eBay Payment Deadlines Demystified: How Long Does A Buyer Have To Pay On eBay?
So, you have received a notification from your eBay app telling you that you made a sale on your eBay store. That is great! But what now?
Now, it’s time for you to wait and watch out for the payment to hit your account. But the crux here is you may not receive the payment immediately after making a sale. In fact, in most cases, it takes some time for your buyer to make payments for their order.
This is one of the reasons why it is very crucial that you are aware of how long it can take for a buyer to pay for any given order on eBay. Along with that, you must also make sure that buyers pay for the orders they make in order for you to pay your relevant suppliers and meet your end of the obligations.
If you want to know how to access my eBay orders, click here.
In this article, we will share a guide that will explain to you just how long you will have to wait for a buyer to pay for the item they ordered or simply put, how long does a buyer have to pay on eBay. It will also offer insights into what exactly the protocol is for times when the buyer fails to pay beyond their designated period.
How Long Does A Buyer Have To Pay On eBay?
eBay clearly states on its site that “Members must pay for the items they win or buy on eBay within two days of committing to the purchase.” The shortest possible answer is four days. So, if your eBay buyer hasn’t paid and 4 days have not passed, wait it out.
eBay rolled out its latest policy that says each eBay unpaid item must be settled within four days from the day the buyer finalized the order or won the auction. This clearly means that a buyer has to pay within the stipulated four-day period. However, there are instances when the seller does not receive the payment within the time limit mentioned.
It isn’t unheard of for an eBay seller to receive a particular winning bid for the buyer, and then they do not respond to the messages after the bid. They may not acknowledge the invoice sent by the seller either.
In situations where eBay buyer not paying becomes an issue, a seller usually sends an invoice to remind the buyer of their pending payment before the specified date.
Sending The Buyer An Invoice
If you know how to send the buyer an invoice, it will make things easier for you to receive the payment for the purchase the buyer made. Once four calendar days have crossed since the sale was made for the winning bid, eBay will start sending reminders to the buyer about the pending payment.
The seller can also send the buyer an invoice within 30 calendar days since the time of purchase. Here are the steps to sending your buyer an invoice:
- Find the specific item that the buyer was interested in by going to My eBay and then Sold Items
- Click on the More Actions option
- Choose the Send Invoice option
Once the invoice is sent to the buyer, they are able to see it in their eBay buyer’s account dashboard. It can be seen in the Unpaid Invoices section.
If you send the invoice to the buyer and they still don’t respond or make the payment for the items they bought, you need not open a dispute in the eBay portal. eBay will automatically cancel the orders of any and all unpaid items. You could set this up in the seller hub, which enables you to cancel orders or shift the item to the next highest bidder.
That way, when you cancel the order and give it to the next bidder, you are able to collect payment for the items you are selling.
Unpaid Item Policy On eBay
The new policy rules out that the seller can cancel the orders of any unpaid order within four business days from the date of purchase. You can cancel the orders either manually or set up automatic cancellation of unpaid orders in the seller hub of your eBay account.
If the buyer has yet to pay for the items you are selling on eBay despite receiving an invoice from the seller, you do have the option to cancel the orders. You must keep in mind, however, that you must cancel the order after the stipulated four-day period. It is also advisable that you do not cancel the order after the buyer has paid for the item.
Setting Up Automatic Cancellation
You can set up all unpaid orders to be automatically canceled on your dashboard. This feature gets activated once the buyer fails to pay within the 4-day limit.
This policy is a protective measure to help protect sellers from irresponsible buyers. The unpaid order in the buyer’s account will get automatically canceled, which allows you to continue selling the particular item to the next highest bidder or buyer and make the money you intend to.
When a buyer does not pay for the item they bid, their eBay account stands a chance of getting suspended. Any negative feedback the buyer leaves with unpaid orders will also get deleted.
If you are a buyer and you want to cancel your bid, keep in mind that eBay itself says on its site that “bids can only be retracted under exceptional circumstances.”
Wrapping Up
So, anytime you are confused about how long does a buyer have to pay on eBay, the easy answer will be 4 days. If the buyer does not pay within the timeframe stipulated, you, as the seller, can cancel the order, and eBay will record an unpaid cancellation in the buyer’s account for future sellers to know and beware of. It really is that easy.
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