Ebay and Paypal sending conflicting messages

[anthonymoe73]

Hello experienced sellers,

Recently, I sold a smartphone and Ebay says buyers has made the payment and the fund will be made available in 21 days. And it's encouraging me to ship asap and upload tracking number. However, on my Paypal account, it says  "Don't ship yet. Wait until the payment clears.". This confuses the hell out of me. I don't understand why Ebay and Paypal are sending conflicting messages. I searched online and I couldn't find definitive answer. Some says Ebay is the one withholding the fund and it's safe to ship the item. Other says, it could be because Paypal is trying to verify the e-check and the cheque could bounce. I shouldn't ship until Paypal gives greenlight. Otherwise, I would lose my phone. My customer is from El Salvador if that matters. 

P.S Mods, sorry for redundant posting. Please delete the post under "User to User Help" section, as I think this section would be more appropriate. 

[lady.stark]

For new sellers, there is usually a 21 days hold on payments. It is required to ship immediately.

However, in this particular case, maybe the buyer *also* sent an e-check. So I would wait until the e-check clears and then ship. What is the exact wording of PayPal?

[vintagenorth]

Don’t ship until you have confirmation from PayPal. If you aren’t sure, call PayPal and ask. Don’t ship just because eBay tells you to. It’s very possible the payment has not cleared yet.

[tobyshitzu]

Nothing but pain ahead here

new seller with no idea what they are doing.  Lists the hot phone "Worldwide".  Gets a buyer  who paid way over market value.  Yikes.   Paypal will definitely have a hold on any money you receive being they want to lower thier risk od either the buyer or the seller pulling something here.  If the buyers payment is held for echck that will be explained when you read what was sent.

[anthonymoe73]

This is the exact wording on top of the payment information "This payment is still pending. In case you are shipping an item please wait until the payment is completed."

[anthonymoe73]

Thanks for reply. Have Paypal ever withheld your payment? What would you do to lower your risk?

[tobyshitzu]

Its held becuase you don't have enough sales history.  i would never have listed something like that worldwide.  IYour supposed to ship it if its because of the hold related to you.    Its not a guarantee its a scam, but it might be.  In some countries stealing that phone would mean years of income.    If you don't end up with a signature on delivery you will be out the money if the buyer claims non receipt.  If the buyer claims not as described or defective its a nightmare ahead.  

The other phones that sold for well above the average price are all listed by low fb sellers who amde them avialable to more countries then the experienced sellers did.  Experience buyers are going to avoid buying items  liek taht from accounts likes yours due to higher odds it being a scam attempt from the sell side. 

If the payment is still pending dont ship it. What is the fb number and age of the buyer account?

[anthonymoe73]

You make a lot of good points. It didn't come to my mind checking account age. I was just focusing on feedback. The account was just 3 months old and have 15 pos feedback. Well, maybe I should just backout then.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@anthonymoe73 wrote:
This is the exact wording on top of the payment information "This payment is still pending. In case you are shipping an item please wait until the payment is completed."

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Sounds like an e-cheque.

You wait until the buyer's payment has been received by PayPal from the buyer's bank. At which point you should get a message from paypal that it's okay to ship.

-..-

[femmefan1946]

What country is the customer in?

If he is in North America, don't worry too much.

It's mostly a matter of his e-cheque clearing two different banking systems- Canada and USA.

You can then print a shipping label using the Paypal funds.

You get discounts on shipping labels.

You should while you are waiting for the e-cheque to clear, trundle over to Canada Post's website and sign up for a Small Business* Solutions discount card.

Whether you decide to use Shippo or SnapShip (Canada Post) you will need that number for the discount.

Buy a TRACKED service.

Buy Signature Confirmation of Delivery. (It's $1.50 and even if it is not technically required if there is a Dispute, it is cheap insurance for letting the customer know you were not born yesterday.)

Most people are honest.

If the customer is overseas, more caution is needed.

*Canada Post is pretty easy going about this. You can use the number to get discounts on shipping your Christmas parcels too. Or any parcels, pretty well.

[femmefan1946]

BTW-- I'm glad your earlier buys went well, but generally 98%  is a poor seller. And if the seller is in Asia 99% is a poor seller.

You may want to avoid those in future.

[anthonymoe73]

Hello 

Thank you very much for your suggestion! The buyer is not from NA. He/she is from El Salvador. The account is just 3 months old with 15 positive feedbacks. And I'm kind of surprise that the buyer decided to buy at much higher price when he could have bid at much lower price and waited it out. 

[femmefan1946]

Well,partly that is the New Internet.

In the 20th century buying online was strange and new, and customers didn't mind taking chances on an auction they might wait a week to learn they did not win.

Today, customers are into Immediate Gratification and are much more comfortable with buying online.

I'm not thrilled with the destination though.

http://www.ems.post/operators/el-salvador

But apparently EMS does track there. No idea on cost though.

[maximus7001]

The pictures in your new auction suggest to the buyer that he is buying 3 phones from you. You need better pictures that represent the quantity you are actually selling.

The bottom feeders are going to love your auction. I think you are going to get scammed.

[recped]

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@anthonymoe73 wrote:

Hello 

Thank you very much for your suggestion! The buyer is not from NA. He/she is from El Salvador. The account is just 3 months old with 15 positive feedbacks. And I'm kind of surprise that the buyer decided to buy at much higher price when he could have bid at much lower price and waited it out. 

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The buyer most likely paid over market value because they have no intention of actually paying!

Either PayPal will tell you it's a fraudulent use of a credit card and not to ship or you will be told by PayPal it's ok but then get hit with a not received claim down the road.

This has scam written all over it.

FYI - New seller, iPhone X, this will happen over and over again.

[tyler@ebay]

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@anthonymoe73 wrote:

Hello experienced sellers,

Recently, I sold a smartphone and Ebay says buyers has made the payment and the fund will be made available in 21 days. And it's encouraging me to ship asap and upload tracking number. However, on my Paypal account, it says  "Don't ship yet. Wait until the payment clears.". This confuses the hell out of me. I don't understand why Ebay and Paypal are sending conflicting messages. I searched online and I couldn't find definitive answer. Some says Ebay is the one withholding the fund and it's safe to ship the item. Other says, it could be because Paypal is trying to verify the e-check and the cheque could bounce. I shouldn't ship until Paypal gives greenlight. Otherwise, I would lose my phone. My customer is from El Salvador if that matters. 

P.S Mods, sorry for redundant posting. Please delete the post under "User to User Help" section, as I think this section would be more appropriate. 

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Hi @anthonymoe73 - you've been given good information on this, I just wanted to step in and clarify that if your eBay Sold section says 'payment complete' with a filled in dollar sign icon that should typically correspond with PayPal's clearing of the payment. If the icon displays an hourglass or says 'pending' I would encourage you to wait to ship the item until PayPal states the funds are cleared.

While it's normal for hot items to sell for more than retail price the end price with a single bid does seem a bit enthusiastic. Please keep us posted and let us know what PayPal states!