Alrighty, so you put in your bid and held your breath for six days hoping you wouldn't have to pay any more for that lovingly handcrafted and unique item than absolutely necessary. Finally it closed and you didn't get outbid in the last minute. In fact, you got it for the opening bid and pat yourself on the back for getting such a bargain.

Then what?

Well, if it's only one item you've purchased, there are no shipping promotions or discounts to be applied by the Seller, and you are paying by PayPal, take yourself on over to the PAY NOW button and pay for your item immediately.

With a one-piece purchase, there is no reason to wait for an invoice.

Seems kinda elementary, right? You pay fast, you get your item fast. Buyer and Seller are both happy. Positive feedback results and, possibly, future transactions together. Roughly one in three buyers comes back to me for subsequent transactions, so  I thank you all very much!

Well, it seems there are those (usually inexperienced Buyers) who seem to think that once the listing closes, all responsibility transfers to the Seller. After all, the Buyer has done their part in gracing the auction with their bid. So if an invoice doesn't arrive in two days, it's not their problem...right? If an invoice doesn't arrive in five days, there's nothing the Buyer can do, right? If the unpaid item dispute arrives on the seventh day, the Buyer can ignore it for another seven days and then blame the Seller for not sending an invoice, RIGHT???

WRONG!

Well, they CAN...but that doesn't make it ethically right.

As I already stated, you do not even need an invoice for a one piece sale. There is no reason and no need to wait for one if you are not taking advantage of any shipping or promotional discounts. Unless the Buyer is trying to stall, of course. Maybe doesn't have the money readily available to pay. Never mind that the auction sat there for five days, during which funds could have been transferred in preparation and anticipation of the win. So not receiving an invoice for a one item transaction is NO EXCUSE for not paying in a timely fashion. Is it? Why, no, Madam Tyler, it's not.

Be proactive. Take matters into your own hands and PAY for the item already.

If you just like to receive extraneous email, you can (and should) hit the REQUEST TOTAL button as soon as the auction closes. This will alert your Seller that you really would like to get an unnecessary piece of email from them, and the Seller will happily oblige you. But if you've not gotten an invoice three days after the sale, do you think you should sit there and wonder, HMMM, maybe I should DO something?

Wonder away...and then do something -- PAY for the item already!

I send invoices as a matter of course, whether the transaction is for one item or for ten. So if you didn't get an invoice from me within two hours of the listing close, it's probably Ebay dropping emails again. (Or you made your purchase in the dead of night while I'm sleeping...gimme until 8am Eastern to get a cup of coffee, k?)

Maybe you ought to consider the possibility of Ebay having dropped the invoices before you get all rude with your Seller about missing invoices. Being rude with your Seller is NOT the way to endear yourself. It will have the opposite effect from what you want.  At least with me. I will have done everything according to Ebay's written and easily accessed policies, so I will have done nothing wrong.

Ebay's message system is notorious for dropping invoices and emails.  While it has been happening a lot the last few weeks, I highly doubt it will drop two invoices AND an unpaid item reminder all to the same person.  The odds just aren't there. Even Ebay isn't THAT unreliable. Not to mention that many email systems (such as hotmail) now automatically delete junk mail 10 days old. So if you haven't visited your junk mail file for 15 days, OF COURSE there would not be an invoice from me. Your own email host would have deleted them  and you would then see only the Unpaid Item Reminder.  DUH!  Neglecting your email is YOUR fault, not the Seller's. So, again, just because you don't have it doesn't mean your Seller didn't send it.

Exceedingly annoyed by a buyer's inability to take responsibility for her own inaction,  I rubbed two of her brain cells together and got a spark.  Barely.  I have begun to follow up my initial invoice with an email asking the Buyer to let me know they got the invoice. Even made a template for it so I can send them in bulk on good sales days. So that's two contacts from this Seller within twenty minutes of auction close (or my first cup of coffee). I'll send a second invoice on the third day if you've not paid.

Finally, on the seventh day, I'll start up the unpaid item dispute.  I state all this in my store policies page, but for some reason deadbeat buyers are surprised--even indignant--when I file the dispute. They never bother to read the Seller Policies they're disregarding.

Go figure.  Makes me wonder why  I wrote the policies in the first place since no one bothers to read them.

So...That is FOUR emails you will get from this Seller within seven days. For a one piece transaction that didn't require an invoice in the first place. Who has fulfilled their obligation and who has not? I'm glad this is a paperless system. All those trees we'd be killing if we had to send them snail mail. And all that wasted postage.  My goodness! What did we EVER do before email???

By the way, Ebay keeps track of emails sent through their system by Sellers. That is why I always send mail through their message systems. Emails exchanged through private accounts are not tracked, and are harder to report to Ebay when the Buyer starts the name-calling and threats. I also send a copy to myself after this particular incident, so I can then forward a copy to anyone who insists I never sent an invoice.

Ebay shows me, on my SOLD page, a little number in a column under an envelope and when I click that number it tells me the date and what type of email I've sent. So, again, if you didn't get an email it's not MY fault. I have proof that I sent them, and on what day. I am not responsible for Ebay's message system, am I? That would be no, Madam Tyler, you're not.

