Opinions on when to send an invoice.

[dhaga]

I was wondering what experienced sellers do concerning the timing of sending invoices and reasoning behind sending right away vs waiting. TIA

[coastaltechsolution]

Can you explain further?

Invoice for multiple purchases?

Best offer and buyer has not paid? 

[dhaga]

Invoice for a single or multiple purchases mostly. I notice after an auction sends I get an option to send an invoice right away. I have not been very consistent in using that option and sometimes send right after auction closes and sometimes send a day or so after a buyer has not paid. I mostly send right away for multiple purchases to inform the buyer that after they pay I will calculate combined shipping and refund the difference. On single Items I usually wait a day or so if buyer has not paid. 

[klhmdg]

I feel eBay sends the buyer enough invoices so I dont send more.

eBay automatically sends at auction end, then again 2 days later. 

I will send an invoice for multiple purchases with combined shipping. 

[dhaga]

Thanks, I did not know they automatically send a reminder two days later. Concerning combined shipping. I am somewhat confused about handling of such. When I have purchased multiple items from sellers they have all been consistent in telling me I have to pay for the items plus what "ebay" charged for shipping each item and then send me a refund for the difference. I have been using the same method. 

Now it appears, as you seem to allude to, that it can be done up front by creating an invoice with a combined shipping charge so there is no need to refund a difference, do I have that correct? My confusion here is I usually list Priority Mail shipping as my shipping option but if multiple purchases are made I can sometimes find "better options" after the sales are closed. I like to offer the buyer a choice so I am reluctant to just create an invoice with combined shipping of the carrier I choose, am I overlooking something? 

[klhmdg]

@dhaga    IF the system works correctly AND the buyer adds item to their cart, the buyer can request an invoice from the seller BEFORE payment with combined shipping. 

The issue is the system doesnt always work as it should.

There are also items that cannot be combined to ship for various reasons.

Until May 2022(I think) sellers that combine shipping after payment and issue a refund for partial shipping fees are not getting any FVFs refunded.

I always appreciate when a buyer contacts me ahead of time so I can make sure the items can ship together. Then I can also remove the "immediate" payment option on those items so the buyer can buy without paying until I send an invoice with the best combined shipping option.

Good Luck!

[dhaga]

The situation I am dealing with at this moment is the buyer won both items in an auction (not buy it now) so no items were added to a cart. The buyer is now requesting an invoice with a combined shipping charge and wants me to provide options so they can choose shipping method. I am okay with being accommodating for this guy because they contacted me last week if I can do combined shipping. I told him I would refund the difference after the auctions close, as I normally do, but now they want an invoice up front with the shipping charge. A bit of a PIA but water off my back in this case. So I am PM'ing this guy to have him choose and once he makes his choice I will send him the invoice with shipping method of his choice is the plan. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

That's a good approach. The buyer apparently doesn't understand that an invoice will have just one shipping "option". If he wants choices, he has to do that separately using eBay messages before you send the formal invoice.  

Or do as you originally suggested: Pay for them together then get a partial refund.  But using that second strategy, you the seller will get stuck paying the FVF on the refunded portion.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@dhaga wrote: .... When I have purchased multiple items from sellers they have all been consistent in telling me I have to pay for the items plus what "ebay" charged for shipping each item and then send me a refund for the difference. I have been using the same method. 

Now it appears, as you seem to allude to, that it can be done up front by creating an invoice with a combined shipping charge so there is no need to refund a difference, do I have that correct? ... 

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Yes, but if you want to offer options other than Priority, that should be discussed with the buyer before you send the combined invoice.

[iart]

We like getting Friday payments. That way, with one day shipping, we get the weekend to find and pack.

If we can delay sending an invoice for a day or two so we get payment on Friday, we do.

Also, some buyers ask to wait a while to pay. We then send an invoice at that time (if we remember).

[dhaga]

Thanks, I am learning and perhaps trying to be too accommodating in this case since I told him how I handle it in our original communication and now they want to handle it their way. Not a big deal but the experience will help me communicate better next time around, I hope. 

[fern*wood]

For single items -- I don't send an invoice at all since ebay does this, plus it will lock in calculated postage to the address of the buyer.  So if that buyer decides to use a different ship-to address when they pay, that locked in postage may or may not be correct.

For multiple items --  who knows.  I'm usually told by my buyer they have to pay as they go, even if I don't have immediate payment required, and then I manually refund any overage.  I'm rarely given the opportunity to send an invoice.

For multiple auction items -- again, who knows.   Last week I was prompted on the seller hub that I had an order that was eligible for combined purchases, so I clicked and sent a combined invoice with adjusted shipping and it worked like a charm.  Fast forward to this week when I had 14 auctions awaiting payment and it seemed no invoice would go through when I used the same method.  I kept getting an error message.  Finally my disgusted buyer was able to pay my discounted amount (even though he said he never got an invoice).  Facebook help told me to have my buyer log out and back in to pay--guess that worked.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Never.   Ebay does it & Ebay sends reminders, so there's no need to.  

Maybe once or twice a year in unusual circumstances, I send one, but it's very rare.  I just have never found a need once Ebay started sending them. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

::general reply::

When you send an invoice there used to be a way to add a second shipping method so the buyer could choose, at least I think there used to be.  Or am I thinking of something else?

[lu12-deals]

I've got a similar question ... got an item that's  a week out with no payment from the buyer. Should I invoice? there used to be an option to send a payment reminder, but I no longer see that. 

Or, since eBay is doing this automatically now, should I just cancel the order?