PayPal Community

@Airhaun    Usually the dispute stage of the claim is for negotiations between buyer and seller but if the buyer doesn't want to bother and they say they have already contacted you via Ebay then they can escalate it straight to a claim, paypal does not escalate only a buyer or seller can do that.   So paypal only gets involved once its a claim, in the event of an item received but not as described dispute it is always one persons word against anothers so paypal make a judgement call, and yes they do tend to favour the buyer but normally (unless its a chargeback done via their credit card issuer) they have to return the item back to your first before you have to refund.   To be honest in most countries buyers have the right to return items within a certain period of time to a seller for a refund if they say the item was misdescribed.   Sadly you being a 'good' seller does not surpass the fact that the buyer may well have been a 'good' buyer as well and you can supply all the evidence you want but what you say you sent and what you sent ''may'' be 2 different things....as far as Paypal would be aware.   Think you have to put the fact of the odd bad sale down to one of the risks of online selling. ... View more

Hello @mayabradley and @Airhaun,   I'm sorry to hear that a dispute was not found in your favor. When a buyer claims an item is 'Significantly not as described', this does not mean that the seller is ineligible for Seller Protection. As you can imagine, it is extremely difficult for us to reach a decision that satisfies all parties. We review all cases objectively and with the intention of making a fair decision based on the verifiable information that is available at the time. PayPal works hard to protect all customers from the risks of selling and buying online, but there is a limit to what we can do. PayPal asks sellers and buyers to understand that not all risks can be covered by PayPal and they have to make informed decisions as to how online sales and purchases are completed. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. ... View more

Yes, it's a loophole. It appears a seller (with very little to no proof) can file a claim siting item not as described as the reason.  They can also contact their financial institution and dispute the charge for the item. Either one of these seems to nearly guarantee a refund to the buyer, regardless of what information the seller is able to provide. ... View more

Yes, this same thing just happened to me. The buyer lied and said a laptop I sold did not power on. PayPal escelated this to a claim without allowing any time prior requring buyer to communicating issue to me for resolution. I received an email the claim was filed, after disputing and submitting documents the refund was approved a few days later. When the laptop returned I filmed the unboxing and powering on proving there was nothing wrong with the laptop to warrant a refund, take my my money and require me to accept the item. Over Fri. & Sat. I called to lodge an appeal, spoke with 5 different PayPal customers, was given 4 different email addresses and told to send the video, pictures. Today I get an email asking me to show proof the item is damaged. Very concerning considering I am the one advocating the laptop is not damamged, works just fine and the seller filed a false claim and no seller protectiosn were afforded.    After calling today I was told by a PayPal supervisor I'm lucky to have gotten the item returned and should be thankful. Apparently PayPal's Seller protections are ineligable if the claim is filed under "Item not as described". Also if the Seller files a dispute with their financial institution it turns out it's expensive for PayPal to fight this and despite it being incorrect, cheaper to issue a refund than side with the Seller. ... View more

I'm am also battle PayPal over issuing a refund to a seller who opened a claim under false pretenses. Did your buyer open the claim under any issues relating to 'Item not as described'? Did the buyer file a dispute with their financial institution? In my numerous phone calls to PayPal support and research on these forums, it appears PayPal's default response to either of these 2 scenarios it to issue a refund.  ... View more

@SquidSale    Aggravating reply? Really? I just said I didn't have time to read all of it (true) and to edit it, when I saw a reply I came back to see if they had edited it so I could help, instead it was your post....which didn't help them any either did it.     ... View more

Don't you feel victimized? You do everything you're supposed to, follow the rules and no protection when someone tries to take advantage and wrong you.   I'm currently going through the same issue. Sold a laptop 2 months ago. Messaging the buyer twice I finally got payment after almost 4 days. Buyer then threatens to open an ebay and paypal claim if the laptop doesn't arrive on-time. Fast forward 2 months, I get an email from paypal to find out this buyer opened a paypal claim saying the laptop didn't work, 2 months later. Buyer states they tried to contact me multiple times, I received nothing. I responded explaining this all. Paypal just notified me they are issuing a full refund and awaiting shipping info from the buyer.    What ended up happening in your case? ... View more

I also would like to know what is viewable in the Resultion Center. Can both partys see each other's statements and attached documents? ... View more

I sold my old laptop on ebay 2 months ago. The buyer behaved strangely, took almost 4 days to pay then sends a msg threatening to file an ebay claim if the package doesn't arrive the same day UPS tracking says it will. The package was delivered on April 16th as UPS reported and I haven't heard anything since.... until a couple days ago.  I get an email from Paypal informing me the buyer has filed a claim stating they opened the box and the laptop will not turn on, they claim they have repeatedly tried to contact me but they didn't receive a response and want a refund It's been nearly 2 months since the laptop was delivered. I have not received any msgs on ebay, paypal or other personal email accounts from this person. In the paypal dispute, the buyer states they attached a screenshot as proof showing one of the attempts to contact me. There is no file, no screenshot visible attached to the dispute. I responded to the dispute with a detailed letter and 4 supporting documents attached (which are visible and clickable). After a couple days paypal informs me they've decided to refund the money and have the item returned! So apparently, all you have to do is start a claim, say that the item doesn't work and seller is ignoring you and PayPal will issue a refund.  I am not settling for this and will be looking into it further. There is nothing legitimate about this claim and no justification for PayPal to take this money.   ... View more