eBay unpaid item: what to do when a buyer does not pay, and how to stop it happening

What is an eBay unpaid item?

An eBay unpaid item is an order where the buyer committed to buy, by winning an auction or clicking Buy It Now without paying at once, but has not completed payment. Until the buyer pays, the sale is not finished, and you should not send anything. eBay gives sellers a way to cancel these orders without it counting against them, and settings that make them rare.

This happens mostly with auctions and with Buy It Now listings that do not require immediate payment. Buyers forget, change their mind, have card problems, or bid on several items and only want one.

Why buyers do not pay

Understanding the reasons helps you choose the right response. The common ones are:

• A payment problem: a card declined, an expired card, or a bank security check. These buyers usually want the item and pay after a reminder.
• Waiting to combine items: a buyer who bought several items from you may be waiting to pay once with combined postage.
• A change of mind: the buyer found it cheaper elsewhere or no longer needs it. They often ignore reminders, but will agree to cancel if asked directly.
• A mistake: an accidental click, or a child using a parent's account.
• Bad faith: rarely, a buyer who bids to disrupt an auction with no intention to pay. Buyer requirements and blocking deal with these.

What should you do when a buyer has not paid?

1. Check the payment status in Seller Hub. Make sure the order really is unpaid, not just paid recently.
2. Do not post the item. Not even if the buyer promises to pay later. An unpaid order has no protection for you.
3. Send one friendly reminder through eBay messages, or use the option on the order to send a payment reminder.
4. Wait for the payment period to pass. eBay shows how long the buyer has to pay.
5. Cancel the order as unpaid through eBay once the period is up.
6. Relist or sell the item to someone else. For auctions, check whether a second chance offer is available.

A reminder you can adapt

Hello [name], thank you for buying [item]. I have not yet received payment for this order. If you still want it, you can pay from your eBay purchase history. If you no longer want it, just let me know and we can cancel it. Thank you.

If the buyer replies that they no longer want the item, ask them to request a cancellation, or cancel it yourself with the buyer request reason. That closes the order faster than waiting for the payment period to end, and the item is back on sale sooner.

Keep it short and friendly. Many unpaid orders are simple mistakes, and a buyer who is treated politely often pays straight away or asks to cancel, which saves you waiting.

Does cancelling an unpaid order count against you?

No. A cancellation because the buyer did not pay is not a transaction defect. Defects come from cancellations where the seller could not supply the item, and from cases closed without seller resolution. eBay's order cancellation policy explains the reasons and how each is treated.

Use the unpaid reason only when the buyer really has not paid. If the buyer has paid and you cannot supply the item, that is an out of stock cancellation, and choosing a different reason to avoid a defect breaks eBay's rules.

Can eBay cancel unpaid orders automatically?

Yes. eBay lets sellers set preferences for unpaid orders in their account, so that orders not paid within a time you choose are cancelled automatically, and the item is relisted or becomes available again. This saves you checking every unpaid order by hand.

Look in your account's site preferences or Seller Hub settings for the unpaid item or unpaid order options. Choose a time that gives honest buyers a chance to pay, but does not tie up stock for too long. If you sell items with limited stock, a shorter time matters more.

How do you stop unpaid items happening?

Require immediate payment

For Buy It Now listings, you can require immediate payment. The buyer then has to pay at checkout before the order is created, so unpaid Buy It Now orders mostly disappear. It is one of the most effective settings for sellers with fixed price listings.

Set buyer requirements

Buyer requirements let you block buyers who, for example, have unpaid item records on their account, or who are registered in countries you do not post to. Set them in your account's selling preferences. They apply to all your listings and stop many problem buyers before they buy.

Block individual buyers

If a particular buyer has failed to pay before, add them to your blocked buyer list. They will not be able to buy from you again.

Be clear about payment in auctions

Auctions cannot require immediate payment in the same way, so unpaid items are more common there. Clear listings, fair postage and buyer requirements help.

Combined orders and postage

If buyers often buy several items from you, set up combined postage discounts in your postage settings. eBay can then work out the combined postage automatically at checkout, so buyers do not need to wait for you to send a revised invoice before paying. That removes one of the commonest innocent reasons for an unpaid order.

Accepted offers

When you accept a Best Offer, the buyer is expected to pay like any other buyer. If they do not, the same unpaid process applies. Responding to offers promptly helps, because a buyer who waited days for an answer may have bought elsewhere by the time you accept.

A worked example: the cost of waiting

Example, with hypothetical numbers. You sell a limited stock item at £30 on Buy It Now, without immediate payment. Three buyers in a month click Buy It Now and do not pay. Each order holds a unit for several days before you cancel.

• During those days, the listing shows less stock, and on your last unit it may show as sold out.
• If two genuine buyers looked during that time and went elsewhere, you lost £60 of sales.
• You also spent time sending reminders and cancelling.

Switching on immediate payment would have stopped all three unpaid orders, and the stock would have been available to paying buyers. The cost of the setting is that a few buyers who wanted to pay later may not buy, which for most sellers is a small price.

What if a buyer pays after you cancelled?

If you cancel an unpaid order and the buyer then tries to pay, the payment should not go through on a cancelled order. If the buyer still wants the item, ask them to buy again from the listing. Do not accept payment outside eBay to rescue the sale.

If a buyer claims they paid, check Seller Hub before you cancel. Payments can take a short time to appear. If eBay shows the order as paid, it is paid, and you should send it within your dispatch time.

Orders you fulfil through a supplier

If you fulfil from a supplier, never place the supplier order until eBay shows the eBay order as paid. Otherwise you can end up paying for stock for a buyer who never pays. eBay's drop shipping policy allows fulfilling from a wholesale supplier but not buying from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer, and the seller is responsible for delivery either way.

A quick checklist

• Turn on immediate payment for Buy It Now listings.
• Set buyer requirements that block buyers with unpaid item records.
• Set automatic cancellation for unpaid orders, with a time that suits your stock.
• Never send, or order from a supplier, before payment shows in Seller Hub, however sure the buyer sounds.
• Send one polite reminder, then cancel as unpaid.
• Check the fee credit on cancelled unpaid orders.
• Set up combined postage so multi-item buyers can pay at checkout without waiting for you.

For other cancellation reasons and how they count, read how to cancel an eBay order as a seller, and for a full daily routine, see the eBay order fulfilment process.