WITHOUT eBay, the Haggler Would not Be wearing pants. That strike. Without eBay, the Haggler Would not Be wearing the pants ET is wearing Currently, Which Were snagged in the final seconds of a seven-day auction last year. This Is A Somewhat clumsy way of Saying That the Haggler is a huge fan of eBay, and not just for clothing. Whenever the Haggler needs a marble bust of Sean Connery, a vampire killing kit, a mummified rat or something Described as the world's luckiest sock - all genuine Offerings - Where this is ET turns. Purpose Recently, the company managed to anger HAS the People Who are arguably icts Most Important Asset: sellers. Now more Than A Few sellers, anyway. Q. After more Than a dozen years as buyer and seller eBay year, with a flawless record and 431 transactions, I received an e-mail from PayPal, the online payment company eBay owns That, with exasperating Some news: ....... . "Starting in January 16, 2012, payments from money you Receive Will Be Placed in a pending account for up to 21 days. By doing this, we're making sure That there 's enough money in your account to cover potential claims or Refunds. Even though you can not access the money right away, please ship orders Quickly and Communicate with your Customers. After 21 days, You Can Withdraw money from EACH payment as long as the customer Has not filed a dispute, chargeback, claim, return or reversal. " I could get the money sooner, the e-mail Went there, if eBay That Could confirm the item WAS Delivered gold if the buyer left positive feedback. In effect, the company is Saying That I Can Be no longer trusted to 'deliver goods in a Timely Manner. Why? "We Reviewed your account and Determined That there'sa Relatively Higher than average risk of future transaction issues (Such as claims, chargebacks gold, gold payment reversals)," the email said. How I Suddenly Fell Under Suspicion is a mystery. My hobby - selling pottery and decorative accessories - Hardly HAS changed. Is That What's clear eBay / PayPal now gets to keep my money, at least temporairement, and earn interest on it, I assume. If it Were just my money, the interest Would not Be Earned worth mentioning. Goal if you look on eBay selling sites, you Will Find A Whole lot of people in this exact situation - treated fish, as though They Might try to fleece consommateurs, despite sterling stories. It's enough to make you think That eBay is using all this money to pad Held icts bottom line. Could the Haggler Investigate? William Ferrall Nantucket, Mass.. A. Mr. Ferrall Is not kidding about the volume of rancor on eBay message boards. Rummage around and you'll find one example of Another After a furious fist shaking sellers at the eBay gods, phrase providing mystification Offering protests and, of course, Threatening litigation. The Haggler Called Learned from eBay and Christopher Payne, a company vice president, that 'the 21-day hold WAS Introduced last fall. The idea is to Increase the quality of the auction experience by Reducing the number of Purchases That end in tears and / or Refunds
paperless payday loans. To Achieve this worthy goal, the company devised a filter That Is Supposed To flag sellers Who APPEAR To Be at Risk of Delivering a bad buying experience. There are Many different triggers, Including Obvious no-nos like Sending broken products. Mr. Ferrall's ace goal box shows, the filter is kind of like a cop Who Thinks That Even law-abiding Citizens are on the verge of a crime spree. With Mr. Ferrall's permission, eBay Looked Into Exactly How He landed in the company's cash dreaded purgatory. There Were Two Reasons, It Turned Out. First, Mr. Ferrall Took Some Time Off from selling last year, and, second, the value of the merchandise sold ET When He kicked back Into Action Lower Than What He WAS HAD beens selling before. In Other Words, eBay's filter Looked past Mr. Ferrall's perfect record as a seller and Said, in effect: "You've taken a FEW months off and you're now selling cheaper stuff. That's fishy. " Does a seller with impeccable past year deserve To Be caught in this dragnet? After looking at the details, the company Decided That WAS the answer no. "We did not do right by you," an eBay representative Said in an e-mail to Mr. Ferrall A Few days ago, "and we're moving Swiftly Hope that can have we Learned ounces of the error to the correct it and get you back up and running WAS Some consolation. " Mr. Payne Told the Haggler That Would tinker with eBay icts filter so people like Mr. Ferrall That Would not Be flagged in the future. "We're Constantly refining thesis models," Mr. Said Payne, "and we're going to learn from this experience." He added That sellers are subject to Who Holds Their Cdn get money in as little as Three Days eBay if the buyer Concludes That is satisfied. Also, ET Continued, less than 1 percent of sellers Have Been Given the 21-day hold Treatment. Of course, one percent in a community of 25 million is 250.000 sellers. Mr. Payne Said That money WAS parked Held annually in interest-bearing account, though ET Would not Be Specific about how much interest this money Earned, Other than to describe the sum as "minimal." (In public filings, eBay Does not break out how much it earns money from Held.) Purpose on Tuesday, the company Told the Haggler That from now on, Held money Would Be Placed in a bank account That Did not bear interest. "This was never Intended To Be a source of revenu pour us," Mr. Payne said. The Haggler Has Two reactions. First: Bully for eBay. Second: wait, There are bank accounts That Do not bear interest? The company is now in the Midst of the exchange and Announcing Perhaps Will offer more details.
E-mail: haggler@nytimes.com. Keep it brief and family-friendly, and go easy on the caps-lock key. Letters may Be edited for clarity and length.
The Haggler: EBay Policy Leaves Some Sellers Fuming
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