Negative Balance--Help Needed

[lux2394_57]

Today, a buyer requested a return because a component of the item they received was damaged in transit. My account now has a balance of -$315. I do not have the personal funds available to cover it, so the remaining alternative is that the amount of money I receive from any sale I make goes towards clearing the negative balance. I contacted Ebay customer service to ask if this meant I would have to fulfill orders without ever getting paid for them. Their explanation was that, once you clear the negative balance, you apparently are given the amount of money you were paid for the orders you fulfilled. I'm struggling to follow the logic here, so if anyone with any experience with this could help explain the process to me, I'd be grateful. 

[gone.c-33]

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@lux2394_57 wrote:

Because selling something means you're receiving money in exchange. In this case, Ebay keeps all of it. I'm not getting anything in exchange. It doesn't meet the definition of selling. It's charity. 

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It’s more like you’re getting it and paying eBay back for what you owe. eBay doesn’t offer payment plans for refunds. 

When you get the espresso machine back, have it fixed, you might be able to sell it again and recover some of the money.

[kensgiftshop]

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@lux2394_57 wrote:

The thing is that the payout for this order was sent 3 days after the item was delivered. I used some of it to pay for inventory and other costs. Since I don't have the funds available, I imagine the other logical alternative would be that they take money from any sales I make and apply it towards the negative balance. If that is so, then the explanation I was provided doesn't really make much sense at all. 

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Yes, they will take any avaliable funds and put towards it.

But, they only give you a short time, then they'll take it from another source, like your checking account, if you don't have a funding source set up.
When you sell online, the money isn't safe to spend for at least 6 months.

[itscalledapostingid]

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@lux2394_57 wrote:

Because selling something means you're receiving money in exchange. In this case, Ebay keeps all of it. I'm not getting anything in exchange. It doesn't meet the definition of selling. It's charity. 

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Charity? What about the buyer who paid for the item that arrived damaged? They are owed a refund.

[4pawsup*]

Well you should have read the policy for selling on ebay. I do feel sorry for you as i get your struggling. When you decide to sell it is your responsibility to follow the rules for All sellers. I hope you pull out of your bind quickly. Good luck with all your future sales. If you do not cover the money you owe for the refund ebay will pull it out of your funding source.

[buyselljack2016]

The $315 has to come from someplace. Do you want it taken from your attached checking account?

[ten_o_nine]

@lux2394_57 

The problem this is one of your high dollar sales, the $300 De'Longhi , it will probably take 5 or 6 average transactions to clear that, but I think eBay labels will access your funding source for shipping those orders.

[legalbeagle52]

@lux2394_57 

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@lux2394_57 wrote:

Because selling something means you're receiving money in exchange. In this case, Ebay keeps all of it. I'm not getting anything in exchange. It doesn't meet the definition of selling. It's charity." 

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But it is your money, not ebay's. 

It's going towards paying down YOUR debt. 

Ebay's not keeping anything.  No charity is involved.

So if you got busy selling, it's helping you tremendously, because as soon as it's paid off, all your future sales coming in, will be yours.  Ebay's not a loan company, so they're not going to free up any funds for you, until it's all paid.  That's how things work. 

Believe me I understand your dilemma. Many of us go through hard times.  If your checking acct. bounces for example, any funds you put in goes to pay off the negative amt.  The money is technically yours, but you can't use it until you make the account whole.

I hope I'm understanding this correctly.  When you sell you really do need to keep some backup money for this very reason.  I wish you all the best!

[theteamsetguy]

@lux2394_57 ,

Maybe having a 50% off sale to move some stuff fast to get out of the hole would be a good idea. Once you are out of the hole end the sale.

[theteamsetguy]

@lux2394_57 ,

How is it charity? When you get the item back you will owe less to eBay than had you not had any sales. Once you get the item back and you get it fixed you can sell it again.

[ten_o_nine]

@lux2394_57 

I have several orders ready to be fulfilled, but I'd be getting precisely $0 from them. I might as well cancel the orders at this point. I don't see who in their right mind would willingly fulfill an order when they know they're not getting any money from it. 

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You are getting the money, but it's being applied towards your negative balance, not fulfilling the orders will be much worse for you. I am in my right mind and would fulfill all orders regardless of my account balance with eBay.

[mtgraves7984]

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@lux2394_57 wrote:

I have several orders ready to be fulfilled, but I'd be getting precisely $0 from them. I might as well cancel the orders at this point. I don't see who in their right mind would willingly fulfill an order when they know they're not getting any money from it. I'm already struggling to make ends meet, and I'm not here to engage in charity. If I'm not getting paid, I'm not gonna bother going through the effort of packaging and going to the post office. I'd lose even more money on purchasing packing supplies. I don't see anything in it for me. If I fulfill these orders, I'll be even deeper in the hole, because money is going out, but none is coming in. 

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@lux2394_57 

Since you're new here, I'll tell you that cancelling orders is the worst thing you can do for your selling career on eBay. You'd have to (truthfully) cancel as 'Out of stock/Item no longer available', and sellers only get a couple of those per year before eBay whacks them with a ruler. For a new seller, it'd be a sharp whack.

You ARE getting paid. Sale proceeds will go to reduce the debt.

Yes, you'll be out-of-pocket a bit, but take it as it comes... don't panic just yet. Money out/Debt reduced. It's all good.

[caldreamer]

No, EBAY will NOT take money from  your "future sales".   EBAY will freeze any money that is due you until you pay EBAY the money you owe.

[mementomoria]

While you are struggling to understand how to make money, I recommend not selling items for $3 with free shipping. You can't be making more than a few cents on these sales. 

[lux2394_57]

I'm not talking about the individual who is owed a refund. I am talking about the other orders I have to fulfill in the meantime. In my mind, they might as well be getting them for free. 

[gb58]

Ebay paid you the money for the item the customer is returning. You owe the money back to the customer that he paid for that item. Since you didn't have the money in your account, because ebay already paid it to you, ebay on your behalf has refunded the buyer, so you now owe ebay the money. 

Since ebay already paid you the money, that is why your account is negative. Ebay isn't taking more money from you, you owe ebay the money back. What part of this aren't you getting?

The fact that you spent the money from the customer that ebay paid you, that doesn't some how get you off the hook, just because you spent it and can't pay it back right now.

So you ask would you be working for nothing to sell stuff and not getting paid for it? NO you would be working to pay back a debt you owe, the money ebay fronted for you to pay back your customer.  

How do you not understand that you are responsible for paying it back? Or could it be that you just don't want to understand that you are responsible for paying it back.