OT: WWYD: Ebay buyer won auction 2/16 wants to pay 12/23? UPDATE post 23, SHE PAID!!

[gk90]

What would You Do? An ebay buyer won an auction last night 12/16, and just now sent me an email asking if she could pay on 12/23? It's for an American Girl doll...I don't want to get stuck with a non-paying buyer and then have to relist the item again. Should I go with the 2nd chance offer option--does anyone have experience with that and how it works?
Also we're leaving on the afternoon of the 23rd and will be in Canada over a week...I know I'll be too busy to ship the item the day we leave.

 

[camlace]

What payment terms did you list? I state that payment is required in 48 hours. If I do not receive payment by then I go to 2nd chance or relist.

 

[Robinrs]

I agree with the PP, I actually give 3 days then relist. If you have your settings for non paying bidder set up she'll be sent a message from eBay based on your required wait time. I would send her an email saying it is unacceptable and thanks.

Why would anyone bid without having the funds to buy,anyway? Do they do that at Macy's?

 

[carebee21]

She's well within her ebay rights to do so. According to Ebay policy, you have to give the buyer 4 full days, or exactly 96 hours, to pay for any auction. At that point in time, you can send them a non paying bidder notification. Once the notification is sent, they again have 4 full days, or 96 hours, to pay for the item. So in total, they have at least 8 days, longer if you wait to file the non paying bidder alert. It doesn't matter what you put in your auction as far as time line goes, ebay has already set the guidelines and payment terms.

If you offer it to the 2nd place bidder and the original winner pays you for the item before the non-paying bidder process is complete and you no longer have it to sell, they can leave you negative feedback and report it to ebay, which can result in your account being limited or if it happens frequently, having your seller priveleges removed.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

 

[Juliet25]

She's well within her ebay rights to do so. According to Ebay policy, you have to give the buyer 4 full days, or exactly 96 hours, to pay for any auction. At that point in time, you can send them a non paying bidder notification. Once the notification is sent, they again have 4 full days, or 96 hours, to pay for the item. So in total, they have at least 8 days, longer if you wait to file the non paying bidder alert. It doesn't matter what you put in your auction as far as time line goes, ebay has already set the guidelines and payment terms.

If you offer it to the 2nd place bidder and the original winner pays you for the item before the non-paying bidder process is complete and you no longer have it to sell, they can leave you negative feedback and report it to ebay, which can result in your account being limited or if it happens frequently, having your seller priveleges removed.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

This exactly. You really don't have any options if you don't want to risk a negative. There's nothing you can do if a buyer doesn't want to pay until the very last minute.

Sorry. It's very frustrating.

 

[gk90]

I just looked at my payment terms and realized there's a loophole

"The Fine Print: I accept Paypal. Winning bidder to respond with shipping address within 3 business days after close of auction or forfeit the item."

I realized that I meant to put in "Winning bidder to respond with *payment and* shipping address" to make it 100% clear and I forgot

So with my terms can this buyer still say that they have the right to take a week to pay?

 

[carebee21]

I just looked at my payment terms and realized there's a loophole

"The Fine Print: I accept Paypal. Winning bidder to respond with shipping address within 3 business days after close of auction or forfeit the item."

I realized that I meant to put in "Winning bidder to respond with *payment and* shipping address" to make it 100% clear and I forgot

So with my terms can this buyer still say that they have the right to take a week to pay?

It doesn't matter what you write in an auction. Both the buyer and seller have agreed to follow ebay's rules and conditions. And those conditions give the buyer at least 8 days to pay.

 

[wdw4rfam]

I'd actually say no and ask if the person wants to cancel the transaction. Then you dont have to wait 3 days- then your other bidders might have already bid on others.

 

[Juliet25]

EBay's terms trump yours. You don't have to wait for payment, but you will have to deal with the ramifications (negative feedback; possible non performing seller strike on your record) if you make a second chance offer before closing a non paying bidder case.

 

[dodukes]

try and see if you can cancel the transaction and offer it to the second chance person.

 

[gk90]

Ok, so I'm thinking of telling her that on the 23rd I'm going out of the country until Jan 2. So if she doesn't pay me by the 22nd her item won't get shipped until Jan 3, so it might be better to just cancel the transaction? And see what she says about that?

 

[crashbb]

Ok, so I'm thinking of telling her that on the 23rd I'm going out of the country until Jan 2. So if she doesn't pay me by the 22nd her item won't get shipped until Jan 3, so it might be better to just cancel the transaction? And see what she says about that?

Only do that if you are okay with her taking you up on a pay date of the 23rd. She may not have a problem with waiting until the 3rd to get it shipped.

 

[PTL]

I would bet she doesn't get paid until 12/23. And also it is probably a Christmas gift. Me personally, would find out the circumstances and even make an effort to send the doll in time for Christmas. It would be a supreme act of kindness.

