eBay Collections E-Mail: How To Find Details

[pgb1]

Hello All!

I tried to find the answer to this on eBay Help and by contacting eBay. Neither gave the information. I also searched here, but I must be honest & say I'm not terribly proficient at searching.

The Main Question:

From time to time, I receive an e-mail titled "eBay Collections". The message tells me that I have a balance due & it will give an amount to pay.    I keep sales logs and no matter how I combine transaction fees, postage, etc. nothing ever adds up to the amount due. I'd imagine it has something to do with "Held Funds"- something else I can't figure out.

Is there any way to see exactly the breakdown of what the balance covers?

And, if I may add another couple of questions:

Is there a way to have these balances automatically deducted from the funding source?

And

Is there any way possible for these fees to come out of my PayPal balance?

Thank You All very much for helping me figure this out. I sure appreciate it.

Paul

PS:

A few years ago, selling on eBay, printing postage, figuring out what the fees covered & such were easy. Now eBay selling so geared toward large sellers, it's gotten too complicated for me. As soon as I learn the basics, they "improve" something.  The new way seems like it could be great for large sellers, but having the old, kinder, gentler eBay selling method available would be great!

[metaltech1]

Was the email also in your eBay inbox?

If so, the email was from eBay and not a scam.

You state this happens "from time to time".

What was the solution in the past?  It may have the same resolution this time.

If you are a seller, PayPal is not an option for payment.  I don't know why you can pay with PayPal and not GET PAID by them.  The "held funds" only adds to the confusion and I am sure if you took the time to read through the links eBay provides to detail the "system" it may.....or may not.....answer you question.  I would assume it is so Managed Payments can require copies of your drivers license, bank account information and your Social Security information.  Of course, with the breaking news of such information being hacked and distributed unredacted by the hacker on the internet from GiveSendGo, I would think twice about giving such information to eBay.

As to the change in eBay policies and ease of use, that was then and this is now.  I concur that "small sellers" are getting the short end of the stick.  I guess when you start hiring CEO's, CCO's and CFO's from other corporations, the culture of a company may get lost.

Good luch though.  I hope everything works out in your favor.

[pgb1]

Thanks Mataltech1 for taking time to reply.

The e-mails are legitimate & from eBay. They just don't explain what the charge is from.

Quote: "I am sure if you took the time to read through the links eBay provides to detail the "system" it may.....or may not.....answer you question. "

"May Not" hit the nail on the proverbial head.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time searching eBay's help & guides. No Luck.  I've even used Contact Us twice and the agents didn't know the answer.   What I do know is that sometimes fees are taken from what the buyer paid before the rest goes to the bank account and sometimes they aren't.  Sometimes eBay takes the fees from the linked bank account as a separate transaction & sometimes the don't. Even postage is sometimes taken from what the buyer paid before the rest goes to the bank, sometimes eBay takes the money later as a separate transaction. There does not seem to be any consistency nor pattern to this big box of Pick Up Sticks.

As far as keeping personal information & money safe if eBay gets hacked, I have a separate bank account opened solely for eBay to shove money into & suck money out of. I keep the balance very low just in case.

eBay can't get one's social security number or any  identifiable information from the linked bank. eBay will never have my social security number. Ever.

For even more security-

In many states one can obtain a Tax ID number and use it to open a bank account, instead of a social security number. Only the state has the social security number, which they have already from the personal income tax returns. The only downside is that once per year, one must file a Sales Tax return- at least in my state. In my state (Michigan) if it's a hobby business  (selling some items on eBay) or if the selling agent collects & distributes the sales tax (eBay), no tax is due and the form takes about 3 minutes to file.

Quote: " I guess when you start hiring CEO's, CCO's and CFO's from other corporations, ~"

Perhaps that's what happened to eBay. It used to be a friendly & helpful company. It used to be easy to sell on eBay. Now it's too complicated for me.

Thanks again for taking time to answer. I'm sure someone, somewhere at eBay knows how to find out what the collections amount covers. Maybe they will let us in on the secret.

[lacemaker3 · Accepted solution]

@pgb1,

eBay deducts most of your fees from your available funds, that are waiting to be sent to your bank account in a payout. The only time they will charge you for anything, is if you don't have enough in your available funds to cover the charge or fee. So it's not like these charges are for something specific or predictable, they are just whatever is left over when there isn't enough in your available funds to cover it, usually because the available funds have already been sent to your bank account.

Two charges that may commonly be charged when you don't have available funds left, would be partial refunds (if any), or shipping labels if you use a courier like UPS or FedEx rather than USPS. The post office charges for shipping labels immediately when they are purchased, but UPS and FedEx charge for them later, either when the package is received/scanned by them, or when it is delivered. That means it is quite possible that the shipping label may be charged after the buyer's payment has already been sent to your bank account.

You can set up a backup payment method, that can be your bank account or a credit card, by giving eBay permission to use for charges like this. I'm surprised you haven't been required to do this, eBay usually restricts sellers if they don't have a valid payment method on file, or if the charge is rejected when eBay tries to use it.

