OT - Machine sale resulting in Major Paypal problem today

[JohnEvans]

I would simply cancell the sale and return the money to the buyer with a note explaining why. I have not sold on eBay since they stoped using PayPal ! Tell buyer to send a wire transfer.

 

[Kevin T]

I think they do it to get new buyers to trust the service and give it a try because their purchase is guaranteed. I've had expensive camera lenses that I've "sold" that were broken so I sold them and clearly advertised that it doesn't work and what the reason is in the ebay ad. Broken item, may have useable parts, etc. People still return the stuff and say, I took it to my repair man and he said he can't fix it so I want a refund! WTF? Paypal holds a lot of money even on lesser transactions. Seems like machine parts this happens with too. I want to say that even as low as 2-3 hundred bucks and they hold the funds!

 

[CITIZEN F16]

As I wrote above, it is to fatten Paypal's wallet. Nothing more.

Exactly, sucking extra money out of customers without providing extra service.

 

[dazz]

This should only be acceptable if you're paid an agreed-on interest for the excess wait time. Write your congress person (not joking) about this abusive practice.

Just don't use PP. If everyone did that, PP would change their policy.

 

[dazz]

...

I haven't used Paypal in ages, always use a personal credit card (have a second one for business expenses) for Ebay transactions (mostly all purchases); there are lots of consumer protections on *personal* credit cards (other than usurious interest rates which can be avoided by paying them off each month). In the distant past, I didn't have much trouble contacting and dealing with Paypal, but if "customer service" trends are the same as most recent experience, theirs has probably deteriorated also.

That is great if you are in the USA but many US companies won't accept foreign credit cards. For other civilized countries with reasonably good banks (not the USA), electronic funds transfer is a good option.

In my experience most USA people/companies will not provide a bank account number to pay to in the belief that a bank account number is enough to commit fraud. That would only be true if bank security is poor.

So I avoid using PayPal unless I have to.

 

[edwin dirnbeck]

paypal market cap fell by 50 billion usd 3 days ago--

Investrs dont REALLY care about a companies business practice. They only care about profits. Edwin Dirnbeck

 

[lucky7]

Speculators don’t care about a company’s business practices. Long term investors definitely do.

L7

 

[Bill D]

Decades ago Visa moved it's credit card operations to Sioux Falls. North Dakota. This was because it had the worst(slowest) outgoing mail service of a big enough city in the country. They air freighted in the incoming payments and sent the payments out by USPS. They had billions in payments floating a few days extra by mailing them from there.
After 911 banking laws were soon changed so physical checks did not have to be shipped around. a computer scan became legal because planes carrying checks were grounded.
Bill D

 

[gustafson]

Decades ago Visa moved it's credit card operations to Sioux Falls. North Dakota. This was because it had the worst(slowest) outgoing mail service of a big enough city in the country. They air freighted in the incoming payments and sent the payments out by USPS. They had billions in payments floating a few days extra by mailing them from there.
After 911 banking laws were soon changed so physical checks did not have to be shipped around. a computer scan became legal because planes carrying checks were grounded.
Bill D

I am pretty sure a tax break was the reason. Not paying taxes is a strong incentive.

The mail could have changed at any moment.

 

[Fish On]

Yeah that is the most worrisome part. Plus the amount that is "released" in contrast to the total... 300 bucks ?? Paypal is shooting themselves in the ass with this as I will never allow customers to use them again except for maybe under $500 purchases

Unless I missed it, I don't think I see anything mentioning the staggered payments exceeding 21 days. I'm pretty sure the staggered payments is in reference to multiple transactions - what you sell today is paid 21 days from today, what you sell tomorrow is paid 21 days from tomorrow, etc.

I had this same thing happen when I upgraded from a personal to a business Paypal account shortly after opening my shop, so quite some time back. At the time, I was selling roughly $90 items. But, if memory serves, I didn't even get $300 the first month. I remember that because it really pissed me off that they couldn't at least release the amount for shipping - I was having to come out of pocket to pay for shipping labels, and in the hand to mouth days of first opening a business, that potentially was a problem.

But, since I was shipping USPS, they were releasing payment a day or so after tracking showed delivery, so I started getting payments in 4 - 5 days. Then, each month, they raised my amount a decent amount, so by month 2 or 3 it became a non issue. Nearly a decade later, I've got no idea what my account limit is, or if there even is one.

I guess to get it sooner than 21 days, ship your customer a 1 lb box via USPS or UPS, and upload tracking. The automated system doesn't know that a forklift doesn't fit in a flat rate box. Better still if it's something relevant to the forklift (manual, copy of service records) that got 'forgotten' when the flatbed left, and that it delivers a day after the forklift, so that the buyer doesn't question why you're sending a box of air and file an ebay claim for 'item not as advertised'.

 

[JoeE.]

