Funds pending – awaiting delivery - Why has this suddenly started?

[leisurecomplex]

Hi,

I've been using eBay for 24 years now and I have never had a 'Funds pending – awaiting delivery' show on any sale.

For some reason this has shown on three items I have sold over the past couple of days, when everything else I have sold over the past couple of months has been fine and payment has arrived as usual.

These are physical items, not digital, and I've been selling for 24 years, so why all of a sudden is this a thing?

thanks

Sam

[dmscollectables]

For info, this is my 'Away' message:

There seems to be a problem with Ebay's delivery confirmation process resulting in the platform not releasing funds. I am therefore suspending selling for a time while the teething issues are worked through.

I'll open up for selling again on March 1st. If the problem remains unresolved I will terminate selling on Ebay, and start again with another platform. If I'm honest I would prefer paying a commission to Ebay ('Seller Protection') rather than risk not getting paid anything due to its own suboptimal delivery confirmation process. 

I'm also curious to find out whether I can make a non-delivery claim against Ebay, who I paid using its own 'Simple Delivery' process. It is ironic that I have confirmation of despatch (Post Office in all cases) but Ebay have admitted that their own appointed delivery agent has failed to deliver it.    

[dmscollectables]

I should add '..when their own appointed delivery agent has failed to deliver it, WHEN IT ACTUALLY HAS!'

This is a mess of Ebay's own making.

[objects-of-intrigue]

In my experience I am seeing two issues.

First: On two items (both international I am seeing green ticked delivery on the order page but in the accounts page neither have even been posted. These are items confirmed delivered to the recipient in Holland and the States SEVEN DAYS AGO. To reiterate I go into accounts and it says funds pending. Not posted yet. But when you click tracking on order details both say delivery complete.

Second. An item I sent domestically through parcelforce on the order page it says delivered. From order page click tracking tab it says not posted. Click on the tracking number from the track package pop up it directs to the parcelforce page confirming delivery. On accounts page it just says posted. Funds pending.

Ebay have monumentally messed this whole process up.

[*devils.advocate*]

A buyer, like myself, pays fees no matter what name they go by - whether it's a Buyer’s Fee or it's a Seller’s Fee (unless, for the latter, the seller is daft).

So, sellers would salve their conscience by passing monies onto eBay themselves by way of a Seller’s Fee - and letting me ultimately pay higher fees - rather than me paying a lesser amount directly to eBay?

Ye gods - in which direction has "selling" gone?

[kath3735_wxmjn]

but they could get one of those anyway and the money would come out of your e bay or bank account.  What difference does it make?

[department28]

'There seems to be a problem with Ebay's delivery confirmation process resulting in the platform not releasing funds. I am therefore suspending selling for a time while the teething issues are worked through.'

One of the fundamental problems with this 'funds pending until delivery' situation, is that the 'teething troubles' won't ever be over. How can eBay fix all the many & varied postal/courier delays & tracking issues etc, so that everyone receives their funds when they are entitled to them? 

It would be interesting to know how many complaints ebay have already received, no doubt most of them along the lines of 'my item has been marked delivered but funds are still pending'.  eBay must have been aware this would happen - along with all the stress & time-wasting it would cause small sellers - when they rolled this scheme out.

[eastern-lights]

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@objects-of-intrigue wrote:

In my experience I am seeing two issues.

First: On two items (both international I am seeing green ticked delivery on the order page but in the accounts page neither have even been posted. These are items confirmed delivered to the recipient in Holland and the States SEVEN DAYS AGO. To reiterate I go into accounts and it says funds pending. Not posted yet. But when you click tracking on order details both say delivery complete.

Second. An item I sent domestically through parcelforce on the order page it says delivered. From order page click tracking tab it says not posted. Click on the tracking number from the track package pop up it directs to the parcelforce page confirming delivery. On accounts page it just says posted. Funds pending.

Ebay have monumentally messed this whole process up.

