eBay

4-peepsandpaws · ‎09-04-2023

I always list with Buy it Now and if I have a little bit of wiggle room or the environment is competitive I'll put in "or best offer". STUPIDLY I had forgotten why I don't do auctions and threw a few items up on auction just to see if I get more views. The reason why I don't do auctions that I'd forgotten is because PEOPLE DON'T PAY and they pretend that they haven't seen the many messages that both eBay and I send to them (and they usually blame their children for playing playing on the computer. Strangely, over the course of my eBay tenure, I've had six different people with errant children who go on eBay to bid. Yeah, right). So here I sit with unpaid auctions. I've switched all of my other listings over to buy it now that were listed as auctions because I now remember why I don't auction stuff to start with.

I feel it is very unreasonable to have to wait 4 days to get payment on an auctioned item. I feel that in order to bid you should have the funds readily available and upon winning they should be sucked out of your account just like when you make an offer on an item that is listed "or best offer". I have mine set up to require immediate payment upon purchase.

eBay should ABSOLUTELY require immediate payment upon winning an auction! It is no different than Buy It Now or with Best Offer! As a matter of FACT it is a commitment to purchase and one is taking our product out of circulation for four whole days and they probably are NOT going to pay if they haven't within 24 hours.

I do not understand why eBay allows 4 days for them to pay. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever at all to me! If they have intentions of committing to an item why are they not required to pay immediately??? Anytime that you do a Buy it Now (the way I have mine set up anyway) or Best Offer (in all cases), immediate payment is required and sucked out of your account Godspeed. Should be SAME with auctions.

I do not want to hear, even one more time, that somebody's little kid was playing on the computer and just happened to bid on my item and the adult had no idea. When I was green I chased down auction winners for weeks before I realized that I could cancel the transaction and block the "buyer" and heard these ridiculous excuses.

stephenmorgan · ‎09-05-2023

@4-peepsandpaws wrote:

"If I win ten auctions for earrings with $6.00 shipping each, I will be paying $60 in shipping for a 4 ounce parcel. I am suppose to be happy about how this new checkout makes life better for me?"

A very long time ago I asked the seller of the first transaction (where I put a bunch of her items into one cart from one seller) how she was going to give me combined shipping cost (because hell would freeze over before I buy a bunch of items and pay for all to be shipped separately). Without even skipping a beat she texted me back and told me what to do (and later, how to do it for MY buyers). She told me to add them all to my cart and total them and then screenshot it and send it to her.

When it is working, someone can put all there items into their cart and then request total from seller. If the shipping is not reduced enough you are not obligated to purchase.

stephenmorgan · ‎09-05-2023

@4-peepsandpaws wrote:
@stephenmorgan wrote:
You can bid on a auction right after it is listed and if you remain the high bidder you can not pay for it until the auction ends. You are not required to be present during the auction. Since you are not required to be present during the auction then how can you be expected to pay for it at the moment it ends?

One receives notification that they have won an auction and then are sent the request to pay from eBay. It will show up in their notifications as well as in their email. I never said that they had to pay the very second that they won the auction but 4 days is a little long and history has shown me that if they don't pay within 12 to 24 hours they typically will not pay at all.

I have two unpaid auctions for 26 hours now. If they do not pay, no big deal I will relist them later. If I was paying to relist each item like it was a couple of years ago I would be bothered a little. But mostly I do not care. I rather if they changed their mind that they do pay then them doing a return.

4-peepsandpaws · ‎09-06-2023

Thank you very much for responding to me! I will address each of your statements following:

"First you say your happy to combine shipping. then you claim "history has proven that winning bidders, if not paid within the first 12 hours, often do NOT pay at all."

I am very happy to combine shipping to save my buyers money and it also helps to move more product quickly. I have that on almost all of my listings. I'm not understanding what the problem is that you see in that. As far as history proving that if the buyers do not pay within the first 12 hours they often do not pay at all, I have once again proven in just the last couple of days that I have multiple sold auctions that remain unpaid.

12 or even 24 hours is ridiculous . I have sellers that allow me to win items for up to 3 weeks. I couldn't even imagine winning multiple items, getting an updated invoice, and completing payment within 24 hours.

