Is there any way around the 21 Day hold? Different payment methods etc.

[homostuck]

I haven't sold on ebay ever since this absolutely horrifying system was put in. It is by far the worst decision ebay has ever made. It is scaring sellers off like crazy such as myself, and it makes for an easy way to get free items if you are a buyer.

As the title says, Is there any way to circumvent this problem? I have only sold around 12 or so very high valued items (Laptops etc.) items on ebay with no troubles. I have gotten positive feedbacks and whatnot with zero negatives or neutrals. Seller stats are above average too. I was considering using bank deposit/direct deposit as a payment method, or cash on delivery/pickup. Is BD/DD affected by the 21 day hold? If that's the case, I won't be selling on here ever again as the only option I would ever be able to use is cash on delivery/pickup.

I did sell when the 21 day hold was in place, but it was only one item. I was shocked to see that my fund were being held. Buyer received it, he was happy and left a positive straight away. Tracking number confirmed that the item was delivered, and guess what? I still had to wait the grueling 21 days! I even phoned them, and nothing. 21 days still!

Of course, this was back in November last year when this terrible policy first came into place.

[homostuck]

So you're saying that the hold only happens once?

I haven't sold since I first got the hold.

[sparrow2207]

Is BD/DD affected by the 21 day hold?

No these are not as they are not PP.  If you can do Cash on collection or bank deposit thats great but you can't refuse PP all you can say in your listing is that "Bank Deposit preferred or Cash on Collection.

Its illegal what PP are doing to new sellers. 

Reminds me of that TV add where people take items out of a store and say "I will pay you in 3 days".

And if you need to refund the money or part thereof to the buyer for say lower shipping cost you don't have access to the funds to do this.

[homostuck]

Why can't I tell them not to use PayPal? There are sellers on here who do not have a PayPal at all. If they are forcing people to sell through PayPal, then that's absolutely outraging.

[the_pooze]

Theres a quite extensive thread on this topic which I've just bumped to the first page entitled 21 DAY HOLD FINANCIAL SERVICE OMBUDSMAN WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU.

It contains a link so you can lodge a report regarding this 21 day hold.

I can confirn that once a report is lodged, action is taken and, based on experience and other peoples comments, you will receive a stock reply from PayPal telling you all about their rights to hold your funds BUT, they do drop the 21 day hold.

The fact of the matter is that PayPal tell you that the funds are held at the request of eBay.  The reason they drop the 21 day hold (with associated excuses) after you lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman is that what they are doing is actually illegal.  You have a contract or agreement with PayPal and you have a contract or agreement with eBay.  It is not a single contract covering both entities therefore for PayPal to hold your funds at the direction of a third party, in this case eBay, is illegal as they are not a party to your contract or agreement with PayPal.

As for the absolute requirement that to sell on eBay you must have PayPal as a payment option, eBay have made supply of their (goods or) services dependant upon you using the (goods or) services of a third party, in this case PayPal.  Under Aust Consumer Law this is classified as third line forcing and is illegal however, they get around this by allowing you to also nominate other payment methods (that are rarely used by Buyers so may as well not exist) which makes a third line forcing prosecution difficult.

[lyndal1838]

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@send_me_it wrote:

Why can't I tell them not to use PayPal? There are sellers on here who do not have a PayPal at all. If they are forcing people to sell through PayPal, then that's absolutely outraging.

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Yes, there are sellers who do not use paypal but you will find that they are using Paymate or their own Merchant Credit Facility.  All sellers must offer and accept one of the three safe payment methods allowed by ebay.

Paypal is by far the most popular and most widely used by sellers who do not have their own Merchant Credit Facility.   For the most part buyers are more familiar with paypal.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

So if you list pick up items and create a paymate account and use it for you pick up items there is bugger all chance that

buyers will jump through the paymate hoop and you will end up with Johnny Cash

[homostuck]

I would love to use paymate, but I'm absolutely petrified that I will have my funds frozen in the same manner as PayPal's 21 day hold policy.

There has been several complaints about paymate freezing funds for no reason at all. If anything, it's just as exploitable as PayPal's tremendous, appalling 21 day hold policy which makes it extremely easy for a buyer to rip off a seller for free items. Buyers can get their money back effortlessly through paymate the same way they can through paypal.

November last year was a terrible month. The 21 day policy boils me with rage. I want to sell badly, but C.O.D or C.O.P is the only method, and paypal is forcing you to list their method as a buying option. I don't want my buyers to pay through paypal, I want them to pay through BD/DD or C.O.D/C.O.P.

