Seller refused to sell - are sellers allowed to specify payment deadlines ?

[oasion45]

I recently won an auction and because I was away during the weekend, I did not pay immediately after the auction ended. The price of the auction was something quite a bit lower than what the market price was.

Seller specified in his auction description something to the effect that "payment must be made within 24 hours otherwise will be refunded".

When I came back home, I saw that the seller had opened an unpaid item dispute. No problem, I paid him. The unpaid item dispute was closed in my favor. Then a few hours later, he refunds, saying "since you did not pay me within 24 hours this transaction is cancelled"

I emailed him back "if you did not want to sell the item, why did you open an unpaid item dispute ? you should have opened a request to cancel the transaction"

I now understand why he opened a unpaid item dispute instead of a request to cancel the transaction. If he had done the latter, I would have refused his request to cancel. But even though he opened an unpaid item dispute, I still paid him and he still did not get his fees back.

My question is : are sellers allowed to specify their own payment terms or deadlines which are not in accordance with eBAY guidelines (i.e. the unpaid item process) or stricter than eBAY guidelines for e.g. payment is due in 24 hours, or payment is due immediately after auction ends or payment is due in 4 hours after auction ends ?

Please give me some advice on this. thanks

[jensmanchester-australia]

It also states that seller can re-list after they closed the dispute.  Could you point us to where it says that seller can re-list anytime before the transaction is officially null and void?  It definitely says that buyer has 4 days to pay after the dispute was open.

Super Nova - what happens if the sellers chooses not to open a dispute. Can they then relist the item earlier if the buyer hasn't paid within the sellers specified time frame?

It is not compulsory for a seller to open an UID.

[viewmont1071]

"The whole point of opening NPB dispute is to demand payment; sellers have no right to demand payment if they then refuse to sell the item.

It all sounds like totally mess"

IMHO.

The whole point of opening a NPB dispute is to get a refund for wrongfully charged Final value fees.

The non paying member has already had their chance to pay and at least one reminder from me and ebay pre dispute

I do not open disputes to "make a buyer pay"

.... I would prefer not to deal with an ebay member who shirks or underestimate their responsibility and require 'prodding" to pay.

In fact I think that sellers that do can expect, in some instances, that their dsrs will take a flogging.... because buyers "think" that dsrs left are anonymous and untraceable

If I open a dispute it is because the buyer has exceeded my payment timeframe...simple

[the-kazbar]

what if the seller has more than 1 of the item?

[***super_nova***]

what if the seller has more than 1 of the item?

Then they can re-list as soon as the 1st auction closes.

When seller opens NPB dispute, there is an automatic demand for payment sent to the buyer.  So the seller is demanding payment whether they like it or not.

If eBay does allow to state whatever time limit on payment seller wants, why don't they just allow us to list with whatever we choose, and the "payment required by" clearly showing up on the top under the price/postage?  Why then not allow NPB cases to be opened the minute the time limit we chose expires?  Why is there not option to close the non-payment case immediately by choosing "the buyer did not pay within my required period, and i want to cancel the transaction, and re-list NOW"? 

As it is there are 2 ways to cancel transaction; mutual cancellation and NPB case(which take minimum 8days), but of-course eBay can cancel transaction, at their discretion, if the buyer becomes abusive and seller decides to report them & request cancellation.

[digital*ghost]

Why are you equating what eBay provides for a seller to do with what eBay allows a seller to do? 

jensmanchester's question is also valid - what are the guidelines if a seller never opens UPI's or mutual cancellations, or lets say a pick up item where the seller says payment & pick-up by Saturday because their own circumstances dictate they and the item won't be available after that date. Buyer doesn't pay or pick-up, but then sends a PayPal payment on Sunday when a UPI is opened, what then? 

These are flaws in the system, not rules. 

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

Then they can re-list as soon as the 1st auction closes.

When seller opens NPB dispute, there is an automatic demand for payment sent to the buyer.  So the seller is demanding payment whether they like it or not.

If eBay does allow to state whatever time limit on payment seller wants, why don't they just allow us to list with whatever we choose, and the "payment required by" clearly showing up on the top under the price/postage?  Why then not allow NPB cases to be opened the minute the time limit we chose expires?  Why is there not option to close the non-payment case immediately by choosing "the buyer did not pay within my required period, and i want to cancel the transaction, and re-list NOW"? 

