HORRIBLE IDEA TO HOLD FUNDS FOR 21 DAYS!!!

[gearhed78]

  Holding funds from sellers until the buyer leaves feedback is the worst idea EVER! Since when does Paypal become an authority on buyer satisfaction?? A smooth transaction is all that I wanted from Paypal. If they are going to hold funds, then they should make it very clear BEFORE you use them!  Keeping my money in their account for 21 days is a HUGE disadvantage of using Paypal. Stick to transferring funds,not trying to be a satisfaction authority!

[plamenm]

It llooks like they doing that for or for no reason. I'm a member since 2008, with 100% positive feedback and had no any problems until 2/26, when they placed my money on hold! I'm expecting to become a power seller on ebay soon, and this action is totally ridiculous! Don't expect answer, your money are in safe place in their account.

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi everyone, and welcome to the forums!

Holding incoming payments is something we started within the last couple of years in response to a dynamic and rapidly changing selling environment. Some research showed that holding some or all of the payments is actually pretty standard practice in the payments processing industry. Holds by these other companies range from holding a percentage of payments for the lifetime of an account, or holding some or all of the payments for a rolling period of months or a year, or even holding 100% of all payments until a threshold amount is reached like a deposit reserve, which is then kept for the lifetime of the account.

The purpose of holding money in this manner is to create a safety net in the event that bad stuff happens. What's bad stuff? Well, bad stuff can be a lot of things. It could be outright seller fraud, sure... but it's just as likely to be a good person who encounters unforeseen circumstances that cause loss.

For instance, suppose there's a fire or flood where you keep your inventory, or your supplier goes bad and you suddenly have 50 buyers whose orders can't be filled on time and they all file disputes ... that's bad stuff. A new and growing business could completely go under without these types of precautions. The availability of funds for reversal until the item is safely delivered is a very helpful thing in those types of situations. It can mean the difference between having to sacrifice everything you've worked for, and being able to recover from a crisis. In fact, compared to the industry standards above, holding payments for only 21 days (with the option to have it released much, much sooner) is extremely flexible.  PayPal understands that a consistent cash flow is integral to young and small businesses alike, and so we opted for this choice rather than a more heavy-handed approach that most other payment processors apply.

So why do holds get placed on accounts that are no longer new? Well, there are a few reasons. PayPal is looking at a lot of things. The type of item being sold and the propensity for risk with that type of item, the circumstances of the payment, the seller's dispute history, how much current and correct identification information the seller has on file, and more. These things are all factors in whether or not holds are deemed necessary.

It's a little bit like car insurance rates. Car insurance companies make calculations based on risk. They look at global risk among all drivers, risk among demographics, and risk based on your individual driving history. They calculate the rate that you pay for your insurance, and it can fluctuate. The difference here is that you're not paying an insurance rate to us, you're paying it to yourself. Those funds are YOURS, and available to you after 21 days or after the delivery conditions are met.  You even have the option of earning a dividend on the funds while they’re in your pending balance if you enroll in the Money Market Fund!

I know that having your funds held is not the ideal circumstance, and can seem like an unreasonable measure for small or new sellers. It is, however, an important part of what makes PayPal the safer way to pay and be paid. It’s that confidence that PayPal creates that helps to allow all of our sellers access to an international market with millions of active buyers, each of them confident that buying online, from someone they don’t know, is safe and secure.  With PayPal at your side, it is!

Olivia

[Ridnpleasure]

Sorry Olivia, but this is just not fair without just cause to do so!!..If the customer will not leave feed back and

they have the product, well there has to be another way. I'm selling my product and they have it and YOU have my MONEY until you decide to give it to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Poor choice for Paypal!

Ridnpleasure

[genbug]

Im with ya Ridnpleasure.

This pending balance stuff is just retarded.  Im not a business who has a warehouse or worried about a drop shipper not delivering my product yada yada yada, and so forth about what your rambling on about.  Im just a stay at home mom who pays for products out of pocket,.  And until funds release I cannot get more supplies.  And a pending period is insane.

I have followed all the paypayl steps to get my money faster.  But I cannot control or force the buyers to leave me feedback.  The product has been shipped quickly and efficiently, delivered with tracking and now us as sellers feel like we are being punished.  How is that fair? 

If this continues to go on for every transaction (21 days pending) Ill be forced to stop using Paypal.  This is worse than a bank!!!!  And that is saying a lot.  When I get a cheque or cash from someone.  The bank doesnt say "WHOA - we need to hold this for 21 days...just to be safe!"   This is insane and you are going to lose a lot of people.

Its MY money - NOT YOURS.  I pay my fees and invoices so why can't I have whats rightfully mine.

Nonsense,

gen_bug

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi Ridnpleasure and genbug,

I definitely see your position. I'm a seller, too. I sell fairly infrequently, so I get holds on every payment. I'd certainly prefer immediate access to the funds. But I can also see it this way - the reason that a seller in a brick and mortar store gets the money immediately is that the buyer gets the item immediately. When a transaction is conducted online, PayPal determines the probable success of the transfer based on feedback, tracking, or (in the event that the first two are unavailable) time.

