Sellathon has introduced a tool for eBay sellers to help them combat Non-Paying Bidders (NPBs), also known as deadbeat bidders. Deadbeat bidders are eBay buyers who win auctions but don't pay for them.

Sellathon has added an "NPB Alert" feature to its ViewTracker auction monitoring service that alerts sellers to potential deadbeats. If a reported non-paying bidder bids on a seller's auction, ViewTracker will notify that seller immediately, and he or she can then decide what action to take while the auction is still ongoing. (Sellers can cancel eBay bids during an auction, but not after the auction has ended.)

eBay refunds sellers for commission fees on NPB auctions, but sellers must still pay listing fees (they are allowed to relist items that are bid on by NPBs). eBay also appears to have a limit to the number of NPBs sellers can file.

ViewTracker users can choose to be notified by email, and can select the criteria to trigger that email. For example, a seller may choose to receive a notification email only when a bidder has been reported as an NPB by at least two different sellers.

Sellathon CEO Wayne Yeager said "We never say this person or that person is a deadbeat. People make honest mistakes, and I think everyone understands that. But if three or four different sellers have reported someone as a non-paying bidder, there's a pretty good chance he's a genuine deadbeat, and we think the seller has the right to know that. But in any event, we just provide that data, and the seller can choose if and how to respond, before the auction ends."

Sellathon's ViewTracker is an analytics tool for eBay sellers. Sellers interested in experimenting with the new NPB alerting feature may do so at no cost by signing up for ViewTracker, which is available on a free trial basis at the Sellathon site.

http://www.sellathon.com