Out of interest how long do you wait before an item
you've sold becomes a non payment?
Ive contacted buyer and they said they would pay right away, still no payment, this was last week.

What were your terms?
How were they paying? Some Paypal payments via bank can take a week, I used to pay that way when I didn't have a debit card linked to my account. Sellers were patient but I didn't like doing it that way.
How about a polite message to buyer if you haven't already?

I have no idea on terms as did it all on my phone.
I will give the buyer until after Xmas and contact them again. I don't wish to put in non payment against them and want rid of said item and money!! Lol

Well as you have contacted them and they've had a week to pay and haven't, then maybe a message giving them X number of days to respond, or you will open a case. If they've had issues with paying, or a personal crisis then asking for a response is fair.

I've not sold much on Ebay but have had this issue a few times as a buyer - the threat is usually enough to get a response... and if not, then you stand by your word and open a case. In one instance where I heard nothing for a week I gave them 48 hrs and that did get a fast reply ;) In another, I ended up opening a case and I got an immediate refund. I believe Ebay do look at your communication when you open a case so if you have been patient but firm it goes in your favour. After all if a sale falls through for any reason then they don't get their commission.

Must be annoying, as I bet you thought you'd be shot of it and in the money by Christmas!

Go to the ebay site and look at your sold items: from here you can find a link to resolve a dispute and open an "unpaid item" case.  It will also show you the payment status so you can see if payment has been dispatched (cheque postal order etc) or if it has been paid into your Paypal account.  I've had email confirmation from Paypal arrive several days after payment was actually received so it pays not to rely on emails alone :)

Christmas has slowed the post almost to a crawl so if they managed to catch the cut off dates it could still arrive tomorrow...

You do need to chase the payment via ebay though, at some point, as this is the only way to get your fees refunded if your buyer doesn't pay.  I generally send a reminder 7-9 days later (depends on where the weekend falls) and although a few people can be a bit late I've not had a non payer for years.  Good luck

PS opening a unpaid item case is nothing more than a reminder from ebay - and isn't too heavy handed

My payment terms were Paypal only. The MSG I sent was beginning of last week and their reply was Wednesday.
I will send them a message on wed this week giving them another reminder and a time on it. The buyer was apologetic and said would pay right away, can't see it takes all this time for PayPal to get payment into my account: ?

> I will send them a message on wed this week giving them another reminder and a time on it

Don't send a personal message - just use the unpaid item option.  This puts an automatic timer on it for you and the 'system' sends the necessary messages and warnings as a countdown.  The case will only be closed if they pay or after the auto date when you'll get your listing fees refunded via Paypal

Try going into Ebay Chat, as someone new to selling on there I have had lots of help without having to wait for emails.

Recently I bought some rivets including the tools to fit them [dealt with this seller in the past with no problem] the tools were missing, contacted them straight away, no reply, waited 10 days to allow for hols.,still nothing, spoke in Chat and was told to try again and explain I would be opening a case, no reply, opened a case and did get my money refunded about 3 weeks later after further unanswered messages to seller and emails to and fro from Ebay, the money was in my Paypal account within minutes of their email saying they had upheld my complaint.