It is imperative that members of the VinylBid
community realize that the placing of a bid on an item is a legally
binding agreement between themselves and the seller, promising to purchase
the item up to the maximum which they have stated they are willing to
pay. Although for many VinylBid members the community is just a hobby,
several members also utilize our services as a means by which to make
an income. If we were to take this lightly, we would be jeopardizing
our reputation as well as the main premise of this service: that you
possess both the intent and the means to pay for the items you have
bid on. Otherwise, why bid in the first place?
In the event that a bidder chooses not
to complete the transaction with the seller, or the seller simply cannot
get a hold of the winning bidder after the auction is over, VinylBid
provides the seller with a standard 3 step process for obtaining payment
for the item, or for obtaining a refund for their closing fee. VinylBid
will deal with non-paying bidders in the following manner:
-
1st offence will result
in a warning from the Security Squad and/or suspension.
-
2nd offence shall result
in a 30 day suspension from using VinylBid's services.
-
3rd offence shall result
in an immediate expulsion from the VinylBid community.
Information for Sellers
If after 5 days of the auction's close, you have been unable to contact
the winning bidder, you should follow the procedure below. It's important
to follow this procedure, to preserve any right you may have to a refund
or credit of our Closing (commission) Fee. Unlike other auctions,
we will try at least limited intervention to assist you.
Step 1: Try as best you can to
get a hold of the winning bidder. Just because you can't get a hold
of them right away does not mean that they are attempting to get out
of the deal. Just like you, they are real people with real lives,
and something may well have come up. Five (5) days should allow sufficient
time for settlement.
Step 2: Notify VinylBid within
3 days (following the preliminary 5-Day period) that you have a non-paying
bidder by filling out the Non
Paying Bidder Form which lets us know about the status of
your auction. The VinylBid Security Squad will then send a priority
e-mail to your buyer letting him/her know that they are being reminded
to contact/pay their seller, and that if they do not respond to both
you and us within 5 business days, they will receive a negative feedback
rating and/or be suspended from our site for a period of 30 days.
Step 3: Once it has been determined
that you are dealing with a "deadbeat" bidder, fill out
our Credit Request Form so
that VinylBid can credit your account for the amount of the commission
for your unsold item. Be sure to post negative feedback on the high
bidder's feedback profile. Upon receiving your Request Credit Form,
VinylBid will make a decision upon whether or not to suspend the buyer
from the auction site for a period of 30 days. Any member who receives
a net rating (defined as # of positives MINUS # of negatives) of -2
or two suspensions in the same 12 month period shall automatically
have their membership relinquished.
Note: If an auction listing has been placed
by a seller and no closing fee was charged for the auction (such as
during a promotion) the seller need only complete steps 1-2. If the
seller still does not receive a response from the bidder within 5 days
of completing the non-paying bidder form, or the buyer notifies the
seller that he/she is backing out, the seller should e-mail securitysquad@vinylbid.com
with a complaint, in addition to posting negative feedback on the winning
bidder.
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