mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@warren689 wrote:I'm relatively new to ebay selling and am not familiar with e-check. It says it can take up to 5 days for payment to clear and that I shouldn't ship until payment clears but ebay says I have to send it sooner. What's up with that?? And what exactly is an e-check anyway? Why wouldn't the buyer just send the funds regular paypal deposit or credit card processed through paypal? Please advise me on this. thanks!
Some buyers prefer to pay via echeck which means it is an Electronic Check. It does NOT mean they are a scammer, it only means that your buyer has choosen to use this payment method via Paypal. Some buyers don't have credit cards or are not comfortable with using a credit card on the internet. And not everyone keeps money in their PP accounts so they can just do an instant transfer. There are all kinds of personalities out there and they don't all trust or use the same payment methods. There is NOTHING wrong with that. We just aren't all the same. It is always good to respect and understand that.
It is VERY good that you noticed this type of payment. Far to many new sellers don't read the notification from PP that they receive and end up shipping the item before clear payment has been received. You are doing a GREAT job.
Now it can take a few business days for this payment to clear and you need to wait until that happens BEFORE you ship the item. Now the down side to this is that you need to regularly check your PP account to know when this check clears. PP does not send a new email to you saying it cleared. Years ago they did, but for whatever reason they had, they stopped that. So keep a watchful eye on your PP account. When they say it is cleared, then you ship.
Good luck!!!
@femmefan1946 wrote:It says it can take up to 5 days for payment to clear and that I shouldn't ship until payment clears but ebay says I have to send it sooner.
No.
EBay says to ship within five days of CLEARED payment.
You have not received payment until the e-check has cleared.
So if your buyer sends an e-check payment you actually have up to ten days to ship.
If your customer is new to eBay, he may also be unaware of how long it takes for clearance.
Especially since so few people use paper cheques anymore.
Use Contact Buyer to say "thank you for your Paypal payment in the form of an e-check. Your purchase is packed and ready to ship as soon as Paypal informs me that the payment has cleared. "
Then when it does, and most do since most people are honest, send another note telling the customer the date and service used for shipping and the tracking number if you used a tracked service.
And yes, PP will send the same information if you buy a shipping label through them. Send your own anyway.
BTW, one way you can tell if your payment has cleared is that you can buy a discount shipping label through Paypal, even if the cleared payment is being Held as PP does on payments to new sellers.
The Hold is a Buyer Protection policy and not personal.
When the money has cleared, while yes, you can print the label as you describe, but the more important thing is taht the payment in PP not states it is ELIGIBLE for seller protection. That word is KEY!
@warren689 wrote:Thanks. Regarding the e-check ebay lists it as funds pending. It says funds will be available 11/19! Does that mean I can't ship until the middle of November? That's crazy. Assist me please!
That is a long time. Unless it is an international echeck, there is no reason for it to take that long. I have no idea why it says a date that far out.
You can do whatever you want. I wouldn't advise this EVER, but if you don't want to wait until the echeck clears, you can ship whenever you want to. Not a good idea, but doable. If payment isn't important to you, you can do whatever you see fit.
It is NEVER "crazy" to wait for payment before you ship.
Even though it is stating a date that is so far out, you should check your PP status on this payment on a daily basis. It is likely it will be cleared before the end of the week, Monday at the very latest. You want to make sure you ship within whatever your handling time is that you stated on this listing. So make sure you check your PP account daily for this payment status changing to cleared.
@bubbleman2010 wrote:If its the coat you'd be wise to wait for the e check to clear.....
You are ALWAYS wise to wait for the echeck to clear before shipment. It is UNwise to EVER ship before you receive payment no matter what item was sold or its value.
@sharingtheland wrote:
@warren689 wrote:Thanks. Regarding the e-check ebay lists it as funds pending. It says funds will be available 11/19! Does that mean I can't ship until the middle of November? That's crazy. Assist me please!
I haven't heard of that, either. I'd call paypal (and hopefully get a correct answer). Your item shouldn't be held up and unavailable for sale for over two weeks.
Oh wait, that could mean the 21-day hold for a new seller and have nothing to do with the echeck. I think you said you were a new seller?
Yes the OP is a new seller. But the 21 day hold and the echeck process are two completely different things.
On an echeck, the date state for the expected clear date is not a firm date. It is an estimate. With that long of a lead time it could be an error on PPs part, an international buyer or some other unknown reason. Calling PP isn't a bad idea at all as it could shed some light on why the date is so far out. But with that said, it is more likely than not that the check will be cleared before the end of the week [unless it is international].
