Auto-Pay should cut down on Scammers
The more I read about Auto-Pay the more I like the fact that it will cut down on scammers who bid on items or send / accept offers with no intention of paying AND try to scam Sellers.
While some Buyers have posted that they do not like it I think in the long run it will be more beneficial for the venue. For myself I would have no issue supplying payment information on eBay before placing a bid on an Auction (which I already do all the time on other venues) or as part of the Offer process.
17 comments
ittybitnot
·2 years agoAuto-Pay should cut down on Scammers
@mr_lincoln
Auto pay also cuts down on PAYING buyers who do not wish to participate, or find that the removal of combined shipping when the auto-pay process is used to be unacceptable. If the problem of non-payers is so severe, why did eBay not simply get rid of them? I surmise it is because this system makes more money for eBay.
The old "they will just get another ID" is no longer believable, since the technology to prevent new accounts by sellers doesn't seem to be a problem.
If, as a seller, you no longer wish to combine orders for one price for auctions or offers then keep those preferences that eBay selected for you. You can also use Bin/IPR, as the results are similar, but a buyer has MORE choices to pay. You can limit your buyer pool anyway you like. A seller will never know I was going to bid much more on five of their auctions than ended with minimal bids. A seller will never know that I was going to make a "best offer" on ten of their items for just a dollar under the asking price so a combined invoice could be sent. I am a buyer that has paid promptly for multiple items for 25 years. now I suddenly become untrustworthy? I will not bid on your auctions when an auto-pay is required. Will you miss me? Likely not, for eBay will not tell you how many people simply "backed out" when they were shown that screen: "New! Smoother checkout" and figure out what it actually means.
Yes, as soon as they force all buyer IDs into this, you will not have non-payers. You may realize less profit, but you will always be paid. There is no limit to "buyer cancel" requests, as there is for the 2 in 12 months NPB block.
In this time when the seller through rate is so dismal, it doesn't make sense to alienate buyers that actually DO pay with this auto-pay program.
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements
Buyer Payment Requirements
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.
Not getting any offers? Not getting many bids? Check yours.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI tend to agree for the most part but as with every change there are consequences. Others have already mentioned the issue with combined shipping not being automatic but this problem has cropped up with BIN IPR required listings for years. It is something that the seller can work when they actually ship but communicating with the buyer and refunding any excess shipping charge.
While the payment information option for auctions prior to bidding may discourage sport bidders it may open up the opportunity for sport cancellers. Aka those that bid an item up and immediately request a cancelation of the order once the auction ends. Of course as a seller you don't have to accept the request but do you really want to send an item to a bidder/buyer who has requested a cancel only to have it followed by a return request once the buyer receives the item?
The one other issue with what amounts to IPR for auctions is the timeline and I have dealt with this before this option went into effect. For those bidders who bid early on an auction a lot can happen between the time they placed their bid. The could have died or been impacted by some type of disaster. I had a auction end the day after Katrina hit New Orleans fortunately the IPR was not on at that time and the buyer did not pay simply because they had a lot of other issues including their ability to access the internet. They did contact me later and ended up buying the item. If you have items shipping to Maui or Palm Springs you may want to touch base with your buyers if they are able to communicate.
With regards to the scammers a lot in fact do actually pay for the items and then use a number of methods to scam the seller out of either their money or the item. Some of it is organized so multiple buyers are taking part as part of a centralized effort.
tapi-szem
·2 years agoIF the credit card is valid and IF Ebay actually charges it.
I have one unpaid item right now - buyer made an offer and Ebay stated if I accept, the buyer's card will be charged automatically. Well, it was not. I have no idea why, this is the first time it happened.
solidguitar1961
·2 years agoIt works great other than when trying to do combined shipping
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoI utilize free shipping, so no need to ask about combined shipping. I think it is a great addition and is aimed at helping the seller. I read a thread where the buyer was complaining about it because he like to make offers and then see which one to accept. That person is part of the problem. Making offers is not a game. It is intent to buy.
rugerskick
·2 years agoIt may reduce a certain subset of scammers posing as buyers, yes. But they can still file inads and chargebacks.
mr_lincoln
OP2 years ago@rugerskick But for INADs and other post purchase scams they have to pay first and I think a lot of them prefer not putting money out to cheat someone ...
lakefor94
·2 years agoA lot of those types have already burned their Credit options/chargeback privileges. They are down to fake emails etc to try to get a novice seller to ship.
