DIrect payment into an account

ericpode

I am an ebay seller virgin and will shortly place my first item for sale.

I'm a bit wary of using paypal, but it may put off buyers if they have to post a cheque.

Is there a problem with giving the buyer the sort code and account number of a dedicated savings account and asking them to pay in directly perhaps using their internet banking?

I know that some people are wary of giving out account details to a stranger but I can't see what damage they could do even if they turned out to be malicious. Even if they somehow hacked into the account, if it was a savings account they could not drive it into overdraft and provided that I emptied the account regularly there would always be a small or zero balance.

Can anyone see any problems or dangers in offering this method of payment?

divadee

no no problems, a lot of sellers offer bank transfer it can take a bit longer about 5 days to get the money, but once youve got it, the moneys yours you cant get a chargeback or anything.


HTH

fatboyonadiet

You'll find not many people will take the option though, you may get more cheques than bank transfer, probably over 80% of my sales have been through PayPal

Fuzzy_2

I've used this method before, and it's great. The information you give out is only what appears on your cheques ie account number, sort code and name on account. Very easy as a seller, and no Paypal charges. I've done it also as a buyer, and again no problem, but be aware you have no way to get the money back if you use this route, use this only if seller has excellent high feedback. Not fool proof I know, but just take sensible precautions.

lipidicman

You can get a chargeback on bank transfers on the same day (maybe the day after). People from the continent were doing this when buying cars and making the sellers look very silly

ericpode

It's just occured to me that if you have several sales going on at the same time it may be difficult to correlate a credit amount appearing in your bank account with a particular sale. Can you ask the buyer to enter a transaction number that you provide to them into the REF field of their online banking form? ... or does the REF field mean something special to the bank itself?

I'd probably be selling just within the UK so a transfer should take 3-4 working days. If I notice an amount appear in my account on say a Monday, how long should I wait before I can be sure that a bank-transfer chargeback can not occur?

lipidicman

ericpode wrote:

how long should I wait before I can be sure that a bank-transfer chargeback can not occur?

That I dont know - perhaps you need to get this in writing from your bank?

Be careful

soolin

As a seller I love bank transfers! However the reality is that at leat 90% if not more of my auctions are paid for using paypal.

As a buyer I would not use a bank transfer especially to a relatively new seller, I would only ever buy if I can use paypal.

Soo

stormCat99

Not in relation to eBay, but whenever I make an online bank payment to another account, I usually put a comment in the Reference field to say 'Car payment' or 'Monthly savings' or whatever.

This will then show up on your statement so that you can see what relates to what.

Dave_the_Ginger_Cat

I have sold goods through eBay and quote my bank details in all checkout emails. I ask buyers to key in their auction number into the reference if they can, and if they can't, it usually turns up showing the name. I also ask them to tell me they have done this so I don't hassle them for cash when it's on its way.

Never had any probs, and some buyers have even popped into the branch with cash. It's cheaper than a postal order!

Good luck

Dave