eBay

agemelee · ‎10-23-2023

You can now cancel an order for “buyer didn’t pay” INSTANTLY instead of having to wait 4 days and give a buyer an unpaid item strike.

Is this a bug or a new feature to do it so quickly?

ittybitnot · ‎10-23-2023

especially considering the recent debacle ...

@valueaddedresource

That thought did cross my mind along with the problem they are having with car parts/accessories and the removal of the 'sell one like this' feature. At least we finally found out the "test" for mandatory buyer sign up for auto-pay for offers is no longer a test, but an intended change. Most buyers figured out quite quickly that the New Smoother Checkout was really not for their convenience as stated.

ittybitnot · ‎10-23-2023

Yes I can confirm it works.

@agemelee

So how long did you give your buyer to pay before you claimed non-payment and awarded them the strike for not paying instantly?

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-23-2023

@valueaddedresource : More ebay Magic.

agemelee · ‎10-23-2023

I had my friend create a dummy account to test it, and we could do it within just a few minutes.

i also have another sale which the option is there too (international one) feedback and its been 12 hours but I haven’t cancelled yet. (I was wanting the sale on this one)

@ittybitnot

valueaddedresource · ‎10-23-2023

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
@valueaddedresource : More ebay Magic.

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques good one. 🤣

I guess if you were *trying* to perform the "magical disappearing buyer" trick, suddenly pulling the rug out from under them and changing expectations for a core part of the buying experience with no notice would be one way to do it...maybe 5 straight quarters with less active buyers than 2018 just isn't magical enough for Jamie?

Even if you think reducing the 4 day time period is a good idea, I know I personally would be much less enthusiastic about buying on a site that switches things up like that without warning, especially if they also have a system in place where that would be counted against me as a buyer with a "strike" on my account.

kosmosattik · ‎10-23-2023

Are you a paid eBay employee? If so, why don't YOU do something about it? Oh, snap, I forgot--sellers and buyers are the only testers around this joint.

soh.maryl · ‎10-23-2023

Actually, that person IS an eBay employee as you can see by the ID.

And, if you will read that response carefully, you will see that he/she IS doing something about it. But I am sure you understand that doing something about it will not happen instantaneously.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎10-23-2023

@valueaddedresource Exactly, it's all part of the Vanishing Buyers Act that Jamie does so well LOL

I'm hoping it is a bug, because I agree 100% that if this is a policy change, just springing it on the buyers like this would be hopelessly counter-productive. I'm inclined to think it is a bug because ebay has neem so slow and careful rolling out the announced new immediate payment policy that it is hard to imagine someone approving this as a policy change.

If it is a bug, I hope they fix it ASAP.

And I also have to wonder: after 20 plus years, is it possible that ebay STILL doesn't understand that monkeying with this stuff in Q4 is just plain wrong?

agemelee · ‎10-23-2023

I thought its suppose to auto charge when an auction ends now?

valueaddedresource · ‎10-23-2023

At eBay Open, Senior Director Trust, David Newman acknowledged the slow progress on solving the unpaid item problem, admitting it was taking longer than they anticipated to change 28 years of buyer behaviour.

"Jamie committed we would solve this problem and admittedly it has taken longer than we intended. The reality is that unwinding 28 years of buyer behavior in a way that is net positive to your business requires a great deal of testing and we'll remain deliberate and thoughtful in our approach."

Pro tip for David & anyone else working on this problem at eBay (assuming this immediate cancel for non-payment thing is intentional) - the first step in "unwinding" behaviour you no longer desire is to clearly communicate to the people engaging in that behavior that expectations have changed and allow a graceful transition period for voluntary adjustment and compliance with new expectations...especially if the previous way of doing things has been in place for almost three decades!

Unless the point is to purposely spring the surprise on users to see how they react but if so...that hardly seems like a good way to gain trust. 😕

valueaddedresource · ‎10-23-2023

@agemelee wrote:
I thought its suppose to auto charge when an auction ends now?

@agemelee my understanding is the immediate payment requirement for auctions requires that the seller be opted in to require that and it is also still in testing so even if the seller has their settings opted in, it might not be applied to all buyers at this time - but I'll admit I'm not 100% sure on that.

Changing the 4 day waiting period to cancel for non-payment is a separate, but related issue, and could be part of eBay's overall plans to address seller concerns about non-paying bidder, but if this really is an intentional test, it's a terrible way to do it, imo.

ittybitnot · ‎10-23-2023

While I think a reduction of the time limit may be a great idea, getting rid of it all together could definitely risk alienating buyers if that kind of bad seller behaviour goes unchecked.

@valueaddedresource

I would surmise this is the beginning or a roll out to make SELLER INITIATED offers AUTO PAY as well. At least they are getting the "punishment" portion in line....LOL

Since my IDs are forced into the autopay program, I have found that the same sellers who cringe in horror over the possibility of slow or non-payers (and have retained their buyer blocks eBay gave them set to YES). actually send out offers. Good for me since I could get combined shipping and pay one shipping price on the three offers, and the total was way less than I would have offered had I succumbed to the auto-pay mandate.

Not to worry, I DID pay the seller in about five minutes anyway, even though I felt a bit sorry for them that they got $60 less than I was willing to pay. I suspect those days may be over soon for me. I hope 'accepting a seller generated offer, that must be auto paid' is a slow roll out.

Or maybe it is a glitch, that will soon become a half functioning rollout, causing the community to continuously ask what is going on, and eBay CS tells those willing to contact them that it is a test.

So now we ask....how long does a buyer have to pay when a SELLER initiates an offer before you can slam them with the UID cancellation (thinking incorrectly, even though eBay promised), that the buyer is made aware they should have paid instantly or the new OR ELSE clause is in effect? Need some screen shots and time stamps from sellers that DO send offers, even if they do know better than to slam the buyer for non-payment in ten minutes? An hour? A day? Has this been added to ALL sellers?

agemelee · ‎10-24-2023

I see thanks

rugerskick · ‎10-24-2023

So why a whole 4 days? Why are 4 days needed? It should be a shorter time period. It holds up inventory from someone who actually would buy it if they wind up not paying.

I think it would be an improvement to drop it to 24 hours. If they can't pay within a day, they shouldn't be purchasing it altogether.

valueaddedresource · ‎10-25-2023

@rugerskick wrote:
So why a whole 4 days? Why are 4 days needed? It should be a shorter time period. It holds up inventory from someone who actually would buy it if they wind up not paying.
I think it would be an improvement to drop it to 24 hours. If they can't pay within a day, they shouldn't be purchasing it altogether.

@rugerskick I agree 4 days is excessive and have long thought 24 hours should be sufficient to address concerns on both the buyer and seller sides of this issue.

That being said, whether they take away the time limit all together (as appears to be happening now whether intentional or not) or make it 24 hours, the change needs to be clearly and loudly communicated to buyers and sellers with a specific effective date if the goal is "unwinding 28 years of buyer behavior in a way that is net positive to your business." (eBay's own words)

Anything less than that is certainly not being deliberate and thoughtful in their approach.