Not a regular seller. Just sold large toy collection. Safe to use paypal?

[bradleyam]

Due to the coronavirus, I have needed to procure extra money. As a result, I have sold off a large portion of a somewhat valuable vintage toy collection. I found two buyers online, one who is a high volume ebay reseller, the other who is an active collector who advertises online looking for the toys I needed to sell. I have already sent the toys to both of them via fedex, and they received them satisfactorily.  I have asked them to withhold payment as they both prefer to pay via paypal, and I have not used paypal to receive any such payments before. The amounts I would be receiving are around $900 from one buyer and $3500 from the other.

I have read many horror stories about paypal withholding money even after buyers confirm receipt of goods and delivery is confirmed, for lengths of times that seem rather unconscionable. However, I need the money urgently and cannot risk having it held for three weeks or more. I have verified my id with paypal, and have even received an email from them saying that I am an "established seller", (even though I haven't established a history of selling or received any money yet via goods and services, which I found somewhat odd). Although the email stated I should get all payments immediately... I am hesitant to believe it, based on everything I have read from other users experiences.  

The only positive caveat, I believe, is that both buyers regularly use ebay and regularly transact for large amounts. Common sense would say that once they confirmed satisfactory receipt of goods, the money should be available... but as I said, this seems to often not be the case with paypal. 

They are both willing to send checks if need be, however one of the buyers is a new york resident and has expressed that he would like to avoid at all costs having to go to the bank to get a check cut and then go to the post office. I don't blame him, and although For all parties it will be a greater risk/take longer/pose a bigger hassle to have to settle the sales via check, I still think it would probably be the best route as I simply cannot wait three weeks for the money. 

Just looking for some thoughts or input on the situation from anyone with experience. 

 Perhaps facebook pay may be an option as well? if anyone has experience with that please share as well. 

[Temp20230515G]

HI @bradleyam 

PP is just withholding money to make sure that the item gets first to the buyer just so you guys avoid any hassle with refunds whatsoever.

You can try these options to get your money faster: https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-get-my-money-sooner-for-a-transaction-on-hold-f...

The actions and timeframes below are for PayPal holds:

• Print shipping label with PayPal: Print USPS or UPS shipping label on the PayPal website and we’ll update the tracking information for you. The hold will be released ONE DAY after delivery of your product.
• Add Tracking: Upload the tracking number/information of one of PayPal's supported carriers (see below). The hold will be released ONE DAY after delivery of your product.
• Buyer Confirmation: If your payment is held, your buyer will have the option to confirm that they received the item. This option is only available if they paid for the item with their PayPal account. They'll also receive an email once you upload tracking/print shipping label. The hold will be released IMMEDIATELY after buyer confirms delivery of your product.

If you check the article, FedEx is actually a trusted courier. 

Also, when your buyer's confirm the receipt on their end (tell them to do it on the website as it is not available in the app), the funds will be released immediately so just tell them to do it after they have checked the item.

Once the payment is already tagged as completed on their end and held on yours, it means the money is with PP already and you don't need to wait for bank processing times from the buyer's side. 

I think PP will be the safest way to process the payment right now specially that banks are kind of varying their schedules of business.

Hope my suggestion helped.

[kernowlass]

@bradleyam 

My you are trusting if you have already sent the items before the buyers have paid.

I would ask them to pay asap and then if its the new seller hold you can supply tracking and funds are released when it shows delivered + 1 day. 

@Temp20230515G 

If you read the post paypal are not holding anything, the seller has told the buyers not to pay yet.

[bradleyam]

So I ended up having the first buyer put that 900 into paypal. First I made sure to upload my ID, get verified, and even had them send me the paypal cash card. So, he sent me the 900 and as soon as I put in tracking and he confirmed receipt on his end voila I had my money! I did have some small problems... like I seemed to fall into some weird loop where paypal kept asking me to add my phone number even though it was already in my profile, and then it would just give an error and say they couldnt confirm it was me. So I decided to just turn on max security features like 2FA and turn off one touch and maybe the system would feel more comfortable it was me. And... after waiting a couple hours it seemed to work. So... all good!

[kernowlass]

@bradleyam 

Thats a relief, you were very trusting sending before being paid, glad it worked out ok.