You're absolutely correct, the funds are yours. As a condition of the use of PayPal as a payment method, the funds are held pending the success of the item's transfer, or an amount of time that significantly reduces the risk of dispute.

Olivia

[Shadow2]

I SURE HOPE EBAY DEDUCTS MY SELLERS FEES OUT OF MY FIRST WAY OF PAYING MY FEE'S WHICH IS PAYPAL BALANCE!  IF THEY GO TO MY BACKUP SOURCE (BANK ACCOUNT) AND I USE THAT WHILE I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE THEY WON'T FIND MONEY THERE, AND THEN WHAT??

I AM NOT A NEW SELLER, I CAN SEE A HOLD ON ONE TRANSACTION, AND I'VE READ THE VARIOUS REASONS WHY THEY MAY HOLD MONEY, BUT NO ONE COULD GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER AND JUST KEPT GETTING DISCONNECTED!!!  

WHAT A F*CKING JOKE!  THEY CAN' T TRANSFER A CALL, BUT THEY CAN TRANSFER MY MONEY TO THEIRS!!

THEN A "SPECIALIST" TELLS ME TO PAY FOR POSTAGE OUT OF MY BACK UP SOURCE, AND I SAID, I HAVE NEVER DONE BUSINESS THE WAY YOU GUYS ARE TELLING ME TO, WHEN IT'S THE CUSTOMERS MONEY WHO ALSO PAID FOR THE SHIPPING.

HE SAID YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN BUSINESS IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BACKUP FOR COLLATERAL,

I SAID, EXCUSE ME??? WHO IS THIS SPECIALIST?? 

AND WHAT 'S SO FUNNY, IT' S LIKE "WE" THE DISGRUNTLED ONES ARE THE ONES THEY MAKE A NOTE OF AND LAUGH AT,  AND WHEN YOU CALL, LEAVE YOU HANGING ON FOR AN ETERNITY......ON PURPOSE OF COUSE. AND NO ONE, NO ONE, CAN TELL ME DIFFERENT OR DENY THAT OVER THERE.!!

I'VE BEEN DOCUMENTING EVERY CONVERSATION AND WHO I TALKED TO ,  ESPECIALLY THE "SPECIALIST'S" AS THEY ARE THE ONES WHO NEEDS TO MAKE ME, THE CUSTOMER AND SELLER, HAPPY.  IF NOT, THEY WILL EAT THEIR OWN WORDS.

WE ARE ALL RIGHT TO TRY TO MAKE THESE WRONGS, RIGHT.  SO MANY OF US CAN'T SEE AND FEEL WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!

AND CLEAR EXPLANATION EVEN A DIRECT QUOTE OUT OF THEIR PAGES OF RULES , AND MY GOSH, DO THEY  COVER THEIR BUTTS, BUT WE CAN'T ...BS....IF IT WAS JUSTIFIABLE, WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY, SO, OLIVIA CAN YOU LOOK INTO MY ACCOUNT AND GET BACK TO ME....

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND, AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW OR SHE WILL ON ANY, IF ANY, EXPLANATIONS.......

TAKE CARE,

shadow2

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@PayPal_Olivia wrote:

Hi Ridnpleasure and genbug,

I definitely see your position. I'm a seller, too. I sell fairly infrequently, so I get holds on every payment. I'd certainly prefer immediate access to the funds. But I can also see it this way - the reason that a seller in a brick and mortar store gets the money immediately is that the buyer gets the item immediately. When a transaction is conducted online, PayPal determines the probable success of the transfer based on feedback, tracking, or (in the event that the first two are unavailable) time.

You're absolutely correct, the funds are yours. As a condition of the use of PayPal as a payment method, the funds are held pending the success of the item's transfer, or an amount of time that significantly reduces the risk of dispute.

Olivia

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[CindynScott]

You people at Paypal are treating EVERYONE as CRIMINALS when in fact the Moral Majority of Sellers are honest and do things as we are supposed to when we sell an item.

Holding our money is like saying we are criminals and can not have our money until we do our chores that you assign to us being Judge and Jury..

I will no longer accept Paypal if this is going to be the way it is from now on.

Thank you for nothing Paypal, you are nothing but a hinderance for me and others that rely on Ebay as a part of our monthly income.

You say we will get our money three days after delivery confirmation with or without feedback being left..Bull Crap..It has been more than three days and still no money that is rightfully mine not YOURS.

this makes me very angry.

Again, thank you for nothing Paypal

[jkornbread]

Anyone friends with a lawyer?  It would be interesting to find out if its even legal for PayPal to do this.  As a payment processing company I'm not sure that they can legally retain your funds. 

[kserrah]

I'm definitely checking that one out on Monday!  My Uncle is a Lawyer..I'll tell you what I find out!

[Robert_B]

I sold an item on ebay and they put my money on hold. The buyer gave me positive feedback and the hold was not released after 24 hours. I had to call to get it released. I asked for the fee to be waived since Paypal did not live up to their promise without me having to waste my time calling them and I was put on hold. I hung up! Last time I will ever use this useless company! I would already have my money if I would have asked for a postal money order or other snail mail remuneration. Now I have to wait 3-4 business days to transfer the funds to my account! Where is the value????