Forum

eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Have any of you guys ever accepted an offer for a seller capital loan? I was looking over how they work this morning and honestly the loan terms make them look kinda predatory. For a $40k loan they charge a $6k fixed fee then I'm pretty sure they charge interest on top of that.


I guess it could be a useful resource for some sellers. I've never been able to see how anyone would be able to keep their business going when a given % of your daily revenue automatically goes towards paying back the loan. It's like signing away your profit margins for a period of 9-18 months and expecting to come out of the arrangement profitable. :lol:


I doubt I would ever take one of their loan offers but I look at the amount they're willing to lend to each of my accounts as an account health indicator. Surely they wouldn't be willing to loan tens of thousands of dollars to a seller they don't like.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Paypal also offers such loan.
If Ebay is taking $6k out of a $40K loan,thats the interest you are prepaying,thats 15%.
Not really that bad.
It all depends on what you are selling,if you have goods and services which are high margin and in high demand,and know where to source them,you could come out ahead.
You know where to find refurbished Iphones?
I would think a pawn shop would be interested?

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I do know where to find them but would never touch refurbished iPhones even with a ten foot pole.

I can't think of a single niche with profit margins consistently high enough to justify having that much taken off the top.

I'm assuming that's a no from you?

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I know many sellers use their credit cards to purchase goods for sale on EBay,how much interest do you think they are paying their cc issuer?

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Paying for inventory with credit cards is a surefire way to go bankrupt, lmao.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Smart sellers pay off their cc bill by the end of the month, otherwise many cards are at 19.99-29.99% APY which, like phaz stated, is idiocy and leads to bankruptcy.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

It is not a matter of being smart or dumb,many cardholders have no way to get a bank loan or from private source.
For example,a young guy just got out of school and offered a job in a city,he needs to rent an apt,first and last month rent,apply for utilities,get some furniture,probably just a mattress,new work clothes,first 2 weeks -lunch and dinner money,he wont get paid until 2 weeks later.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

BBY and circuit city sell refurbished iphones,so do Ebay sellers

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

So you're a supporter of this type of loan but have never used one?

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I actually got a email from one of their sales team earier:

Based on your strong track record on eBay, you’re currently eligible for short-term, flexible growth funding.

Unlike a traditional bank loan with fixed monthly payments, eBay Seller Capital is paid back as a percentage of your eBay sales - so if sales slow down, or you pause your store, less is taken. There’s also a single fixed fee, and funds can reach your bank account within 24-48 hours of applying.

Checking your offer won’t affect your credit score.

Worth a quick chat?

If you’d prefer, feel free to book in a time to chat with me here*to learn more:*hxxps://calendly.com/xxx/30min

I think they require you to give them read access to your bank account through open banking as well as charging extortionate interest rates.

No thanks!

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I personally wouldn't use a service like this linked to your eBay account, you never know when they will decide to pull the rug from under you. Also for stealth accounts this wouldn't pass their KYC checks.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

When WMT and Sears (remember SEARS ?) WERE closing some stores,all merchandise were marked down 37% -70
% off,you know its prices are already low,and with such discount,it is cheaper than going to your own distributor and you also save on shipping.
2 parties loaded up,one with his brother in law and mother in law who have a station wagon,another was an AMZN store,it sent 2 employees with an Uhaul,both parties list on AMZN and gross 100%'
If it happens today,that $4k loan is tempting

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Xmas is coming soon,so it makes sense for Ebay to offer loan
.If I were a toy seller,I would be interested,in the past,Ebay will send letters to its toy sellers coaching them what is hot and whats not,and advice them to order early.
In the past,parents are able to find hot toys for XMas on EBAY before it hits the retail stores !

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

The comms they send out to UK sellers always sound more elegant and formal. :lol: They're offering the same loan in the US but with an American accent/spin:
Keep your business growing

You’re pre-approved for $xx,xxx*, now’s the time to use it. Join other sellers using eBay Seller Capital¹ to stay flexible, stock smarter, and keep inventory moving.


As you can see, all of the important buzzwords are there plus a dose of peer pressure.
I've seen a few people on here over the years who accepted one of these offers then lost their account way before they could pay it back. It's kind of dangerous for an inexperienced seller, because they'll offer you money based on your sales numbers without much regard for what's being sold or how risky it may be over time.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Ebay cannot read your mind,you could use the new found wealth to buy something better,more marketable than what you are currently selling,Ebay is well capitalised,can afford to write off a few bad loans.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

There's no need to get defensive about it.. I was only asking if anyone has ever taken them up on a loan offer.


