New Rule - eBay to hold sellers funds for 14 days

[charliethethird]

Effective February 2025, ebay will hold private sellers funds for 14 days if the order is posted with an un-tracked delivery service (such as Royal Mail 2nd Class).

I think it's a brilliant idea if they want private sellers to leave the platform in their masses.

More info here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold?id=4814

[jma2815]

I weigh the packed parcel after the order has been received. I’m often surprised by the postal category it fits in and sometimes have to use a box that is a larger size than I thought I needed for the item or add more padding than I thought. 

With SD it sounds as if I’d have to pack, weigh and measure every item before listing to ensure the buyer was shown the correct labels at checkout. Insane, especially if dealing with disparate items in a ‘lot’.  

[lucy_farmer]

'With SD it sounds as if I’d have to pack, weigh and measure every item before listing to ensure the buyer was shown the correct labels at checkout. Insane, especially if dealing with disparate items in a ‘lot’.  '

Yes, I think you're right.

And it's going to be a right p.i.t.a.

[vintique*violet]

This occurred to me yesterday

However, tracking would prove delivery of tracked items

Are sellers who send untracked actually covered though? 

Probably not

I would imagine if there is no tracking, then the seller will have to refund, otherwise, yes it is a massive scam opportunity

So even if eBay haven't thought this through, I would imagine that very soon, eBay will remove protection from sellers and make them refund buyers where they sent items untracked

Sellers who use tracked postage would still be covered by eBay and wouldn't be required to refund the buyers, as eBay covers that refund. 

This has been raised as a concern previously, untracked with 14 days wait payout... 

I and others have said before what is stopping " unscrupulous buyers" from waiting a week or 10 days and then claiming not delivered ( when it has)... Or even genuinely the item being undelivered... what precautions or protection do sellers have?  Previously Proof of Posting receipt was sufficient... no matter what post courier was used... that ensured eBay and the buyer the item was posted. If there was a non delivered claim, the seller had the option to refund directly and claim from the postal courier for the item lost. 

With SD the postal contract is between eBay and courier... not with the seller - they are just processing the " sale"...and as in the terms and conditions ( forget where) the item ownership is with the seller UNTIL it is  considered " successfully delivered" ... even when the parcel is in transit, the seller still owns that item ( because they have received no funds due to funds held)...If they have purchased the label through eBay  and it is then " scanned " in the system - it is in the system to be "potentially" delivered by the postal courier.  If it is not delivered, how is that the sellers responsibility? 

Will eBay take responsibility and refund both seller and buyer?

How can eBay make sellers refund buyers if sent untracked? ...that would be daylight robbery...No item and no funds? 

There are many anomalies with this system and it just has not been thought through enough in my opinion. 

[niceprice777]

Until we know how all this works, and when compulsory tracking will come in, I am thinking about starting all of my listing descriptions with the message 'if you have less than 100 feedback counts then please do not bid because I will cancel the sale.' that might keep the scam buyers at bay until we know if eBay plan to look after sellers too.

[tressygirl]

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@niceprice777 wrote:

Until we know how all this works, and when compulsory tracking will come in, I am thinking about starting all of my listing descriptions with the message 'if you have less than 100 feedback counts then please do not bid because I will cancel the sale.' that might keep the scam buyers at bay until we know if eBay plan to look after sellers too.

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Mmmm, if you carry this out,  that is,  cancelling any sale from buyers with less than 100 feedback, because it's not a valid reason for cancellation,  you would soon lose your selling account with eBay.

[vintique*violet]

'With SD it sounds as if I’d have to pack, weigh and measure every item before listing to ensure the buyer was shown the correct labels at checkout. Insane, especially if dealing with disparate items in a ‘lot’.  '

Yes, I think you're right.

And it's going to be a right p.i.t.a.

One of the issues whereby it will be the end for many sellers who simply are unable to do this without assistance... 

as for p.i.t.a. - agreed with bells on! 

[jma2815]

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@niceprice777 wrote:

Until we know how all this works, and when compulsory tracking will come in, I am thinking about starting all of my listing descriptions with the message 'if you have less than 100 feedback counts then please do not bid because I will cancel the sale.' that might keep the scam buyers at bay until we know if eBay plan to look after sellers too.

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That’s a very, very bad idea. 

