Paypal payment shown as cancelled? Updated

[YoshiFan1]

I accepted an eCheck payment from someone last week. Usually the funds take 4 or 5 business days to clear but when I looked at the status on Monday, it shows the payment as cancelled. I e-mailed Paypal about it almost 48 hours ago and no response (big surprise, I know).

The buyer e-mailed me yesterday asking if I sent out the item yet and I explained the cancelled payment to them. I said they could repay through Paypal and if the other payment was reinstated, I would refund them for 1 of the payments. I also said they could send a money order.

They want to know if Paypal responded or if I got the money yet (from the first payment). I told them I didn't get the money because the transaction was cancelled and Paypal has not responded.

I looked up cancelled payments on Paypal and it seems like the only way to cancel an eCheck payment is if the buyer does it themselves, because if funds are not available, it just takes longer for the eCheck to clear rather than have the transaction cancelled.

I'm not sending out the item until I get paid of course, but they said they really need the item soon to send away to a relative for a gift for the holidays.

I didn't want to ask them if they cancelled the payment themself because I don't want to get them angry but does this sound like the buyer is trying to pull something?

This is also the first non buy it now only, immedieate payment required lisitng I have done in months and this kind of problem only reminds me of why I went to the other format in the first place.

[tornadomann]

sounds to me like they are trying to screw you over!

[zionoverfire]

An echeck can also be cancelled if they don't have the money in thier bank account or if their account is frozen. Accounts can be frozen even if they are the filing party in a paypal dispute but I really wouldn't trust them. At this point I'd demand payment by money order with thier name signed on it.

[greendj27]

If only the sender can cancel it, then I would be a little suspicious.

[jlarlee]

Also christmas is 24 days away they dont need it too awfully quickly sounds like a scam. You seem to know what you are doing though.

I had a weird ebay experince myself my gamecube lot got removed because i referred to the disc that come with the gameboy advance player as a boot disk fricken ebay

[YoshiFan1]

They claim they need it soon because it's part of a gift basket they are sending to their friends house in another state so once they receive it, it will be sent somewhere else.

But I'm still going to be wary about this, and to make matters worse, their address was unconfirmed when I stated in bold in the auction description "You must have a confirmed Paypal address"

The worst that I think could come out of this is negative feedback which is something I really don't want because I try my best to have flawless feedback (99.9% positive right now).

And I'd like to think a chargeback could not happen since I never received the payment because it was cancelled but knowing Paypal, anything is possible.

[blackjaw]

i wouldnt worry about the address, because im at college and even i use an unconfirmed address when im not at my house

but make sure the payment clears into your account first before sending!

[guardian_owl]

i wouldnt worry about the address, because im at college and even i use an unconfirmed address when im not at my house

Ditto

[zionoverfire]

i wouldnt worry about the address, because im at college and even i use an unconfirmed address when im not at my house

Ditto

Yes but in a case where the buying is acting really wierd a confirmed address can be a bit reassuring. But bottomline get the money first and make sure you use DC on this one.

[judyjudyjudy]

I'd also suggest that you tell them to bug Paypal themselves since it's most likely a problem on their side. They seem to be waiting for Paypal to respond to you, but they should be the one contacting Paypal since their money is missing. If my check got cancelled, I know I would be concerned and constantly harass Paypal.

[jlarlee]

I'd also suggest that you tell them to bug Paypal themselves since it's most likely a problem on their side. They seem to be waiting for Paypal to respond to you, but they should be the one contacting Paypal since their money is missing. If my check got cancelled, I know I would be concerned and constantly harass Paypal.

yea i know I would be curious as to what happened to the check I sent this definetly has a fishy sound. The one thing I hate about EBAY is that they can give you a negative even though they didn't follow the directions in the auction

[wubb]

Either they are trying to pull something or they don't realize they don't have the funds in their account to cover the payment. I'd expect most intelligent buyers to be mortified over this, apologize to you for the inconvenience, put funds in their account, and repay you immediately.

