buyer requesting invoice in USD

[treasur75]

I have a buyer with no feedback who was the only bidder on something that went cheap and I don't care if it sells. They're asking for an invoice in USD because they're having trouble paying. 

Why would they be having trouble paying?  I don't see any way of ending an invoice in USD.  

I'd be happy to help but I don't know what I can do. Can this person screw up my feedback if I can't provide them a way to pay?

[byto253]

There is no way to issue a currency in a different currency for an item that is listed.   The only way to accommodate the request would be to cancel the sale, then list it on .com and they would buy it there in US$.    It does not sound like this situation is one that you would want that with.   

There should not be a  problem for them to pay, regardless of currency, if they have the means to pay.  If they can't pay, I suspect they have a bigger issue. 

End of day, they have the obligation to complete the sale in the currency it was listed in.  I would just send back a polite email that unfortunately that  is not something that can be done on eBay.   They have 4 days to pay, and if they don't just cancel the sale for non-payment and relist.  

[treasur75]

I've never bought anything on Ebay so I'm not sure what trouble she's running in to.  I recently had my first American buyer and he paid right away with no problem.  Is it that the method of payment she expected to use doesn't allow purchasing in foreign currency?

[msau4301]

Sometimes they just don't understand that  they are still going to be paying in US dollars. I've had several people over the years contact me and say why is it not in US dollars on checkout?... or they are trying to pay why is it more (because the amount they are seeing is the Canadian amount). I always tell them not to worry, it is because I'm listed on the Canadian site and the amount they are seeing is Canadian (that's all we can invoice as byto has said) and not to worry, they will be paying the US equivalent that is automatically done by eBay, and would have been the amount they saw/committed to when bidding/buying.

[phc64]

I have also encountered several instances of a U.S. based buyer requesting an invoice in U.S. funds. After I inform them that under the eBay system an invoice cannot be generated in a currency other than the currency of the listing and that the conversion from one currency to the other will be done by either PayPal or their credit card company, everything always proceeds smoothly.

[treasur75]

OK, maybe they're just confused about how it works and don't want to even try and pay it because they see the big number on the screen and think ebay is just going to take their American money at par.

[reallynicestamps]

Tell them to change the URL on their computer from dotCA to dotCOM.

They will then see the pricing in US dollars.

Warn them that this is an estimate based on current foreign exchange rates and may change at any time. (It's pretty stable and pretty accurate but can change.)

However, if they are using Paypal or a credit card, those companies will automatically make the change from their payment in loonies (and all they have to do is click on Pay) to USD.

I'd mention that if they have ever travelled outside the USA they have probably used a USD credit card for purchases in other currencies without problems.  However, less than 40% of Americans have passports.

Either you have a panicky newbie, who is only barely aware that other countries have different currencies, or you have a scammer.

Given your low FB rating, I'd bet on a scammer trying to get you to take the transaction off-eBay and steal it. And all your sales have been of sterling silver, which only confirms me in my opinion.

OK, maybe they're just confused about how it works and don't want to even try and pay it because they see the big number on the screen and think ebay is just going to take their American money at par.

If you think so, let them know that they got a better deal than they thought, since $100Cdn is only about $75Cdn.

Do NOT take the transaction off eBay. Do NOT respond to texts or requests for texts.

After 96 hours, you can open an Unpaid Item claim, end the transaction, and they will not be able to leave feedback.

This is a Good Thing.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

"Hello,

Your invoice has been issued. Please use eBay's checkout feature, it will show you your options for paying in your own currency.

eBay handles payments, individual sellers do not. If you have a question about how currency conversion is handled, or if you would like to know how to find a printable invoice, please contact eBay's customer service team directly. 

Regards,

your name"

Send them that. The problem is either that they do not realize that the currency will convert automatically at checkout. Or, they do not want to pay a currency conversion fee with their credit card, which there is nothing you can do about it. The last possibility is that they are refering to an actual invoice like what you would use for a business purchase, in which case you also are not responsible for that. Since eBay collects taxes they are the one who provides invoices directly to customers now. Either way, just send them the invoice, instruct them to checkout, and let them know that they aren't talking to the right person to solve their problem - they need to speak with eBay.

If they don't pay, cancel after the 4 days or whatever it is that you have to wait for the Buyer Hasn't Paid option. While feedback really doesn't matter much, that should resolve any issue with negative feedback. 

Also, not related to this thread but do not ever send anything to a different address than what your buyer provides at checkout. I only bring this up because looking at your account sales history, you sold a few expensive items. A common scam is that buyers look for accounts that have low feedback scores because they assume the seller is inexperienced and won't know eBay's policies. They come up with a story about why they need the item sent to a different address than what they provided at checkout. If you send to a different address, the buyer can get a refund, even if you sent the item, and even if the buyer asked you to send it to that address in eBay's messages. 

[treasur75]

Everything was fine. They paid. I think she just wasn't sure what to do. 

[reallynicestamps]

It usually does. Good to ask though, the busybodies posters on these Boards have decades of experience, both good and bad, and are often a better source of information than the very carefully worded information from eBay.