Hi All,

I thought I would share a recent eBay experience, in the hope that it might help other folks to avoid an odd - and vexing - problem.

This past weekend, I attempted to place a bid, in an auction's closing moments, on a pen. The bid was higher (by more than the minimum increment) than the then-current price. But, to my surprise, the bid was rejected. That was a first for me.

I haven't had any other recent eBay issues, so my first inclination was to check the listing; was there some restriction (e.g., non-shipment to certain places) that might have automatically blocked my bid? The only such limitation I had noticed in the listing was one that I pay little attention to: "PayPal account required." I've had an active account for years, so I didn't see a potential issue there.

Next I contacted the seller: did that individual block my bid for some reason? She was unhappy to hear about the problem, and assured me that she had not prevented me from bidding.

Happily, eBay support was able to sort it all out. Apparently it's possible, for no reason at all, for your eBay account to become "unlinked" from your PayPal account (the term makes me think of that memorable word from the old Prisoner series: "UNMUTUAL!"). And if that happens, then you will not be able to participate in any auction that requires a PayPal account, because - for all eBay knows - you don't have one. The really insidious thing is that this "unlinking" doesn't have any day-to-day symptoms - in that respect, it's like hypertension or high cholesterol. You can go along for weeks or months, bidding and winning, and all will seemingly be well: you will be able to click on your sellers' invoices and seamlessly proceed to PayPal in order to make payment. It's only an auction with a PayPal account requirement that will create a problem; and that's what happened here.

To fix the problem, you go to your "My eBay" page, click on "Addresses" over on the left, and follow the procedure to re-link your PayPal account. The screens are a bit confusing, because it almost seems as if you're creating a brand-new PayPal account. You're not; nothing about your existing account will change. You're simply re-establishing the link.

eBay support suggested that it might be wise to click on that "Addresses" link periodically, just to make sure that you haven't become "unlinked" again.

Sorry to go on at length, but I wanted to describe the problem, and the solution, as clearly as possible. Not a matter of life and death, but definitely something to be aware of. (Who knows? Maybe I'll get that same pen cheaper next time....)

Cheers,

Jon

Thanks for going to the trouble to post the problem. It's nice to know something like that in advance.

mehitabel

Jon

Thank you for the tip. I checked and mine was as you described. I would have been heartbroken to miss a pen for something silly like this.

POE

Hi POE,

Thank you so much for your post. I'm really pleased to know that the information was helpful!

As it happens, the pen I missed out on (remembering, of course, that there's no particular reason to think that I would have won it) wasn't just another run-of-the-mill eBay special. But the universe being the place it is, I'm reasonably confident I'll have another chance at it.

Cheers,

Jon

Hi Jon,
Thank you for taking the time to post about your unlucky experience...and for also providing a solution to it!
(and sorry to hear about the auction you lost...how frustrating!)

I had a similar problem years ago and it reared its ugly head when I was trying to pay for an auction I'd won using my PayPal account. I had taken the necessary steps to become a "Verified" PayPal account holder but after I paid via PayPal by clicking on the Pay Now! PayPal link on the auction page my PayPal receipt still showed me as a "Unverified" PayPal-er. I tried to find the answer to my problem on the PayPal website and eBay's too, but to no avail (maybe this has changed since my problem). I then called PayPal and the friendly lady from Kansas helped me to link the two.