Ebay 'auto pay' is not a feature. It is an error & terrible User experience. It should be optional

[ken19342005]

The new auto pay feature is a terrible decline in the ebay Buyer experience. It is an ERROR in fact. A work flow whereby a user can pick and choose the payment they desire , as well as apply gift cards and properly line up funds has been ruined by the auto pay feature. what is worse, there is no proper way to turn it off.
This is not a feature, It is an error or at best, a cheap attempt by Ebay to prompt immediate payment at the sacrifice of a good user experience.
Most of all, it should not be part of the bidding process! Bidding on auctions and payments are separate business flows and separate transactions.
Please remove this awful mistake called 'auto pay' that was rolled out. Or at the very least give ideas on how it can be overridden or made optional

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

-You can choose your desired method of payment (from a limited # of choices, not all payment methods accepted). I believe giftcards work as well under a separate tab couple spaces below payment selection.

-It is optional (for the seller, not buyer).... an optional tool the seller employs. Seller can turn it on/off.

-Every seller was auto enrolled. It was turned "on" for every seller. Many Many Many don't even know they have it "on".

-It's not an error...but it was a mistake.

-Immediate payment was not the deciding factor. Payment alone was the deciding factor. The timing is not crucial, the fact is the sellers weren't getting paid (many non-paying bidders) so thats the problem it solves.

As a buyer & a seller I hate it. I have advocated it should exist only for those w/ history of non payment. Sellers have been able to outright prevent (block) buyers who have X number of non-payment cases in Y time period. I think that's ludicrous as it then also blocks those individuals from buying "Buy It Now" items and paying immediately. I think every buyer should be given a fair chance to be trusted to pay ... if you fail to pay once or twice you get enrolled into auto payment for bids/offers for a period of time then it comes off ... if you don't pay again, you get enrolled again for longer...

The rollout of this was a HUGE mistake. Some agree...some disagree ... I think the key here is there was a legitimate problem but they went too far trying to fix it and overshot it....there was a simple solution at hand and they completely missed it...

[ken19342005]

Thanks...but I disagree from a business point of view. This is an error.  As you say- it's a mistake. Where I come from, mistakes are errors. Technically yes, it's working and behaving as intended. But , this is a terrible feature that is linked to bidding (and should not be - payments are a separate business event) and it eschews coupons and gift cards (no way to apply, I checked). I have had a perfect payment history for 14 years as probably 98% plus here do. As I said, there could have been an option on past excellent history or giving people the ability to see if a seller has this turned on before doing business. In any case, It is a big decline in the UX here. I am P.O.'d because I was given false data prior that "I" could override it. I cannot. And I had a big auction auto pay in a method that I did not wish and had no control to re-point to what I wanted. What this will do is make me limit my purchases here and it has made me now mistrustful of the application whereas that was not there before. I've had rare issues with sellers but never the technology or transaction flow. Now I do. To think,  an answer given to me was - "Go tell the seller to cancel the order and submit an invoice to you for you to choose what you like"  is absurd and stupid. Ebay needs to fix this crappola mistake pronto...especially with the holidays coming up. More  complaints are certain and will abound resulting in driving users away.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@ken19342005 wrote:

Thanks...but I disagree from a business point of view. This is an error.  As you say- it's a mistake. Where I come from, mistakes are errors. Technically yes, it's working and behaving as intended. 

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Precisely! Difference between error & mistake.

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@ken19342005 wrote:

 and it eschews coupons and gift cards (no way to apply, I checked). 

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Sorry, but it's there...

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@ken19342005 wrote:

I have had a perfect payment history for 14 years as probably 98% plus here do. As I said, there could have been an option on past excellent history or giving people the ability to see if a seller has this turned on before doing business. 

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Agreed. You are able to see if a seller has it turned off though, just attempt to bid/offer. It's literally 2 clicks to find out if seller has it enabled or not. Sorry it isn't in big bright red letters for you to see.

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@ken19342005 wrote:

 I am P.O.'d because I was given false data prior that "I" could override it. I cannot. And I had a big auction auto pay in a method that I did not wish and had no control to re-point to what I wanted. What this will do is make me limit my purchases here and it has made me now mistrustful of the application whereas that was not there before. I've had rare issues with sellers but never the technology or transaction flow. Now I do. To think,  an answer given to me was - "Go tell the seller to cancel the order and submit an invoice to you for you to choose what you like"  is absurd and stupid. 

