Buyer contacted me saying his credit card rejected purchase but eBay has it as paid

[jokeman84]

What should I do. Buyer said he could use a different credit card. I am very hesitant to ship item until I know there isn't going to be an issue. I could ship item and then eBay could tell me there is a chargeback. As a seller am I protected here. The item was sold as Buy It Now immediate payment required.

[dbfolks166mt]

     There have been a couple of postings on this board where eBay has been a little late in telling sellers that there is an issue with the buyer and eBay telling the seller not to ship. Is eBay showing you, in your seller hub, that the item is awaiting shipment? There is also a known problem with the messaging system at the moment and eBay may have sent you a message telling you there is a issue but you may not have received it. 

     As you are well aware eBay seldom protects the seller. I am not sure what your processing time is but you don't want to get dinged for not having shipped on time but you don't want to fight a chargeback either. Tough call. Since your buyer has contacted you try to see if they agree to canceling the request while they workout with their CC company as to why the charge was denied. You can hold the item, if you wish, while the buyer fixes the CC problem at which time you could repost. 

[jokeman84]

This is certainly a conundrum. The seller offered to use a different credit card but how does that work. He already bought the item. He has been a member since Nov 2022. Has 4 feedbacks. He is also selling some items. So as a seller I could send out a $300 item. Then eBay gets a chargeback and tells me too bad you are out the money. It says buyer paid ship by Friday 4/28 on the dashboard. I probably should wait till Friday to ship. Hate to do that because I almost always ship the next day. 

[the_fancy_fox]

Personally I would email the buyer. Tell him you will cancel the sale with ebay so he can rebuy and use a different card. Cancel the sale with buyer requested. 

Dont be surprised if he doesn’t buy it again.

[onlinecentral]

As stated in message 2, if you have a few day handling time, you can wait for the buyer to straighten things out with their credit card company.
If you get a message from eBay with the payment problem before then, eBay will Cancel the Sale, probably.

Managed Payments doesn't have the capability to do a refund and then pay with a second card.
A second payment requires a second purchase by the buyer.

Send the buyer a message asking them to agree to you cancelling the sale and refunding the payment.
Select the reason of Buyer Requested Cancellation.

The story about the rejected credit card payment sounds flimsy. I am accusing the buyer of using that story as an elaborate way to cancel on their end, rather than simply just asking to cancel.

I would refund and then stall for a while, before relisting the item. Hope that the buyer makes a purchase from another seller.

As stated in message 4, 'Don't be surprised if he doesn’t buy it again.'

[dbfolks166mt]

This is certainly a conundrum. The seller offered to use a different credit card but how does that work. He already bought the item. He has been a member since Nov 2022. Has 4 feedbacks. He is also selling some items. So as a seller I could send out a $300 item. Then eBay gets a chargeback and tells me too bad you are out the money. It says buyer paid ship by Friday 4/28 on the dashboard. I probably should wait till Friday to ship. Hate to do that because I almost always ship the next day. 

     It is a bit of a sticky wicket. If you have until Friday I would probably be inclined to wait until at least Thursday to actually ship the item if you cannot work things out with the buyer before then. That will give eBay a couple of days to possibly identify the issue and possibly cancel the sale for your protection. 

     You are correct the buyer can't, and shouldn't, pay twice using another CC and I am not sure that is even possible. Above all else keep in communication with your buyer since they initiated contact it sounds like they are wanting to get the issue resolved as well. 

[jokeman84]

I thought about that but only the buyer can cancel the sale. I would have to use the defective item or out of stock, bad mailing address. How can I cancel the sale unless I use a reason which is not factual. 

[dbfolks166mt]

I thought about that but only the buyer can cancel the sale. I would have to use the defective item or out of stock, bad mailing address. How can I cancel the sale unless I use a reason which is not factual. 

It's actually the other way around only the SELLER can cancel a sale, the buyer can only request to cancel. 

[jokeman84]

He got a notice from Citi saying transaction declined even though eBay saying transaction went through. He offered to use another card. He also sent an offer before he bought the item. I wasn't checking the eBay site and then he bought item for full price. He obviously wants the item. This is definitely an eBay issue. Not an issue with the seller and buyer. I will contact eBay on chat before I ship item.

[onlinecentral]

I would not bother contacting eBay on chat.

He also sent an offer before he bought the item. I wasn't checking the eBay site and then he bought item for full price.
That is the beginning of a situation where the buyer feels entitled to the lower price they made in their offer. After the package is delivered, they will find a flaw and ask for a partial refund. If that fails, they will return the item and you will take a loss on the shipping both ways.

I would definitely walk away from this sale and buyer by cancelling with the reason of Buyer Requested Cancellation.

[jokeman84]

I just spoke to eBay on chat. They said I could cancel using one of the different reasons if I didn't feel comfortable with the transaction based on the buyer's message to me. I don't think the buyer is taking a shot. If he was he would not contact me at all. Get the item delivered and simply keep it. All eBay could do is cancel his account. I would be the one holding the bag. They are also showing the sale went through with no issues but as always Visa and Mastercard hold all the cards. 

[the_fancy_fox]

if the buyer said their card is declined, for whatever reason, email them. Ask if they want you to cancel the sale so they can rebuy using a different card. 

Go from there. I certainly wouldn’t ship this item unless this situation is resolved.