SubscribeUpdate!
My plan worked. Item sold within an hour last night, money is on its way to my account and the buyers item was shipped this morning. I had to waste a few hours of my life and i may have broken an ebay rule or two but i was able to put things back the way they were before ebay and paypal “fixed” them.
Initially i was out $10 but i relisted the item at $550 instead of $500 so in the end i have an extra $40. Good thing too because ebay’s auction fee is apx $40 to sell a $550 item. Ouch!
Update!
I have my fingers crossed right now because i think i have figured out a way to circumvent the silly policy. Since i already have a Paypal Pro merchant account i am able to create email links or custom buttons for making purchases. So i created a custom buy it now button here
http://www.guijaboard.com/store/custom/buy_it_now.html
Now i can list the item, sell it, send the buyer an email and website link to pay for the item and then ship the item. Hopefully my plan/scheme? pans out. 
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I listed an item on ebay last night. Over the last decade i have learned the rules of moving an item quick. You provide a brief but clear description and photos of the item, you accept paypal for instant payment and you offer to pay for shipping. Then you make the hard decision about whats the least amount of money you are willing to accept for the item and list it for that price. On a $950 item i decided to take a 50% hit and sell it for $500. After you subtract the listing fees for ebay/ paypals fee for the transaction and shipping i was looking to clear $400.
So the buyer gets a great deal, i move my item quick, everyone is covered because were both verified paypal members. Because of this i am willing to take the 50% hit on the item.
Today i find that… as i expected… the item would sell quick. Buyer went ahead and made an instant paypal payment. I contacted buyer to confirm their shipping address. Sometimes people forget to update their paypal and or ebay account and they have an old address listed or maybe they want the item at work instead of at home. The next step is to go over and withdraw funds to my bank account. This “tactic” makes sure that the money is in my possession before i ship the item. That keeps me safe from scam artists who use stolen credit cards or paypal accounts to purchase items. I have the money and the burden is left on paypal or visa and rightfully so because they are the ones who authorized the fraudulent transactions. Why should i be left without my item and without payment when they drop the ball?
When i went to implement my tactic i found that payments are now held for 21 days by paypal before i have access to them. This is an ebay policy that is now being enforced. Great policy for a buyer, for ebay and visa. The money is on hold waiting to be refunded if there is an issue with the transaction. Terrible policy for me as a seller. For whatever reason they come up with, whether its a buyer who wants to rip me off or paypal deciding my transaction looks suspicious… i could end up without my item and without being paid for it.
I understand the policy but i choose not to participate. After a decade of doing business thru ebay and 100% positive feedback i have learned 2 very important lessons. #1. As a buyer always use visa/paypal so that i am covered if the seller is a scam artist. #2. As a seller ALWAYS make sure payment is in my bank account before shipping the item. This new ebay policy forces me to break rule #2. Whats the point of feedback, being verified, paying auction fees & and more fees to accept payment via paypal if i now have to also assume the risk of maybe being paid.. or not? I am done with ebay.
I feel your pain. When I started doing AV work as a contractor I took payments through PayPal. Great solution – I can accept credit cards!
First sale came to something like $2,050. Customer couldn’t just pay that amount without signing up for PayPal account. so he went through the trouble of setting up an account. Then he had to verify all kinds of stuff to be able to send that much money. Had to fax in paperwork and stuff like that (same things I had to do to set up a business account). So after like 4 days it’s all approved and good to go. He sends the payment. Instantly both of our PayPal accounts are LOCKED due to suspected fraud. I had to send even more paperwork (utility bills, etc) to prove who I am (who already went through their verification process to get a business account…why didn’t I have to do it then?). My customer was stuck with his money in limbo. I couldn’t access his payment or anything else in my account. I couldn’t order equipment because I didn’t have payment.
It took 2 MORE WEEKS for our accounts to be cleared up.
Turns out if I had charged the guy $1,999 instead of over $2,000 then it would have gone right through. Of course there was no mention of this anywhere, otherwise I obviously would have eaten the $50 and save 3 weeks of hassle.
Fun.
The crazy part is that i pay $30 a month for a pro paypal account so i can accept credit cards at guijaboard.com . They have my credit card #s, my bank account information and my social security #. I have had a paypal and ebay account since 2000. There should be some automated include/exclude list that allows me to circumvent this policy. Its silly and the fees are out of control. I sold a TPMC-10 for $2000 a few years ago and it cost me total $50 to sell it, accept paypal and ship it. Today it cost me $50 just for ebay and paypal fees for a $500 item.
WIth the locked account thing.. Im constantly getting my accounts blocked because i travel a lot for work. I usually live like a pauper and i spend like $5 a day maximum when im out of town. On holidays or birthdays or on my way home i will spend a lot buying gifts for my girlfriend or family members and they block my account. It happened to me in Spain with both credit cards and it was a nightmare because i couldn’t get any cash. The most recent incident was at BestBuy in New Orleans. I have a cousin my age who lives here and i took her two kids to best buy to get them an xbox. I wanted to buy a zoom lens for my camera so i get the guy to pull it out of the cabinet and he asks me to pay for it right there in the camera department so i do. A half hour later the kids are done running around and climbing allover the place and they have their games picked out. I go up the register and my bank card gets declined. So its me and these two little bundles of energy at the front of the store for 40 minutes while i get the card freed up. They ran back and forth at the front of the store the whole 40 minutes. One of them picked up the bag with the additional controllers and games and successfully shop lifted them.. brought them back in and then shoplifted them again. His mom who was waiting in the car brings him in and says “did you know he had these?”. The guy at the counter handed them to him when i was first sliding my card thru and the security sensors had been disabled and no one questions him at the door.. twice!
Good times!