eBay, how long should one wait for payment

[tonyvdb]

Update: Payment did finally come through last night. Paypal has changed how payments are handled since the last time I sold something on ebay. They put a hold on the payment till the buyer receives the item, not sure how I feel about that.

[sundown]

Update: Payment did finally come through last night. Paypal has changed how payments are handled since the last time I sold something on ebay. They put a hold on the payment till the buyer receives the item, not sure how I feel about that.

Protects both buyer & seller.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Paypal has changed how payments are handled since the last time I sold something on ebay. They put a hold on the payment till the buyer receives the item, not sure how I feel about that.

Huh, that's weird.  Last thing I sold on ebay was a rack-mountable NAS, sold on 11/30/15.  I didn't ship it until the paypal funds were in my account, that's the way I've always done it.  Wonder when it changed?

[tonyvdb]

My concern with that is the buyer could just say they did not receive it or it was not working even if they do get it and its working and get the money back right away. I went the extra mile on this sale taking lots of pictures, included $1000 insurance as well as a required signature on receiving it.

Here is the info from Paypal:

You received a payment from ------- and the money is in your pending balance. While the payment is in your pending balance, it still belongs to you but isn't immediately available for withdrawal. If there are no problems with the order, we'll move the money into your available balance within 21 days.
The money may be available sooner if we can make sure your buyer received the item and is happy with it.
Here are a few steps you can take to get faster access to your money:
If this order requires shipping, send it to the buyer's shipping address. Be sure to mark the item as shipped on the Transaction details page and provide the shipping details. We'll calculate the expected delivery date and release the payment within 7 days of that date, OR
Ship directly via USPS, UPS, or FedEx or pay for shipping and print labels on PayPal, then ship via USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Once we know that the item was delivered, we'll release the payment within 3 days, OR
If your product or service does not need to be shipped, mark the order as processed on the Transaction details page and provide any additional details. (For example, an e-book, song or album, or a smart phone app.) We'll calculate the expected delivery date and release the payment within 7 days of that date, OR
Upload all tracking information or other proof of shipment or delivery.
If your buyer confirms that the item was delivered and doesn't report any problems with it, you may also get the payment sooner. If there are problems with the order, we will continue to hold the payment until the issue is resolved, which may take longer than 21 days.

[giZmo350]

That's INSANE! I quit selling on eBay quit a few years ago after reading that their policy changed to completely favoring the buyer - but like you, I always went the extra mile to satisfy the buyer! :hammer:

Here is the info from Paypal:

You received a payment from ------- and the money is in your pending balance. While the payment is in your pending balance, it still belongs to you but isn't immediately available for withdrawal. If there are no problems with the order, we'll move the money into your available balance within 21 days.
The money may be available sooner if we can make sure your buyer received the item and is happy with it.
Here are a few steps you can take to get faster access to your money:
If this order requires shipping, send it to the buyer's shipping address. Be sure to mark the item as shipped on the Transaction details page and provide the shipping details. We'll calculate the expected delivery date and release the payment within 7 days of that date, OR
Ship directly via USPS, UPS, or FedEx or pay for shipping and print labels on PayPal, then ship via USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Once we know that the item was delivered, we'll release the payment within 3 days, OR
If your product or service does not need to be shipped, mark the order as processed on the Transaction details page and provide any additional details. (For example, an e-book, song or album, or a smart phone app.) We'll calculate the expected delivery date and release the payment within 7 days of that date, OR
Upload all tracking information or other proof of shipment or delivery.
If your buyer confirms that the item was delivered and doesn't report any problems with it, you may also get the payment sooner. If there are problems with the order, we will continue to hold the payment until the issue is resolved, which may take longer than 21 days.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

within 21 days

21 days?  WHAT!?  :angryfire:  :angryfire:  :angryfire:

That's ridiculous.  So even if there's no problems with the order, you still have to wait three weeks to get your money?  I wonder if that's because it's an international shipment, or a Canada law, or something?  You know what that means, right?  That your money is just sitting in a bank account somewhere, earning money for Paypal.  Anybody remember when Paypal used to pay interest on money you had in your account?  They actually used to have a fairly competitive rate.  Now they still pay interest, but you don't get any of that - they keep it all.  And as a result I now keep a $0 balance in my Paypal account.  

