posted on June 5, 2001 12:03:55 PM
Am I wrong, or is this a misleading payment term description?
Payment terms state will accept credit card payment only with Bidpay. No big deal.
I successfully win auction with my bid. go to bidpay to put in credit card information only to discover what I am doing is "buying" a money order and it is going to cost me $13.00 to do so! I do not consider this using a credit card for payment.
If I had wanted to pay by money order I would go to the Post Office to purchase it or pay $5.00 for a cashier's check at the bank.
No where in the Payment Options does it mention if you pay by credit card you will be charged a percentage for it.
Am I wrong in thinking the seller should not say they accept payment by credit card?
am waiting to hear back from seller now, but am thinking of cancelling the bid.
afullbarn on eBay
posted on June 5, 2001 12:15:50 PM
Well, technically, you WOULD be paying for your transaction with a Credit Card, so I don't think the seller is really in the wrong here.
You could have easily gone to Bidpay's website to find out if there were any charges before deciding to bid on the auction, right?
And how much was the transaction for that it costs you $13 to use Bidpay? I think the most any of my customers paid to use that was $5.
And you also cannot "cancel" your bid after the auction has ended. Once the auction has ended and has a high bidder, that bidder is obligated to follow through with their end of the deal, which means paying the seller for the transaction.
posted on June 5, 2001 12:24:51 PM
Bidpay should only be a $5. charge. I offer it to my customers but also do not mention there is a charge, but after seeing your note I will now insert (fee) after the Bidpay option. You raise a good point that I hadn't considered, and I agree it is not fair to buyers. However in your case the seller only offers one option. I offer my customers multiple payment options.
Perhaps your seller will allow you to send a money order if they are flexible. If not I would just chalk it up as part of the learning curve. I did a few things like that when I started but it only happens once.
If you back out, you risk a negative feedback on your auction record.
Bidpay will take just as long for the seller to recieve as a money order.
posted on June 5, 2001 12:29:34 PM
>>No where in the Payment Options does it mention if you pay by credit card you will be charged a percentage for it.<<
The seller isn't charging you to use a credit card. The fee is charged by BidPay, and includes the cost of sending a money order to the seller for the item and the postage. The seller doesn't receive any portion of BidPay's fee.
Unless they've changed it, the BidPay charge for a money order of $100 or less was $5.00, which is pretty reasonable considering that it includes the money order fee and postage to send the money order to the seller.
posted on June 5, 2001 12:45:23 PM
Just a thought here, but why would a bidder agree to pay for an auction with a certain payment method that they never heard of or know anything about?
For all you know, Bidpay could have been a scam credit card payment service, used unsecure servers, etc. Luckily for you, they are a reputable company.
I don't understand why bidders don't look into things a bit more before obligating themselves to something.
posted on June 5, 2001 03:23:52 PM
ExecutiveGirl-I read all the terms of sale carefully, checked feedback etc..I was satisfied seller was legit and still am. Shame on me for not even thinking there could be something wrong with the credit card processing (of course the main reason I use a credit card is so I am protected against fraud)
The thing that bothers me is seller clearly stated payment by credit card accepted-but you are not actually paying by credit card. You are being forced to purchase a money order- If I wanted to pay by money order I would have done so, at a much cheaper rate. Even a $500 cashier's check is only $5.00 at my bank.
The sale total was over $300-that is why the Bidpay was $13.00.I pay by credit card so the seller will be paid instantly and so I have buyers protection-this way not only do i lose all that, but my card is charged for a "cash withdraw"--I still think it is misleading
Let me add that I am not accusing the seller of being dishonest,I just feel the term accept payment by credit card in this case is very misleading.
I will and always have honored my commitment to buy, as I said I am waiting to hear from the seller. If they feel I have no complaint, then I will go ahead with the purchase, but the seller will be loseing the $90.00 in upgrades I was planning on ordering ( I can do those myself later)and I will use another one of the options to pay, such as PayPal.
afullbarn on eBay
[ edited by Buffalowoman on Jun 5, 2001 03:34 PM ]
posted on June 6, 2001 08:20:04 AM
OK all my venting is over
I never did really want to cancell the bid..just talking-decided to transfer funds and pay via PayPal. Just resented the idea that I figured at end of auction would put in credit info, seller would get funds same day auction ended and everyone would be happy. Didn't like the idea of having to purchase a money order, especially for $13.00! Did do away with one of the upgrades though, seller lost $60.00 on that part.
Thanks to all of ya for listening, I learned a very valuable lesson, don't just read the TOS and double check on the seller...need to start checking on sellers "links" for payment options and read that site very carefully also.
posted on June 6, 2001 08:43:37 AM
BidPay is more expensive for higher amounts and also for international payments - I just got socked from them too and was surprised - read their fine print! But international bank transfers costs 34$ at the bank so it's still cheaper to use BidPay sometimes.
