Handling & resolving Unpaid item issues with buyers

We understand that when one enters into a transaction, not everything will always be completely smooth and happy. It – is truly disappointing when a buyer fails to pay and complete a transaction. 

But sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where the buyer hasn’t yet paid for the item they bought. If that happens, you can cancel the order 4 calendar days after the listing ended and your item will be relisted automatically unless you choose not to relist.

We understand that when one enters into a transaction, not everything will always be completely smooth and happy. It is truly disappointing when a buyer fails to pay and complete a transaction. 

But sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where the buyer hasn’t yet paid for the item they bought. If that happens, you can cancel the order 4 calendar days after the listing ended and your item will be relisted automatically unless you choose not to relist.

So, what should you do in this situation?

Remain calm and do not jump to conclusions! Just because the payment has not been made, doesn’t necessarily mean that the buyer is bad buyer.

Connect with your buyer to find out the reasons – It’s possible that the buyer had forgotten about his bid or is not aware of how to complete the checkout.  

Resend the invoice to the buyer – In cases of a Best Offer or Second Chance offer being accepted, buyers do not have to complete the payment immediately. So, it’s possible that the buyer had missed  it completely. Send them an invoice, the email notification may act as a reminder for them to complete the payment.

Connect with buyer: Handling & resolving Unpaid item issues- eBay

Now, if you have done your best but still have not received any response, then it is the right time to go ahead and file an Unpaid Item case against the buyer.

So, what should you do in this situation?

Remain calm and do not jump to conclusions! Just because the payment has not been made, doesn’t necessarily mean that the buyer is bad buyer.

Connect with your buyer to find out the reasons -

It’s possible that the buyer had forgotten about his bid or is not aware of how to complete the checkout.

Resend the invoice to the buyer -

In cases of a Best Offer or Second Chance offer being accepted, buyers do not have to complete the payment immediately. So, it’s possible that the buyer had missed  it completely. Send them an invoice, the email notification may act as a reminder for them to complete the payment.

Now, if you have done your best but still have not received any response, then it is the right time to go ahead and file an Unpaid Item case against the buyer.

Unpaid Item Case Process Overview

STEP 1

Listing Ends with a Winning Bidder/Buyer Commits to Buy

STEP 2

Seller is Charged FVF

STEP 3

Buyer Fails to Pay/ Gets Suspended/ Fails to Respond to Seller

STEP 4

Seller raises a cancel transaction request in Seller Hub

STEP 5

Seller submits cancellation request and receives FVF credit

Important information to remember

Sellers don’t need to open unpaid item cases any longer. Instead, orders can be canceled if a buyer hasn’t paid within 4 calendar days. If you still have open unpaid item cases, you have 36 days from the date they were opened to close them. If you don’t close them within 36 days, we’ll close them for you, but you won’t be eligible for a Final Value Fee  credit and the unpaid item won’t be recorded on the buyer’s account

Reasons For Account Suspensions/restrictions/holds -eBay

If you only sell occasionally or you haven’t yet set up your Preferences for items awaiting payment, you can send the buyer an invoice to remind them to pay.

Here’s how:

  1. In your Sold” items in My eBay, select the item.
  2. Select “More actions”.
  3. Choose “Send invoice”.

Important information to remember

 Sellers don’t need to open unpaid item cases any longer. Instead, orders can be canceled if a buyer hasn’t paid and it’s been more than 4 calendar days since the listing ended. If the buyer still hasn’t paid after you’ve sent the invoice, and it’s been more than 4 calendar days since the listing ended, cancel the order by selecting the “Cancel order” button below and choosing “Buyer hasn’t paid” in the drop-down menu

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If you only sell occasionally or you haven’t yet set up your Preferences for items awaiting payment, you can send the buyer an invoice to remind them to pay. Here’s how:

1. In your Sold” items in My eBay, select the item

2. Select “More actions”

3. Choose “Send invoice”.

How to cancel a transaction in Seller Hub

STEP 1

In Seller Hub, go to Orders; or in My eBay, go to Sold

STEP 2

Find the transaction you want to cancel, and from More actions, select “Cancel this order”

STEP 3

Choose a reason for the cancellation and then select “Continue” to finish

It’s been more than 4 calendar days since the listing ended, cancel the order by selecting the “Cancel order” button below and choosing “Buyer hasn’t paid” in the drop-down menu.

Click here to Cancel an order

Once you cancel the order, you’ll receive a credit for any applicable fees, and your item will be relisted automatically unless you choose not to relist. We’ll also remove any feedback left by the buyer. Once the order has been canceled, you can make a second chance offer to the next highest bidder if you listed using the auction format.

