Funds on hold - item delivered and good feedback received

[haze_2303]

I started selling on ebay a couple of months ago after being a buyer for quite a few years. 

I got off to a good start selling some motorcycle / mtb parts.

All was going well, until my last 2 items were sold and ebay are now withholding my funds.

Both items were dispatched either same day or following day with tracked delivery.

Both items show as delivered and buyers have given good feedback that they are happy with the item.

I have offers on other items, but am reluctant to sell on ebay now, as it appears they are making up spurious reasons to steal sellers money. 

I have had no explanation as to why this has happened, other than the usual 'the buyer may have an issue with the item' waffle. 

The good feedback would indicate that they are happy with the item and my prompt dispatch times, however, the chat bot just sends me around the houses until I get the hump and leave the chat.

Does anybody have any insight into why this is happening before I remove all my listings and move to vinted?

Trying to make an extra few quid in these testing times, and I'm a hundred quid out of pocket as it stands!

[Anonymous]

Rest assured, this seller will never use eBay again. 

[eastern-lights]

---

@dougbat20 wrote:

---

---

But in the same way, eBay applying random payment holds does not achieve anything because the seller will not know when, or indeed if, they will get their money that they deserve.

---

Yes. However, this isn't exactly random. Looks to me like a returning seller suddenly selling an expensive item. We know Ebay put a hold on payments in this situation, to cover themselves against returns, regardless of feedback and tracking.

Certainly Ebay could and should be more up front about this, perhaps highlighting this possibility at time of listing, and giving clear information about time scale.  (Usually 30 days?)

[simi1977_9]

I don't know but it has started to happen to me and I am a new small business starting out, I can't afford to buy the things I need without my wholesale purchase money and they are holding it. a lady put a request in saying her item hadn't been delivered, we spoke the entire time so this came out of the blue. I think she was a little not all there because I gave her the tracking details days prior to the request, she closed the request when the items arrived two days later than ebays expected delivery date, I contacted and got onto royal mail before she made the request and updated her even with screen shots of the Royal mail, even though I updated tracking and gave her the tracking number by message aswell, she didn't use it and still opened a request. On recieving the items she put a lovely review, sent me loads of photos of her purchase in situe and said how lovely and well made they were and said I was a lovely seller... god knows what was going on in her head , sometimes mail can be a little delayed but it was not weeks... so my payments were going to be on hold but she closed the request saying they had been delivered, then I sold an item and everything went back to normal and I recieved payments as usual, now Ive had another sale yesturday and suddenly payments are on hold for no apparent reason, can't get an answer from ebay. just like you I am going round in circles. They claim to care about the seller but I am a sole trader trying to start a business after unemployment and they are preventingme from buying things to make some of my items.

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

"I am a new small business starting out" then your problem may be that you haven't registered correctly ?.

[simi1977_9]

What do you deem as registering properly because I had to register to start selling, and how do I look into that or the registration if it wasn't sufficient

[zoomingmouse]

Have a read of the help page below to see if it applies:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/business-seller-policy?id=4710 

[adraba_kut9d0b8j2]

This sales platform is a joke.
I have had an account since 2018.

149 opinions 100% positive. I sold the goods, the shipment arrived and the tracking was connected to eBay. The buyer gave good feedback. And eBay writes that it will keep the funds in the account for 30 days. I will pass the matter on to a lawyer. Even though it's in the regulations, it's sick.

[nippyr_990]

I have not played them yet as I am waiting to get blank cds

[northlandia_crystals]

Weve been successfully selling on eBay for over a year, with 100% positive feedback. We sold items last week which show as delivered, one item has positive feedback but is showing as delivery pending.

No funds have been squared into our eBay balance yet.

Whatever eBay are doing has teething problems, I hope they can remedy this sooner rather than later.

Trying to contact eBay is more difficult than arranging an interview with The Pope, so there's little or no help in the ironically called help pages and AI chats.

[wintersdawn1]

Ebay call back:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

[papso22]

Perhaps ebay are going to query your account status?  That comes with payment holds.

[lifeistheoccasion]

Hello, 

I am having the same issue. 

Private seller and withholding funds until the item is delivered is a really bad move by eBay in my opinion. 
At the mercy of the couriers. 
should be an algorithm as soon as in the couriers system we should have our funds released! 
On the virtual chat if you type in ‘Speak with human’ it will then trigger a call back with an estimated wait time.

Been on eBay for 19 years  now and they really need to invest in AI/Algorithms that work!

[nikolar_36]

Hi buddy I’m nearly £600 down on  eBay they have the money but won’t pay  drips and drabs starting on the 22nd I have had to pay over £300 on posting these items, can’t see anyway forward with this company as they are ripping off the buyers with this buyers protection fee, which is about £1 on a £4 item and about £2.50 on things for £10 so all my items look expensive now, I’m just going to go on a indefinite holiday, till they get this sorted, but I suppose it’s just the rich taking from the poor, nothing new there then, shame on you ebay, ripping buyers and sellers off, and then have the cheek to not even payout,

[wara_rat]

It does however make you feel better.

[candy2010doll]

Similar issue here. Bought postage via eBay assuming it would be better than buying from Royal Mail. Tracking not updated. Buyer confirmed they have received the item when I queried. 

Got in touch with eBay. They are pushing me to pressure the buyer to give feedback which I refused to do. They can see the buyer’s response. Also, requested that I provide photo of proof of dispatch which I provided. Then, said I have to wait for an X number of days to get paid or should push the buyer to provide feedback. 

