ebay – first time users question

Hi folks,

I’ve just sold a few bike bits on ebay and as it’s the first time I’ve used the site I have a question.
I have a “payment initiated, being processed through paypal” note on each sold item and obviously no funds cleared into my paypal account as yet. So do I send items now or do I wait until funds are cleared into my paypal? I found an old forum post saying you receive a note from paypal to ‘post now’ when money was through but it was that old I thought maybe the system may have moved on.

dunno, but make it trackable & signed for when you send them

Wiat till the money turns up in your Paypal acc

Login direct to it rather than using ebay

Don’t send ANYTHING until the money appears in your account – it can take up to 24 hours. It’s possible that your buyer has insufficient funds or a registered credit card on their account, which is why you’re seeing this message.

In all cases with eBay, don’t let anything go until the money’s in your account or pocket.

I’ve been using eBay for over ten years – there are a lot of to$$ers out there who will try to rip you off and scam you. My advice in a situation like that is to stay calm, be polite, retain ALL paperwork (including receipts and proof of posting) and as long as you know that you’re in the right STICK TO YOUR GUNS.

Be warned that eBay can be incredibly addictive and useful if used properly – I’ve had some real bargains and I’ve also made some good sales over the years, and I would say that my experience has probably been 95% positive. You’ll find that if you’re honest with people, they’ll be honest back. Always give a proper description of your item (if it’s valuable, e.g. a bike or a car, go into minute detail and be really long-winded – it puts off illiterate dickheads), be polite and have fun!

Johnellison & jota180,

thanks for that, that’s me sorted. I’ll email the buyers and tell them I’ll post when I have the money cleared – just to be polite.

Just to be clear, I wasn’t in a panic over the thought of being ripped off, just wondering what protocol was. I have complete faith in the mtb community 😉

Thanks

I have complete faith in the mtb community

At risk of sounding cynical, that’s a sure way to a fall with eBay, I’m sorry to say.

You have to take the attitude that everyone’s a scammer until proven otherwise. 99% are not, but if you have the correct approach you’ll be ready to deal with the 1% who are.

Paypal will probably tell you when to send the item, either way you still won’t have access to the money for anything upto 21 days if you are just starting selling

What’s the feedback like on the buyer. Have a quick read through. Don’t just take the green as good as I believe as a seller you can’t leave negative any more for buyers(daft but that’s the rules)

it’s not one buyer. I sold 3 items to 3 buyers. Each amount is showing as being processed through paypal.
Additionally I’ve received an email from one of the three saying he got a ‘payment unclaimed’ notice via his paypal – he said he’s never had that before. Being a novice I have no idea what’s going on.

I have to say that ebay is pretty poor in terms of functionality for first time users. There’s very little to guide you through the many options and pit falls.

By the looks of it I’m going to HAVE to send the items before I receive my funds. Turns out as a first time user paypal can hold my money for 3 weeks as I have no feedback and under 25 sells under my belt.

Great stuff.

That sounds like paypal policy to protect the buyer rather than the seller. I guess that makes sense since paypal have custody of the funds for a period greater than the time it should take for the item to arrive with the buyer. If it doesn’t arrive the buyer complains and paypal returns their funds…just guessing, but sounds or a good theory

If your payments are showing as “unclaimed” to your buyers, it makes me suspect that your Paypal account isn’t set up properly. As a buyer, the only time this has happened to me recently, the seller had entered the wrong e-mail address for payment. I paid immediately and it sat as “unclaimed” for a week before we sussed the problem. Might be worth double checking your details.
E-bay……welcome to the jungle 😆