paypal payment "unclaimed"?

[Joel_Cairo]

I won an auction on wednesday, and got a really good price. I'm beginning to suspect that the price was better than the seller wanted (though above his reserve- I did win after all), because I Requested Total Payment from him twice, then eventually just did my own math and paypalled him. Still now word from him, but now paypal has that payment listed as "unclaimed". I've never seen this before, what does it mean? Has he just not logged in to withdraw, or has he actively chosen to refuse payment (my bank account hasn't been debited yet either). I'm really hoping that this guy won't just avoid me forever, because, dammit, I want my pants!

Anybody know what's up with that?

 

[Arethusa]

It means he hasn't accepted the payment. Maybe he's avoiding you, maybe he's just busy, maybe he's just lazy. Hard to tell from your end.

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

It means he hasn't accepted the payment. Maybe he's avoiding you, maybe he's just busy, maybe he's just lazy. Hard to tell from your end.

yeah its only ben 2 days afterall... I just wish i had some clue... People get negs for being "nonpaying buyers", but what happens if a seller just bails out (and leaves the $$ on the table)?

 

[Arethusa]

He can't leave the money on the table. You can withdraw the payment if he hasn't accepted it, and after a while, if he doesn't accept or reject it, assumably it'll default to being canceled. If he just refuses your money and doesn't send it, you can leave him negative feedback for refusing to send the item, and that's about it. It's ******, but at least you don't lose anything out of it.

It's only been two days, though. That's a fairly trivial amount of time when it comes to eBay. I really wouldn't worry about it yet.

 

[Full Canvas]

Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

Anybody know what's up with that?

In addition to the quite likely other suggestions, I would add that you should very carefully check the payee's PayPal address and be certain it matches your PayPal records.

Additionally, send the seller a polite "I sent payment to the following PayPal address" type of note. Ask the seller to verify that the address is correct. One time, a seller provided the wrong PayPal address for me.

_________________

 

[EL72]

FC is right. It most likely means the address you sent payment to is not registered as his paypal account or the payment would not need to be "claimed". I would cancel it, which you can do given it's not claimed, and try to find out his correct account.

 

[Joel_Cairo]

hmmm... I did it straight through ebay's checjout... wouldn't he have needed a real paypal account to set himself up as a seller...?

 

[Arethusa]

If you did it through ebay checkout, it went to the right place. You don't need a paypal account to be a seller; a few holdouts still only do money orders (and a few tried bidpay and google checkout, but ebay is an extremely aggressive monopoly and you basically get fucked if you try and use these).

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

a few holdouts still only do money orders

I considered that might be the case, so i went back and checked the auction, in which he clearly staes "paypal is great", so I guess its back to the waiting game... I did, however, send him another message letting him know I'd paid, and asking him to confirm his papal account.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

so i went back and checked the auction

Damn, a great deal you got there.

 

[norcaltransplant]

Given the seller's 100% feedback and 500+ transactions, I would give him a few days, especially after the Superbowl. Who knows, maybe the seller was at the Big Game.

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by whacked

Damn, a great deal you got there.

agreed! I was psyched to see there was a used pair, with a stiched up hole no less, as I knew there'd be fewer bidders for something like that. I put in a $30 snipe, figuring that was as high as I'd go for what would essentially be a "fit test" pair (before springing for a NWT, which is running about $80 right now). Also, with a better pic of that freebie shirt, I can probably recoup a nice portion of that $26 (or just keep it). Still no word form the seller, but paypal finally says the transaction is "completed", so I'll take that as a sign that he's A. alive and B. planning on sending my my goods. All in all, I'm pretty pumped up about it.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

agreed! I was psyched to see there was a used pair, with a stiched up hole no less, as I knew there'd be fewer bidders for something like that. I put in a $30 snipe, figuring that was as high as I'd go for what would essentially be a "fit test" pair (before springing for a NWT, which is running about $80 right now). Also, with a better pic of that freebie shirt, I can probably recoup a nice portion of that $26 (or just keep it). Still no word form the seller, but paypal finally says the transaction is "completed", so I'll take that as a sign that he's A. alive and B. planning on sending my my goods. All in all, I'm pretty pumped up about it.
I'm not entirely sure that $80 is the price for NWT RRLs, as I've bought 3 pairs in the last two weeks and the most I've paid is $49.99. That deal you got seems decent though assuming the repair is good, but not so good that the seller is going to renege, IMO.

 

[VMan]

The free RRL shirt the seller is throwing in is nice, too. I like flannel shirts.