A Quick Question for ebay Sellers...

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I have a question about ebay selling. I very rarely sell on ebay but recently listed a couple of items. On one of the items that sold (auction style), so far the buyer hasn't paid or done anything. The email notice to me from ebay just says it sold and to wait until the buyer pays before shipping. In my sold items panel there's an action called "send invoice" which I've never used before. My question is this: do I just wait for ebay to direct me or is there anything I need to do? BTW, the buyer has a 100% score but strangely has one purchase within the past 30 days that the seller noted "Didn't Pay".
 
I think it would make sense to send the invoice, my wife used to sell dozens of items on eBay per week and I think she just invoiced everybody by default.
I'd say that 20% of her buyers didn't pay at first and maybe half of that group never paid.
I wonder if something unfortunate may have happened to this buyer if they had a good record until very recently? I hope not...
 
Thanks.

Yes, it's possible the buyer is out of town or busy, so I have to temper my patience. I guess I've been fortunate in the times I've sold things in the past (perhaps 8 items), the buyer always paid within a few hours (as I always do). I'm still confused why a seller gave this person a positive review but noted that they "didn't pay".
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Send an invoice, but be patient for awhile.

I use to sell more stuff on EBAY but the shipping is a killer for the most part.


Yes, the shipping (and fees) put a dent in the profitability. I used to alway figure my estimated shipping into the asking price and list with free shipping. That was until I sold an oversized item that ended up costing almost a third of the $250 sold price in shipping (ouch).

Thanks for all the responses and advice.
 
Ebay always tells you immediately when they won an auction and automatically tells them to "pay" via message. And the "pay" alert for that item stays locked in until you do pay. I think they allow up to 5 days to pay before Ebay starts to question a buyers intent to pay and sellers can take action against them. Most buyers pay up within 24-48 hrs.

I'm still confused why a seller gave this person a positive review but noted that they "didn't pay".

Because the buyer can still retaliate and give the seller negative feed back and low ratings on the transaction. A seller can't do anything except solicit Ebay to have the ratings removed if they feel it's unjust. The buyers have all the rating power on Ebay. Sellers can only sit back and watch.
 
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Haven't sold things on Ebay for a while (10 yrs) but when I used to, I or there was an option where you could select a time period (not sure if still there). I would pick 10 business days. If no payment via paypal by then, the auction was cancelled. In your case send the invoice.
 
If I am selling on Ebay, I usually state in the condition of sales to pay within 2 days of auction close.
 
Originally Posted by Touring5
Thanks.

Yes, it's possible the buyer is out of town or busy, so I have to temper my patience. I guess I've been fortunate in the times I've sold things in the past (perhaps 8 items), the buyer always paid within a few hours (as I always do). I'm still confused why a seller gave this person a positive review but noted that they "didn't pay"[/b].




Ebay does NOT allow sellers to give buyers a negative rating despite buyers not cooperating with sale...Ive had buyers win auctions and not pay them, then I file dispute and ban them from using my store, 1 week later I see them bidding again!!! Ebay doesn't give a S*** about sellers. I now only use Ebay when there is a coupon like $10 off $30 or something I really need, providing no one else has it.
 
The Send Invoice option is not required unless you are having to adjust the payment due (for example: combined shipping cost, tax, etc).

The minute the buyer won the auction, they received a notice to pay with an amount. As long as the amount, per the auction listing, is correct, then follow eBay guidelines for dispute resolution.
 
Unless it's a rare item that I can't figure the value on, I like to use buy it now and require immediate payment.
 
I've been dinged by four non-payers this month. One was a bad buyer that eBay threw out of the system. The others I had to open a "non-payment" action on (it's in the pull down menu at right). All got sent invoices as step two. One paid and I shipped. The other two were/are duds.

eBay waits 4 days after opening a "non-payment" action. If they still don't pay, you are refunded all fees and you list the item again. Manually edit your listings after "re-listing" as eBay is notorious for making duplicate "re-listings" ...

The dud buyers get a non-payment ding attached to their account for future sellers to see.
 
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Originally Posted by dishdude
Unless it's a rare item that I can't figure the value on, I like to use buy it now and require immediate payment.



^^^ That's the way to do it.
 
Originally Posted by Touring5
I have a question about ebay selling. I very rarely sell on ebay but recently listed a couple of items. On one of the items that sold (auction style), so far the buyer hasn't paid or done anything. The email notice to me from ebay just says it sold and to wait until the buyer pays before shipping. In my sold items panel there's an action called "send invoice" which I've never used before. My question is this: do I just wait for ebay to direct me or is there anything I need to do? BTW, the buyer has a 100% score but strangely has one purchase within the past 30 days that the seller noted "Didn't Pay".


In my experience and this was quite a few years ago, you can definitely use the "Send Invoice" option to "remind" the buyer to fulfill his part of the contract. If the listing has just ended a day or two, you may just have to be patient for a few days. I know it's weird, a person has all the attention to keep bidding but not paying right after the auction ends.

The worst comes to worst, you just have to wait and let eBay know you have a non-paying bidder and they may let you re-list or you can choose to sell to the second highest bidder.
 
I experienced so many non-paying buyers in the last couple of years that I will only do "buy it now" listings now. I've seen all manner of excuses and requests to wait until "I get paid Friday." If you don't have the money DON'T BID! Often, I just cancelled the sale instead of adding another week to the selling process by reporting the buyer. There are a lot of deadbeats out there. I won't even allow offers because the same problem occurs after accepting an offer. Today's buyers are ruining eBay for auctions.
 
Yeah, the percentage of "non-paying bidders" is higher than ever. I probably have to move the item into "non-paying bidder" status on two-thirds of my items. You have to wait 48 hours after close to activate that complaint. I've only had a couple that didn't pay at all, but having to wait for the refund and to relist stinks.

I try to sell things through Facebook now. Not perfect, but it's more profitable.
 
I don't sell much, or often, but I play it like a reverse auction now. I look at sold listings and set what I think is the right price. I'll then lower it periodically until it sells. One thing about eBay automation I REALLY hate is that the system adds "best offer" functionality to your listings without consent and automatically. So, when I get those emails saying, "Your item can now accept offers" I have to revise the listing to remove it. Accepting offers carries the same risk of non-paying buyers as auction style listings. I've had Facebook selling recommended to me, but I don't do Facebook.
 
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