Want to defraud buyers and have PayPal resolve cases in your favor? Here's how!

[longda]

1. Sell big $ items on your website.

2. Ship any ol' package via USPS to the CITY where the buyer lives, but be sure to use a DIFFERENT street address than the buyer's.

3. When the buyer opens a PayPal dispute because their purchase never arrived, simply provide PayPal with the Tracking Number from #2. USPS Tracking only provides detail to the CITY level, but PayPal's Dispute Resolution Center will side with the seller when Tracking shows the package was reported Delivered and the city matches the buyer's PayPal account city.

Yes, it's just that easy! So much money to be made defrauding buyers and getting PayPal to back you!

...

This really happened to me: PayPal Resolution Center case: PP-D-68284425. The seller provided no more documentation than the Tracking Number and PayPal Resolution Center denied my case. More details, if you don't believe me:

Fact 1: USPS Tracking only shows the town the shipment was sent to.

Fact 2: I opened a case with USPS when the Tracking Number provided was reported Delivered but no delivery arrived at my address.

Fact 3: Yes, the seller provided a tracking number that showed a shipment to my TOWN – the one listed on my PayPal account and provided to the seller for shipment. However, my local postal supervisor investigated and confirmed that the package label was created and sent to a different street address.

Fact 4: The same local postal supervisor reported to me that they received a picture of the package with said Tracking Number (which is how they validated the different address on the label), but also allowed them to inform me that it was an envelope, sent first class mail.

Fact 5: The item I purchased via PayPal was a weight-lifting bench, a dumbbell weight rack, and 150 lbs of dumbbell weights. Can you have any doubts whether said purchase was sent first class mail, let alone in an envelope?

AND YET... PayPal Resolution Center denied my request for reimbursement citing as evidence only that the seller provided Tracking. I guess it pays to sell with PayPal and defraud honest buyers!

[sharpiemarker]

@longda 

The abuse is not new however, sellers generally protect themselves against Item Not Received claims is to provide proof of delivery.

Get official documentation from USPS that tracking number does not show delivery to your "street address". Ask for GPS Delivery coordinates, intranet report so you can give to PayPal to file your claim. Even tell USPS you want to file a mail fraud complaint against the sender. When you have this information, pdf it and contact PayPal to appeal the case explaining why their decision was wrong.

Maybe PayPal/USPS system cannot check the street address, just the city, state, zip, country. The first round is decided by algorithm. If decision is wrong, you have to appeal.

If PayPal won't budge and you paid with credit card you can dispute through your credit card. You can also open a case with bbb.org under PayPal San Jose CA to get PayPal Office of Executive Escalations to review your dispute. 

[longda]

Thank you kindly, @sharpiemarker!

I have now opened a BBB case with PayPal, San Jose, CA. I've also opened a charge dispute with the CC I used when paying via PayPal. (Further descending the rabbit hole that is USPS tracking seems a lost cause to me, especially after communicating directly with my local PO Supervisor.)

I might've gotten to the CC dispute on my own, but your suggestion to file the BBB claim was spot-on. I'm generally reluctant to jump to CC dispute since fraudulent sellers probably hope for this outcome: my CC will likely credit my account, I stop bothering the scammer, and they get away with the fraud; everyone wins right! (No! Not the consumer writ large.)

All said, excellent advice @sharpiemarker . Thank you!

[rhayder]

I HATE!! Paypal they are enabling FRAUD!! I will warn everyone to stop using paypal because it is a platform that supports and enables fraud.

[CCWLLC]

I am thinking the same is happening to me, right now. The seller gives me a tracking number a month before I made my purchase. I filed a dispute with Paypal - will let you know the outcome.