Layby - is it possible on Australian eBay?

[tourterelle33]

Is there anyone out there successfully offering their buyers layby through the current Australian eBay systems?

Afterpay is not the answer for every buyer.

Once upon a time I used to tell my buyer to 'buy it now' but NOT pay - so I would get the buyers phone number at least (used to get email address) so layby conditions and payment information could be arranged - BUT, it now seems that the buyer must 'confirm and pay' otherwise it goes nowhere.

It used to work ok - eBay got their fees (I'm not trying to avoid fees) - I'd tell the buyer to ignore the payment reminders sent by eBay, and I'd have my contact information to  proceed with layby arrangements.

Would love to hear if anyone has found a way to offer layby - particularly to new buyers you have never had prior interaction with.

Thanking you!!

[tourterelle33]

[tourterelle33]

This works for completed payment. Well once upon a time is used to.

[davewil1964]

Before Managed Payments. It is only of any practical use for cash on pickup these days.

The buyer has no recourse to the MBG if they take more than 30 days to complete payment (and delivery). Something few buyers are likely to forego.

I wouldn't sweat it for the VERY small percentage of ONLINE buyers who don't have a Visa or Mastercard debit card, at least. Those, as suggested multiple times, can use the instalment plans that eBay support.

Not hard, and certainly not worth 60+ posts.

[domino-710]

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@tourterelle33 wrote:

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What the heck has that to do with ' part payment '.

[papermoon.lady]

All you could possibly do if you trust a buyer who can't pay immediately is possibly add "reserved for (the buyer's ID)" to the listing (in the title too, as many don't even read descriptions) and then the buyer can buy it in full when they have enough money in their piggy bank. If you get tired of waiting, you can always contact the buyer and tell them you will remove "reserved for" if they cannot pay within the time frame you specify.

I see "reserved for" listings all the time - for custom orders for example (like handmade items), or maybe (and this happened to me) when buyers like one item in a listing that contains several items and the seller is willing to sell that item to the buyer.

Unfortunately, what you would like to do and was possible in the past is not possible any more, that's why people can't tell you how to do it.

Bad Wifi reception where I am right now, so that's all for now.

Merry Christmas to you too.

[arctoph_49]

Of course combined postage is still possible, at least theorerically. My family combine postage all the time in their store. When I say "theoretically" it is because there are bugs, but it is odd some sellers in this thread say eBay changed the rules years ago and imposed immediate payment. I assume these sellers probably never bought several items from a seller and asked the seller to combine postage in all these years, or they would know it is possible. We had a problem too some time ago, but eBay eventually fixed it (not the first time we asked, but you have to keep trying until the right person looks at your account, even if it takes several attempts).

[*sons_and_daughters*]

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@arctoph_49 wrote:

Of course combined postage is still possible, at least theorerically. My family combine postage all the time in their store. When I say "theoretically" it is because there are bugs, but it is odd some sellers in this thread say eBay changed the rules years ago and imposed immediate payment. I assume these sellers probably never bought several items from a seller and asked the seller to combine postage in all these years, or they would know it is possible. We had a problem too some time ago, but eBay eventually fixed it (not the first time we asked, but you have to keep trying until the right person looks at your account, even if it takes several attempts).

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I am one of those seller's where immediate payment was forced upon me. Many calls and chats and they couldn't remove it. I have bought multiple items from many sellers many times and have been able to combine postage most of the time. There were other seller's who were in the same boat as me. There was no option to combine. Sometimes a seller would create a new listing adding the items I wanted. It was the only way, apart from refunding excess postage. 

If that doesn't affect you, then you have no right to dispute what others are saying about it, because you have no idea.

[arctoph_49]

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

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I am one of those seller's where immediate payment was forced upon me. Many calls and chats and they couldn't remove it.

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I did mention bugs. I didn't say that it does not happen. What I meant is that it is not supposed to happen, so it is not "forced" upon sellers. They could not remove it because they were not smart enough to know how to do it or what was going on, not because they didn't want to remove it.

[arctoph_49]

I know, I did mention to contact eBay until the right person looks at your problem, but sometimes the right person never comes, apparently. Most sellers don't have this problem though, as you had originally said. Only "some". Personally, I had never heard of this problem, but I have heard of sellers who say they have tried to make postage for additional items work in the cart - to no avail, so they ask to request an invoice instead.

[domino-710]

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@arctoph_49 wrote:

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

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I am one of those seller's where immediate payment was forced upon me. Many calls and chats and they couldn't remove it.

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I did mention bugs. I didn't say that it does not happen. What I meant is that it is not supposed to happen, so it is not "forced" upon sellers. They could not remove it because they were not smart enough to know how to do it or what was going on, not because they didn't want to remove it.

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Oh brother. lol