Ebay gone to far with new policy change from 4th Feb 2025!

bittyboy101

RFW said:

bittyboy101 said:

I noticed most of the stuff on Etsy is new or self-made and there are a lot of business sellers on there just like Amazon... so it probably wouldn't have been any good anyway to sell my stuff on there... 

I sell on there as a business, with new stuff. I was looking at some vintage items and noticed their seemed to be some market for certain things. It's an odd marketplace but quite nice when you get into it.

I didn't have a problem signing up. I went through some situation a few weeks in where my account was suspended after ignoring an Etsy message, confusing it with spam (of which you get a lot in the first couple of weeks of a new account), I had to upload some extra ID and it was sorted, not had an issue since.
If I could get the sale levels up I'd happily just sell on Etsy. The customers tend to be nice, fees are comparable to elsewhere and payment can be daily throughout the week.

My main attraction to Etsy was PayPal because that means quick INSTANT PAYMENT ! 

Their system and customer support leaves a lot to be desired. Even eBay beats them on customer care lol

RFW

bittyboy101 said:

My main attraction to Etsy was PayPal because that means quick INSTANT PAYMENT ! 

Their system and customer support leaves a lot to be desired. Even eBay beats them on customer care lol

Their payment system is much the same as Ebay's. They may accept Paypal but all the payment goes through Etsy and then into your bank account. If anything Ebay's is slightly better as they pay out on any amount 7 days a week. Etsy have a £15 threshold and it's weekdays only.

Their customer service isn't great, I sell on Amazon more than anywhere else and, as any seller there will tell you, you learn to avoid using any of the seller supports. My biggest problem early on on Etsy was the spam. I was inundated via their messaging service with accounts that had Etsy in the name. It seemed like something they could easily sort but they didn't seem too bothered.

bittyboy101

RFW said:

bittyboy101 said:

My main attraction to Etsy was PayPal because that means quick INSTANT PAYMENT ! 

Their system and customer support leaves a lot to be desired. Even eBay beats them on customer care lol

Their payment system is much the same as Ebay's. They may accept Paypal but all the payment goes through Etsy and then into your bank account. If anything Ebay's is slightly better as they pay out on any amount 7 days a week. Etsy have a £15 threshold and it's weekdays only.

Their customer service isn't great, I sell on Amazon more than anywhere else and, as any seller there will tell you, you learn to avoid using any of the seller supports. My biggest problem early on on Etsy was the spam. I was inundated via their messaging service with accounts that had Etsy in the name. It seemed like something they could easily sort but they didn't seem too bothered.

Looks like I had a lucky escape from Etsy then ! ...by them not taking me on because they couldn't scan my full id/passport clearly...

I really don't like any selling platform which holds my sale money for a long time, there is nothing worse then the buyer has your expensive item and you have no money because some greedy company is manipulating online security as an lame excuse to hold your money in their investing account to disgracefully earn them interest when you should have had your money days ago...

Just imagine if you bought something off eBay like a new computer because you needed it ASAP and eBay then decided to tell the seller to send it to them for them to hold it for x amount of days after you just parted with £450 ! because you needed a new computer to get online... how would you feel about eBay keeping hold of YOUR ITEM for 7 - 14 days before letting you have it ???  Somehow I doubt very much you would be OK or happy with this !

Sorry, no offence meant to you personally, but you get the idea of my example and what I am trying to say...

And that is eBay and other selling platforms need to realise that most people are selling online to generate QUICK MONEY to pay a bill or their rent (in some cases), so having to put up with a delayed payment is very off putting and not very good for the seller after they have done all the legwork and sent the buyer their item and the buyer then has it. 

soolin

@bittyboy101 The online sites with the most successful sales online seem to have the holding funds model which leaves very few places left to sell online. Where does that leave sellers refusing to use sites that don’t have instant funds ? The choice appears to be settle for desperately trying local sites waiting for an elusive buyer, or sites like FB marketplace where footfall is slow and full of time wasters.

I’ve been putting things in B and M auctions recently and even there I wait a month or more for payment , plus the selling costs can be very high. 

it seems odd for those, and not just you bittyboy101 who can’t wait for their money but appear to not be bothered if they don’t sell at all. For my business sales I want the money , otherwise what’s the point so I keep a rolling turnover pulling out money daily if I want from previous sales. For my private sales I want my house and storage areas back , over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on collections, as did my parents , yes I could just take it all to the charity shop, but it’s nice to get something back, and at the moment my private sales have never been so good and the money earned from unwanted clutter has meant extra holidays already taken this year with more already booked and paid for. 

So basically that leaves a few/many/an occasional? Private seller basically just giving up and not getting any money in at all, even though some say they couldn’t earlier wait for eBay and others to actually pay out funds. 

