How long to wait before opening an unpaid item dispute?

charlien09

Hi,

Just look looking for another opinion on how long is reasonable to wait before opening an unpaid item dispute?

I sold a watch for £25 last Thursday (4th), the buyer is a business seller with lots of feedback, and by the looks of it, regularly buys and sells watches on the same account.

On Monday (8th) sent him a very polite e-mail asking about payment, to which he replied he was waiting for some funds to clear in paypal.

He still hasn't paid, or got in touch, so is it reasonable to open an unpaid item dispute so if he doesn't want it I can get it relisted as I'd like it sold sooner rather than later to go into kiddies christmas present fund.

Thanks for reading.

terra_ferma

charlien09 wrote: »

Hi,

Just look looking for another opinion on how long is reasonable to wait before opening an unpaid item dispute?

I sold a watch for £25 last Friday (4th), the buyer is a business seller with lots of feedback, and by the looks of it, regularly buys and sells watches on the same account.

On Monday (8th) sent him a very polite e-mail asking about payment, to which he replied he was waiting for some funds to clear in paypal.

He still hasn't paid, or got in touch, so is it reasonable to open an unpaid item dispute so if he doesn't want it I can get it relisted as I'd like it sold sooner rather than later to go into kiddies christmas present fund.

Thanks for reading.

It can be a bit tricky... personally I would email them again.
The problem is that if they then pay they can still leave you fb/stars that reflect bad feelings.

Explain politely that if you don't hear from them you will need to go through ebay's procedures to get it relisted, but that if they are having problems to let you know.

Late payers/NPB are such a PITA!

charlien09

terra_ferma wrote: »

It can be a bit tricky... personally I would email them again.
The problem is that if they then pay they can still leave you fb/stars that reflect bad feelings.

Explain politely that if you don't hear from them you will need to go through ebay's procedures to get it relisted, but that if they are having problems to let you know.

Late payers/NPB are such a PITA!

Thank you for your advice, I'll send them a message now. I was worried about the stars as I don't want them to go down after doing my best to keep them high!

moneypooh

I have set my account to use the ebay assistant which automatically opens one after 4 days. I do mention this in all listings, so it's not a surprise for the buyer.
It's a good reminder for buyers. All have either paid within a day or contacted me as to when they will pay.
So far it hasn't had a negtive affect on feedback.

terra_ferma

moneypooh wrote: »

I have set my account to use the ebay assistant which automatically opens one after 4 days. I do mention this in all listings, so it's not a surprise for the buyer.
It's a good reminder for buyers. All have either paid within a day or contacted me as to when they will pay.
So far it hasn't had a negtive affect on feedback.

It depends on what your market is, this approach may work well in some areas and not so well in others. It will depend on what you sell and the demographic of your buyers.
I know if I did that I would have problems.

d123

moneypooh wrote: »

I have set my account to use the ebay assistant which automatically opens one after 4 days. I do mention this in all listings, so it's not a surprise for the buyer.
It's a good reminder for buyers. All have either paid within a day or contacted me as to when they will pay.
So far it hasn't had a negtive affect on feedback.

You have been really lucky, I know if any seller I dealt with tried this within the first 7 days the least the I would do is give 1 star across the board, and a quick straw poll around the office finds the majority of eBay users here would neg you after paying.

soolin

d123 wrote: »

You have been really lucky, I know if any seller I dealt with tried this within the first 7 days the least the I would do is give 1 star across the board, and a quick straw poll around the office finds the majority of eBay users here would neg you after paying.

Then I've been lucky as well. I usually have my NPB open by day 5, why wait any longer? If someone wants the item they can pay for it, even after opening an NPB they still have 4 days to pay..surely that is long enough for anyone.

kazwookie

I give them 5 days, then set the wheels in motion, generally I've not had a problem.

cyberbob

d123 wrote: »

You have been really lucky, I know if any seller I dealt with tried this within the first 7 days the least the I would do is give 1 star across the board, and a quick straw poll around the office finds the majority of eBay users here would neg you after paying.

I open mine on day 5 as well. If you give one star across the board there is a high chance the seller can get this removed under malicious bidding rules.

d123

cyberbob wrote: »

I open mine on day 5 as well. If you give one star across the board there is a high chance the seller can get this removed under malicious bidding rules.

It's hypothetical as I only tend to buy things I can afford, so will normally pay within a couple of hours BUT as I say, I would be !!!!ed off if a seller had an automatic NPB set up to arrive on day 4.

This is a general consensus amongst the eBay buyers here that it would warrant a bad rating/neg. Perhaps we are all expecting a little more personal communication.

charlien09

Thanks for everyones replies. I've e-mailed them, and if still no response in the next day or two I'll open a NPB. Would have done it already as it's been over a week since the auction ended but he did say he was waiting for funds to clear.