I'd just e-mail them saying you looked into PayPal's help section and apparently the only way for an eCheck payment to be cancelled is if the payer cancels it themselves or if there weren't funds in the back account to cover the payment. Then I'd ask them to pay again.

Crappy that PayPal hasn't gotten back to you yet. Keep sending them the same question over and over until they respond. Shaq-fu em.

Kind of sucks (and definitely risks undeserved negative feedback) but you might need to give them a deadline for making a new payment pretty soon. I'd say if the 2nd payment is also cancelled you will be forced to seek a refund of your selling fees from eBay and relist the item, unless they agree to send you a MO if the 2nd payment is cancelled - don't know if you really want to wait on them any more at that point though. I'd give them a few days to make a new payment before hitting them with a deadline, personally. (Depending on how long ago the auction ended.)

Also I would think a cancelled PayPal payment can never be reinstated (or if it can it would require the payer's blessing), but I guess I don't know for sure.

[YoshiFan1]

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

They said they want to pay with a money order.

Then they said, "you will reimburse me if the other payment goes through" like it was a command or something. I already told them yesterday if they paid twice and the other Paypal payment that was cancelled somehow went through, they would be refunded for that payment.

And Paypal still hasn't responded. This isn't even a huge Paypal problem considering the other problems people have with Paypal and if I was involved in an even worse Paypal problem, I'd hate to think that this is how their customer service usually is (but I would defienetly belive it).

[jlarlee]

I'm currently selling an item that is more expensive than my usual auction and I'm just praying I get a good buyer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8151534106&ssPage Name=STRK:MESE:IT

[cheapass Gundam]

How is the buyer's feedback? If he/she is a newbie then I'd be worried about scams. If the feedback history is long and solid then it should be OK.

[YoshiFan1]

They have around 30 positive feedbacks. They gave me a tracking # for the money order so I think it's ok now.

[YoshiFan1]

Update, I went to the post office today and the money order was there. It was a USPS Green Money order so I think it is legit.

They paid $13.65 to overnight it to me though! I figured I would be nice and send the item priority instead of 1st class just because of all the problems although the problems were not my fault.

[wubb]

Sounds good. I love postal MOs, just cash it right there and that's that, plus they have the Ben Franklin water mark and security thread.

And did they overnight the MO or something? Got to you awfully fast.

[cheapass Gundam]

Update, I went to the post office today and the money order was there. It was a USPS Green Money order so I think it is legit.

They paid $13.65 to overnight it to me though! I figured I would be nice and send the item priority instead of 1st class just because of all the problems although the problems were not my fault.

Instead of splurging for a shipping upgrade, I'd throw in insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation tracking instead. That way you are covered should anything happen.

[YoshiFan1]

Yeah, they sent it overnight. I think they really need the item fast and knew I wouldn't ship until I got the MO (which I think is what all sellers do anyway).



Instead of splurging for a shipping upgrade, I'd throw in insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation tracking instead. That way you are covered should anything happen.

I put delivery confirmation on every item I send out from Half.com and Ebay anyway (builit into my shipping cost) since both Half.com and Paypal require it so even though it turned into a Money Order payment, I figured I would use it anyway.

[wubb]

Yeah, they sent it overnight. I think they really need the item fast and knew I wouldn't ship until I got the MO (which I think is what all sellers do anyway).

[

Yep, though sometimes a buyer doesn't get that. I had a guy e-mail me that he has sent the MO (a week after the auction) and wanted to know if I still had the game. I thought he was asking me whether I had mailed it to him already or not and replied that I would mail it as soon as I got the MO. But when I told my buddy about it he said the guy was probably making sure I hadn't already sold the game to somebody else :lol:

And on another note this buyer paid what $20+ extra to overnight the MO to you + pay for upgraded overnight shipping back? Why didn't they just pay via PayPal with a credit card? I guess they must not actually have a CC or something. Weird.

[YoshiFan1]

Yeah, I don't think they have a credit card or have it linked to Paypal since the original Paypal payment was a eCheck.