Ebay Vent....Yes another one

[JoiseyMom]

I put an item on ebay for pick up only. The description very clearly said local pick up only, and the name of my city and state. Well I had one bidder, and they of course were brand new to ebay. I also had 2 emails for people begging me to add shipping to the item. I said no. Well the person that one, hasn't contacted me, and I don't think will, since her zip code is several states away. I can't file an NPB yet, but if I want until the 17th, this item will never be able to be sold for the holidays. At this point I am willing to ship it. Shipping will be expensive, but I want it gone. It is a molded plastic rocking horse btw. I am thinking of emailing the other two people, to see if they still want it. Should I?? Tx.

 

[Belle0101]

I'm no ebay pro by any means but I thought I read / heard from somewhere that if you sell it off of ebay, not to the winning bidder or a second chance offer, that there's no protection to you or the buyer through ebay or Paypal?

Honestly, I just don't understand not reading the terms. Example, I just had an auction end. Very clearly posted is that I will only take money orders or Paypal, existing funds only, no debit or credit card funded payments. And no, I do not have the Paypal logo on my auction. The winning bidder emailed me this; "Please invoice me, so I may send you a check." I don't take checks.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I know what you mean. My auctions state USPS money orders, and I almost never receive one!!!

 

[etwinchester]

I'm no ebay pro by any means but I thought I read / heard from somewhere that if you sell it off of ebay, not to the winning bidder or a second chance offer, that there's no protection to you or the buyer through ebay or Paypal?

Honestly, I just don't understand not reading the terms. Example, I just had an auction end. Very clearly posted is that I will only take money orders or Paypal, existing funds only, no debit or credit card funded payments. And no, I do not have the Paypal logo on my auction. The winning bidder emailed me this; "Please invoice me, so I may send you a check." I don't take checks.

FYI - I think as of August, if you accept Paypal now, you have to accept credit cards regardless if you display the logo or not. That's why I haven't sold on ebay lately. I didn't accept credit cards either and didn't display the logo. Again, I just wanted to inform you of the new rule so you can change your future listings. If you mention accepting Paypal, you must accept credit card payments.

I totally understand your check situation though...they should have read better.

OP - that's a tough call. I'd check the other people's feedback and if it's good, I'd offer to ship if they want to pay for it. Keep us posted.

 

[rflorek]

From the Paypal help screens:

Sellers who offer a PayPal payment option on eBay, and then reject a credit card payment, or other payment types (such as a bank transfer) run the risk of being reported to eBay as a Non-Selling Seller, after which one or more of the following actions may be taken:
Listing cancellation
Forfeiture of eBay fees on canceled listings
Limits on account privileges
Loss of PowerSeller status
Account suspension
If you sell on eBay using a PayPal Personal account, you can accept PayPal account balances and bank account payments with no additional fees. However, if you receive a credit card payment from an eBay buyer, you need to upgrade to a Premier or Business account.

PayPal Premier and Business account holders are charged a small fee to receive payments. The fee is based on the monthly payment volume. For details, see the fees page.

Additionally, sellers can not communicate to eBay buyers (for example, in an item description) that they only accept, or will not accept, certain forms of PayPal payments.

Violation of this policy can result in the cancellation of the auction. The consequences of refusing to accept a certain type of PayPal payment after an auction ends is stipulated in eBay's Seller Non-Performance located at http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html.

Buyers can also report a seller through this link by selecting 'Report the Seller' in the additional Information section.

Violations of this policy include language such as:
"I do not accept credit card payments."
"I only accept PayPal payments made with account balances or bank account transfers."
"I only accept PayPal if the bid amount is greater than $15.00 USD."
"I only have a Personal PayPal account and only accept those kinds of payments."

 

[d4est]

Which, by the way, I think is total crapola. I sell RARELY...I am not some powerseller...I don't like being forced to accept (& be charged for) credit card payments. If you want to use a credit card, then don't bid on my auction...I don't have anything "rare," so anyone could find what I've sold elsewhere...

Just my HO, not that it matters. I've stopped selling because of this.

 

[pyrxtc]

I put an item on ebay for pick up only. The description very clearly said local pick up only, and the name of my city and state. Well I had one bidder, and they of course were brand new to ebay. I also had 2 emails for people begging me to add shipping to the item. I said no. Well the person that one, hasn't contacted me, and I don't think will, since her zip code is several states away. I can't file an NPB yet, but if I want until the 17th, this item will never be able to be sold for the holidays. At this point I am willing to ship it. Shipping will be expensive, but I want it gone. It is a molded plastic rocking horse btw. I am thinking of emailing the other two people, to see if they still want it. Should I?? Tx.

I ahd that happen for a bassinet. After I relisted it for the 3rd time, I checked the buyers address and he was across the country. So I write him an e-mail saying that it was a local pick-up only and I didn't see how he was going to get it and I expected payment because he bid on it. I wasn't so polite and it was the third time it had happened witht hat one item so i was really getting mad. I let the first person off, filed a NPB with the second and didn't want to do it again. he e-mailed me back upset witht he tone of my letter and I had to file a NPB with him too.

he had bid on several bassinets at that time and all stated local pick-up only. I contacted one of the other sellers and it turns out that the guy sent her the money and told her to donate it after he realized what he did.

