eBay Testing Immediate Pay On Offers
UPDATE
eBay has added an option for sellers to opt in or out of this feature at the account level, which is better than nothing but not as good as making it an option at the listing level like Immediate Pay on Fixed Price/Buy It Now currently is.
By default eBay has opted all sellers in, but you can change it in the Buyer Requirements section of Seller Hub.
There is no way for buyers to opt out - if they are in the "select group" that was chosen for this test and your buyer requirements are set with the default setting, they will be required to provide a payment method before they can make an offer.
CEO Jamie Iannone has been talking about requiring immediate pay on accepted offers for months, most recently in the Q3 2021 earnings call. It looks like eBay is finally starting to do a test or phased rollout of this new feature.
On some listings now when you make an offer, this window pops up informing you that if the offer is accepted, your payment method will be immediately charged for the total amount.
I've been playing with this a little bit this morning and have gotten the pop up on some accounts/listings, but not others so it is definitely still in the testing phase.
I understand why eBay would want to A/B test a feature like this, but the downside is it may cause confusion and frustration for users when the experience is not consistent.
Sellers were very enthusiastic about this new feature when it was announced at eBay Open Online in August.
So far, it looks like the reaction from buyers is not so positive - showing that eBay apparently hasn't put much thought into communicating about this change to buyers or addressing issues like combined shipping.
Auto-Pay if offer is accepted! NO EBAY!
I went to make an offer on a poster this morning. I have done this multiple time, almost every day.
Today a new screen pops up.
eBay is planning on auto-paying if the offer is accepted.
NO! NO! NO! I want to get combined shipping!!!!!
I frequently make offers on multiple item from the same seller with the expectation of combining shipping.
Not with this STUPID change to offers!
I was just about to make an offer, but need to pay on Nov. 1st when I had the funds.
Now I just won't make the offer, because eBay would overdraw my account.
STUPID!
This is probably a test, with a small number of accounts, to find out if buyers will accept this or not. I don't like the idea either, of having to wait up to 24 hours to find out if the seller is going to accept or not, with no way to cancel the charge in that time.
Lots of sellers have been asking for IPR with offers since forever. Not the most logical way to try to implement it, IMO. It would make more sense to require payment if a buyer accepts an offer, because that way, it's the buyer's choice to purchase and pay, just like IPR is now on fixed price listings.
That could be done with combined payments, by setting it up so that the offer-items could be added to the shopping cart, and then the final acceptance happens when they are paid for. That way, a buyer could accept multiple offers from a seller at the exact same time. The seller would have to have combined-payment rules set up, of course.
This is something new that eBay is rolling out. I can see where this is going to be a problem, however, if they make it mandatory when a buyer is interested in multiple purchases.
Basically, I think it is being enacted to take action on another problem. Newbie sellers are plagued with problems related to the "make offer" feature and the typical "text me" scammers (do a board search for text me scammer). The seller gets an offer, accepts, only to find out the "buyer" wants to communicate off eBay with the intention of sending a fake payment notice to the seller, instead of actually buying the product.
As a result, even if the seller does not fall for the scam, their item is tied up for days while the non-paying process is playing out.
With any "new" eBay program, there is usually unsavory consequences. I believe yours is going to be the main one. I appreciate you brining up the issue! I was wondering when they announced the plans for this if it would be something the seller could choose, or not. Apparently, not.
Another thread in the community had some participation from an eBay employee.
Sandhya@ebay said:
Hey all. confirming there is a currently a test running (enabled for some buyers) where their payment method will be automatically charged when the seller accepts the offer or when the auto accept price on the offer is met.
When making an offer these buyers (who are in the test) are prompted with a payment screen where they can choose from existing payment methods or add a new payment method and also edit/add shipping address. Should the offer be accepted by the seller, buyer will be automatically charged.
At this point as a seller there is no notification built yet to indicate the if the payment will be immediate or not.
Hope this helps clarify few questions you may have had with this new flow.
I would be browsing this forum and would like to help with any questions you may have on this flow or Best Offers in general. Open to any suggestions and improvements on the flow from both seller and buyer perspective.
Sandhya also confirmed that buyers are presented with options to change shipping method and shipping address before committing to the offer.
One community member asked Sandhya to confirm if during the test, buyers are locked in to agreeing to immediate payment.
If a user is not willing to provide a payment method to be automatically charged if/when the seller accepts the offer, does that mean the user would be blocked from making any offers at all?
Please reply with respect to the current test, as it is being implemented at the moment.
Sandhya answered:
If you are in the test group and you are prompted for the payment then this is only way you can submit offers. This is the current behavior for the test group.
It also doesn't appear that sellers have any choice about whether or not their listings are being used for this test - which could have a negative impact on their sales if buyers are resistant to this change.
While I like the idea of immediate payment on offers, I believe it will work best for both buyers and sellers if it is optional and the seller's choice to enable it at the listing level, just like immediate payment currently works with Buy It Now.
The current test doesn't appear to provide that kind of flexibility, but hopefully that is part of the "feedback" eBay will be considering as they move forward.
What do you think of immediate payment for offers as a buyer or seller? Sound off in the comments below!
