Bank transfers?

[lady.stark]

A buyer is asking me if I can accept a bank transfer. Told her that she can pay with her bank account through PayPal. She says she has a problem with her account without getting into details and asks why I would not accept a bank transfer. To be honest, I don't feel comfortable giving her this kind of information.

Any thoughts on how to respond?

[cumos55 · Accepted solution]

Bank transfers are not allowed as a method of payment on eBay.

A bank transfer gives a buyer a direct access to your bank account....

It is Paypal or nothing.....If it is Paypal as the only method of payment on your listing ... then buyer must pay with Paypal or agree to cancel the transaction

Make sure all of your communications are through eBay Messages.....  This becomes an "official" record on eBay  ... and can be viewed by someone on eBay if there is a continued problem with this buyer.

Report this buyer

If  the buyer continues to ask for a bank transfer.. then  the only option is to cancel the transaction.... contact eBay customer service if necessary to cancel the transaction...  

If buyer chooses not to respond through eBay Messages  then you know there is a problem with the transaction..

Always communicate with a buyer through eBay Messages 

[cumos55]

Your buyer must agree to the cancellation... otherwise it could become a defect.

Communicate through eBay Messages  and have buyer respond through eBay Messages   specifically with respect to...

(1) Bank transfers as the only  payment option requested by the buyer... and 

(2) then cancellation  of the transaction  if a  bank transfer is the buyer's only payment choice

[lady.stark]

The buyer did not bid yet. She was asking in advance fortunately. Thanks for your advice!

[cumos55]

Then you have the option of choosing to block her from bidding.

[snoopwiz]

Was the buyer in Canada as well? Perhaps they were asking you if you are ok with what is called an "Interac Transfer"  Your buyer does not have access to your account. You need only supply your email. and arrange a security question/answer. Period. Eazy Peazy. A win-win for the seller.

If a Canadian buyer wanted to pay me by Interac, giddy-up.  In a heartbeat. 

Why the knee-jerk "block them?"

FWIW, If the buyer is from Europe, "Bank to Bank" transfers are super-common there but, between Europe & Canada, your bank will most likely ding you with a relatively healthy "fee" to accommodate that type of transfer.  

I do not think there is a fee at all for Interac Transfer. 

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@cumos55 wrote:

Bank transfers are not allowed as a method of payment on eBay.

A bank transfer gives a buyer a direct access to your bank account....

---

Not true.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html

...

Bank transfers do not give a buyer any more access to your account than a cheque does.

It does however, increase your financial risk level.

...

A seller is restricted in the payment options they offer in their listings.

A buyer is not.

A seller is allowed to accept whatever method of payment the buyer suggests, but at the risk of losing any eBay seller protection and, depending on the payment method, increased exposure to fraud.

[femmefan1946]

Is an Interac transfer 'electronically viewable' for purposes of eBay disputes?

This would of course be of more value to buyers than to sellers.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@ypdc_dennis wrote:

---

@cumos55 wrote:

Bank transfers are not allowed as a method of payment on eBay.

A bank transfer gives a buyer a direct access to your bank account....

---

Not true.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html

...

Bank transfers do not give a buyer any more access to your account than a cheque does.

It does however, increase your financial risk level.

...

A seller is restricted in the payment options they offer in their listings.

A buyer is not.

A seller is allowed to accept whatever method of payment the buyer suggests, but at the risk of losing any eBay seller protection and, depending on the payment method, increased exposure to fraud.

---

How does it increase a seller's financial risk?  Once the money is transferred to their account, neither ebay or the buyer has access to it. If the buyer uses a bank transfer, I would think that they are the ones more at risk since according to ebay, they would not be eligible for the mbg.

What's covered

• The buyer made the purchase on eBay.ca via checkout or an eBay invoice with one of the following payment methods:

  • PayPal

  • PayPal Credit

  • Credit card or debit card

• The item was paid for in a single payment (including payments with PayPal Credit).

[snoopwiz]

Is an Interac transfer 'electronically viewable' for purposes of eBay disputes?

This would of course be of more value to buyers than to sellers.

I suppose the seller could be an a-hole and say they did not get paid and the buyer having (gasp) "broken the rules" and paid by what was convenient for them as opposed to what was convenient/profitable for eBay, would be up the proverbial creek however, is that really going to happen?

[pierrelebel]

Please allow me to add my perspective.

Accepting a Interac bank transfer is by far the safest way for a seller to accept payment for a transaction.  The safest.

And no, sellers do not break any eBay rules when accepting an offer from a buyer to pay by Interac bank transfer.

Good Luck.

PS - When using Interac email bank transfer, buyers DO NOT have access to your bank account information (as shown on your cheques)

http://interac.ca/en/interac-e-transfer-consumer.html

[lady.stark]

---

@snoopwiz wrote:

FWIW, If the buyer is from Europe, "Bank to Bank" transfers are super-common there but, between Europe & Canada, your bank will most likely ding you with a relatively healthy "fee" to accommodate that type of transfer.  

---

The buyer is from France. She says she do it all the time...

[pierrelebel · Accepted solution]

That is a different story.

Yes, bank-to-bank are common on eBay in Europe  Unfortunately, she cannot do it when paying to Canada.

[ricarmic · Accepted solution]

I believe you can do it but as snoop says the fees are awful.

The last time I checked my banks fees were $30....

[lady.stark]

I just verified with Desjardins online, and it seems I can fill out a form to accept a bank transfer. However, it is giving all my bank information. I don't feel comfortable doing that. They do not mention fees, but I'm sure they are quite high.

I remember back in the beginning of eBay, cashing a cheque from Europe cost me a fortune. So I imagine that a bank transfer would be about the same. She says it only cost her 3 euros to do it. But I doubt it will be the same for me.

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

Seems too much trouble for a transaction unless it's of a significant amount. Personally I would not go through the trouble and simply say I only accept Paypal, end of story.

[lady.stark]

You are right. It is a $3 item + shipping, so not worth all the trouble and fees. I politely suggested PayPal again, but I have the feeling she doesn't - or is not able - to resolve the problem. I offered my help, but she doesn't want to explain it to me. Says she doesn't remember. I'll just forget about this buyer and move on.

[lady.stark]

This is very strange... I got an eBay message this evening concerning this particular item the woman wanted to buy.

Warning - Offers to sell outside of eBay

I NEVER offered her to sell outside of eBay. Do you think she could have reported me because I did not agree to her bank transfer? If not, this is a REALLY weird coincidence!

[cumos55]

All messages on eBay massages  are tracked....

The "bots"  look for key words......  and the wording  "Bank Transfers   might have created a red flag...  in a North American situation

Look on your Dashboard   to see if something is present there that should not be there....

You may want to call eBay  and correct the impression...

Communicating via eBay Messages is important   in such a situation....  where your intent is noted  and someone on eBay can see what actually happened

The bots gave you a red flag when it was not needed.

--------------------------------  

I had something like this happen where a buyer paid... and then wanted to make a local pickup...  Payment was refunded  ..... I got a cancellation defect.

I called eBay  and the eBay person can see that the local pickup was arranged on eBay Messages... and buyer paid with a local pickup.

The Bots  are NOT human.....

[lady.stark]

But the strangest part is that I got this message once the auction ended. Not during our 3 days conversation. Plus I wrote to the buyer in French. And eBay's message was in English. If a bot detected it, it would have been in French no? Oh well... the message says it is just a warning. No action taken. But I'll still verify my dashboard closely in the following days.