Here's a new on for me...............

DBSTrader2

I just finished winning the third of 3 eBay auctions over the past couple days with the same seller, who was nice enough to invoice me for all 3 together & reduce overall shipping costs as a result.

He invoiced me thru eBay/Paypal, which I immediately paid. Shortly thereafter, I received an e-mail notification that the coins had been shipped.

I turned in for the night, but woke up a few hours later, at which time I checked my e-mails before going back to sleep.

There was a follow-up e-mail from the seller which started off: "You underpaid me for the coins!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He went on to explain the coins' price & normal shipping, and how he had reduced the shipping almost in half to come up with the invoiced amount. But he had only received $xx.xx amount of money.

Immediately, my mind screamed "PayPal fees!".

So I found a convenient PayPal fee calculator on the internet, which confirmed the difference between what I had paid and what he received as being due to their (2.9% + $.30) fee.

So I quickly replied back to the seller that I was sorry for there being an issue, but here's what I think explains what he received....

So here's my question:

I know when dealing with friends or some members of this Forum, I have been asked to pay via PayPal as "gift", so that fees fall on my shoulders vs being deducted from what I pay them. But no eBay seller handles or should expect to handle it that way, should they? They invoice me, I click on the "pay" button, and they get my payment less any PayPal fees, right?

So why would an ebay seller with several hundred transactions as a seller (and 100% rating) not know or forget this fact?

Just a brain freeze, or is there something I am not aware of?


He hasn't replied back to me yet, and hopefully it was just a brain-freeze on his end, & will be easily resolved, (and it's for such a small amount of money anyway), but I'm just curious if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this, or has any other insights into it.

Thx!

Now it's time for me to go back to sleep.........................

- - Dave

pcunix

I don't know how it would be possible for someone to "forget" that.

I have had people pay me as a "gift" when I did not request it. While I do think PayPal's fees are too high, I don't like circumventing them with lies, so I won't do that and don't like it when people paying me do it.

astrorat

How can one pay less than the invoiced amount for eBay auctions when using PayPal?

lostincoins

The payment is automatic based on the invoiced amount. Unless the seller did not calculate the discount properly this should not occur at all, period.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>

I know when dealing with friends or some members of this Forum, I have been asked to pay via PayPal as "gift", so that fees fall on my shoulders vs being deducted from what I pay them. But no eBay seller handles or should expect to handle it that way, should they? They invoice me, I click on the "pay" button, and they get my payment less any PayPal fees, right?



- - Dave >>



When you choose the "gift" option, there are no fees to either party. The only way for the buyer to eat the fee is to overpay by 3%.

DBSTrader2

UPDATE:

The seller contacted me this morning & apologized. He said PayPal had recently changed how they display payments. He said they used to display him as having received the full amount from the customer first, and then deducted their portion from that "behind the scenes", where he didn't notice/concern himself with it. Now, apparently, they show the NET amount received after their fee, which threw him for a loop. A very sincere apology for the misunderstanding. He said he's in his 80's, and not very fast to change.....

All's well that ends well, and I learned a bit more about how PayPal works.....

ms70

Over the years I've really disliked a lot of eBay / PayPal changes which were very much just like that. One day you log on and all the navigation is moved around or gone, and it's
like the first time you've ever been on eBay. They're actually overdue for some of that nonsense! I don't know why, but I think they do it so nothing seems stagnant. I could see
how that seller could make an honest mistake like that.

DBSTrader2

BAJJERFAN:

Every time I've paid as "gift", I've always been charged the fee. Am I doing something wrong?

- - Dave

shorecoll

There are fees for "gifts" paid by credit card. Only bank account transfers (or existing PP account balances are free).

I would never pay an eBay merchant with a gift, you waive all rights if you do.

DBSTrader2

Yeah, that explains it. Mine are backed by a credit card. No way I'm giving PayPal access to my bank account................

Thx!