Can I state any of this in my item's description without it getting taken down? I mean like (Do not pay through paypal) as an example.

[cq_tech]

Paymate is nowhere near as exploitable as Paypal because they only accept payment via credit card, although it does open you up to dodgy chargebacks by your buyers, but they have no reason to hold your funds for any longer than it takes for the card to be accepted by the buyers' FIs.

The real problem with Paymate is that most buyers simply won't use it and prefer to stick with the devil they know, which of course is Paypal, so if you refuse to accept Paypal (which is a policy violation and will almost certainly get you suspended) you'll have very few, if any buyers anyway.

As far as your 21 day hold is concerned, if you send a written complaint to the Financial Ombudsmans Service at https://forms.fos.org.au/OnlineDispute they will order Paypal to lift it and your funds should become available immediately in future. If by some chance Paypal reapply your hold, complain again and that should be the end of the matter.

[cryovolcanic]

I just sold an item, a rare and highly collectable model car kit made in the 1960's, buyer paid immediately, I mailed the item using Australia Post, with signature and tracking, and refunded the difference between e-bay postage amount and what it actually cost.   The buyer was more than happy with the item, and with postage time and cost, and left positive feedback saying so, both they and the tracking indicate that the item was delivered.  I am out of pocket, and have to wait another fortnight for these pieces of wonderment to give me my money.  I am absolutely furious, and will not be selling on ebay again.  E-bay postage is a rip off too.

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@send_me_it wrote:

I haven't sold on ebay ever since this absolutely horrifying system was put in. It is by far the worst decision ebay has ever made. It is scaring sellers off like crazy such as myself, and it makes for an easy way to get free items if you are a buyer.

As the title says, Is there any way to circumvent this problem? I have only sold around 12 or so very high valued items (Laptops etc.) items on ebay with no troubles. I have gotten positive feedbacks and whatnot with zero negatives or neutrals. Seller stats are above average too. I was considering using bank deposit/direct deposit as a payment method, or cash on delivery/pickup. Is BD/DD affected by the 21 day hold? If that's the case, I won't be selling on here ever again as the only option I would ever be able to use is cash on delivery/pickup.

I did sell when the 21 day hold was in place, but it was only one item. I was shocked to see that my fund were being held. Buyer received it, he was happy and left a positive straight away. Tracking number confirmed that the item was delivered, and guess what? I still had to wait the grueling 21 days! I even phoned them, and nothing. 21 days still!

Of course, this was back in November last year when this terrible policy first came into place.

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[expanded_perceptions]

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@cryovolcanic wrote:

I just sold an item, a rare and highly collectable model car kit made in the 1960's, buyer paid immediately, I mailed the item using Australia Post, with signature and tracking, and refunded the difference between e-bay postage amount and what it actually cost.   The buyer was more than happy with the item, and with postage time and cost, and left positive feedback saying so, both they and the tracking indicate that the item was delivered.  I am out of pocket, and have to wait another fortnight for these pieces of wonderment to give me my money.  I am absolutely furious, and will not be selling on ebay again.  E-bay postage is a rip off too.

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@send_me_it wrote:

I haven't sold on ebay ever since this absolutely horrifying system was put in. It is by far the worst decision ebay has ever made. It is scaring sellers off like crazy such as myself, and it makes for an easy way to get free items if you are a buyer.

As the title says, Is there any way to circumvent this problem? I have only sold around 12 or so very high valued items (Laptops etc.) items on ebay with no troubles. I have gotten positive feedbacks and whatnot with zero negatives or neutrals. Seller stats are above average too. I was considering using bank deposit/direct deposit as a payment method, or cash on delivery/pickup. Is BD/DD affected by the 21 day hold? If that's the case, I won't be selling on here ever again as the only option I would ever be able to use is cash on delivery/pickup.

I did sell when the 21 day hold was in place, but it was only one item. I was shocked to see that my fund were being held. Buyer received it, he was happy and left a positive straight away. Tracking number confirmed that the item was delivered, and guess what? I still had to wait the grueling 21 days! I even phoned them, and nothing. 21 days still!

Of course, this was back in November last year when this terrible policy first came into place.

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Having gone through the 21 daywait I can fully understand the frustration! However, pretty sure that once tracking shows as delivered, it takes 3 days for funds to clear? Better, but still an extremely flawed system!!