Auction wins on 7-day autopay canceled during the period for non-payment
Summary: softie1300 shared their experience with auction sellers on eBay who canceled orders before the end of the 7-day autopay period. They encountered two sellers who canceled orders prematurely despite a legal commitment to the autopay timeframe. The sellers either ignored messages or ceased communication, leading to frustration. softie1300 reported these issues to eBay support and suggested using the "Report a Seller" button to document grievances. Other participants discussed the mechanics of the 7-day autopay and expressed varying opinions on immediate payment and seller practices. There was also a discussion about how sellers and buyers are informed about penalties following disputes.
Hi everyone.
I am writing to share my recent experiences to provide information to other bidders who experience this shocking seller behavior. I have had two "orders" canceled (June 2026 and September 2026) while sitting in my cart for not paying, before the 7-day autopay period came to an end, resulting in automatic checkout.
The June seller set their settings to cancel for non-payment after 4 days while also requiring bidders to legally commit to a 7-day autopay period in order to bid on their lots. This seller never responded to my messages seeking clarification on their cancellation. Sadly, this seller had sold to me in prior auctions, but a response did not matter. The business has sold for years here on eBay.
The September seller had set their auctions for 7-day autopay but decided on the 6th day that my winning lots were not paid within an appropriate amount of time. This seller did communicate with me at first. He continued to ask why I wouldn't just pay for it sooner than 7 days. While I answered his questions, he never replied to acknowledge his error, nor offer the lots back to me to correct the cancellation. He ceased communication.
In both cases, I filed reports against the sellers via customer support. This time, I followed the instructions provided in the community for how to use the AI agent to have support call me. LIVE customer support was very helpful both times. I was told in September to ALSO use the Report a Seller button to add my personal appeal. It's limited space, so don't rehash what's already documented. Include the reference number provided on the call. I used the space to document how willing I was to have the seller reinitiate the sale by creating a generic Buy It Now listing for me (Cards for InsertNameHere). Again, this seller wouldn't respond to me in messages.
I stated, "It is a shame that the buyer cannot learn how the seller is penalized, if at all." With each cancellation, I felt guilty even though I wasn't in the wrong. My 100% feedback and 1700+ feedback didn't matter. Learning the ruling would provide a little closure.
Also, the cards I had won to help complete my collection were now out of my reach. Apparently, the penalties for sellers range from removal of relistings with a temporary suspension to a full-blown suspension from the site. OK. Why can't a simple resolution be to send the cards originally won? I asked both sellers to simply offer them to me again. Zero replies from both. I would get to add the cards I coveted enough to legally agree to a 7-day autopay period if bidding was successful.
Lastly, buyers, ask customer support to remove the unpaid cancellation from your account. I didn't know this in June. After that cancellation, I was subjected to 10-20 emails each day encouraging me to pay for unpaid items. Worse, on the app, when I would look to make a bid, I would get a pop-up telling me to first pay for a particular item sitting in my cart. I caught the nuisance. What did the seller get for the incorrect cancellation?
I hope this helps buyers struggling to understand this hideous seller practice of cancelling before the autopay checkout for not receiving payment quickly enough.
mudshark61369
·2 weeks ago · Edited@softie1300 ,
Sellers do not select who is eligible for 7 day auto pay, ebay does that. The eligible buyer accepts that when they agree to let their chosen payment option be charged. The 7 day period starts on the exact time the 1st auction was won and ends at that time 7 days later. So the combined shipping request has to be sent before that time. Sellers allow it by keeping the buyer rule making buyers agree to have their payment method charged if they win an auction or have an offer selected and offering combined shipping.
Even though 7day auto pay was generally announced in 2024 it was done 7 days before Christmas Eve 2024 during the Holiday season when sellers have other things on their mind. So many did not know about it unless they participated in the Seller Check in on Nov. 14, 2024 when it was previewed.
Apparently neither of your sellers knew about the feature or thought that by keeping their auto pay or 4 days to pay rule in place they avoided it. Chances are when the sellers cancelled your wins, they also placed you on their Blocked Buyer Lists which would not only block you from bidding on their items but also communications from you.
"It is a shame that the buyer cannot learn how the seller is penalized, if at all."
Neither buyers or sellers who file a complaint against another ebay member ever hears what the outcome was. I'm not even sure that getting a call from an ebay rep would remove the unpaid item strikes from your account since they are not actually ebay employees. They often tell people what they want to hear just to get them off the phone.
buyselljack2016
·2 weeks agoGeneral question for those in the know.
Haven't done any "auction" selling for a while so I'm a bit out of the loop.
The 4 days to auto cancel can be set by a seller.
Is that 7 -day thing something that "eBay" set up?
Does a seller "offer" that?
Can the seller opt out of that?
mudshark61369
·2 weeks ago@buyselljack2016 ,
Read what I replied to the OP to learn about the 7 day auto pay.
albertabrightalberta
·2 weeks agoMaybe I'm different from you but if something was that important to me, I'd pay for my items immediately.
It may cost more in the end to have the items purchased, paid and shipped separately but I'd get what I wanted without risking non-payment dings.
krazzykats
·2 weeks agoThe 7-day autopay is mainly designed to accommodate multiple combined wins, rather than to lengthen the payment period.