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Who told you that baloney? Customer Service? They're idiots.

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@ken19342005 wrote:

  Ebay needs to fix this crappola mistake pronto...especially with the holidays coming up. More  complaints are certain and will abound resulting in driving users away.

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Agreed. 

@ken19342005 

[ken19342005]

Thanks AJ

I get that the gift cards are on the best offers but I cannot apply it to the **bleep** auction win unless you know a way.  And yes, Ebay customer service gave me that bad baloney - a Gent named Marcus who I spent 30 minutes with giving an earful while seeking a solution.  Business wise, this is a mistake/ error because any serious decline in the user experience is a production issue. What in the world does a 'check out' process and 'basket' mean if you are screwed from using it? Ebay's quality control and client support are becoming a big disappointment. Treating all buyers like some deadbeats will prompt us to look for other places to go....and there are.  

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

I was under the impression offers & auctions show same window. I didn't know since I'm not enrolled in pre-auth payment for auctions --- THANK GOD ... I may bid on 100+ auctions in a given day, literally... I source on eBay for resale on eBay... had 150+ items on my watch list for this past Sunday and probably bid on 85% of them.

Yeah, I'm strongly against a few things eBay has done recently. 

For future reference, come to the forum for help. Don't do eBay chat/calls. The CS reps there are useless. You get better info on the forum & better action taken by CS reps you can find on eBay social media (facebook, Twitter etc)

[hay5263]

I agree, as a buyer I often make several purchases from the same seller within a few hours.

With Auto Pay sellers do not get a opportunity to combine the shipping on a invoice, so I often way overpay for shipping. It has really taken away any incentive for me as a buyer to make multiple purchases from any seller.  Ebay really needs to address this or risk loosing users...

[carlmarxx]

I recently  talked  with a  U.S. ebay Supervisor  about  the IPR  in make offer  ,That as seller I did not need it and was not  happy that  once  again  Ebay butted in  with it and like  the Old GPS  I have to go  in and turn it off in my buyer payments  perveance  settings .  I pointed out that it isn't my problem the small group of sellers are to lazy too use tool's  in category's that have I number of buyers not paying  . And all they have to do is BIN w/IPR   no make offer .     

[steelers47]

I TOTALLY AGREE!

[avastcosmicarena]

This is a horrible policy. PayPal Credit is currently doing a promotional offer that allows 0% APR for 12-24 months, and I wanted to take advantage of it, but then was hit with an automatic payment unexpectedly, immediately charging me and not allowing me to take advantage of the PayPal Credit promotional offer that I wanted to use. This is a horrible policy for buyers and needs to change.

[evry1nositswindy]

You won't like to hear this, but as mainly a seller, I will say that it is a welcome change.  You have no idea how frustrating it is to have someone bid and then not pay.  We then have to wait 4 days to cancel the transaction to be able to relist it.  In the meantime, it could have sold to someone who would have paid.  Same goes for offers.  I have received offers, accepted them, and then nothing.  Again it could have sold at full price while I wait out the 4 days.   

Making bids and offers is not a game.  It wastes sellers' time and money.   The real 'terrible experience' is waiting 4 days to cancel.  That's too long IMHO.

[riprock25]

I bought 3 vintage beer cans last night and seller wasn't able to do combined shipping or send invoice because of Ebays auto-pay. Seller sent refund later which I won't get for 3 to 5 days.  More money for Ebay to hold and draw interest on. I spend hundreds of dollars each month on Ebay and auto-pay will make me think twice about purchases.  As a seller I'm concerned my buyers will feel the same. Ebay's greed and changing the rules to their benefit is not good the seller or the buyer but only good for Ebay!!!

[ebooksdiva]

Old thread from 11/2023. 
Having buyers submit a payment method prior to making an offer or bidding is solely a requirement set up by the seller. eBay gives this requirement to sellers at eBay sellers request. 
If you're not happy with the requirements a seller has set up to ensure they get paid then find a seller who doesn't care that much about being paid for a sale. 

[buyselljack2016]

@riprock25 

As a seller you do not need to be concerned. Just uncheck the boxes that require preauthorization for buyers.

[kh-adrian]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.