...banking laws were soon changed so physical checks did not have to be shipped around. a computer scan became legal because planes carrying checks were grounded.
Bill D

Back in the 1970's, there was this little non-descript storefront office located on Main street here in town. Big plate glass windows, so you could see right in. A couple of women worked there, and one of them was quite buxom. As all we had to do in the evenings was drag Main, we'd always be sure to scope out that place to see if we could get a glimpse of that gal. She was what we gauged other women by, lol.

Anyhow, every evening, a guy driving a little pickup truck would pull up in front and waltz in the front door and, after we'd drug up and down the main drag a few times, there he'd be, carrying out some stuff and putting it in the back of the truck, under the topper. He'd pile in the truck and leave.

It's a hazy memory now, but it seems like there was a some signage painted on the buildings' front window that said "Bankers Dispatch".

One of my more brash buddies finally got up the nerve to go up to their little office to make small talk with these women in a failed attempt to score. Notwithstanding that he got shot down, when he came back out to the car and we all razzed him on his spectacular flame out... someone asked him "what exactly do they do in there.

He said they told him that they collected checks from banks and/or businesses here in town and the courier (guy in truck) had a route~ he went from town to town going to other places like this one and collected the checks that those places had collected from their local businesses/banks and that all that paper ended up at some big clearing house in Kansas City.

It's been 50 years since that happened, so I may be off on some of the details, but I think I got the gist of the operation right.

 

[rimcanyon]

I think the reason behind the problem you are having is the Ebay/Paypal split. And that problem is even worse for those who did not jump to Ebay's managed payment system early on. Now Ebay makes it difficult for Paypal and vice versa. I have had similar problems and even a few not mentioned. My advice is to forget using Paypal on Ebay, use a different method.

 

[JoeE.]

... speaking of holding a guys money hostage, this financially embarrassed young friend of mine is a CNA at a nursing home. She doesn't make a whole lot, and barely gets by check to check.

When she buys gas at the convenience store and pays with this "debit" card she has, even if she only buys $20 worth, the merchant puts like a $100 hold on the card. I don't understand how that works or how they are getting away with doing it, but they do.
WHen you have, say, $74 in your account, and pay for $20 worth of gas and the company slams you with a $100 hold.. you're overdrawn... or whatever you call it.

I think she said it can take up to a week for that money to be credited back to her account, but in the mean time, she's broke...and there's nothing she can do about it.

 

[newtonsapple]

I got hit with this out recently.

Most freight shipments can't be handled by Paypal. You can upload the number, but their system doesn't make any sense of it.

The Fix:
Ship a copy of the paid invoice to the buyer with tracking info from USPS/Fedex/UPS. Upload that tracking info. Once delivered, it should release the funds.

I haven't actually done this, but I will be as I have to send a new screen to the buyer of an optical comparator . Broke in shipping somehow. Might as well get the cash released.

 

[neilho]

Easy to talk to someone at Paypal, it's in the contact dropdown menu, IIRC. My problem with it is that I have trouble understanding their English, and 3 different associates BSed me about security being the reason I couldn't send friends-and-family funds from my bank account.

A supervisor explained it to me, but I had to insist to get to talk to her.

The first level of customer service associates are low paid entry level workers for whom English is a second language. It's to be expected that the service isn't very good and they don't know much about how paypal works.

 

[Peter from Holland]

Paypal Ebay and such are entities with their own lawbook but no judge
Paypal became big as banktransfers never got that cheap and commen in the US as in Europe
There is no need for a paypal over here
Insureance ????? Do you want a insureance from a compagny like that?? Not me. I take my chances with customers
I got nailed a couple of times yes My fault And I learned from it. I prefere that than needing to grasp their lawbook

Peter

 

[edwin dirnbeck]

The only reason Paypal exists is because people WILL cheat each other. I am positive that Paypal has been scammed in every possible way . They try to make it impossible to scam them. HOWEVER AS I TYPE ,someone is scamming them RIHT NOW.You cant keep ahead of the cheaters. Edwin Dirnbeck

 

[cnctoolcat]

(having said all this I'm wondering if maybe the buyer used a credit card via Paypal to pay and they are worried about a chargeback ?)

This is why Paypal is putting the holds, I think.

Especially if the guy uses a credit card to pay his Paypal balance on his next statement (could be days or weeks later).

ToolCat

 

[Milacron]

Got an email from PayPal this morning that said my monthly draw had been increased …. So I click on it expecting it to be some annoying small number like 500 bucks … but to my amazement it is $10,200 ! Apparently the algorithm had an awakening without any intervention on my part . So now I have the $8500 (minus 3 percent) before shipping the forklift and all is well in Milacron World

 

[DrHook]

Decades ago Visa moved it's credit card operations to Sioux Falls. North Dakota. This was because it had the worst(slowest) outgoing mail service of a big enough city in the country. They air freighted in the incoming payments and sent the payments out by USPS. They had billions in payments floating a few days extra by mailing them from there.
After 911 banking laws were soon changed so physical checks did not have to be shipped around. a computer scan became legal because planes carrying checks were grounded.
Bill D

..shortly thereafter, they moved the entire city of Sioux Falls to South Dakota...