After selling, I rec'd a message saying, ebay requested there be a hold on my funds. What do I do?

[marsdaman]

I have made my first ebay sell it seems like. Buyer seemed very interested and paid instantly! Now, on to the matter at hand, I live paycheck to paycheck, as it is, and always assumed that when the buyer pays shipping that they pay and you ship. I still have a big bill to pay this month. Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money? If this is true, which is cheaper: buying a label from eBay or the post office? 

[city*satins]

If you've set up your ebay shipping labels to take payment from your PAYPAL account, enough of the held funds will be made available from the buyer's payment to allow you to pay for and print the shipping label on eBay.

[marsdaman]

I'm a new eBay seller, so I did not know that that existed. Is it possible now or do I have to pay this collateral before I can receive the money?

[city*satins]

You can do it any time you're ready.  You need to have the type of Paypal account that allows this though.  If it's a simple personal account, Paypal might bypass your balance and take the funds out of your checking or credit card.

So what you can actually do, depends on what type of Paypal account you are using.

I'm afraid I'm not 100% sure on the mechanics of this. You might want to ask on the  Shipping and Returns board.

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@marsdaman wrote:

I have made my first ebay sell it seems like. Buyer seemed very interested and paid instantly! Now, on to the matter at hand, I live paycheck to paycheck, as it is, and always assumed that when the buyer pays shipping that they pay and you ship. I still have a big bill to pay this month. Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money? If this is true, which is cheaper: buying a label from eBay or the post office? 

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Hi, it is cheaper buying your shipping labels on eBay where we get a discounted rate. To take advantage of this service, you will need a postal scale to weigh your packages on. (You can get one online for around $10. It will pay for itself in no time.) In addition, if you buy your labels on eBay, it could help you get your funds released faster. The tracking is automatically uploaded to your Selling page for each sale, and eBay is alerted when the package is delivered. Once it shows as delivered, your funds are released within 24 hours. Also, when using eBay labels, funds for shipping will be made available from the buyer's payment. It sounds like you could really use that perk rather than cough up shipping out of your pocket on each sale.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by needing collateral to receive your PayPal payment. Can you elaborate?

Here is a link to the policy on funds being held and when they are made available: 

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/service-and-payments/funds-availability.html

Some friendly advice: You should always have an estimate of how much shipping is going to cost you before you list the item. I package up the item as I list so i have the package dimensions and weight, and input that data on the listing form. Without dimensions and weight, I cannot determine what shipping service will be the most economical and advantageous. I'm in Texas, I pick an Eastern seaboard city zip code to get an idea of what shipping is going to run. I use the Advanced Listing tool and it calculates shipping costs for USPS, UPS, and FedEx for you to compare services. Good luck to you in your selling, and come back for help anytime.

(Oh and PS--always go to PayPal to check that the monies are in your PP account before you ship. Never click on a link in an eBay or PayPal email, but navigate directly through your browser to the PP site. This is to avoid phishing emails and fake communications from scammers posing as eBay or PP.)

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@marsdaman wrote:

I have made my first ebay sell it seems like. Buyer seemed very interested and paid instantly! Now, on to the matter at hand, I live paycheck to paycheck, as it is, and always assumed that when the buyer pays shipping that they pay and you ship. I still have a big bill to pay this month. Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money? If this is true, which is cheap...

@marsdaman WARNING!!

I looked at your completed listings and saw the gaming stuff listed at $300 that ended 7-26. However, it did NOT show up as SOLD. Do not ship your item until you see that the funds are in your PayPal account when you navigate there directly through your browser. New sellers with expensive items can get targeted by scammers hoping to defraud them. I hope i am wrong about this, but please check your PP to ensure the sale went through. Did you learn of the sale and the "instant payment" through an email? If so, you are being scammed! Please come back and let us know what happened. 

[reda3615]

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@marsdaman wrote:

I have made my first ebay sell it seems like. Buyer seemed very interested and paid instantly!

Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money?

do I have to pay this collateral before I can receive the money?

