Should I sell to a non-responding eBay buyer?

[max105]

My eBay auction ended on 3/30. I sent an invoice out the following day on 3/31 and the buyer paid by 4/1. For some reason, I couldn't accept his payment in my PayPal account. It's sitting there in an "Unclaimed" status forcing me to upgrade from a Personal to Premier account before I can accept.

According to PayPal's website, my Personal account can accept up to 5 credit/debit card payments per year and I'm well below that limit. I've been in contact with PayPal this entire time and sending message updates to the buyer every 2-3 days.

On several occasions, I asked the buyer to confirm that they are okay with waiting on this PayPal issue to resolve or if we needed to find some other way to settle our payment. Most recently, I asked him to confirm his shipping address for the package. Aside from the payment that I received from him, I haven't received any response from the buyer. The buyer is from Spain so I don't know if there's a language barrier issue preventing him from responding.

My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

 

[Ns1]

I'd ship it

 

[FuryofFive]

Originally posted by: max105
My eBay auction ended on 3/30. I sent an invoice out the following day on 3/31 and the buyer paid by 4/1. For some reason, I couldn't accept his payment in my PayPal account. It's sitting there in an "Unclaimed" status forcing me to upgrade from a Personal to Premier account before I can accept.

According to PayPal's website, my Personal account can accept up to 5 credit/debit card payments per year and I'm well below that limit. I've been in contact with PayPal this entire time and sending message updates to the buyer every 2-3 days.

On several occasions, I asked the buyer to confirm that they are okay with waiting on this PayPal issue to resolve or if we needed to find some other way to settle our payment. Most recently, I asked him to confirm his shipping address for the package. Aside from the payment that I received from him, I haven't received any response from the buyer. The buyer is from Spain so I don't know if there's a language barrier issue preventing him from responding.

My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

no,don't ship...the amount should have no bearing on your decision. this is out of your control.. paypal messed up, not you. Most people are understanding of mishaps
Do you sell often,Get the upgrade if you do.

 

[FelixDeCat]

You sold, he bought. He has a good Ebay history. Ship his item or refund his money. The problem is on your end, not his IMO.

 

[ElFenix]

Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

$10.

 

[Newbian]

Sorry but until you get the actual money in your account it's not paid for.

This is a paypal issue and they need to fix it first before you ship it, especially overseas.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
You sold, he bought. He has a good Ebay history. Ship his item or refund his money. The problem is on your end, not his IMO.

QFT, I'd get your issues fixed ASAP or send it out now and hope for the best.

If he is legitimate I strongly doubt he is going to f you on a $10 payment.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sorry but until you get the actual money in your account it's not paid for.

This is a paypal issue and they need to fix it first before you ship it, especially overseas.

its there. he just does not have the proper account. this is not the buyers fault this is the OP's fault.

either ship it or give a refund. then figure out what you are doing before you decide to play on ebay anymore.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sorry but until you get the actual money in your account it's not paid for.

This is a paypal issue and they need to fix it first before you ship it, especially overseas.

its there. he just does not have the proper account. this is not the buyers fault this is the OP's fault.

either ship it or give a refund. then figure out what you are doing before you decide to play on ebay anymore.

Yes, this is a problem on my end and not the buyers fault. But specifically, it's a problem with PayPal. I can't accept the payment nor can I cancel the payment. In one of my original emails to the buyer, I asked him to cancel the payment since I couldn't, and try sending again.

I do feel bad for the buyer having to put up with this, but I'm mostly angry with PayPal and their horrendous customer service. Every time I bring up the issue that I'm BELOW the maximum credit/debit card acceptance limit, they give me the same sales pitch about how I can accept unlimited funds for a low fee with their Premier/Business accounts.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: FuryofFive

Originally posted by: max105
My eBay auction ended on 3/30. I sent an invoice out the following day on 3/31 and the buyer paid by 4/1. For some reason, I couldn't accept his payment in my PayPal account. It's sitting there in an "Unclaimed" status forcing me to upgrade from a Personal to Premier account before I can accept.

According to PayPal's website, my Personal account can accept up to 5 credit/debit card payments per year and I'm well below that limit. I've been in contact with PayPal this entire time and sending message updates to the buyer every 2-3 days.

On several occasions, I asked the buyer to confirm that they are okay with waiting on this PayPal issue to resolve or if we needed to find some other way to settle our payment. Most recently, I asked him to confirm his shipping address for the package. Aside from the payment that I received from him, I haven't received any response from the buyer. The buyer is from Spain so I don't know if there's a language barrier issue preventing him from responding.

My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

no,don't ship...the amount should have no bearing on your decision. this is out of your control.. paypal messed up, not you. Most people are understanding of mishaps
Do you sell often,Get the upgrade if you do.

