I've sold quite a few laserdiscs over the years and most buyers are perfect customers in that they pay immediately once they have received the invoice. This is how I prefer it because if an item has sold then there are usually fees to be paid to the site you sold the item from unless it was a private sale. So if I don't receive payment promptly I'm actually paying fees for an item I didn't receive any money for which is an interesting dilemma! That's how LDDB.com works.

I don't mind if a buyer wants to delay payment a few days while they make some final choices as long as there is a clear timeframe set on how long they are going to take. What does annoy me though is a buyer who strings you along. For example after I have sent the initial reply and invoice I got no reply. I followed this up a few days later and still got no reply. A week later I indicated I was going to cancel the transaction and suddenly they reply and are very apologetic. They produce all sorts of elaborate excuses as to why they can't pay yet and then say they will pay in a months time. For someone who has bought from me before I'd be fine with that as we all have difficult months when it comes to paying for things. For a new buyer I'd be a little more cautious unless their reasons are pretty convincing.

Now this very situation has just arisen. A new buyer purchased an item from my store. After many emails to them they eventually responded to indicate they can't pay until the beginning of the next month (today). I gave them the benefit of the doubt and let them delay payment for 1 month. I've emailed them today and got no reply. In the meantime I've long since been billed by LDDB.com and paid the fees due for a transaction that never actually took place yet. I also want to clarify I've no issues with LDDB.com since I know those fees can be refunded and the transaction undone if necessary.

They are wasting both my time and Julien's time though if the transaction needs undone and may have also jeopardised the sale to someone else for no good reason. Just wondering what others would do in this situation.

Should a time waster like this be banned from LDDB.com?
Has anyone else encountered a scenario like this?....it hasn't been that common from the people I've dealt with to date. The big distinction from obvious scammers or dead beats who never respond after the initial purchase is these time wasters do eventually respond and are always very polite and courteous but seem to take forever to actually pay!! One gets the impression they are either very skillful chancers or hopeless at managing even the most basic finances. Either way they are a nuisance.

Well, first of all; I don't think a seller should be charged transaction fees until the sale is complete *for this very reason*; or, at the very least, do it like eBay where they only bill you once a month for transactions after they've been complete, that way if something like this arises, people like you don't have to pay a fee.

I've had a case or two on eBay where a buyer will ask for some additional time. The guy that bought my LaserActive player two years ago from eBay promptly emailed me and asked if he could have a couple days to pay. He gave me a time-frame, so I said ok. Thankfully, I didn't have to remind him on it because in two days; the money was in my Paypal. Of course, I told him it would take me two days to get it ready to ship, and that I wasn't going to prep it untill I had the money. I didn't have a problem in that case.

But if someone keeps stringing you along for more than a couple of days; I find that unacceptable. If a person doesn't make arrangements with me to say they'll pay later; I will hound them with invoices and reminders every day for a couple of days...after three or four if I haven't heard back..I will cancel the transaction and offer it to the second highest bidder. I can't remember what eBay's policy is...it's the one place aside from an audio forum where I've sold items.

But a month? Even with that kind of upfront notification; I would have turned the transaction down. I look at buying on the internet the same I would buy at a store. Unless you have credit; the stores don't let you pay later..and even with credit...the store itself is getting paid and you're paying back the creditor. I don't know why people think the internet should be any different. IF you want the item, you should have the funds to pay for it immedately. I *never* buy something online if I don't intend to pay for it immedately; even if I know I'm going to be getting a paycheck in the next day or two...I'll wait until I actually have the funds available (or can float the ACH wait-time) before I commit to purchasing. The only time I've never paid within minutes of clicking buy is when I was waiting for an invoice from a seller for combined shipping..or on the audio forum where I'm waiting for someone to send me a paypal email.

You've been kind enough. I would send the seller a message saying if he does not pay within one business day; the transaction will be canceled. He obviously didn't have the money and had no business thinking about purchasing something.

That is a bit crappy laserdic-fan & I agree with what dewdude is saying.

On ebay you get all sorts of excuses & timewasters at times but here someone has bought from you & they should pay, simple as that.

Pay you in a month is taking the p**s a bit & I hope (but doubt) your buyer comes good in the end.

Things happen every now & again but a few days should be enough time to sort out any unexpected issues.

Cheers.

I'd give him one business day or cancel the transaction as well. One month should be more than enough time to caugh up some money.

