I'm a relatively new ebay buyer who had several wonderful weeks on this platform without immediate payment being shoved into my experience. Oh how do I miss it now!
I would LOVE to meet the UX person that thought this would be the solution. I understand that non-payers have been an issue on ebay but why on earth would you think THIS is the fix instead of just implementing a strike-out system? Just get rid of the non-paying IDs perhaps? Or asking SELLERS if they want to implement on their store instead of mandating this onto BUYERS? At least then I have the choice of where to purchase.
I am now forced into a situation where if I want to purchase several items from a seller I have to contact them prior to see if they have been forced into this program, not even to just ask if they combine shipping. To be honest I'm not even sure if it matters since I was one of the unlucky chosen ones. I had a situation where I had to confirm payment but it also didnt autopay? So it's really a crap shoot. Prior to this change, I did win a couple of items from one seller and was allowed the option to request the revised invoice for shipping. It was so easy!
I understand that sellers can refund shipping for individual items but that is so incredibly annoying for both parties. I also just don't want to overpay immediately?? Like shipping adds up if multiple items are purchased, hello??? Sometimes I like to buy multiples from a seller because it makes the shipping price more palatable. I'm so annoyed by this whole thing that I am considering not even doing that and forgoing purchasing all together. Also what about gift cards? The only option to use one would be if I choose a buy it now item, not an offer (I'm assuming) or an auction....that's annoying as well.
Until ebay finds a fix for this issue, I will be reconsidering purchasing. I understand that auctions are the backbone of this platform and that's why non-paying is such an important issue but why punish those who are paying in a timely fashion? I understand that as a newish user to ebay I definitely have some blind spots on how certain things work but for those few good weeks I had no complaints. Perhaps the other platform that starts with E is more my speed because at least the customer interface is customer friendly.
Not sure if anyone is going to read this, but I had to rant. I've found some wonderful things on this platform and would love to continue purchasing but not if I'm going to be jumping through hoops to buy and not being given the option on how I would I like to pay post winning.
