Have you considered the power of prayer?
Seriously, we all make rookie mistakes. And this is one.
If your buyer never pays, and in this case only I would allow 20 days for delivery, you can open an Unpaid Item Dispute. He might pay up, but if not he gets a Strike against his buyer account which may make it harder to bid because most sellers have Blocks against deadbeats with Strikes.
So.
This is what should happen.
Your item sells.
Your buyer gets an invoice from eBay (if you gave a shipping fee in your listing). He pays.
If you did not give a shipping fee, you will be told to send him an invoice. He pays.
Now.
This is where it gets tricky for new sellers.
Even if he pays immediately, you will not get paid immediately. This is a Buyer Protection policy and nothing personal. It is applied to all new sellers.
- Your buyer pays with Paypal backed by a credit card. PP puts a Hold on the payment, and lets you know that you can ship now. You print out a shipping label from your PP account, and probably get a discount off PO counter prices. This is paid out from the Held funds. In 21 days, the payment is released to you.
- Your buyer pays with PP backed by a bank account. This 'e-cheque' can take up to 10 days to clear. Only then does PP put a Hold on the payment, and let you know that you can ship now. You print out a shipping label from your PP account, and probably get a discount off PO counter prices. This is paid out from the Held funds. In 21 days, the payment is released to you.
- Your buyer does not pay promptly. You send a polite enquiry on Day Three after the purchase. If he does not then pay up, you open an Unpaid Item Dispute. If he still does not pay, your get your selling fees (FVF) back and he gets that Strike mentioned above.
Meanwhile , I only hope this was not a pricey item and your financial loss is not too great.
