New PayPal Policy Coming Soon. Will Affect eBay Sellers

jimbobaus on 07/10/2018 - 23:57
Last edited 07/10/2018 - 23:59

So i sold an item on eBay yesterday and when i went to withdraw the funds from PP i discovered the funds were being held for 14-21 days
It asked me to upload the Tracking inforation and once "delivery was confirmed" the funds would be released earlier

I have never encountered this issue so i emailed PayPal customer care and parts of the reply are below:

At PayPal we strive to create a safe and fair selling community, through our partnership with eBay we have been trialing a new system where both sellers and buyers are protected.
…
Certain catergories on eBay have been subject to this new system since August 1st and this includes the computer category where your item was listed.
…
PayPal will be rolling out this new system to all categories from eary 2019 and it will be implemeneted to all eBay sellers. We feel these changes better protect you the seller as entering tracking information streamlines the process if there is a dispute any time after the transaction has completed.

So basically the new system is like this:
1) Sell item on eBay
2) Buyer pays with PayPal
3) PayPal "holds funds"
4) You ship item and enter tracking info into PayPal (it also adds it on eBay)
5a) once the courier/shipping service status is updated to "delivered" funds are released to your account
or
5b) Once buyer clicks link in email that item has arrived as described funds are released to your account.
6) if the above does not occur, fund will be released to your account 14-21 days after (the hold will advise how long)

As a buyer i like this change, as a seller i am not sure how i feel sending expensive items with no garauntee funds will be released to my PP account, what if the buyer lies and says they never got the item? etc … i guess i will be using signature on delivery all the time now.

What do you guys think?

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Comments

  • Almost Banned on 08/10/2018 - 00:05

    Just experienced the same.
    There is no way I am happy to send the item until cleared funds are received.

    • jimbobaus on 08/10/2018 - 00:06

      yeah as a seller, i would be less inclined to accept PayPal as a payment for expensive items thats for sure.

      • Brendoo on 08/10/2018 - 11:10
        +4

        But you have to accept PayPal. It's the only payment method you cannot remove. And in my experience selling on eBay 99% of buyers use PayPal.

        The buyer gets no PayPal fees, only the seller does. Plus the seller gets their funds held.
        As soon as the person pays it will be removed from their account and hit your PayPal account, but saying that eBay has instructed PayPal to to not release the funds until date xx.xx.xxxx, usually around 2-3 weeks.

        It's pretty shitty, PayPal's fees are high as well (e.g. the most recent item i sold (a camera) resulted in a $36 PayPal fee to me as the seller, as well as holding the payment from the buyer for 3 weeks). PayPal make a killing from fees and from holding our funds and investing them.

        Unfortunately due to eBay once owning PayPal, they have an agreement until 2020 for PayPal to be the primary method of payment. But from 2020 it won't be forced, credit cards will then come back on as primary payment methods, and maybe others. We shall see….

  • FireRunner on 08/10/2018 - 00:11
    -8

    Why though? Sellers have so much more protection than sellers.
    This is going to hurt those sellers that sell cheap untracked items.

    • BlazinPast on 08/10/2018 - 00:12
      +8

      Sellers have so much more protection than sellers.

      ಠ_ಠ

      • FireRunner on 08/10/2018 - 00:15
        +3

        Oops, buyers have much more protection than sellers. eBay and PayPal favour buyers much more.

  • whooah1979 on 08/10/2018 - 00:14
    +4

    aliexpress have the same policy going back years. paypal is playing catch up.

  • whooah1979 on 08/10/2018 - 00:20
    +3

    What do you guys think?

    You may use gumtree or Facebook.

  • FireRunner on 08/10/2018 - 00:22
    +2

    I think it’s a really stupid policy. It might be useful for new sellers to prevent fraudulent users but why should experienced sellers be subject to this? I’ll think twice before selling once this comes in.

    • bbqwer on 08/10/2018 - 00:29

      Most likely new seller only. Even if you ebay buyer for many years, then suddenly decide to sell, paypal will hold 21days.

      I have been selling on ebay since 2009. The first year My paypal has 21 days fund hold for 3 months consecutive ( auto release once 21days pass ). Paypal also asked: driver license, proof of stock, business details, bank statement.

      After those 3 months passed, Paypal no longer hold funds.

      And I am still active selling.

      I am confident it will affect new seller only.

