Can't Pay When Amount Owed Is Under $1.00

[somanypostcards]

Today I tried to pay for an item in my shopping cart that I won at auction for $.30.  I wanted to pay using my PayPal balance.  The PayPal login screen would let me enter my user ID and password, but when I hit Enter instead of logging me into PayPal I was returned to the shopping cart payment screen. 

Next I decided to use my PayPal credit card to make the payment.  I had to add this credit card.  I selected it as the payment method, hit the Pay button , and was returned to the shopping cart payment screen.  The payment never showed up on the PayPal credit card.

Next I decided to use my Visa credit card which was what showed up as pre-selected.  I first had to enter the 3-digit security code and then I hit the Pay button.  I printed out the Order Info showing the Item(s) bought, Order #, subtotal, tax, total, seller, shipping address, order placed on date, payment method Credit Card, payment date N/A, and payment status "Payment being processed."  The shopping cart still contained the item with Pay Now.  The payment never showed up on my credit card.  After a few hours I contacted eBay Help about this.  

On the phone I went thru the above procedure using the pre-selected credit card, entering the 3-digit security code, and hitting the Pay button.  This time the item was removed (temporarily) from the shopping cart.  The support rep and I thought the payment was successful so I hung up and printed out the Order info which showed a different Order #.  Then I saw this message:  "This order was not successful.  Order cost has not been included in the total amount.  

Order Total

Subtotal   Not available

Shipping  Free

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Total          $0.00

So I called eBay Help again, tried paying a 3rd time, and was finally told eBay can not process payments under $1.00 unless the seller sends an invoice.  Once I get the invoice I can use it to successfully pay.

So now I wait for the seller to send me an invoice.  

My last 6 purchases have had payment problems, which might be a record of some sort...

[remote_controls_and_more]

30 cents? Paypal charges sellers 30 cents plus 2.9%.

Paypal will charge the seller 31 cents to take your 30 cents lol

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@remote_controls_and_more wrote:

30 cents? Paypal charges sellers 30 cents plus 2.9%.

Paypal will charge the seller 31 cents to take your 30 cents lol

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Unless they use micropayments, then it's 5 cents plus 5%, so that'd be what, 6 1/2 cents?

Then Ebay fees of three cents, then whatever it costs to ship.

Not a very viable business plan if you ask me.

[kensgiftshop]

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@somanypostcards wrote:

So I called eBay Help again, tried paying a 3rd time, and was finally told eBay can not process payments under $1.00 unless the seller sends an invoice.  Once I get the invoice I can use it to successfully pay.

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I don't know if it'll make any difference if the seller sends an invoice or not.

If the system won't let you pay now, I don't think it'll make any difference when the seller sends an invoice.

[somanypostcards · Accepted solution]

I won another auction by this seller.  The total for the combined sale was $.59, and I was able to pay using PayPal without waiting to get an invoice from the seller.  I'll never know why I wasn't able to pay for the first item alone.

[eburtonlab]

If the seller has other low-cost items in fixed price listings with free shipping, it might be worth adding one or two to your cart to see if you can figure out what the minimum amount you can successfully pay might be.