Buyer says they didn't receive item, but they never paid in the first place

[kowacollection]

Hey, I have my first request from a buyer and I'm kind of confused by this situation.

I had a buyer win two auctions in February and they never paid for them. I sent an invoice, waited, sent a message, waited more, then opened a request. Since the buyer didn't respond to the request it was okay to close it and relist the items. Two months later, the items were bid on and the buyer from before opened a request on me, saying that they didn't receive the items. I responded back and explained that I can't ship things out until the buyer pays, but I haven't heard back from them. Now, I'm just waiting again. 

I just want to know if anyone else has had something similar happen or how to go about this. 

[ed8108]

You should be aware that you are allowed to open an unpaid item case after 2 business days.

You may wish to block buyers that don't pay.

[inhawaii]

That's a good one ... wondering where their item is that they haven't paid for yet!

I would block that buyer.

Then i would ignore that buyer and go on with life.

IF they leave you a negative feedback, i'm pretty sure ebay will remove it. 

[mam98031]

I've had this happen.  It has been awhile, but I've had it happen.  I responded much like you did and then I opened the UIDs.  As I remember it, the buyer never paid.  

[slati_2013]

Something is very wrong with eBay programming if someone who fails to pay is allowed to open a case.

[mam98031]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

Something is very wrong with eBay programming if someone who fails to pay is allowed to open a case.

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I think you misunderstood.  The buyer didn't open a claim, the seller did for non payment.

[dhbookds]

So did the buyer actually open a not received case........or did they just email you saying they didn't get the items?   I don't think they could have opened a case since over 30 days have elapsed unless they opened it in Paypal, which they couldn't do IF they didn't pay..........

Sometimes buyers get confused.........I presume you pointed out in your message that they did not pay.......  I would just wait until you get an answer if it was just a question, but it could be that they are embarrassed and you'll never hear from them again........

If they insist they paid, double check paypal to make sure they didn't and then call ebay as I think they could be trying a scam.........

[kowacollection]

A request was actually opened, it wasn't a message. I also checked PayPal for my February transactions and I didn't see anything from the buyer. I even have a closed request on the buyer for the unpaid item, so I'm not really sure how they are not getting any of this.

[a_c_green]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

Something is very wrong with eBay programming if someone who fails to pay is allowed to open a case.

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They've been challenged on that before, but their response is that the buyer could pay via some method that eBay doesn't "see," and if paid, the buyer should then be able to open an Item Not Received dispute if the item doesn't arrive by the estimated delivery date. 

Granted, there's no money in escrow for such a dispute, and I don't know of any buyer who has actually collected on a little stunt like that, but (if I remember right), that was eBay's explanation for that question in the past.

[castlemagicmemories]

When you get a message like that, it's one of two things:

Buyer is seriously confused and thinks he paid you.

Buyer is playing you.

[jeannicho22]

You really should send the buyer what they paid for.

[slati_2013]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@slati_2013 wrote:

Something is very wrong with eBay programming if someone who fails to pay is allowed to open a case.

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They've been challenged on that before, but their response is that the buyer could pay via some method that eBay doesn't "see," and if paid, the buyer should then be able to open an Item Not Received dispute if the item doesn't arrive by the estimated delivery date. 

Granted, there's no money in escrow for such a dispute, and I don't know of any buyer who has actually collected on a little stunt like that, but (if I remember right), that was eBay's explanation for that question in the past.

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How can eBay resolve a case where the buyer paid by a method they cannot see? That would mean eBay got no FVF. A transaction done off eBay? Are they going to take the word of they buyer over the seller? The scamming possibilities are endless. 

This is why I would recommend everyone to have their Unpaid Item Assistant turned on. Let it close out any unpaid case so that you won't have to deal with these crazy possibilities. 

[a_c_green]

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@slati_2013 wrote:
How can eBay resolve a case where the buyer paid by a method they cannot see? That would mean eBay got no FVF.

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Sure they would. Final Value Fees are calculated on the item's sale price, not its payment method. eBay will collect the same FVFs from the seller regardless of whether the buyer paid via PayPal or some other method.

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@slati_2013 wrote:
A transaction done off eBay? Are they going to take the word of the buyer over the seller?

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It wouldn't be the first time.  I don't know exactly what proof the buyer would need to provide, only that eBay has said in the past that INRs can be filed even if eBay/PayPal didn't handle the payment, and that's why the system is allowing one to be filed. @Anonymous? It would be really great if you could elaborate here...

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@slati_2013 wrote:
This is why I would recommend everyone to have their Unpaid Item Assistant turned on. Let it close out any unpaid case so that you won't have to deal with these crazy possibilities.

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According to the OP, he did open a "request" (to use his term) and close it later, which I would understand to mean that a UPI did get closed with an Unpaid slap, but I don't think the automated Unpaid Item Assistant would have handled it any differently in that regard. The end result would look the same, and apparently it's still not clear how the buyer could file an INR later after no payment had occurred. (@kowacollection: you did wait four full days before closing your Unpaid Item dispute on the buyer, right?)

The question as I see it is not whether a buyer could file an INR after not paying, but why he could file an INR after apparently going through the Unpaid Item process and getting a UPI slap at the end. Having a UPI actually recorded on the record for that purchase should block the buyer from further sillybuggers with an INR dispute after that, but perhaps it does not.

[kowacollection]

@a_c_green I did wait four days before closing the request (it's being called that in the resolution center so that's the term I'm using, but I can use case if that's preferable) and the final value fee was credited. 

[Anonymous]

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@kowacollection wrote:

Hey, I have my first request from a buyer and I'm kind of confused by this situation.

I had a buyer win two auctions in February and they never paid for them. I sent an invoice, waited, sent a message, waited more, then opened a request. Since the buyer didn't respond to the request it was okay to close it and relist the items. Two months later, the items were bid on and the buyer from before opened a request on me, saying that they didn't receive the items. I responded back and explained that I can't ship things out until the buyer pays, but I haven't heard back from them. Now, I'm just waiting again. 

I just want to know if anyone else has had something similar happen or how to go about this. 

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Hi @kowacollection, because there are times where payment is made and eBay is unable to identify the payment, we do allow buyers to open requests even when no confirmed payment is on record. That being said, the only way a buyer would be eligible for protection in a situation like this is if they can provide proof of payment, and the transaction meets all other eligibility requirements. If there is no payment for the purchases, we would close the cases in the seller's favor and no negative impact would be recorded.