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Ebay would like to thank you for your unpaid work alpha testing their software update.  😃

[vinylmad2023]

Fortunately, I've received funds for items I sent RM Tracked 48hrs, 2days after delivery was confirmed by tracking - as should be the case/as advertised.

HOWEVER, for items I've sent RM 2nd Class Large Letter, purchased through ebay with the generic tracking number uploaded (which only confirms delivery if the postie scans it on arrival)...I have three items that have been scanned on delivery and marked on ebay/my orders page as 'delivered' and x1 'Funds available in ebay balance 15th Feb' and other x2 with same message for 16th Feb...but neither have appeared in my funds to withdraw, with my balance still showing as £0.00, but I can see funds 'still pending' in my account! So either the 2-day post tracked delivery 'funds released' rule only applies to TRACKED services (RM24/48 etc) and not other forms of tracking delivery, or the system isn't working.

On top of this, last week I processed a refund for a buyer for (combined postage) about 10mins after they purchased and noticed the refund came out of my 'available funds' instead of 'pending funds', so i no longer keep any £ in my ebay balance and immediately withdraw it, as ebay should deduct the refund from the pending funds on the sale/order they are holding back. Because of this I now withdraw all my £ when its immediately available rather than allow ebay to hold it for longer than necessary and accrue even more interest for themselves!

This means I'm no longer buying items on ebay as a result (from either business or private sellers). I doubt I'll continue selling any of my unwanted items once my remaining items sell, and my funds are eventually available I'll withdraw them straight away, all due to this fiasco. 

[lucy_farmer]

'I'm also curious to find out whether I can make a non-delivery claim against Ebay, who I paid using its own 'Simple Delivery' process. It is ironic that I have confirmation of despatch (Post Office in all cases)....'

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Sorry, just for clarity : Are you the buyer (you paid using Simple Delivery,  as the buyer is the one paying the postage *not* the seller) or the seller (you have confirmation of dispatch)?

If you're the buyer and your item doesn't arrive, you get your money back (as usual)

If you're the seller and the item doesn't arrive with the buyer, the buyer gets their refund from EBAY , not the seller.

When using Simple Delivery the seller doesn't need to do a non-delivery claim. They just keep the money from the sale (the postage money don't enter into it, as it was paid by the buyer).

[dmscollectables]

I think you misunderstand my point.  Ultimately, the buyer does pay for postage but he doesn't actually post it. The seller posts the item and in the Ebay world is responsible for its delivery.  If the buyer does not receive the item the buyer makes a refund claim against the seller, and usually gets his money back. If the seller has proof of despatch a claim will be made against the courier\carrier for non-delivery. Ebay has established itself as an agent within the posting process, a middleman between the seller and the courier\carrier. Ebay deducts the postage costs as soon as the postage label is generated. In other words it takes the money and then pays the courier\carrier for moving the item from the seller to the buyer. Thus the seller has no direct contact with the courier\carrier, unlike a situation where you engage one e.g. Royal Mail via a local post office.  Ebay's position is likely to be that 'Simple Delivery' equates to them being a facilitator just like a local post office. But is it? I'm not too clear if that is the case. 

The problem for me is that the items have been delivered. I've simply have not been paid. Thus, if the items have been delivered I can't legally make a claim against the carrier knowing that they have been delivered. My only recourse is to Ebay. But Ebay's position is that the items have not been delivered. Are Ebay's substandard agreements with carriers (i.e. no compulsory QR\barcode scanning on delivery) essentially facilitating a fraud against sellers?  I can live with the 2 days after delivery policy, but only when the delivery confirmation process actually works. As I write I have no idea when funds paid on delivered items will be passed on to me - I've seen several goes at this (14 days after ? starts March etc.) but remain non the wiser. In the meantime I await a response from Ebay, including an advisory on what they think the legal position is on withholding funds. 

[lucy_farmer]

'The seller posts the item and in the Ebay world is responsible for its delivery.  If the buyer does not receive the item the buyer makes a refund claim against the seller, and usually gets his money back.'

