Information reguarding ebay and them with holding money Please

[nhal039]

Hi
I am having issues getting a clear answer from ebay reguarding how long they with hold money for (via paypal) was a sale has been paid for, so I was hoping someone could help me out. What I would like to know is how long ebay withholds money for after a completed sale and the item has been marked as shipped? I have asked ebay this 4 times and yet they have sent me a page of information but never answered my question.

I am not a new seller, nor have I ever had a case opened against me, I am not a top rated seller either because I don't sell loads of stuff I think I have sold about 35 things in total over about 8 months and I have only ever had 100% feedback.

I have asked ebay customers services 4 times how long they with hold money for only to get back pages of information that barely address my question. They basically said they can hold money for 21 days but they may release it sooner  They also said in some cases of sellers the will release money 3 days after your buyer leaves positive feedback or alternatively 3 days after the tracking is shown as delivered?
In my experience so far they have always held my money for 21 days reguardless of feedback being left weeks earlier 
I actually quite liked ebay but expected to get my money sooner after sometime but it looks not this is not the case.



Post Merge: June 05, 2014, 07:24:06 PM

Finally I have received the answer I have been looking for from ebay... my funds will always be held for 21 days because I am an international seller. I am quite appalled by there last email, the money they make from private sellers is incredible. I will post there email below incase it helps someone else out

Ebay's email below
Thanks for contacting eBay about your which will be held by PayPal.

Regardless of your selling performance, PayPal may hold your funds. Please know that PayPal stores balances (including held balances) in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured bank accounts. The accounts earn a modest interest rate.

We also strive to ensure that only a small fraction of our sellers are required to hold money in their accounts. Our goal is to ensure sellers get their money quickly, and the vast majority of sellers are able to access their money within several days.

Our policies benefit top sellers who provide excellent service, and protect customers who expect fast shipping and outstanding customer support. These holds have reduced the number of claims filed by buyers. This is because sellers are held accountable and must deliver the items. Bad buyer experiences on eBay have decreased as a result.

We believe the intent of our policies has always been transparent: to ensure a trusted experience that buyers expect and to encourage increased sales for our merchants and sellers. We are keeping pace with consumer expectations and making eBay a more attractive shopping destination in a way that benefits all eBay buyers and sellers.

The interest PayPal earned from held balances is immaterial to our business. That said, eBay and PayPal tend to invest any money it earns back into our business in the form of product and service improvements.

Though your money will be held for 21 days, your funds could be available as soon as 3 days after the buyer receives their item. As long as you uploaded a tracking number and eBay is able to validate receipt of the item.

You can also use mark as shipped (MAS), if needed. If we don't have tracking information but the you used MAS and we can also calculate a delivery date, their money will be available 7 days after their latest estimated delivery date (EDD).

If we don't have tracking information, and you don't mark the item as shipped, or we can't calculate a delivery date (for example, if the item was shipped internationally), the funds should be available 21 days after the buyer pays.

I wish you success on your future transactions.

[SeashellnBubbles]

They did this to me as well...one of the reasons I stopped selling there if I can help it. I've heard that once you hit 100 sales with perfect feedback they stop holding the money, but I'm not there yet.
They say the money held is immaterial....it isn't. Think about it, they hold the funds from thousands of transfers every day for a month...they're taking money for selling on eBay, then getting additional money from the interest of holding it in an FDIC for a MONTH. They hold hundreds of thousands, possibly millions. It isn't a paltry amount.
I don't think they'll do the hold your money thing forever just because you're international....otherwise people wouldn't put up with it at all. You'll just have to hit the magical 100 sales mark and hope that's good enough, the same way I will

[nhal039]

I know seashell its wrong isn't it! From the email they never stated that they will release money after 100 feedback so I don't believe it, it took me 4 messages stating the same question for my question to be answered! to be honest I was happy with ebay before but I was under the assumption that when you lose your new seller statues your money will be released sooner now that I know that is not the case and due to the last email highlighting paypal interest gains (I didn't even ask about paypal they put that in as if sharing that information was a positive) I am going to close my account after I have completed my last sales. It will kill me not buying from ebay as I have brought hundreds of ponies but its just going to be what it is, I will not support a company that does not support a little guy

[SeashellnBubbles]

Nope, no support at all, and they normally side with the buyer no matter how absurd their cases. I had one fellow open an "Item not received" case after 3 days from when i shipped the package. He lived in Brazil and I'm in Canada! He then escalated it 15 minutes after opening the case, and eBay sided with the buyer because i'd cut the guy a break on tracked shipping and didn't have the "proof" eBay was looking for! Even if i HAD shipped it tracked, it still wouldn't have gotten to him in 2 days (not counting the day i mailed it) To be fair, PayPal refunded him his money themselves and the money he'd paid me i was able to keep, but he still ended up with both the doll and the money. And that was my last eBay sales experience.

[TinyShinyUnique]

I am so sorry Dear for ebay giving you headaches

When I was selling stuff in December, in few instances I had even the money held when the buyer got my package and even left feedback :/ I think it depends on the transaction - as few of them cleared up fairly quickly, but in some cases, I had to wait a really long time. Usually it truly is how eBay wrote - it's more or less 21 days after the sale There is a very slim chance on getting the funds before that

[SeashellnBubbles]

I've NEVER had the funds released before 21-23 days...even when i was shipping within my own province, had tracking, and was left excellent feeback 3 days after shipping the item! If they hold the money for less time, the less they make on interest. It behooves them to never release it before the maximum amount of time has passed, no matter if the funds are supposed to go for the item itself or to pay for shipping, so essentially, you're "out of pocket" for every single transaction's shipping until you hit that magical number that says you're trustworthy...and even then they can still hold the funds on whatever whim they dream up. And legally, too!

[Ringlets]

I dont have anything useful to add unfortunately other than  ---> @ ebay
yes they'll eventually stop holding your funds even for international sales but only after you've sold quite a lot of items as has been mentioned already (they dont all have to be international sales) . I personally think its unfair on the seller to hold their funds if there is proof that the item has already reached the buyer and they left feedback or the tracking shows it as delivered etc.

[hathorcat]

Ugh I have this same quandary at work right now on ebay - them continuing to hold money for an item which has now been paid for and collected by the buyer [it was a 2 tonne stacker so shipping was not an option ] for over 2 weeks. My boss is not a happy man that we had to allow such an expensive bit of equipment leave without money literally exchanging hands. Trying to explain to him that the money will release and its just a paypal/ebay thing meets with a blank expression and every point he raises about it being a process that absolutely no other company would get away with is true.

Unfortunately with paypal being the size it is and there really being no other payment option now adays through ebay, they have us all over a barrel. Not to mention that trying to get lots of individual sellers together to do something about it - which is the only way paypal will ever be beaten - is unlikely to happen and of course the change in policies which we all have to agree to pretty much tells us we have to accept temporary holds. If we use the site, we have to follow their policies and that includes the nonsense hold.

I hope it gets released to you as soon as possible!