Do buyers have to pay for ebay auctions within a set time?

[LisaR]

I rarely sell on Ebay but I have in the past and never had any trouble. I posted two things last week and the auctions ended at 11pm on Tuesday evening. It is now Thursday night at 6pm here. I sent both buyers an invoice and haven't heard a thing from either one. I always pay right away when I buy something. I am starting to get a little nervous that they aren't going to pay but how odd would it be that two separate people both skip out on payment? Is there anything I should do? How long do I give them?

 

[robsmom]

I am not a seller so I can't tell you the exact rules, but I do know that sometimes it takes me a few days to pay. It is not that I am a deadbeat or trying to get away with something. It is usually that I forget I had an auction I bid on and don't check my email. I sometimes get busy and go a few days without checking my home email. I woudn't panic yet.

 

[kerplop]

You can file a non-paying bidder case after 4 days of the auction's end. They'll refund your final value fee and you can re-list it whenever you want, though if there's a chance they might still pay I would hold off on that.

edit: I should have mentioned that they have another 4 days to respond to your filing the case. If they don't respond after that, you can close the case and get the final value fee refunded. And you can re-list after you open a case if you want.

 

[JoShan1719]

Unless a deadline is mentioned in the auction I don't believe they need to pay by a certain time. What I would do at this point is

1. Contact the buyers (you've already done this)
2. On Monday if they haven't responded send them another message specifying how many days they have left to pay. Considering the auctions ended on Tuesday I'd tell them they need to pay by Thursday the 15th, but you can pick any day you want.
3. If they don't pay and don't respond, open a case with Ebay. Explain that you have not received payment or responses from the buyers. It helps if you mention that you sent two different messages and what the messages said.

 

[Fire14]

I would say it's possible they are waiting for payday (fri) to pay. Lot's of ppl get paid on Fri.

 

[richmond282]

Unless a deadline is mentioned in the auction I don't believe they need to pay by a certain time.

This is not true. You can file a non-payment claim after 4 days no matter what. Sometimes this gets the bidders to pay up, some times not.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks for weighing in everyone! One person paid tonight so I feel much better now. Hopefully the other person will pay in the next day or two.

 

[Robinrs]

From the site:

When there's a problem with a transaction and the buyer doesn't pay, Unpaid Item Assistant can save you time and effort. Unpaid Item Assistant automates the process of opening and closing unpaid item cases. You can set it up to automatically open a case after a specified time—4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 days after the listing ended.

Then after the case is opened, the buyer has up to 4 days to pay, and when they do, the case closes automatically.

If they don't pay, the case closes automatically, you get a final value fee credit, and the unpaid item is recorded on the buyer's account. You can then relist your item at any time.

If you'd rather open and close cases manually, you can in our Resolution Center. Or, you and the buyer can agree to cancel the transaction.

 

[JoShan1719]

This is not true. You can file a non-payment claim after 4 days no matter what. Sometimes this gets the bidders to pay up, some times not.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if there was a time limit or not, I always specify in my listings.

 

[nunzia]

I was beginning to have problems with this and set up the auto thing..it helps get people to pay and if they don't the whole thing is on autopilot and their account will show that were non payers.

 

[LisaR]

The second person paid so all is well!!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Good for you! We just had the same thing happen. No pymt after 4 days...so here we go! Have to wait 4 more days then relist if (more likely when) they don't pay. Bummer.