Problem with winning bidder on my eBay auction!
By schulzie
@schulzie (4061)
United States
February 19, 2013 1:57pm CST
I have been selling some of my old cell phones on eBay to help re-coop some of the money I spent buying new ones. I sold one of my old phones for $39.99 and it closed on 1/30/13. I have been waiting for payment on this phone and finally received payment today - 2/19/13!! That is 20 days after the auction ended.
When the auction ended back in January the winning bidder contacted me and asked if I would accept a money order as payment. I said it would be ok, and gave him my name and address to send payment. I have had to continually send this man messages as to when I will expect to receive payment from him. He kept assuring me that the payment would be coming and when I asked again he said he had been sick in bed and couldn't get out to make payment, etc. He finally said he made payment and it FINALLY came in today. It was .27 cents short!!!!! I know it's only a couple cents less than what the auction was but come on!!! He just rounded the total down the .27 cents to an even dollar amount! I don't believe this guy.
I looked into it today on eBay and have just realized that eBay does not allow people to pay by check or money order. I did not know that. I should have looked into it but I really don't sell on there regularly. Well, now I know. No more money orders!
I will send his item out to him just to be done with him, but first I am cashing that money order and making sure it is not a conterfeit one! And I will not accept alternate payment again. It will have to be Paypal from now on.
What would you have done? Would you still send out the item to him? He is a real pain in my butt at this point!
Have a great day and happy myLotting!!!
I looked into it today on eBay and have just realized that eBay does not allow people to pay by check or money order. I did not know that. I should have looked into it but I really don't sell on there regularly. Well, now I know. No more money orders!
I will send his item out to him just to be done with him, but first I am cashing that money order and making sure it is not a conterfeit one! And I will not accept alternate payment again. It will have to be Paypal from now on.
What would you have done? Would you still send out the item to him? He is a real pain in my butt at this point!
Have a great day and happy myLotting!!!
3 people like this
10 responses
@Autumnrose2008 (1478)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I know its only 27 cents but I would have held the item till it was paid for in full. Its not alot but he seems to be scamming even if its only a little bit. You as a seller are not required to send the item as it was not paid for in full. I would send it to him as well and hope that his money order is good. I would also leave him neutral feedback stating that his payment was short and that it took him a very long time to pay. Good luck selling I know it can be a pain in the butt sometimes.
2 people like this
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I haven't sent it yet. I won't until I know for sure that the money order is good. I have a feeling he will somehow twist this whole thing around and leave me negative feedback, I don't know why but I just think he might do that to me. He is a real pain in the butt.
@stary1 (6612)
• United States
19 Feb 13
schulzie
Good info. I JUST started with e-bay. I posted 1 item a few days ago and only have 7 views and no bids..lol...I need more listings..
TY for the info. I didn't know check and money order was not allowed..if I ever sell anything 
I will remember...
Since the item was for $39.99 plus maybe you made a few cents on the shipping charge, I would have shipped after cashing the money order and I would have forgotten about the 27 cents as a lesson learned to use paypal.
I will remember...
Since the item was for $39.99 plus maybe you made a few cents on the shipping charge, I would have shipped after cashing the money order and I would have forgotten about the 27 cents as a lesson learned to use paypal.2 people like this
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I have had no problem with buyers before. Everyone else has been paying with Paypal and no problems. Also, I didn't charge anything extra for the shipping, I never do. I charged the actual shipping cost. So I am losing out on $2.77 so far by him paying me with this money order.
He had the audacity to tell me that I would be saving the Paypal service charge by accepting a money order!! I should have been paid the full amount and within a reasonable time frame.
Good luck with your auctions on eBay. I am still going to use it but no more money orders, period.
He had the audacity to tell me that I would be saving the Paypal service charge by accepting a money order!! I should have been paid the full amount and within a reasonable time frame.
Good luck with your auctions on eBay. I am still going to use it but no more money orders, period.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I'm hoping for your sake it's not from overseas, and it's not Western Union. Those are the most counterfeit one's and that's why Ebay refuses to allow them anymore. That's not saying they can't be counterfeit from the USA either. Sometimes even your bank can't tell and it will look like it's a good money order, and then whammo, it's not.
This whole things sounds fishy to me from beginning to end anyways. I hope it all turns out well for you and this is not a scam.
If you have the name of the institution that issued the money order, you can call them with the serial number and see if it's real or not. Paypal is one of the safest ways to accept or send money. I hope it's all good!
1 person likes this
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
20 Feb 13
Well, we'll see. If this turns out to be a bogus money order he will not get the phone, period. I will cash it and see what happens. The bank told me that in a few days I will know one way or the other. I'm in no hurry to send it to him, that's for sure.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I would send him the phone just to be done with him but put all that in the feedback you can provide for the buyers--you can still do that, right? It's been a long time since I sold or bought on eBay. I would want to enclose a note giving him a piece of my mind but that might reflect badly on my seller feedback so I'd forego that satisfaction.
I always put "payment by PayPay" on my auctions. They had a box you could check, various payment methods, and people knew I would accept only PayPal.
I wonder if he can even afford the phone or if he's just a cheapskate? Either way, you're well rid of him.
1 person likes this
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
19 Feb 13
I've been calling around to see where I can cash this thing. My bank will cash it but if it's conterfeit or not good they will deduct it from my account. I called Walmart and they said they will not cash it because it is already filled out, they would only cash it if it were blank. Then I called the Check Cashing Store here and they told me that they will cash it but they charge 5% fee for that.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
19 Feb 13
Well then, send it back to him with a note of explanation and tell him you're re-listing the phone. This may not seem like a big amount to a lot of people but to me it's significant. That can feed a person for a week but if it causes overdrafts on your account it's worse than useless!
1 person likes this
@Raine38 (12250)
• United States
19 Feb 13
Well, lesson learned. And seeing as you are not really a full time ebay seller, there will be lots more problem clients that you will encounter at some point at ebay. If I were you, I will just inform him about the money order having it cashed first before I send the unit. Just so not to give him any idea that I am dragging it longer than necessary. Who knows, right?
1 person likes this
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
19 Feb 13
Glad he finally paid him. Cant you give him a bad report after he recvs. your item? I sure would, He deserves one.
1 person likes this
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
20 Feb 13
Im the same way.. but that guy of yours deserves it, I think.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
24 Feb 13
I would have to do the right thing by him but that's just me. As the seller, your actions can come back and bite you (and they have).
I've never sold on ebay, something is holding me back and it's stories like yours that reinforce that decision. If that happened to me I would be upset and angry and I would stew on it for a while.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
I didn't know they didn't allow checks any more. I have used PayPal for years, but I used to pay people for stuff on ebay by check. I think for 27 cents, I'd just send the dang thing, but depending on the price of the item, I'd draw the line somewhere and as for the rest of the money before sending the item.
1 person likes this
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
21 Feb 13
That does seem like a real pain. At least he was able to keep in touch with you once you messaged him about payment. Whenever I sell something on ebay I make sure I note that I only accept PayPal and only ship within the continental U.S. unless contacted first. I once had someone from Australia buy my listing and I had to send it to them.Ever since then I make a note of shipping and I've had people message me asking if it was ok if I could ship it out of the country. For that, I usually just adjust the shipping fee and it's fine.
I can't believe he rounded down though, that's kind of rude. But at least you don't have to deal with the Paypal fees being deducted. I guess now you know in the future to only accept Paypal from buyers
