eBay is also withholding my sales proceeds for 4 weeks without any reason | Payment processing on eBay | eBay Germany

eBay is also withholding my sales proceeds for 4 weeks without any reason | Payment processing on eBay | eBay Germany

Trade & Discuss Commercially

Payment processing on eBay

eBay is also withholding my sales proceeds for 4 weeks without any reason

Summary: olibrosc-0 raised a concern about their sales proceeds being withheld by a platform for four weeks without any apparent reason. The discussion involved multiple participants, including bootyooty, perfect-sally, and katzenjogi, but did not reach a resolution or specific course of action. Several participants expressed similar experiences, emphasizing the frustration with the situation. The thread highlights ongoing issues related to delays in fund releases by the platform.

eBay also wants to withhold the amount from me until 16/12 even though on 19/11 the buyer confirmed receipt and rated it Perfect. Order number 08-13839-77565 You don't need to call customer service. I might as well talk to my bathroom door, it's just as competent. Emails aren't answered either. I have 100% positive ratings and yet the amount is being frozen. For me, this was the last time I sell something here. Luckily there are other platforms. eBay seems to be working with the money in the meantime. Seems to be a new business model.

olibrosc-0

35 View listings

Posted 8 months ago·Last reply 2 months ago

37 comments

imperial-modellbau

·2 months ago

Since my previous post was removed (not entirely unjustly, I must admit), but I was asked to write a revised one - so here is a new attempt - this post belongs between replies 36 and 37:

Dear Sir

neither your threatening email nor your threatening phone call make any impression on me!

I still believe that I did not attack you in any way unfairly or maliciously, or, as you put it, “defame” you. The only one who is stepping out of line here is you yourself!

If you think you want to send me legal correspondence because of my replies, by all means!

I’ll leave out the last sentence of the phone call for now - you know what I said!

clever-production

·2 months ago

You should stop publicly defaming people. In no way did I threaten you; I merely made it clear that you should stop harassing me. If you do not stop now, you will receive mail with a cease-and-desist letter. I do not want to be bothered by you any further!

clever-trading24

·2 months ago

You've got a PM!

voli-maus

·2 months ago

@clever-trading24 wrote:
You have a PM!

You don't have a WRB, @clever-trading24 .

clever-trading24

·2 months ago

Hello, I read that you sell toys

perfect-sally

·2 months ago

Nothing is being sold in the community!

clever-production

·2 months ago

I have the same problem, for me it's €12,000 that eBay is withholding WITHOUT ANY REASON. eBay argues that I have too rapid sales growth and that is why they are withholding the money. Due to the economic situation, I have a 29% drop in revenue, so how can I have too rapid sales growth? I've been on eBay since 2009, and have been trading commercially on eBay for around 15 years.

eBay lies to you endlessly. I have now brought in a lawyer, who is now setting eBay a deadline and issuing a formal warning. Since I can prove that eBay is causing my business financial damage through its actions, we will, if eBay does not pay out the sales proceeds immediately, file a claim for damages against eBay with the competent court.

eBay's support is poor; sometimes you need an interpreter. There is no help, eBay ignores that.

Last year, eBay simply withheld the money because Klarna claimed that a buyer had opened a case. However, the buyer had not opened a case; he also confirmed once again that he had had his goods for a long time. Ebay told me to Klarna that I had to sort it out with Klarna, and Klarna said I had to settle the matter with eBay. After 3 months I got my money.

I don't even get upset anymore; if I end up in insolvency, we will hold eBay liable, because eBay is now causing me financial damage and I can prove it.

As I said, eBay also does not respond to us sellers. But if they get mail from a lawyer, or a formal demand letter from the district court, then they do respond, because trouble is inevitable there!

imperial-modellbau

·2 months ago

Hello @clever-production

then please go ahead and do what no one before you has ever done - please keep us updated when the matter is through court or with the lawyer!

Because you know, we've read this so many times here:

- go to a lawyer

- I'm suing them

- lawsuit has been filed

- it's in court now

etc., etc.

And you never really heard anything from these users again!

If someone had success with something like that, one would assume they'd be proud of it and not keep their newfound knowledge under wraps!