After e-mailing the top bidder, see what they will do for you and then make a second chance offer to the next highest bidder through ebay, well thats if he doesn't want it.

 

[JoiseyMom]

There was only one bidder. The other two people that were interested in the item emailed me about shipping the item. I am thinking of contacting them, but I cannot file against the winner bidder yet...it is too soon. I know I won't be hearing from them again though.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Which, by the way, I think is total crapola. I sell RARELY...I am not some powerseller...I don't like being forced to accept (& be charged for) credit card payments. If you want to use a credit card, then don't bid on my auction...I don't have anything "rare," so anyone could find what I've sold elsewhere...

You do not have to accept credit cards. You can accept cash, cashiers checks, money orders, personal checks, Disney Dollars or wampum.

However, if you use PayPal you have to abide by their rules.

 

[Chicago526]

I sold a desk local pick up only, and had several people email me asking if I'd reconsider and ship it. Since there was no way to take the desk apart w/out destroying it (and shiping would cost more than the item was worth!) I declined. I did get a buyer that was able to pick it up, but he never did! It's been 6 months! He did call DH last month to try to arange pick-up again, but blew us off a 2nd time.

Local p/u's are a pain, I think in the future if I have an oversized item to sell, I'll do a yard sale or donate it for the tax write off!

 

[Belle0101]

Thanks for the heads up on the Paypal info. I hadn't read that, I'm really bad about reading the updates.

Not sure what I'll do now. Accepting Paypal probably attracts more buyers but I sell so little that the fees are a concern for me. In a good month I'll gross $200.00. Take out what the items cost me, ebay fees, shipping and packing materials, ink, paper and now Paypal fees ... I'm not sure if it's really worth it now to accept Paypal.

I'm done listing until after the holidays so that'll give me some time to think it over.

 

[robinb]

I think it's OK to sell something for Pick-Up Only, right? Your Terms and Conditions said Pick Up Only, so I don't think you are obliged to sell it to your buyer and ship it.

Can't you just relist it now? You can file the NPB later.

 

[etwinchester]

I'm with ya regarding Paypal. Once I read the new rules regarding Paypal, I took a break and I'm still debating whether it is worth it to accept it or not...

 

[spatenfloot]

Not sure what I'll do now. Accepting Paypal probably attracts more buyers but I sell so little that the fees are a concern for me. In a good month I'll gross $200.00. Take out what the items cost me, ebay fees, shipping and packing materials, ink, paper and now Paypal fees ... I'm not sure if it's really worth it now to accept Paypal.

The fees for paypal are only about 2.5% which isn't really that much, especially since you get more bidders by accepting it. The only real reason you wouldn't want to do it is if you were selling lots of items at near cost and depend on volume to make money like some powersellers. For me, I just include fees in the starting bid so it doesn't matter.

 

[d4est]

You do not have to accept credit cards. You can accept cash, cashiers checks, money orders, personal checks, Disney Dollars or wampum.

However, if you use PayPal you have to abide by their rules.

I do accept the other forms of payment that you listed (with the exception of DD & wampum, lol ). I also used to accept paypal. It is quick & convenient for both parties.

I don't like their "new" rules, so I don't use them anymore. I was just stating my distaste for the "new" rule.

 

[rflorek]

I've always accepted Paypal, and I've always had the upgraded premier account. I don't mind paying the fees since I seem to get more traffic on my auctions by using/accepting Paypal. I get paid faster, I use my Paypal debit card as a credit card when paying for postage at the post office so I get cash back, and a figure a little extra cost in my starting bid to cover some of the fees.

I just look at the Paypal fees as a cost of running my auctions. If an item isn't worth a lot of money to begin with, I just donate it to a local charity for their fundraiser flea market because the eBay & Paypal fees would not be worth it on smaller, cheaper items (at least not to me)

 

[robinb]

I've always accepted Paypal, and I've always had the upgraded premier account. I don't mind paying the fees since I seem to get more traffic on my auctions by using/accepting Paypal. I get paid faster, I use my Paypal debit card as a credit card when paying for postage at the post office so I get cash back, and a figure a little extra cost in my starting bid to cover some of the fees.

I just look at the Paypal fees as a cost of running my auctions. If an item isn't worth a lot of money to begin with, I just donate it to a local charity for their fundraiser flea market because the eBay & Paypal fees would not be worth it on smaller, cheaper items (at least not to me)

I also accept PayPal and have a Premier account. I used to have two accounts ... one Premier and one Personal and I would try to direct people to use one account for CC Payments and the other for Balance Transfers and eChecks. One of the other frequent eBay posters here suggested that, but it really didn't work out for me. People kept on sending CC payments to the Personal account and I had to keep on directing them to the Premeier account. It was too much of a PITA to keep the two straight for everyone involved!

You know ... I really don't mind paying a premium for those payments made by Credit Card. PayPal is charged a percentage by the CC companies and I really don't mind them passing on the charge to me. What I do mind, is that PayPal charges all transactions the same percentage: credit cards, balance transfers and eChecks alike. That's what is not fair.

FWIW, when I buy an item I aways pay with my Credit Card. The one and only time a freind of mine got burned as a buyer was when she used an eCheck. THe seller never sent her the $800 laptop and she was out all but the $200 that PayPal covered.