Pollycat

I'm a private eBay seller just getting rid of my own unwanted stuff.
I post all my sales by Royal Mail Tracked 48.

I'm happy getting my funds after delivery confirmation is received.
The other option is to take them to a charity shop.
No brainer for me.

bittyboy101

soolin said:

@bittyboy101 The online sites with the most successful sales online seem to have the holding funds model which leaves very few places left to sell online. Where does that leave sellers refusing to use sites that don’t have instant funds ? The choice appears to be settle for desperately trying local sites waiting for an elusive buyer, or sites like FB marketplace where footfall is slow and full of time wasters.

I’ve been putting things in B and M auctions recently and even there I wait a month or more for payment , plus the selling costs can be very high. 

it seems odd for those, and not just you bittyboy101 who can’t wait for their money but appear to not be bothered if they don’t sell at all. For my business sales I want the money , otherwise what’s the point so I keep a rolling turnover pulling out money daily if I want from previous sales. For my private sales I want my house and storage areas back , over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on collections, as did my parents , yes I could just take it all to the charity shop, but it’s nice to get something back, and at the moment my private sales have never been so good and the money earned from unwanted clutter has meant extra holidays already taken this year with more already booked and paid for. 

So basically that leaves a few/many/an occasional? Private seller basically just giving up and not getting any money in at all, even though some say they couldn’t earlier wait for eBay and others to actually pay out funds. 

What you say regarding the online selling platforms who seem to hold sales money having the best sales may be right... I guess buyers (and scammers) feel more happier knowing that the seller does not have their money 100% and it gives them leeway to return an item for whatever reason with the seller not yet having the money or being in 100% control of it.

To nervous or skeptical buyers who have never bought anything online before this is very reassuring that a big company is in charge of their money and dealing with the whole transaction through out...

but to a scammer-buyer this is paradise and an easy-peasy way to get hold of expensive items and then force an false return by making up any story they like and then returning a broken or totally different item to what they had originally received from the seller who had done everything right by the book (including taking photos and recording a video of them packing and posting the item) only for it to be a scam-buyer !

Of course the likes of eBay will just refund the buyer on hearsay and be done with it, They are not really interested in anything a seller has to say or any video proof a seller may have to prove that they did everything 100% right and the buyer is pulling a fast one in order to get a freebie !

For a majority of private sellers who have been selling on eBay for many years and who have never had anything go wrong this money holding bit might not sound too bad... but when things start to go wrong, like a bad buyer or a Royal Mail postman forgets to scan an item on delivery... well things are not fool prof and either they can expect to lose their sold item or have to wait 14 days for their money, providing their buyer doesn't open any cases or decide to return the item... 

Pollycat

bittyboy101 said:

soolin said:

@bittyboy101 The online sites with the most successful sales online seem to have the holding funds model which leaves very few places left to sell online. Where does that leave sellers refusing to use sites that don’t have instant funds ? The choice appears to be settle for desperately trying local sites waiting for an elusive buyer, or sites like FB marketplace where footfall is slow and full of time wasters.

I’ve been putting things in B and M auctions recently and even there I wait a month or more for payment , plus the selling costs can be very high. 

it seems odd for those, and not just you bittyboy101 who can’t wait for their money but appear to not be bothered if they don’t sell at all. For my business sales I want the money , otherwise what’s the point so I keep a rolling turnover pulling out money daily if I want from previous sales. For my private sales I want my house and storage areas back , over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on collections, as did my parents , yes I could just take it all to the charity shop, but it’s nice to get something back, and at the moment my private sales have never been so good and the money earned from unwanted clutter has meant extra holidays already taken this year with more already booked and paid for. 

So basically that leaves a few/many/an occasional? Private seller basically just giving up and not getting any money in at all, even though some say they couldn’t earlier wait for eBay and others to actually pay out funds. 

What you say regarding the online selling platforms who seem to hold sales money having the best sales may be right... I guess buyers (and scammers) feel more happier knowing that the seller does not have their money 100% and it gives them leeway to return an item for whatever reason with the seller not yet having the money or being in 100% control of it.

To nervous or skeptical buyers who have never bought anything online before this is very reassuring that a big company is in charge of their money and dealing with the whole transaction through out...

but to a scammer-buyer this is paradise and an easy-peasy way to get hold of expensive items and then force an false return by making up any story they like and then returning a broken or totally different item to what they had originally received from the seller who had done everything right by the book (including taking photos and recording a video of them packing and posting the item) only for it to be a scam-buyer !

Of course the likes of eBay will just refund the buyer on hearsay and be done with it, They are not really interested in anything a seller has to say or any video proof a seller may have to prove that they did everything 100% right and they buyer is pulling a fast one to get a freebie !

