Shady Paypal Activity...

[yashart]

So this morning I pulled the trigger, on what I thought was a good deal, on a 430exII listed on eBay.

I paid within minutes of purchasing the item through ebay and eagerly awaited the arrival of my new flash.....

Until this afternoon, where I see that my payment had been refunded by the seller. So I head over to PayPal to look at the reason as to why my payment was refunded, and this is what the seller had to say:

"Paypal put a 21 day hold on this payment. I will not ship like this
So I refunded it back to you.
You just need to send a one time payment of $249.95 to payments@petloverstudio.com for services, and that will remove the 21 day hold

Sorry about this"

!@&*% No way Jose! So, I kindly responded:

"Hello Kirby,

That is not acceptable. You cannot list something on eBay, accepting PayPal as a preferred payment method, and not agree to the terms & conditions of PayPal's service. I am a verified PayPal member, meaning that you are 100% covered as long as you ship the item to the address provided with my payment. You need not worry about this, as I am good for the money. I have gone through this myself, and have had money held in my account for 21 days. The money would have actually been released earlier, once the buyer leaves positive feedback stating the item has been received. After you have sold about a dozen or some items on ebay (without issues), Paypal will no longer hold your payments. Like I said, I have gone through this myself, just like every other paypal member. What you are attempting to do here is outside of eBay/Paypal guidelines, and if I were to send you payment for "services" as requested, I would not be protected in the event that you may be trying to scam me.

I am not quite sure how we can resolve this, however I am not happy with the transaction so far.

Thanks,
Yashar"


First things first, I guess I probably should have known buying something from someone with only 6 positive transactions.... But to me this just seems crazy! I guess some people feel that they don't have to follow the rules :rolleyes:
Now its time to go back on the hunt for a good deal on another 430exII...

Has anyone else ever had any experience like this through PayPal/eBay?

[yashart]

not that anybody cares, but this actually ended up working in my favor. Long story short, I ended up getting the flash (430exII) for a great price. Me and the seller were able to come to an agreement - turns out to be a pretty stand up guy.

[zagiace]

Why would Paypal put a 21 day hold on the funds?
I have been using paypal for years and never heard of this.

[sandpiper]

Why would Paypal put a 21 day hold on the funds?
I have been using paypal for years and never heard of this.

It's to cut down on scammers listing high value items that they don't have, then taking the money and running. With a 21 day hold, they don't get the money until you get the goods, or 21 days (by which time the buyer has had time to complain to paypal that the item hasn't arrived).

It is used mainly with newer sellers, the seller in this instance had only 6 feedbacks.

I can see it being a pain for some people in a rush for the money, but it does make ebay & paypal safer by cutting down on scammers.

Sellers don't actually need to wait the 21 days, the funds are released when the buyer posts +ve feedback, or if the seller gives them the tracking details showing it has been delivered.

I actually like the idea, as it protects my money when buying stuff. Of course, I might feel differently if (as a seller) I didn't have over a 1,000 (100% +ve) feedbacks. As it is, I don't have to wait for the payments. :D

[Chet]

So glad everything worked out for you.

[Drozz119]

If you're the seller, there is a Loophole!
You can get your money IMMEDIATELY!! I've done it a couple times allready.

First: Refund the buyer a small amount, I usually do $1 or $2. (Through Paypal)

Second: Specify that the Refund is: "The shipping costs were less than i anticipated"

Third: Make sure to contact the buyer, because sometimes they think it's a full refund, and a cancelled purchase. And they could possibly leave you negative feedback. They do appreciate the refund, no matter how small.

As soon as you complete the refund: The money is in your account!!

[kelstar]

Glad it all worked out for you.