Ebay seller registration question

[J Tiers]

I have been meaning to get set up to sell some stuff on the bay.

So I go to look at the registration stuff, and it appears they want access to my bank account for deposit/withdrawal if I want to be a seller.

I had understood that they just needed a CC account to take the fees through. That's the deal others I know have.

I don't want to mess with paypal, even if that costs me customers. Nor do I want the direct payment deposit BS. Therefore I see no reason why they want to be able to pull direct from my bank.

If that is what they require, I'd rather throw the crap in the dumpster than sell it on ebay. Call me old-fashioned, but I am just a little particular who I give bank account withdrawal access to......

Setting up another account and CC just for ebay is expensive relative to what I would expect to make on sales. Not to mention that it is stupid to need to, and that direct witdrawals can pull it negative and leave you having to make up the overdraft anyway.

I have been told elsewhere that "it is just for ID purposes". Positive ID is maybe a good thing, but why bank account withdrawal access?

Have I misunderstood something?

[rockrat]

This same thing has stopped me too.

Back in '97 I set up an account and all they needed was a credit card. Fine, I got a credit card with some stupid limit and used it. Afterward, I had the limit reduced to $50.00 (back when credit card companies would work with you)

Well, I sold about 10 things and was pleased with ebay. But I had a rough year and didnt use the account much. When I went back some time later to use the account, they had cleared it off and someone different used the name. When I asked about this, (I had buyer and seller ratings that I didnt want to loose) they said that there is some fine print about "if you dont use your account in x number of days, it is concidered abandoned".

Ok, no big deal. So long as I'm not held to the new guys slaes, which I wasn't.

So about a year ago, I decided to get back in. I was supprised to see the same thing you are seeing. A bank account and a credit card? Something is up.

I asked my parents who sell all sorts of thing on the bay. They said that they had been forced to open a second checking account to conform with ebay's new rules. So, they found a totally free checking account, set up a credit card like I did and continued to sell. But they are retired and depend on that ebay money to fund the fun little things that they now do. Little road trips and the such.

Now, I dont think that they hold the larger sellers to this IF the seller was set up before the change. But I may be wrong.

So I have also been trying to decide what I want to do. I asked my bank about a one penny account. (the account holds one cent at all times and only transfers money into it when I approve) They told me that they wont do that for the small amount of money that I would create in intrest. I looked into totally free checking and it sounds like a pain. Not to mention, the amount of money they want you to keep in there on a daily basis. My wife works at a bank and I might use one of her account setup options to get things rolling.

But, why let ebay near all of that money only to do busness with them? Just does not sound right. As far as getting their money, isn't that what the credit card is for. And doesnt the creditcard company protect me from them in cases of wrongfull charging?

So many questions.

[JCHannum]

I thought you had made up your mind;
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ub...c;f=1;t=016925

The unfortunate fact is there are grifters and grafters no matter where you go. When I go back to NJ, I cringe every time I hand Abdul my credit card to pay for gas, and wonder if I will end up making a contribution to Al Queda.

eBay has changed since I joined, I only needed a credit card on file to pay the monthly fees. I have over 2500 transactions on eBay, and close to 1000 with PayPal, and have never had a problem with either.

When I go to my local bank to cash or deposit a postal MO, they have to call it in to verify it before they can cash it, as even these are being jimmied with somehow.

Lately, more and more of my monthly payments by check are being converted to electronic drafts. What is to prevent someone from addding a zero or two, and transferring it to their account?

Frankly, you are at risk of identity theft no matter what you do.

[This message has been edited by JCHannum (edited 01-02-2006).]

[Happy]

On the other hand, a typical grifter isn't going to set up a bank account, a credit card, and an ebay account just to steal the $45 I sent for that oiler I just bought. The dishonest scum of the world makes everything worse for the honest. Paypal has attempted to get a bank account number out of me for years and years, I just ignore them, and they still want my business enough to not block my account.

