DorsetBlue Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1389693271' post='2336895'] Hi Milty. That's weird... in that I've [i]never[/i] had any eBay payments withheld by PayPal, whether the buyer has left feedback or not (not even my first payment received, as you mention). Is your PayPal account linked directly to your bank account? And have you verified and upgraded your PayPal account? (both of which are free to do - it's just a bit of a faff). Seems odd that I'm not having any of these issues that you are guys are reporting [/quote] Got this exact same issue with some computer games I sold last week. Paypal account fully verified but not used much in the last few years (don't really use EBay). Its enforced Escrow, which is bloody silly for items of such low value. Will go back to Amazon and Play to sell nearly new items from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1389694354' post='2336905'] I've never understood why they are so hostile to sellers - it's the sellers who provide their profits. [/quote] Maybe it's like this: the buyers provide the money, and have the freedom to use that money wherever they want. The sellers who still use eBay are the ones who need eBay - making them the perfect victims for eBay's bending them over forwards. Dunno really but it sounds like they may be thinking along those lines these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1389694354' post='2336905']eBay/PayPal are a monopoly[/quote] Not a monopoly per se. However, investigated by the US authorities for anti-trust practices. Also, while registered in the UK, investigated for financial accounting irregularities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1389660878' post='2336786'] You have to send copies of your passport , why ? Gotta say that's definitely not something that I'd fancy doing. What do they do with it when they've finished with it ? I don't like them, and I'd just be reluctant for them to have a copy of my passport and a utility bill. [/quote] No different to taking out a mobile phone contract etc....its a fairly standard request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Didn't they recently change it to withholding more of sellers money? I am fairly sure they used to be able to withhold in some circumstances, but they have now massively widened the range of sellers (ie under 100 sales). Added to which, if I read the mail correctly, they have recently decided to charge 10% of your DELIVERY charge. Yet more money for the ***** Sadly though, they do still have a bigger market for bass sales, even though prices on there are getting stupid in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1389694354' post='2336905'] eBay/PayPal are a monopoly, so they can do what they like. I've never understood why they are so hostile to sellers - it's the sellers who provide their profits. Yet it's the buyer who is always favoured in any dispute, regardless. A case of bending over backwards for the buyers while bending the sellers over forwards. Or something... [/quote] Giving the benefit of any doubt to the buyers rather than the sellers creates a 'safe' environment for the buyers. It may be the sellers who pay ebay's commission but it's triggered by a sale and there would be no sales without buyers. Banks and credit card companies do much the same sort of thing because they depend on their customers having the confidence to use their debit and credit cards online with pretty much zero risk of ever losing any money if anything goes wrong. Without that confidence there is no market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Have only glanced at the replies to the original post, but... a similar thing happened to me... If you have had a particularly busy spate of flogging stuff via eBay & getting your payments in through PayPal, because (or despite) of the fact that you're a private individual selling stuff off, it would appear to any remote analysis of your account, that you are running a business and not just getting rid of some old stuff. What happened to me, my wife and I had a spate of flogging stuff, most cases it was very low value items (old but useable kids clothes and toys) and a couple of high value music related items. We got a few emails from PayPal asking us to go into our account & verify some things, though the email was very unspecific and thus got ignored and deleted thinking it was spammage. Roll on a few weeks, and our PayPal account was blocked because we hadn't logged in & gone through the questions. It's all to do with their compliance with UK Tax Regulations, as if you're running a business, you're liable for tax in conjunction with that business. If you're a private individual selling stuff on, then you're not liable for tax. Basically, they're wanting you to verify that you aren't running a business to comply with UK Tax Laws/Rules. Login to your PayPal account via their website and there should be more info there. If the account's still blocked, give them a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389700150' post='2336957'] Giving the benefit of any doubt to the buyers rather than the sellers creates a 'safe' environment for the buyers. It may be the sellers who pay ebay's commission but it's triggered by a sale and there would be no sales without buyers. [/quote] True, but it's eBay/PayPal's attitude that gets me. PayPal is not classified as a 'bank' and so cannot be regulated as one. If a bank pulled some of the stunts that PayPal get up to, they could well be in trouble. Or should that be 'more trouble'? Holding onto sellers' payments for weeks on end apropos of nothing is just a cynical interest-generating exercise in my book. Edited January 14, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 A while ago I received a few emails from Ebay asking why I hadn't been back. There were only multiple choice answers, nowhere to write that I'd heard too many horror stories about folk being ripped off & the arbitrary way they operate Paypal. Looks like I didn't miss much from many of these replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1389697565' post='2336934'] No different to taking out a mobile phone contract etc....its a fairly standard request. [/quote] I had to show ID when opening my bank account, and maybe when getting my phone contact, but they [i][b]didn't[/b][/i] take a copy. I would want to know what happens to the copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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