 

[yvettedem]

I would tell them that you are going out of the country on the 21st and will not be back until MID January that you need to be paid before you go so that you can assure they get their item in a timely manner....whether or not they say yes or no, I will still open that dispute after the 4 days AND escalate it immediately..this way you cover yourself!

 

[sam_gordon]

I would bet she doesn't get paid until 12/23. And also it is probably a Christmas gift. Me personally, would find out the circumstances and even make an effort to send the doll in time for Christmas. It would be a supreme act of kindness.

And a SUPREME act of faith. The only way to deliver the doll before Christmas is to ship early in the week... before the winner pays. If you want to wait until the winner pays, you're forced to do an "overnight, guaranteed Saturday delivery"... watch the shipping fees skyrocket.

I would email the buyer what you suggested, that you're willing to wait until the 23rd to accept payment if they are willing to wait until you return from vacation for you to ship it. If they're not, and assuming the PP are correct about ebay policies, I'd have the doll boxed up, addressed, fully ready to ship. When payment is received, drop it by the Fed Ex/UPS office on the way out of town. I don't know what the ebay rules are regarding how long a seller has to ship after receiving payment, but I'd tell the buyer NOW that you'll be out of town and unable to ship if that's what you want to do.

 

[luvmy3]

I would tell them that you are going out of the country on the 21st and will not be back until MID January that you need to be paid before you go so that you can assure they get their item in a timely manner....whether or not they say yes or no, I will still open that dispute after the 4 days AND escalate it immediately..this way you cover yourself!

I don't think you can open any dispute until after ebay's term limit, not your own.

 

[yvettedem]

I don't think you can open any dispute until after ebay's term limit, not your own.

you can open it on the 4th day of non payment...has to be 4 days after you start the listing...so if you start it 8p on 12/14 you have to wait until AFTER 8p on 12/18...been an ebay seller for 10 years...thankfully they started it this way...you used to have to wait a week!

 

[iheartdisney]

I would bet she doesn't get paid until 12/23. And also it is probably a Christmas gift. Me personally, would find out the circumstances and even make an effort to send the doll in time for Christmas. It would be a supreme act of kindness.

A supreme act of kindness would be if bidders would not bid on items unless they have the means to pay. When someone is counting on some Christmas spending money and deadbeat bidder after deadbeat bidder win your items, it can be more than a little frustrating.

I would cancel the transaction and move on.
Second-chance offers work sometimes, but I have found that the only time it works for me is when the item was a really good deal. Otherwise buyers usually move on to the next auction.

 

[carebee21]

you can open it on the 4th day of non payment...has to be 4 days after you start the listing...so if you start it 8p on 12/14 you have to wait until AFTER 8p on 12/18...been an ebay seller for 10 years...thankfully they started it this way...you used to have to wait a week!

It's 4 days from when the listing ends, not from when the listing starts.

 

[carebee21]

A supreme act of kindness would be if bidders would not bid on items unless they have the means to pay. When someone is counting on some Christmas spending money and deadbeat bidder after deadbeat bidder win your items, it can be more than a little frustrating.

I would cancel the transaction and move on.
Second-chance offers work sometimes, but I have found that the only time it works for me is when the item was a really good deal. Otherwise buyers usually move on to the next auction.

The other party has to agree to cancel the transaction. She can't just cancel it and move on. If the other party doesn't agree to it, she's stuck waiting until the non paying bidder transcation is complete, or the item gets paid for.

To the OP, I would politely ask her if she wants to cancel the transaction. Tell her you needed the money for Christmas and will be out of town on the 23rd through whenever, so even if she pays, the item won't get shipped right away. If she doesn't know ebay rules, she may just say Ok, and cancel the transaction. However, be prepared if she does know the rules. She has at least 8 days to pay. Once the item is paid for, as the seller, you're required to ship it in a timely manner. 10 days wouldn't be a timely manner. Ebay is very pro buyer and not pro seller, so they don't care that you're on vacation, etc. They expect you to know the rules and comply with them. In this case, you shouldn't have had an auction end where there was a possibility it wouldn't get paid for until you were out of town. It's your fault, not the buyers in Ebay's opinion. Once she pays for the item and waits a few days and you haven't shipped it, she can open both a paypal claim and an ebay buyer protection claim. Once this is done, the money for the transaction will be removed from your account and essentially frozen until they can confirm whether or not you shipped the item. Once the claim is filed, you have 7 days to respond with a tracking number and show it was sent. If you don't do this, she gets the money back. If you can show it was sent, then you'll get the money back once it's delivered. The problem is, if you have too many people that file claims, ebay will limit or revoke your seller priveleges. Also, the buyer can leave you negative feedback saying you were a slow shipper. You have no recourse, as you can't leave her a negative saying she was slow to pay. And again, if your seller rating is too low, ebay can limit or revoke your seller priveleges and the feedback will deter others from bidding on your auctions. So basically, if she won't agree to cancel the transaction, and she actually pays for the item, you need to be prepared to send the item out, before you get home.