Problem with sellers

Question

Iâ€™ve made three attempts between December and now to purchase a kitchenaid mixer from three separate buyers. In two of the cases, I had to resort to getting eBay to intercede. So Iâ€™ve been out of my money for almost three weeks in two of the cases while the buyer has had the use of my funds.
Iâ€™m left wondering if this was intentional on the sellers part to get some cash.

cacamush · Accepted Answer

I am edified but frustrated. my apologies to sellers.

selforfun · Answer

@cacamush

The sellers did not have use of your money.

When you pay on eBay, the funds are immediately held by eBay, not released to the seller.
Sellers do not receive payment until they ship the item and tracking shows movement, or until the order otherwise meets eBayâ€™s payout requirements.
When you open an Item Not Received case or eBay steps in, the funds remain on hold with eBay until the case is resolved.
If the seller fails to ship, the case is closed in your favor and the money is returned to you from eBay, not from money the seller already spent.

So while it is understandably frustrating to have funds tied up during a case, there is no financial benefit to the seller in doing this intentionally. In fact, sellers receive defects and account strikes for these situations, which negatively impact their selling privileges.

For future purchases, it can help to:

Review recent feedback from the last 30â€“90 days.
Check that the seller has a consistent history of shipping similar items.
Be cautious of listings priced well below typical market value.

In all cases where eBay has intervened, the system is designed to protect buyers and prevent sellers from accessing funds when orders are not fulfilled.