How long should u wait for buyer to confirm payment

paul2louise

I sold an item last night on ebay. The buyer hasn't paid yet. I am going on holiday on Thursday. I may be worrying for nothing but whenever I win an auction I pay straight away. I have sent an invoice. I don't want to pester them but I would prefer to get the item posted ASAP. Should I leave it till tomorrow and if nothing happens send them an email telling them I am on holiday so need payment sorting.

Thanks

techspec

If you pestered me like that - i would take longer to pay.

Its not their fault your going away - you should have thought of that when you listed.

If they won last night - they will probably pay today - but they have 4 days.

RainbowDrops

Not everyone pays right away.
I find usually, if the bid was made in the last minutes of the auction, buyers pay almost immediately.
However, the one's that take longer to pay are those that bid a while before the auction ended, which suggests they weren't online at the time, and may not be checking their emails.

RainbowDrops

PS - I was in the same sittuation as you recently, cutting it fine with ending an auction so close to a holiday.
My buyer paid just in the nick of time, but I learn't my lesson, and won't have auctions end within 8 days of going away again.

Robin_TBW

You shouldn't have listed it yet if you knew you were going away.

techspec

paul2louise wrote: »

Read my post, I haven't pestered them. I just wanted to know what was a reasonable time to wait. Sorry for asking I wish I never bothered now. I thought that 4 working days should be plenty on of time to sort out. They were the only bidder and bid in the last 5 seconds.

You said you had already send them an invoice - which is in affect a reminder to pay - and you were thinking of sending them an email saying pay up cos i'm going on holdiay.

Yes, i read your post. I was refering to your suggestion of sending them an email with your woes of holiday postage. Not a good idea, when you have already sent a payment reminder.

4 days probably will be enough - so why are you chasing them up before one day has even passed? They only won LAST NIGHT!

Rhymsta

If they bid in last 5 seconds it sounds like an automatic snipe bid.
I get people paying up to 10 days after the auction with no explanation.
your only option is to get it packed up and take it with you or get a friend / relative to sort it for you if you are going abroad or something.

Goldiegirl

If they haven't paid in 48 hour I send them an invoice as a reminder, and if they haven't paid after 4 days I start the unpaid procedure.

What I wouldn't do is send them a message asking for them to hurry up as I'm going on holiday, that's my problem not theirs.

Not everybody pays immediately, and some buyers thing it's perfectly ok to wait days and then pay with no explanation.

If you are an eBay seller, you learn to accept that not everybody is the same as you.

I stop listing about two weeks before I go on holiday, so I don't have to worry about late payers.

I think all you can do is hope they pay before you go, and if not, ask someone to deal with the item whilst you are away.

techspec

Rhymsta wrote: »

If they bid in last 5 seconds it sounds like an automatic snipe bid.
I get people paying up to 10 days after the auction with no explanation.
your only option is to get it packed up and take it with you or get a friend / relative to sort it for you if you are going abroad or something.

Thats what i do. I often have a boot full of items packed for posting if i get a buyer while away.

debz1989

Someone much more knowledgeable than I am will hopefully be able to verify this, but I would advise against what you're planning to do.

The buyer has 4 days to pay, so is not yet 'late to pay'. The 'sickness' excuse for late posting is used all too often by some sellers, so may get your buyers back up even further. Further, sellers can only leave positive feedback for a buyer, so you're assumed suggestion of retaliatory feedback if the buyer is not happy with the delay is incorrect. You are leaving yourself open to negatve feedback and poor DSRs.

Finally, although I'm not sure of the value of the item in question, but seller protection only kicks in when the seller posts the item within 7 days of receiving payment. If you're going away for a week then you are putting yourself at risk of being unable to defend any chargeback claims.

All in all, I really think you should re-think your plan. And, for future, ensure you have at least eight days between items finishing and periods when you are unable to post.

Mara69

paul2louise wrote: »

I suppose if they are late to pay that's their choice. I can be late posting, they can give me feedback, but I can give feedback too. I won't send any emails until the end of the week. If they haven't paid fine, but when they do, I shall tell them that I will be dispatching a bit later than planned due to sickness or something. I will think about that. Then they can decide how happy they are about it. I am only away for a week so they will have to wait. If they are that desperate for the item they would have paid.

Can you please let me know your Ebay ID so I can make sure I don't buy from you?