      • jimbobaus on 08/10/2018 - 03:52

        They told me it was for all sellers.
        I have been selling on eBay since 2009 and have over 300 successful transactions as a seller with 90% of them paid using PayPal. They held the funds because I sold in one of the trial catergories and when I contacted them they advised it will be rolled out to all sellers and catergories from 2019

        • beebul on 08/10/2018 - 09:53

          What are the trial categories?

      • Brendoo on 08/10/2018 - 10:55

        Not just for new sellers. I've been selling on eBay for about 10 years and this policy has applied to me for at least the past 2 years, incl right now with current items i have sold recently.

        I have 100% positive feedback, always post within 24 hours of receiving payment and always include an Aus Post tracking number.

        I'm just not high volume enough, nor have a business account, so the restriction isn't removed. As I've been copping this payment hold for years, I've just gotten used to it and accounting for it, although it totally sux.

  • bbqwer on 08/10/2018 - 00:22

    I dont think this policy will be apply to long time ebay seller.

    Most likely will apply to new ebay seller.

    • jimbobaus on 08/10/2018 - 03:53

      Nope all sellers as per the email excerpts posted above.

      • aussieolfaction on 08/10/2018 - 15:39

        I've a paypal business account, and have my business verified through paypal (identity, address, etc.). I have been selling with ebay for a couple of years now and have a clean record. I've not been subjected to such holding of funds.

  • Sage on 08/10/2018 - 00:38
    +3

    Greedy PayPal. We already pay the fees, now they want to hold our money for even longer.
    It's unnecessary.

    • Bobby Hill on 08/10/2018 - 01:23

      Nothing but greed. Their mouths are watering at the sound of $$$ they are going to earn in interest "holding" these funds.

      Not to mention that this does nothing for me as a buyer. Paypal already has the ability to deduct funds from the seller's credit card should the buyer win a dispute.

      • whooah1979 on 08/10/2018 - 05:13

        Paypal already has the ability to deduct funds from the seller's credit card should the buyer win a dispute.

        Paypal may only deduct if the seller link a credit card or bank account to their PayPal account. The current policy allows sellers to sell without having to link.

  • singingwolf on 08/10/2018 - 01:29
    +2

    So I was wondering why they all of a sudden started promoting that I get my funds with no wait times regardless of the item etc (as I had always got my funds instantly).

    The above explains it.

    So basically if you have no disputes, a long history with PayPal and your identity verified, they enrol you into a thing called "Funds Now". This exempts you from the above issues (wait times, entering tracking etc).

    If you don't have it but have a good history, it may be worth asking to be enrolled in it.

    • jimbobaus on 08/10/2018 - 03:59

      That service was mentioned in the email I cut the excerpts from.
      The email stated you also needed to have be a registered business and have a business account. Your ABN/ACN needed to be verified by PayPal etc.
      I assume that is so companies that heavily promote payment via PayPal like JB Hi-Fi, EB Games etc don’t get holds on their funds

      • singingwolf on 08/10/2018 - 22:47

        I don't have a registered business but have been on there for 11 years and sold heaps with no issues so I suppose it was bestowed onto my account.

        I'm not complaining :-)

  • The Abbott on 08/10/2018 - 02:50

    Proof of delivery and positive feedback don’t mean funds will be released any quicker, PayPal do what they want.
    Last sale, buyer waited a week to pay after reminder (so much for immediate payment) I sent with eBay shipping and tracking, proof of delivery and buyer left positive feedback. PayPal didn’t clear funds for another 10 days.
    Hold onto my money and charge me fees for it, excellent!
    Apparently better start reading the weekly policy updates they keep sending out, it was probably on page 300 in very fine print.
    Looks like gumtree maybe better option for selling now.

  • garetz on 08/10/2018 - 05:23

    Basically this is to prevent sellers from withdrawing the funds from paypal, and then paypal has to petition the bank to get the funds which the bank denies cause the customer is not paypal. As paypal usually finds in favor of the buyer, the seller almost always loses the case.

  • Hoju on 08/10/2018 - 07:24

    How does it work for an item that is picked up?

    I hope you don’t have to wait for a buyer to mark it as delivered and depend on their attentiveness

    • Presence on 08/10/2018 - 08:01
      +3

      You aren't supposed to use PayPal for pickup items on eBay

    • whooah1979 on 08/10/2018 - 08:04
      +3

      How does it work for an item that is picked up?

      You should always accept cash on collected items.

