When do you ship?

When you sell an item on POTN, when do you ship? Do you ship when payment has been made to PayPal, or do you ship when the money hits your bank account?

Within 24 hours of getting it in my paypal, unless it's an echeck. Then I wait until it clears, which is 3-5 days.

Man, you have over 5k posts and a member since 2008, why are you asking such a question? Commonly, you ship the item the next day once the payment is received and clear.

TooManyShots wrote in post #17743167
Man, you have over 5k posts and a member since 2008, why are you asking such a question? Commonly, you ship the item the next day once the payment is received and clear.

I ask because I'm curious what others do. Nothing more complicated than that. Get over yourself.

And since you so graciously answered the question anyway, maybe you could clarify... received and cleared at PayPal, or received and cleared at your bank?

I don't understand. If paypal reports that you have been paid, isn't the transaction complete? I usually leave the money sit in my paypal account because I'm going to spend it soon anyway. Whether you move the money from paypal or not, you've already been paid. The purchaser has fulfilled his obligation; now it is your turn. What am I missing?

Bassat wrote in post #17743243
I don't understand. If paypal reports that you have been paid, isn't the transaction complete? I usually leave the money sit in my paypal account because I'm going to spend it soon anyway. Whether you move the money from paypal or not, you've already been paid. The purchaser has fulfilled his obligation; now it is your turn. What am I missing?

yup.

the paypal account is YOUR account, not paypal's.

photoguy6405 wrote in post #17743109
When you sell an item on POTN, when do you ship? Do you ship when payment has been made to PayPal, or do you ship when the money hits your bank account?

As soon as it goes into my PayPal. There is no need to take it out of PayPal and put it into my bank. The $ can stay in my PayPall account indefinitely, for all I care.

Even if I wanted to do that (transfer $ to bank account), there would be no need to withhold shipping an item until the money gets transferred from my PayPal account to my bank account. Actually, if I decide to shift funds from one account to the other, that really has nothing to do with the buyer. They fulfilled their end by paying me. Making them wait while I shift money from one account to another wouldn't be fair at all.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17745424
Even if I wanted to do that (transfer $ to bank account), there would be no need to withhold shipping an item until the money gets transferred from my PayPal account to my bank account. Actually, if I decide to shift funds from one account to the other, that really has nothing to do with the buyer. They fulfilled their end by paying me. Making them wait while I shift money from one account to another wouldn't be fair at all.

Exactly. If I sent payment and had to wait for it to be released to the seller, I would be instantly unhappy. It may even be grounds to cancel the transaction. I've heard of some sellers doing it and the buyers get ticked right off.

Once I receive payment, item heads out the door ASAP.

As soon as I can after Paypal says I have the payment, that day or the next business day at most. I also try to communicate all the way through the process of receiving the money and shipping. I send a tracking number and the estimate of delivery from the shipping company.

The same or next business day that it hits PayPal. Shiping notice and tracking number sent at the same time. Same way I like to be treated.

All good info. Thanks.

Unless there have been changes of which I am unaware, PayPal is still NOT a bank, and as such doesn't have bank-like consumer protections... even though they act like a bank when it suits their interests.

I know some wait until it hits their bank, but I'm guessing that that's an "old school" thought from when PayPal wasn't yet as firmly established as legit and could/would take back money on their whim. Market pressures forced them to make changes, though, and they are more solid now than they were years ago.

Paypal has simply taken the steps in holding your money from transferring to your bank account as you first start out with them. It is their way of creating a safe way for people to buy and transfer funds through Paypal without getting screwed by the seller.

In the past people would pay, the seller would take their money and never send the item. Paypal had little say in what could happen if the buyer never got their item because the funds were out of their database. It became a battle then with your bank or credit card company. Now they have taken the steps to hold the money until the item is shipped. This hold will eventually dwindle away until it is proven that the "seller" is reputable.

This is all from my understanding. As a seller, once the money is in your Paypal account, you have the money, but you cannot withdraw it right away.

iAMB wrote in post #17747733
Paypal has simply taken the steps in holding your money from transferring to your bank account as you first start out with them. It is their way of creating a safe way for people to buy and transfer funds through Paypal without getting screwed by the seller.

In the past people would pay, the seller would take their money and never send the item. Paypal had little say in what could happen if the buyer never got their item because the funds were out of their database. It became a battle then with your bank or credit card company. Now they have taken the steps to hold the money until the item is shipped. This hold will eventually dwindle away until it is proven that the "seller" is reputable.

This is all from my understanding. As a seller, once the money is in your Paypal account, you have the money, but you cannot withdraw it right away.

Maybe they deem me as reputable, but I haven't had any issues when transferring money to my account immediately.

Once I get the paypal payment, then as soon as I get off my lazy arse and make it to the UPS store, which usually means Saturday ..

I'm slow.

Here's my workflow for selling items on POTN:

- Take very detailed pictures
- Write the ad
- Box the goods with outstanding padding in a very sturdy box
- Weigh/measure the box, and put these measurements on a sticky note and attach it to the box
- Set it to the side and wait for a trusted buyer
- Assuming I'm home, I go online and buy a USPS Priority Mail shipping label within 5 mins of being paid in PayPal
- I am usually able to send the buyer their tracking number within 10 mins of receiving payment

I take great pride in being the best possible seller I can be. It starts with exacting descriptions of your gear, excellent pictures, and amazing communication with your buyers. After all, I love photography gear and I consider everyone here to be a friend...and I want them to have an excellent experience when they buy used gear.

Buying gear is fun and exciting! We should all do our best to maintain that awesome feeling.