eBay announced a new feature in December it said it was testing, and it appears to be rolling out more broadly in recent weeks. While it has the potential to solve a major problem some buyers and sellers have around combined shipping, there also seems to be a lack of awareness of the feature on the part of sellers, which is heightening its potential drawbacks.
eBay formally announced "Shop more, ship together" on December 17, 2024 (it had told sellers attending its Winter Seller Check-in on November 14th about the feature). But it doesn't appear eBay provided any updates since then about what is sometimes referred to as Autopay.
The feature gives auction bidders the option of paying for their winning item within one hour, or electing to wait 7 days before paying while they browse the seller's other items. This way, they can ask the seller for combined shipping discounts if they win more than one item, up to 7 days later. With either option, the payment is made automatically.
For sellers, it's a tradeoff between waiting 7 days to get paid (which can feel like an eternity) versus having a buyer win multiple auctions and having to refund shipping costs when buyers request combined shipping.
eBay told sellers in its December announcement:
"When bidding in Auctions, buyers may choose to Shop and ship separately to have their payment process automatically 1 hour after winning an auction, or choose Shop more, ship together, to get up to 7 days to shop other items from the seller that qualify for combined shipping. With either option, buyers can still choose to check out manually at any time."
Another advantage of the feature that sellers may not realize: eBay actively encourages the buyers who have chosen to wait 7 days to shop again from those sellers, which could result in additional sales. In addition, sellers can see the autopay date (in Manage All Orders in Seller Hub) and can choose to send them a coupon to encourage them to shop more with them, or they can message buyers and show them other items that are eligible.
A seller apparently unaware of the "Shop more, ship together" feature told us recently that they had sold an item on August 15, and received the following message from eBay:
"Congratulations on your sale! Your buyer, (redacted) is still shopping. To give them time to shop, we'll process their payment on Aug 22, 2025, unless they checkout early.
"If they win more auctions or add items you've listed to their cart during this shopping window, they can request shipping discounts. If they do, you can send them an invoice from the Selling Overview section of My eBay. If you already offer shipping discounts, they will be applied to the buyer's order at checkout."
The seller wondered why eBay would wait a week to process the buyer's payment and said the delay could impact them financially. "What if I had been counting on the payment to pay a bill of my own? Now I will have to waste time checking up on this sale if the buyer hasn't paid within the week eBay is allowing them."
Because some sellers are unfamiliar with the feature, it's possible they are filing Unpaid Item claims against the buyers 4 days after their purchase. In January, a buyer who was using the Shop more, ship together feature, and who had even reached out to the seller to tell them they would be bidding on more of their items, said at the 4-day mark, the seller cancelled their order.
In the eBay announcement in December, it told sellers, "To participate in this test, you'll need to turn on combined shipping and also require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid." Aside from turning off combined shipping - which sellers may not wish to do - eBay didn't say if there was a way to turn off the 7-day auto-payment option for bidders.
The following video eBay published on YouTube in November is well worth watching for any seller who lists in the auction format and offers combined shipping, though it's important to note eBay may have made some changes to this "test" since the fall:
This is just a way for Buyers to delay paying - just watch how NPB increases once this goes into effect. Combined shipping has been offered by Sellers since I have been on Ebay (six months after its inception) and it only took an Email to the Seller asking if this was possible. Every time, I had Sellers oblige. Now Ebay decides it's time for Ebay to get involved.
Ebay, stop interfering with the relationship between Buyers & Sellers and let them work things out on their own.
This just goes to show the increase Ebay is seeing Buyers not follow through and paying for what they have bought.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: papergoy
Sun Aug 31 08:40:37 2025
Not to be rude, but if you are a full time seller, and it's not some grail item that sold, if you fail to pay a bill due to having to wait an additional few days for one auction...well...I'd suggest you work on that business plan as it's not working out for you. Get a line of credit if need be, but a six day week on a $50 sale shouldn't make or break your business.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: papergoy
Sun Aug 31 08:41:08 2025
Sorry- fat fingers- a six day WAIT, my bad. Commenting this morning isn't working out for me!
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: Snapped
Sun Aug 31 09:23:45 2025
“… six day week [wait) on a $50 sale shouldn't make or break your business.”
Expressing an opinion is fine. Here’s another one.
How about that no one seller should presume to tell any other seller what ‘should or should not’ be tolerable in the other’s business practices.
How about that eBay? Let the SELLER of the item decide for themselves what kind of what is effectively an extension of credit to provide for THEIR buyers, instead of eBay deciding for everybody else what is best for everybody.
Unless of course eBay is willing to pay the seller on the seller’s terms, and then deal with the buyer’s payment whenever they can coax them to actually, you know, fulfill THEIR part of what eBay calls a “binding contract”.
Yeah, didn’t think so. That would require eBay assuming some actual ‘risk’ themselves. Even if a six day wait to be paid IS actually NOT a burden to eBay’s business.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: quirkyantiques
Sun Aug 31 11:12:40 2025
Can this be gotten around by checking "immediate payment required"? I know I have that option with buy it now but I rarely run auctions any more.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: quirkyantiques
Sun Aug 31 11:17:45 2025
I would never check "combined shipping" as an option in the first place though. Some items cannot be shipped together, like porcelain and glass. I would prefer to refund additional shipping paid myself after I determine what an increased size or weight box is likely to cost. It seems if you turn off "combined shipping available" you wont get shoved into this mess.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: etectra
Sun Aug 31 22:05:52 2025
So now we have to wait up to 7 days to find out the bidder is actually a international buyer using a freight forwarder or a buying agent, which are banned in my terms.
So now the same bidder can screw up multiple listings before I am able to research their shipping address to determine they are not in fact U.S. bidders.
After finding they are international bidders violating my terms I have to ban their account, relist all the items and then have it happen all over again.
But then if its a U.S. bidder their shipping address has not been verified by eBay as being an actual U.S. because eBay, unlike most other large companies, can't be bothered to use USPS Address Verification product when the buyer signs for their account in the first place.
Why list anything at this point as I do better donating the items to charity for a tax deduction.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: my2cents
Mon Sep 1 01:49:03 2025
While some sellers don't like it, others do. Sellers were complaining about requiring payment within an hour after the auction ends was costing them sales when the buyer wants multiple auctions and combined shipping savings.
It just depends on the needs of the seller if this will work well for them or not.
eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
by: pace306
Mon Sep 1 07:00:45 2025
7 days to look around for a better price then cancel your purchase (which eBay gave the buyers the power to do).
It’s not about what’s good for the seller - they already know what to do - it’s about giving THE BUYER more power over what happens “lest eBay face the mighty wrath of the charge back”.
eBay is deathly afraid of them
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eBay Gives Winning Bidders 7 Days to Pay
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