As the Decampe Auction Site has grown from its initial small village into a full metropolitan city,an undesireable element has become more previlent in the past months in my view....THE DEADBEAT BIDDER....I am not talking about the ordinary garden variety who bids on a single auction then mysteriously dissappears but I am talking numerous bidders who in a premeditated fashion bid on numerous auctions of various sellers and when the auctions are completed then and only then do they decided what to keep and what to leave.They refuse to communicate and it goes without saying to pay.This is not only a dishonest act but ultimately an act that is harmful to the Delcampe community as well as being a complete and utter waste of time for the seller.Do other sellers out there share my concerns or am I the only one who is effected by this plague of maggots.Also are the various administrators of the site aware of this situation and if they are...are they making any response.I look forward to your responses on this topic.Thanks for your ear! Jim

I have recently put a block on all bidders from the People's Republic of China and will follow up with other blocks for different geographical areas as problems arise.This approach will save me a lot of problems as I can appreciate,Delcampe moves along very cautiously in this area as they tred a fine line between losing income and freeing their site of these deadbeat bidders.

Dear Jim,


By the end of this week, we will start our new daily program. This software automatically closes bad rated accounts. This shows how much it is important to leave ratings to such bad payers. Express yourself through these ratings. It helps the community and my team to detect the persons that gives a negative face to our site.

Of course, we have several action levels. Some accounts will be automatically closed, other will require intervention of our staff.


Best regards, Sebastian Delcampe

Jim,with these types of people ,I wait 2 weeks and send a second invoice.When this fails straight to the Dispute Section ,give my reason ie no payment . Then after 8 Days 0% Feedback : not Paid ect.
Hopefully then Seb Kicks them of the Web site.
bdog

Hi Jim,

I use the sales process of

i) Notification by invoice,

15 days

ii) second invoice notification along with unpaid bidder notice to Delcampe,

22 days

iv) Step it up to a dispute on Delampe

then

30days

v)
0% feedback

Block their bidder ID and also give their bidder ID to my other seller friends [PRO] for them to block on their selling lists.

This culls out dead beat bidders rapidly.

SCVIEW

SCVIEW,What are the Benifits of being a Pro or a Gold Member .
Regards Bdog

It has been about a month since my original post.During this time period I have had 10 successful???? bids and of these 6 have not paid nor replied to emails.All the items are nickel and dime very small asking prices so these bidders make up their minds what they will pay for and what they wont.I am very tired of the constant reminders and dispute resolutions.One of these nutter < from China > whom I had blocked from my auctions had the audacity to send me a private email asking for an explanation why he was no longer able to bid on my material.This fellow has about 3000+ positive ratings to go with his 400+ negatives so he is not likely to be turfed by Delcampe any time soon as he is on the black side of the ledger as far as the site is concerned.

Thank you for the heads up! Will update my block bidder list with this nice specimen of yours:)

I think that the 3 strikes you are out could be implemented here (for non-payment).
I have the feeling that a lot of bad buyers come here after being boot off ebay.

The problem I have with non payers, is that it makes me loose sales, since what they bought is no longer available to serious buyers.

Oh by the way, is there a way to edit a post in the forums? English is not my language and I realize that sometimes after I post something, there is many mistakes in the post.

I do not think you can edit a post.Do not be concerned your English errors are very very minor.You are at least to be commended for attempting correspondence in your second language.As a fellow Canadian I would be not be as courageous to try my French. Take care! Jim

Yes, you can edit your postings - click on the words MODIFY THE SALE which are in blue near the top of your listing, make your changes then confirm with large button near the foot of the page - Its easy

Hi,

I find the advantages of being a PRO seller & G club member to be one of perception on behalf of the buyers.

I have received several (5) emails from buyers telling me that me being a PRO seller with [G] Club on Delcampe being a major factor for them risking an international transaction.

When I first started on Delcampe, I waited a month before I went with the [G] club. When I did , my sales doubled immediately.

I waited quite a while to submit my proof I was a full time business for the PRO designation, I think about 7 months after I started.

I hate paper work, even when it is easy to do.

That PRO rating again increased my sales, by almost 25%.

International Transactions are a risk in the mind of many buyers. Overseas the postal system is not the rock solid reliable enterprise that it is here in the states. Mail can be lost to theft quite easily (Italy & Brazil had quite severe problems for a while).

Mail can be Very slow. I have packages that once they arrive in customs of a country.. take up to four months to go the extra 50-100 miles to get to the buyer.

Overseas mail (Local) itself is not as reliable as ours.

All of this leads to the conception of non US buyers that a mail transaction is risky.

Any thing one can do to alleviate that concern is a boon for the customer and to sales.

One other thing one can do that helps buyer confidence is to have an unconditional refund policy that includes lost mail.

In my 11,000 sales I have had to give 5 refunds for items not received by Delcampe buyers so far.

Three of these buyers contacted me much after the transaction (refund) was done and paid me for the items again. In each cause the item I shipped took a very long time to reach them. In one case an item went to South America on its way to Italy...

That is another thing I like about the Delcampe buyer... overall they are very honest.

So in response to your question.. it is a positive perception on the part of the buyer toward you as a seller that is affected in your favor by being a PRO seller with the [G] club designation.

Stefano