eBay

keziak · ‎07-30-2019

My last 4 sales haven't been paid for yet. One guy cheerfully told me he'd pay in 10 days. I told him ebay would open a case and maybe close it before then. It looks like that is going to happen because he said he'll pay this coming Friday. Is it really necessary to buy something (inexpensive) if you can't pay until you get a paycheck?

bghtrade · ‎07-30-2019

I go through spurts like this. I sell probably 30 items a week and most of the time they pay. I have had a week recently where 8 orders were never paid for.

klhmdg · ‎07-30-2019

I have my account set that Unpaid Items are started by eBay 48 hours after purchase.

They are automatically closed 4 days after that.

Also all my BIN listings are pay now. The only way they can BIN is to pay for it.

klhmdg • Volunteer Community Mentor

membersinceaug2001 · ‎07-30-2019

I guess some people think we are a layaway service. I generally don't get any unpaids, but people that ask for an item to be re-listed but then never buy! The last 4 or so requests did that to me.

keziak · ‎07-30-2019

How does that work in the case of someone putting together a combined order? Do they have to pay for each separately to lock down the sale or can they order multiple things and just asked for an invoice with combined shipping?

lightlily_arts · ‎07-30-2019

Clearly people are idiots. I do run a few auctions on low value items and getting payment for them afterwards seems to be problematic. I don't know why people that bid on auctions think they don't have to pay. So I wait exactly 48 hours after the auction ends and open an unpaid item case. The buyer gets notified and they then have a few days to make the payment. I watch those cases and when the deadline comes I have them closed so I can get my fees back and relist. I also make sure to put those buyers on my blocked bidder list so they can't do it to me again. These buyers if they have two or more unpaid item cases will be blocked from bidding by many sellers who block buyers who have 2 or more unpaid item cases in the past 12 months. I was approached by a user who stated that they couldn't bid on my item. So I checked my site preferences and determined that they were blocked for unpaid items. Stupidly I gave them a chance by making an exception and then had to chase them down to pay. They finally paid after I advised the buyer that I had filed the unpaid item case and that the reason why he couldn't bid on my item was I had set blocks to prevent bidders that don't pay. Also it could potentially allow eBay to ban them from bidding on their site due to their frequent non payment for purchases. It was actually only a guess but it did motivate them to pay. I had no idea how many cases they actually had or what it takes before eBay really bans a buyer.

melissa5282013 · ‎07-31-2019

Hi, just curious if you have Unpaid Item Rules managed by ebay or do you manually open unpaid item after 48 hours?

I ask because I always had Unpaid Item managed thru ebay set at 48 hours, however, recently I also had a rash of non-payments & noticed ebay not taking action-sending buyer Unpaid Item message for over a week. I let it go at first, since there are so many other deficiencies with their service lately (the reason I’ve taken all but a very few listings off this platform at this time).

When I did finally call ebay, I was informed by CS that they do not allow 48 hr Unpaid items any longer thru them. I was never notified about this & it’s not mentioned in any updates I’ve received. Now, ebay’s Policy allows 8 DAYS before they even send the buyer a notification. So that’s 12 days total before I could claim final value fee or relist my item. I also could not get an answer on how, when or why this change took place or why I was not notified of this new policy. I was literally on the phone with them for 2 hours, cut off twice & transferred to other reps numerous times without a definitive explanation. I finally just hung up.

Just wondering......

Thanks!

luxe_beauty_4_less · ‎07-31-2019

I'm not sure about the automated unpaid item assistant as I don't use it. I do, however, open unpaid item cases on auction winners that don't pay 4 days after the auction ends. If they contact me and let me know when they'll pay before that, as long as it's reasonable, I won't open a UPI on them. Then, after the 4 day time ends on the UPI, I close it out and block them. Not sure why CS told you about an 8 day window unless that's for the automation. We have also been told to report non-paying bidders so eBay can track them and block them if they see a pattern. 🙂

soh.maryl · ‎07-31-2019

eBay does not normally ban a buyer based on the number of unpaid cases he racks up.