But since that's not the case, I don't believe in your success either - but maybe I'll be proven wrong!

But as an aside:

If something like this almost or actually drives you into insolvency, then there's generally something wrong with your business model - maybe you should critically question that!

clever-production

·2 months ago

You can tell you have no idea. Ebay has been withholding 12,000 euros for months, well what do you think, that I’m just going to let that keep going? Of course I handed this over to a lawyer, because eBay only reacts when a letter from a lawyer arrives. The lawyer cost me 1,163 euros.

Insolvency, for me this is on a different level, I have monthly sales of a good 20,000 euros, around 15,000 euros on eBay alone. I don’t know how it is for you, whether revenue equals profit, but I have bills to pay and in the trades, which you apparently know nothing about, different sums are involved and for that reason you don’t pre-finance everything in the trades. I’ve been doing this for months now because eBay is withholding money without reason to make interest.

And when you are constantly pre-financing things, paying invoices and eBay is still withholding sales proceeds, it gets tight.

But you don’t seem to know anything about that, so you’d better keep your mouth shut and not be a smartass, because I can do that on my own, I don’t need you for that.

I’ve been self-employed for 15 years, so you don’t need to tell me anything about my business model.

voli-maus

·3 months ago

@dankozak0 ,

before the new payment processing, buyers could open a case through PP and get their money back.

Now all of that goes through eBay or, alternatively, through the payment service provider that the buyer chose.

What does eBay actually earn from the money being held back, do you have any information and figures on that?

voli-maus

·3 months ago

The sale was only the day before yesterday, @dankozak0 .

And you're a new seller on eBay.

You sold a high-priced item that you surely shipped with additional insurance.

perfect-sally

·3 months ago

Do you have any solid proof that ebay is working with the funds?

schrottfreie_zone

·4 months ago

Ebay works with your money by earning interest on it. With the number of customers they have, that adds up to quite a decent sum. Besides, this also protects them from excessive expenses caused by the ever-increasing fraud of the fun buyers, who send back the auctioned item after the 30-day period has expired for flimsy reasons.

gebraucht-ist-gut

·4 months ago

@schrottfreie_zone wrote:
Ebay works with your money by earning interest on it. With the number of customers, that brings in quite substantial sums.

Payment holds are, in terms of the mass of sellers, more of an exception and definitely in the low single-digit % range. The vast majority gets their money after 1-2 days.

It usually only affects new or occasional sellers who aren't very active, and in exceptional cases also sellers with "noticeable issues".

The best way to counter that is regular activity.

hexenzirkel

·8 months ago

Especially before Christmas, this is a brazen move by eBay.

perfect-sally

·8 months ago

After Christmas too 😉 Because then there will definitely be other reasons again why the sellers urgently need their cash 😉

hexenzirkel

·8 months ago

Yes, right now it's exactly the same for me, that money is being withheld for no reason and for up to 30 days.

In addition, there is also money of several hundred euros that I refunded. Also money from other sales. On the basis of contractual autonomy, I agreed a refund with the buyer and also honored it. The buyer was very satisfied and also gave a top rating.

Nevertheless, eBay withholds the entire sales amount, including the refunded amount, and also funds from other sales proceeds. For me, this is clearly fraud, and the fact that it only becomes visible with the withholding for 30 days makes me feel cheated.

eppy61901

·5 months ago

I have the problem now too and I think the 30-day deadline is really cheeky… the buyer has their item, and I can look at my money on eBay for 30 days and get nothing out of it… that’s exactly the problem I’m having right now… even though the buyer left positive feedback, it’s still being withheld… and what’s more, on one day 2 items were delivered to 2 different buyers, one item for €30 was released, but of course the cost for the DHL label was deducted from the withheld item from the €30…. I could understand it if it were withheld for maybe 3-4 days, but 30 right away…..

olibrosc-0

OP5 months ago

Precisely for this reason, I no longer sell anything on Ebay. It taught me a lesson. I kept the account in case I want to buy something every now and then. But even that has become rare. On other platforms, I have since sold things well and safely and got my money quickly. Nowhere except on Ebay is the money withheld for 30 days

imperial-modellbau

·5 months ago

Hello @eppy61901

what applies here again is what has already been written multiple times.