Too much of  waste of time to bother with eBay. Been using for 14 years but think it’s time use another platform

[tressygirl]

---

@candy2010doll wrote:

Similar issue here. Bought postage via eBay assuming it would be better than buying from Royal Mail. Tracking not updated. Buyer confirmed they have received the item when I queried. 

Got in touch with eBay. They are pushing me to pressure the buyer to give feedback which I refused to do. They can see the buyer’s response. Also, requested that I provide photo of proof of dispatch which I provided. Then, said I have to wait for an X number of days to get paid or should push the buyer to provide feedback. 

With this new system of payments if you sell items under the value of £10 if feedback is received for those said items,  then the payout is released within 2 days.

Whilst I have never agreed to asking a buyer for feedback as you could receive some you didn't wish for, and above all , it is not mandatory, if you cannot / do not wish to wait 14 days for the release of those payments I think a polite message to the buyer asking for feedback and  explaining exactly why,  so your payout now on hold for 2 weeks is released, I'm sure most would oblige and leave that feedback.

I would stress to ask just the once, any more,  and it would look like harassment.

@candy2010doll 

---

[judydoodles]

There still seems some opacity in why and for how long ebay will hold funds. 

What steps has ebay taken, when negotiating with EVRI, RM etc, to buy postage on a seller's behalf, to encourage the courier to always scan and log deliveries correctly?   Individual sellers have no influence on this failing.

The courier failure to scan, coupled with the inaccurate uploading of tracking to the ebay site, has not been addressed prior to launching the new rules.  It's a problem that has been reported on these boards for a very long time; a known problem.  Had ebay fixed this known problem first the new processes would not generate so many customer queries.  Buyer or seller we are ebay's clients; customers purchasing a service.

When negotiating with EVRI, RM etc in planning Sinful Delivery they had the bargaining power to enforce a HOLD of funds from the courier company until a parcel is scanned correctly; that might have encouraged the courier company to encourage their couriers to remember to scan correctly - as their contract with ebay should state.  Is that too much to ask?  Enforcing financial holds against ebayers is easier, I suppose.  Ebay has the tech to upload correct and timely tracking updates but hasn't implemented anything effective yet.  If the tracking is showing delivered on the couriers' own websites then the link between theirs and ebay's system is faulty.  Saying it's with the "team" or a "ticket has been raised" isn't fixing it.

Similarly when using SD, surely the seller's responsibility for the package delivery ends when the courier company receives the parcel?  So why is delivery relevant to holding funds? 

Why is there any need to freeze the seller's money based on unreliable scanning of a the package label when delivered and a faulty ebay/courier interface?

As I said on another thread, in January 2025 my payout would be released after 24 hours: what additional risk am I presenting to buyers from Feb 25 onwards? 

Prior to Feb 25, if a buyer had reported an item NAD ebay was still equipped to claw back the sale price or hold equivalent funds in my ebay account to cover an outcome where the buyer is to be refunded.  However in 20 years I haven't had a NAD case opened.   Effusive obsequious CS messages thanking me for being a reliable seller is rather galling when they suddenly don't trust me as a seller.

In what way does holding my funds, allowing them to be gouged for interest by ebay, protecting my buyers or protecting me when I buy?  That seems a very basic question for ebay to equip yourself or other ebay reps to answer. 

[I appreciate that the easy route is to challenge my right to sell as a private seller but that isn't a debate for a public forum however it would be really good to answer the real questions.  TIA.]

In launching the new policies has ebay consulted enough seller and buyer focus groups, because it is now failing to answer queries honestly or adequately - the policies don't seem to gel together properly and that is all in the planning..by ebay.

Finally I am also a buyer, but I am not aware of the added protection that the payment of BPF on every single item bought from a private seller.  What am I getting for 72/75p and 4% that wasn't provided by the MBG?  How about a UK based help desk manned 24/7 that can answer calls?

Long post sorry for hijacking OP's thread.

[lucy_farmer]

'the policies don't seem to gel together properly and that is all in the planning..by ebay.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't believe ebay worry about the 'gelling together;' of their plans, because all the new rules are really only there for one reason.

Despite any business bullsh** spin, about 'being of benefit to buyers', these new rules are for the benefit of ebay's bottom line.

(there's basically no difference in 'benefit to buyers' than there was before the 4th of Feb)

Ebay dumped private seller fees in order to say they are 'free to sell!' and compete with other sites like vinted.

Therefore ebay have to make up the missing money from *somehwere*.

So; buyer's fees - that'll bring in a bit.

Payment holds- that'll bring in a bit more on the interest made.

Simple delivery - and that'll bring in a bit more on how much ebay can charge for delivery, after getting a ruddy good deal with the couriers.

(the other reason for SD, is that it'll stop sellers pulling the 'item price low, postage price high' trick, as the buyer's fee is charged on the item not the postage.)

There is another reason ebay are making life difficult for private sellers, but you dont' want to hear that one. 😐

[topi-6693]

Its because as well as your funds,  eBay have millions in a pot of other people's cash . If an item has been tracked using eBay postage and it says delivered and the buyer has left positive feedback,  there is no reason whatsoever for eBay to hold onto your funds other than to get interest on the millions of pounds /dollars they're holding 

If the buyer is happy with their purchase and its confirmed as delivered,  then that's exactly why they're holding on to it. 

Ive got 2 items sold and both buyers have left positive feedback and its confirmed but they've got me waiting to withdraw my own money . Scandalous 

[topi-6693]

I dont blame them .  How dare they hold on to our money??