New improvements to reduce unpaid items for Buy It Now and Best Offer listings
What you need to know
We know that unpaid items have been a longstanding challenge for many of our sellers, which is why we’ve made improvements to reduce unpaid item incidents for Buy It Now and Best Offer sales. Since the recent launch of these improvements, we've already seen significant increases in successful payments for Best Offer items. Here’s what we’ve done in the past few months to improve the experience.
Changes to Buy It Now purchases
We've increased the price threshold for Buy It Now items that require immediate payment. This update allows you to sell higher-priced Buy It Now items, and ensures that buyers are required to provide a payment method during checkout to secure their item.
Best Offer updates
In the coming months buyers will be required to add a payment method when making offers on Best Offer listings. After you accept the offer, we’ll automatically charge the buyer’s chosen payment method so they won’t have to return to eBay to complete their purchase.
These changes are automatically applied to buyer offers, so you don't need to update or make changes to your Best Offer listings. We also plan to launch similar changes for: send offer to buyers, buyer counter offers, and auctions to further improve the experience for sellers.
We're also implementing stricter policies – including account suspension – for users who repeatedly win auctions or make a Best Offer on items but fail to complete the purchase.
FAQ
What is an unpaid item?
Completing a transaction with the buyer is typically a straightforward process; however, there are instances where the buyer may fail to pay for the item they committed to buy – this is referred to as an unpaid item.
Do these features mean I won’t have any more unpaid items?
This is the goal. You should expect fewer unpaid items from offers as we scale this programme; however, they may continue to happen from time to time in some specific scenarios.
Will these changes apply to auctions as well?
We're testing similar solutions in auctions that require buyers to provide payment information before they submit bids on your listings. We’ll attempt to charge the winning bidder's payment at the completion of the auction, and you can expect fewer unpaid items on items sold through auctions as we scale the programme.
Do I still need to cancel unpaid items if they happen?
If an item is unpaid, you should continue to cancel the order just as you do today.
As a friendly reminder, you can enable the setting in which orders not paid for will be cancelled automatically, 4 days in advance (learn more here). If cancelled, you’ll not be charged the 30p final value fee per order.
Can I control if my buyers get asked for payment and delivery information?
Yes, you can opt out of this feature in Buyer Payment Requirements. If you opt out, eligible buyers won’t be asked for payment and delivery information upfront when they submit offers and/or bid on your listings. We encourage you to remain opted in so your items are paid for and orders get created quickly.
Can I still offer combined delivery for multiple items purchased by the same buyer?
We’re aware of potential challenges with combined deliveries that this may cause and are actively working to address this. In the meantime, you can send buyers a refund for any excess delivery charges, if needed.
Note: if a buyer’s payment is completed after a winning bid or an offer is accepted, there’s no need to send an invoice to the buyer.