I’m tired of my phone — again. So I decided to list my BlackBerry Curve on eBay while the prices were still decent. After my item sold, I waited a day for payment and to my suprise, PayPal put a hold on it until I ship the item, they receive it, and leave feedback. What the fuck? I’ve never heard of that before and I have no negative eBay feedback. Is eBay trying really hard to put themselves out of business? Let’s see here…
I’ve had my eBay account since the middle of last year and over that time I’ve acumulated a whopping 9 feedback, all positive. This is my first time selling something on this account. I have another, older eBay account floating around with a zillion feedback but can’t remember enough information to retrieve the password so I created another one. At first I thought the PayPal e-mail I received regarding the payment hold was a scam. “SHIP ITEM” in big bold letters sounds fishy to me. So I logged into my PayPal account and ta da — it’s the real deal. I’ve been paid but my account balance hasn’t moved up.
eBay and PayPal want me to ship the item and then wait for the buyer to get it, make sure it’s what they wanted, and leave me positive feedback or I can feed them a tracking number and when their website says my item was received, a few days after that they’ll release the funds if I don’t get any bad feedback.
What we have here is a stalemate.
I can’t ship an item I haven’t gotten paid for. Hell, they didn’t even release the shipping money immediately to allow me to send my stuff to a total stranger and let an automated system determine if I’m getting paid for it. I ended up doing a refund via PayPal so the buyer can have her money back — I can’t use it. I guess I’m forced to try that free local alternative that puts cash money in my pocket with a face-to-face transaction. What’s that called again? Not eBay.
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February 28th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Oh so wrong there Alex and Thomas…… First off, PayPal will not investigate anything. Do your homework and read how these scammers operate. You sell an item, the person receives the item…. if the person doesn’t take 2 seconds to leave you positive feedback, you are screwed for 21 days… period.
Sell your items the old fashion way…. tell the people you don’t use Paypal and have them send a USPS money order. If they don’t like it, the next guy in line will be happy to do that. Give them all your contact info to assure them you are on the up and up. Second to porn, paypal is the worst thing to ever hit the internet.
March 1st, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I don’t see your connection between scammers and Paypal holding the money for 21 days if the user doesn’t leave feedback. Regardless of whether they leave feedback or not, you’re eventually going to get your money, so where’s the scam part? I think your explanation of how “scammers operate” is flawed, as they would have had to have paid in the first place in order for Paypal to hold the money. In other words, it isn’t a “scam” as the supposed scammer is still paying for the item.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Aaron- There’s where you’re wrong. Just because the buyer initiates a fraudulent chargeback doesn’t mean they automatically get their money back and move on with their life. If that was the case, no one would sell things on eBay anymore because the system would be greatly flawed. If you initiate a fraudulent chargeback then Paypal and your Crecit Card Company start an investigation to see where the charge came from (IP Address) and then compare it to the IP Address you are using. This is usually a strong indication although not even close to where the investigation ends because otherwise I could over to my friends house and make the charge and then file the claim at home. Where the investigation goes after that, I haven’t a clue. But next time think and do a little research before you start making claims that aren’t true.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Alex, while I understand what you are saying, sending a package using recorded delivery does not offer any protection from scam at all. If the buyer initiates a fraudulent chargeback the money will be refunded to the buyer before the seller has even had any control over their money. Then the seller will have no item and no money.
March 4th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Richard,
While I agree it’s kind of ridiculous, I just sold my iPod touch on eBay, and it went without a hitch. They do this for items they consider “high risk.” Just make sure that when you send the package you get signature confirmation. That way, if they deny picking it up, you have third party to verify.
I sent my iPod out after receiving one of these emails with signature confirmation, and all you have to do is give PayPal the tracking information. They will release the funds if they can confirm it’s been delivered; the buyer doesn’t need to do anything besides accept it.