Whether you think that’s cheeky or not is irrelevant and doesn’t bother eBay in any way - it is simply the applicable rule!

There has been plenty of information about this (nobody reads it, though) and the background has been explained as well!

It also has absolutely nothing to do with whether the delivery was received and rated or whatever else.

As a seller, you only have the option to come to terms with it or stop selling through eBay - not nice, but simple!

miss-chili612

·8 months ago

I’m in favour of toilet paper with eBay terms and conditions printed on it.

Basically, it doesn’t matter whether you think all of this is right or not. You agreed to the guidelines and now you have to deal with it.

By the way, when you buy from a PV, you also have a right of return under certain circumstances. For example, defects might only become apparent after a few days that were neither mentioned in the description nor immediately obvious.

sunrise1605

·8 months ago

This certainly doesn't happen for no reason. You just don't know the reasons, you know nothing about them; that's the difference.

Neither successful delivery nor a positive rating automatically results in immediate payout.

It can be that way, but it doesn't have to be if other circumstances stand in the way. Like now with you. You sell little and then expensive stuff right away.

Ebay likes to be a bit cautious in that case.

olibrosc-0

OP8 months ago

That can be anything. But if a buyer tells me everything is perfect, buyer protection is no longer needed because it’s not necessary anymore. Here I’m being lumped together with someone who wants to deliberately scam others. Since when do you have a 30-day return policy when selling privately? Nowhere. By the way, 1300 for a notebook is not expensive. What can I do about the fact that I only have Apple products and replace them at a normal price for new products. I’m not selling a ROLEX here.

hexenzirkel

·8 months ago

So I think that's absolute nonsense, I've been here at eBay for over 15 years and they change things without passing on the necessary information. There is at least no accessible right to information here.

I am disappointed by this primitive approach.

katzenjogi

·8 months ago

Hello @hexenzirkel

when eBay changed the payment processing, this actually went through all the online forums, including here. And depending on the notification settings in your eBay user account, there were also emails about it in your inbox.

I didn’t agree to it, I haven’t sold anything on eBay since then.

I can also understand that you always hope it won’t happen to you, and that of course it’s annoying when it doesn’t just keep happening to other people, but then affects you yourself.

What I can’t understand, however, is the outrage when eBay does something they had already announced in advance, the payment hold, especially if you expressly agreed to this approach on eBay’s part.

Anyone who wanted to keep selling here had to agree to the changed terms of use. And it explicitly stated there that eBay reserves the right to suspend the payout of funds from sales for 30 days or longer (payment hold).

That is neither fraud nor an outrage on eBay’s part. It is part of the contract between you and eBay. And eBay informed people about it.

Where one could perhaps actually accuse them of poor communication is the fact that they now seem to be moving toward withholding sales proceeds for a maximum of three days after confirmed delivery and only then releasing them. Commercial sellers have been affected by this for a while now, and it was never entirely clear whether these were or are only temporary precautionary measures or whether it can generally affect everyone. Precisely because this was not communicated sufficiently in advance and only after a few cases here in the forum did they comment on it.

And as a seller, you also shouldn’t see it so one-sidedly. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your fault that eBay is protecting itself this way. If there have been more buyer protection cases with the sold item or this kind of item, or if the buyer somehow drew the AI’s attention, this can lead to an extended payment hold.

That’s just the way it is: these payment holds don’t protect the seller, they protect the buyer only minimally and eBay maximally. It’s simply much easier to refund the buyer in a buyer protection case if the money is still within eBay’s control. And it has also happened before that, despite positive feedback, a buyer protection case was opened later, or worse, the buyer clawed back the money through their payment provider.

hexenzirkel

·8 months ago

Yes, understandable, I’ll probably also turn my back on ebay, when right or wrong is at stake, resistance is a duty.

Best regards

sunrise1605

·8 months ago

Whether you think that’s nonsense or not is basically irrelevant.

Back then there were plenty of hints and info right here on Ebay alone.