I don't sell very often. I probably average 4-5 sales a year. I don't want to upgrade to the Premier account since I'll have to start paying fees for every single PayPal payment from that point on.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

$10.

Heh, sorry but I meant to ask if there's a high risk something would go wrong by moving forward with this transaction rather than how much $$ I'm risking. 🙂

 

[Nik]

Originally posted by: max105
My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

If you're not comfortable with how Paypal does business, don't use them. I don't use Paypal anymore. You auctioned it, he won, he paid, you have his address already, and you haven't shipped in weeks? Over $10? Over varifying an address? Good grief. Ship the damn thing. I'd leave negative feedback for that, if ebay feedback were actually worth a damn.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sorry but until you get the actual money in your account it's not paid for.

This is a paypal issue and they need to fix it first before you ship it, especially overseas.

its there. he just does not have the proper account. this is not the buyers fault this is the OP's fault.

either ship it or give a refund. then figure out what you are doing before you decide to play on ebay anymore.

Read it again... it's a issue with paypal and not the op's fault.

 

[kranky]

The buyer paid, so ship it. If you don't get your $10, then upgrade to a premier Paypal account for the future.

Your buyer shouldn't suffer because you and Paypal have an issue. It's $10.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sorry but until you get the actual money in your account it's not paid for.

This is a paypal issue and they need to fix it first before you ship it, especially overseas.

its there. he just does not have the proper account. this is not the buyers fault this is the OP's fault.

either ship it or give a refund. then figure out what you are doing before you decide to play on ebay anymore.

Read it again... it's a issue with paypal and not the op's fault.

Which is the OP's problem, not the buyers.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: max105
My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

If you're not comfortable with how Paypal does business, don't use them. I don't use Paypal anymore. You auctioned it, he won, he paid, you have his address already, and you haven't shipped in weeks? Over $10? Over varifying an address? Good grief. Ship the damn thing. I'd leave negative feedback for that, if ebay feedback were actually worth a damn.

Personally, I've never had a problem with PayPal until now. I am re-evaluating whether or not I will continue using PayPal after this ordeal.

The reason I haven't shipped is because I haven't been able to accept his payment. PayPal his holding his payment hostage in my account until I upgrade to their Premier/Business account. This has nothing to do with verifying his address. I only asked him to verify his address in an attempt to get him to communicate with me.

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: max105
According to PayPal's website, my Personal account can accept up to 5 credit/debit card payments per year and I'm well below that limit. I've been in contact with PayPal this entire time and sending message updates to the buyer every 2-3 days.

Since when did they do this? Anyone else experience this?

 

[krylon]

Originally posted by: max105

Originally posted by: FuryofFive

Originally posted by: max105
My eBay auction ended on 3/30. I sent an invoice out the following day on 3/31 and the buyer paid by 4/1. For some reason, I couldn't accept his payment in my PayPal account. It's sitting there in an "Unclaimed" status forcing me to upgrade from a Personal to Premier account before I can accept.

According to PayPal's website, my Personal account can accept up to 5 credit/debit card payments per year and I'm well below that limit. I've been in contact with PayPal this entire time and sending message updates to the buyer every 2-3 days.

On several occasions, I asked the buyer to confirm that they are okay with waiting on this PayPal issue to resolve or if we needed to find some other way to settle our payment. Most recently, I asked him to confirm his shipping address for the package. Aside from the payment that I received from him, I haven't received any response from the buyer. The buyer is from Spain so I don't know if there's a language barrier issue preventing him from responding.

My question now is, although he has feedback score of 215 (99.3% positive) and his account has been opened since 4/9/06, should I just blindly go through with this transaction and ship to the address on the PayPal transaction? Although the item sold was only worth $10, do you think I'm risking much by just shipping out to this buyer?

no,don't ship...the amount should have no bearing on your decision. this is out of your control.. paypal messed up, not you. Most people are understanding of mishaps
Do you sell often,Get the upgrade if you do.

I don't sell very often. I probably average 4-5 sales a year. I don't want to upgrade to the Premier account since I'll have to start paying fees for every single PayPal payment from that point on.

Upgrade to Premier and ship his damn item. Get another Paypal for non-Ebay/CC exchanges. Ebay requires you to upgrade if you sell on Ebay and they pay with CC/Debit.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/paypal-upgrade.html

 

[jpeyton]

I would have probably dinged your account with negative feedback by now, if I was the buyer.

The buyer paid on time. Just because you're too stingy to upgrade to a Premier account isn't the buyer's fault.

Do you want to know what the fees are on a $10 PayPal payment? 59 cents. Even if you add another $10 in shipping, that's still less than a dollar in fees. If you want the convenience of instant online payments (plus seller protection), it's not free, but it's not very expensive either.