You have purchased items and the sellers have allowed you THREE WEEKS to pay? OMG! Perhaps you think that is ok but I'd NEVER do that to a seller! OMG, NEVER!

What is your source to even make such a claim? I often pay after 24 hours, and have never had an unpaid item in 20 years using ebay.

My source to make such a claim is the fact that I have had multiple unpaid auctions and have SEVERAL sitting there right now! You have never had an unpaid item? You are extremely fortunate or, and I don't mean this to be sarcastic, you still got items out there that have been sold that you're giving buyers 3 weeks to pay on as you have sellers give you 3 weeks to pay.

Lastly, your fees are adjusted automatically for any partial refunds given to buyers beginning 5/23/22, you're wasting your time contacting ebay.

Thank you very much for that information! I was never made aware of it, even when I contacted eBay and they make adjustments accordingly. They are the ones that told me that I had to call them each time so I really appreciate your making me aware that it's automatic now. Thank you! 🙂

4-peepsandpaws · ‎09-06-2023

@stephenmorgan wrote:
@4-peepsandpaws wrote:
@stephenmorgan wrote:
You can bid on a auction right after it is listed and if you remain the high bidder you can not pay for it until the auction ends. You are not required to be present during the auction. Since you are not required to be present during the auction then how can you be expected to pay for it at the moment it ends?

One receives notification that they have won an auction and then are sent the request to pay from eBay. It will show up in their notifications as well as in their email. I never said that they had to pay the very second that they won the auction but 4 days is a little long and history has shown me that if they don't pay within 12 to 24 hours they typically will not pay at all.

I have two unpaid auctions for 26 hours now. If they do not pay, no big deal I will relist them later. If I was paying to relist each item like it was a couple of years ago I would be bothered a little. But mostly I do not care. I rather if they changed their mind that they do pay then them doing a return.

Hi! Thank you for responding to my post!

I have several unpaid auctions that are going to their fourth day today. I think it's unbelievably rude of buyers to take an item out of circulation when it was up for auction and then just sit there on their buns not paying. TBH, the winning bids were too low to start with and I have the items listed in other places and have been offered MUCH higher amounts, more in line with what the selling price SHOULD be, since those auctions on eBay closed. I'm actually looking forward to the end of the 4-day period because I have buyers elsewhere that will pay right away. I don't cancel my listings elsewhere until an item is paid.

4-peepsandpaws · ‎09-06-2023

@stacy_pme wrote:
So many people who just never respond, and never pay, leaving sellers sitting twiddling thumbs with our items not selling waiting on dead beat buyers.

I have the same several "buyers" of unpaid auctions still ignoring payment and it's going on 4 days now. Those items should have been sold, paid, and out the door days ago. Maybe some extremely high volume sellers can afford to sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for deadbeat buyers but I'm not one of them. I have honestly grown to wonder, and I'm going to check it out by viewing their listings and sales, if there's any possibility that they could be selling competitive items and opted to take mine out of circulation. It seems rather farfetched but I can't think of any other reason why auctions seem to have so many freaking deadbeats!

4-peepsandpaws · ‎09-06-2023

@reallynicestamps wrote:

Nothing tells a customer they are not trustworthy like being forced to prove themselves before they can bid.
It's like being followed around WalMart by a salesclerk.

And to that, what percentage of auctions actually end with an Unpaid Item?

Thank you very much for your post!

When I bid on an item or send an offer I have the money and I'm ready to pay. I've never felt that I was being forced to prove myself! When making an offer the little ticklers guide you to commit to the payment if the seller accepts. I think that's perfectly acceptable since I'm making an offer and taking their item out of circulation if they accept! OF COURSE I come with payment in hand when taking an item out of circulation!