The prepayment info will take them out of the their game.
I have it turned off on my seller account. I have only had one non-payer in the last couple of years. My buyers get one invoice from me and that is it with a note thanking them and informing of when I can ship.
They normally pay within 48 hours. My buyers need convenience, not hoops to jump thru.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoFor sure @mr_lincoln it will cut down on scammers, sport bidders, buyers who bid on or make offers on multiples of the same item then only pay for the lowest priced one, and more.
I posted this on another discussion earlier today, but I think it's worth repeating here so please forgive the copy/paste if you saw that other discussion.
Generally speaking I think auto-pay is a great change, but there are flaws (one major, one minor) in the way it currently works.
I'm generally (strongly) against auto opt-ins, but in this case I don't disagree with automatically opting all sellers in on their settings page. Those that don't want to use it will be far fewer in number than those that do want to use it.
For those that don't want to use it, eBay did alert sellers to the setting on the buyer requirements page and how to turn it on/off. It's right there in the Seller Update FAQs.
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/resources/seller-updates/2023-summer/financials
It would have been better to give sellers the buyer requirement opt in/out info in the Winter 2023 update when more buyers were being added and the setting already existed, but at least it was included in the most recent update.
Major flaw in operation: inability to combine shipping. eBay said that option was in the works, but we haven't heard anything on it since it was first announced:
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/resources/seller-updates/2022-spring/business
If that's eventually released I hope it takes into account sellers that have combined shipping settings already in place and won't rely exclusively on a manual process.
Minor flaw in operation: does not include all payment methods. I list this as minor not because the problem is insignificant, but because I think the percentage of overall buyers affected by this is probably very small.
mr_lincoln
OP2 years ago@wastingtime101 My sincere thanks for posting that here ... no issues at all. It's a discussion and all posts are welcome. As far as opting all Sellers in as the default it would put a sudden stop to scammers as we have mentioned. Good deterrence ... shoplifting at B&M stores might go on the rise because of it ...
silverstatetreasureboxes
·2 years agoThere is a company that is manufacturing smart tags for B&M stores and their stock is rising up. I personally would like tags that would blow off red dye when these looters and thieves try running out the door with high end items! Yes it will ruin the items but it will only take 1 time before crooks get the message. Now back to my coffee!
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoNot necessarily. Most online scammers would be too chicken to risk actual physical shoplifting. They scam online because it's easy.
ensus2015
·2 years agoI don't like that I can't pay from the cash balance in my Paypal acct. And I only use Paypal credit when it's zero or very low interest for a few months, so I can't have that chosen as the default payment method.
I don't necessarily want other payment methods/cards registered as default method either. 🤷â€â™€ï¸
Still trying to figure it out.
mr_lincoln
OP2 years ago@ensus2015 For myself I have that requirement turned off as a Seller but then I do not sell high risk items. You can always message a Seller and ask them to either add you to their Exemption list or turn the Auto-pay off on their account. When eBay rolled this feature out they set the default for Sellers to be ON ... and newer Sellers may have no clue on where to find the setting.
ensus2015
·2 years agoAll true. 🙂 I also have it turned off as a seller - often have buyers who want items combined for shipping.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoIf it is a fixed price item, you can also just ask the seller to just lower the price of the listing to what he is really willing to sell it for.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoNot sure if this will help @ensus2015, but if it's about not wanting CC info stored on eBay as opposed to not wanting payments to go through your CC ...
If security is your concern there is a solution if your credit card offers it. My credit card has a feature where you can log in to your online account and generate a Virtual Account Number. My CC even allows me to set an expiration date for that number. I can use that number in place of my actual CC number for any online transactions. It's a security feature - check with your CC to see if they offer something similar.