eBay is one of the most popular and longest-running marketplaces. Its bidding system, combined with instant purchases, offers a unique experience when it comes to buying new and second-hand products.

When a user bids or decides to opt for the Buy Now option on eBay, the question arises as to which payment methods they can use. As a seller, it’s best to offer a wide range of options for users, so that they can always find their preferred payment method which encourages them to bid or directly purchase your products.

In this article, we’re going to let you know all about the different payment methods available on eBay and the pros and cons of each one.

How to pay and be paid on eBay

As a seller, it’s good practice to ensure that the payment process is as easy as possible for users, which makes offering a range of options a great idea. For this, eBay allows you to enable several different payment methods for users to pay for their purchases on the platform.

From your eBay seller-account settings, you can enable the forms of payment you want to offer your users when they purchase your products.

The payment methods available on eBay are:

Bank cards

When we talk about bank cards, this means both debit cards (charged to a bank account) and credit cards. This is one of the most popular payment methods for making online purchases around the world and should always be one of the options offered by sellers.

However, many users prefer not to use bank cards for their online payments, mainly for security reasons and a fear of exposing their bank account. Many others simply do not use debit or credit cards, opting for other modern online payment methods (particularly young people).

PayPal

Without a doubt, PayPal is the largest payment gateway in the world, and one of the payment methods you should always offer on eBay. The two most noteworthy advantages are: that it keeps the user’s bank account out of the online-payment process and that it offers a buyer-protection system (payment is not released to the seller until the buyer confirms that the entire process has been successfully completed).

A downside of PayPal is its high commission rates, which leads many users to opt for other payment methods.

Google Pay or Apple Pay

Recently, eBay has implemented two new payment methods: Google Pay and Apple Pay. By doing so, the platform has modernised itself and now offers new options for users to pay for their purchases with modern and safe payment methods.

With this option, you can offer users the ability to pay for their purchases from their mobile phones, whether they use Android or Apple iPhone devices.

Today, more users make online purchases on their smartphones than on computers or laptops, which is why it’s important that sellers offer payment methods adapted to these types of devices.

eBay gift cards

An eBay gift card is the perfect idea for a present, as it comes with a balance that can only be used on the platform.

These eBay gift cards contain a code to be entered on the platform in order to access the spending balance. As a seller, you don’t need to enable this payment method, as buyers can use the balance on these cards to buy any product on eBay.

Bank transfer

Bank transfers are a payment method that consists of moving money from one bank account to another, regardless of whether or not these accounts belong to the same bank.

This is an option you can choose to enable on eBay, although it is not very popular with users; however, it can be useful to accept bank transfers if you want to sell high-value products on the platform. Many users prefer to use bank transfers when making online purchases for large sums of money.

The main downside to this payment method is the time required to confirm it. The customer will need to transfer the value of the purchase between bank accounts, which will likely take several days to complete, delaying the delivery process.

How to pay by bank transfer on eBay

In order to pay by transfer on eBay, the product’s seller must have enabled this option. Once you’ve won an auction or made a direct purchase, you’ll need to make the transfer and send proof to the seller.

The product will be shipped after a few days, when the seller verifies that the transfer has been completed.

Money orders

eBay continues to offer payment methods that were very popular in the past and which were widely used in the platform’s early days, such as money orders. The downside of this type of payment, made via post, is that the buyer will need to travel to a post office to make the order for the value of the purchase, which can be an inconvenience and cause delays to the delivery process.

What’s more, not all countries have a money-order service that works with the UK.

Cash on delivery

This is another payment method which has fallen into disuse, as it implies a great risk for the seller. This consists of buyers making the payment for their purchase upon delivery to their home or provided postal address.

If a buyer does not make the payment, the seller will suffer huge losses (preparation of the shipment, shipping costs, and return costs).

As a seller, it’s best to disable this payment method on your eBay account.

Cash payments

Cash payment is not a reliable way of buying and selling on eBay, which is we recommend not enabling this option and instead relying on another payment method for users.

When eBay first started, it was very common for users to make purchases with cash, first sending the money by mail to the seller, who, upon receipt, would make the shipment.

Today, this method is obsolete, as a result of the risks it involves, and the time taken to complete the process.

We’ve taken a look at the different payment methods that eBay offers on its platform and which, as a seller, you can enable for your products, allowing users to select the one that best suits them when it comes to paying for their purchases.

To guarantee more sales on eBay, it’s important to offer the payment methods used by the greatest number of users. Otherwise, many users will choose not to bid on items as they will not be able to use their preferred payment method. For example, if the option to pay by PayPal has not been enabled, you’ll lose potential customers on the platform who exclusively use this method to buy online.

You’ll need to bear in mind that not all payment methods come with eBay’s customer guarantee, and that communication between buyer and seller is only possible once the payment and shipping process has been completed.