If you have excessive unpaid items or canceled transactions on your account, we may limit or end your ability to buy

In reality they will never do this. Why would you block a potential customer who takes 20 attempts to make their mind up what they want? Do M&S stop people from wandering around and looking at stuff?

In this case rule one is being ignored.

Unenforcable rule. You cannot take a consumers rights away.

But again to me this just seems like a way to cause an argument and stop people from wanting to buy off ebay.

Its not really. While a lot of sellers on Ebay are commercial enterprises it is primarily a selling and auction platform open to anyone and the ‘Now’ element of ‘Buy it Now’ is a much a function of the site’s auction role as as straight forward sales. The person/business selling an item might only have one of those items to sell and even commercial sellers with multiple items to sell need to register how many multiples they’ve got….and keep that committed stock in tally with any other online or physical sales channels they might have. If you commit to buy (but don’t buy) then you’re making that item unavailable to anyone else until the vendor has realised you’ve stiffed them, tried to resolve it and then relsted again – which is in your words  “a barrier to trade”. In your case the seller giving your two weeks grace is an extremely generous interpretation of ‘Now’.

Even then – although the capacity to place items in your basket and not immediately complete the transaction is a function of a lot of retail sites – and to expect those items to still be there when they visit another time – its not something that the retailer benefits from greatly in stock control terms. Fine if its for the duration of a session if you’re umming and ahhhing between options as part of the process of actually making a purchase – but using the basket as a ‘wish list’ over a longer term is unhelpful. If you were a retailer yourself how would you keep on top of stock for a business if there are dozens, hundreds, thousands even, of shoppers all using your e-commerce site as a post-it note?

we may limit or end your ability to buy

In reality they will never do this.

Personallty as a private seller I hardly have the time to list and sell items as it it so I always put measures in place to block sales to buyers with a history of non-payment. Commercial sellers are competing with each other on price  – and the way to do that is to keep the cost of sales to a minimum. Time is money. Its not worth having your time wasted. In your situation they’ve had to invest more time, thought and effort is not selling something that they would in selling it.

Why do you think your failure to buy things makes you a customer that sellers are hungry for?

I’ve got my account set up to refuse anyone with the minimum possible number of unpaid items.

Sometimes I get messages from people acting confused that they can’t buy something I’m selling, I actually find this reassuring that it’s working and I’ve never rued the loss of their custom.

You’re going to ridiculous lengths to justify your ineptitude OP. Take it on board and behave better in future, now you understand how it works.

You’re going to ridiculous lengths to justify your ineptitude OP.

I don’t think I ever denied being inept. I’m pretty sure I owned it.

Waits for “ebayer hit buy it now and then changed her mind” thread…

🤣

I can understand the ebay sellers getting all self-righteous about blocking people with a history of changing their mind and not completing the transaction – and if they were selling unbeatable low priced new goods with guarantee then it would really mean something … but when they are typically only selling second hand stuff that people often in two minds about taking a chance on buying anyways, it just makes a potential buyer think twice and consider paying a bit more for something new and guaranteed.

Some people obviously forgetting what ebay is …

In reality they will never do this. Why would you block a potential customer who takes 20 attempts to make their mind up what they want? Do M&S stop people from wandering around and looking at stuff?

You are still not getting it. It is not about making up their mind. The Buy It Now option is the same as winning something on an auction. By pressing Buy It Now you have ‘won’ the item, it is no longer for sale to anyone else, it is yours. It is like going to an auction house, bidding for an item and winning it and then walking out without paying for it. Do that every week and the auction house is going to be pretty pissed off with you and would stop you from bidding.

Some people obviously forgetting what ebay is …

Not really. I sell loads of second hand stuff but sell it Buy It Now but I take advantage of the Immediate Payment required option. Why do I do that? because selling on auction the wining bidder doesn’t pay meaning filing non payment, relisting item after 7 days, waiting for another auction to run only to get another winner who doesn’t pay. Can get just a bit frustrating.