eBay Seller: Waiting for Proceeds Is the Last Straw

by: ssusannss

I sell on Poshmark and Mercari, and on both venues we have to wait for payment. The only difference is that the payment is released when your item is accepted or three days, whichever is first. eBay releases your paryment two days after shipping, but allows 30 days for returns. I’ve stopped selling on eBay because no one needs 30 days to decide if a blouse is acceptable. At least once the other venues give you your money, it’s yours to keep.  

by: COVID-19

@ ssusannss

The reason eVilBay does this is because Big Bro Amazon and Great Grandpa Walmart do it first!  eVilBay does nothing but COPY the horrible policies of others that allow crooked, abusive, or just plain stupid buyers to trample on sellers.

by: The Fed

Recently I had my first return in many years. The reason given for the return was false, totally false. It was obvious the buyer just wanted their money back so they made up a totally false reason. I was glad that it was so obviously false. But after talking to 6 or 7 Ebay reps, I found out that it didn't matter. Most of them could understand the issues and agreed with me. But it didn't matter that the buyer was lying. It didn't matter that the Seller Protection rules clearly lay out what happens to protect me against an abusive buyer. I was forced to issue a refund based on lies. Not only that but three of the Ebay reps gave me really bad advice. I wasn't sure but I later found an old "escalations" and "Trust and Safety" employee, and he was horrified at the advice I'd been given. The three reps had said, in hushed conspiratorial tones, that I should simply not refund, Ebay would step in and use my funds to refund, and then I could appeal and they said, "you'll win!". This is not true, there is no guarantee to win an appeal and I'd have the first ever mark on my account since I started in 1996. Some of the reps cannot be trusted. I used to enjoy talking to the reps in the Philippines, but they've become sour or jaded lately based on my small sampling. Talking to reps in any other country now is always better than the ones in the Philippines. The reps in Uraguay and Ireland were 100 times better. So long story, but I spent the better part of two days on the phone talking with reps. After 1000's of sales with no returns in many years, the one time I needed seller protection all I got was a lot of frustration, different incorrect information from different reps, put on hold for long periods of time, and just plain lied to. All the while I was extremely courteous. The people you talk to at Ebay don't care about you at all. Their customer service remains horrifically bad. The Seller CAN WIN a case, but you have to be willing to try very hard and call, and call, and call, and wait and wait, and explain simple words in English that they don't understand, and listen to broken English and poor grammar, over and over again. It was really incredibly stressful for me. Ebay doesn't value me as a long time seller at all.

by: Chicago48

I get payments deposited every two weeks from EB and sometimes even quicker.  I don't know how they decide to deposit your money.  It's still a mystery.  At least with AMZ it's every 2 weeks and maybe EB is trying to follow them.  I don't know.  But with Merc, once the pkg is received they send email alerts letting the buyer & seller know to rate the order within 3 days.  (I LIKE THAT!) If the buyer doesn't rate in 3 days, the seller gets payment deposited into Merc's account.  (I LIKE THAT)  and the seller can buy on their site or transfer to the bank.
With Posh it's 7 days.  I have no problems with the way those sites pay.  It's seamless.  But with EB, I'm always questioning if I got the right amount or when it's going to be deposited.

by: pace306

Every part of the eBay "process" is some kind of scam/game - that ALWAYS puts the onus on the seller.

eBay pushed managed payments after the split from Paypal because it solved many of its severe issues.

1) No one knows what terms Adyen gave eBay, but knowing the billions that flow through both companies hands - its probably a sweetheart deal and the terms are better then what little Paypal could do - so eBay makes MORE money

2) the funds are available right away - but eBay tells you 3-4 days (not counting Sat/Sun/holidays etc). But you certainly know that its all BS, right? If you have Chase (as an example) you can Zelle pay people and get the funds seconds later - NOT 3 days later. Its 2021 not 2019 - funds transfer is a button push - anyone that tells you that it HAS to be 3 days is a liar (that would be eBay). So the money sits in their bank and they (if pressed hard enough) that they dont make anything (interest) but of course its a lie. Its MORE money for eBay.

3) Managed payments is eBays NEW way to make money. The platform ISNT growing - they tell Wall Street that it is - but SELLERS know its not. You can simply go to your saved sellers list and see how many are gone or have nothing for sale ... "sure it grew %7" (my you know what it did!). Telling Wall Street about all the new income streams inflates eBays (already) too high stock value - and that makes eBay (wait for it ...) MORE money.

