Is Hiring A Game Developer As A Service And Paying Through Paypal Covered By Paypal Buyer Protection

[TMooney76]

Hi!

I was touch in touch with a very nice developer who is an experienced C sharp programmer. I would like to hire him for some work, overall this would cost some money and I would pay him in milestones. Instead of going through a freelancing service he said he preferred using Paypal and Paypal buyer protection! After having checked it out and seeing what is covered and not covered, I am not exactly sure if this falls under the services that would qualify for protection to get a refund under the unfortunate circumstances by which I would need it. Due to the current situation in the world, I have not been able to make contact with support and thought I would ask the community instead to see if anyone knows the answer.

If this is covered by buyer protection I would also like to know what the best way to approach it is, so that I have a good case in the event in which I would need a refund. And also if clocking services and goods during the payment automatically activates Paypal buyer protection. Thanks a lot in advance!

[sharpiemarker]

@TMooney76 

Sorry for the long spiel.

I seem to recall from observation of the forums that cases such as these can go either way. It really depends on the circumstance of the case, and each person's side of story told to PayPal in the dispute.  

Seller may not be able to give adequate proof of delivery can lose and buyers who claim the goods/services was significantly not as described cannot give adequate proof that the goods/services they receive was not as described. ie, you paid for game development and received game development, but you lose because PayPal doesn't warranty the works' performance or meeting expectations.

Keep in mind that PayPal purchase protection is not a guarantee, warranty or insurance so it does have its limitations.

If you're concerned about protection, go through a freelancing site instead or pay with credit card that has good purchase protection terms. Tell the developer that you've read through paypal's purchase protection and feel that it is inadequate and request that you go through a freelance site (who may accept PayPal but have their own escrow). If they refuse, best to keep it movin'. If you go through PayPal to pay, ask seller for a PayPal invoice with "allow partial payments" enabled. Caveat being that it is not meant to be a credit product so you can't have too many payments on it. Here is more info about that:

"Allow partial payments

If you want to accept a deposit or partial payment from your customer, check the Allow partial payment box at the bottom of your invoice. You can also set a minimum amount. Your customer can then make a full payment, pay the minimum, or pay an amount greater than the minimum.

Your invoice will have a Partially Paid status until it’s paid in full. The amount paid will also appear on the invoice for both you and your customer.

The partial payments feature allows your customers to make multiple payments toward the full balance of one invoice, rather than you having to submit multiple invoices. It is not intended to be a credit product or to allow for an excessive number of payments to be made. PayPal may contact customers if we suspect they’re not using this feature correctly."

Seller can also use PayPal's Estimates feature.

Creating estimates

Create and send professional estimates to provide your customers with the expected cost and description of your goods or services. PayPal estimates let you share details about your goods or services so that customers can approve the cost or request changes.

Creating estimates is very similar to creating invoices. Just like invoices, you can add your logo, save item descriptions, work from templates, and customize the estimate number. You can save estimates as templates to use for future invoices and estimates. You can also use existing templates to create new estimates.

Sending estimates

To send an estimate from the Create Estimate page, you’ll usually enter your customer’s email address and the estimate will be sent directly to your customer by PayPal’s platform. However, you can also share the estimate outside of PayPal by selecting Share link myself under the Send action. We’ll provide you with a link displaying your customer’s view of the invoice. After you click Copy, you can share the estimate through your own email, in a text message, or however you’d like. Because estimates contain your customers’ personal information, never share the estimate link in a public forum.

After you send an estimate

When you send an estimate through PayPal, your customer will receive an email notifying them of the estimate and allowing them to view the estimate details. The customer will be able to accept the estimate or request changes.

When a customer accepts an estimate, you’ll receive an email notifying you. After they accept the estimate, you’ll be prompted to convert the estimate into an invoice.

If your customer requests changes, you’ll receive an email notification. Your customer will be able to include a note regarding these changes. When you update the estimate, your customer will receive an email notification asking them to review and accept your changes.

If you update the details on an estimate after a customer has accepted it, the estimate status will revert back to “Sent.” This ensures your customer knows the estimate has been updated and accepts your changes.

If needed, you can always cancel your estimate. When you cancel an estimate, your customer will receive an email notifying them of the cancellation.

Convert an estimate to an invoice

You can convert your estimate to an invoice at any time. In addition, if your customer contacts you outside of PayPal to accept the estimate, you can convert the estimate into an invoice.

When you convert an estimate, all details—including your customer’s email, item descriptions, discounts, terms, etc.—are automatically transferred into the draft invoice. Any payment options you’ve selected, such as partial payments or tips, are also transferred. You’ll be able to edit and preview this invoice before sending it to your customer.

Manage your estimates

You can review all your estimates on the Manage Estimates page via the Manage drop-down menu. From this page, you can view details for sent estimates and invoiced estimates, convert sent estimates into invoices, edit and send draft emails, share links to estimates, create PDFs of estimates, and cancel estimates.

Your responsibility

PayPal estimates is a convenient tool to make it easier for you to communicate with your customers. All estimates and updates are between you and your customer and PayPal is not a party to them. You are entirely responsible for the details provided, whether they are binding or not, and any understanding you reach with your customers. You take full responsibility for your use of PayPal estimates.