If you're a new seller on eBay they will hold your money until the guy who bought your item recieves it or x amount of days. When I first sold a pinball machine on eBay the same thing happened to me and made me very nervous because the machine sold for almost $7k..

Yeah I called eBay and they said the money had gone through but since I hadn't met their seller criteria they would hold it for x amount of days. I can't remember how many days it was but it sucked..

Is the buyer picking up the item personally? If so, that is a huge red flag. Why use Paypal rather than cash on pickup? Paypal is dodgy as hell and will refund transactions at the drop of a hat, no questions asked, no evidence required. You should NEVER use Paypal to accept payments, unless you know and trust the person sending them.

I use Paypal quite a bit but for buyers that pickup from me it is cash only.

The buyer can do nothing to release your funds. You will wait the full 21 days or whstever. You could refund PayPal and ask for correct payment method.

Only accept PayPal if you are shipping with a reputable company that will leave shipping documentation. If they are picking up, do NOT accept PayPal unless they are a friend or very trustworthy.

I just want to stress again, Ebay does not know what they are talking about, PayPal will hold funds. Been through this 3 times with sellers and could not get the $ released. The last one I actually left positive feedback 2 weeks before I received it because I felt bad for the seller ( I had never done that, but it still didn't work)

Because some people deal in PayPal and sometimes already have the money there. Case in point, I had a guy buy some videogames off me last year (a large collection). It was worth a couple grand and he PayPal'd me. I went to go look at a $2,000 pinball machine that same night, but guess where all my money was? PayPal. So, I asked the guy if he'd take that, he said "sure", and the deal was done just like that with a couple of clicks on my phone. No cash traded hands, not physically in person anyway. Sometimes PayPal just works. But yes, we both knew and trusted each other, so that's something I do agree with. Although, you can get around that by using the gift/family/friends option if you are using it off of eBay--then the buyer can't retract their payment. If I was dealing with a stranger, I would require that form of payment if they were only willing to do PayPal.