# ebay Etiquette Question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646 "2014-09-16T11:44:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/1 "2014-09-16T11:44:26Z")
I am an infrequent seller on ebay so I’d like some opinions on how long to wait to contact my latest buyer. Yesterday morning I got notified that my item sold. I was, as usual, prompted to print my shipping label and ship the item right away. However, the item has not been paid for yet. In my limited experience selling on ebay the payment usually arrives not long after the item sells. I’m hesitant to ship the item until payment arrives. It’s been almost 24 hours since the item sold. Should I contact the buyer? Give them more time? Just ship the item and assume payment will come and rely on ebay to resolve it for me if it doesn’t? It’s not a big deal and it’s an inexpensive item. I’m just curious about how these things normally work. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/2 "2014-09-16T11:46:19Z")
Don’t ship until payment is confirmed. Depends what item it is, but I usually give a couple of days then send a nudge. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/3 "2014-09-16T12:36:56Z")
Don’t ship until payment is received and cleared (if eCheck). I normally wait 48 hours before sending a payment reminder to the buyer. If I don’t get payment or communication after another 48 hours I open a non-paying bidder dispute with eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/4 "2014-09-16T12:38:08Z")
Ok, thanks all! ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/5 "2014-09-18T02:09:26Z")
I don’t think its rude to contact the buyer _ **literally seconds** _ after the item sells. With a friendly email at least. Since eBay bought PayPal there is little reason for someone to not pay asap. And when I sell things on eBay I always, \*always \*stipulate PayPal payment only! If you have one account you must have both. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-etiquette-question/698646/6 "2014-09-18T04:49:29Z")
You might as well say “Paypal Only” - that is pretty much what ebay is going for - ding you twice - once for the sales commission and once for Paypal processing. I started on ebay in 1999 - when it was still wide open (the best porn was on ebey - the competition was pushing up the number of stills in an ad - to over 200 pics in a single ad). Anyway, I left and came back - I started with an old ad from 1999 - which included “Cash or Personal Check”. It was flagged immediately - you can’t use the word “check” in an ad. They were, however, still offering 3 different online payment systems - 2 you never heard of, and Paypal. Of course, ebay is now charging commission on s/h. How many people were doing the “$1 for the postage stamp, $150 s/h”? I read 1000’s of ads and saw exactly one of those. I was able to make a slim profit by buying a “camera outfit” (anybody need a camera bag?) and selling the lenses separately. Then they jacked up the price again, and my margin vanished.