      • Hoju on 08/10/2018 - 08:11

        Is this specifically stated anywhere?

        you’re forced to offer PayPal on all eBay listings and often buyers pay prior to pickup via PayPal. This makes it smoother as you can leave the item with someone else or a safe place and say it’s all paid just needs picking up. We do this regularly with no issues…

        Until this rule…

        • Quantumcat on 08/10/2018 - 08:20
          +2

          Don't do this. If they pay by PayPal, refund the payment and tell them when they come to pick it up they need cash. This new rule has no effect on this, any of your buyers could have claimed nondelivery and got their money back while hardly having to lift a finger.

          • GourmetFoodie on 08/10/2018 - 11:45
            +2

            @Quantumcat: Thanks for educating me on this. I accepted PayPal for a pickup the other day. Now I realise it's risky and stupid to do!

        • whooah1979 on 08/10/2018 - 08:21

          Is this specifically stated anywhere?

          Australian laws allows the provider of goods or services to set the terms of the transaction and the form of payment.

          Neither Ebay nor PayPal may legally refuse the seller from accepting cash.

  • Axelstrife on 08/10/2018 - 08:12
    +3

    Literally no one will click any link in any email to confirm receipt.
    this is bullshit for sellers.

  • Ocker on 08/10/2018 - 08:28

    We sell around 20 items a day on eBay, so if sale proceeds were to be held for 14-21 days then that would create an absolute accounting nightmare.

    • garetz on 08/10/2018 - 09:41

      It wont affect accounting at all, it just adds another layer of checks and balances, it will however affect liquidity.

      • Ocker on 08/10/2018 - 09:55
        -2

        Wrong - it will affect accounting for the transactions.

        In Quickbooks it will be necessary to create a separate account to record receipts pending, and then transfer them to the cash bank account once physically received.

  • Brendoo on 08/10/2018 - 10:43
    +2

    I sell semi-regularly on eBay and this holding of the money has been the case at least for the past 2 years. It happens to me every time i sell something. Total pain the arse, but i get significantly higher prices on eBay for the same kinds of items vs Gumtree or Facebook, so i just accept this 14-21 day holding of funds as i really have no choice.

    Everyone wants to pay via PayPal and that's fair enough as there are a lot of rogue sellers out there to rip off customers so it's just the nature of the game.

    If you are a high volume seller then this restriction gets dropped.

    • cansydint on 08/10/2018 - 11:15
      +1

      same here with the holding of the funds, its been like this for as long as ive been selling on ebay. Once i add a tracking number and the item is delivered or the buyer leaves me feedback the funds are cleared

      Its called escrow….its to stop people from selling fake items and taking off with the money. Paypal would be stupid not to implement this

      • kelvinv on 08/10/2018 - 14:03

        Paypal can reverse transactions made to your bank account, you also need to have a verified account etc. There is enough coverage for them already to recover funds if a transaction was deemed fraudulent. Besides if you have a track record of being a great seller then there is even less risk of something dodgy happening. So its not really a good enough excuse. Sounds more like OK we already charge high fees so how can we increase our profit…. oh lets hold everyone's cash for 2 or 3 weeks while the items are shipped.

    • kelvinv on 08/10/2018 - 13:49

      I sell on and off so you could say semi regularly and I have never had payments held. My friend however, started selling last year and was hit with all the held payments. 9 times out of 10 I use the Australia post service on ebay so maybe that has something to do with it. Already pay a silly amount of fees to sell on ebay and accept paypal payment so I probably will just sell on gumtree and facebook. Get instant cash and not have to pay the fees associated, only thing you lose out on is the extra visibility that ebay usually has.

  • Ocker on 08/10/2018 - 11:47

    Maybe also something to do with the fact that eBay are breaking away from PayPal next Year; the end of the 5 year non-compete agreement period when the sold PayPal. eBay are introducing their own payment system.

  • Munki on 08/10/2018 - 13:34

    That happened to me once, but now the funds are made available to me right away now.

    What is your eBay seller status like? Mine is Above Standard.

  • blonky on 08/10/2018 - 13:51

    Sounds like a normal escrow system - it's not an uncommon way of transferring funds but is new to PayPal

  • vid_ghost on 08/10/2018 - 16:12

    I had this happen to me when i was a new seller.. used to take 24 days for funds to clear.. now i get the funds within 24 hours.. sold something 5 days ago and the funds were ready to use in a day :) 100% positive.. Sold over 50 things.. not much more over the past 8 years. But i've purchased over 150 things on ebay.. so that may also count towards my rating.

  • doxy on 09/10/2018 - 17:39

    I have had to deal with this a few times all through out the year. Mostly selling camera and lenses. Sometimes I get the fund very quickly, other times the fund are held by Paypal. Haven't noticed any pattern yet.

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