i am raging right now - beyond words and into sputtering!
as i mentioned somewhere around here, my horse has serious problems right now. life-threatening problems. he went dead lame a week ago and was diagosed with laminitis, cushings and insulin resistance. so. i'm putting things on ebay to start covering what will be expensive vet bills. very expensive vet bills. NEVER AGAIN WILL I SELL ON EBAY!!! i am SOOOOOOO angry right now i could spit nails!
i've sold ebay before - i have paypal (owned by ebay) on etsy. never had a problem.. until now when i've joined the ranks of ALL ebay sellers! they've changed their payment process and it is a scam and possibly illegal - but until someone files a legal complaint, they are getting away with it! oh. wait. there HAS been a class action lawsuit - here is that information... i imagine this is just the first until they change their policy.
what are they doing? simple. ebay no longer releases funds on items purchased and paid for until 21 days or more. not even the shipping costs!
come below the squiggle and be forwarned that you do NOT want to sell through ebay unless you like loaning them interest free money - and, as i said, it ain't just me. cnn and fortune watch have also covered this with the comment that this may be their "netflix" moment.
join me for a outrageous rant below...
i put a saddle that doesn't fit sani up on ebay at a very steep discounted price to raise quick cash. it sold. i sent the buyer a message to pay through paypal because it would be the quickest means to pay for the saddle and i told her it would ship when payment cleared.
not so fast.
ebay changed their policy last fall to put a hold on "suspicious" or "new" sellers' accounts in case of questionable sales. then, this year, they converted that policy to ALL sellers - private, business, merchant. they are now holding the funds, INCLUDING the shipping funds (meaning now we have to pay first then request the funds back), on all items.
IF you ship three day, then and only then will they release the funds AFTER the seller provides a receipt and they will wait until the buyer confirms receipt of the goods and has time to complain (on USED or AS-IS merchandise? damn - i could have done that on the FOUR cameras i bought that were as-is and didn't work!?!) - and that is if there isn't a dispute - or the second sunday falls on a thursday - or it rains in the sahara.
what does this mean? it means that ebay is depositing all those collected funds into an "interest bearing account" until the monies are released BUT paypal doesn't pay interest to the seller on those funds. to hear the ebay spokeswoman, amanda miller, tell it,
Ebay spokesman Amanda Miller says the policy is being applied to sellers who "pose a higher than average risk of future transaction problems," but declined to explain why customers, who had been selling for years without complaint, were suddenly considered risks. Miller confirmed "all PayPal balances are stored in an interest-bearing bank account." She declined to say how much money eBay earned on sellers' money, except to say it was "not material to our business." She also did not respond to questions asking if any of the money was invested in other instruments.
the reviews are coming out in droves on this "new" policy that nets ebay money that "isn't material to their business" - and it is going to COST them droves of customers!
ebay is getting a lot of negative press over this...
In the uproar that erupted over the planned fee hikes and other policy changes eBay announced last week, one drew particular ire and incredulity: eBay's plan to hold payments sent through its PayPal payment service for up to 21 days in certain circumstances.
The freeze will apply to transactions eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) considers high-risk, and is intended to protect buyers from the hazards of a bad transaction. By hanging on to funds, eBay can easily refund them if a seller doesn't ship a purchased item or sends damaged goods.
except that is a lie. i've been a member since 2003 and have NEVER gotten bad feedback - am at 100% and a gold star - but my "history" miraculously disappeared before 2010 - gone. oops~ they don't count any "old" transactions - no matter how good they were.
Paypal says the factors that will play into its formula for triggering a hold include the length of time a seller has been on eBay, the seller's feedback rating, and the final cost and shipping fees for the item.
Because PayPal has sole discretion over whether to freeze funds, sellers are upset about a perceived lack of accountability. They're also grouchy about eBay's efforts to force buyers to rely on PayPal: in some categories and for all new sellers, eBay requires vendors to offer PayPal as an option or have their own merchant credit card account. The site has blocked rival payment systems such as Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Checkout, saying they are not yet proven safe.
i've been a member of paypal since 2003 and had a paypal account/debit card since shortly thereafter - and NO negative transactions at all - ever. none. yet, they are holding the price of the saddle AND the shipping charges! imho, this is a blatant attempt to float their bank balances with interest free loans from those of us who make the mistake of using their service. it is a mistake i won't make again. ever.
oh, and john donahoe, the current ceo, was just two days ago was celebrating the third quarter higher earnings experienced by ebay and paypal. i can't help but wonder how MUCH of these "earnings" are the monies they owe US for our sold goods!
donahoe recently made these statements in an interview:
Donahoe talked extensively about eBay’s role as a friend to the retailer — criticizing Amazon’s competitive approach without specifically naming the company — and how through the acquisitions of GSI, RedLaser, and Milo, along with payments solution PayPal, eBay has transformed itself from an auction site to an open commerce platform (X.commerce). The auction side of eBay’s business, he added, now represents just 10 percent of the overall business.
“We’re enablers,” Donahoe said. “The real winners are going to be retailers … the retailers that adapt a multichannel shopping experience.”
enablers? when ebay is making money interest free by refusing to release retailers funds? oh really? with "friends" like donahoe, we retailers don't need enemies!
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/...
i urge ANY person considering selling on ebay to consider whether or not you think ebay or paypal are really deserving of interest free loans loans from you or your customers.
BOYCOTT!
ugh! i am so angry i am incoherent right now.