The money from a loan is not new found wealth - it's a new found liability.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Ebay do not give out the loan, another company (YouLend) gives the loan, eBay have no liability if loan does not get repaid, they pocket the commission and walk away.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

They've always partnered with third parties (Liberis in the US). It's a smart strategy from their perspective because there will always be new young people who think they can turn a business loan into something profitable.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

if you know the hot toy parents want to buy for their kids this Xmas,you can place an order before anyone else does.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I doubt it. Have you had success with flipping toys? Fidget spinners were the last opportunity to make a decent profit on toys but you would've had to get in on the ground floor before they got popular.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

It's not so simple - I used to sell tons in the toy business and it wasn't so easy to time that approach hah.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Many years ago they, had a partner ship in the UK with another loan company, I can't remember what it was called, would have been in the early 2010's.

I had a couple of loans with them and when they exited the UK market they wrote off all the outstanding loans!

Still wish I'd borrowed more.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I dont sell toys,but I know Ebay will clue its toy sellers approaching Xmas,parents will actually goto Ebay to find them as they are not yet available in retail stores.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Wow - that was quite the opportunity...free cash with no pay back...

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

plentry of people are defaulting on their IOU these days(bank loan,mortgage loan,auto loan,BNPL,cc loan,personal loan,dept store loan,you name it).
Macy dept store at one time was charging 34 % for its credit card,dont know how anyone would use it??

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Have you been defaulting on loans, agent?

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I recently did a Liberis for $3,000 and the fee is about $78. It isn't that bad, and I only did it mainly to test everything out. It gets preapproved, at least for mine so there was no formal application or credit check. If there was I wouldn't have done it.

I have up to $21,000 I could have used. The other loans are real applications and I had offers up to half a million. Not going to do it, no need.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

HALF A Million to sell on internet strictly??????

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Yes $500,000 with 5.99% fee plus interest. Timeframes are 12-84 month terms. The other one that I used is more like Shopify capital which takes a percentage from your sales until the entire amount is paid off.

You can provide any reason for the loan. I imagine if I really applied for the full amount I would need to justify the reasons though.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I would think more than reason to justify,they will do a credit check on you,I doubt they will lend you that much despite positive credit check.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

If it's a business loan then there are other parameters such as proof of business model, profits, etc - rather than just personal loan.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Yea first of all considering it's eBay, I would never trust them with something like this and 2nd looking at the terms.... I don't see how this is going to be beneficial for practically any one.

It seems very scammy and they're just in it to make more money out of sellers.

Plus there are better ways to get inventory, even if you have to take a loan to start a business, there's other lenders who are better imho

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I think people get blinded by the numbers. They'll watch their sales climb higher and higher for months on end, so they start to assume that the money tap will never be turned off.


I can't really blame eBay for offering the loans since selling money is one of the biggest industries in the US.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Just got my funds. Not going to lie, pretty cool. And in terms of fees, if you use it to buy COGS like I am, I’m just selling a few things ahead of time which covers the fee and then sum. Normally I’d wait to have the product but I ship by sea now so it takes over a month.

I have already offset my cost by like $400+ so the fee is irrelevant.

To be clear though, I’m using this only for more testing and it’s a low amount. My fixed spending on COGS is $15k+ a month.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

The loan I used is no different functionality wise than Shopify capital which I tried out early this year for $1,500. I would agree more in the real loan type offer which can be predatory.

For me, I having been trying to get my business in a position where I never need a loan and I’m fully cash flow positive which took a while to understand. Seems obvious to me now, like I know I never need to spend more than $20k a month so if I have $40k saved, I just fill up the bucket back each month I never really have to worry because my business is then fully operational.

I didn’t understand that when I started because I had no clue or understanding how business works.

I would argue doing these things does not hurt but if anything helps make your account stronger. There is also no credit check on Shopify capital. They’re taking the sales you get monthly applying math to it that’s why my fee is low. If I used $21k loan, I’d be paying a far higher percentage fee. It increases the more I use because mathematically it would take longer for them to be paid back.

They know based on my historical data I’ll pay this loan back likely by end of the month given my sales volume so there is little risk to them in the grand scheme of things. It’s a pretty smart concept IMO.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

NO,my mother was an early Ebay seller and made enough so we just recycle it-back then the profit margin was OBSCENE !

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Hope it works out for you, sole. Your post reminds me of yankee - he always used to be a big advocate for taking on debt to grow. The way I've always looked at it, if you can't afford to expand with your own money then you aren't in a position to expand.


I agree that it means you have a healthy account if they're willing to offer the loan in the first place though.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

I am going to repay it back by the 15th. Yankee was a cool guy, I used to look up to him when I was learning everything here. This forum was better when those guys contributed, Greenbean etc.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

Yeah, for sure. MP did a number on this place and now it's mostly a UK forum.

Re: eBay Seller Capital Loans
 

COGS?

For some reason I'm not surprised that you managed to make it work to your favor.