Individual sellers, however, can set their requirements so that no one with two unpaid cases in twelve months can buy from them.

iart · ‎07-31-2019

We seem to be getting more than usual. We don't use the assistant. We prefer to deal directly with buyers. We're also lucky that we aren't living sale to sale.

We wait almost a week and then send this note: "I don't think we got payment on this yet. Did you send it?"

About half the time we either get an apology and a commitment to pay soon (which they do) or a fast payment (often explaining that they forgot or something).

For the other half we'll wait a few more days and then file. Then some more will pay.

But, yes, the number of non-pays that never pay seems to be growing.

lightlily_arts · ‎07-31-2019

I went to check eBay's unpaid item policy. I've always opened my unpaid cases manually because I don't want to wait 4 days. So I open my cases at 48 hours.

This is the current policy:

If the buyer doesn't respond to your message or invoice and still hasn't paid, here's what you should do:

If it's been more than 2 full days since the listing ended, you can select Report an unpaid item. This lets us know you're having a problem and starts the formal process of resolving the issue – we call this opening a case. You need to report a case within 32 days of the listing ending.
Report an unpaid item
After opening a case, the buyer has 4 days to respond or pay for the item. On the 5th day, you can close the case by going to the Resolution Center - opens in new window or tab and selecting Receive fee credit, then Close case on the following page. Under Have you received payment from the buyer?, select No. The unpaid item is then recorded on the buyer's account, the final value fee will be credited back to you, and you can relist the item.

It's important to close out any unpaid item cases. If you don't close an unpaid item case within 36 days, we'll close it for you, but you won't be eligible for a final value fee credit. If you're a managed payments seller, you won't be eligible for a payments processing fee credit in this scenario either. Also, if we close a case, the unpaid item won't be recorded on the buyer's account.

When you let us know that a buyer hasn’t paid, we can step in and help you. We'll get in touch with the buyer on your behalf and ask them to pay you. We can also protect you against negative feedback. Once we’re certain that the sale won’t be completed, you can make a second chance offer to the next highest bidder.

murphsells · ‎07-31-2019

I have been noticing that a significant amount lately. So far, I had around five within the last month.

equid0x · ‎07-31-2019

@lightlily_arts wrote:
Clearly people are idiots. I do run a few auctions on low value items and getting payment for them afterwards seems to be problematic. I don't know why people that bid on auctions think they don't have to pay. So I wait exactly 48 hours after the auction ends and open an unpaid item case. The buyer gets notified and they then have a few days to make the payment. I watch those cases and when the deadline comes I have them closed so I can get my fees back and relist. I also make sure to put those buyers on my blocked bidder list so they can't do it to me again. These buyers if they have two or more unpaid item cases will be blocked from bidding by many sellers who block buyers who have 2 or more unpaid item cases in the past 12 months. I was approached by a user who stated that they couldn't bid on my item. So I checked my site preferences and determined that they were blocked for unpaid items. Stupidly I gave them a chance by making an exception and then had to chase them down to pay. They finally paid after I advised the buyer that I had filed the unpaid item case and that the reason why he couldn't bid on my item was I had set blocks to prevent bidders that don't pay. Also it could potentially allow eBay to ban them from bidding on their site due to their frequent non payment for purchases. It was actually only a guess but it did motivate them to pay. I had no idea how many cases they actually had or what it takes before eBay really bans a buyer.

I don't know why eBay allows this to go on... any buyer who doesn't pay at auction closing should be immediately suspended. If it was a mistake or extenuating circumstances, maybe give them a second chance, but if they do it again it should be a permanent ban from the site.

I've dealt with local auction houses both physically and online. Online they give you 24 hours to pay. In person, money is due immediately at the close of the auction.

If eBay wants to offer a layaway service for buyers, then eBay needs to assume that risk and front the money for it. Sellers should get paid immediately.