eBay

the.collectionist · ‎10-20-2020

I've researched this problem for hours and have tried everything: clearing cache, incognito, multiple browsers, desktop and mobile app, requesting an invoice from seller, adding a random item to my cart and then removing it to see if that clears some sort of status, etc.

My account is over a decade old and there's no issue with it nor my PayPal account.

There definitely seems to be an issue with eBay in my scenario, which is as follows:

- Seller had 2 of an item available.
- I was watching the listing, and the seller made me an offer.
- I accepted the offer.
- Now the item's page shows one sold, and one available. I can see that I'm the buyer. It's in my cart for checkout, with a quantity of 1.
- I cannot pay, instead receiving the errors as attached in the screen shots.

No matter how I try to pay, I receive one of the following errors (screenshots also attached):

- Sorry, we can't complete your checkout at this time. Please try changing your item quantity or check your account status.

- Something went wrong. Please try to check out again.

- Unable to start your checkout at this time. Please try again later. (Error Type: 99)

I'm at a complete loss and am now in communication with the seller to try to figure something out. I'm sure we'll be able to do so, but if anyone from eBay sees this, I think this should be submitted as a ticket for your devs to look into.

In DevTools, I see a request to https://cart.ebay.com/api/xo being made. The status is a 200 and these are the arguments sent:

carttime: 1603209757829

srt: "01000500000050e0f7b973920e923e442417daec92e9ae0cd6e2d16c38f4bc285f30b54edabe7492880b692d53d8959236fe1103348d9a494961319d624db59d2c93a0256a264b008f7a83b25fe0799c8d7d9def0d8fd6"

Thanks for any help that can be provided!

divwido · ‎10-20-2020

You could advise the seller of all this (if there is still time to pay) and they can invoive you in PayPal and you could pay from there.

Therer is always a plan B.

Good Moms let you lick the Beaters.

Great Moms turn them off first.

eburtonlab · ‎10-20-2020

Is the seller new to selling, or registered in another country? It is possible that there is a problem on the seller's end.

It sounds like you have tried all the obvious (and less obvious) things, but just in case here are some workarounds that have been successful for me in the past:

Try paying directly from the item page using the "pay now" link at the top of the listing rather than using the cart.

Try a different payment method -- either a different card or funding source or switching between PayPal and entering a credit card into the checkout page. Sometimes paying with a bank balance rather than a credit card will work.

Try signing in to ebay.ca, finding the item in your Purchase History, and paying from there.

the.collectionist · ‎10-20-2020

Is the seller new to selling, or registered in another country? It is possible that there is a problem on the seller's end.

The seller is reputable (4K+ feedback), US-based (as am I), and no apparent problems.

Try paying directly from the item page using the "pay now" link at the top of the listing rather than using the cart.

At this point, I've tried paying every way possible. Same result.

Try a different payment method -- either a different card or funding source or switching between PayPal and entering a credit card into the checkout page. Sometimes paying with a bank balance rather than a credit card will work.

I can't even make it to the screen that allows you to choose a payment method!

Try signing in to ebay.ca, finding the item in your Purchase History, and paying from there.

This was a great idea I hadn't seen/tried yet! Unfortunately, this also didn't work. It errors out in the same place.

eburtonlab · ‎10-20-2020

@the.collectionist

I can't even make it to the screen that allows you to choose a payment method!

Is there anything nonstandard about your network -- such as using a custom firewall or VPN?

Have you tried checking out using your phone when not connected to your local wifi?

Otherwise it might be worth trying different options in your PayPal account such as setting up Auto-Login/One-Touch in your browser; you can always disable it afterwards if you are concerned about security.

It might be worth trying a new browser in the default setup state if you have customized your other browsers or used multiple add-ons or extensions.

If the problem only occurs with one seller, I am inclined to think that the problem is on the seller's end.

the.collectionist · ‎10-20-2020

Is there anything nonstandard about your network -- such as using a custom firewall or VPN?

Solid question. I typically do use a VPN, and I'd also checked that. With or without, same result.

Have you tried checking out using your phone when not connected to your local wifi?

Another good question. I tried this as well, but same result.

Otherwise it might be worth trying different options in your PayPal account such as setting up Auto-Login/One-Touch in your browser; you can always disable it afterwards if you are concerned about security.

I do have that set up. I don't think it's my PayPal because of everywhere else I've been able to buy things from via various PayPal setups (Steam, Etsy, individual shops, etc.).

It might be worth trying a new browser in the default setup state if you have customized your other browsers or used multiple add-ons or extensions.

I'm definitely good here (inadvertent benefit of being a senior web developer acutely aware of browser configs, lol).

If the problem only occurs with one seller, I am inclined to think that the problem is on the seller's end.

I went ahead and went through the process of purchasing from another seller and everything worked fine! I guess the issue could be with the seller, but they seem just as befuddled as me right now. And now eBay is sending me alerts to pay up, lol. This is an obnoxious problem!

disneyshopper · ‎10-21-2020

I am having the same problem. The seller is located in China. I suggested he Cancel the transaction since I cannot find a way to pay. I have tried from the listing, from the Purchase History, and from the Unpaid Item Dispute. I even asked him to send me an Invoice. The only communication I have received from the seller asked if I was trying to pay with a phone or do I have a P.O. Box. He asked that question twice over a 3-4 day period. I told hom I use a computer and I have a physical address.

I called ebay (I have concierge service) and the CSR checked a few things and said the problem is with the seller's Paypal account. She advised to let the dispute close with a strike, and then I should contact them and they will remove the strike.

disneyshopper
Volunteer Community Member

the.collectionist · ‎10-21-2020

Interesting. Thanks for chiming in!

Seeing as that's the case for your situation, this exposes a pretty egregious error on eBay's part. Between what you said and how many other people I've seen (via research) who have had this issue, eBay needs to provision for it, for both the buyer and the seller. Nondescript error messages expose areas where more thought is potentially needed. I think this issue merits it.

As it stands, my seller seems to have no idea of anything being amiss. And as the buyer, I feel like I'm running the risk of being penalized for a problem not of my own doing, and that I can do nothing about. Hopefully the right folks at eBay will take this into consideration at some point. Then again, if it only seems to happen to X% of people, then it might never get fixed. Who knows...