Ebay Snag

[moribundman]

I bought something on ebay and paid with PayPal, since the vendor's preferred payment method was PayPal. The funds have not been claimed, and in my PayPal page I see the recipient is "unregistered."

The vendor, a newbie with 0 feedback, sent me an email in which he told me he'd ship as soon as he receives the funds. No mention of not having a PayPal account. I emailed him and am waiting for a reply.

Am I dealing with a clueless newbie or with a crook?

 

[Johnny]

A clueless newbie. If he stated PayPal was his preferred payment method and does not have an account or claim the money, cancel the transaction with PayPal and tell him to pound sand. Unless you really want the item.

 

[moribundman]

I'm going to give him a day to see with what explanation or suggestion he comes up.

I have never cancelled a transaction. How exactly do I go about it?

 

[Audi Junkie]

Maybe he just clicked the "PayPal Prefered" box when he set uo the auction without understanding it. Just communicate more thoroughly w/him.

 

[moribundman]

Well, he got back to me and said he got the money in his PayPal account. He didn't explain why the funds had remained "unclaimed" until now. He said he was going to ship tomorrow.

Over the course of hundreds of PayPal transactions I have never run into the "unclaimed" issue. I mean, why would the recipient have to claim a payment? When people send me money via PayPal, I don't have to claim the funds!

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Enjoy the Pablo dartboard.

 

[Gary Allan]

He may have been in the process of verifying or validating the account. That is, "we're waiting to park it somewhere that he has access to". One could imagine if you could actually have a PayPal account that's not linked to a checking account ..that you could conduct a good underground economy with no easily traceable money trail ..only a material trail.

 

[Bill in Utah]

If you don't have a confirmed address for either your payment source or paypal account, paypal places the funds in a state that requires the seller to accept the funds.

Paypal requires for their "protection plan" for the seller to ship to a confirmed address for both funds and paypal account.

In your options, you can select for unconfirmed payments to be placed on "hold" awaiting your approval.

With Ebay going away from auctions and soon requiring EVERY transaction to go through Paypal(so around 10% fees), I'm going to stop selling on Ebay. Been there for over 10 years...

Bill

 

[moribundman]

Every address is confirmed on my side, so this can't be it. This issue is a first, and I suspect Gary's theory is correct. Anyway, the vendor says he has the funds and that the package is in the mail.

I wish there were a real alternative to ebay, but all the places I have checked out end up with fees as high, or there are inconveniences involved. What service do you use, and what fees do they charge?

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
With Ebay going away from auctions...


I don't believe that this statement is entirely accurate. Auctions aren't going anywhere.

 

[JustinH]

Ebay has been pushing away from auctions for a few years now.

They want people to shop in stores, and buy instantly with a credit card or paypal.

They want you to use their services, and not send money orders/checks, because they can't take a cut.

Honestly, I have had better luck selling mainstream items on craigslist.

The only trouble with that is finding the time to show items to people..

 

[road_rascal]

Ebay really has been beginning to suck lately. Even with the "Buy It Now" button it still takes freaking forever to get stuff shipped because Paypal takes so long for funds to clear. I've had better experiences using craigslist though... Go figure...

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
With Ebay going away from auctions...


I don't believe that this statement is entirely accurate. Auctions aren't going anywhere.


Quote:
Auction site eBay is set to change its fee structure in order to emphasize fixed-price sales and move away from bidding wars, according to a report.

Starting in mid-September, eBay will charge sellers only 35 cents to list an item for 30 days at a fixed price, according to the New York Times. Previous charges ran up to $4 and allowed listings for only a week.

The website is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday, as part of an effort to compete better with other online retail powerhouses such as Amazon.com. The company is moving away from auctions in response to consumer preference, the newspaper said, as shoppers are opting for fixed prices instead.

Last month, eBay said gross merchandise volume on its website grew only eight per cent, a big decline from the double-digit growth of previous quarters. The company posted a big increase in revenue, but most of that came from growth in its advertising, classified and PayPal businesses.

Expansion in its auction business, which makes up about 57 per cent of revenue, is slowing. Growth in the site's number of active users also has slowed to a snail's pace, climbing only 1.4 per cent in the company's most recent quarter.

"Clearly there’s a strong buyer preference for fixed price," Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplace, told the New York Times.

The company is looking to make the switch in time to compete against Amazon and other big online retailers over the busy winter holiday shopping season, the newspaper reported.


The company is going towards fixed prices. You are correct, for now if you want to put up a auction, you'll pay more for it.

In the end, Ebay would love for the auctions to go away.

Bill

BTW. I love the auctions and every item I list is a auction, but I sell more when I have a buy it now price listed over waiting till the end with the normal auction.

 

[Gary Allan]

I always like that notion. That you're having poor performance if you're not in perpetual double digit growth. Only the universe is infinite. It's like thinking your defective if you are under perpetual thrust ..and don't reach the speed of light.

Why don't they just merge with Amazon.com and move all the fixed price stuff over there?

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: road_rascal
Even with the "Buy It Now" button it still takes freaking forever to get stuff shipped because Paypal takes so long for funds to clear.


There is no delay or clearing period if the buyer pays with funds he has in his PayPal account. Sometimes someone will pay with an e-check, which is money coming out of the linked bank account, and that takes about five days to clear. I always pay with funds that are in my PayPal account, and almost everyone who buys from me pays the same way. Those payments have never to be claimed, nor is there a clearing period.

 

[JustinH]

Ebay has a new system for new paypal users. They wait forever until you meet all the authorization hurdles. Old paypal users are not affected, our money is instant.

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: road_rascal
Even with the "Buy It Now" button it still takes freaking forever to get stuff shipped because Paypal takes so long for funds to clear.


There is no delay or clearing period if the buyer pays with funds he has in his PayPal account. Sometimes someone will pay with an e-check, which is money coming out of the linked bank account, and that takes about five days to clear. I always pay with funds that are in my PayPal account, and almost everyone who buys from me pays the same way. Those payments have never to be claimed, nor is there a clearing period.