A Massachusetts man says eBay withheld over $11,000 from his $23,750 truck sale — then told him to hand over the keys

A Massachusetts man says eBay withheld over $11,000 from his $23,750 truck sale — then told him to hand over the keys

Mike Crisolago

Thu, September 3, 2026 at 2:30 PM GMT+3 5 min read

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Everyone's heard the warning "buyer beware," but sellers face their own pitfalls when using online marketplaces — as one Massachusetts man learned recently.

Keith Mackenzie-Betty recently sold his 2014 Toyota Tundra on eBay for $23,750. According to CBS Boston, he'd only received $11,625 in payment when the online marketplace told him he could hand over the truck to the buyer.

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"I said, 'Hang on, I've only had half my money,'" Mackenzie-Betty told the outlet. "Who parts with something when they've not been paid in full?"

The buyer, however, paid the full amount, and Mackenzie-Betty says eBay gave him the green light to hand over the truck.

But then, he says, eBay followed up to say they'd made a mistake and needed him to provide the car's title or, as Mackenzie-Betty put it, "You're not getting paid your other half of the money."

The buyer paid — so why isn't the money in your account?

Mackenzie-Betty, as a result, reached out to CBS Boston — which contacted eBay and learned that they "worked directly with the individual to resolve the matter."

An eBay spokesperson told Moneywise that "trust is foundational" to their marketplace and explained that "There was a miscommunication regarding the title transfer process because the buyer had selected a service that included title and registration processing."

They said that once the seller notified them, "Our team quickly verified the transaction with the buyer and issued the remaining payment the following morning," adding that they're "reviewing the experience to help ensure guidance is clear and consistent going forward."

Meanwhile, Mike Danford, co-owner and Chief Strategy Officer at Adverio — an omni-marketplace operator group that works with e-commerce brands like Amazon and Walmart — says that an issue like this one is not specific to eBay.

"It's how most every marketplace is built," Danford told Moneywise. He described online marketplace platforms as "effectively escrow accounts" that "optimize for buyer protection, not the seller's cash flow."

"On a marketplace, you don't get paid when the buyer pays," he added. "You get paid when the platform decides its risk has cleared enough to send the seller the money."

E-commerce platforms from eBay to Amazon, Etsy, Walmart and others all boast specific guidelines for when they may hold funds from a transaction.

eBay, for example, explains that "transaction holds" could occur due to the sale of a high-priced item, or because of a recent seller suspension. They add that new sellers could face up to a 31 day wait for their funds after a sale depending on the situation and that, after "they build a consistent track record" the wait time for funds could drop to two days.

Others, like Amazon, may withhold funds due to an increase in chargebacks, while Etsy warns that funds could be held in payment reserve if you fail to ship your product on time or include tracking information.

Meanwhile, Walmart says that all their marketplace orders "are eligible for payment holds seven or more days" after shipping but that "it can take up to a month or more" to get paid due to the schedule of their "settlement cycles."

In June, two Democratic congresswomen, Becca Balint and Nydia Velázquez, introduced the Online Sellers' Bill of Rights Act of 2026, which aims to "provide due process and transparency protections to third-party sellers using critical trading partners" — meaning online marketplaces.

The bill, in part, looks to ensure that marketplaces can't withhold funds for more than 30 calendar days unless there's "a preponderance of evidence, that the funds are derived from unlawful transactions" while also forcing them to notify sellers in writing of any holds or freezing of funds in a speedy manner — and offer the opportunity to appeal.

Selling online? Protect your payout — and watch for these scams

Danford advises that online sellers "read the disbursement terms before you engage with the platform."

He did note, though, that "The platforms do improve terms over time based on your volume and longevity. Sometimes you have to manually request improved terms and other times they improve on their own."

eBay, as well, touts seller protections for everything from bullying, payment disputes and events like weather delays — subject to certain eligibility requirements.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), meanwhile, warns sellers against scammers who offer to pay on a separate mobile app and then send fake notifications of the transaction.

They also flagged a scam used against people selling cars online, where the fraudster "accidentally" sends a check for more than the sale amount and then requests that you send them back the difference. By the time the seller's bank notifies them that the original check was fake, they've likely already sent back the difference and possibly parted with the vehicle.

Instead, the FTC says to never accept a check for more than a sale price, never send funds back for "overpayment" and, especially for large sales, to consider online or escrow payments.

It's also worth noting that the IRS explicitly says that if you make a profit or gain on an online sale — for example, you sold an item for more than you originally paid for it — the tax man wants his cut.

A loss on the sale, however, can't be deducted from your taxes, so you'll just have to find a way to put that money to good use elsewhere.

This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: A Massachusetts man says eBay withheld over $11,000 from his $23,750 truck sale — then told him to hand over the keys

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.