4) Forcing sellers into the nightmare known as MP gives eBay flexibility and control over sellers in ways Pierre (hailed as some kind of Einstein type genius for inventing the "online flea market") never dreamed of. You can have a company in San Jose (who dont forget, rips off OTHER CA counties by manipulating tax laws) have full control over YOUR business. You have to list what and when and where they tell you, in the fashion they tell you, they tell you HOW you can go on vacation and if you dont do it exactly right they penalize you, and now they control ALL of your financial decisions - all with out doing ANYTHING. THEY get paid, they take what they think is theirs (mafia tactics) and then give you back "whats yours" (maybe) - when THEY see fit to. Theres ZERO regulatory oversight, the local and state CA governments are as crooked as they come (ala Newsome) and if theres an issue - they hold YOUR money!

Theres no such thing as "Seller Protection". Never was, never will be - MP put a stake through what ever little heart was there - thats why saying Griff is useless is not a lie - what does he actually do all day? How does he look himself in the mirror when the very sellers he said his job is to protect - get stolen from? Hes an SOB (and Griff - if you want to come sue me - I give Ina permission to give your attorneys my personal info)(come at me bro)) who does nothing ALL day.

Yes - when you need protection the most - when you need HELP the most - eBay is NEVER there - unless you embarrass them or make them look bad in public - then they are your friend ... with out it ... you are (all sellers are) enemy #1. You are a tool to be used and then discarded.

eBay isnt your friend, they arent friendly - they are a (bad) website that uses their TOS to steal from you instead of a 9mm.

by: COVID-19

@ Pace306

👏🏼 Applause! 👏🏼

by: Snapped

There is nothing wrong with your computer. Do not attempt to adjust the interface. We are controlling transaction. If we wish to make it visible, we will turn up the watchers. If we wish to make it hide, we will tune out visibility.. We will control the prices. We will control the returns. We can roll the prices; make them flexible. We can change the terms to a soft blur or sharpen them to crystal clarity. Until the next ‘update’, sit quietly and we will control all that you list and sell. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the eBay awe and mystery which reaches from the inner boardroom to the OUTER LIMITS of ethics.

Cue commercial. For a competitor’s product.

by: iheartjacksparrow

@Snapped - Reading your post made me think: Perhaps eBay is being run by the Zanti Misfits.

by: CanBrit

I'm completely and utterly fed up with managed payments now. I was to have a transfer done today for $1007 and change. A return came in this morning which would have meant that $665 that should have been pulled from my payout.
Darn  missing parcel lost in Sarasota Florida for a month.

But no, of course not.  See below


Refund summary
Transaction details Transaction amount
Purchase price $749.00
Fee credits-$86.14        
Refund amount you owe
$662.86
How you paid Feb 16 Paid from VISA ending in 3443 -$406.19
How you paid     Feb 16     Deducted from total funds   -$256.67

Yesterday my Payments account showed $1007 that was supposed to be transferred today. no holds no processing.  

What the hell did they take that amount from my visa for??????

Now this is what it looks like.

-$841.90
Available funds

$749.00       On hold
$841.90        Processing

I can't even make sense of what's happened to the payments, 1 other return I had last week is still showing up as  a negative. I'm going to have to reconcile this somehow but I am completely FED UP. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

by: Vox29
Web Site

"There is nothing wrong with your computer. Do not attempt to adjust the interface. We are controlling transaction. If we wish to make it visible, we will turn up the watchers. If we wish to make it hide, we will tune out visibility.. We will control the prices. We will control the returns. We can roll the prices; make them flexible. We can change the terms to a soft blur or sharpen them to crystal clarity. Until the next ‘update’, sit quietly and we will control all that you list and sell. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the eBay awe and mystery which reaches from the inner boardroom to the OUTER LIMITS of ethics."

LOVED your comparison. I was a fan of that show. It's one of the many reasons I left eBay, along with those other sellers that left it. Since I started there (2 months) I sold only two things and got good reviews, but it was the way eBay treated my listings that made me get up and go.

by: Chicago48

OP, please search for 5 Things You May Not Know About eBay Managed Payments on Youtube by Flippin aint easy.

by: postbuster

@ CanBrit

Now the corruption has reached a lower level.
It's at the bottom of the crusted septic tank, where all of the bacteria (AKA the ebay executives) feed on their own ideas.

When corporate starts spending YOUR money to address THEIR problems, that is too far.  They are pulling a slight of hand on your account, take some from your funds, and the greater portions from your bank account.

Sounds like they want to deplete your personal funds so any revenue you have is in their account which they can give to you whenever they want to.  Which is very slowly.

by: CanBrit

@postbuster

I had another return this afternoon, not a big one. But guess what. The entire thing was taken from my Payment balance. Personally I think it is complete corruption that eBay can steal money out of your credit card, when they have the money already sitting in my account with them.

