…in this auction site we must protect yourself in any way we can….and one of this is ‘’verification’’ and keep checking all the time for anybody in here…in my opinion Internet is good 50% but in same way is bad 50%...so is up to person for what or where can go…

[0ctavias0fferings]

And what happens if you don't have a telephone number?

And what happens if the site is asking for information you don't want to give?

You walk away from it and you buy elsewhere. As will all those who have received a strike-through here.

I agree with Madelaine, I would be very displeased if a username I use on various sites was trashed by receiving a strike-through.

Wher does Western Union or any other such thing come into this. If you have a two-tier buyer system, one being a fully verified buyer who is prepared to jump through all the hoops, the other being a 'guest buyer' whose ability to buy on the site is limited and who must pay for the items with a recognised payment portal before the item is removed from the seller's listings as sold.

What is the problem that this cannot be understood by so many people?

I realise that some members here are not native English speakers and therefore can see that some confusion may arise for them.

A 'guest buyer' does not have access to spam you or send you malicious links or anything else of that nature. A 'guest buyer' would not be able to bid on an auction, only use the buy now option.

If I am happy with their Paypal verification then I am happy to send them the item.

Several newbie buyers I have dealt with have ended up with a strike through their username here. There will be no repeat business from them, not could I get feedback on the site from them but in the communications I had with them through personal emails all were decent, honest buyers.

If you think Princess Poopy from Nigeria is going to come and scam you, well, she/he is more likely to do that through a site like Facebook than anywhere else.

The arguments against allowing 'guest buyers' are all spurious and come from people who are failing to understand what the problem here is.

REAL buyers are being chased away from the site and yet they have done nothing wrong.

Most of the newbie buyers I contact have never seen the emails from eBid, not even the after auction emails for the item they just won and paid for.

[0ctavias0fferings]

One of the consistent complaints by sellers, outstripping this current fuss in terms of volume and longevity of the complaints, is NPBs. I know that this is something that concerns eBid, and their registration rules for buyers are aimed at reducing that problem.

This is because, if you rely on the after auction communications, the bidders are not getting them.

I found this out and now contact all my buyers through their own email address. If they were getting emails they would probably pay.

The suggestion is that as a 'guest buyer' you can only use the buy now option and the item must be paid for before it appears as sold in the seller's auctions. That is to say, a shopping cart approach. No-one is suggesting that unverified people can bid on auctions, only use the buy now option.

The whole point of the thread is because newbies are not getting the emails.

[ropegg]

This is because, if you rely on the after auction communications, the bidders are not getting them.

I found this out and now contact all my buyers through their own email address. If they were getting emails they would probably pay.

The suggestion is that as a 'guest buyer' you can only use the buy now option and the item must be paid for before it appears as sold in the seller's auctions. That is to say, a shopping cart approach. No-one is suggesting that unverified people can bid on auctions, only use the buy now option.

The whole point of the thread is because newbies are not getting the emails.

I have found that most of the time if I have sent an invoice and it has not been paid within a couple of days that if I forward the invoice copy sent to me with a the following note that I am usually paid within 24 hours. This makes me think there appears to be a real email problem. Still no excuse for strikethroughs.


In case there was a problem with the eBid invoice coming in from eBid or it might have slipped into your spam (junk email) box I am forwarding my copy to you.


Thank you again for your purchase.

[MPS16]

A 'guest buyer' does not have access to spam you or send you malicious links or anything else of that nature. A 'guest buyer' would not be able to bid on an auction, only use the buy now option.

All my items are Buy It Now

As soon as a buyer clicks the Buy Now Button they have access to my Email Address.

So my vote is for checks to be made on potential buyers.

[madelaine]

emails - I started this after asking whether buyers with strikethru got an email to say why. I was told they did not (asked on KT). I now realise that they do get one but it is somewhat unfriendly and very likely to end up in the spam folder. The difference when joining is that one is expecting an email.

I am not suggesting that this is an easily fixed problem, but I do think there is a problem.

I do not think that NPBs are a big problem - I cancel, relist, leave negs and move on. eBid refund any fees. For me, they are an irritation but that is all.

One buyer has told me why she won't verify. The others have vanished without trace - the only reason I heard from that one is because she liked my blog - eBid was mentioned in passing.

[DZAMBO]

All my items are Buy It Now

As soon as a buyer clicks the Buy Now Button they have access to my Email Address.

So my vote is for checks to be made on potential buyers.

Yep...I am with you too...checks...checks...checks...and again checks....