eBay

sjw9001 · ‎03-18-2018

Hi,

I'm a new seller located in Canada who just sold some video games to a buyer in the U.S. The buyer sent the payment to my PayPal but the payment is still showing as "pending". The message in my PayPal account says This payment is still pending. In case you are shipping an item please wait until the payment is completed.

As PayPal has told me not to ship the product yet, I waited. The buyer messaged me today asking when I was planning on shipping the product. I told them that the payment hasn't cleared yet and that's why I haven't shipped the product yet. He then told me that he had this problem before and that in order for the release of funds to happen I need to ship the product first.

I feel like I should wait until PayPal instructs me that it is OK to ship the product. Is there any truth to the buyer's claim that the money he sent will clear once I ship the product? That seems like a potential scam to me.

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks.

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

It depends.

You'll have to dig a bit deeper to find the true cause of the 'pending' funds.

Did the buyer send you an e-cheque? It will say on the transaction Activity Details.

Or is this the 21-day pending hold on all new or infrequent sellers?

Best bet is to call Paypal and ask since you cannot show us details of your transaction.

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

Regardless, you came to the right place to ask.

Also, be absolutely sure to ship this with tracking. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/PS4-Game-Lot-8-games/123011228955?hash=item1ca40a651b:g:d6MAAOSwbYdaon6W Signature is unnecessary but I would strongly advise as a new seller in this category that you protect yourself.

sjw9001 · ‎03-18-2018

Thank you. I can't determine if they used an e-cheque or not. Where exactly would I find this information, on PayPal? Because I checked my PayPal account and it doesn't say anything about an e-cheque being used for the purchase.

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

Oh and this: "He then told me that he had this problem before and that in order for the release of funds to happen I need to ship the product first." Total bunk. Proceed carefully. This is the hallmark statement of a true ebay con artist. In fact, I may even call ebay Customer Service and Report this guy for saying that. It's a complete lie. Ask them what additional steps you need to take to protect yourself.

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

@sjw9001wrote:
Thank you. I can't determine if they used an e-cheque or not. Where exactly would I find this information, on PayPal? Because I checked my PayPal account and it doesn't say anything about an e-cheque being used for the purchase.

If the buyer sent you an cheque, this would be written clearly on the email that came from Paypal, as well as your Sales Record, and the Account Transaction.

I strongly suspect this buyer is trying to stongrarm you with bad advice. There is a nugget of truth to what he says about funds being released but those are only supposed to be funds for postage. I think I would call ebay Customer Service for next steps and/or advice at this junction.

sjw9001 · ‎03-18-2018

Thank you, I will take your advice. This seems shady to me as well.

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

Go to Help and Contact and then narrow down your options until you get to a problem similar to your own and you will see a number to call. Take notes and ask to whom you are speaking for your notes. You might have to explain the problem more than once to more than one person. Report back to the thread if you think of it. I have some suspicions about what they will tell you but I don't want to cloud your judgement on this.

Good luck.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-18-2018

If Paypal says 'dont ship' , the payment has not cleared.

OP- tell your impatient customer that until his 'e-cheque' clears you cannot print a shipping label through Paypal.

Which is more or less true.

You can print a shipping label using Held funds, and you may even get a discount on the label.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎03-18-2018

FYI for anyone requiring Signature Service with SHIPPO,

Currently I process all my mail with Shippo. Due to the value of a particular order I tried to add signature to an expedited shipment to the USA and it wasn't available. Currently it appears signature is only available with Xpresspost or higher. This is a message I received from Shippo awhile ago when asking why signature service is no longer provided:

That is interesting to note. You may be able to add signature confirmation directly to a shipment at the post office for additional charge. Unfortunately, that is not an available option within Shippo due to the increased cost. I'm sorry to hear that you had some difficulties with your package not being delivered properly. If there is anything else we can do to assist you regarding your Shippo account, please let us know. We're here to help!

In going back and checking with my previous Expedited for Canada, Expedited & Tracked for USA and Tracked for International I only see the message "Signature option was not requested " in the delivery details. In the past if I received a package by expedited I regularly had to sign. Now very rarely. Maximum requirement is some sort of picture identification and here's your parcel. Explanation may be different for processing your package if you use the Canadapost website or go to the counter.

-CM

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎03-18-2018

This policy by Shippo actually makes little sense. It is an optional service paid for by the person at their discretion creating the postage and should be of no cost to Shippo, but no further explanation was given for the reasoning.

-CM

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

When you send mail outside Canada via Canada Post, you have to carefully examine which postal service to use for the specific destination if that order exceeds the $825 CAD criteria for Seller Protection.

To the USA, Xpresspost USA is the least expensive choice with Signature available. You cannot add Signature to Expedited Parcel USA like you can to domestic Expedited Parcel within Canada at additional cost. To other countries, you have to toggle between Xpresspost and Priority to see which has an option for Signature, either inherent to the service or as a paid extra.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎03-18-2018

Unfortunately "Toggling" with Shippo is not available. If a service is not available you find out when you click to choose your service after adding all the details. Only way is to reverse and start the process over. Add signature tab just states not available for all carriers. Does not specify services.