FYI, eBay needs to have a seller's SSN or TIN on file before the seller reaches $600 in total sales for the year, because the new threshold for issuing a 1099-K for the IRS is $600. So if you are not willing to provide your TIN then you can expect to be blocked from continuing to sell before you reach $600 in gross receipts. Assuming that the espresso machine you sold in December was paid for before the end of the year, it looks like you're about half way there.

If you don't want to share your SSN, then you need to stop selling before you reach the threshold. Once eBay asks for your SSN, they won't send you any payments until you provide it, so then you would have to wait until the money is sent to your state's unclaimed funds department, and you should be able to claim it from there.

[lacemaker3]

Too late to ^^update^^:

If the special tax ID number you referred to is an EIN (employer ID number), then you can use that as your TIN instead of your SSN. The EIN is for businesses, so if you use that then I think you will have to change your eBay account to a business account, and it sounds like you already have a business checking account. The two account types, eBay and checking, have to match.

If you don't want to share your TIN (tax ID number) with eBay, then you need to stop selling before you reach the threshold. Once eBay asks for your TIN, they won't send you any payments until you provide it, so then you would have to wait until the money is sent to your state's unclaimed funds department, and you should be able to claim it from there.

[pgb1]

Thank You Lacemaker3 for taking time to reply and for your excellent explanation of the collections e-mails.

From your explanation, it seems like the collections are for a big pot-of-leftovers, instead of for one particular fee. No wonder I could not figure out what the transaction(s) was (were).

It's interesting that I've already set up with eBay to debit the bank account that they pay into. They debit many times, but other times I get the eBay Collections e-mail and have to manually pay. Goofy, huh?

For Example: When I sell something & buy postage at eBay, the fees & postage are removed in one of 3 ways:

A) eBay takes all of it out of the money the buyer paid & sends the leftover to my bank account.

B) eBay takes none or some out of what the seller paid, sends the rest to the bank and later, in a separate transaction, takes money from my Held funds and/or bank

C) eBay sends all the money to my bank & debits the bank later for fees & postage- even if it's USPS when the cost is known such as Flat Rate Box.

I can't figure out where to find my Held funds so I can see what's there.  Again, eBay support didn't know.

Thanks for explaining about the SSN or TIN. According to the IRS, you're right that they should stop sending me money at $600.00. When I pay contract labor for my business it's  the same 600.00 threshold.

eBay doesn't have my SSN , but I went way over $600.00 in gross sales in 2021. I've not received a 1099-Misc either. I wonder what happened.  eBay doesn't have the FEIN (TIN) because it's my real corporation. In our state, the Tax ID, EIN & Sales Tax License, if any, are the same as the Federal FEIN.

Thanks Again for explaining so well. I very much appreciate it.

[pgb1]

I just figured out why I didn't get a 2021 Form 1099-K.

IRS reporting threshold for on-line selling for 2021 was 20,000.00 USD. I sure didn't hit that target!

From 20,000 to 600 is quite a change.

[lacemaker3]

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@pgb1 wrote:

I just figured out why I didn't get a 2021 Form 1099-K.

IRS reporting threshold for on-line selling for 2021 was 20,000.00 USD. I sure didn't hit that target!

From 20,000 to 600 is quite a change.

---

Yup, you've got it. That's what I was going to say. Lots of states already had lower thresholds in place, but not Michigan. Now the federal IRS threshold matches the lowest state thresholds.

It sounds like you're already organized and set up as a business, so using your business tax ID will be just fine for eBay. If you're using a personal eBay account, then you will need to change it to a business, and they do check to make sure that all the names numbers and addresses match exactly. Shouldn't be an issue, you sound like you've got your ducks in a row already.

[pgb1]

Thanks Again Lacemaker3 for explaining so well.

My business is an S-Corporation, so it has to be kept separate from eBay & other stuff. (IRS is mighty tight on S-Corp scrutiny since so many have taken such advantage of the tax avoidance techniques over the years.)

My wife has an antique business that is a sole proprietorship, so that sounds perfect for blending into eBay sales.

From what I can learn from the IRS:

If one does not set up a business the person must show the entire amount of the 1099-K as income and pay income taxes upon that amount. (State & Federal in Michigan)

If one sets up properly as a business, then one may deduct the costs; such as what the seller paid for the item, the postage, fees, packing supplies, mileage, etc. (Just like my S-Corp does). There may or may not also be the benefit of deducting a portion of health, dental & life insurance premiums & some other items.

An example is an item I sold for which I paid $52.00. The buyer paid $62.00 including postage. After fees, postage, box cost, tape, etc., my Net Profit on the item was negative $4.50. The 1099-K will show income of $62.00 and that is what I'll pay income taxes upon- state and federal. But...

Should I have a business, the net effect will be a reduction of personal income of $4.50.

I think the net effect of this legislation is that the federal & some state governments will have an increase in revenue and an increase in paperwork due to all the people setting up businesses and, in some situations, filing business income tax returns. (Such as 1120-S, K-1, M-1, M-2, etc for an S-Corp)

Thank You again for helping & explaining. You're a good teacher. I'll be very careful when I have eBay change my account to a business, watching for what you mentioned.

Please Enjoy Today!

Paul