Metropol

i'm not a great user of ebay, but i do use it to sell the odd unwanted item, like old contract phones and stuff like that... i recently sold an old monitor and has paypal/ebay has withheld the payment until the recipient gives me positive feedback.

i had a long argument with the guy at paypal arguing that paypal are merely a payment processor and have no jurisdiction to be judge and jury in dispute cases, that's why we have a small claims court, but he could do nothing about it, only adding that lots of people have been complaining about it.

i'm wondering if paypal is actually doing something illegal by withholding funds from sellers, they only have the word of the buyer that the item sold was not as described or not received, i could end up out of pocket and they get to keep the item. of course it's pretty stupid not to insure any item which is valuable, but with certain items it's just not worth it.

the even more annoying thing is that i have 100% positive feedback, i've never had a negative or neutral feedback and i've always paid my fees on time. i've only ever used ebay for legitimate reasons, merely to get rid of stuff that's too good to throw away.

the cost of selling an £80 monitor on ebay is, taking into consideration the paypal and ebay fee is about £6.

</rant over>

I'm guessing it's in the T&Cs now so there's a little bit of cover. I've just recently started looking for alternatives to ebay, even for casual selling because it's just too restrictive now.

I believe the funds are released either once positive feedback is received or after 60 days (I think) have passed. I'm guessing this is written into their terms somewhere stating that they have the right to do so, though I do think it should be a shorter time period such as 14 days. A rather convenient way for Paypal to make interest on the money.

Yes, well you can thank Australia's competition regulator for blocking an eBay attempt down here to make all transactions on the site be processed through PayPal. Had that got off the ground here (we were meant to be the guinea pigs for the scheme), it would have been rolled out globally.

Here is the specific part of the T&Cs involving this:

10.7 eBay Item Hold.

a. PayPal, in its sole discretion, may place a hold on a payment you receive for an eBay transaction when PayPal believes there may be a high level of risk associated with the transaction. If PayPal places a hold on your payment, it will show as "pending" in your PayPal Account.

b. Release of eBay item hold. PayPal will release the eBay item hold after 21 days unless you receive a Dispute, Claim, Chargeback, or Reversal on the transaction subject to the hold. PayPal may release the hold earlier if the buyer leaves positive feedback on eBay.

c. Additional hold period. If you receive a Dispute, Claim, Chargeback, or Reversal on the transaction subject to the eBay item hold, PayPal may hold the payment in your Account (or an amount equal to the relevant payment) until the matter is resolved pursuant to this Agreement.

Chunks in bold for detail. I had "pending" on several of my sold item transactions back before you were able to screen bidders which fell below certain criteria, usually if you're in good stead then it's usually the buyer who's a bit dodgy. Thing is, you have to wait the 21 days before you get the money if the buyer wants to be a dick about it. You won't be conned out of it, just won't get it in any timely way because the buyer's a deadbeat. Opening a dispute about it would only drag it out pointlessly, only incentive is to the buyer really as then it's a "buy now, pay in a month or two" scenario for them.

It's not a dispute (unless you're not telling us that it is) and it's not illegal to withhold funds if they see an issue, if anything they reckon they're covering your arse against the buyer doing a runner and not paying. A more logical step would be preventing them from making transactions like this but then where's the fun in that? Charile, I don't think they earn interest, they may deal in cash but no interest has ever came in or out of it.

Mr Q wrote:Yes, well you can thank Australia's competition regulator for blocking an eBay attempt down here to make all transactions on the site be processed through PayPal. Had that got off the ground here (we were meant to be the guinea pigs for the scheme), it would have been rolled out globally.

Yeah, I was thinking about just how finicky Aussies were towards PayPal but I find that totally reasonable, no reason to be locked into a payment system not everyone can use. I'd be happy with a demerger of PayPal from eBay.

ebay is quite appalling these days. The removal of negative feedback for starters I find baffling and their fee structure stinks of pure greed.

I'm not sure why they're doing this to be honest, they seemed to have everything ticking along quite nicely and they've just shot themselves in the foot.

Annoyingly, whilst there are paypal alternatives such as alertpay, there is a distinct lack of good ebay alternatives so we're kinda stuck with them.

It stunk of greed back in 2004 even (when I was using it a lot) so I can't imagine much has improved as I haven't sold a thing since 2006. Basically, when you're the king you make the rules even if said rules make the whole thing a total joke. I fucked off to Google Checkout from PayPal sometime ago, works well for me.

Hymagumba wrote:I'm not sure why they're doing this to be honest, they seemed to have everything ticking along quite nicely and they've just shot themselves in the foot.

I'm not sure quite how nicely things are ticking along. My understanding is that investors are generally disappointed with eBay's current performance, and are looking to see increased profits. eBay's recent approach has been to try and squeeze value out of the relationship between eBay and PayPal, by trying to get more users of the auction site to adopt their online payment mechanism.

Mr Q wrote:I'm not sure quite how nicely things are ticking along.

I meant about two years ago before they started going over the top with the paypal and the fee changes and the like

I was forced into setting up a paypal account when I was selling - as you need it before you can click the link through to "postage label" for the winning bidder. I just couldn't find a way round it.

Even worse is that the paypal option now appears for all of my selling items, which people insist on paying into despite my clear written instructions not to. It adds time to the transaction and reduces what little money I hope to get after listing fees.

What the heck is wrong with using a bank transfer? Its quicker now using the "faster payment service" the banks have introduced and its not subject to a fee.

Ebay are greedy bastards. What exactly do they do for their millions?

I think the time is right for a new auction site with more realistic fees. There's clearly a gigantic market.

Surprised google haven't swooped in.

Gavin Scott wrote: What the heck is wrong with using a bank transfer? Its quicker now using the "faster payment service" the banks have introduced and its not subject to a fee.

Not all the banks have finished introducing it yet. I don't think my bank have finished rolling it out.