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If you used 'Simple Delivery', *you* do not pay the refund for a non-delivery.

Ebay do.

If you used Simple Delivery you had to use tracked  postage, so ebay know it was actually posted.

You may not have your money yet, but you will get it in the end. Either 14 days after the sale , or maybe 30 (?) if there is a non-delivery dispute going on. Yes it'll take ages, but you should eventually get the money from the sale regardless of whether it has actually been delivered or not.

You can't make a claim against the carrier as you don't have the postage contract with them; ebay do.

The buyer bought the postage.

Ebay received the postage.

Ebay bought the postage service and sent you the label.

You just stuck the label on the parcel and put it into the postal system.

If you've been talking to ebay CS on the telephone, try not to believe every word they say. Many of them have no idea about the rules and are bound to be totally clueless about the changes.

The ebay system /automated process/computer/ whatever *should* end the non delivery case *in your favour* if you used Simple Delivery.  It says so in 'the new rules'.

[rugbyguy1960]

My only concern about that is, RM cust service are much better. For me personally all my items are sent RM tracked. If there are any issues both me and a buyer can contact RM.

This way we would be dealing with the service provider direct.

[dmscollectables]

Thanks. I got a written response from Ebay who basically confirmed that if the carrier does not scan the item on delivery, that I will get paid after 14 days. Alas, as you suggested they don't really understand the process, or who actually has responsibility for what. The answer given did not address the core issues I raised and seemed to have missed the fact that it was Ebay's own 'Simple Delivery' process used in all cases. Bottom line is that it's going to continue to be hit and miss as to when you will get paid.

'I understand you are concerned as why the payments are on hold despite sending items. Rest assured I will make sure this is handled promptly.

As per recent update in our payment process, payments are now released 2 days after delivery confirmation via tracking. If tracking is not used or dies not show delivery confirmation, the funds will be automatically released after 14 calender days. This change has been implemented to ensure a consistent and transparent experience across the marketplace for private sellers. By introducing standardised processes, we aim to build trust in every transaction and provide clear expectations for both buyers and sellers. This approach helps create a reliable and seamless experience for everyone at eBay. We use transaction holds to foster smooth, satisfying transactions. Holds help eBay remain a safe place to buy and sell, and they ensure we meet our legal and compliance obligations.

Upon reviewing your account and orders, we found that the tracking information has not yet been updated as 'delivered". Once the tracking status is updated and successfully marked as delivered, the funds will be released automatically releases within 2 days of delivery confirmation. In this case, we recommend reaching out to your courier service and requesting them to update the delivery status. Once the courier updates the tracking as delivered your funds will be processed accordingly.'

[andha-21]

Please keep a copy of the above letter as that might be very useful for the next stage of the rollout, where eBay want to be in charge of postage.

Surely what they say to you above, should apply to them as well. Especially as the contract with courier will be with them, not the seller.

[bittyboy101]

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@andha-21 wrote:

Please keep a copy of the above letter as that might be very useful for the next stage of the rollout, where eBay want to be in charge of postage.

Surely what they say to you above, should apply to them as well. Especially as the contract with courier will be with them, not the seller.

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Please tell your eBay management team to stop rolling out all this rubbish and to roll back the slow payments back to SAME DAY payments.

Thank You.

[1956glyn]

I am confused.      You now think @andha-21 actually works for Ebay?

[andha-21]

Looks that way. I think English may be their third language. I saw their reply and I was caught between a *bleep* and a wow. It was like 1+2=17.

[1956glyn]

As it often ends up on these boards lately 😞

Honestly i am less inclined lately to even visit the boards let alone respond on them.

Conspiracy theories are rife and sometimes bordering on the ridiculous !!

[andha-21]

Emotions running high, logic goes straight out the window.

But there are some good eggs here, not all bad.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

come on 1956glyn, you should know by now that anyone who does not agree with him has to work for e bay!!