Withholding My Item

[cheetngetcort]

A seller has responded on an item I paid for on the 3rd of March:

Hi there. Ebay are holding your payment until the 18th march. That is 2 weeks. Sorry but I won't be posting it until I'm paid. Kind regards. C*********

It appears that they haven't sold an item for over a year before this one and that it is why Ebay imposes this wait. Both my bank account and paypal account show the money has gone out. Normally I would just suck it up, but I am going to miss my daughter's birthday because this seller has decided they are making me wait due to Ebay holding their money as part of the seller contract.

I asked for the seller to cancel and refund me, but no response so far.
What else can I do?

[*sons_n_daughters*]

You need to message the seller and tell them that despite their funds being held, they have actually been paid and need to post within their handling time. Inform them that if they don't post within their handling time, they will get a defect on their account. If they continue to withhold posting because of the holds, their selling account will shut down due to too many defects. If they still refuse to post, then I'd be leaving bad feedback for them. 

Edited to add: the other thing you can do is look at the last ETA for the item. As soon as that has passed, open a dispute for item not received. Escalate it as soon as you can (ask ebay to step in and help......don't let it time out, check it daily until the option appears). As they can't prove delivery, you will get a refund, and they will get a different defect on their account. Too many of those, and they're shut down. If they ignore the dispute, same story.

[countessalmirena]

Exactly.

I’m sympathetic to eBayers selling for the first time or after a long absence of selling. There’s no doubt that occasional sellers are at a considerable disadvantage with Managed Payments and with eBay’s hold on payments.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t give the buyer the item they’ve purchased in the timeframe they have the right to expect (in the absence of acts of God, plagues, earthquakes, disasters, Russian hacking of mail system, etc). It’s also frustrating to see people just list items willy-nilly without preparing themselves by reading through the selling help pages/policies.

Emails explaining the new payment method and verification requirements also went out repeatedly over the last few years. I’m reasonably sure it was also mentioned that new or infrequent sellers would probably have holds on their funds.

I have concluded that this selling attitude may be a holdover from the more laissez-faire past, where people would casually say “Why don’t you sell it on eBay?” in the tone of voice that considers it easy and fuss-free.

It’s not that way anymore.

Your seller must send the item within their stated handling time; if they can’t do that, they should cancel the order and refund you. They can do that immediately, and relist only when they have got their ducks in a row.

[springyzone]

You need to reply in the way sons and daughters outlined.

You could add that the money has come out of your account & yes, they have been paid, it is just on hold, so you expect the item within the promised time frame. Mention your daughter's birthday, so they know you have a reason why you can't wait.

I think this seller is resenting the situation and this is their way of thumbing their nose at ebay.

Their lack of preparation for selling isn't your responsibility though.

You can't force them to cancel and refund.

There are some things you can do.

1. You can wait till the last day of the expected date of arrival and lodge a claim with ebay on the basis you have not received your goods.

2. You can give them negative feedback & explain why.

3. I hesitate to mention this one, but I am pretty sure it will work. Did you pay with paypal? If so and you have never made a claim with them, you could go into your account and make a claim on the basis you never received your goods and there is no tracking number. I'd probably leave it a few days before doing that but I think you would most likely receive an instant refund. On the spot.

Only do this if you are really needing that money to buy another gift before the birthday. If you go this route, you can't then go back and later open an ebay claim.

It is always better to try ebay and if that fails, then paypal. If you can.

[twyngwyn]

once payment has been initiated, sellers have Buckley's chance of winning an appeal.....

Postage/shipping policy | eBay

[*sons_n_daughters*]

Springy, I believe there is still a time delay with PayPal, that gives the seller a chance to rectify. ALWAYS go the ebay route first if you are still within the timeframe to do so. Of course, if that fails, then go PayPal or a chargeback.

I would be very surprised if an ebay dispute failed in this instance because there is no tracking number. Seller has no hope. They have basically carped in their own pants, but don't know it yet.

[springyzone]

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@*sons_n_daughters* wrote:

Springy, I believe there is still a time delay with PayPal, that gives the seller a chance to rectify. ALWAYS go the ebay route first if you are still within the timeframe to do so. Of course, if that fails, then go PayPal or a chargeback.

I would be very surprised if an ebay dispute failed in this instance because there is no tracking number. Seller has no hope. They have basically carped in their own pants, but don't know it yet.

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I think the ebay route would be best first too.

There isn't always a time delay with paypal. I was shocked a week or so ago when I entered a case for my sister in law (minus any photos or documentation), just saying the item had not been received and immediately she was given a $49 refund. Straight off. It was obvious no human had looked at it.

There may be a money limit on how much you can claim and get an auto refund but I have heard of instant refunds from paypal in quite a few cases now. Personally, I think a seller should be given the right of reply, to provide evidence etc but I know it doesn't always happen.

[dewhol71]

I prefer the old ebay ill be closing my account due to the fact pay or no post

[padi*0409]

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@dewhol71 wrote:

I prefer the old ebay ill be closing my account due to the fact pay or no post

---

You clearly DIDN'T read the replies to this thread, otherwise you would realise that sellers still have to post within their handling time if funds are on hold.

The OP left a well-deserved neg for the seller that tried it on with them.

[sandypebbles]

See ya 

eBay will not notice, even if you told them

All the advice has already been provided which you could pass onto the seller 

The old eBay is not coming back, so if you opt not to follow the advice provided, that is 100% your choice 

If this is over the item you sold and your funds are on hold, please do tell us why the policy you agreed to when listing  should not apply to you like it does ever other new seller?