The latest stunt from eBay

[77-78yankees]

...Oh look.. Here's a "New one" from the eBay authoritarians. Haven't seen this one before until 5 minutes ago... 

"Pay by Apr 19 so you don't lose the item"

"Lose the item"?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?   **bleep**????????

It seems like every day there's some new stunt that eBay's pulling................................

[buyselljack2016]

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@bearswatching wrote:

I can’t think of a single reason why I wouldn’t pay for an item the second I won as long as it was within reasonable waking hours.  

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If I were to have a bid on an auction, and ended up winning, I would not pay the second that I won. I do not spend my time watching as an auction ends.  Some do, but I'm not sure why.

I do pay in a timely manner.

[6085michael]

@bearswatching 

There are many reasons as a seller that I hated being forced to accept IPR (instant payment required). My settings have always had it unchecked but Ebay has forced IPR on me and my buyers. There are many other sellers that would agree. I have never had a problem with non payers, but if you do, it should be an option NOT forced.

This new policy and message is very BAD for most of the reasons below, and it is also very THREATENING in nature. Buyers don't want to be threatened, and many buyers are going to think this message is from the seller.

I would really prefer that Ebay not threaten my buyers, as I don't care if they don't pay right away.

1) It seriously discourages multiple purchases, most buyers including myself hate the cart as it rarely works correctly. and the item is not yours while it is in there.

2) It forces me to ship the item (because the buyer was forced to pay) even if the buyer wants to continue browsing my store, or has bids (or wants to bid) on my auctions, etc.

3) I can't tell you how many single payments I have received minutes/seconds apart because of this and because of Ebay's IPR policy, and the faulty cart.

4) Way way back when Ebay forced IPR on me, I finally had to switch to free domestic shipping, because I got tired of refunding all the duplicate shipping charges.

5) Because of all these multiple payments, I have to print out multiple packing slips, which is a lot more work and increase waste and postage.

Don't get me started on the new PDF format packing slips. at least 3 extra steps and can't format.

6) All these sellers that complain about non payers, have always had the option to require IPR instant payment, and unfortunately Ebay has required it for quite some time on BIN items, whether you wanted it or not.

Now as a buyer I also hate IPR for most of the same reasons I stated above.

1) I can't tell you how many impulse purchases I didn't make because I wanted more time to browse somebody's listings or wanted to try to combine shipping on other items . Rarely would I go back to the store after I left it, because I was not committed to a purchase.

2) I don't like to be forced to pay for an item, knowing I am going to bid on something from the same sellers auctions.

Then because I was forced to pay tight away, Ebay is forcing the seller to use multiple shipments or get a late shipment if they wait for the auction end, (whatever happened to Ebay wanting to be a green company). Unlike a lot of commenters on this board, a lot of sellers I deal with never had a problem waiting for a payment, and like me encouraged buyers to take their time and browse.

3) I do try to use the cart sometimes, but more often than not,  I get an error message trying to ask for a combined invoice, saying seller does not combine shipping. When I know they do and they state it in the listing. This error on many occasions has made me just say the heck with it and not bother to complete the sale

I also constantly get "item not added" error "seller is on vacation" even though the seller is not on vacation and the item actually does get added to the cart. I finally actually figured out the Ebay bug that was causing this one, but can't always eliminate it.

There is a 3rd one but I can't remember it off hand.

Enough typing for now, I just got so angry after I saw this new message while trying to check out for an auction I won.

What is Ebay thinking, if their intent is to P**s off buyers, and sellers that don't want such a message associated with any of their sales,  they are certainly succeeding.

[popblox]

When I have a reliable buyer who wants to make multiple purchases over an extended period of time, I make them a special listing and save it to my drafts. I add to it as they communicate with me - if it's an auction item, I cancel the auction order when it ends (if they win) and add that item to the special listing. If it's a fixed price item and I only have 1 remaining, I take it out of stock and add it to the listing. When they're ready to buy, I add everything up and make the listing live. 

Obviously I communicate heavily with them and verify exactly what they want and when they plan to pay from the very beginning. I realize this is more work and certainly isn't a solution for the "what the heck has eBay done this time" fiasco, but I've found it to be an effective workaround.

[6085michael]

Popblox, you and some of your customers must have the patience of a saint. With all of that communication, no matter how careful, it increases the risk of misunderstandings. Very few buyers or sellers would want to (nor should they have to)  go through that process to buy some items. I sell collectables and find the less communication required the better, as Ebays messaging system is very poorly set up and extremely difficult to keep track of questions, especially about different items from the same buyers, so the chance of miscommunication increases with every communication.

That being said your post shows how bad Ebay's system is to try to let buyers combine purchases over time. There are so many problems with their cart, check-out, sending invoices, combining shipping, etc.

That even they can't keep up with them, nor do they try to. Some are by design, but many are just bugs in the programming.

For instance, some of my buyers are now forced to request an invoice to pay for an item (otherwise Ebay won't let them pay). They have sent messages asking me why they have to request an invoice. Even though it is a single item purchased with free shipping (it is not my setting). It actually happened to me on one of my purchases, although I did find a work around, not all buyers will figure it out.

I do not like sending invoices, unless I absolutely have to, again because, it discourages multiple purchases.

I have been on Ebay for 20+ years, and it is very sad to see the direction Ebay is going. And what they are forcing upon their customers, both buyers and sellers.

[popblox]

@6085michael 

I have an incredible amount of patience if a sale hangs in the balance. I'm not going to allow frustration with the system hold me down - if it's possible to get my customer what they want and I have to do some extra work to make it painless for them, you better believe I'll be all over it. 

I just like money.

[rhma54]

So did you pay?

[d-k_treasures]

The new one that drives me nuts is the one that says '<item> is almost yours' -- and you only have it in your watch list and never made a bid on it.

[6085michael]

If this question is for me, you obviously missed the point.

But if you must know, I always pay.

[6085michael]

Popblox, I do admire your patience, I am sorry if you took my reply in a negative way, as it was not meant to be. Believe it or not, I also have a lot of patience, and will bend over backwards to try to keep my customers happy.  As I said I have been on ebay a very long time, so I have learned that you just have to deal with some of Ebays shortcomings the best you can. That does not mean I/we/you have to like them, and on occasion point them out hoping Ebay might actually change them.  And it seems to have been working so far with over 6000+ feedback and no negs (obviously not this account).