Which is “intended to make eBay a better and safer place to buy and sell” according to Monroe Labouisse.

I’ve seen it many times over in the last couple of weeks - the major concern of many sellers - “eBay item holds – where PayPal may hold a payment from an eBay sale for up to 21 days.”

Since I’m quite a rookie at this, what Monroe says next appears to make perfect sense, to me;

“First, it’s important to understand that the Safer Payments initiative is designed to increase buyer and seller satisfaction on eBay by helping to ensure successful transactions. Safer Payments, as Jim described, requires some sellers to offer safer payment options that we know buyers trust – such as PayPal or major credit cards. Second, sellers should understand that only a very small percentage of transactions – and I can’t emphasize enough the words very small – may result in funds being held by PayPal.”

Having had the opportunity to spend much time in Internet Marketers’ forums, this is something very familiar. Problems with payments from buyers. IMHO, if a seller has a problem with payments from buyers, it needs to be looked at from a department store POV. Offer the safest methods of payment for both yourself and the buyer and the buyer doesn’t qualify for the purchase the buyer may be upset but has brought about their difficulty themselves. Sellers won’t needlessly “give away” inventory if purchases are qualified right away either by a credit card, debit card or another respectable merchant account.

Monroe explains this clearly;

“The goal of the Safer Payments initiative is to increase the likelihood of successful transactions in the marketplace. By introducing our Safer Payment initiatives, we believe that everyone will benefit – including sellers, because buyers will be more likely to become repeat shoppers. And as we all know, repeat shoppers benefit the millions of great sellers within the eBay marketplace.”

As Monroe says, the bottom line is;

That established sellers with a good track record should not be concerned. PayPal will not hold payments for eBay items if sellers:

• Have been an eBay member for more than 6 months, and
• Have a total Feedback score greater than 100, and
• Have a buyer satisfaction percentage of 95% or better.
  

or:

• Have an average Detailed Seller Rating greater than 4.5, and
• Have received more than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months.
  

And for sellers who are new to eBay, all you have to do to minimize your chances of being impacted by eBay item holds is follow good selling practices like shipping quickly, using tracking, communicating openly with your customers and providing a good buying experience.