I think some people don't realize how much trouble it actually causes if they don't pay on the Internet. They might think it is as easy as just cancelling the transaction, or it doesn't hurt anything if it is "forgotten".

Personally I always pay right away. There are a few exceptions, like when I purchase items from facebook sellers. Though, I've never delayed the payment the very first time(s).

Me too and as a seller I ship the next day if the post office is open.

I thought I'd seen it all by now but some buyers never cease to amaze me.
A few years ago a guy from the US put in an offer for a rare title which I accepted.
I then invoiced them and they replied could they get a further discount before paying and also could they pay in 2 weeks time!
I said no to both and they left me a negative feedback for a transaction they never paid for!
I contacted Julien and he deleted their account and removed the negative feedback.
As a seller you need a thick skin sometimes as there are a few real chancers out there.

Sadly that is very true.

First time buyers, perhaps up to a week is reasonable. Depending on their reputation ( feedback ), this can be steched to a month on " not very expensive " titles.

On the expensive and rare titles, the situation is very delicate. Some titles command really high asking prices and not having it advertised/for sale for even one day can/could mean never selling that disc for that asking price. Maybe that serious collector happened to be on this site for one occasion and left because he didn't find what he was looking for. In the mean time, the none payer buyer was keeping you busy and that sought after title not listed. If he ends up cancelling the buy, he gets a negative feedback but you lose the other serious collector who would pay your top asking price. Every second counts on these expensive discs, serious commitment is required on these sales.

Not exactly.

Going above $15 will put the account in "Fees to be paid" mode but there is a 30-day cut-line, giving you 4 additional weeks to settle the transaction (or not, in which case I will cancel it and void the associated fees).

Julien

Man, selling a $500 disc puts you into above $15 mark, laserdisc fan has more than a few of those above $500 discs:)

Yes, but still you have an additional delay of 30 days to receive your payment or reverse the transaction.
The price of the LD doesn't really matter here, only the $15 + 30 days threshold.

Julien

There's been no reply from buyer 'lasermal' so watch out guys in case he tries buying from you.

In my opinion his account should be deleted.

Julien - please cancel transaction #115517020110Y6459240 and credit monies due.
Sorry about the hassle with this buyer who turned out to be a bad egg after all.

This isn't the end of this story.....there's more!

So Julien cancelled the transaction yesterday as I had not heard any response from this buyer for 1 month and 2 days.

This morning the same buyer returns and purchases the exact same disc from my store again.
3 minutes later he emails me to say:
"I will try to keep this month and the following quiet ones... just started browsing/shopping/emails etc.
pay pal is now sorted. please prepare transaction."

So I send him his 4th paypal reminder for the original invoice.
I also let him know my paypal email so he can send payment direct to me if he didn't receive my invoice although I have no idea why as I even told him to check his spam folder.

So far no response.
This guy plays a good game of ping pong but still no money received!

laserdisc-fan best of luck with this.

Perhaps it will come good.

If not paid by now though?!?!

Which disc is it? I will buy it to save you from hassle

Well there is still no payment forthcoming from buyer 'lasermal' so he has just earned his second negative feedback!

I wonder will be attempt to buy the same disc a third time?

Surely not?!?

What a waste of time for you.

Perhaps he/she is finished messing about now.

Julien attempted to contact the now infamous 'lasermal' to find out if he planned to pay.
There was no response so he has deleted his account.

I received today a neutral feedback from a buyer who ordered a few discs on may 13th 2014. After a month without payment, I asked if he´s still interested in the discs, which he was. After that, I never heard of him again. Well, I left the following neutral feedback on October 6th 2014 (5 months after the discs were ordered): "The transaction never took place,after few slow mails,never heard of buyer again".
It`s not that i can´t live with a neutral feedback, though it wasn´t my fault, but I´m angry that he wrote the following: "Inpatient [sic!] seller, gave up and rated before I could get a new computer and funds".
I consider myself as a honest person, especially when it comes down to paying my debts or selling stuff. What I really despise are sad excuses or, in this case, lies. What kind of information is this: "before I get a new computer"..Did I miss something? Buyer was still active in this timeframe (yes, I even gave this guy the first time a positive feedback in 2013, whenh everything went ok) so thats just a sorry excuse.
Hell, i needed to get off some steam..

That's probably a 13 year old kid

I caught this one when it was posted.

Always ask me to cancel past transactions that didn't make it to keep your balance correct, put the LDs back for sale in shop, and have the selling stats corrected.

Feedback removed.

Julien