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September 3, 2007
eBay Selling: How To Block Bidders From Your eBay Auctions
Yes, eBay allows you to block bidders from your auctions and that's an important part of your eBay selling. You might be wondering why you would want to block anybody from one of your auctions or Buy It Nows? There are some really valid reasons as you'll see below.
Where Do I Go To Block Bidders?
Go to your "My eBay" folder. This is available to all eBay account holders and can be accessed from the home page of eBay, as well as most other pages on the site. Look in the upper right hand corner.
WHO Can I Block?
There are strong reasons for blocking certain kinds of buyers - or, should we say, "Pretend" buyers.
#1: Specific IDs
You can block up to 1,000 specific bidders. These are done by eBay IDs and all you need to do is fill in the form, separating each buyer with a comma. These bidders/buyers who will no longer be able to bid on, or purchase, your listings. The list will apply to all your items. You can add or delete bidders/buyers at any time.
#2: Block Specific Countries
When you list any merchandise on eBay, you can specify countries to which you will sell. This, naturally, excludes other countries, so it would seem that blocking bidders from a specific country can be overkill. However, this requirement can help you avoid buyers who agree to purchase your items without realizing you don't ship to their location.
For instance, I don't ship to France because their customs process is horrendous! Lost merchandise, partial merchandise, delays of weeks are all, sadly, common in France. Having French residents bid on my items is a waste, so eliminating this problem by blocking that country saves both them, and me, some stress.
#3: Block Buyers With A Negative Feedback Score
We can b ock buyers who have a feedback score of -1, -2 or -3. This requirement can help you avoid buyers who have received more negative than positive feedback from other eBay members bidding on your item. Chances are if the buyer has negative feedback, there are good reasons and our encounter with them will most likely be unpleasant, too.
#4: Block Buyers With "Unpaid Item" Strikes
We can block buyers who have received 2 Unpaid Item strikes in the last 30 days. This requirement can help you avoid buyers with a history of not paying for items they have agreed to purchase. The advantages of this are obvious. In fact, eBay only allows this block under the conditions stated above which are far too generous, in my opinion. I think that two strikes at any time would be more reasonable.
#5: Block Buyers Who May Bid On Several Of My Items & Not Pay For Them
For some mysterious reason, bidders sometimes seem to have a vendetta against a particular seller. These losers delight in bidding on most or every auction of a particular seller - and then refusing to pay. Fortunately, I haven't suffered this kind of attack but I know two people who have and it's very unpleasant - and expensive - to deal with. Obviously it happens more than we're normally aware or eBay wouldn't have a rule specifically for this problem.
This rule allows us to b lock buyers who are currently winning or have bought 1-10, 25, 59, 75 or 100 of my items in the last 10 days.
In addition, there is an option of only applying this block to buyers who have a feedback score of 0-5. How does this work in real life? Here are some eBay examples.
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Example 1:
You select “Block buyers who are currently winning or have bought ‘10' of my items in the last 10 days.” You also select “Only apply this block to buyers who have a feedback score of ‘5' or lower.” Two eBay members, eBaydaisy (feedback score of 7), and johneBay (feedback score of 3), are currently winning or have bought some of your items and are interested in bidding on or buying more.
eBaydaisy (feedback score of 7) is currently winning or has bought 10 of your items in the last 10 days. When eBaydaisy tries to bid on or buy another of your items, she will not be blocked. Although you are blocking buyers who are currently winning or have bought more than 10 of your items in the last 10 days, eBaydaisy has a feedback score of 7, which is higher than the 5 you set as part of the requirement. johneBay (feedback score of 3) is currently winning or has bought 10 of your items in the last 10 days. When johneBay tries to bid on or buy another of your items, he will be blocked. johneBay’s feedback score is 3, which is lower than the 5 you set as part of the block.Example 2
You select “Block buyers who are currently winning or have bought ‘10’ of my items in the last 10 days.” You do not select “Only apply this block to buyers who have a feedback score of ‘0-5’ or lower.” eBaydaisy (feedback score of 7) will be blocked when she tries to bid on or buy another of your items. This is because you are blocking buyers who are currently winning or have bought 10 items from you in the last 10 days, and you have chosen not to apply the block only to buyers who have a feedback score of ‘0-5’ or lower. In this situation, eBaydaisy will be blocked regardless of her feedback score.
johneBay (feedback score of 3) will still be blocked, since you have chosen not to apply the block only to buyers who have a feedback score of ‘0-5’ or lower. In this situation, johneBay will be blocked regardless of his feedback score. In fact, any buyer who is currently winning or has bought the maximum-allowed number of your items in the last 10 days will be blocked, regardless of their feedback score.
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#6: Buyers Without A PayPal Account
eBay claims that PayPal account holders have up to an 80% lower "Unpaid Item" rate, therefore we are able to b lock buyers who don't have a PayPal account.
What If I Currently Have Listings Posted?
Whenever you decide to apply some of these blocks, all open listings will be affected. However, all existing bids will be unaffected, meaning that if someone with negative feedback is ALREADY bidding on one of your listings, that bid will remain.
The "Buyer Requirements Exemption List"
To allow specific eBay members to bid on or purchase your items regardless of any requirement(s) you select, add them to your buyer requirements exemption list. This means that they can bid, even if they are affected by one of the conditions above that you have already blocked.
Clearly, there are occasions in which the 'bidder blocking' features can be highly desirable. Use restraint, though, since you're potentially reducing the number of bidders for your listings.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at September 3, 2007 12:13 PM
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