I have been using paypal and eBay for many years now, mainly without issue it must be said. However, I am increasingly concerned by the possibility of chargebacks. I have very carefully read Paypals T&C's this morning, and they pretty much state that you have ZERO protection against chargebacks, and Paypal have ZERO obligation to assist or 'fight your case' if it comes to it. One thing that is annoying is that the buyer has up to 120 days to reverse the payment. When I sell something on eBay, I normally do so in order to raise funds to pay for something else. Therefore, if there is a risk the payment can be reversed I normally hold fire and ensure the buyer is 100% happy before spending the money. However, with the risk of a chargeback this could essentially translate to having to hold the funds for up to 120 days until you are certain they are 'in the bank' so to speak. I do think Paypal seriously need to look at this aspect of their business, as it leaves sellers open and particularly vunerable to this type of fraud. And before anyone says ''so long as you comply to the seller protection rules you'll be safe'' - if you fully read the T&C's it is clear that this is NOT the case. Even if you provide postage tracking info etc, it's entirely down to the discretion of Paypal as to whether they decide to investigate the case and help you out. The investigation is actually done by the credit card company and NOT Paypal. So this leads me onto my question: What I want to know is can you check to see what method of payment a buyer has used to send you money (i.e. credit card/debit card etc) this would enable you to see whether you need to prepare yourself to be **bleep** by a chargeback. Eg, if they have used a credit card to send the money, then there will be the possibility of a chargeback for up to 120 days after receiving the payment. What has actually happened in this case, is that I have sold a pair of trainers to a chap outside of eBay but using paypal. While I am fully aware this removes an element of pretoection provided by eBay, it also means I don't get **bleep** for fees any more than is necessary (eBay have increased them to a point where it's hardly worth using the service anymore). He has sent the payment normally via paypal (for goods and services) not as a gift (for his own protection of course) but I get the feeling from reviewing his feedback and the fact his account has recently become suspended that he is not as honest as he professes to be, so I am considering refunding him entirely and just putting them on eBay to sell them. If he has sent the payment using a credit card there is a risk he will get the shoes then just use a chargeback to essentially get them FOC. It's a fairly high value item (£140) so want to be sure I am fully protected. Thanks.
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