NEW SELLER ON EBAY ! HOW LONG WILL PAYPAL HOLD MY FUNDS FOR ?

kimbobs
Contributor
Contributor

I am a new seller on ebay and have just set up a paypal account to manage my transactions only to find that paypal are gonna hold my money because i am a new customer , why do they do this and how long will they hold my money for ?? some pls help 

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136 REPLIES 136

jbailey0722
Contributor
Contributor
Ok, thanks. I was really just curious. Not trying to criticize you. Wondering if there were special benefits or something. You didn't answer my questions at all. But that's fine if you don't want to. I don't see this as an argument, but more of an inquisition into the personal ethics of a PayPal advisor.
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LaizaVenice
Contributor
Contributor

Hi @jbailey0722,

I have to agree with @kernowlass in this but I have to say I understand your situation. If didn't know how PayPal works I'd probably utter the same words but anyway to put a light on your situation.

 

Two things:

1. PayPal/eBay/21 days hold

2. PayPal refunds

 

Payments are triggered depending on your standing as a seller and the risk involved on a transaction.

Normally you can get your funds release before 21 days 

if the following criteria(s) are met:

1. Mark the item as delivered provided with tracking, 3 days after the item is delivered. You can call PayPal and ask assistance from them to get the funds manually released or otherwise it'll be done automatically by PayPal/eBay.

2. Mark the item as process, 7 days(local)/14 days(international) after it's been marked as dispatched it can be released automatcially/manually.

3. Not all the time but if you have a good/positive feedback PayPal can acknowledge this and may release your payment on a better date.

 

This 21 days hold is designed for the purpose of buyer's protection and plus agains seller who will withdraw the funds from paypal then neven sends the item out then PayPal would be forced to refund the buyer out of their own pocket. So you can say that this is a preventive measure. Though now all sellers are alike but there's no way you can tell the difference.

 

Note: If you cannot fulfill the transaction you don't need to wait for 21 days to refund the transaction as you can refund your buyer at your convenience so long as you have the funds for it.

 

PayPal refund are usually instantaneous, there are only two kind of refunds either it's instant or check refunds. If your PayPal balance is enough to cover the refund it should go through straight away within seconds but if your money isn't enough what it'll do is that PayPal will charge your bank (not your card as they cannot charge your card for this as this is not a purchase) through Direct Debit Mandate which will take 5-7 working days.

 

Note: PayPal may keep 20p from a transaction as they don't usually refund the fixed portion of the fee.

 

I hope this has answered your questions. Always glad to help just reply to this thread if you have further queries.

 

Regards,

LaizaVenice

 

Edit: Having a PayPal Dispute/Claim on a transaction is quite a different level and I noticed that when there's a case open this releases the 21 days hold but put in hold again in relation to the dispute/claim that the buyer has opened.

 

When a dispute has been opened you always have the option to refund or when case has been escalated to a claim you ask paypal to grant the claim in the buyer's favor. Althought this is not the best avenue to take as it will be agains your record but still a work around that might work for you.

 

But then again honestly and personally speaking if you just hit that refund button but make sure you have extra 20p on your PayPal account this should completely resolve your issue.

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jbailey0722
Contributor
Contributor
Thank you Laiza. Here's the situation. I'm not using eBay. I provided a service to a customer, and this customer does not have a PayPal account. They have not filed a dispute, I don't think they would even know how. I sent them a PayPal invoice. They charged the wrong card. I called PayPal support, and they said to mark the service as delivered. I did this on day 1. I called back and they confirmed this service was marked as such and the hold would be released in 5 days. I called back in 5 days. They said it's still being reviewed, but it is now a back office issue and they will escalate the case, and my funds will be available in another 5 days. This happened 1 more time. During this time I'm communicating with my buyer the situation, and I sound like an idiot every time PayPal doesn't follow through on their promise. This is clearly an issue with PayPal. I was repeatedly told with certainty that I would have quick access to my funds, and each time this was not the case, the fault lies solely on PayPal for inadequately handling the issue. There's no gray area here. Also, today is the 21 day mark and the payment still hasn't gone through.
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AnnikasAttic
Contributor
Contributor

Just to let everyone know i am a year in and have put 19k through this so called Business paypal account and all incoming sales and outgoing transfers are still being held, sometimes days beyond when the tracking shows as delivered. Customer service are like speaking to robots and just read back text- ' higher than usual sales, different items to usual, blah blah none of this applys. My advice is use another platform to support your online sales, paypal have ruined our business growth and created many delays and problems with what should have been quick easy transactions.

The excuses Paypal give for holding funds are completely irrelevent and opposing to the structure and requirements for seller business account.

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Amy41
Member
Member

This is not good for the sellers. I have been an Ebay member for years but stopped selling for a while, started back and now they are holding my funds. It makes it difficult for me to even sell anything because I can't afford to have my money tied up....

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Luxinterior
Contributor
Contributor

So if someone was to sell their first item ever on ebay with no plans to sell anything else in the future, how long would they need to wait for their funds to clear?

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@Luxinterior

 

If its Ebays and not Paypals hold (off-Ebay) then it when tracking shows delivery of the item + 3 days.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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crystalrichards
Contributor
Contributor

I didn't realise that paypal can do this, they are different services and different companies now. Ebay has no authority over this and certainly not over paypal, as they are different companies. Could somebody show me the link to the paypal policy that strangely restricts payments from ebay???

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@crystalrichards

 

Paypal does not, Ebay do.

Ebay (if its Ebays hold), tell Paypal when they can release the funds under Ebays new seller hold.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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vonney_ness
Member
Member
I agree to an extent with this policy-there are middle men (Paypal and eBay) involved. That said, they charge fees, which should be to cover themselves with rogue sellers. Yet, agreeing with Paypal's terms and conditions is one thing,however I think it's a downright disgrace that they don't release the funds needed to post the item to the buyer. When a seller is hard up for cash this is then impossible to send the item to the buyer before 21 days-an unfair and unacceptable situation for both buyer and seller to be in
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