ebay and paypal - relationship

S

Sarah Winfield

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Usually when I buy something off ebay, whether by auction or BIN, I simply wait for an invoice which I pay immediately.

However, recently I have bought items from ebay Germany which are causing me some difficulties. I get an invoice but payment is required by "transfer". I click all the prompts but things are not straightforward.

Just what is the relationship between paypal and ebay, please?

I would hate to lose an item and trying to talk to either ebay or paypal just doesn't seem to work.

Thank you.

SW
 
My understanding is that eBay & PayPal operated under the same 'umbrella', but that has changed recently and the two now have separate owners. The requirement that PayPal be offered as a payment method does not extend across all the eBay sites worldwide, but has been so in the UK unless a cash on collection opportunity exists. Before bidding on items abroad it is important the payment options are checked carefully. Some of the methods required by sellers outside the UK can be expensive and risky as there is no buyer protection.
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Usually when I buy something off ebay, whether by auction or BIN, I simply wait for an invoice which I pay immediately.

However, recently I have bought items from ebay Germany which are causing me some difficulties. I get an invoice but payment is required by "transfer". I click all the prompts but things are not straightforward.

Just what is the relationship between paypal and ebay, please?

I would hate to lose an item and trying to talk to either ebay or paypal just doesn't seem to work.

Thank you.

SW
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Did the sellers accept PayPal? Many in Germany particularly do not. When I was into buying via Ebay I used to sort my search to only show items that have sellers that accept PayPal. That way you do not find items that you may like but are difficult to get. As I see it many Germans do not like to pay the PP fees thus by using Money Transfer the cost of getting their Money is born by you with an expensive Bank Transfer. One also tends to find a similar situation in German Model Shops, many of the smaller local ones will not take UK Credit Cards. Note this is a generalisation as I found many on Ebay who were happy with PP so always managed eventually to get what I wanted. My view of Ebay is that if you miss something like a Bus there is always going to be another (eventually), sometimes a better cheeper one.
 
Thank you, I did think anything bought on ebay could be paid for by paypal.

I now have a situation where the seller requires a transfer but I can't find out how to do it. I follow all the rules and answer the questions but still cannot resolve my issue.

All I want to do is to pay for my item, how difficult can that be?

In another transaction the seller agreed to a paypal payment which was simple.

I'm still trying to pay for my item!

SW
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Thank you, I did think anything bought on ebay could be paid for by paypal.

I now have a situation where the seller requires a transfer but I can't find out how to do it. I follow all the rules and answer the questions but still cannot resolve my issue.

All I want to do is to pay for my item, how difficult can that be?

In another transaction the seller agreed to a paypal payment which was simple.

I'm still trying to pay for my item!

SW
Click to expand...

First, message the seller (via eBay) and ask if PayPal is an option..

Second, If they have sent you an invoice, it should have their IBAN and account details on it??
If you are not sure how to do an International transfer, then a trip in to your bank, should provide the help you need..

It will be a pain, and you will be charged for the service by your bank. :(
All part of the learning-curve, I am afraid.. :rolleyes::nod:
 
Spent a good deal of today trying to sort out my ebay purchases and payments.

I seem to have taken a liking to Playmobil RC. I think it is the independence from track power and electrical interruptions.

SW
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Spent a good deal of today trying to sort out my ebay purchases and payments.

I seem to have taken a liking to Playmobil RC. I think it is the independence from track power and electrical interruptions.

SW
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Sarah,
You won't regret it. I bought a "Red" diesel over 20 years ago. It was a really good runner for many years and then I converted it to R/C. It now runs superbly.
 
One of these? (Mine's still track power)

This one is part of a set that I bought from ebay a few years ago still shrink-wrapped!
DSCN1187.JPG

I also have one on yellow/grey which has been converted to DCC and has one of the early MyLocoSound diesel cards fitted.
DSCN1168.JPG
 
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I had one of those too, back when I first started to collect some G scale in the early 1980s.... a local toy shop had some Playmobil track (actually LGB in a PM box, of course) and a couple of points, plus the red diesel loco. I removed some of the more obvious "toy" bits from mine (the handrails etc) and repainted the whole thing in yellow, looked quite acceptable! After a couple of visits over to GRS, it was soon joined by an LGB U class and one of the very basic orange Kof diesels, plus some bits of LGB rolling stock and lots more track.....

Jon.
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Thank you. Which particular Playmobil locomotive was that please?

SW
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The ones shown after your query were in the days when PM was mostly track powered using Motor Blocks similar but not the same as LGB ones. PM i. Those days even used to sell labelled LGB Track in PM boxes all R1 of course. Have one of these blocks in a box waiting for some kind of a job, possibly will be Battery Powered if I do use it.
 
wandgrudd said:
Sarah,

follow the link below this is the information you will need to ask the eBay seller for (same information for all banks), there is normaly a charge to send money to Europe (around £10), but this can be done cheaper (about Max £3) with one of the many online services (i have used Transfer Money Online | Send Money Abroad with TransferWise) no affiliation just a happy customer

International payments and Transfers | Barclays
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Euro Money Transfers by Barclays are free if you do it online, you must have a Barclay account of course. I have done it a couple of times. The only complaint I have is that you have to act fast or their exchange rate will change and you have to star over.

Much better than a trip to the bank and fees of between £10 and £25.
 
Pure cynicism "but then I suppose if you're charging three times as much as the more normal price you are bound to accommodate any request".

SW
 
As a buyer, you have (or "one has", I don't mean "you" personally, Sarah) to accept some sort of responsibility for doing some research to avoid getting ripped off - after all, we have access to the whole of the internet, so the information is out there. As I think someone mentioned earlier in the thread, eBay even goes to the trouble to making it easier for you, by giving you several other listings for the same or very similar items so you can instantly compare the prices that people are asking for them.

In the end, everything is "worth" exactly what somebody will pay for it - no more, no less.

Jon.
 
I appreciate all the comments but there should come a time when "right" prevails and not concur with innocent people being ripped off.

Sometimes, I have to fight the urge to inform the seller.

SW
 
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