Offputting at best, and will lose you your account if followed through. Feedbacks are meaningless anyway, I’m dealing with an absolute scam artist of a seller at the moment who has 100% glowing feedback. 

[lucy_farmer]

'If you have less than 100 feedback counts then please do not bid because I will cancel the sale.' '

Too many of those cancellations without good reason, and ebay will take a dim view of your account and sanction it/you.

(Scam buyers often depend on what you are selling : i.e. if you're selling embroidery kits -OK , you're probably not!- scam buyers would be a serious rarity. If on the other hand you were selling 'phones, yep I can see your point.)

BUT, if you sell using the Simple Delivery method, ebay have sweetened the pill of the 'withheld payments' stuff, by taking responsibilty for non-delivery refunds. So if you sell, using SD, and the item doesn't arrive, *you* the seller, get to keep your money: even though it takes over 14 days for you to get hold of it.

(this is why all sales under SD will need tracking ; otherwise it'll be a scam magnet)

So if you can cope with the downsides of SD, it could be worth giving it a go...

[niceprice777]

Sellers - just before Christmas I bought something but it was delivered
incomplete - went back to the seller and calmly asked if there had been a
mistake - he went psycho straight off the bat, I got a dozen abusive
messages, and a physical threat to 'come and find me to sort it out' worst
experience of my 20+ years on eBay. I reported him to eBay, knowing he was
toast, had to be struck off after such a tirade of abuse. They said they
would review the messages and take the necessary action. I left suitable
feedback warning others of my experience. Long story short, the only
remedial action deemed necessary by eBay was to remove my feedback, restore
him to 100%, thus leaving him ready to do it all over again!! I got a full
refund but only via eBay, but that had become a secondary concern by that
point.

[goodibags]

It's scary that these people are allowed or encouraged by Ebay to continue.

I was scammed out of 2 toy car boxes by a buyer who was miffed I wouldn't end an auction and accept his offer to buy now. He used a separate account to win the auctions and then claimed they'd got lost in the post.

4 weeks later he had them up for sale, along with the appropriate cars. I reported both accounts to Ebay but they were perfectly happy for the fraudulent buyer to go ahead with his sale. Completely useless. 

I messaged the buyer and he said they'd 'arrived late' and that he was 'going to get back in touch'. Luckily he agreed to end his sales and sent them back to me.

Some buyers/sellers are best avoided. Luckily most are perfectly decent and not like that.

It's a shame that we're the ones left picking up the pieces.

[jma2815]

That sounds awful. As a seller myself I did my best but was always prepared for a buyer to turn on me in any one of the thousand ways we read about on here. Never happened. Every buyer a delight or at least no trouble. 

Sellers though, man…I’ve come across some right nutters. The MBG is unpopular and has its faults but on a big online marketplace we certainly do need it. 

[roachbreamcarp]

Hi, I will not be posting anything until I know the buyer has paid, if eBay
expects sellers to do that I will definitely sell elsewhere.
Cheers Barry.

[jma2815]

They don’t expect you to post before the buyer has paid.  The buyer will pay exactly the same as they did before. Which will be straight away if you do BIN and choose immediate payment.  The money is safe and the buyer wants their stuff.

Does it really matter that you have to wait until two days after delivery to get the money in your ebay balance when you could have that money taken away again within 30 days anyway if there’s a claim? When SD comes in, in at most a few weeks, you won’t need money for postage, as the buyer will be buying it from ebay. 

Again, the money is safe. If you try to show ‘em and don’t post because you haven’t been paid all that will happen is buyer claims of not received, account defects and worse. If it bothers you that much you could just stop selling until you’ve either come round to the idea or decided having a selling account isn’t for you. 

[roachbreamcarp]

What is SD please?

[papso22]

Simple Delivery.

[carol4040]

Agree I  think I WILL BE MOVEING ON ...my  money is on hold.

So now the customer has to pay the higher price for delivery.

[pheobesmallandfurry]

i called ebay yesturday and told them that when my sistings are finished im not selling anything on here again , the didnt care at all

[roachbreamcarp]

Thanks

[vintique*violet]

Of course they didn't - why would eBay staff care? 

Bu the main stakeholders and eBay CEO may as time goes on and they see that many private sellers/buyers have walked their talk and it has a knock on effect. 

[campbell.mcc]

Should all items be charged and sent signed for to get rid of the 'not delivered' or 'knicked from the doorstep' buyers?