What is meant by the ebay message "Some sellers are not taking payments at the moment"

[m25jet]

If you're having trouble making payment for an item then one easy way to get around the problem is to log off of eBay UK and log onto one of eBay's overseas websites in order to make the payment.  From previous experience I've found that logging onto www.ebay.com has always proved to be a successful workaround option whenever I've encountered problems making payment for an item.  Therefore, if you log off of eBay UK and use www.ebay.com, which is the American version of the site, then you should be able to bypass whichever problems are stopping the eBay UK checkout from working, in which case you ought to be able to make payment for the item.  If you try that workaround option then it should eliminate the risk of the seller mistaking you for a timewaster and opening an Unpaid Item Dispute against you.

[tony32770]

Thanks for the comment, I tried that and got the same message. I've also sent an email to the seller and have not yet received a reply from him. Usually, if a seller has closed or is away a notice is displayed that the seller is not available for such and such a date.

[m25jet]

In the event that you try to pay again later but you still cannot make payment then there may be one other option that you could consider. If the seller will agree to it then you could arrange to collect the item and pay for it in cash, although I do realise that whether or not this is a viable option for you will largely depend on how far away the seller is from your own address, and whether or not you have access to an adequate means of transport that would allow you to get to the seller's address to collect the item in person.

If the seller does live somewhere that you could get to without too much difficulty and is willing to allow you to collect the item and pay for it in cash then arrange a mutually convenient time to collect and pay for the item, as if you were to ask the seller something along those lines then he would be less likely to believe that you're a timewaster and more likely to see you as a buyer who's actively trying to find a way around the problems with making payment so as to ensure that the transaction can be completed without too many problems.

[tony32770]

This is not an option as too distant from me and also he/she has not replied to the contact made through ebay.