The OP (original poster) was complaining that people were committing to a purchase but failing to pay. This effectively makes the item unavailable for other people to buy, causes extra unnecessary admin sorting out the mess and wastes time waiting to relist the item and claim any fees back. The OP wants an Instant Payment option to force buyers into making the payment before the process is considered complete and the item removed from sale. The OP is not saying that they have sent any goods before receiving payment.
The PayPal fees are the biggest reason Immediate Payment must be an option that the seller must select. It MUST NOT be the default.
I just sold 36 very low priced stamps to one buyer. If he had paid for each one immediately, the PayPal fees would have been more than the price of the items. It's very easy to give the buyer the appropriate postage discount on the invoice. But there would be no way to recover the fees from PayPal for 36 separate transactions if the buyer had paid for each one immediately.
So, immediate payment might still be good if you could list additional postage for extra items.
Works fine for stamps, but not so easy for books and heavier items...
Rev Dr Bill Hopkinson,
Retired professor
BillsStamps
around 50000 stamps listed, based in London
Glad to read that eBid has plans to add the option. The more options available here, the more different types of sellers will be attracted to use the site. I think each seller should be able to determine for themselves if an option is a good fit with their sales plan.
I would not mind using option on higher priced items. Being able to opt in on individual listings would be helpful. Would not be interested in option for low priced item, because of the Paypal fees.
What if.. ebid were to create a "Cart" option to GO ALONG with immediate pay? Just like an e-commerce store, allow buyer to add to cart multiple items , and then check out all at once, can combine weights, postage etc. automatically and it would be all one transaction.
Does not seem it would be too difficult, and the cart just holds items for purchase - if someone else came along and buys an item already in someone else's cart and checks out on it, there would need to be a final check anyway and an alert like "Sorry that item has been purchased by another user while it was in your cart"
Works about the same with most e-commerce sites , web stores, and the like.. does not seem it would be that complicated (doesnt have to be) to manage that, and require immediate payment can work nicely along with that so people don't just add a bunch of stuff to the cart and end the listings just to cause problems..
Many changes yet again, started a new venture, and you can watch my store grow here: Really Rural Woodworks
I think a Pay Immediately isn't that big of a deal for a single purchase, but it would be a problem with multiple purchases, so its not practical nor financially sound for the buyer who would want to buy more than one item from you. You could lose a lot of buyers with that move. But eBid says nix to that. I like carts because the listings won't go off and still remain visible on the site, unless the buyer completes the checkout. Unfortunately, it's the NPB's that are the culprits in this topic, I think. We will have to deal with them until someone comes up with a full proof method that would force them to pay.
I have never had a problem with the instant payment option and would ALWAYS use it. My items vary greatly in size and weight so a cart or multiple purchases giving a discount would not work. If someone wants more than one Item they always ask for a combined postage and I will then add it for them. There are problems with items such as mine because for example: I have a book weighing 1.95 kilos which can be posted via royal mail for a set price but as soon as that parcel goes over 2 kilo it is a different courier and a different price structure. The option would be exactly that an option. It is needed by sellers like me but if others such as stamp sellers do not want it then fine, don't use it. I also sell magazines which also vary so much in weight that they need to be weighed according to what the buyer wants and then priced for postage. I have had many buyers that actually buy 10, 15 or more magazines and pay the seperate postage on all, because they know from my feedback that I will always refund if they pay too much. It works for me and I need it!
The non paying bidders in the early days on the other site drove me to almost quitting, I will not have that again and if it happened on here more than a few times I would walk away. Bring on the option and give sellers more choice
The examples abover are just that!! Examples
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