Update: Paypal has officially reinstated everything, and I have reactivated them as a payment option at checkout.
This Labor Day morning should have started like any other holiday morning. With a cup of coffee, a little breakfast, and checking my emails while in my PJs.
And while it DID start that way at first , it quickly devolved into a stressful mess .
Why?
Paypal decided to lock up most of our account because they needed “information about how we fulfil orders.” Information they have had for more than a decade, information that hasn’t changed, and they want it RIGHT NOW.
I hadn’t even started my coffee, let alone gotten breakfast when full blown panic set in. What do you MEAN that I can’t access funding in the account? That funding is what pays for things like the shipping labels that get your package from my studio to your door. Money YOU paid to have your package shipped to you, and now Paypal is holding it in a locked vault.
My first question was, what did I do to deserve this? The answer? Nothing. I did nothing.
We’ve been doing business with Paypal for more than a decade. There are no negative cases against me, there are no complaints about orders, nothing has changed about our processes beyond they’ve gotten faster. I’ve given Paypal no reason to hold funds, YOUR funds, hostage for information. As a matter of fact, they have access to all the information they want including my personal identification and my shipping information.
So why now, on a holiday weekend of all things, and why so suddenly with no warning?
I immediately called Paypal, because I was certain this was a mistake. It had to be! The rep that picked up the phone was immediately disinterested. I get it buddy, I am now working on a Holiday too. I ask him why this restriction is happening, after a decade of business relationship. He says they don’t tell him, and he can’t tell me (despite their website stating that they DO have reasoning and can tell me if I ask).
I just need to “provide the information they are requesting on the link they have sent me.” Fine, I can do that except… they want tracking information for orders that came in YESTERDAY!
Y’all I try to ship as fast as possible, but the US postal system does NOT work on Sunday or holidays.
“Just print the Label” he says, that should be fine. SHOULD be fine… and then they only need 72 hours to review the info and either turn everything back on, request even more info, or decide to terminate our business relationship.
Their website assures me that I can continue to allow you to use Paypal as a payment method. They will happily take more of your money and hold that hostage too, while you wait for your shipping to be released at their pleasure.
I hung up the phone and laid my head on the desk and sighed, exasperated. Who does this on a Holiday weekend?!? Paypal. Paypal does this on a holiday weekend with no warning and no regard for your purchases or time (or mine).
I’ve since painstakingly submitted the information they are requesting, but I refuse to allow them to make you wait for your shipping to be released. I’ve suspended them as a payment option on our end until they get their life together. I should know more in 72 hours I suppose.
In the mean time, you can still use a credit or debit card to complete your purchases, just not Paypal. And if you have an order pending with a Paypal payment attached, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. Your order will still go out on time like normal. It’s not fair to make you wait for Paypal to figure out what they are doing.
Hopefully they get that figured out soon…
