PayPal shipment terms

[JDZ747]

Where can I find PayPal the ruling on defining the shipment delivery times between the continents ?

I have one buyer, who claims "item not received" after 4 weeks, when the shipment is as per website tracking still in "transit" and from experience it can take 6-8 weeks for shipments from South Africa. 

Despite shipment evidence and tracking details provided, PayPal resolution centre has refunded the buyer.

Makes one suspicious, if a buyer is not interested in where the shipment is as he can do tracking himself, but claims immediately from PayPal.

The Paypal ruling on "Item not received" makes perfect sense, but not adhered to by Resolution Centre.

Item Not Received

If the Seller can provide within the required time frame a valid proof of shipment (as specified in more detail in the PayPal Seller Protection Policy) or a respective equivalent proving shipment and/or receipt as agreed between PayPal and the Seller, PayPal will refuse to grant PayPal Buyer Protection.

[kernowlass]

@JDZ747 

I can send items worldwide and most get there in a week, if you choose to send surface and not airmail then that is your choice but you would lose any dispute as that is way too long.

A buyer can open a dispute when they want to BUT they can't escalate it to a claim until 7 days post payment, then paypal allows another 10 days for the seller to provide trackable proof of delivery (sometimes longer for international transactions) before a refund is made.

So say a buyer opens a dispute really early say a week and then escalates it a few days later + then paypal allow a minimum of 10 days, that would give you a total of AT LEAST nearly 3 weeks to get an item to a buyer, which should be enough to get items worldwide by airmail.

[JDZ747]

Where is the ruling stated in the PayPal rules ?

I can understand, that this works for first world countries, but if it comes to African shipment and service levels, you face another reality.

My experience is 6-8 weeks from South Africa to First world Countries. You have various factors, which influence the postal delivery, e.g. shipment with South Africa, Flights, strike, postal service at destination and customs with respective procedures before the buyer receives the item.

This is stated as well at website Discogs under Seller Terms, to let potential buyers and buyers know, that shipment can take its time to arrive at destination. So they can decide before placing an order, if they are prepared to wait arrival or taken another seller.

Fortunately not all buyers are taking their chances to claim immediately whilst shipment is "in transit" and are reasonable as they are interested in the items, not the claim. It looks to me some buyers are using the rulings for their own benefit and should be monitored by PayPal.

I tracked that some shipments already take 2 weeks to get from JNB North to JNB East (airport). So no comparison to First world Countries.

The only option to send out of South Africa is registered mail and so far all shipments arrived at their destination.

If I follow your calculations, then I can close my shop as the majority of delivery times will not meet this criteria.

Basically a mismatch between a first world service PayPal and a third world Postal Service.

This is not limited to South Africa or Africa in general, the same will be found in South America and Far East Countries.

As the period for any claim is at 180 days, PayPal should wait with decision on claim until the shipment arrives, especiall to/from Third World Countries, where postal service levels are below par in comparison to first world.

I believe 4-5 months are reasonable for delivery and still within the PayPal defined deadlines. I had the experience, that shipment to South Africa took 6 months from shipment to arrival, but it arrived.

#.# Deadlines

Within 180 days after the payment has been initiated on the PayPal Website the Buyer initiates a resolution process for the Dispute and tries to solve this Dispute with the help of tools and resources provided by PayPal. This can be done in the PayPal Resolution Center after logging into the PayPal Account.