For newly established PayPal accounts, PayPal reserves the right to hold the funds until they are satisfied the item has been delivered. This is to prevent sellers from opening a new account, selling a bunch of stuff, getting paid, and then closing the account and keeping the money. You have to establish a track record with PayPal before they can trust you with the money. I don't like it, but that's what they have chosen to do and the underlying reason.

There is not a monthly fee to use PayPal. The basic service is free (some fancy services do carry charges, but not the stuff occasional eBay sellers would use). Paying someone costs you nothing. If you receive money through PayPal, you pay a fee for each transaction plus a percentage. It's like what you would pay to a bank to process credit card payments (although it is actually cheaper to use PayPal). Apparently some accounts allow you to receive some forms of payment without a service charge. Once you begin doing a volume business, though, PayPal "upgrades" your account to the type that charges the recipient a fee no matter whether payment is made by credit card, e-check, or from an existing PayPal balance.

If you have a PayPal account, you can also print pre-paid shipping labels, paying the post office through PayPal. This, too, carries no service charge, and in fact you can qualify for certain discounts for going electronic. Not all levels of service are available, though. For example, you cannot use the PayPal shipping feature to mail regular letters or Christmas cards - it is really set up for package delivery.

Hope this helps.