paypal question

[Freman]

Hi,

I am a newbie to paypal. I recently transfered 60.00 dollars from my bank account into my paypal account. It finally showed up there day before yesterday. So I bought something from ebay using paypal.

Now it says "Pending until May 12th". Um...I have 60 dollars sitting right there in my account so why is gonna take that long? Is the money for this purchase going to be coming right out of my bank account? (Something about an eCheck?) If so, why do I have that 60 dollars in my paypal account?

Totally confused. Wondering if I have to make sure I have enough money sitting in my bank to cover this purchase.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Did you give them your bank account information or did you use a credit/debit card that withdraws from your bank account? If the latter, they might be attempting to confirm the bank account information as well since they require that as a backup.

Also, sometimes they just like to call and confirm the purchase first on certain orders. I bought some DVDs that were just fifty bucks and they called me to authorize the purchase first.

Check your emails and see if they've sent you anything.

 

[Freman]

My bank account and e-mail have both been confirmed. I am currently without a credit card.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Hmmm, I'm not sure then. Sorry. I hope you get it worked out.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Sounds to me like they paid the seller with an e-check since you don't have a credit card. I know it's ridiculous since you put cash into the account, but that's how they work. Like a regular check, the e-check will take time to clear. To avoid this in the future, it's best to have a credit card registered with paypal as well.

 

[Freman]

Oh, I don't mind the eCheck thing, but I guess it's pretty much pointless for me to have money in my paypal then if they're just gonna take it out of my bank account.

 

[Holdfast]

Hi,

I am a newbie to paypal. I recently transfered 60.00 dollars from my bank account into my paypal account. It finally showed up there day before yesterday. So I bought something from ebay using paypal.

Now it says "Pending until May 12th". Um...I have 60 dollars sitting right there in my account so why is gonna take that long? Is the money for this purchase going to be coming right out of my bank account? (Something about an eCheck?) If so, why do I have that 60 dollars in my paypal account?

Totally confused. Wondering if I have to make sure I have enough money sitting in my bank to cover this purchase.

Paypal payments default to e-check for your first purchase I think these days. These operate similarly to a real-life cheque, in that the money won't be deducted from your bank account until the cheque is processed and won't arrive in the seller's account until the cheque clears. Sellers are advised by eBay/PayPal not to send items paid for by eCheques until notified by paypal that the cheque is fully cleared.

It's an annoyance for both buyer and seller IMO, but you can change the preference in your settings to make payments directly from your bank account without using an eCheque (or using a credit card or any other funding option of your choice). You can also choose it to fund purchases first from your paypal balance too, if you prefer that.

Hope that helps. I can't see any benefit to anyone of the eCheque, but I guess there must be some theoretical benefit to some subset that I'm not seeing.