Paypal & eBay’s 21 day Rule - lol =)

Posted by whateverebay

September 2, 2008

How safe is it really making it? Who are they kidding???? NOT US….

With the new 21 day Rule – Paypal places a hold on your money. They will not release your money unless you can:

1) Provide Tracking numbers of DELIVERY

2) Buyers leaves you FEEDBACK or

3) During the 21 days of receipt the buyer has not filed a claim

1) Tracking – If you are using the Post Office Service you know that this will make a difference in the cost of shipping.

>I spoke to a CSR at Paypal; she informed me that Post Office Tracking Numbers are not valid. I asked: How about DHL. Her response was “Sorry” you must use FEDEX or UPS…. WHAT!

When selling on auction you want to provide the best price possible to your buyers. However; Paypal now dictates the carrier who can give business too.

I was not satisfied with her response I called again! ( I waited for 28 minutes!!!) Okay, Spoke to another CSR; he claims she misunderstood Paypal’s Policy and indeed you can use DHL. However, he did not recommend to use USPS.

>>So, if you have the tracking information with a signature of accepted delivery; this can be useless. All depends on the CSR at Paypal. One more thing about the tracking, Paypal will NOT automatically remove the hold they place on your account. The MUST verify. —Say it with me WHATEVER!

2) Feedback – I have done this as I am sure some of you have. We all lead very busy lives. Therefore, unless we feel that wrong was done to us, we usually do not Log On to leave a Great Review. This is now having a large impact on New and existing (small) sellers. If your money was frozen, then you have to put money from your pocket to pay for the shipping.

>>>Emailing the buyer for follow-up and encouraging them to leave feedback is great once. How many of you will leave great feedback; if the seller is emailing you daily? Hmmm……. Not likely

3) 21 days are up. Okay, so Paypal claims to remove the hold. WRONG! They will (of course if you call in helps) now contact the buyer and make sure all is alright. Submit your request to “The Powers Above” and can take an additional 7 days for the review, according to PayPal. Hmmm……

So, what are they doing with OUR Money. They are earning interest! Are they sharing that interest with us? NO!

Can the money be considered to be in an Escrow Account? My legal friends; your response would be greatly appreciated.

~~~Many buyers and sellers out there are Hardworking and Honest people. If you take the time to explain to them the Importance of feedback; they are likely to respond in a positive manner. ~~~~

Your transaction had no bumps and Paypal releases the money to you. Great! J We are now loving the “Precautions” Paypal is taking. Right………..?

Here is what can go wrong. I have experienced this recently.

I had a buyer recently purchase a set of outdoor fountains. All information was confirmed and I shipped to her via UPS. Three days later I get a call from a UPS Agent. The buyer is not responding to notice for delivery. They wanted to know if I authorized for them to return the item to us. I instructed them to allow me one day to get a hold of her. I then proceeded to Ring her, email her and fax to her (just happen to have the number). No response on that day. Finally, I am forward a voice mail she left indicating to have changed her mind and will not be accepting the order.

No problem….I had my assistant email her and acknowledge the request to cancel; along with our Policies.

Had this transaction taken place with Paypal…. I would have lost even more money. The shipping to and from, labor and packaging. I sell a large volume items; if this were to occur 3 or more times a week it can really start to eat up profit.

Paypal would not offer you any financial relief. I had a voice mail from the customer. Of course had our Merchant Account needed proof for the dispute I would not had a problem submitting it.

In the past dealing with Paypal has been a huge financial loss. I can potentially deal with buyers remorse, damages, buyers not understanding what is in the description, buyers trying to ship back to me items already in use for months…etc…. This all adds up. With Paypal you as the Seller are eating up all the loss. Yes, even when you have your policies on your Auction Site or Website.

Paypal is only watching their pocket NOT the Sellers or Buyers.

The merchant account depending on who you bank with usually stands behind the Seller. They place a value on you as well. Go to West Elm after 6 months and try to get a refund.

PayPal also points out Amazon and Merchant Banks have certain restrictions. Yes, they do. Amazon will restrict your account and they will walk you through the steps and it is not the entire funds. They will only Release funds upon receiving the tracking information. This is reasonable. Amazon is protecting you and the buyer. For whatever reason you cannot fill the order; they buyers card will not be charged.

Merchant Accounts can place certain restrictions on you. However, they will not tied up 100% of the sale for 21 days. They are known to hold 5-20% of a sale for certain amount of Months while you build your credit or history. Some banks may offer you an interest payment for the monies held.

Paypal’s 21 HOLD is self serving and useless.

PayPal will not hold payments for eBay items if sellers:

-Have been an eBay member for more than 6 months, and

-Have a total Feedback score greater than 100, and

-Have a buyer satisfaction percentage of 95% or better.

or:

-Have an average Detailed Seller Rating greater than 4.5, and

-Have received more than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months.

-And for sellers who are new to eBay, all you have to do to minimize your chances of being impacted by eBay item holds is follow good selling practices like shipping quickly, using tracking, communicating openly with your customers and providing a good buying experience.

Whatever! Sellers can comply and Paypal will find another Issue to hold your funds.

If you are selling on eBay; be prepared to incur all the cost of selling and shipping.

eBay claims to accept www.Propay.com and Merchant Accounts (verified)

I have more on eBay!