eBay headaches!

Are you an occasional seller on eBay? If so, they have a new rule you'll want to know about. If you sell less than 20 items in 12 months, then they will place a hold on the Paypal receipt of your money from the buyer until they show the item as either received by the buyer or you receive a positive rating on the sale from the buyer. I was on the phone with the people at Paypal last night about this as I have a 100% rating and have been buying & selling for nine years on eBay, but I do only list items a few times a year. My auction ended last night and the buyer paid me right away (how awesome is that?!), but I got an e-mail from Paypal saying they may hold my money up to 21 days. That's right - the buyer paid, but Paypal is holding my money hostage! Good grief. When I called they told me that once the buyer leaves a positive feedback, they will release my money. I said that many times buyers do not leave feedback - what about then? They said to e-mail the buyer asking them to leave feedback - I ALREADY DO THAT!!! And as for shipping, I have to take my item to the UPS store to ship it, so I can't get a confirmation through Paypal of the shipment as they would like.... They really need to go after the people abusing the system! For example when I listed one of my items currently up for sale, I got a bid right away. I did have a Buy It Now price, but they chose to bid. The person then e-mailed me and asked if I'd end the auction if they'd pay me directly, for about half of my Buy It Now price. Are you kidding me? This person had a 96% rating. When I responded and said that I do not end the auction once bidding has begun, she threatened to retract her bid as she "couldn't wait for the auction to end!" The point was moot as someone else had outbid her in the meantime.

Do you have problems with eBay? With Etsy? I'd love to hear from you. I know it's all part of dealing with buyers & sellers... but sometimes I wonder why I do it!

Enjoy,