As far as what percentage of items at auction remain unpaid? I can count, on one hand, the auctions I've had that HAVE been paid. I cannot even remember how many have not. WAY TOO many! It's a lot of wasted time and energy to have deadbeat bidders taking my items out of circulation when they could be sold and out the door. All of the items had multiple bidders so it's not like I have some strange item that only one in a billion people might want. The deadbeats essentially take my item out of circulation and that ends up costing soft dollars.

stephenmorgan · ‎09-07-2023

@4-peepsandpaws wrote:
@stacy_pme wrote:
So many people who just never respond, and never pay, leaving sellers sitting twiddling thumbs with our items not selling waiting on dead beat buyers.
I have the same several "buyers" of unpaid auctions still ignoring payment and it's going on 4 days now. Those items should have been sold, paid, and out the door days ago. Maybe some extremely high volume sellers can afford to sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for deadbeat buyers but I'm not one of them. I have honestly grown to wonder, and I'm going to check it out by viewing their listings and sales, if there's any possibility that they could be selling competitive items and opted to take mine out of circulation. It seems rather farfetched but I can't think of any other reason why auctions seem to have so many freaking deadbeats!

I looked at my non-paying bidder purchase history. They just registered on 28 August and now have three Feedbacks. Two of the Feedbacks were for items they bid on and won after bidding on my items. They are a collector of a certain model car diecast toy. If they would have paid, mine would have been the highest they had paid but they are also the oldest at about 35 years old. The stuff they have been purchasing is less than five years old and are much cheaper.

I suspect eBay flooded them with similar like items as mine so they decided to purchase these newer cheaper ones instead. This has happened often and there is nothing that can be done about it. Actually by doing this it lets eBay do the research for you and dig up stuff you may not have found. It is the new way of doing business.

I'll just wait the four days a cancel for non payment. It will actually be six days because on the second day I sent them an Invoice with combined shipping since it was multiple wins.

I think the items are worth more than the bids so I may relist them higher with Buy it now.

mozartbach1971 · ‎09-07-2023

I remember I was getting a lot more unpaid bidders when there was the 7 day wait period.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-07-2023

That's what I remember, too. It's a lot more effort to write a check, then address, stamp, and mail an envelope rather than to pay online -- click, click, done.

dogchow747 · ‎09-07-2023

I hate to say it, but welcome to retail.

With the items you have up for sale, you may have problems.

Or maybe I should say "will have problems"....

Folks that bid on your shoes 5 days ago likely bought some from a different seller or site 30 min later.

I agree, 4 days with no contact is too long to guess.

It is not 2001, and in most cases 4 days is reasonable time. (cars, equipment can take longer)

But I am a buyer and expect combined on multiple items (within reason of course).

I will also say, there are legit reasons people loose track of their purchases or do not respond.

(Illness, family emergency, hurricanes, wildfires) It happens.

You will have to go through the motions and relist if they do not make a payment.

It is a pain, but ebay can be quite profitable for some.

afonnes2014 · ‎09-11-2023

I feel like not only eBay but the forums here are a little too buyer centric and seem to have little sympathy for sellers, which I don't really understand. I completely understand where you're coming from and think the 4 days is too long.

I realize the old schools people think it's not that long, but why is it that we can't expect buyers to be conscious of when an auction they've bid on ends? Not down to the minute, but you certainly can keep an eye on what DAY the auction ends, or check your email, etc. We give too many excuses to buyers.

Also the main thing that I think irks sellers, myself included, is the lack of communication. I get it, maybe they had buyer's remorse, found it cheaper after bidding, etc. I would be much more forgiving if a buyer explained why they aren't paying or mentioned that they will pay, but for X reason they have to wait, or whatever it might be. It's just highly inconsiderate, but such is our current society.

robbie31415 · ‎09-11-2023

Buyers bring money, sellers don't.

Plenty of sellers are fine with 4 days.

Online commerce has always been buyer centric. Can you name any other legitimate marketplace out there that isn't?

As a buyer, I only buy from buyer centric companies. I love Costco. ❤️

afonnes2014 · ‎03-04-2024

I love Costco too, but that's apples and oranges to eBay. They don't sell their own product, their business depends on buyers and sellers. Sellers like me get tired of eBay (the fees are pushing me more towards leaving than anything, making any profit is near impossible with what I'm selling), they jump ship and choose another marketplace. Enough sellers do that and they're dead in the water.

Four days is fine if there is communication. In my experience, the vast majority of the time if the buyer doesn't pay within 2-3 days, they aren't going to, especially when they make zero attempt to communicate.

kh-shakhib · ‎03-05-2024

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.