For a majority of private sellers who have been selling on eBay and who have never had anything go wrong this money holding bit might not sound too bad... but when things start to go wrong, like a bad buyer or a Royal Mail postman forgets to scan an item on delivery... well things are not fool prof and either they can expect to lose their sold item or have to wait 14 days for their money, providing their buyer doesn't open any cases or decide to return the item... 

Waiting 14 days for my funds is still better than taking items straight to the charity shop - at least it is to me.

bittyboy101

"Waiting 14 days for my funds is still better than taking items straight to the charity shop - at least it is to me."

Still a huge comedown considering we had PayPal instant payment 10 years ago on eBay... giving sellers their money within seconds after their auction or buy it now item had sold and been paid for and giving sellers the luxury of being able to have access to their money straightaway which to me was just as good as having the cash in your hand.

Whilst waiting 14 days to get paid might be acceptable to some folk... for others it can be rather worrying and inconvenient... especially if a buyer then decides to get ideas of causing problems or returning the item after they have been using it all week !  

Pollycat

bittyboy101 said:

"Waiting 14 days for my funds is still better than taking items straight to the charity shop - at least it is to me."

Still a huge comedown considering we had PayPal instant payment 10 years ago on eBay... giving sellers their money within seconds after their auction or buy it now item had sold and been paid for and giving sellers the luxury of being able to have access to their money straightaway which to me was just as good as having the cash in your hand.

Whilst waiting 14 days to get paid might be acceptable to some folk... for others it can be rather worrying and inconvenient... especially if a buyer then decides to get ideas of causing problems or returning the item after they have been using it all week !  

Nothing stays the same.
No point in bemoaning the fact that a pint of beer 50 years ago was 20p.

It is as it is  - you either accept the changes or find another platform to sell on.

Maybe we are different types of sellers.
I've been clear that I'm a private seller, just clearing my own unwanted stuff out.
I don't need immediate access to my money.
To me, it's just pin money that I use to buy something else that takes my fancy.
Maybe that's why I am more pragmatic about the changes - to me the money is a benefit rather than a necessity.

TBH, in 20 years of selling on eBay I've had very few buyers causing problems.
I have a 'no return' policy as I am vey clear in describing my items and will upload maybe 15 photos of a pair of lightly worn sandals still in the box that I'm selling for £15.00.
I have had requests for return for 'too big/small' etc but I've rejected those as I always include measurements as well as photos of the label.
A buyer can't 'cause problems' by saying a silver bracelet is too big if there's a photo of it against a tape measure.

soolin

I can’t say I’m overly worried about scammers, and I rarely wait more than a week for my money, although 14 days doesn’t bother me either. At least I’m getting money .

In the course of several online businesses, some of which pre date even PayPal which must amount for hundreds of thousands of sales I have met a minuscule percentage of scammers, and most of them I managed to beat. I got scammed twice with cheques before PayPal, within the last 5 years someone on Facebook tried to scam me with a cheque and that cost me time rather than money. I’ve had issues with PayPal and fake claims of SNAD , plus INRs , I won most, lost out on a couple though. One, about 20 years ago was for a larger sum sent to a US buyer who then just recalled their payment , my PayPal went into a negative balance but as I was regularly selling that was cleared almost instantly when new funds came in. That one I chased, I am almost embarrassed with how far I took it, including getting a US friend to find me the number for the local sheriff, tracking down the employer of the account holder and contacting both. PayPal didn’t get me my money back, I did. I’ve also had people try and short me with cash, doing the whole folding over a note scam. 

Oh yes, and a huge dinner service, buyer arranged to meet me at the local rail station with her trolley, I dragged the stuff down there in a box with wheels and she assumed that because I had gone to all that effort to drag it down there that she could get away with offering me £100 instead of £150. She was rather shocked when I said I’d re load my box on wheels and drag it all the way home again- and she suddenly found her missing £50. 

I get the occasional INR and since virtually everything I send has some sort of delivery confirmation, if it doesn’t show as delivered then I refund and make a claim if I can. That hasn’t changed since PayPal times, I would have had to refund then, just as I have to refund now, I can’t see how having withdrawn my funds changes that- unless of course you imagine I was going to throw all my toys out of the pram, close all my online sales sites and hide from PayPal? 

However, all of this remains, as usual, a personal choice. I like getting money , it mainly all goes on holidays or fancy outings with the grandchildren. I am spending less and less time on sales as I wind down part of my business now, but it suits me to have proper money for a few hours work a week, and for private sales clear some of this clutter I’ve been living with. No, it doesn’t suit everyone, I certainly wouldn’t recommend that everyone rushes out to use any online site if it is out of their comfort zone and not selling items and just donating instead is probably morally better , and that must remain a personal choice.