does any one know what PayPal does to protect sellers, everything seems to be in the buyers favour?

[briansewell]

i sold an audio mixing desk on ebay as a "buy it now" or "best offer"

the buyer asked no questions and made no offer in the 30 days the advert was on ebay.

when he recieved the item he wrote to me unhappily because there was no PSU (power supply)

my advert clearly stated no PSU

he later came back with a load of questions he should have in the 30 days the ad was online.

i answered all of his questions honestly.

next thing i know is paypal have taken the whole £290 (£250 desk +£40 postage)

i have excellent feedback and consider myself an honest seller.

i lost £100 of work waiting in for the courier and spent £65 on the courier and @£25 on ebay and paypal fees.

so at the moment i am down 1 mixing desk  £250

                                                    1 courier fee    £65

                                                     missed work   £100

                                                fees ebay &PP     £25

                                                     total                 £440

pay pal with out even consulting me made this happen!

i am not a shop, i am broke and need to sell stuff to pay bills, i can not afford this!

unfortunatley after this i will never accept a paypal transaction on an item like this!!

my questions are:

what are pay pal doing to protect me?

if the buyer sends the desk back and the buyer has dameged it, do paypal go into the buyers account to reimburse me?

i would take the desk back but i want my cost paid will paypal help me?

any help woul be appreciated.

[kernowlass]

If a buyer files a dispute for "item received but not as described" then they have to prove to paypal the item was misdescribed.

If paypal find in their favour.......and they usually do..... then they will have to return the item back to you trackable at their own expense before you have to refund them the original payment and postage fee you received.

Sometimes the fact they have to send it back means they don't bother and may accept an offer from you of a part-refund, whether you offer that is up to you.

I am afraid that is just the risk of selling and to be fair its doubtful we would sell anything without using paypal as buyers want that buyer protection.  

[briansewell]

wow......... and i'm paying them???????????

i really find this hard to believe but unfortunaltley i do.

i cant see too much missed revenue form not using paypal

i never knew  about the protection and most of the stuff i sell is second hand/broken.

which is what my problem item is.

coul;d i ask you how in a 3 days with out asking me for a refund the buyer has got paypal to take £290 form me?

many thanks

simon

[kernowlass]

As soon as a buyer files a dispute "if" you have funds in your paypal balance then paypal will put them on hold until the dispute is decided.

If you have no funds then they put your account into negative until the dispute is sorted and if it goes in favour of the buyer then you have to pay paypal back again and clear the neg balance.

If paypal find in your favour...and I am not saying that never happens.....then the neg balance is back to 0 or the held funds are released.

To be honest its often your word against the buyers and so as paypal can never tell who is telling the truth they normally find for the buyer as long as they return the item back to you trackable to prove that return.

Looking at it from a buyers point of view (and I buy as well as sell), I would NEVER buy online from a stranger without using paypal for that buyer protection and also buyers lose out as well as if they have received a misdescribed item they have the added expense of returning it at no fault of their own.

If you are selling secondhand broken stuff then that is a higher risk than selling perfect stuff and maybe an option for you is to sell "collection only" and cash on collection although that does limit your customer base..........or the car boot sale...I do those as well sometimes. 

[briansewell]

thanks for taking the time to reply but i do have to ask...

do you work for paypal?

thanks

simon

[kernowlass]

No of course not........thats why there is the word "volunteer" in front of advisor.

I am an ebay seller and started posting on here to help folks as when I came to post a question there was no one answering them.!!!!!

When you start posting and if your advice is correct paypal give you ratings > member > super user > contributor > advisor.

I just post from home if and when I can help.

The only ones on the board that work for paypal are the moderators with their posts having a blue background. 

[Stay-positive]

Just something similar happened to me. I sold a used i - phone, I offered refund within 1 week if he is not happy, but decided to keep the phone. He then went abroad, used the phone, few weeks later, he wants his money back. Guess what? Pay pal blocked my account - even whilst dispute still ongoing. I understand how you feel. I called up pay pal and some rude Gareth wasnt even helpful, patronising with bad customer service skills working in customer services for a global comany. Told me he does not want to have an agrument with me. Who is he? My husband to have an agrument with me?  So unprofessional, you would think they would train people better how to deal with all their customers, but obviouskly have not invested in their people. I agree with you, pay pal takes money from you even without checking all the facts, so be preapred to loose your money in the future. Very dissapointed. Used pay pal mostly to pay for ebay and all on line goods. They charge fortune to receive money so I wont be using them anymore, definetely not as a seller. They say there is a protection, but there isn't. If you want to sell something, there are other on lines sites and they dont charge you, they may not be as known, but worth exploring. And get them to pay via bank transfer. If they want the goods they will pay. No charges, you get all your money and you decide if you want to refund. I am sorry to read your dispute, but there are some decent buyers out there also. And I am sure you are one of them. 

[kernowlass]

Having read what you have just posted, thank goodness for paypal buyer protection.

As a buyer paying you bank transfer so "YOU" can decide if you want to refund me would put me off buying from you in the first place.

When a buyer files a dispute of course paypal block your account, that is to stop you withdrawing funds they may need to refund the buyer.

And if your buyer decided the item was misdescribed having used it abroad then he has the right to file a dispute........if he was in the wrong and you in the right then odds on he would not have got a refund.

[Stay-positive]

I dont recall asking for response from you, but you obviously enjoy helping. 19 thousands helping answers. It is not that I disagree with your answers, (in fact they are like the ones taken from the "terms and conditions" you see in small prints), but they lack human understanding.

Pay Pal start paying you, if they are not already. I am sure you could speak to customers better than their service team I spoke to today.

[kernowlass]

LOL you don't recall asking?This is a public board, you post a thread or post and anyone can reply.

Sorry if i lack human understanding but as an ebay powerseller myself and a buyer I guess I have the experience to reply.

Guess you don't understand the word volunteer?