Why Do I Have To Wait For This Payment?

[boucne]

I understand eBay and Paypal’s 21-day hold, but my last 4 items I’ve sold I’ve received the payments instantly. Now I just sold an item and it’s pending in my Paypal. The last 3 items I sold took a day longer to ship than what I had said on my listing. Does that have something to do with it?

[dougsue123b]

Yes  it probably does. Much more of that and you might not be selling long.

[timemachine777]

It could be. It could also be the type of payment. Does your notification say, paid, ship now?

[boucne]

Yes, but Im pretty sure everything I’ve sold says that. Never thought that the type of payment mattered. Interesting.

[lookng2015]

If the hold is because you're a 'new seller' I've noticed they seem to randomly hold some payments and not others.

Is this latest payment larger than the others?

[sparkysretroelectro]

i dont think the holds are totally random. they are probably based off some form of credit rating and/or banking history along with your transaction history as a seller. 

[sparkysretroelectro]

is the money being held up before it even hits your paypal account, or are the funds in your paypal account and being held from withdrawl?

[thallidguy]

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@boucnewrote:

I understand eBay and Paypal’s 21-day hold, but my last 4 items I’ve sold I’ve received the payments instantly. Now I just sold an item and it’s pending in my Paypal. The last 3 items I sold took a day longer to ship than what I had said on my listing. Does that have something to do with it?

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A "Pending" payment could be an e-check, which needs to clear before the money actually appears in your PayPal account. You should not ship until it clears.

[sparkysretroelectro]

as a new seller, you should know to pay more attention to the shipping details in paypal than in ebay.  Ebay will notify you when a payment hits, paypal will let you know if the customer has a verified paypal account in good standing by stating "eligible for seller protection".

ALWAYS ship to the paypal address, not the ebay provided address.  you arent even supposed to veer from the paypal address even if the customer requests a change- as this could be a scam attempt. the paypal address is derived from the form of payment (credit card/banking statement) and is the MOST reliable.

paypal only offers seller protection when you follow paypals guidelines.  Ebay gives you visibility and a marketplace, but paypal is your payment processor, and offers "seller protection" if you follow their guidelines, which are largely compatible with ebays policies.

[7606dennis]

In the case of a pending payment it more likely that it has something to do with the payment not being cleared such as an echeck.  When applying a 21 hold they usually instruct you to ship.  Does the PayPal transaction say it is okay to ship.

You should also be advised that depending upon the type of licensing PayPal has in your state and the laws regulating that type of license, PayPal may be limited on how long they can hold money sent to an intended recipient.  Of course, you will need to check with your state's regulating authority for more information.

[billm77]

You should always have money in PayPal. They might be holding the money in case the item gets lost in shipment or customer wants to return the item.  You should always keep enough to cover all the packages you have shipped until they are delivered.

[sparkysretroelectro]

for a low margin seller, i would actually suggest keeping adequate funds in paypal for the 1 month return period, so ebay doesnt have to kick your door in to get a customer their refund.

[missjen831]

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@sparkysretroelectrowrote:

i dont think the holds are totally random. they are probably based off some form of credit rating and/or banking history along with your transaction history as a seller. 

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Nope. That’s not the reason. PayPal doesn’t have access to the buyers credit rating or banking history, that information has nothing to do with the hold. Either the item sold and the amount of the sale are out of the norm for the OP or they’ve had a lot of disputes filed against them but that doesn’t sound likely here.

[7606dennis]

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@billm77wrote:

You should always have money in PayPal. They might be holding the money in case the item gets lost in shipment or customer wants to return the item.  You should always keep enough to cover all the packages you have shipped until they are delivered.

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Actually, since PayPal is not a banking institution, I disagree.  I see no reason to keep funds in a PayPal account when they are best kept in an FDIC insured bank account.  PayPal is operating in many states as a licensed Money Transfer Agent and are subject to statutory and regulatory restrictions placed on such agencies by the state.  Some of theses states have restrictions on how long a money transfer agent can hold onto funds being transferred before it is turned over to the intended recipient.