If you didn’t notice that, well, whose fault might that be?

You should keep yourself informed from time to time, especially after 15 years of Ebay-News.

No one comes by in person to explain things to you.

A lot has changed, unfortunately not always for the users’ benefit.

bootyooty

·8 months ago

1. GOOD DAY @olibrosc-0

2. You have FEW ratings as a seller, AND you don't sell permanently, moreover you have sold fairly high-quality tech items.

3. Buyer protection through eBay = up to 30 days, and eBay can withhold funds for exactly that long and even longer.

4. eBay does NOT work with your money.

5. Read this through calmly 200 times and then maybe hang it on the competent toilet door.

https://www.ebay.de/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/pending-payments?id=4816

6. you agreed to all of this by agreeing to the terms of use for selling, the policies, and the T&Cs.

Have a nice day.

olibrosc-0

OP8 months ago

For me, 1300 is not high-quality. There are devices for €4000 - €5000 used. That is high-quality. That means in the future I’ll only sell junk on Ebay, then I won’t have any problems. The money is parked somewhere and probably earns the usual 2% to 2.5% in interest. So my money is being used to make money. I don’t believe that EBAY will voluntarily pay penalty interest. I can write out terms of use and guidelines for myself too, that doesn’t mean they’re correct. You are right: after I have read the small print several times on my toilet door, I will in future only sell junk so I won’t have any problems with my lawfully earned selling price. Thank you for your arrogant and narrow-minded comment.

perfect-sally

·8 months ago

And a nice greeting to your bathroom door!

And yet another one who doesn't get to read what they want to read. Next time, just let me know in advance what you'd like to read!

petersmodellbahnstuebchen

·8 months ago

Hey @olibrosc-0

well, at least you now have the fine print hanging on your bathroom door. Might help you in the next conversation with her.

katzenjogi

·8 months ago

Hello @olibrosc-0

eBay doesn’t work with the money, especially since the "customary" interest rates always apply for the whole year; for the 1300 euros, that would be 26 euros for 12 months - so if we calculate 26 divided by 12, we get a full 2.16 euros per month. So it’s worth it for eBay to break the law, because in principle the payment hold is technically a trustee account and the money in it is an asset that must not be speculated with.

I think it’s fair to assume that eBay doesn’t derive any interest gains from the payment hold at all; that would be far too much organizational effort. The reason for the hold is simply that, in the event of a buyer protection case, the money can be returned to the buyer more easily if it is still within eBay’s reach. And the reason for the payment hold doesn’t necessarily have to be you, either; it can also affect the buyer if, for example, the system classifies them as problematic. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be due directly to the buyer. Sometimes people just have bad luck and may therefore end up with several buyer protection cases open.

I had the same problem at the beginning of last year when I ordered several items from the Far East; then within a very short time three buyer protection cases came up, including two cases where eBay had meanwhile removed the sellers from the platform and I had no way at all to contact the sellers without opening a buyer protection case. I actually opened the cases within a few hours, and I do think that the sellers I bought from afterward probably had to wait longer for payout than if I had never opened those cases.

And you agreed to the whole process - explicitly! If you did that without reading everything carefully beforehand, you can hardly blame eBay or even us volunteer helpers here in the user forum.

Because of the terms of use, for example, I no longer sell anything here on eBay. And for eBay, anything from a three-digit price upward is considered valuable and subject to a higher risk of causing problems between buyer and seller.

olibrosc-0

OP8 months ago

That will be my consequence in the future too: because of the terms of use here, I won’t sell anything anymore. It just doesn’t make sense, or only self-pickup against cash payment from now on

perfect-sally

·8 months ago

or only self-pickup for cash payment

But not on eBay! There are only a very few items that may still be paid in cash upon pickup, such as vehicles, boats, real estate.

If you’re attached to your account, you should leave that alone, because otherwise sanctions can be imposed - for you and the buyer.

olibrosc-0

OP8 months ago

After the issue with the withheld amount, I'm not attached to my eBay account anymore either. As a private individual, I only have disadvantages

perfect-sally

·8 months ago

And you really think that the commercial members are better off now? Far from it.