If you don't contact me after I've sent three or four emails, how am I supposed to know what's going on? Whoops! Another place for the Buyer to take responsibility and be proactive--and send an email themselves! Or, just PAY FOR THE ITEM and end the dispute right then and there. Initiate an E-Check. Use your Credit Card. HEY! You can use your debit card like a credit card instead of doing that eCheck that's going to take five days to clear!

Do something! As your Mama always said, ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away.

(looks to see if the horse is dead yet)

Nope, still breathing.

Alrighty then, let's skip ahead to the very last day of the dispute. Ebay allows Sellers to close an unpaid item dispute on the 8th day after it was opened or once a Buyer responds, whichever comes first. So here we are on Day 14, one day before the Seller can close it for lack of response. And the Buyer suddenly decides they will respond.

And it's MY fault she's not paid because she never got an invoice? She'd rather stomp her feet and whine about not getting an invoice than take care of her obligation. Yeah, that's productive. I felt bad for her boyfriend. I'm sure she was taking it out on him too. I'm sure it was somehow HIS fault too.

Shall we review the different things the Buyer could have done up to this point or are they still fresh in your mind? Yes, let's review! Repeat after me, Class.

The Buyer could have:
1. Paid for item when the auction closed instead of ignoring it.
2. Used the Request Total button instead of ignoring it.
3. Emailed me instead of ignoring it.
4. CALLED ME instead of ignoring it. Funny thing that. 3300+ items sold and only 3 Buyers have ever called me to explain why their payment was late.
5. Been polite when finally responding to the Unpaid Item Dispute. If the buyer that inspired this Guide had been polite and cooperative instead of a bombastic finger pointer trying to convince me I was wrong, I wouldn't be writing this.

Class, please tell me: What should the Seller think on Day 14, with finger pointing and a list of excuses from the buyer, and the comment in the dispute says 'will pay when funds clear' ?

HHhhmmmmmmm...Let us analyze the situation before jumping to an answer:

Fourteen days AFTER the initial transaction and the Buyer STILL isn't prepared to pay for the item. Apparently the Buyer didn't notice the payment instruction of Due within 72 hours of auction close.  So, this Seller thinks 'I don't need a customer like this--I'd like to pay the electric bill today not a week from today,' and makes sure the buyer is in the Blocked list so they cannot do this to me again in the future. *Note, I place buyers in my blocked list when I initiate a dispute. Odds are they won't respond or pay at that point, so I will already have done what I'd would end up doing anyway.

PAYMENT OPTION: Did you know you can use your Visa or Master Card logo ATM Debit card like a credit card in PayPal and pay for the item instantly? There is no need to transfer money from your bank account or send an E-Check and wait the three to five days. (Up to fourteen days for Canadian E-checks.)  There is no need to keep large sums of money in a PayPal account--or ANY funds at all--when using your ATM card. You can use it on a case by case basis.

So, back to our analysis: The Buyer now wants me to wait another WEEK for payment, for a total of 21 days after the auction closed.  How would YOU feel about this if YOU were the Seller? Are your children asking for dinner today or a week from today? Will your landlord wait another week for the rent? Mine won't.

All that finger pointing from a Buyer who did NOTHING but give excuses 14 days after the auction ended.
Didn't get emails, hasn't been online for 'a few days', has relationship issues. Three excuses in as many sentences? Hint: 14 days is NOT 'a few' days. It's two whole weeks. HALF A MONTH. One Sixth of an entire SEASON. And that is called negligence.

I follow Ebay's listing and dispute policies and processes to the letter, so how is it MY fault the buyer hasn't paid?

How is it my fault the buyer is having relationship issues? And what does that have to do with not paying for the item in the first place?

Am I missing something here?

Did I mention my 3500+ individual items sold and 100% positive feedback?

Logic question: Does a Seller with 7 1/2 years of Ebay experience, 3500+ items sold and 100% positive feedback neglect to send an invoice?

That would be no.

So I guess that would mean a buyer should give a Seller a tiny bit of the benefit of doubt. Don't'cha think? Just a little cooperation to sort out what happened instead of immediately attacking a Seller who has done nothing wrong?


Finally, I would like to thank the Buyer that inspired this Guide.

First, for giving me a great subject to help educate Buyers on things they can do to bring a transaction to a successful conclusion. I have tried to make the lesson a humorous one.

Second, for giving me an outlet for my annoyance and resentment. I hope you, Dear Reader, got a laugh out of the thoughtlessness and irresponsibility illustrated herein. Months later, I'm still laughing at her.

Third, I must thank the buyer for emailing the link to the relisted item to her friends to say what a #&%$@ I am for enforcing my own policies and following eBay policy.  That listing got 99 views in two days (unheard of for my items); sold along with another $150 in custom items to a single client; and my Ebay sales increased from two leather items to fifteen over the next four days!

So, THANKS! I appreciate the free advertising!

*While there is helpful information contained in this Guide, I expect more people to be unhappy because it says what they don't want to hear. So be it.

But if it gave you a good chuckle, please vote Yes.