eBay

dufferdawg · ‎05-04-2023

I am beyond frustrated! My husband recently sold something on eBay and we cannot get the payout from eBay. With multiple calls from customer service, and HOURS of time wasted, we were told that eBay doesn’t accept our routing number for payouts and we have to open another checking account somewhere else to get the proceeds from our sale!!!???!!? They also advised that the funds will be turned over shortly to the state as unclaimed funds!

I cannot understand a scenario where they encourage people to list items, sell items, eBay collects their fees (because God knows, they are the only one who is entitled to get paid!!!), but there is a routing number that they have on a list on routing numbers that are marked “will not accept”???? Seriously??? Is that legal??? I went through hours of scenarios for options, and all of them, SURPRISE SURPRISE, only work for eBay to get their money!!!! But not one of those options is viable for for us to get our proceeds! They can accept my debit card, paypal account, and even bank draft for their fees…but they cannot use any of them to pay me for the proceeds of my property that was sold?????

We have had the same checking account for 50+ years, never had a single problem, and have even used the same account in the past for eBay sales proceeds. It is a real brick and mortar bank, where I have an actual checkbook, safe deposit box, and can go to a teller window.

I spoke with four representatives and all said, “yeah, that routing number is one that cannot be accepted by our system. You need to open another checking account.”

toysaver · ‎05-04-2023

Bank of America - The eBay Community

Look at the second reply and try to see if it helps.

onlinecentral · ‎05-04-2023

Apply for a Wal-mart Green dot card. It provides a bank number and routing number.
Here's a link to help you out: https://www.walmartmoneycard.com/
Apply for an ACE debit card or something similar. They also have routing and checking account numbers.

caldreamer · ‎05-04-2023

Sorry this happened to you. I assume when you tried to enter number for your current bank account...that you used ROUTING# only (not all the numbers shown on check). If you don't know which numbers are "routing numbers" ask your banker to point that out.

If you get a plan on getting new checking account....important thing is that NAME on your checking account must be EXACT MATCH as name on your social security card and name shown on EBAY profile page (otherwise this will create problems). Because sales get reported to IRS everything needs to have your "legal name" on all the documentation.

yuzuha · ‎05-04-2023

Have you spoken to your bank about why your routing number would not be accepted? I know that some credit unions, for example, do not allow accounts with that credit union be used for business purposes such as eBay. They are meant for personal banking purposes only.

dhbookds · ‎05-04-2023

You are in Georgia.......and as said Bank of America in GA is not acceptable to Managed Payments ......you need a different bank...........

slippinjimmy · ‎05-04-2023

@dhbookds wrote:
You are in Georgia.......and as said Bank of America in GA is not acceptable to Managed Payments ......you need a different bank...........

THIS^^^^^

Nobody here knows exactly why this is true BUT many understand that is the current situation and it's not likely to change anytime soon.

Open a no fee online account with a licensed bank (no investment brokers etc.) you should be able to get a no fee checking account opened in just a few minutes of effort.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

fashunu4eeuh · ‎05-04-2023

I think the consensus is that your established banking account is no longer a viable portal to conduct business with on eBay’s system. To be paid, you will need to follow the advice of the other posters and open a new account with a different bank. Best of luck to you.

dufferdawg · ‎05-09-2023

Thank you for your response and suggestions!

Yes, I have checked all of the above. I worked at this bank when I was in college and am very familiar with routing numbers, etc.

i do not plan on opening a new checking account - partly because of the principal of the matter. Secondly, being in banking for many years, there are many advantages to keeping things simple and avoiding multiple institutions, accounts, etc (IMO).

I have talked with my bank, and like me, they are baffled as to how eBay can refuse to honor a routing number. Those are Federal Reserve issued numbers - quite literally the foundation of the banking system - and they do not answer to eBay. Also, our number hasn’t changed in over 35 years … and eBay has done “payouts” to the account many times in the past (though, admittedly, nothing recently)

So very annoyed. I’m just not sure how this can be considered legal?

worth noting is that I have indeed spoken with 4 customer service reps from eBay. Non of them have said the routing number or account information that I entered isn’t correct. They ALL have stated the same thing “that routing number is on the list of routing numbers that eBay DOES NOT support. You need to open a different checking account at a different bank.”

dufferdawg · ‎05-09-2023

Thank you for the suggestion.

