to think this isn't a great way to communicate?

[CrazyPlateLady]

I'm currently selling stuff on ebay and have had a couple of non paying bidders. I am now having problems with another buyer who says he is having a problem with his bank and still hasn't paid me for his item.

Yesterday I get this message about one of my items for sale.

"U got a buy it now"

FFS, they could have at least typed a proper sentence.

AIBU for being put off by this potential buyer?

I wouldn't take it to heart; there are all kinds of weird and wonderful people on Ebay.....

YANBU. This kind of message infuriates me too.
In my experience (major generalisation alert here), men tend to be less polite and more brusque than women when communicating on ebay.

A few times I have just ignored those who cannot say please or thank you, or who can't put a single sentence together, just as I do on Freecycle.

No its not a great way to communicate but this is business. Either say yes or no and move on.

That said, I usually find those who e-mail you directly are pure chancers, hoping you are either desperate to get rid of the item or don't know its true value. So say you have an item worth £100, they'll offer you £50 and make out they are doing you a favour.

I usually just ignore them.

I sell stuff on ebay a lot; certainly opens your eyes to all sorts! I've had some really rude buyers, and some very slow to pay, but if you make it clear, in a friendly way in your listings, then you just follow procedure. I require everyone to pay in 3 days from auction close. If not I file a non-paying bidder thingy; that usually very quickly makes people pay. Otherwise I offer the item to the second highest bidder (second-chance offer) so save the hassle and delay of relisting if possible.

But YABU for being put off the buyer you mention; its clear enough what they're asking. (Oh and I never offer buy-it-nows for something I already have as an auction - I think it's a bit dodgy, TBH).

Is it a bit dodgy? I wasn't sure myself really. Can't see why they can't wait a few days for the auction to finish so it does make me a bit about it.

The one that I thought was fine was a bridesmaid/prom dress I had on there that a buyer wanted for the end of the week. I changed that to buy it now for them and sent it straight in the post (after they had paid). Never got any feedback though which I thought was really rude.

Someone did contact me asking if I would change a bundle of vests to buy it now for her and I wouldn't as I had about 4 people watching the item. Turns out none of the other people bid anyway, but they could have done.

Really not enjoying ebay at the moment. Had to post 7 DVD boxsets for £1 as thats all the p & p that ebay allow you to charge for DVDs because buyers have said that is a fair price to pay, regardless whether it is 1 DVD or a boxset.

It's just that if you already have bids its unfair on the other bidders to do a buy-it-now. If not, you're free to, but IMO, you never really know what is a reasonable price, and I end up feeling bad either way (did I charge too much, did I short-change myself...?).

I go through phases with ebay; I tend to get a bit obsessive over whether people have paid, and have to relax and let them take their 3 days. But what I've found is that if you post the best description you can, absolutely honest about any imperfections etc, and with a decent pic, then you usually get really good prices. So right now (selling DS's outgrown toys) I'm doing pretty well, but I'll be fed up within a few weeks and won't sell again for months.

Oh I wouldn't change it if there were other bidders on. That would be really rude.

I am still waiting a week later for this bank problem. I waited over a week for the other non payers before opening a dispute. I think I am waiting too long but I didn't specify a time frame for paying on my auctions. I will in future.

Its a bloody pain though as one of my non payers had nearly £70 worth of DVD boxsets that she never paid for. By the time I got to offer them as second chance offers, the other people had already bought another one and now I have relisted them, no one is interested but the first time there were loads of people outbidding each other. Grrrrr.

If someone contacts me offering a Buy It Now on an auction, I politely point out that there isn't a Buy It Now option, it is an auction and it will run to the end.

For boxed sets, just put a higher starting price on them.