Bruce, Interesting thread. I use to work for an antique auction house that's been migrating from n house auctions to online auctions. We would take credit card numbers from in person bidders, and of course some form of I.d. Than in the last few years we had a rash of buyers bidding and still walking out. We had no legal recourse so we began having them sign a short contract to receive bid cards. Online buyers were more difficult. We worked through an online auction clearing house where bidders had to register with them and be approved by us. To approve bidders we would ask for auction house references to verify they had a good auction history. This process proves to be laborious as auction houses would often have to call back when they were available. Of course we refused to accept bidders with a history of not paying.
Just thought id share what I've seen. Good luck. Gabrielle Possibilities antiques Sent from my iPad On Feb 20, 2013, at 6:50 AM, Tom Martin <[email protected]> wrote: >> welll.... good question Bruce... I believe in forgiveness.. but its > like my experience with my ex,, I forgive however im very cautious > inany dealings... I say ive become allergic to women as after like 3 > relationships I find it hard to be open and vilnerable.. yetI also > considerthatI may also be a part of the issue so I think forgive if I > want the same in return.. Business is slightly different.. as with > credit peopel do mismanage and have some addictions and get > overwhelmed when bidding and just dont have the funds to honor the > bids... Some are just in it for the rush of winning and if they lose > they figure so what.. But some may have had health issues, or they > where going througha rough time money wize , the economy, and perhaps > they panicked.. now that the economy is crawling back they are > getting confidence.. However,,, as you stated fol me once,, > I would flag the people so you have them on a trial basis... give > them a limit of which they can bid until they prove they are > honorable.. and in worst case scenarios Charge them a reinstatement > fee if they bowed out of the deal without a excuse that was > feasible. A lighter version would be a stern warning of the fee if > they didn't pay the bids..Maybe 10% of the unpayed for bids like a > re-stocking fee.. as you invested Time labor, and cost into that > sale.. If they become perpetual no-shows they should be disallowed > to Bid. The only thing I see is some may just create a new BIDDER > name,, however they would have same address and credit card etc... so > it would be a hassle... so maybe just a warning and say 3 strikes > your out policy....You could request they write a documented letter > as to why they didn't honor the bids and have it on file,, and a > agreement that they will in future honor the terms or risk expulsion. > In summery , I think its a case by case deal only you can call by > your relationship with each customer and your fears are well thought > out Its a hard call, as egos are involved and integrity ... I can see > you wish to be fair so thats the best part.> hope that gives some > food for thought > kindest regards, Tom >> >> ---- Original Message ---- >> From: [email protected] >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: RE: [MOPO] Can a tiger change its stripes? >> Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:26:58 -0600 >> >>> I have noticed something lately. As eBay's implosion continues, many >> former >>> buyers of ours (ones who were kicked off for non-payment) have been >>> applying for reinstatement. >>> >>> Of course they *SAY *they will never do that again, but my past >> findings >>> have been that someone who has burned us once is *FAR *more likely >> to burn >>> us again than other customers (and I believe in the old saying, >> "Fool me >>> once and shame on you, fool me twice and shame on me"). >>> >>> It is incredibly unfair to the honest bidders to have ones who bid >> and >>> never pay, because they often cause the honest bidders to pay more >> than >>> they should when they lose, and when they win and don't pay, we have >> a >>> dissatisfied consignor and have to do twice the work by auctioning >> it again. >>> >>> Thoughts? >>> >>> -- >>> Bruce Hershenson and the other 29 members of the eMoviePoster.com >> team >>> P.O. 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