[J Tiers]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by JCHannum:
I thought you had made up your mind;
</font>

pretty close.....

But I am open to having misunderstood the sh**heads at ebay.

I'd still prefer to sell than scrap or trash the stuff, if its practical. But they sure do think they own you......

And I got what I wanted out of the stuff. Got my money's worth.

So if I trash good cutters that are too big for my machines, or an old Sheldon steady that doesn't fit anything I have, etc, etc so what?

At risk of theft no matter what? Maybe.

But the average out of pocket unreimbursed costs for resolving an identity theft is $4300 last time I saw a figure (local paper, a few days ago).

I might get a couple hundred selling the stuff, with an increased "risk" of a great deal more, it looks like a bad ratio.

You don't suppose ebay gives a heck about you, do you? if you do you're a chump. Theres lots of others even if they pi$$ you off or accidentally let someone scam your account. It's nothing to them, you agreed their liability is $100 max....... you pay the rest.

BTW, if someone DOES steal your info, the ebay user agreement makes YOU responsible for ANYTHING they do, any agreements they make under your (fraudulently obtained) name etc.. The scammers get the money, you do the paying for it, even if they buy something rather expensive through your account

Nobody would do THAT, now would they? Oh, yeah, someone here actually posted about that happening a few months ago, and a small version just a couple days ago, a matter of a few UK pounds, I believe.

I do have a somewhat dormant account at a credit union, I could use that if I wanted, but I'd rather not allow any of that intrusive crap, or skip the whole deal if I can't avoid it.

The whole deal makes me feel like I just dropped the soap in the prison shower room.




[This message has been edited by J Tiers (edited 01-02-2006).]

[JRouche]

Do you write any checks from your account?

The information you give ebay is the same info you give to everyone you write a check to.

Checks have alot of info on (in) them....JRouche

[Dawai]

J: Anytime you post information you are taking a risk.. I dredged up some nasties about my past a few months ago..I quit the forums for a while, then determined my son with the same name would take any heat since he is all over the net too.

Yeah, ebay rules suck.. And the cookies they dump.. It is no longer a small honest community.

The guy who sold millions in Computers off ebay left the country. He had to repay about 80 percent of it. Last time I did the math he is was about 600k ahead.

One thing to watch is check-out pages.. if they have one, send a money order.. trust me on that one.

[Yankee1]

Hi JT,
Check out this web-site.
http://www.paypalwarning.com/
Chuck

[Your Old Dog]

I objected to that as well but they told me it was for ID verification only. They deposite some change in your checking account. You go to your checking account and see what the amount was and tell eBay. That's how they know you are who you say you are. But like you, ain't nobody getting carte blanche with my bank accounts Alright, maybe SWMBO!

Then, on your first transaction, on the bottom left corner of the menu it says something like "other choices". If you click on that you can list your credit card with them in it's place. They have not touched my checking account even though at one time I forgot to pay them for money I owed them for auctions. Doing it this way gives them some modicum of proof that you are safe to do business with. I think in most cases it likely serves them well.

My friend on the other hand is a doubting Thomas. He opened another checking account at a differant bank just for ebay purposes. As he puts it, he can never loose more than what's in that account and he doesn't let it build.

I don't have a problem with it and have over 140 transactions.

[J Tiers]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Your Old Dog:
I objected to that as well but they told me it was for ID verification only. They deposite some change in your checking account. You go to your checking account and see what the amount was and tell eBay. That's how they know you are who you say you are. </font>

OK, deposit isn't so bad.... not unknown for others to do deposits. In fact, there is a scam that depends on that, IIRC.

How do they get their "change" back tho?

MOST banks won't allow removals from teh account without a document at their end authorizing access.... I have that with an insurance co.

But I understand Paypal manages to get around that somehow. Since Paypal IS ebay, I assume they can do it too.

The form deal looks like an authorization both ways....

And, it would be 5 weeks before I was able to tell them it came in..... I have never set up on-line banking........they'd know I was a scammer then