Forum

Paypal's 21 Day Hold - whats that all about?
 

Hiya!

I have just set up my new eBay and Paypal stealth accounts, I successfully sold my first 2 items using the buy-it-now option on my auctions, anyway I received the payments which are cleared in Paypal and I have withdrawn some of the money to my bank account and used some of the money to pay for a £56 DHL parcel delivery to Australia. Also I have just verified my Paypal account as I got the two deposits from Paypal into my bank account. However today I got an email from Paypal stating that they are putting a 21 day 'hold' on any future payments made via Paypal, which I guess will be most payments for items. What the hell?!? This is going to create real problems for me in paying for the postage for any items that sell, I have only just started out on eBay again and I simply dont have money I can pay up front for postage while I wait 21 days + however long it then take to reach my bank account. Especially if I get items selling to Australia, like my last item where it has cost nearly £60! Plus i was going to list about 20 items all to end around the same time, which would mean that I could end up with 20 items, all with the Paypal payments 'held' but which I would have to post without first receiving the payment!!! How ridiculous is this?! I am sorry if you have heard this one before, but I am a little bewildered and upset about this, as if they dont make it difficult enough and rip us off enough they then create some problem like this! What I want to know is how long this 21 day hold business will last for, cos they dont tell you that in their email, also is there any solution to getting around this? I cant pay the postage out of my own pocket, I simply do not have the money yet as I have only just started trading, please help me! I am enormously grateful for the existence of these forums and the help and advice I have received from all the people who contribute, I do try and help out other people where I can on here, but this one has got me completely stumped! Now years ago before they made Paypal compulsory I used to get paid instantly, and without Paypals rip off fees by asking people to transfer money from their online bank accounts to my online bank account, or people would even deposit cash into my bank account at their local branch of my bank as I would email them my sort code and account number. Do buyers still do this? Or could I ask if people would at least pay for the postage by bank transfer / deposit etc to get around the 21 day hold? Surely if I were to make people wait 21 days until the 'hold' releases the payment I would have got bad feedback - and probably the payment reversed! What a fiasco! Anyway, apologies for the liberal use of exclamation marks, I am having to hold back from swearing I am so annoyed about this! Thanks for bearing with me!

Kindest regards

Johnny

Hi again Johnny,
i find with new accounts if you try to withdraw any money atall before you develop a few feedback for selling such items withdrawing money brings about the 21 day hold malarky. Were these the 1st items you sold on the account? and did you put the tracking numbers into paypal?

also as soon as you receive feedback they usually remove the hold...another option you have which maybe far fetched is to message the buyer and explain the situation and that theyve put a hold on your account....sometimes works and they may leave feedback early once provided with tracking but i guess that totally depends on the buyer and the type of item your selling them?

It depends on the category. You may have to wait the 3 months or whatever. But if it shows delivered tracking then they will release the holds. Or you can message the buyer which I do not recommend. :ranger:

Its a bit of a long way around but if you really need the money out then try the method i posted in this thread:

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/uk-ebay...-day-hold.html

Careful lucrative about pushing your suggestion around - it is risky.

Sorry, not pushing it on anyone just trying to help. :behindsofa:


Everything we do is "risky" this is just a method i have used to get around the hold.

hi .. i am a new user ((yesterday)) i am trying to figure where to post my question concerning my ssn# for paypal.
could you give me an idea where to post.
thanks for any help you can give me

cocogirl

Use the subscribers area. There's lots of juicy stuff for you

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/subscriber-discussions/

Every new account getting a 21 days payment hold. I opened 5 acc and all are 21 days hold. :doh:

Be careful with such suggestions as it brings accounts under extra scrutiny.
It's not a good idea:doh:

I totally agree... the 21 day hold thing is a joke. But its just another bull*** thing we have to deal with if we want to do business with ebay and paypal.

There is a hint of the brightside here though. First of all, if you use paypal to make shipping labels, the funds for the cost of shipping will be released a few minutes after printing and paying for the label. This means that you will have to pay out of pocket (say $60 for example) for the first item you sell, but then that $60 will be released to your paypal account. Leave it there, and it will pay for shipping for the second item, etc etc.

Also, if your customer leaves good feedback, the hold is released immediately.

Not to mention, if you sell regularly, it will only be the first 3 weeks that are tough... then you will be having money released on a regular basis, even though its still 3 weeks from the actual transaction.

And lastly, after a few sales, the odd payment will go directly though. After 2-3 months with a good record, and the 21 day hold will be a thing of the past.

See, theres good in everything bad! :amen:

I should add here, that these things are true for my Canadian accounts. I realize some countries have different rules so this silver lining may not apply to everyone.