Let's say I just won my first bid on eBay. What is proper etiquette, normally? Should I pay immediately, or should I wait a few days until I get the product and then pay?

kp2171

you wont get the product wout paying

read the sellers terms for payment! they often require/request paymt in a min amt of time.

you'll probably get an email as well

student007

So then my best bet would be to just pay immediately if i can?

Curlyben

Simply put, YES.
When you place a bid on Ebay you are entering into a contract with the seller.
At the end of the day if you can't pay for an item then you shouldn't be bidding on it in the first place.

Fr_Chuck

yes, the seller will not send the item unless you pay, so you hve to pay, best to pay using a credit card if possible, or a credit card though pay pal.
That way if you don't get your item, or it is not like it is suppose to be you have some protection though the credit card.

If using pay pal look for the pay pal protection option if possible.

I buy and sell alot on ebay and normally there is no problem three times this year I paid and never got the item paid for and twice I got them and a new item was used and the pass word for the program had to be paid for extra from the company since it was already registered.

The other time the books ordered were wet and full of ants ( dont know why, I think shipping but they came regular post, so no way to claim damage.

So about 10 percent of my purchases had a problem, just be careful

kp2171

Y E S !

if this is hypothetical, as in what if i win... ok. you could find out this answer and many more at ebay. read the terms and conditions. its all there.

if you really did bid and are trying to wait to pay ("if i can") then you should have known better. yeah... if you screw around and dont pay youll probably get a negative and some sellers may not want to sell to you...

but also the person who held the auction is paying money to post it. even if they can repost an item that wasnt claimed it is still time and money.

if a buyer does not pay for an item im not sending it. if a buyer wants an item but cannot pay for it DONT BID!

student007

Ok i got it. What i meant is: I bought an item (which I can afford) and the seller tells me to pay within 12 days of winning. But the item can be shipped in 4 days. What i was asking is - should I wait for the item to reach me (i.e. 4 days) and then pay, or pay right away? But now i figured out that i have to pay right away anyways. Thanks

kp2171

that wasnt perfectly clear in your original message, but ok. now you know.

it'd be nice to pay after you get the item to minimize your financial exposure, but bad for the seller.

if you are worried in the future about purchases you should look for sellers who state a refund policy, pay with a credit card to be able to recoup the expense if its fraud, and look for sellers with good ratings and preferably lots of sales.

doesnt mean i havent been the first to buy an item from a new seller with a money order... but you are more nervous about it when the seller has no established selling history and you'd better be willing to risk losing the money.

LTheobald

A seller on eBay will only post the item they are selling upon receiving payment. So if you are paying by cheque, the seller won't post the item until your cheque has cleared.

Otherwise people could be sending off cheques, waiting for the buyer to post the item and then stopping the cheque - preventing the seller from getting paid.

Fr_Chuck

The message that it will reach you in 4 days is four days after you have paid them and the money is cleared.

The item will not be shipped untill it is paid for. It says "12" days to pay, so basicly if you don't pay within the 12 days ( they really expect it in one or two) but incause you are gone or ill, you have 12 days to pay or theywill consider you as having failed to pay, you will be rated as someone who has won and not paid ( making it hard to buy other items)

The faster you pay, the better you will be rated as a buyer.