As it is there are 2 ways to cancel transaction; mutual cancellation and NPB case(which take minimum 8days), but of-course eBay can cancel transaction, at their discretion, if the buyer becomes abusive and seller decides to report them & request cancellation.

It is not in ebay's best interest to do this as they want buyers to pay so they can recoup their fees, hence they give buyers a protracted period to pay. If UID's could be closed immediately I would suspect a significant increase in unpaid item strikes as many buyers don't pay as soon as a UID is opened. Some pay with an echeque on day 4 or then request further time to pay.

Sellers prefer buyers to pay rather than have to open a dispute for several reasons. Firstly if the buyer doesn't pay then they cannot relist the item until the dispute is closed and potentially lose out on selling the item to another buyer. Waiting extended periods for payment is also a strain on cash flow; sellers have to outlay money to buy stock and like to tuen it over as quickly as possible. Finally some buyers leave retaliatory feedback or low DSR's because the sellers has demanded payment. If the buyer grudgingly pays to avoid a strike they can then leave whatever feedback they like, even if it is undeserved.

If ebay did not allow sellers to state the timeframe they would like to pay they would not have created the ability for sellers to list an item that requires immediate payment.

[***super_nova***]

If ebay did not allow sellers to state the timeframe they would like to pay they would not have created the ability for sellers to list an item that requires immediate payment.

Yes sellers have the choice to list that way.  eBay provides that option, it is offered when you list, it shows on the top in the binding info section, so if people want to list with it they can, but if they list normally and then put in their description area "payment must be made immediately", well, they are stuck, if the buyer does not pay immediately all they cn do is to go through the 8days process.   If you use the "immediate payment" option the item is not removed from the listing untill it is paid for, which means no need for disputes or cancelling the transaction if there is no payment.

[the-kazbar]

super_nova you obviously think you are right and we don't. We will have to agree to disagree.

As the OP does not look like coming back we are just all wasting our time discussing semantics.

At the end of the day they chose to ignore the sellers terms and then negged them as a bonus.

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

Yes sellers have the choice to list that way.  eBay provides that option, it is offered when you list, it shows on the top in the binding info section, so if people want to list with it they can, but if they list normally and then put in their description area "payment must be made immediately", well, they are stuck, if the buyer does not pay immediately all they cn do is to go through the 8days process.   If you use the "immediate payment" option the item is not removed from the listing untill it is paid for, which means no need for disputes or cancelling the transaction if there is no payment.

I mention the ability to require immediate payment as some members are under the impression that sellers must allow 8 days to pay, and believe  that is considered reasonable. I agree if a buyer fails to pay within their stipulated terms then they do need to go through a dispute process to demand payment and this can take 8 days. The question was not how long can a buyer string out payment beyond the seller's terms. It was whether the seller has the right to request payment within a specified timeframe nominated by them as stated in their listing.

Personally if I wanted to get paid within 24 hours I would list requiring immediate payment, but I am not the seller in this instance, and they have the right to list with terms that comply with ebay's policies. Requiring payment within 24 hours complies with ebay's policies so they are at liberty to do so. Whether you or I or anyone else would offer these terms is somewhat irrelevant.

[viewmont1071]

I think that a seller can have there own terms but they must be inline with ebays rules. Just as buyers have to follow ebays rules so should sellers. If ebay gives 8 days a seller should to. Target can't just have there rules and not follow the australian government laws.

If the seller wants things paid for in 24 hours he/she should go to another selling site.

Ebay do not give buyers 8 days to pay. By accepting the user agreement

YOU acknowledge and agree that

We are not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers.

We have no control over and do not guarantee the quality, safety or legality of items advertised, the truth or accuracy of users’ content or listings, the ability of sellers to sell items, the ability of buyers to pay for items, or that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction or return an item.

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html

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Instead, our sites are venues to allow anyone to offer, sell, and buy just about anything, at anytime, from anywhere, in a variety of pricing formats and locations, such as stores, fixed price formats and auction-style formats.

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We have no control over and do not guarantee the quality, safety or legality of items advertised, the truth or accuracy of users’ content or listings, the ability of sellers to sell items, the ability of buyers to pay for items, or that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction or return an item.

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