Yes, I have checked all of the above. I worked at this bank when I was in college and am very familiar with routing numbers, etc.

i do not plan on opening a new checking account - partly because of the principal of the matter. Secondly, being in banking for many years, there are many advantages to keeping things simple and avoiding multiple institutions, accounts, etc (IMO).

I have talked with my bank, and like me, they are baffled as to how eBay can refuse to honor a routing number. Those are Federal Reserve issued numbers - quite literally the foundation of the banking system - and they do not answer to eBay. Also, our number hasn’t changed in over 35 years … and eBay has done “payouts” to the account many times in the past (though, admittedly, nothing recently)

So very annoyed. I’m just not sure how this can be considered legal?

worth noting is that I have indeed spoken with 4 customer service reps from eBay. Non of them have said the routing number or account information that I entered isn’t correct. They ALL have stated the same thing “that routing number is on the list of routing numbers that eBay DOES NOT support. You need to open a different checking account at a different bank.”

brightlightbookseller · ‎05-09-2023

The principle of the matter is worth it to you to not get paid for multiple sales until your funds can go to unclaimed money via your state's process? That seems odd to me. You've been told what you have to do. There's no legal issue here, no one has to support any particular bank by law. You simply are refusing to take a simple step to retrieve your money.

turnpiketreasures1 · ‎05-09-2023

Banking constantly changes and apparently this particular bank is not long one that eBay will recognize by the routing number...eBay also is always changing so it might be a new policy. But, you are better off getting a separate bank account for eBay anyway. Now way was I going to just use my personal account, which I've had for almost 40 years, so when I started selling online...I have three Etsy stores...I got a bank account strictly for selling, paying fees and getting my payouts. It's just smarter. And there is no "principle" involved when you're dealing with companies like eBay, who set their own policies, which often change. You'd be a lot safer in the long run to just open a new account...or like others have said, get one of the simple cards where they can accept payments and make payouts. What I don't understand though is that they'd tell you the funds will be turned over to the state...is that a thing they do here on eBay?Good luck...

redmodelt · ‎05-09-2023

Some place I picked up on that some BofA's were connected to BofA's investing side not the personal/general business type, so could not be used for eBay payments. Wondering if that could be the case with all the post about GA BofA/eBay issues.

Guess if you want to stand by your principals and not get paid, that is up to you. You go girl! Keep standing on them to prove your point, or don't and get paid.

stevemartin60 · ‎05-09-2023

Obviously, something changed beyond the O.P.'s responsibility or purview, and eBay is happy to never notify in advance of sale, keep the money (or, at least the interest) and as always--BLAME THE SELLER.

a_c_green · ‎05-09-2023

@dufferdawg wrote:
i do not plan on opening a new checking account - partly because of the principal of the matter. Secondly, being in banking for many years, there are many advantages to keeping things simple and avoiding multiple institutions, accounts, etc (IMO).

Au contraire; given the horror stories seen here on a regular basis, it only makes sense to keep your eBay account (or any other business account, for that matter) separate from your personal/family account. That way they can't mess up your own finances in any way. It should not be too hard to find a checking account at another bank that will allow unlimited on-line transactions for eBay purposes. I use a credit union for my eBay business. No fees.

@dufferdawg wrote:
So very annoyed. I’m just not sure how this can be considered legal?

There's no legal requirement for eBay to honor any particular routing number that a seller submits. They are allowed to accept or not accept the account you want to use, and apparently they do have a short list of numbers which, for reasons perhaps known only to them, they will not accept for eBay selling.

@dufferdawg wrote:
worth noting is that I have indeed spoken with 4 customer service reps from eBay. None of them have said the routing number or account information that I entered isn’t correct. They ALL have stated the same thing “that routing number is on the list of routing numbers that eBay DOES NOT support. You need to open a different checking account at a different bank.”

This is not something you may have noticed, but I think a lot of us here would say it's slightly remarkable that you were able to consult four different Customer Service reps, and get four answers that were

Consistent with each other, and
Actually correct, in terms of identifying what the problem is.

Just open a new checking account and limit it to eBay purposes only. You should be able to find one that doesn't charge fees, and even if your preferred choice does have some small fees associated with its use, I would say you could deduct those fees on your taxes, if the account is being used exclusively for eBay work. (I am not a tax accountant, so doublecheck that with someone who is, if it's a concern.)