Seller limits buying options, refuses questions???

[alvinmoneypit]

I've been following an item.  This morning I tried to bid on it.  When I hit 'confirm', I got an Ebay message, "You are not able to bid on this item because you do not have a PayPal account or possibly have not linked it to your ebay account".   So I tried to ask the seller a question and I got the message "Sorry the seller is not able to respond to your question".   I then tried to message the seller directly and was able to do it by checking the box, "This is not about an item".  I have not heard back yet.

My questions are: Why would anyone block questions about an item they have for sale?:  Why would they block their customers by limiting the payment method?;  Is this some kind of phishing scam? 

I have had a Paypal account for over 15 years, I just haven't linked it to ebay for my own reasons.  I've never had an issue paying for any item,  is this the new policy on ebay that all Paypal accounts must be linked to be valid?

[tweetystwades]

I've had people buy from me that do not have their PP account linked to ebay. I only accept PP. How would they be able to do that?

[7606dennis]

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@alvinmoneypit wrote:

I have Paypal and it's in good standing except it's not linked to Ebay.  This item is a nice, expensive item in my price range that comes along very rarely.

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Since the seller requires your PayPal be linked there is nothing that you can do except look elsewhere for the item.  The fact that it has no bids and has been listed before is probably not going to get the seller to change his policy.  The fact that you have a PayPal account means nothing since it is not linked to your eBay account.

I don't believe eBay keeps track of if you've used PayPal to pay for purchases before.  Even if they did, they would have no way of verifying that your PayPal account was currently in good standing.  

[d-k_treasures]

And some of us old-timers don't set that option in case someone wants to send a MO or a check.

But if you are selling new elecronics or other high-scam items, that block would come in handy.

[d-k_treasures]

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@7606dennis wrote:

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@alvinmoneypit wrote:

I have Paypal and it's in good standing except it's not linked to Ebay.  This item is a nice, expensive item in my price range that comes along very rarely.

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Since the seller requires your PayPal be linked there is nothing that you can do except look elsewhere for the item.  The fact that it has no bids and has been listed before is probably not going to get the seller to change his policy.  The fact that you have a PayPal account means nothing since it is not linked to your eBay account.

I don't believe eBay keeps track of if you've used PayPal to pay for purchases before.  Even if they did, they would have no way of verifying that your PayPal account was currently in good standing.  

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They should be able to bid as a guest, though.

[tweetystwades]

Where is the setting that requires a seller to have the PP linked to ebay?

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@tweetystwades wrote:
I've had people buy from me that do not have their PP account linked to ebay. I only accept PP. How would they be able to do that?

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It's a block that a seller can set. It blocks buyers who do not having a PayPal account.  It requires the PayPal account to be linked though so that eBay has verified the buyer does have a PayPal account.   If you don't Have the block in place then buyers can buy from you without it linked or even if they don't have a PayPal account at all 

[alvinmoneypit]

Yes, I have my Paypal account linked to my bank as I'm a seller here as well, albeit not often. I use Paypal on EVERY Ebay transaction . That's why I was surprised I was blocked. Perhaps the seller will be able to do something as he still has no bidders and his listing will expire for at least the second time on this same item tomorrow evening.
To correct my earlier post, I did look at linking again for the first time in several years, and there appears to be no user agreement this time around. I may go ahead and do it, but really never run into this issue before and is why I posted the question. What bothers me about linking: It looks like I'm giving Ebay the password to my Paypal account. I don't allow that password to ANYONE as that has direct access to my checking account . It has all my cash in it. Perhaps if I begin to keep a set amount in there, I can limit my exposure to damage when something goes wrong. Just because something hasn't happened recently in the past, doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Again, there is NO PENALTY for any company allowing your info to be compromised.

[alvinmoneypit]

@tweetytwades

It's been a long time since I registered as a seller, but as I recall it requires a paypal account that is linked to a bank account.  It's not a 'setting' as I recall, it's a requirement that is verified at the time of registration.

[deep-garnet-red]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@myangelandmyprincess wrote:
They are blocked under the "not having a PayPal account" because their PayPal account is not linked eBay doesn't see they do have one 

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I've read this whole thread, but I could use a little more explanation here: What is the big deal about linking your PayPal account to your eBay account? I mean, I seriously doubt that not having it linked is really concealing much if any info from eBay (and I'm also not clear on what nefarious things by eBay would be blocked by not linking it).

As I don't think I've ever seen that particular rejection by eBay in my buying account, I suppose I must have linked my PayPal account to my buying account back on Day One, and I can't say I've noticed any Bad Thing occurring as a result of that. What am I missing here?

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Paranoia...on both sides of the issue.

[chiaretta]

Just to clarify: neither ebay nor Paypal force you to have them know your password, you can enter it each time, even with linked accounts.

[eaux-de-vie]

It might not be the seller blocking. I had a customer last week who could not bid. She had just added PayPal or her email address or a credit card or something (she mentioned what it was but I cannot remember) and it took a while for it to all update I guess. I had put the item that did not sell at auction into my store and she bought it a few days later. I changed nothing on my settings. I also think I read there was a glitch about people not being able to bid.

[tweetystwades]

I only accept PP, but not aware of a setting that requires the PP account to be linked to ebay. Can you explain exactly where that is?
Thanks!

[partial*eclipse]

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@tweetystwades wrote:
I only accept PP, but not aware of a setting that requires the PP account to be linked to ebay. Can you explain exactly where that is?
Thanks!

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It is an OPTION in your Site preferences under Buyer Requirements.  Go to "Block buyers who" and Edit.

The option is popular with sellers who want to avoid scammers, sport bidders, and buyers who are paranoid and difficult.

[alvinmoneypit]

@tweetystwades
About 10 years ago, linking Paypal account to Ebay account was pushed hard. A few years back, there was a pending partnership between Ebay and Paypal and a year later it was announce it fell through. I'm not up to date what the current relationship is.
Your question is part of my problem - what is linking accounts? Who knows, they don't talk about it as a definition at all these days. It appears that I give ebay the keys to my Paypal account by giving them my user ID and password. If this is the case, I won't do it without written protections. The reason I believe you give them your Paypal login info is when I click, "link my account" the Paypal login screen appears with the statement, "Login to Link your accounts" This statement doesn't appear on the regular login screen for Paypal. Shouldn't they have a statement of what info they're keeping? Shouldn't Ebay and Paypal actually define what "linking' is?

[tweetystwades]

That part I understand, you can block buyers that do not have a PP account, I do that myself.
I don't understand the part that requires PP account to be linked to ebay, or the site preference will block them. I block people that don't have a PP account, but I still have buyers that don't have PP linked to ebay. People have mentioned it to me. That is what I don't understand. I think buyers being blocked for not having a PP account, and not being linked to ebay are 2 different issues. If I'm wrong I want to know, but I have sold to people that don't have PP linked to ebay. Unless the customer doesn't know it.