What happens after winning an auction?

You are obliged to complete the purchase

When you click Buy It Now or win an auction, you have entered a legal contract to buy the item. That means you must pay the cost of the item and any delivery or other charges outlined in the listing.

What happens next?

For Buy It Now purchases, the item will be added to your eBay shopping basket. To complete the purchase, you'll need to click on the basket and follow the payment instructions.

But, when you successfully win an auction, it's slightly different. eBay will send you an email showing the total price you're required to pay, including postage or delivery costs.

For either type of purchase, once payment details are confirmed, your goods will normally be sent to you at the address you entered into your eBay account. If you want to send the item to a different address, or you prefer to pick it up in person, you can confirm these details at the checkout.

How soon do I have to pay?

For Australian eBay users, you have four days to pay before the seller can report non-payment by opening up a dispute with eBay. That could harm your reputation on eBay, and make it harder to buy or sell items in the future.

If you do have any sudden change of circumstance that might delay paying for goods, it's always a good idea to let the seller know by contacting them via eBay - it doesn't affect the seller's rights to payment, but you might find them more understanding if they know what is going on.

How do I pay?

eBay allows you to pay for items using PayPal, major credit and debits cards or a bank deposit. You may also be able to pay using other methods, including AfterPay, Google Pay and ApplePay. You can find out more about these in the How to pay online course in this topic.

eSafety Tip

It's generally best to use PayPal to handle your transactions on eBay. Avoid paying by bank deposit, because typing account details incorrectly could mean you send your money to the wrong account, and won't be able to get it back.

What if there are problems?

If there are any problems, contact the seller via eBay first. If you can't resolve the issue that way, you can open a dispute with eBay. We'll look at how to solve complaints in more detail in the next activity, How to avoid or resolve a problem on eBay.

Well done!

You've reached the end of the What happens after winning an auction? activity. You have learned when and how to pay for purchases, and what to do if you run into problems.

Next up, you'll find out more about what happens if things don't go smoothly in the How to avoid or resolve a problem on eBay activity.