Sending professional digital invoices is a critical skill for your success as an eBay seller. Letting payments drag on creates unnecessary hassles in accounts receivable and hurts your cash flow.
In this comprehensive guide, you‘ll learn:
- The strategic reasons for invoicing buyers
- A step-by-step process to send invoices through eBay
- Pro tips to accelerate invoice payments
Plus see visual examples of eBay invoices sent directly from your seller account.
Whether you‘re an independent eBay merchant just starting out or an established powerseller, leverage these invoice best practices to get paid accurately and quickly.
Why Invoicing Matters – By the Numbers
With over 1.5 billion live listings at any moment and 146 million buyers last year alone, eBay dominates ecommerce. At this immense scale, delayed payments from lackadaisical customers adds up fast:
| Year | eBay Gross Merchandise Volume | Estimate of Unpaid Orders Value |
| 2014 | $83 billion | $415 million |
| 2019 | $95 billion | $475 million |
With nearly half a $billion$ in unpaid invoices circulating annually, the importance of prompt follow-up is clear. Don‘t let your profits languish due to buyer negligence.
Now let‘s get into the tactical steps to professionally send invoices from your eBay seller account.
When Should I Be Sending eBay Invoices?
In your journey selling products online, three situations will definitely warrant sending an invoice:
Auction Won But Not Paid: After listing an item through auction, a winner is supposed to pay promptly. But sometimes enthusiastic bidders get distracted after the adrenaline dies down. A friendly invoice delivers an official payment reminder.
Request to Combine Shipping: Savvy shoppers on eBay often purchase more than one item to save on shipping costs. As the seller, you can send a customized invoice detailing the reduced single shipment rate for multiple items. Everyone wins through the convenience of combined orders.
Alter Order Details: Occasionally buyers request changes to the payment method, shipping address, or other minor order tweaks post-purchase. Sending an updated invoice gives you the flexibility to accommodate reasonable requests.
Diverse scenarios pop up when running an eBay business that make invoicing a necessity. But when is the right timing to actually send these payment reminders?
Optimal Invoice Timing Windows
While every seller has their own style, eBay does establish clearcut recommendations on invoice timeliness:
- 1 Day After Sale: Send a courtesy invoice to complete new purchases, serving almost as a receipt to buyers. Get ahead of any non-payments.
- 4 Days After Sale: Issue official payment reminder invoices if no funds received to date. Cue the buyers who need that extra nudge without being too pushy.
- 7 Days After Sale: Attempt one more invoice try conveying this represents "final notice" for payment requirements.
- 30 Days After Sale: If no buyer response by this point, cancel order automatically and relist items for another chance at conversion. Chalk it up as a loss cutting mentality.
Adapt this blueprint to your payment comfort levels, whether more aggressive or conservative based on your risk tolerance. Large volume eBay sellers can take harder lines while smaller players may grant more leeway.
Now let‘s get into the logistics on exactly how to send these invoices from your eBay account…
Step-by-Step: How to Send an eBay Invoice
We‘ll navigate the direct eBay invoice process through six quick steps:
Step 1: Access Your eBay Seller Account
Navigate over to eBay.com and sign into your seller account. This allows access to the backend tools.
Once logged in, you will see key metrics and data to assess business performance. But to send an invoice, we first need to navigate to the appropriate section.
Step 2: Click "Selling" in the top menu
This dropdown menu contains everything related to your merchandise and orders. Send invoices, print shipping labels, manage listings and more from this dashboard.
Step 3: Select “Sold” on the left sidebar
This page displays your recent orders buyers have paid for and closed out. But for invoices, focus attention on the unpaid section:
Step 4: Check the box beside each item you want to invoice
Scan for the desired items with pending payment from customers. Check the box for each one to designate it for the invoice. You can select multiple items at once.
Step 5: Select "Send Invoice"
With your unpaid item(s) checked, go to the upper right Actions menu. Choose “Send Invoice” from the dropdown list.
Step 6: Input specifics then send invoice
A pop-up will open to build and customize the eBay invoice. Verify details like prices, shipping, quantities. Tailor the message with polite but clear payment deadline expectations.
Double check everything looks accurate, then finalize by sending the invoice directly to your customer. They will receive an email notification requesting payment on their eBay purchase made from you.
And that‘s the process! At first it may seem tedious, but becomes second nature once integrated into your seller operations rhythm.
Pro Tips for Getting Paid Faster
Beyond the basics, apply these professional seller tactics to accelerate eBay invoice payments:
Set Payment Due Dates: Don’t leave it open-ended. Specify you expect payment sent within 7 days in the invoice message. This sets clear expectations rather than buyers guessing.
Offer Incentives: Consider promotional offers exclusive to invoice recipients, like 5% off their next order if paying within 3 days. Sweeten the pot.
Make It Visual: Studies show visual text achieves 94% higher comprehension. Embed graphics and color code key invoice sections to emphasize priorities.
Go Mobile: Choose an eBay invoice template optimized for small screens. Mobile opens dominate email now.
Add Late Fees: While you hopefully won’t need to charge penalties, outlining these contingent consequences compels quicker compliance. Even $5 or 1% monthly late fees work wonders.
Offer Live Support: List your phone number, email, or chat channel directly in the invoice footer. Make it easy to address concerns obstructing on-time payment.
Send Reminders: An initial invoice should always be followed by at least one payment reminder before writing it off. Repeated visibility prevents buyers claiming they somehow “never saw the invoice”.
Take your invoices from mundane to money magnets with these enhancements!
Setting Up Automatic Unpaid Order Cancellation
Rather than babysit perpetually late buyers, turn to automation to purge stagnant orders from your system.
Enabling Auto Order Cancellation allows eBay to handle this dirty work:
- Constantly monitor all unpaid invoices
- Close out orders surpassing 4 days late with no seller effort needed
- Protect you from troublesome buyers that won’t pay
Adjust the duration threshold to meet your risk comfort level, whether 3, 5 or 7 days contingent on order details.
Activating this feature also removes related buyer ratings, comments, returns or other activity tied to the cancelled purchases. Reduce bad buyer headaches while freeing up working capital trapped by their inaction.
Navigate eBay Selling Preferences to switch this on right now!
Packing Slips vs. Invoices: What‘s the Difference?
Common buyer misconception is assuming packing slips and formal invoices are interchangeable. While related, these serve distinct documentation purposes:
| Packing Slip | Invoice | |
| Purpose | Shipment packing contents confirmation | Payment request |
| When used | Order already paid, fulfillment underway | Payment still owed by buyer |
| Contains | Item descriptions, qty‘s, tracking data | Prices, quantities, payment terms |
In summary:
Packing Slip: Proof of physical goods you sent
Invoice: Proof of money they owe
So only send packing slips for orders already paid. Use invoices to request pending payments. Eliminate confusion by isolating use cases.
Key Takeaways – Getting Paid With eBay Invoices
Payment delays from absent-minded or hesitant customers disrupt cash velocity that profitable eBay sellers need.
Implementing consistent invoicing procedures minimizes revenue leakage for your business by:
Increasing Immediate Payments: Proactive reminders lead to 3x more instant checkouts.
Reducing Follow-Up Labor: Automate cancellation of persistently late orders.
Optimizing Cash Flow: Collect money owed faster to compound back into your growth.
Now you have the blueprint to send polished invoices professionally through the eBay platform. The numbers don’t lie – diligent invoice follow up converts abandoned buyers into paying customers.
So what are you waiting for? Go get that money!
