How to avoid "automatic checkout"?

[george_gillespie]

How does one avoid "automatic checkout"?  Or, is there a way to determine which auction items will apply "automatic checkout"?  I recently won a bid that happened closed at 4:00 AM on a Sunday morning, and the "automatic checkout" was applied before I was even awake.  I was bidding on other items, and wanted to request combined shipping when all of the bids closed.

[comics-scifi-collectibles · Accepted solution]

@george_gillespie   This is a setting on the sellers account. A buyer can not turn off auto pay.

You should have seen a pop up before placing a bid asking you for your preferred payment method.  If you see that pop up before bidding then you know that the seller requires immediate payment at close of auction.

Some sellers do not realize that eBay turns on the option to require a payment prior to making a bid or offer by default.

Sellers can uncheck the option in their account settings.

You could ask sellers prior to bidding if A ) they allow combined shipping and B) do they know if they have the payments required option before placing a bid auto checked by eBay as this makes combined shipping more difficult.

Sellers can still combine by refunding the difference but eBay can't force a seller to send a partial refund after a order is made. Most sellers will make a partial refund.

[george_gillespie]

Thank you, very helpful!  I was not aware that seeing the popup "asking you for your preferred payment method" meant that the seller had the "automatic checkout" option on.  I believe that eBay should disclose, prior to bidding, whether or not a seller has the option activated.  Especially since eBay has the default option "on" for each new seller.  I have not sold much on eBay in the past few years, and was never even aware of that options's existence!

Thank you again for your rapid, and very helpful reply!