Sold an $800 watch and Ebay is not accepting American Express

[lovecollectibles]

Sold an $800  watch and buyer is unable to pay using his AMEX. Ebay told the buyer that is was me not accepting  AMEX  even though with Ebay management payments I have no control of this. When I called customer service Ebay told me that it was not me but the buyer having an issue with the bank. When the buyer called again Ebay told him that it was a glitch that they are trying to fix. All of this continues to motivate me in migrating more of my items to other selling platforms. What a waste of time, and money.

JG

[theteamsetguy]

I have had no problems whatsoever using my Amex card on here. I have been buying on here for many moons.

[coolections]

Your listing does not show a payment method of Amercian Express. Do not worry as it does not matter who's fault it is. Just tell buyer just like Ebay did to use another form of payment. I had a gift card once a long time ago and had to go to several places before someone would accept it. AMEX is the worse card IMO.

[mtgraves7984]

Is it the Longines? For some reason, that listing doesn't show AMEX as a payment method. Hmmmm... 🤔

Edit to add: a lot of your listings don't show AMEX. Curiouser and curiouser...

[lacemaker3]

AmEx is not available as a payment method in some categories, which apparently include jewelry and watches. Your buyer will need to use a different payment method.

This may have something to do with higher fees which are charged by AmEx for some purchases. They are more than eBay/Adyen is willing to pay.

More info:

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-blocks-american-express-for-select-categories-in-managed-pay...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Paypal-Amex-payment/m-p/32938466#M404702

[12345jamesstamps]

It's a lot of money and American Express usually sends an alert out to the cardholder for such a purchase. This is usually done on an iPhone which cardholder might not have. And if cardholder hasn't used the card for awhile an alert for fraud will also go out. Usually, not on eBay but a purchase in a store an alert will go out where American Express will call merchant and cardholder has to talk on phone to approve purchase. And also if cardholder has a lot of purchased stuff on card an alert will go out to cardholder also. It comes down to the cardholder having issues not responding to alerts on buying something. Cardholder needs to call American Express and approve the purchase of this sale so it can go through. I used to work in retail which I rang up big ticket items. Just ask the buyer to call American Express to approve the purchase. After buyer calls American Express and approves it he will have to buy said item again. I don't think it will automatically go through after it calls American Express. Good Luck.

[lovecollectibles]

I hear what you are saying about the higher fees but at least they should be transparent/open and not tell us "stories" such as: is your settings, is a problem with the buyer's bank, is a glitch etc.

[lovecollectibles]

Read this: https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-blocks-american-express-for-select-categories-in-managed-pay...

[pburn]

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@lovecollectibles wrote:

I hear what you are saying about the higher fees but at least they should be transparent/open and not tell us "stories" such as: is your settings, is a problem with the buyer's bank, is a glitch etc.

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Just another example of the outstanding responses from eBay's stellar customer service department. 

I honestly do not think it's a transparency or openness issue. I think it's a matter of those customer service reps either not having any idea what you're talking about or not having any idea what they're talking about, or a combination of both. The general consensus is they're worthless 90% of the time.

[theteamsetguy]

@coolections,

They have the best reward programs if you know how to use them. I have multiple AMex cards and use them for specific purposes to maximize my rewards. I have one that gets me 4 points for the top two categories that are used each month. I that card for shipping and ebay purchases. 

I get enough points from that card alone to get me at least a half dozen free plane tickets a year. I don't know when the last time I paid cash for a plane ticket. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

IF the buyer does pay, do NOT forget to add SIGNATURE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION.   All sellers must do this if the item is $750.oo or higher inorder to protect their seller rights.  This is something that YOU MUST pay.  You can not bill the buyer for that now.    It needed to be built into the starting price or add to the shipping fee when you started the listing. It's about 4 dollars. (I haven't used it in years.)

[studiodeflores]

I run into this often as a buyer.  American Express is 'greyed out' and can't be selected.  I guess it's because I'm buying jewelry?  Anyway, I can still pay with American Express by checking out with Paypal and selecting Amex in Paypal.  I suppose that could be done with Google Pay and Apple Pay too but I haven't used those payment options yet.  Ask your buyer if they have Paypal or one of the others and they can add their Amex account there and pay.

[yuzuha]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

AmEx is not available as a payment method in some categories, which apparently include jewelry and watches. Your buyer will need to use a different payment method.

This may have something to do with higher fees which are charged by AmEx for some purchases. They are more than eBay/Adyen is willing to pay.

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Coming from someone who works B&M retail, AmEx is also a nightmare to deal with in general. There is a reason some stores still don't accept AmEx even today.

[reallynicestamps]

AmEx is refused by many merchants because of its high fees, slow payouts, and excessive buyer protection.
I have been told that the cardholder can make a chargeback for up to a year from payment.

If your buyer can qualify for AmEx they probably have several other cards.

And those may well be overdrawn.

It's not you. It's not eBay. It's not the bank. It's not AmEx.

It's the buyer.

The payment will spend a long time processing before it clears and you are told to ship.

Do not ship until eBay confirms you have been paid.

An email is not confirmation.

[gumpy_puppers]

Mystery solved! Ebay stopped accepting Amex because they were getting an inordinate number of chargebacks from users who received counterfeit watches. We all know that ebay is a cesspool of cheap chinese knockoffs and other fake merchandise, but when it's a high-value item like a wristwatch, they have to pay a chargeback fee, whether they win or lose the dispute.  Amex is known for their exceptional purchase protection, especially against counterfeit merchandise and fraudulent sellers, which ebay has in spades, and their "authenticity guarantee" means nothing. So, they simply blocked members from using Amex to purchase anything that is likely to be high value and fake. Lucky us!