Ebay scammers on auction listings

[pjdavies_uk]

Recently I have had to end a number of auction listings midway through the sales period due to a masiive increase in 0% feedback ebay punters obviously trying to wind me up.

I specify in my listings that they need to contact me before placing a bid, as i have always done, but as you can imagine they don't.

Now I know that everyone starts on 0% and with time that will increase but there has got to be a way to protect sellers from constantly checking who's bidding and then having to go through the process of cancelling and blocking that bidders.

The only protection I seem to get is to list my items as buy it now, with immediate payment required, but as far as I can tell nothing for the auction facility.

If anyone out there knows better please let me know 

[pixiesen2012]

stating 0% feedbackers have to contact you is unenforceable and it works like a red rag to a bull,

there is absolutely no point in putting that in your listings

as you have found bidders don't like it and will open accounts and place bids just to prove that they can!

you didn't need to end your listings

all you had to do was cancel their bids and block them.

[stortclose]

Share your concern. It's always a risk. As a Private Seller I handle it by only selling low value items and occasional Collect In Person CoC. You are by far a bigger risk taker selling high value and a good proportion of brand new, so it's a surprise you're raising your profile here.

[tommystrezures]

Some of the items you have been selling eg the phones and tablets, are "scam magnets", and attract that sort of bidder. As Pixie says, you never need to end the listing, if you are unhappy with a bidder, cancel their bid and add them to your block list.

LIke you say if an auction there is no way to stop this. But we have made ourselves some very good customers from people with feedback under 5 when they started, so it does in a way swing both ways.