-CM

momcqueen · ‎03-18-2018

That's the reason I included the Canada Post link above. Sellers have to do that research ahead of time with Canada Post and then choose their service with Shippo.

pocomocomputing · ‎03-19-2018

@momcqueenwrote:
When you send mail outside Canada via Canada Post, you have to carefully examine which postal service to use for the specific destination if that order exceeds the $825 CAD criteria for Seller Protection.

To the USA, Xpresspost USA is the least expensive choice with Signature available. You cannot add Signature to Expedited Parcel USA like you can to domestic Expedited Parcel within Canada at additional cost. To other countries, you have to toggle between Xpresspost and Priority to see which has an option for Signature, either inherent to the service or as a paid extra.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

You have posted the $825 figure a couple of times recently. Where do you get this number? I never heard of that number being used as the break point for when signature is required for Seller Protection. I am curious if somewhere documentation is incorrect with what I found.

I researched recently the break points required by eBay Canada and USA, and PayPal Canada and USA for Seller Protection in a post in another topic. Here is a copy of what I found a month ago. I checked the links again and they still have the same break points for when a seller is required to use signature confirmation.

-----

PayPal Canada Seller Protection

https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/brc/seller-protection-a-paypal-seller-benefit

Signature Confirmation is an online documentation that can be viewed at the shipping company's website and indicates that the item was signed for on delivery. Signature confirmation is required for transactions, including shipping and taxes, that are $850 CAD or more.

eBay Canada Seller Protection

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/seller-protection.html

Signature confirmation, if an item has a total cost of US$/C$750 or more

(We should ask @happy_pigeon what does US$/C$750 mean since we can only sell in CAN $ on eBay.ca. With an exchange rate today of about 31%, $750 USD = $983 CAN which is a significant difference in value between currencies?)

PayPal USA Seller Protection

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection

Signature Confirmation, if the full amount of the payment (including shipping and taxes) is $750 USD or more. This is documentation that can be viewed at the shipping company’s website and indicates that the item was signed for on delivery.

eBay USA Seller Protection

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-protection.html

Signature confirmation, if an item has a total cost of $750 or more

* $750 USD since it is on eBay.com USA

momcqueen · ‎03-19-2018

Thank you for clarifying that. I used $825 CAD from memory; I see it’s been increased to $850 CAD since I last checked.

momcqueen · ‎03-19-2018

I corrected myself on another thread and will use the $850 CAD amount henceforth. If you would be so kind, please make a note of the error if you see it elsewhere before I do and I will do same. The consolation is that I’ve been quoting too low as opposed to too high at least. It won’t lead to situations where a seller was left unprotected, but perhaps used a service more elite than required. For my own peace of mind, however, I require Signature on anything higher than about $500 even if it’s not necessary to do so.

bpl521_sell · ‎03-19-2018

@lotzofuniquegoodieswrote:
FYI for anyone requiring Signature Service with SHIPPO,

Currently I process all my mail with Shippo. Due to the value of a particular order I tried to add signature to an expedited shipment to the USA and it wasn't available. Currently it appears signature is only available with Xpresspost or higher. This is a message I received from Shippo awhile ago when asking why signature service is no longer provided:

-CM

Just on another note, I was on the Shippo site and playing around with producing a label, it did not give me the option of selecting "Do Not Safe Drop" that Canada Post Snap Ship does.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎03-19-2018

Thanks for the update on that bpl521_sell...That's an issue I am been having recently. Received packages that were just dropped off on front step when I was home, left in plain sight. Door bell was not rang. Happened to go out to run an errand and discovered. A few times it was noted on package do not safe drop. Dropping off packages in full view is an invitation for those packages to disappear. When I have the option to have dropped at community post office I go that route. And if a package gets dropped off without a signature very difficult to make a claim if it happens to "walks away"!! Scanning will show it as "Delivered". Even checking scan updates is a **bleep** shoot. Have seen packages that show as delivered arrive several hours later in the community box.

-CM

happy_pigeon · ‎03-19-2018

@pocomocomputing wrote:
eBay Canada Seller Protection

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/seller-protection.html

Signature confirmation, if an item has a total cost of US$/C$750 or more

(We should ask @happy_pigeon what does US$/C$750 mean since we can only sell in CAN $ on eBay.ca. With an exchange rate today of about 31%, $750 USD = $983 CAN which is a significant difference in value between currencies?)

It's just an artifact of two closely related sites with different currencies--the same way, say, our FVFs and Store subscription fees are the same amount on .com and .ca numbers-wise, but are technically different after the exchange rates.

.ca and .com share a lot of code, so it's just easier to disregard exchange rates and declare a common amount when it is meant to trigger a particular reaction (or in this case, recommendation). So it would be $750 in this case regardless of whether it is CAD or USD. Does that make sense?