EBay for Dummies (30 page)

Checking Out

When you buy something in a store, you need to check out to pay. eBay isn’t much different. eBay’s Checkout is a convenient way to pay for your completed auctions, fixed-price sales, and Buy it Now sales with a credit card or eCheck through PayPal. You may also use Checkout to exchange your information with the seller and pay for your item at a place other than PayPal (such as by money order, check, or another payment service that the seller accepts).

Checkout is integrated directly onto the item page so that you can win and pay for an item in less than a minute. Some sellers indicate, in their description, that they will send you a link to their private checkout page. When the sale is over, the item page will have checkout information, as shown in Figure 8-2.

When you click the Pay Now button, you’re taken step-by-step through the checkout process. You pay for the item, and the seller is notified. You also get an e-mail confirming your payment, along with the seller’s e-mail address.

If you’re dealing with a Buy It Now or fixed-price listing, you don’t have to wait and go back to the listing once you’ve purchased the item. After you confirm to eBay that you want to make a purchase, you’re taken immediately to a page with a Pay Now button, as in Figure 8-3.

Communicating with the Seller

Top-notch sellers know that communication is the absolute key to a successful transaction, and they do everything they can to set a positive tone for the entire process with speedy and courteous e-mails (or, at the very least, invoices).

Contact from a professional eBay seller should include the following information:

Confirmation of the winning price

The link for paying with PayPal or a secure Web site for credit card processing

A review of the shipping options and price (the fee you pay)

Confirmation of escrow (if offered in the listing)

The date the item will be shipped

When you read the seller’s e-mail, be sure to compare the terms the seller laid out in his or her e-mail with the terms on the auction page. And make sure that the form of payment and where it should be sent are clear.

You should pay immediately upon receipt of the invoice. If you have a question before paying, contact the seller immediately — he or she will be expecting your payment.

If you see significant differences between what the e-mail you receive from the seller after the sale and what is on your printout of the item page, address them immediately with the seller before you proceed with the transaction. For more on clarifying payment options during the buying process, see Chapter 6.

Sending the Payment Promptly and Securely

So how many times have you heard the saying “The check is in the mail”? Yeah, I’ve heard it about a thousand times, too. If you’re on the selling end of a transaction, hearing this line from the buyer but not getting the money is frustrating. If you’re on the buying end, it’s very bad form and may also lead to bad feedback for you.

Being the good buyer that you are (you’re here finding out how to do the right thing, right?), you’ll get your payment out pronto via PayPal. Do it immediately — why wait? (The sooner you pay, the sooner you get that charming Flying Monkey decanter you won!)

Most sellers expect to get paid within three business days after the close of the listing. Although this timeline isn’t mandatory, it makes good sense to let the seller know if there will be any delay in payment.

Send your payment promptly. If you have to delay payment for any reason (you have to go out of town, you are over your credit card limit, you broke your leg), let the seller know as soon as possible. Most sellers understand if you send them a kind and honest e-mail. Let the seller know what’s up, give him or her a date by which the money can be expected, and then meet that deadline. If the wait is unreasonably long, the seller may cancel the transaction. In that case, you can kiss your positive feedback goodbye.

If the seller acknowledges through e-mail that they will accept other forms of payment, here are some tips on how to make sure that your payment reaches the seller promptly and safely:

Have your name and address printed on your checks. A check without a printed name or address sends up a big red flag to sellers that the check may not clear. For privacy and safety reasons, though,
never
put your driver’s license number or Social Security number on your check.

Always write the item title and your user ID on a check or money order and enclose a printout of the final auction page in the envelope. The Number 1 pet peeve of most eBay sellers is that they get a payment but don’t know what it’s for — that is, buyers send checks without any auction information.

If you’re paying with a credit card without using a payment service and you want to give the seller the number over the telephone, be sure to request the seller’s phone number in your reply to the seller’s initial e-mail and explain why you want it.

You can safely e-mail your credit card information over the course of several e-mails, each containing four numbers from your credit card. Stagger your e-mails so that they’re about 20 minutes apart and don’t forget to let the seller know what kind of credit card you’re using. Also, give the card’s expiration date.

Buyers routinely send out payments without their name, their address, or a clue as to what they’ve purchased. No matter how you pay, be sure to include a copy of the eBay confirmation letter, a printout of the auction page, or a copy of the e-mail the seller sent you. If you pay with a credit card via e-mail or over the phone, you should still send this info through the mail just to be on the safe side.

Using PayPal, a person-to-person payment service

Chapter 6 covers the pros and cons of using PayPal to pay for your auctions, but the bottom line is that every eBay seller accepts it as the main payment option. Let me make you feel more comfortable about why PayPal is the safest way to pay on eBay. eBay sees to it that PayPal is incredibly easy to use because PayPal is the official payment service on eBay. After the auction is over, a link to pay appears. If you’d prefer, wait until you hear from the seller. You can make your payment in three ways:

Credit Card:
You can use your American Express, Discover, Visa, or MasterCard to make your payment through PayPal. The cost of the item is charged to your card, and your statement will reflect a PayPal payment with the seller’s ID.

eCheck:
Sending money with an eCheck is easy. It debits your checking account just like a paper check. It does not clear immediately, and the seller probably won’t ship until PayPal tells him or her that the eCheck has cleared your bank.

Instant Transfer:
An instant transfer is just like an eCheck, except that it clears immediately and the money is directly posted to the seller’s account. To send an instant transfer, you must have a credit card on file with PayPal as a backup (should the payment from your bank be denied).

PayPal is my favorite payment service for another reason. PayPal has a buyer protection program, which covers your purchases against fraud or if your item arrives not as described. Read more about that in Chapter 16.

When the auction is over, you can click the Pay Now button to check out and enter the PayPal site. If you don’t pay immediately from the item page or seller’s invoice, click the Pay link on the drop-down menu to the left of your item on your My eBay Won area. Once you click, just follow these steps:

1. If this is your first visit to the PayPal site, register.

2. If you’re already a registered user, go ahead and log in by following the steps on-screen.

3. Your transaction appears and you decide how to pay.

If you’re new to PayPal, they take you step-by-step through the process of filling out a payment form to identify the auction you’re paying for as well as your shipping information. You’re all done. Your credit card information is held safely with PayPal, and the payment is deposited into the seller’s PayPal account. The seller receives notice of your payment and notifies you about how quickly he or she will ship your item.