$10,000 and a lot of hard work wasted

[jgshaw626]

eBay is a joke.  New seller here, well, was a seller rather.  I’ve acquired many items and decided it was time to sell some of my possessions off.  Everything going good. Then restricted, they want bank statements and original purchase receipts.  I comply except for purchase receipts as most my goods have been traded or bartered for and have been collecting dust many years.  I write them explaining that, they lift the restriction and allow me to continue to sell with all sells resulting in payouts on hold.  I sell another few thousand and restricted.  Now indefinitely.  With a grand total of $10,000 waiting to be payed out.  I have lost quite a few valuable items and I get no compensation?  If you are thinking about selling on eBay.  Don’t.  I’m devastated.  Probably going to loose my house now as one payout was scheduled for tomorrow and I was banking on it for the payment.  Thanks eBay!  I’m so thankful your platform exists.

[soh.maryl]

On eBay, there are usually restrictions on new sellers and I don't know for sure that that's what is happening to you.

You mention that you have "lost quite a few valuable items".  How did that happen?

[mam98031]

Missing a house payment or being a few days late on it will not cause you to lose your house.  You would have to be a few months behind in your payment for that to happen.

Ebay has had a rule for many years that pertains to New Seller and sellers that have been away from selling for 90+ days. The following is the policy that outlines why you money is likely on hold.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816&&...

[ckimodog]

@jgshaw626 

Did eBay ask you how you acquired those expensive items as a new or infrequent seller and ask for receipts?  If they did, give them what they want.  You live in a state where port and train robberies are epidemic on e commerce sites.  eBay has a responsibility to their customers.  New sellers are under eBay's radar.  If you don't have receipts, you won't see that money for some time.  Be careful. 

[slati_2013]

You are selling expensive brand new items. You claim you got them trough trade or barter. Why would the person who traded  you these new expensive stuff not sell them themselves for full price? For eBay, this is what they call "posing a risk".

As I keep saying to new sellers who post this question here, once eBay starts asking for receipts and proof of delivery, stop selling. You are not only going to get banned. You are not going to get your money any time soon. New sellers make the mistake there is quick easy money to be made on eBay, but selling new expensive stuff will quickly get the attention of eBay and not in a good way. You will get your money in a few years depending on your state from your state unclaimed funds. 

[ten_o_nine]

A new seller with 18K sales in 2 months would raise a flag, I really can't imagine losing a house over some items that were collecting dust.

[maxine*j]

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@jgshaw626 wrote:

... I comply except for purchase receipts as most my goods have been traded or bartered for and have been collecting dust many years...

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Retail theft is massive.  Most of the stolen goods are sold on-line.  eBay and all the other marketplaces are under pressure to help fight this. 

Law enforcement has busted operations so big there were warehouses full of stolen merchandise, some even with sophisticated pick-and-pack systems.

So, when a new seller lists brand new items but has no receipts for them, the red flags fly high.  Sometimes the innocent will get caught up in such sweeps. 

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[maxine*j · Accepted solution]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

You are selling expensive brand new items. You claim you got them trough trade or barter. Why would the person who traded  you these new expensive stuff not sell them themselves for full price? For eBay, this is what they call "posing a risk"...

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And selling those expensive items in multiples -- multiples of the brand new batter testers, the brand new sunglasses, the brand new wrench sets, etc.  The flags could not be any redder, so far as eBay is concerned.

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[ittybitnot]

  I comply except for purchase receipts as most my goods have been traded or bartered for and have been collecting dust many years. 

@jgshaw626 

Can you tell us how all your recent sales have been sold as "BRAND NEW", AND  how long does it take for them to collect dust after many years?  I am not familiar enough with your product line to know if they are new, or older unused products.  I do know that as a buyer, stock photos lifted from someplace else do not inspire confidence. 

Though I have never been in favor of eBay's practice of waiting until you accrue a positive balance to put it on hold for some "inquiries",  eBay's main concern is to protect eBay.  For some reason, they (or their bots) get very uneasy with new(ish) sellers that have monetary success. 

[simba6]

The problem is when you have a lot of merchandise like that eBay needs to know it was not " looted " items.  By law eBay has to keep stolen items off it's site.  

[12345jamesstamps]

Those items sold looked new not collecting dust...why other sellers don't sell the items to friends or employees is a mystery to me instead of traded or bartered for them by you. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@slati_2013 wrote:

You are selling expensive brand new items. You claim you got them trough trade or barter. Why would the person who traded  you these new expensive stuff not sell them themselves for full price? For eBay, this is what they call "posing a risk"...

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And selling those expensive items in multiples -- multiples of the brand new batter testers, the brand new sunglasses, the brand new wrench sets, etc.  The flags could not be any redder, so far as eBay is concerned.

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I looked through most if not all of those listings and they look to be compiled by a seller who does not know much about what he is selling and does not know how to sell them on Ebay. (A ball joint service set does not qualify for Media Mail.) Descriptions are sparse, copied from the manufacturers website or simply not there at all.

Its no wonder that Ebay is giving this their full attention. Some devices like the Autel testers need buyer registration for downloading software. Buyers will be coming back for refunds if the serial number of the tester raises an alarm at Autel.

[rugerskick]

Why?  Because they dont want to deal with the online hassles of selling it thats why.  Look what this guy is dealing with.  People who are not big sellers dont want to deal with it, maybe they dont think giving their bank and credit card info to ebay is something they want to do just to sell a couple things they don't want anymore.

Barter/trading has been around forever.  It will outlast ebay.

[rugerskick]

Ok he was not a seasoned ebay seller.  Who warned him this might be a problem for him?  Ebay sure the heck didn't.  No other sellers did.  Nothing in the ebay seller rules/policies warned him ebay would regard this as a bad thing.  Where was the heads up for him?  Nowhere, thats where.

People arent mind readers, especially new people.  They think ebay will be glad they are selling well and people are interested in their items.  No one tells him ebay will instead regard him as an actual potential criminal.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

When selling expensive brand new items on an online marketplace, you need to earn the trust of that marketplace. It is no longer like 20 years ago when Ebay trusted everyone. and earned a reputation as buyer unfriendly which hurts it until this day.

You need to provide invoices which reflect purchases of these items from their authorized distribution channels to eliminate dealing in counterfeits or stolen good, and proof of delivery on that which you have sold.

Ebay will hold your money until they feel they can trust you.

On other marketplace sites, you would have been required to provide proof of authenticity prior to listing.

There are a lot of obsolete Youtube videos on how to get rich.