You an't get through to managed payments period. I've tried every 15 minutes today. The same pop up shows. I checked the programming behind the screen and there is nothing that will take you anywhere except to throw up that stupid message.

Jeepers, when will the government and any other law maker take them to task?????? Its gone way out of proportion and they are allowed to steal regardless. IT IS PURE AND UTTER THEFT!!!!

I will bet hand over fist there is additional programming that checks the amount of the return. If it goes over a certain amount, regardless of monies in your Payments account, they will either go to your bank or credit card.

Slimy a****wholes.  

by: Marie

@ssusannss

It is not a requirement in MP to have actually shipped the item before the money can be released to the seller through payout.  It is 1-2 days to clear the payment and then it is available to be transferred to the seller's bank on the next business day if the seller does daily deposits, or on the next Tuesday for those doing weekly deposits.

by: ssusannss

@Marie
And? I guess I wouldn't have known that because when I was with ebay I shipped the same day. My point was the 30 day return time and the fact that no matter when ebay releases the money, they can grab it back during that 30 day timeframe, whereas Mercari and Poshmark give a three day inspection period after delivery, then release the money and it's yours.  

by: Marie

@ssusannss

I understood your other points.  I simply corrected the one portion of your post that was inaccurate in regards to how MP works.

FYI they can grab the money back for a longer period of time than 30 days if the buyer uses a CC to pay and then files a dispute with their CCC.  IDK the rules on Mercari or Poshmark for if a buyer files a CC dispute.

by: CanBrit

Well I figured those slimly god knows what devils are doing and it just stinks like an outhouse.

Remember PayPal?  For many people, if you had a return, they put a hold on the funds until things were settled. If you decided to refund, then the funds were released and the buyer was paid.

EBUG 🕷🦂🦇🐌🦟 on the other hand....put's a hold on the funds. When you decided to refund the buyer, they look at your account. Oh look, there's a hold on their account. well they don't have enough to refund the buyer, so I'll take it from their account, credit card, whatever.

They wait until the money's from the seller bank account or credit card is paid back to them, then they pay out the refund.
BUT IT GETS BETTER....

AFTER THEY PAY THE REFUND, THEY FINALLY RELEASE YOUR HOLD.

If that isn't the scummiest, slimiest  pieces of garbage than anyone could think up????

MR. IONONE....You sir are a JERK!

by: CanBrit

@pace306 ; @lightning;

This last posit above is for both of you.

Didn't PayPal get in trouble a while back for holding funds? This is even worse!!!

by: Lightning

@CanBrit
I posted this problem in an earlier article.  i jumped on eBay for double charging, but it did come back the next day.  Same process as you had, but I had enough funds to cover it anyway, luckily.  An $80 refund, so not insurmountable.  Yes, it makes no sense to have a hold on the funds, and then NOT use those funds to complete the refund.  Just as stupid as can be.

As far as PayPal getting in trouble a while back, I had heard something about it, but never got the complete story.  I'm surprised they got in trouble.  They are not under a charter as a banking institution, just as a money facilitator.  I would think they could do whatever they wanted to, as long as they disclose it in their TOS.  Maybe that's how they got caught - didn't disclose it.  I bet that's changed since.

With the old system under PayPal, YOU decided when to move your money.  If you saw a possible refund coming up, maybe you left money in there earmarked for that purpose.  You had some control of the timing.  With MP, funds come out each business day or weekly, whichever you choose, and you can't flip a switch on and off.  But maybe you get paid $300 today, have no sales process today, and then a refund of $300 hits that same day.  Since the money emptied out of your account, eBay goes after the refund money that they just sent you, and ALSO has the $300 hold.  Both ways to pay the refund ignored.  Just classic eBay stupidity.

I guess the only thing you can do is check where you are in your MP account, and try to hold off on the refund (if even possible) until you had a good enough sales day to cover it.  Then make the refund.

Or you could go to weekly payouts, where you would increase your chances of having a positive balance to cover refunds.  But the same thing could happen even then.  Right after they pay you for the week, a refund shows up with no money against it (not counting the hold).  

I used to have holds with PayPal, and then in recent years they didn't hold the funds.  Maybe earned by competent activity through the years.

by: CanBrit

@Lightening

I do remember that post.

The problem is you have to have double the refund amount in your account. Another way eBay can sit on money. If a single return can be $1500.00 then  you need $3000 in your account to cover it. Since you have no clue if and when a refund will occur. I'll be damned if I leave that amount with those slimebags. Just another way they can tick me off I guess.

In addition, I have my eBay bank account as the primary for fees and funds and the credit card as the back up. Why take from the credit card?