Here we go with the stupid "select a payment method to make offer" again...
...Sigh. It very suddenly went away for quite awhile. Just as suddenly... now it's back. I buy for myself and my two businesses, and my funding method varies on each purchase depending on what the purchase is FOR. I am NOT going to pre- select ONE funding source for every offer/ purchase. eBay... check my purchasing and payment 24 year record... do you REALLY want to lose me as a buyer? Something tells me you are challenged enough to not care. Exasperated in Oregon.
6 comments
atlasesattic
·2 years agoI'm a seller and I think that's crazy to force buyers cc information to give offers, I always check to make sure it's unchecked.
gramophone-georg
OP2 years agoKathie- I know that. I'm just venting, LOL.
Of all the decades I have been selling and buying online, eBay stands alone head and shoulders above any other in making it difficult to spend money.
ittybitnot
·2 years ago@gramophone-georg
LTNS, and think about you often, and hope all is well. eBay has proceeded to enroll ALL BUYER IDs into forced compliance in order to make an offer. The buyer ID will only be forced IF the seller retains the preferences in the link below that eBay placed on all seller's accounts (without notice, of course). Some sellers think in it wonderful, others don't know about them at all. They have even been renamed "buyer rules". Again you will only see that screen when the seller keeps these in the default of yes.
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements
Buyer Rules:
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.
That said, though they turned it off for a while, eBay is now in the process of enrolling BUYER IDs into forced compliance in order to bid. Not every buyer ID is enrolled yet, so you may or may not be required in order to bid YET.
Both of the above requirements are the combined shipping killers. So if you make an offer on five things from a seller with the requirement in place, and they are accepted, you will be separately billed for each one with no option to combine items for one shipping price. Same with auctions if you pony up that payment source in order to bid. You will be billed separately for each auction win one hour after the auction ends (the hour is so you can change the payment source to another one). The seller can refund some of the shipping for multiple sales, but there is no requirement that they do. What buyer wants to wait a week for the refund anyway?
Both of these requirements still limit a buyer's choice for payment methods. No Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal Credit, PayPal pay in 4, spendable funds, etc. If you choose PayPal, you better have your preferred payment method selected before you use it in this process.
Now if a SELLER sends you an offer for one or more items, they will be immediate payment required. You cannot combine accepted offers by requesting an invoice for combined shipping. The seller cannot send you an invoice. You can choose how you wish to pay for each one by itself.
Though eBay says all this is because of non-paying buyers, it seems like it is more so to get rid of combined shipping. eBay gets to collect their 40 cents per item instead of 40 cents for one combined order. They get to count more "sales" in their GMV count as well when individual sales are made in this fashion. Instead of sanctioning buyers who don't pay up, this whole crazy scheme is forced on buyers that DO PAY. They can still request to cancel as many times as they like. The process has done quite will in discouraging PAYING BUYERS, especially when they think this is the norm, and leave the site altogether.
I am just a buyer here now, and I refuse to participate. I buy jewelry that is mostly sold at auction. Why would I bid on ten items from a seller with a $5 shipping cost on each? If I win all ten I am going to be paying $50 for what would be a six ounce parcel.
Sellers can still turn this mess off. Again, most don't know about it, others who do wish to encourage multiple sales have turned them off once they find out about it. Those that think it is wonderful are free to limit their buyer pool anyway they like. Those that don't know why they no longer get offers, or see their auctions end with less than normal activity might just ramp up their Promoted Listing fees to see if it helps....LOL... eBay would like that as well.
You have probably been here as long as I have, and I know you were never a non-payer. I haven't missed paying for anything in 26 years. I see that "form" to fill out to pony up my payment source, and I simply mark that seller off my dance card, and I know plenty of others that do the same. The internet is a big place, and there are plenty of places to shop.
gramophone-georg
OP2 years agoHi Itty! Good seeing you around. Am doing well, thanks, just way too busy in my day job, LOL. Hope you are well and keeping out of mischief, too. Well, that explains why a frequent seller I buy from often suddenly can't make me a bundle deal on NOS 911 valve seals... THANKS EBAY! Guess I'll buy from his website directly then.
ittybitnot
·2 years agoWell, that explains why a frequent seller I buy from often suddenly can't make me a bundle deal on ...
@gramophone-georg
I found a few of my "frequently purchased from sellers" were glad I informed them of the issue. Others simply ghosted. I don't know if it is still there, but eBay had placed a warning on those settings that sounded like if you turned the requirements off, you would suddenly be bombarded with Non-Paying bidders....LOL..
Dear seller,
I was interested in making offers on eight of your current listings. Unfortunately, the settings eBay has placed on your account are limiting my payment choices and prohibiting combining items for one shipping price as you advertise. (I inserted the link here, and it was stripped out of the copy I sent to myself, so I would I provide the path to the preference page as well). Please let me know if you change your mind about retaining these, and I will gladly revisit your listings again.
Sincerely,
me (Buyer ID)
Then I would sit back and sometimes get SELLER generated offers for much less than I was going to offer in the first place. In many instances I would have offered a dollar or two less than the asking price only to make use of a combined shipping reduction. For auctions, I watched them end for much less than I was going to bid had I not been forced into "Other people didn't pay, so you have to suffer the consequences" punishment camp.
Glad you can still purchase what you want from your seller. It is eBay that loses. It is apparent that a "good buyer experience" is not as important as proclaimed by the venue.
kathiec
·2 years ago@gramophone-georg
You're not talking to eBay here. This is a member-to-member forum. But given the number of threads about pre-pay this forum has seen since the policy was originally introduced it seems clear eBay is aware of the pushback and simply doesn't care. After 27 years on the site I've stopped bidding on listings that require prepayment information. EBay's gonna do what eBay's gonna do.