eBay dilemma: how long to wait for response from Florida bidder?

CarlWohlforth

I have a winning bidder from Florida. There has been no contact from him at all. I have sent 2 invoices in addition to the normal eBay winning bidder notice. The auction ended two weeks ago.

I am very sympathetic to everyone who has had any problems from the weather in Florida. That must inlcude millions of people. The item is of small value ($10). I would gladly cancel the sale if the bidder requested that. Since there is no reply I'm not sure how to proceed. Should I:

1) forget about it, absorb the listing and final value fees and list the coin again or

2) wait another week, then if there is still no contact file a non-paying bidder form so my final value fee can be returned then relist the coin or

3) wait longer and decide later or

4) ???

Wolf359

With all the problems down there? I'd set the item aside for a month or so at least.

Fairlaneman

Hmmm....the same dilemma is in progress here also. I was thinking about what to do this morning and decided to wait one more week. The buyer has email once though. For some reason either the buyers have been Faster than the Speed of Light or Slower than a Snail lately.

Edit to Add: The above is a general statement and did not refer to only Florida buyers.

Ken

itsnotjustme

I'd give the bidders plenty of leeway if from a hurricane affected area.

Dabigkahuna

Carl,

There are still people without power and a huge amount of homeless and displaced families. I think I would either forget about it or set it aside for little while longer. Im running into people down here who left the state for a month and are just coming back now. You may want to try and call is the best advice I can think of.


G'Luck
Larry
Dabigkahuna

braddick

Check his other eBay activity. If there is none you're doing the right thing either forgetting about it or waiting an extended period of time.
If however there is other, recent bidding activity I'd be filing a NPB with eBay.

coinguy1

Carl, if you haven't alreday done so, why not try to call him? You should be able to get his phone number through Ebay if you don't have it.

Dog97

Some of those people are still without power after after 6 weeks and are still living in shelters.
If this bidder is one of those people he has more to worry about than a $10 coin on eBay.
If all of a sudden his power came back on and he had a home again right now he still has more to worry about than a $10 coin on eBay.
The storm made me late paying for several eBay deals even though I was without power for only 1 day uptown was heavily damaged and I was without banking & postal service for over a week.

#1 forget it & relist.

sTONER

PAT,,,,STEVE

ormandh

I would give him or her another couple of weeks then relist it if not heard from. For a $10 item it is not worth the hassle either way. Because of the circumstances, I would probably not pursue it any longer and get on with life. -Dan

mrearlygold

Do you know where in Fla he/she is??


Tom

JRH

What part of Florida ??? Check his other feedback, etc. and if he's been a reasonably good e-bayer I'd cut him some slack and give him the benefit of the doubt. Wait a couple more weeks. When we got hit by a hurricane (not in Florida) we were without power for eleven days and it was months before things were back to "normal".

mtnman

I've got friends in Flordia that have been without power since Francis. If he has not been doing anything on e-bay since the storms I would just hang onto the piece for awhile longer.

Yousri

I think you should wait. Some folks still have no power and it might last another 2-3 weeks.

LindeDad

I'll go with the trend, and say give the guy/gal any and every break. Possible including just eating the loss of ten bucks.

CarlWohlforth

I can't imagine how terrible it must be if you were in an area hit by more than one hurricane!! This person is from Largo, isn't that near you Tom?

This is a new bidder who joined eBay last month. He has 5 successful purchases so far.

I have no problem eating the final value fee, it is nothing in the big scheme of things. I think I will wait a while before listing the coin again in case this guy becomes interested in this auction. But as it isn't even my coin I can't keep my client waiting for all that long...

my3cents

make the call and see whats up

Bochiman

What my3cents said....if you call and can't get anybody, or answering machine, then likely the bidder has problems.
If you can get someone or a machine, leave a message/ask.
Maybe the bidder has so much on their mind they have forgotten and will follow through or maybe there is way too much happening for them and they can't.
Just call though

mrearlygold

Hey Carl,

Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda saw more destruction than anywhere. I don't know where Largo is. That said, you may want to look at http://www.fpl.com to see who has and who doesn't have the ability to communicate.

The phones were working about 2 weeks after Charlie hit. We had no electric for a couple of weeks. Many people had no cable for longer than a month.

I'm referring to houses which weren't destroyed of course. I think the numbers in PC/PG was 30+ thousand homes suffered damages of one sort or another. Then there's the issues of getting evacuated almost weekly for over a month. My wife and I left out of exasperation and went to the Poconos for a week. My business, although still did really well while away was affected as I was unable to ship anything.

My bank is a "mudroom" still and it's difficult to access the safe deposit box ( it's now 7 weeks ish)

Your buyer might be in a tough spot with flooded out property etc and just getting into rebuilding. I think you should try calling. It might have just been put on a back burner but it would be nice of him to let you know that if he's in a position to do so......

Rgrds
Tom

TUMUSS

Largo is south of Tampa on the other side of the bay. I heard that there are still many people without power over there. I would give him the benefit of doubt....BUT I think Braddick has a good point.