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That you have an over-eager buyer, and you keep saying "collateral" to receive your payment @marsdaman

- it sounds like you gave away your email address, either directly or by emailing extra photos,

- then received a very real-looking email message saying you have to provide a tracking number to release your payment.

If so, it's a scam.

[csbbct]

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@reda3615 wrote:

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@marsdaman wrote:

I have made my first ebay sell it seems like. Buyer seemed very interested and paid instantly!

Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money?

do I have to pay this collateral before I can receive the money?

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That you have an over-eager buyer, and you keep saying "collateral" to receive your payment @marsdaman

- it sounds like you gave away your email address, either directly or by emailing extra photos,

- then received a very real-looking email message saying you have to provide a tracking number to release your payment.

If so, it's a scam.

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Yes, and also be aware that the fake scam email may say that you will not see a transaction record in Paypal until you ship the item and this is NOT TRUE!  Always be sure that the transaction is shown in Paypal before you ship.  The transaction record should be there even if Paypal is holding the funds.  Never click on links inside those emails, but instead open a new browser window and go directly to Paypal. 

There are many posts on this seller board about these predators targeting new sellers who are selling high priced items.  Search on "scams" on this board and read them so you know what to expect and not expect.  Good luck and if anything seems suspicious to you, check back on these boards.  There are many experienced sellers willing to give you good advice.   

[luckythewinner]

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I rec'd a message saying, ebay requested there be a hold on my funds

How did you receive the message? Are you being paid via PayPal, or through eBay Managed Payments?

The first thing to do is to verify that there is actually a payment in your account, and that the buyer is not trying to trick you into shipping before you are paid. This is a scam that some buyers have tried. 

If it was a PayPal payment, even if it is being held you should me able to login into PayPal independently (not through a link in the message!) and see a transaction indicating a Payment was made. 

Do I have to come up with $20-$30 shipping costs(it will cost at least that much) as colateral to receive my Paypal money?

If it was a hold instituted by eBay on your PayPal payment, you need to read up on how that works. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/pending-payments?id=415...

If this is true, which is cheaper: buying a label from eBay or the post office? 

Buying the label through eBay is generally cheaper than buying at the post office counter. 

[marsdaman]

There is a newer one that I relisted at $275 and agreed on $220+shipping. The buyer used ebay and paid through Paypal immediately. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONCERN!

[marsdaman]

It's officially in Ebay and Paypal, even showing the address where it should be shipped in Paypal(at their site). Ebay marks it as paid and the funds show in Paypal as being on hold. They are on hold, because ebay requested it. All signs seem to point to go. The transaction shows in Paypal on their site as +$XXX.XX, who the buyer is, and where it is supposed to go. What do you think?

[a_c_green]

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@marsdaman wrote:
It's officially in Ebay and Paypal, even showing the address where it should be shipped in Paypal(at their site). Ebay marks it as paid and the funds show in Paypal as being on hold. They are on hold, because ebay requested it. All signs seem to point to go. The transaction shows in Paypal on their site as +$XXX.XX, who the buyer is, and where it is supposed to go. What do you think?

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That being the case, it's time to ship. Follow the "Print Shipping Label" link on your Sold Items page.

[yhlml]

Not exactly in answer to your question but you said it was your first sale. You should look into the flat rate boxes from the post office, and A or B boxes. They are free from the post office and you can order them from USPS and they will ship to your house at no charge. 

1-3 Business Days1
Get more for your money with fast domestic service, including flat rate shipping, in 1, 2, or 3 business days1 based on where your package starts and where it’s being sent. Beginning at $7.35 at Post Office™ locations and online.
Find out how long it may take your package to reach its U.S. destination. Priority Mail Delivery Map

Flat Rate Pricing2
No weighing or calculating needed up to 70 lbs. Flat Rate offers one rate to any state.

[reda3615 · Accepted solution]

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@marsdaman wrote:

I'm a new eBay seller, so I did not know that that existed. Is it possible now or do I have to pay this collateral before I can receive the money?

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In that case @marsdaman select the option to pay later when you purchase your shipping label at eBay.