 

[max105]

I'll agree with everyone that I'm definitely not making the buyer happy by taking so long to ship. However, I've sent numerous messages to the buyer asking if he was okay with waiting a bit while I settle out these PayPal issues. Specifically, I've sent 4 messages through eBay and 2 direct emails. That's 6 messages over 14 days...roughly a message every other day. Personally, I feel a little apprehensive shipping to someone who doesn't respond to any of my messages.

At this point, as many of you have pointed out, I'll probably be receiving negative feedback anyways. From my point of view, it seems like I have nothing to lose in terms of getting a "strike" on my eBay account even if I were to ship the item out.

I have no problem paying fees for the PayPal payment (in this case is actually $1.55), I do have a problem with PayPal saying one thing on their website and actually doing something different.

 

[krylon]

Originally posted by: max105
I'll agree with everyone that I'm definitely not making the buyer happy by taking so long to ship. However, I've sent numerous messages to the buyer asking if he was okay with waiting a bit while I settle out these PayPal issues. Specifically, I've sent 4 messages through eBay and 2 direct emails. That's 6 messages over 14 days...roughly a message every other day. Personally, I feel a little apprehensive shipping to someone who doesn't respond to any of my messages.

At this point, as many of you have pointed out, I'll probably be receiving negative feedback anyways. From my point of view, it seems like I have nothing to lose in terms of getting a "strike" on my eBay account even if I were to ship the item out.

I have no problem paying fees for the PayPal payment (in this case is actually $1.55), I do have a problem with PayPal saying one thing on their website and actually doing something different.

I don't think it is Paypal's problem. CC/Debit payments received through Ebay require you to upgrade your account, regardless of how many CC/Debit payments you can still receive on your Personal account. You deserve a negative for sure.

I don't see how sending the Buyer messages has anything to do with it. You are holding his money for trying to evade Paypal/Ebay policy.

 

[Number1]

If you offer PayPal as a payment option on eBay (either using logos or text in the item description) you must accept all forms of PayPal payment including account balance, bank account transfer, and credit cards. You must have a Premier or Business PayPal account - or be willing to upgrade from a Personal PayPal account to a Premier or Business account - if you receive a credit card payment. You may not communicate to eBay buyers that you will only accept specific forms of PayPal payment[


ship the item and smarten up.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: krylon

Originally posted by: max105
I'll agree with everyone that I'm definitely not making the buyer happy by taking so long to ship. However, I've sent numerous messages to the buyer asking if he was okay with waiting a bit while I settle out these PayPal issues. Specifically, I've sent 4 messages through eBay and 2 direct emails. That's 6 messages over 14 days...roughly a message every other day. Personally, I feel a little apprehensive shipping to someone who doesn't respond to any of my messages.

At this point, as many of you have pointed out, I'll probably be receiving negative feedback anyways. From my point of view, it seems like I have nothing to lose in terms of getting a "strike" on my eBay account even if I were to ship the item out.

I have no problem paying fees for the PayPal payment (in this case is actually $1.55), I do have a problem with PayPal saying one thing on their website and actually doing something different.

I don't think it is Paypal's problem. CC/Debit payments received through Ebay require you to upgrade your account, regardless of how many CC/Debit payments you can still receive on your Personal account. You deserve a negative for sure.

I don't see how sending the Buyer messages has anything to do with it. You are holding his money for trying to evade Paypal/Ebay policy.

Technically, I have not been able to accept his payment so I am not holding his money. If I could deny his payment and send him a refund, I would. Once again, PayPal won't let me do this.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: Number1
If you offer PayPal as a payment option on eBay (either using logos or text in the item description) you must accept all forms of PayPal payment including account balance, bank account transfer, and credit cards. You must have a Premier or Business PayPal account - or be willing to upgrade from a Personal PayPal account to a Premier or Business account - if you receive a credit card payment. You may not communicate to eBay buyers that you will only accept specific forms of PayPal payment[


ship the item and smarten up.

It looks like this is /thread.

 

[max105]

Originally posted by: Number1
If you offer PayPal as a payment option on eBay (either using logos or text in the item description) you must accept all forms of PayPal payment including account balance, bank account transfer, and credit cards. You must have a Premier or Business PayPal account - or be willing to upgrade from a Personal PayPal account to a Premier or Business account - if you receive a credit card payment. You may not communicate to eBay buyers that you will only accept specific forms of PayPal payment[


ship the item and smarten up.

Hey Number1, can you send me the link where you got this information from? I've never seen this part about "must have a Premier or Business PayPal account" on PayPal or eBay's website. Thanks!