TOPIC: be careful selling your boat on ebay

i think i just got ripped,i had my checkmate speed boat on ebay,well it got a bid,but i later saw the guy had 0 feedback,and was from Thailand,needless to say i havent heard from him yet.
we thought the boat was sold,but at least another guy from ny is interested in it,john

You need to set your account up as not to accept any bids outside the USA and not from anyone one with a neg or a zero feed back.

Mine is set up for USA sales only and Lower 48 states only.

you can post that you will not take bids for less than X # of feedback and if someone does bid remove their bid and block them.

Anything that I sell that is over $500 is 10 or more feedback or I remove them and their bid.

Sell the boat the the 2nd chance bidder right now.

and be sure to turn deadbeat bidders into ebay!!!

Sorry to hear about your eBay misfortune. I would suggest that you do NOT block international buyers from your auctions. Many countries have economies doing much better than ours and the disposable income is at the ready for new toys. I have sold dozens of boats on eBay over the years and over 10 have shipped to international locations. My only advise would be have the buyer know in advance that ALL shipping arrangements are his / her responsibility (shipping agents can be a pain).
As far as the eBay rating system, I agree anyone under a rating of 10 very well could be a waste of time. I have contacted under 10 bidders as to their intent and if I do not get a return email I erase the bid.
Just my 2 cents. Good Luck

i didnt know i could erase a bid,now im going through hell with ebay,they plan on charging me for the sale,if anyone is interested we have lowered the price until i can get it relisted.john

John,
Go to your my eBay page and to sold items to the extreme right there is a drop down with actions to select. Click on unpaid item and just follow along with the questions. After that point eBay will try to contact buyer and when the does not respond the credit will be given to your account. The eBay resolution center is really quite efficient and they do all the leg work after you place the "claim". The charge you are referencing is only on their system until the end of your billing cycle and generally the matter is settled by that time. In essence you are not out any $$ just some unwanted aggravation from the BOZO bidder.

Drop me a message if you need help.

Ebay likes money.That made more off me than I them. So I quit selling. They called me up once to talk about it too. They sent a thing about service in my e-mail and I gave them both barrels. They then called me up once to talk about it too.

Never accept a bid from someone with a zero. I got stung by one from South Africa who had the high bid on my Avion trailer. He wanted to ship it over on his container ships but backed out and never paid. I've set up my preferences not to accept bids from bidders with low ratings.