Buyer protection question. Am I protected if the item arrives damaged?

[humbll]

I am wanting to make a purchase from a Muslim man who lives somewhere in UAE. Being Muslim, he is forbidden by his religion from insuring my item. This is a non ebay purchase, by the way. Last time I bought from him, it was a set of samplers of essential oils of a rare essence, and one of the vials was broken. He assured me he would replace the broken vial the next time I placed an order with him. My concern is, I am going to be placing an order from him for a quite expensive essential oil, over $500. If I pay him with paypal (specifying goods are being bought) does paypal cover me if the bottle of oil arrives broken? Thanks

[lancelotme]

yes,if it arrives damaged,you would file a dispute with Paypal as item not as described ,he could either issue a partial refund or offer a replacement.

If one of you escalate to get Paypal involved,then you would be asked to return the item at your expense.

with tracking,then when tracking shows it has been delivered,Paypal will refund you in full.

But the trick is how much does it cost you to return the item with tracking?

[humbll]

i think he uses dhs express, it is very light, the oil is around 3 grams and the bottle is also small glass bottle just big enough to hold the oil, if im not mistaken it is $25 to send it back the same way. I will be videotaping myself opening it so if it is broken he cannot claim i broke it. According to him he has never had a bottle broken in transit but im not going to take any chances. thanks for the reply.

[DPCreations]

Whether the seller buys insurance or not is irrelevant.  The buyer IS responsible to safely get the item to the buyer; however, it is difficult to enforce that requirement for international purchases so your risk is much higher.  You need to be assured that the seller will ship accurately AND safely as your only practical recourse is the integrity of the seller.

It is diffiuclt to PROVE to PayPal that the item arrived broken.  If you do succeed in that proof than PayPal wold force a refund BUT you may have to pay return shipping.  This means that it is still very high risk of loss.

Personally, I think the deal is very high risk, but, then, I don't know the seller.  

Are the products even legal to import? What will be the U. S. customs charge?  Will the seller fill out the customs forms correctly?

Make sure you pay a detailed invoice from the seller, not just a send goods/services money.