Paying for "offers" before a deal is made?!

[30forever]

Good day everyone!

Am I the only one that absolutely can not understand why the new "make offer" process includes going through the hassle of paying for the item, to include fees and other costs that are unknown, before the deal is made?! So far, it's only for the "make offer" process... But I see it getting more aggressive if we allow this to keep happening... I refuse to pay for something with PayPal before I have an actual total, or an actual item I've won... I've turned down dozens of sales as a result... Maybe I'm just overly cautious, but why not this day and age!!

Cheers!! 

[*lady*madonna*]

You are in error. You do not pay before the "deal is made".

Buyers need to choose their method of payment when they make an offer so that if the seller accepts the buyer's offer, the payment is automatically charged to the method of payment that the buyer chose when they made the offer.

Payment is NOT made until the seller accepts the buyer's offer.

ALL costs are known before a buyer makes an offer. The shipping charges are shown on the listing page. There are no unknown costs.

[30forever]

I actually am not in error...  Semantics really!!  While the funds don't actually do the electronic part of the process until the "Deal is made"...  The buyer must do the process of "paying for the item" as if they had won the auction in any other fashion...  So, if a buyer is to use the "Make Offer" button, they must also log into paypal (or whatever other form of payment), and technically (for all intents and purposes) PAY for the item...

I will say that the bottom line price in the breakdown states that it includes shipping and tax, so I would submit there really isn't anything "hidden" in the purchase price...  I will say that I am wrong in this sense...  But this agreement statement they include might indicate there "Could be" additional charges...

"By selecting Make offer, you authorize eBay to link your PayPal account to your eBay account and use it to collect payment from you for items you offer to buy or win at auctions on eBay. The amount collected from you will consist of your offer or bid (up to the total entered by you) and any applicable costs. You also agree to eBay’s User Agreement and Privacy Notice."

So, my question is why do we now have to go through the process of paying for the item before the seller even accepts the offer!?  Are they trying to fix something that was broken?!  I loved the "submit offer" until I was forced to do the payment process before the item was even mine...

And if eBay thinks this will work better, we will have to start submitting payment info before we can even bid on anything...  I don't see what they are trying to fix here!!

[*lady*madonna*]

@30forever 

Ebay has said that they initiated this process due to complaints from sellers of too many instances of offers being made and then buyers not paying when their offer is accepted.

As a buyer, I like the streamlined process. When I make an offer all I have to do is see if the seller accepted the offer. Then I sit back and wait for my item to arrive.

[30forever]

To each their own then...  I personally would be wasting more time going through the payment process unnecessarily for all the "counter offers" and "rejects" that I end up getting...  I use the "make offer" button more than I do for actual bid auctions or "Buy it now" items...

And if this "streamlined process" is so great, we might be seeing this happen across the board...  Pay before you bid...  Pay when you log-in...  I'm sure there will still be those that will have a work-around if all their intent is to annoy others...

I guess I am just old...  I like to go purchase an item, get the total with tax and shipping...  Then take the time to pay for it once by hitting the "Pay Now" button and get the email right away...  And if no deal is made, no extra time wasted paying for it...

Cheers everyone!!

[*lady*madonna*]

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@30forever wrote:

To each their own then...  I personally would be wasting more time going through the payment process unnecessarily for all the "counter offers" and "rejects" that I end up getting...  I use the "make offer" button more than I do for actual bid auctions or "Buy it now" items...

And if this "streamlined process" is so great, we might be seeing this happen across the board...  Pay before you bid...  Pay when you log-in...  I'm sure there will still be those that will have a work-around if all their intent is to annoy others...

I guess I am just old...  I like to go purchase an item, get the total with tax and shipping...  Then take the time to pay for it once by hitting the "Pay Now" button and get the email right away...  And if no deal is made, no extra time wasted paying for it...

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You are still confusing "paying for an item" and "choosing a payment source".

>>>"I like to go purchase an item, get the total with tax and shipping"<<<

When you make an offer, the shipping charge is already shown and you can figure the sales tax dependent on the shipping address.

[kensgiftshop]

You don't pay for the item before the offer is accepted, you just provide a funding source to pay for it.

There might be a hold put on the funds, but if the offer isn't accepted, the hold is removed.

[30forever]

We're probably taking about the same thing here, but looking at it from different perspectives, which is completely okay...  when I hit the "bid" button, I put in my max and wait... If I was the winner, I go thru the process of putting in my payment source, confirming, and get an email that funds have moved.... selecting a payment source happens after the item is technically mine to purchase...  okay, now with the "make offer" PROCESS, I don't own the item yet, nor does the seller know I'm interested in purchasing it... But I still have to do the first two steps of the, what I call "paying for the item" process, just to inform the seller I'd like to buy it at this price... If they reject it, or counter, I went thru the "paying for the item" process for no reason... As many "make offer" buttons I hit a month (accepted, countered, and rejected) I'd waste more time doing the "select payment" process than it took me to type this message...  Surely you can see the extra effort needed to even send the offer to the seller, compare to just putting in a dollar amount and sending that info to the seller... Then it's paid for like all other eBay transactions, or it's not cause the seller rejects (or counter offer) it... 

Regardless, it's a change that isn't for me... And that's okay... I just won't be using that button, which is also okay... I find a ton of good deals on eBay! I just won't find as many if this is the new standard for the "make offer" button...  This is just sand in my jar!! (Google "The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee")

Cheers all!!!