New to selling - my first 6 sales and 3 have not paid their winning bid

[rm.galleries]

Hello.

As it says above, I am a new seller (well, returning after many years) and have had 6 winning bids but only 3 have actually paid.  When I send an invoice the buyers name says "text me at xxx@.com"  (yes text to email) or wants to communicate via cell phone.  I however only want to communicate via the eBay platform.

Is this a common occurrence, I am sadly trying to determine if this is just a waste of time.

Thank  you!!

[wastingtime101]

I suggest ditching auction format listings @rm.galleries . You're selling common items with an easily determined market value. List them fixed price with immediate payment required and that will eliminate this issue.

New sellers are targets for scammers. Until you're established, best to minimize the risk as much as possible.

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There's no reason to send an invoice unless you have to make an adjustment, for example combined shipping costs or adding another shipping method the buyer requested.

eBay sends out payment reminders to buyers automatically. Sending invoices is a duplication of efforts and clogs the buyer's inbox.

Sending an invoice locks in the shipping cost. That could have a big financial impact on someone that uses calculated shipping. The shipping price gets locked in based on the buyer's default location, but if they change the address at checkout to have that item shipped to Mom across the country, that shipping cost can change by leaps and bounds and seller is out the $$.

Finally, sending an invoice resets the clock on when an order can be cancelled for non-payment when sellers handle UPIs manually. The automated system will cancel based on the seller's settings regardless of sending an invoice, but when you use the manual process and an invoice is sent it resets the clock, giving the buyer an additional 4 days before the system will let the seller cancel.

This page has instructions for the unpaid item process and setting up auto-cancellations in the future.

[dryophelia]

@rm.galleries 

Don’t send invoices. eBay does that for you. 
When the seller sends an invoice, it resets the 4 days of wait time before an item can be cancelled for nonpayment. 

On the 5th day of no payment, the seller is given the option to cancel for nonpayment. Canceling for any reason before that 4th day either doesn’t punish the buyer and/or it punishes you, the seller. 

Set your buyer requirements to block bidders with two strikes in a year. 
Add the user to your blocked bidder list. 

[rm.galleries]

Thank you for your quick response and will take note -  much appreciated!

[rm.galleries]

Thank you!  I appreciate you taking to time to respond.  will definitely take this info for future listings.

[wastingtime101]

No prob. Your instincts were good to keep communications on eBay. If you have more questions, come back any time @rm.galleries . Not sure when you last sold, but I'm posting a few new seller links below you may find helpful.

Also take note: eBay defaults new sellers to pass on eBay discounted shipping rates if you use calculated shipping. The setting to offer buyers discounted rates can be found on your shipping preferences page under the carrier specific discounts setting: https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

Since eBay charges a fee on total cost buyer pays (item + ship + tax), by charging discounted rates you will losing money on every single package. If you want to make up for that you can add a handling fee or increase your item costs - or simply charge retail rates for a built in cushion instead of passing on the discounts.

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Selling limits:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-limits?id=4107

Selling fees:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

Payment holds for new sellers:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816

General payments info:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold?id=4814

[wastingtime101]

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@rm.galleries wrote:

When I send an invoice the buyers name says "text me at xxx@.com"  (yes text to email) or wants to communicate via cell phone.

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Hey devon@ebay  - can you flag this to trust & safety, or whatever team handles this? They should be able to run a scan for anybody that has "text me" in the name field of any address they have on file. Scammers keep finding new ways to get that off eBay contact info in the system. Hopefully you can pull from the 3 unpaid transactions on the OP's account for examples to pass them.

[ittybitnot]

When I send an invoice the buyers name says "text me at xxx@.com"  (yes text to email) or wants to communicate via cell phone.  I however only want to communicate via the eBay platform.

@rm.galleries 

Though there is nothing wrong with being a 'newbie' seller, you are a target from scammers.  If you get the message through an eBay message, you can report the "text me" scammer or their cousins the "change of address" scammers right on the message under the ACTION tab.   Good for you that you didn't fall for it!!!!! 

Always read, listen, learn here.  If you are in doubt ASK.  Many of the responders here have been on this site for a decade or two and are more knowledgeable the even the eBay customer service reps.  While most things can be had for free (at your expense), a good deal of that can be avoided if you KNOW what to do.  Knowledge is power. 

Good luck to you. 

[devon@ebay]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@rm.galleries wrote:

When I send an invoice the buyers name says "text me at xxx@.com"  (yes text to email) or wants to communicate via cell phone.

---

Hey devon@ebay  - can you flag this to trust & safety, or whatever team handles this? They should be able to run a scan for anybody that has "text me" in the name field of any address they have on file. Scammers keep finding new ways to get that off eBay contact info in the system. Hopefully you can pull from the 3 unpaid transactions on the OP's account for examples to pass them.

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Hey @wastingtime101! I can be sure to have this flagged and shared with the correct team.