Ebay Buyer Not Paying - What Is Process?

Sold an item last weekend - the 14th. Not a biggie - $5 plus shipping.

I sent an invoice that day. Wednesday, I sent a message asking about payment.

As of today - 6 days later - payment has not been received and there's been no response to my inquiry.

I'm not sure the correct course of action on the "more actions" pull down menu.

Relist? Report buyer? Leave feedback (it'd be negative of course). Just cancel order? (what happens then?)

I am going to send one last message in an effort to collect. However, with nonpayment, what is the proper process? I don't sell much but have not run into this issue.

ebay has a page for this sort of thing - http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

However, you cannot leave negative feedback. ebay doesn't allow it to be left for buyers, but it doesn't matter. An unpaid item strike does effect a buyer. Feedback doesn't.

Cancel order for non-payment seems correct, but I wonder if you are too impatient by considering such action just 7 days after sale. Two weeks seems courteous to me. Buyers get ill, injured, hospitalized, suffer computer failures, or travel overseas. Life happens. Any of these could result in payment taking 10 days or more.

No, do not cancel the order - it can put a negative strike against you. File the claim instead for nonpayment from the buyer. You file the claim in the resolution center. See above link. That way you'll get your final value fee back and there won't be a strike against you.

See cjpalermo's post. I would not push it - what is the hurry? Go with the two week thing and after that.......


Peter

Most of my buyers pay within a day, but some take longer. I have a couple in Chicago who are pretty slow. My approach is to invoice for multiple ot overseas lots on the day of the sale, and send a repeat invoice a week later in the event of non-payment. I wouldn't start the "unpaid item" procedure until a fortnight had elapsed.

What I've done is sent a courtesy email to the buyer explaining that you are ready to send but haven't gotten the payment and stating that you'll wait another day or two before opening a non-payment case. This often works. In the case you still don't get paid opening a non-payment case ends up sending a warning to the buyer and gets them to pay. If they don't ebay will show this as a negative on the buyer and no impact to you. Don't cancel the auction. That looks like your fault and reflects in your seller ratings.

Definitely do not cancel. We wait 2 weeks to file an Unpaid Item claim, 9 times out of 10 the bidder pays as soon as they receive the claim notice. If they haven't paid in 4 days you can close the claim and get your fees back and the recalcitrant bidder gets an Unpaid item strike against them. I have my preferences set so that anyone with 2 Unpaid strikes in the last 6 months is blocked from bidding on my items. I think this reduces the # off deadbeat bidders I see.

IMO call them, talk to a human being... best help....call durring working hours for best responce...every time I had an issue with my store, I call and had the best help..

Some people are just slow. I wouldn't ship until payment is received. PayPal?

Jack Kelley

Walk away and relist it ,then forget it . Gee why would anybody spend their time dealing with petty issues . The biggest problem with making money is the distraction of getting hung up on petty stuff.

I would wait for 2 weeks.. Same things sometimes happen to sellers as well - I have known of items being shipped to me after 3 weeks cause a seller was sick - I gave him the benefit of doubt and waited.

All that drama for $ 5 ?????

I didn't mean to cause drama. I'm not an active seller and have never encountered this before, and therefore was trying to learn what others do.