Scammed when selling FIFA 20 FUT Coins

[Smithy8492]

I recently sold 1.7 million FIFA 20 FUT coins on eBay, in my listing I clearly advertised it was a digital good so no physical item would be received as it’s an in game currency. Communicated with the buyer on the evening when the item was sold and confirmed with the buyer via eBay messages and photos of each transfer of coins to equal in the 1.7 million amount. In the final message between me and the buyer, they confirmed they had received the item. Roll on 5 days and the buyer opens a claim on eBay for not receiving the item, I contact the buyer no response after several attempts so I have to wait until the countdown goes until eBay can step in, where they then close the claim in my favour as digital goods aren’t covered by eBays money back guarantee. They then open a claim with PayPal which I contest, which the end result is the buyer getting his money back. I have appealed this multiple times and provided all the screenshots of the eBay messages between me and the buyer along with the screenshots of the transactions but according to PayPal this is not enough evidence. Not sure where to go now with this as I’ve now been scammed out of both my money and my product and whatever evidence I supply doesn’t seem to be enough. Is it worth taking to trading standards or the small claims court in this scenario? Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers

[sharpiemarker]

@Smithy8492 

PayPal and eBay have different disputes policies. Digital goods not covered at PayPal under seller protection. Sell it at your own risk. Its hard to prove delivery with digital goods because there is no tracking number.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/ua/seller-protection?locale.x=en_GB

10 What are examples of items/transactions/cases that are not eligible for PayPal seller protection?

1. For:
   1. payment recipients with their registered address outside the UK: digital goods and licences for digital content.
   2. payment recipients with their registered address in the UK: intangible items (including digital goods and licences for digital content) and services.
      Where PayPal in its own discretion may make certain intangible items (including digital goods and licences for digital content) and/or services eligible from time to time, unless otherwise agreed in writing with PayPal, the following will always remain ineligible:
      1. Items equivalent to cash (including, without limitation, stored value items such as gift cards and pre-paid cards).
      2. Payments made in respect of financial products and investments.
      3. Donations.
2. Items that you deliver (or are picked up) in person (except for items for which you received payment through the PayPal Location Based Payments Functionality).
3. Transactions processed otherwise than through the buyer’s PayPal account. For example, if the payment was received as a direct card payment (including through Zong, Website Payment Pro, Virtual Terminal and PayPal Here) or as a PayPal guest checkout transaction, then it is not eligible for coverage.
4. Reversals for Significantly Not as Described and/ or claims filed directly with marketplaces.
5. PayPal Business Payments.
6. Payments made in respect of gold (whether in physical form or in exchange-traded form).
7. PayPal Mass Payment transactions

6 Eligibility Requirements

What are the eligibility requirements for PayPal seller protection?

You must meet all of these requirements to be covered:

1. The transaction is not ineligible under section 10.
2. The transaction must be marked by PayPal as eligible or partially eligible for PayPal seller protection on your Account “Transaction Details” page. If it is marked eligible, protection for both Unauthorised Payments and Item Not Received will apply. If it is marked partially eligible, protection for only Item Not Received will apply.
3. For tangible items, post the item to the shipping address on the “Transaction Details” page. If the item is delivered in person or if the payment recipient posts the item to a different address (for example, if the buyer asks that you send to another address on the basis that it is a “work address” or a “gift” address) then you will not be eligible for re-imbursement under the terms of the programme.

You may access the “Transactions Details” page by logging into your PayPal Account, selecting “History” and then selecting “Details” for the transaction.

1. Follow the delivery requirements described below.
2. Accept only a single payment from one PayPal Account for the purchase.
3. Respond to PayPal’s requests for documentation and other information that is reasonably required by PayPal to investigate the matter in a timely manner.
4. Your primary residence, as listed in your PayPal Account, is in [the Relevant Country].
5. Your eligibility is not otherwise suspended.

7 What are the delivery requirements?

	Protection for Unauthorised Payment	Protection for Item Not Received
Postage requirements	For services and intangible items (in countries where such transactions are eligible for PayPal seller protection): Proof of Delivery For all other transactions: Proof of Postage (minimum) or Proof of Delivery	Proof of Delivery

8 What is “Proof of Postage”?

Online or physical documentation from a postal company that includes all of the following:

1. A status of “shipped” (or equivalent) and the date of postage
2. The recipient’s address, showing at least the city/county or postcode (or international equivalent).
3. Official acceptance from the shipping company (for example, a postmark, a receipt, or online tracking information). Or, if you have Proof of Delivery then you do not need Proof of Postage.

9 What is “Proof of Delivery”?

Proof of Delivery for tangible items means online documentation from a postal company that includes all of the following:

1. A status of “delivered” (or equivalent) and the date of delivery.
2. The recipient’s address, showing at least the city/county or postcode (or international equivalent).

Proof of Delivery for intangible items and services means any compelling evidence (as determined by PayPal) to show the sale was fulfilled, including but not limited to the following information:

1. The date the item or service was provided.
2. The recipient’s address (for instance, email/IP) where applicable.

You can take the buyer to small claims court. They're the ones that have your money.

And let's say you did win the PayPal dispute, whose to say buyer won't do credit card chargeback, which is what PayPal might want to avoid because with chargeback, you get charged an extra fee on top of the amount disputed and still you won't be protected because PayPal doesn't cover digital goods.

Selling digital game goods as a private seller, is very high risk for scams in general so one must consider this and whether such transaction is a good fit with PayPal and if you did some research, you will realize it isn't.

[Smithy8492]

Thanks for the response, appears as though the entire system is flawed to allow scammers to exploit. What makes it worse is that eBay (With PayPal as their payment provider) allow these goods to be listed on eBay with this lack of protection for the seller even with proof of delivery through messages. My only issue with going through small claims court is that it could end up costing me further if the claim is rebuffed like it has been through PayPal and also if by some miracle I did manage to win, could the buyer then go down another avenue I.e. cancelling the payment through credit card and then we’re back to step one all over again. Unfortunately looks as though the person that has done this to me is experienced in doing this, it’s just a disgrace that PayPal and eBay allow it to happen.