Payments

[finlay5514]

I sold a watch on ebay at the end of March. Penny drop went in on 30/3/26.

I received notification that my account which I held with ebay for 18 years needed verifying. It stated that this would take between 6 to 8 days. Fair enough I thought. As the item was classed as high value I rang customer service at eBay to check on the progress on the release of my funds. Regarding speaking to customer service I quickly learned that they will do and say anything to get you off the line, even resorting to plain lies.

So day eight was yesterday and nothing has changed. So another phone call to CS this morning to be told this time it might be an IT issue.

I don't know what to believe now. Any form of legal advice would be of great assistance as eBay do not seem particularly enthusiastic at trying to resolve this matter.

[jckl1957]

First of all, if you want legal advice, then you should consult a professional - not seek advice from random people in an Ebay forum.

If you take out weekends and Easter holidays, it is only 7 complete days since the money to verify was paid into your bank account.

I think you just need to be patient.  You are an infrequent seller who has sold a high value item so you may have to wait 14 days or more for the funds to be released.

Details about payment holds are in the user agreement.

[tressygirl]

Don't waste time and money seeking legal advice,  as eBay are in their rights to hold money as you understand,  for selling a high value item.

Any sudden or  unusual activity on an account , such as the selling of a high value item does bring about these security holds , and held until eBay are satisfied that the genuine owner has sold the item,  and the buyer has received item,  and will not open any case.

It is a security hold,  so for that reason eBay will not reveal the length of  time for the hold, each case having its own reason for a short or longer hold.

Sorry, but no point contacting CS,  they cannot tell you when you will receive your payout, and doubt you'll see any movement over a weekend.

@finlay5514 

[1956glyn]

Hi

it could be around 30 days 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816

[1956glyn]

The watch had to be sent to the authenticators.    Do you know if its been passed by them?   

Bearing in mind when you sold it and Easter i will be surprised if its already been authenticated and forwarded onto the buyer 

[finlay5514]

Thank you for your reply.

Firstly, I am not seeking "random" advice from  people on eBay. I am trying to discover if anyone else has had a similar experience as myself and found a solution.

If it is the case that I have to wait fourteen days to receive my funds then this needs to made transparent at the outset, rather than saying my account verification will only take six to eight days.

[finlay5514]

In essence then your answer is to allow eBay to behave as they see fit.

[finlay5514]

It was sent to the authenticator the day after it was sold and then posted to the buyer. The buyer received it on 30/3/26.

[tressygirl]

---

@finlay5514 wrote:

In essence then your answer is to allow eBay to behave as they see fit.

---

How on earth did you come to that conclusion when my post explains why holds are in place.  For the protection of your account and your buyer.

Before these holds were happening,  there were many,  too many questions here,  asking what to do as member's accounts had been hacked,  they've suddenly sold 3 Rolex's ,  seen 4 vehicles sold on their account, etc.  These questions are few and far between.

From that alone,  you can see those holds are a good security measure eBay employ, and effective.

Your money will be released, but only will know when it's safe to do so.

@finlay5514 

[jckl1957]

'Any form of legal advice would be of great assistance ...'  doesn't make it clear at all that you are trying to 'discover if anyone else has had a similar experience as myself and found a solution.'  Sorry if I misinterpreted what you meant.  Maybe you should have asked if anybody with a similar experience could offer advice.

 I wrote what I meant. I said you were seeking legal advice from random people, not seeking random advice. 

[finlay5514]

I arrived at that conclusion based upon a set of conflicting responses and advice.

Initially, eBay stated it would take 6 to 8 days for my bank account to verified. On this forum I have been told it could be 14 days, another response was up to 30 days. In your own response you state, "eBay will not reveal the length of time." Consequently, because there is no coherent timeline as to when payments are released it causes frustration.

I concede that checks need to made, but they need to be transparent and updated to keep the seller informed.

[finlay5514]

Semantics then. 

[tressygirl]

---

@finlay5514 wrote:

I arrived at that conclusion based upon a set of conflicting responses and advice.

Initially, eBay stated it would take 6 to 8 days for my bank account to verified. On this forum I have been told it could be 14 days, another response was up to 30 days. In your own response you state, "eBay will not reveal the length of time." Consequently, because there is no coherent timeline as to when payments are released it causes frustration.

I concede that checks need to made, but they need to be transparent and updated to keep the seller informed.

---

Aaah OK fair comment. I hope I can explain this a little further 🤗 .

The 14 day hold is usually applied to items sold not using a Simple Delivery label, and where new tracking cannot be added.

A 30 day hold >>  onwards is applied to all other security holds which require a longer investigation time.  This eBay will not define exactly,  as it could lead to peeps being able to circumvent holds.

I do agree though, contacting CS can lead to various answers applied to one question !

@finlay5514 

[finlay5514]

I purposely did not include the responses from CS. These have ranged from a point of more or less complete ignorance to down right lies. I have been promised repeatedly that my payment would be available the following. Even yesterday I had an agent swear they would be available today. Another agent told me eBay had been suffering a technical issue since 3/4/26, but had kept it quiet. She even sent a sort of handwritten to my eBay messages stating there was a problem. But checking eBays status there were no reports of disruption. Even this morning I was told my payment was probably a technical issue.

So I hope you can appreciate that being bombarded with such inconsistent and contradictory responses will lead to a sense of confusion at the very least.

[finlay5514]

But thank you for trying to clarify things

[tressygirl]

As my post above says,  yes I do agree with the confusion,  and yes I do agree CS do give various answers to the same question.

We hear this all the time ! 

Is it reassuring, no of course it isn't , but you will usually receive a better response from  members here, with years of experience .

Clarification and explanation of changes  and rules,  and there have been many recently, in my humble opinion, has never been eBay's strong point !  🤔

@finlay5514 

[finlay5514]

Once again, thank for trying to help.

Sadly, I have resigned myself to the fact that once this sale is concluded I will be closing my account. When I joined eBay eighteen years ago it was fun and enjoyable to get paid for items I no longer used. However, as you rightly point changes to the rules have made the process of selling a bit of a minefield.  And since eBays inception there are now numerous other platforms that provide similar opportunities to sell.

[neovass0]

   Yes, from numerous threads, I understand the time it takes to verify an account differs, from a few days to a few weeks. It is no doubt frustrating, but at least your funds are safe during the process. I will defend ebay to some degree, the account verification is something they are legally required to do. What triggers it for long time members, probably just a transaction that is out of the ordinary.

   Personally, I still enjoy being a member of this site. I know people selling on the other platforms, it's all great till it isn't, lol.

[finlay5514]

Thank you for your very helpful reply.

After posting and receiving various replies it does seem that eBay verification times are somewhat of a lottery. 

I have absolutely no problem in eBay doing authentication and verification of high value items. However, it is evident that there is a severe disconnect between eBay procedures and keeping sellers updated. And as for CS, I think beyond verifying your name and address their ability to offer any real assistance is negligible.

But as you rightly point out the money is there and going nowhere. I am sure a couple of drams of Single Malt Whisky will give me a fresh perspective.

Once again, thank you for your guidance.

[finlay5514]

I noticed your reply to another post about someone waiting for payment about going to the seller hub and confirming the penny. But my position mirrors the other post in that there is no link on my page to confirm the penny drop. However, the other poster stated that he had been told there was a technical problem, as I was, but with no estimate as to its resolution. 

This is very bad practice if this is correct. Leaving a bunch of customers in the dark, concerned and frustrated and wondering when they will receive their funds.