is it possible to buy items for zero dollars?

[fastbuyer777]

been seeing these listings free postage start at zero dollars ive bought one of these items to completed check out and they say item is on the way but payment is allways pending because you cant pay zero dollars?

is this some kind of bug or scam? seems like they are just listing at zero to bump there store up.

[kopenhagen5]

Maybe a way sellers are keeping their listing up when they are out of stock.

That way they won't loose their sales history nor their place in the best match queue.

[fastbuyer777]

i dont think so they are new listings i think its more so the can get above 00.1 cent on the lowest priced items

[digital*ghost]

I don't even know how this is being done 🤔

Minimum price for a Buy It Now listing is supposed to be AUD$1, and 1c for auction listings -  I just tried to create a test listing (both auction and BIN) with a $0 price, and eBay wouldn't let me list it.

I suppose they could be using third party software, but if it's a race to the bottom situation, I can't see why the sellers would be ok with not only just giving away the items, but paying the postage to do so as well. I know on Amazon a while back, a popular software system that undercut competitors by 1c created a feedback loop of sorts that meant prices on some books / CDs actually went into the negative by a few cents, but in that case postage was still being paid so sellers were still being compensated for that. 

I dunno, there's gotta be easier ways to give away items and / or build feedback score, and I tend to be sus of anyone on eBay who's selling items at ridiculous pices.... or at no price, in this case 😅. Sellers can also make orders as paid from their side, so there's no reason for it to be pending for the next couple of months. 

[fastbuyer777]

well i was going to leave it to see what happens it was the first time i managed to complete check out at zero dollars it was listed in my bought items as pending payment then i removed the item from my shopping cart then it dissapered from the bought items which i didnt think possiable as i diddnt cancel the sale. most of the time when you click pay now it will give a ebay error. because the checkout system is incapable of processing zero dollars.

[springyzone]

It looks like the answer to your question is no, it isn't possible to buy items for zero dollars.

Maybe you can start the process but it doesn't sound as if you could finalise it.

Digi mentioned sellers could mark items as paid so no need for it to show pending, but there's not exactly any motivation for a seller to do that, is there. I sure wouldn't.

[offroad7400]

"i removed the item from my shopping cart then it dissapered from the bought items"

If the item is in your shopping cart you haven't yet purchased it.  Sounds technical glitch.

Move on...

[digital*ghost]

The OP had a screenshot originally that showed they had purchased the item; but the seller may have cancelled the sale, which often tends to make the order disappear from purchase history.

It was kind of weird all round, as the original listing was a variation listing, and didn't appear to have a sales history, and the OP's screenshot didn't show the variation that had been selected (which you'd have to do to confirm a purchase). The listing has now been ended by the seller.

I suspect that it may have been some way to game the system to show up first in a price - lowest first sort order, but possibly not intended / expected to be purchased. Either way I wouldn't be holding my breath for the package to arrive. 

[fastbuyer777]

i confirmed the order and it was in my orders list under pending payment but yeh its pretty bugged i dont think the seller canceled i diddnt get a notifcation

[countessalmirena]

I look forward to the day when you contact the seller and demand, "I WANT MY ZERO DOLLARS BACK!" and the seller sends a cheque marked with $0.00...

Ah well. It's a pandemic. We have to amuse ourselves somehow...