Wow eBay/PayPal sure have slipped

[lowendmafia]

This is why I haven't sold on eBay on several years. It's good that buyers are protected, but when I sell something it's usually to buy something else. I'll buy on ebay, but not sell. I guess if your a business that can afford to wait for access to funds it still works....

I don't even think I would buy on ebay now. There area far too few auction type sales and way too many fixed price and dealer sales. These always have the fees baked right into them... I am unbelievably disappointed with my recent ebay sale and it would take something drastic for me to go back to that well.

 

[Johnny Crab]

For all the folks leaving eBay, make sure you tell them why.
Certified Letters to the CEO and a few select board members sometimes helps(Sprint fixed a $400 screw-up for us).
Maybe they'll realize their business SOP's are putting them on the Failroad to extinction.

 

[Haji]

The thing is, I don't care if they fail. Somebody else will step up and create a site that is what customers want.

 

[eyeballkid]

I just went and checked ebay. here is what they show:

My payment is being held
[Select a new topic] While you establish your selling track record, buyer payments may be delayed. These funds will generally be available once:

• It’s been more than 90 days since your first successful sale
• You’ve had more than 25 sales transactions, and
• You’ve had more than $250 in sales

Here are a few other reasons why your payments may be delayed:

• You have a Below Standard rating in your Seller Dashboard.
• You've started selling in a new category.
• Your account shows unusual activity, such as a sudden increase of eBay Money Back Guarantee cases.
• You need to add tracking information to My eBay or to an eBay Money Back Guarantee case.

You can see the status of your funds in My eBay, and find out what you can do to get your funds more quickly, by clicking the button at the bottom of this message.




------

this doesnt look like it effects everyone.. just noobs.

 

[el_chupacabra]

I share everyone's PayPal pain but I still use PayPal because it's the only escrow service that buyers (and sellers) seem to trust. Can somebody suggest an alternative?

I'm not talking about eBay transactions here. eBay owns PayPal so it's understandable that they want you to use PayPal. I'm talking about arbitrary transactions between two parties with no a priori trust between them.

 

[hdracer]

I share everyone's PayPal pain but I still use PayPal because it's the only escrow service that buyers (and sellers) seem to trust. Can somebody suggest an alternative?

I'm not talking about eBay transactions here. eBay owns PayPal so it's understandable that they want you to use PayPal. I'm talking about arbitrary transactions between two parties with no a priori trust between them.

It is called a Merchants Service. That means you can take credit cards. The new services allow you you take credit cards with your smart phone at rates better or the same fees as Pay Pal.
There is more security for the seller and buyer.

 

[el_chupacabra]

Thanks for your comment. When you say, "There is more security for the seller and buyer", can you be more specific? I've looked at a couple of credit card processing services and it was not immediately clear what protections they provided (if any), beyond those offered by the credit card itself. I understand that with a credit card the buyer can do chargebacks. I've never tried that so I'm not sure how it works.

I'm not trying to push PayPal by any means, but what PayPal offers (in theory, if not always in practice) is a pretty transparent escrow process: they hold the money until the buyer is satisfied. By "transparent" I just mean that you can see what's going on by logging in to the PayPal site.

Another issue is taxes. I've never sold enough stuff to warrant opening a separate tax account with my local authorities (e.g. "GST #" here in Canada). But if you open a merchant account, the expectation is that you will charge tax, no? Maybe it's no longer like that, but I connote "merchant account" with "business", and in my case I'm not running a business. I'm just a guy who occasionally buys or sells bass guitars.