How long should I wait for an invoice?

[pmlinne]

I made a Buy It Now Purchase that indicated there was free shipping.   I went to pay for it but I couldn't.   The seller had not indicated a shipping cost - I imagine it would be zero since they offered free shipping.  I emailed them asking for an invoice so I can pay, but haven't heard anything from them.  I'm thinking they forgot about it and went on holiday!   Sent another email today.  Got an email from Ebay telling me to pay, but there's no invoice.  How long do I wait for the seller to send me one?   Thanks.

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

The seller had not indicated a shipping cost - I imagine it would be zero since they offered free shipping. 

Well, no.

If the seller does not indicate a shipping cost to Canada, it means he doesn't plan to ship to Canada.

The Free Shipping is domestic only, although some Canadian sellers, listing here on dotCA, will give Free Shipping to Canada, and $0.00 shipping to the USA. 

Rarely will a US shipper offer the same deal to Canadian buyers.

If your seller is in China, he might include the price of shipping in the asking price. (Which is what Free Shipping really means.) Since he has much the same cost for shipping anywhere in the world, he may offer Free Worldwide Shipping.

However most Chinese shippers are quite sophisticated and hare set up to bill the customer automatically, precluding the need for communication, which runs into language barriers.

To find the shipping cost, go back to the listing, open the Shipping and Handling tab and identify your Canadian postal code.

That will give you your shipping cost.

If there is no shipping cost to Canada, you have a different problem.

The seller may continue to ignore you. This costs him the fees he pays to eBay.

He may Report you as an Unwelcome Buyer. This gets the transaction cancelled and his fees back, but I believe it puts a black mark on your Buyer account. (Not an important one.)

[femmefan1946]

BTW, it is not usually a good idea to buy and sell the same product on the same ID. You can have several IDs if you want. They can share a single Paypal account , but each needs its own email address.
If you do this, use the older/ high feedback ID for selling.

[pmlinne]

Thanks femmefan1946 for your reply. I have tried going back to the listing and putting in my postal code, but I get the message " One or more of the items below can't be purchased because the seller has not specified shipping costs to the location selected". We both live in the same province so I would think the free shipping would apply.

I have tried emailing several times asking for an invoice to be sent. The Ebay representative gave me the contact information yesterday and said they would be sending out a courtesy reminder to send an invoice. Still didn't get one today so I called (as had been suggested). A recorded message said that the number was no longer in use. Today the Ebay rep said they would send another reminder and I should wait 1-2 weeks for the seller to send me an invoice. I wish there was some way of cancelling this transaction so I can move on and try to get the item from another seller. Of course, to mutually cancel it, I have to contact the seller.... which I can't do! I sure don't want to get a black mark on my account when I have been trying now for several days to make payment. I guess I have been spoiled by sellers who quickly send out their invoices!