Changes that’ll help you easily go from sold to paid
We’re taking steps to ensure timely payments for Buy It Now and Best Offer sales
What you need to know
As part of our continuing effort to ensure timely payments for our sellers, we'll be testing changes over the next few months to streamline your selling experience, ensure you get paid without delay, and minimise the hassle of re-listing.
Reducing unpaid items
Based on your feedback, we’re making improvements to reduce unpaid item cases for Buy It Now and Best Offer sales by requiring buyers to pay for items beforehand.
Accepting an offer
Buyers will soon need to complete payment in order to accept an offer from a seller. When potential buyers are interested in your offer, they’ll be taken directly to the checkout page and will need to successfully complete payment to accept and secure the item. If a buyer abandons the checkout page, the item will still be available to other potential buyers.
Placing a bid
Additionally, buyers on select auctions will be required to set up a preferred payment method and postal address before they can place a bid. After winning an auction, they’ll have one hour to adjust their order or payment details, otherwise we’ll automatically process their order using their preferred payment method. No action is required from the seller.
These changes will help to improve the auction process on eBay by providing buyers with the ability to decide how they want to pay, whilst also ensuring that sellers receive payment for their sales. The goal is to foster a more efficient and dependable experience for the entire eBay community.
Next steps
Keep an eye out for these improvements which we’ve already begun rolling out.
FAQs
What is an unpaid item?
Completing a transaction with the buyer is generally a straightforward process. However, there can be instances where a buyer may fail to pay for the item they committed to buy, which is referred to as an unpaid item.
What is changing when I send offers to buyers?
As a seller, you can continue to send offers to your interested buyers just as you do today. With this change, buyers will need to complete payment to accept your offer. Until then, the item will remain available for other potential buyers to purchase or make offers. This ensures your inventory remains available for customers and avoids an unpaid transaction.
As a seller, what is changing with Auctions?
No changes are needed with how you set up your listings. You should expect to see fewer unpaid items on items sold through auctions as we test and launch changes.
How do I send offers to buyers?
Sending offers to interested buyers is easy and a great way to turn potential buyers into customers. Learn more about Offers to Buyers.
What is changing when a buyer receives an offer from a seller?
If a potential buyer is interested in accepting your offer on an item, they’ll be prompted to complete their purchase at checkout. Upon successful payment, the item becomes theirs. Until then, other buyers are still able to purchase the item.
As a buyer, what is changing when I bid on Auctions?
As a buyer, you may be prompted to provide a payment method and select a postal address prior to placing a bid on an auction. You'll have the ability to edit these details before the auction ends. If you win the auction, you'll be given a one hour period to make any changes. If no changes are made, we’ll automatically charge your default payment method.
As a seller, can I still offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased by the same buyer?
You can still combine multiple purchases from the same buyer in a single shipment, but please be aware that a buyer may be automatically charged for postage costs for each individual item when payments are processed. In these situations, you can send buyers a refund for any excess postage charges if you offer combined postage discounts. In the meantime, we are actively working on solutions that reduce the likelihood of this occurring.
What other changes is eBay making to reduce unpaid items?
We’re continuing to roll out solutions across buying formats and different geographies to address instances of unpaid items. Additionally, we are restricting buyers with excessive instances of unpaid items.