It’s important to cancel any unpaid items within 30 days from the day the buyer commits to buy so the item can be relisted unless you choose not to, and you receive credit for any applicable fees.

How to cancel a transaction in Seller Hub

STEP 1

In Seller Hub, go to Orders; or in My eBay, go to Sold

STEP 2

Find the transaction you want to cancel, and from More actions, select “Cancel this order”

STEP 3

Choose a reason for the cancellation and then select “Continue” to finish

It’s been more than 4 calendar days since the listing ended, cancel the order by selecting the “Cancel order” button below and choosing “Buyer hasn’t paid” in the drop-down menu.

Click here to Cancel an order

Once you cancel the order, you’ll receive a credit for any applicable fees, and your item will be relisted automatically unless you choose not to relist. We’ll also remove any feedback left by the buyer. Once the order has been canceled, you can make a second chance offer to the next highest bidder if you listed using the auction format.

It’s important to cancel any unpaid items within 30 days from the day the buyer commits to buy so the item can be relisted unless you choose not to, and you receive credit for any applicable fees.

TIP: You don’t have to contact the buyer if they haven’t paid – we’ll send them reminders to pay. If they don’t pay after 4 calendar days, you can cancel the order.

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When you enable Preferences for items awaiting payment, you can customize your settings so that orders that aren’t paid for will be canceled automatically after 4 calendar days. You can also customize your settings to relist unpaid items straight away. Additionally, any feedback left by the buyer of an unpaid item will be removed. As well as saving you time, enabling Preferences for items awaiting payment also ensures that you receive credit for any applicable fees if a buyer doesn’t pay.

Click here to enable preferences for items awaiting payment

If you’re a Managed Payments seller, or if the buyer paid using PayPal, a full refund will be issued automatically.

If the buyer used another payment method, they will be asked to confirm that they received their refund before the cancellation is complete.

Once the buyer has been refunded, you’ll receive a Final Value Fee credit.

If a buyer asks you to cancel an order, they’ll need to send you a cancellation request.

Once you receive their request, you’ll have 3 days to approve or decline it. If you approve it and the buyer has already paid for the item, you have 10 days to refund them. If you haven’t refunded them within 10 days, they can file a claim through the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

When you refund a buyer after accepting their request to cancel a transaction, we’ll automatically relist your item for you. If you don’t want your item to be relisted, simply uncheck the “Relist item after cancellation” box when issuing the refund.

When a buyer cancels a transaction, they can’t leave negative or neutral feedback or lower detailed seller ratings for you.

To receive a Final Value Fee credit, the cancellation must be completed.

If the buyer paid using credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal, the refund is complete when eBay shows that their account is refunded. If they paid using any other method, the refund will be considered complete when they confirm they’ve received their money back.

eBay will credit the Final Value Fee to your account 7 to 10 days after the cancellation request is complete.

Under eBay Managed Payments, eBay will usually refund your payments processing fees if you fully refund a buyer to resolve a refund, return or cancellation request.

Unpaid Items are considered a violation of our buying policies. All unpaid items are recorded on a buyer’s account. Buyers who have excessive unpaid items or cancelled transactions, may have limits imposed upon them  or lose their buying privileges.

Once the Unpaid Item case has been closed successfully, you can go ahead and:

  • Send a Second Chance Offer to other bidders (in case of Auction Listing). Chances are they may still be interested in purchasing your item. 
  • Relist the unsold item.

Once the Unpaid Item case has been closed successfully, you can go ahead and:

  • Send a Second Chance Offer to other bidders (in case of Auction Listing). Chances are they may still be interested in purchasing your item
  • Relist the unsold item

What happens to the Feedback left by buyers for the Unpaid Item Disputes?

eBay will automatically remove Feedback from a buyer who didn’t pay. However, if we missed something, you can contact us. Feedback may be removed when:

  • The buyer didn’t pay or respond to the unpaid item process
  • The buyer is suspended
  • The buyer’s communication in the Resolution Center undermines the purpose of the unpaid item process and Feedback system

What happens to the Feedback left by buyers for the Unpaid Item Disputes?

eBay will automatically remove Feedback from a buyer who didn’t pay. However, if we missed something, you can contact us. Feedback may be removed when:

  • The buyer didn’t pay or respond to the unpaid item process
  • The buyer is suspended
  • The buyer’s communication in the Resolution Center undermines the purpose of the unpaid item process and Feedback system