Here's our situation. Very similar to what is described above. We sold an item via Ebay, the item arrived broken, the buyer contacted us and sent photo's. The photo's show no damage to the box and the item was broken on both ends. The buyer says packing was bad and it is possible that things shifted inside the box but the packing was solid when we shipped the item as we had bubble wrap, airbags and paper all inside so there was no movement of the item in the box. Ok, the money was released to us that the buyer paid and was removed from the account. We followed Ebays policy to the letter. We contacted them as soon as the buyer alerted us the item was damaged and following Ebays rules, they told us to have the buyer send the item back and NOT TO REFUND UNTIL IT ARRIVES! So, we checked Paypal this morning and we had $17.00 in the account. We're not aware of any issues. Then everything seems to get tossed on it's head. Not only does Paypal withdraw the money the buyer paid us putting that into arrears, but another payment was put on hold as well and today happens to be the day our Ebay fees are deducted from our Paypal account so that now our Ebay account is **bleep** up. Ebay says we followed all their rules and that the problem is on Paypals end. But, how can it be on Paypals end when the buyer hasn't filed a grievance apparently other than to notify Ebay the item arrived damaged which is either the buyers fault or something happened between here and there with USPS. Now, thankfully we had the item insured with USPS. They sent the money yesterday by check but it won't be in my bank account until Monday or Tuesday. We HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE ITEM BACK FROM THE BUYER so we cannot send the refund until that arrives. Likewise, now our Ebay account has restrictions thanks to this. Our Paypal account is messed up thanks to this. The buyer has been very courteous and understanding so we don't fault him. USPS paid us the insurance fee following their policies to the letter so we don't fault them. Ebays policies were followed to the letter and we don't fault them because it's all there in black and white confirming that all parties involved so far have followed the due process they set in motion. Now we examine Paypals policies and here's where all the trouble comes in because while everyone else is on the same track, you have derailed the entire thing by taking a 15 MPH turn at 250 MPH traveling backwards. None of the parties involved are hostile, demanding or threatening one another. We all thought the rules and procedures were being followed properly... the seller, the buyer and the store all are in agreement to wait til the item returns BEFORE ANY ACTIONS ARE TAKEN. But it seems none of us considered that Paypal might be the one **bleep** in the chain not on the same page. From reading here and on Ebays website, it seems a lot of sellers are having issues either because of holds placed on their Paypal accounts or their stores at Ebay being restricted or closed because Paypal has somehow become involved and their policies contradict and conflict with Ebays stated policies on handling matters like this. If we had known that Ebays policies are not all we need to worry about, we would have left the money right where it was until after the item arrived and the buyer said they were satisfied. Again, we didn't send the item to the buyer damaged. It was well packed. There is no damage to the box and unless someone else opened it up along the way, the packing inside should have been more than enough to protect it unless some unexpected shifting happened. All that said, now we worry we'll have negatives on our Paypal and Ebay accounts for something Paypal caused as everyone else seems to be happy with the process so far and we haven't even received negative feedback or complaints filed from the buyer as he seems to understand it was damaged in shipment. So maybe Paypal needs to examine it's policies in relation to Ebay and make some adjustments as we are honest sellers, paid for insurance at our own expense (because the item was over $50.00 in value) and are trying to get a small business going. We want to trust Paypal for our future transactions but this has been a total cluster**** on Paypals part that has severely damaged our trust in your service even as it has damaged Ebays trust in us apparently. Since they prefer to be paid their fees by Paypal and it's the weekend, we're scrambling to find another way to pay the Ebay fees since they must be paid today. I ask only that you examine your policies in regard to Ebays policies and that you put yourself on the same page with them since you handle the bulk of their sales which means you handle the bulk of our sales and this is not a satisfactory experience for anyone including Paypal. Just takes getting your policies and Ebays policies on the same page to prevent these type of unsatisfactory matters from happening so let's get this done shall we?
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