Almost makes me want to sell something on ebay again, just to see if they've changed it here, too.  Again, sorry, and hope you get your $$$ soon.

[tonyvdb]

I have no idea when it changed as the last time I sold something was late 2014. I buy more than I sell on there. Its being shipped to a guy in Ontario so just across the country not across any boarder so at least that makes it a bit more affordable and simple.
Ill keep you posted as to the results.

[amigakid]

Yeah the policy kind of sucks because it doesn't take into account a sellers rating.  Even sellers with thousands of feedback 100% positive still has to wait.  I stopped selling on Ebay after the change also, was ridiculous to wait so long and the static shipping prices were ALWAYS off.  I would put the weight in and it would add the shipping, at least half the time it was too low and I lost money, then have to wait 21 days.  I only buy on Ebay.  I bought 5 items the past month and one never showed (I did get my money back) but the other four came in fine and I left good feedback.  I think that it is unbalanced and now and definitely makes it easier for a seller to get ripped off (hey item never came, get my money back) and unless the seller spends more for delivery confirmation they are screwed!  By the way the one item I got my money back still never arrived even though buyer swore it was shipped.

[kreciu]

...and even if you as seller are RIGHT buying wins, Ebay rat told me that: Buyer is "always" right and it is a risk in doing any business. Sure, there is ALWAYS a risk, but "seller protection" is really nice marketing slogan.

[TjLaZer]

What?  When did this happen and is it due to having no feed back or something?  I buy/sell on there a lot and I have not seen that change.  I just sold something a few weeks ago and got the $ into my Paypal.  Maybe it's a scam?

[dannyp1]

It doesn't happen all the time so something is triggering it.

[tonyvdb]

Payment is still on hold till the 26th. I have 100% positive feedback on over 260 transactions so my guess is maybe because of the buyer has no feedback?

[psxphill]

It doesn't happen all the time so something is triggering it.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/?cmd=xpt/Customer/popup/PPPolicyForEBayItemHolds-outside

"Why might my payments be held?
PayPal will hold payments in transactions where the vast majority of seller fraud occurs. Here are the most common instances in which a payment may be held:
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You are new to eBay and sell an item above £50
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You have a low feedback score and sell an item above £50
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;More than 5% of your transactions result in dissatisfied buyers*
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You have a low Detailed Seller Rating (DSR)
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You have not received a significant amount of Detailed Seller Ratings
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You are listing your item in a higher-risk category
PayPal will not hold payments for eBay items if you meet the following criteria:%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;You have been an eBay member for more than 6 months, and
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;Your total Feedback score is greater than 100, and
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;Fewer than 5% of your transactions result in dissatisfied buyers*

OR
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;Your average DSR is greater than 4.5, and
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;Your have received more than 20 DSRs in the last 12 months

What will happen if my payment is held?
If you receive a payment that is held by PayPal, the amounts held will show as "Pending" in a separate PayPal balance on your account page. You will still have access to all other funds in your PayPal account.

Your funds will immediately be released when one of the following occurs:

%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;The buyer leaves you positive feedback
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;3 days pass after proof the item was delivered**
%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8226;21 days pass without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on the transaction"

You can have 100% positive rating but a poor DSR rating. I was excluded from free listing weekends because my DSR was bad, purely because of two parcels that I didn't send immediately because I was ill that day (which I communicated with the buyers who said it was ok). They gave me positive feedback but rated me down with DSR. I tried talking to ebay about it, but all they would do was say I should keep selling on ebay to improve my DSR. Due to the way they work it out I would need to get excellent DSR ratings on 200 more items before I would be allowed to take part in free listing weekends & as that was the only time I would list because of the high fees then I decided to avoid ebay until my DSR ratings timed out.

[XDelusion]

I give up on them after about 5 days of trying to communicate and getting no response.

I can't stand people who bid on crap and don't pay. Been happening to me a lot lately.