seller protection policy

bella4uk

Hi, firstly thanks to those who advised me on another thread but I'm starting a new one to try to clarify things. The thing that was worrying me was that I was unaware that paypal can take money off you if a buyer reclaims...I prefer to be paid by paypal, mainly for convenience and was under the impression it was safe. I have shipped things to unconfirmed addresses without a worry and not knowing what it means, I've since taken the time to read up on this and I'm relieved that so far have had no problems. I would still like to use paypal , I have read the policy but to be honest things like that make no sense to me!...So basically asking if it is a common occurence for paypal to reclaim....? If you have proof of sending an item within 7 days, can a buyer reclaim?....and is it very unwise to ship to an unconfirmed address.
thanks in advance

nightswimmer

bella4uk wrote:

So basically asking if it is a common occurence for paypal to reclaim....?

I think it is becoming more common, but for most sellers I think it is still an uncommon occurance. I've been selling a year and only ever had one happen to me and that was because the person's account had been hacked.

If you have proof of sending an item within 7 days, can a buyer reclaim?

PayPal require more than proof of sending, they also need you to use a trackable method of shipping, i.e. Special Delivery.

Because this increases the P&P charge, what some people do is just get a proof of posting certificate from the Post Office, and if the buyer claims the item hasn't been delievered and PayPal grants a chargeback, they then make a claim at the Post Office for that lost item. That only covers you up to £30 though, so for items over that, you should use Special Delivery.

Because I sell low priced items and can't get to the PO easily, I just take the risk and factor in any losses due to undelivered items into my costs.

....and is it very unwise to ship to an unconfirmed address.

Again,, this depends on what you are selling. I don't worry about it because a lot of people have a hard time getting their PayPal address verified (I know I did - it took months), but again, as I sell cheap items I can take that risk. Other people selling higher priced items might insist on only receiving PayPal payments from people with confirmed addresses. Some items (electrical for example) seem to be more prone to scammers than others, so again, this is another factor as to how much of a risk it is.

soolin

I've probably taken over 2500 payments by paypal and have never had a chargeback of any kind (I Know, I should touch wood!).

I send to any paypal address, I rarely even check if the address is confirmed or not. In fact, although it is not a paypal issue the one thing I have found is that a confirmed and verified address is not sufficient for a claim to the Royal mail. On two occasions i have sent something to a buyer which was not delivered and the Royal mail refused to refund as the addresses were not listed on their database, one of them was a major UK university!

I think that people are wary of what payment methods they have had problems with, all my problems have been with cheques so I naturally distrust them. Whereas some people have had a bad experience with paypal so distruct that.

Soo

bella4uk

Thanks, it's just good to be informed, quite often I sell things for £30 plus, I guess I will be a little more cautious. I have only started to send things recorded delivery after having a few suspect claims, it's always the minority that ruin it for the rest as people don't want to pay the higher postage, And as for paypal claiming the money back, there is something very wrong about that, you'd think they get plenty off us already!

soolin

bella4uk wrote:

Thanks, it's just good to be informed, quite often I sell things for £30 plus, I guess I will be a little more cautious. I have only started to send things recorded delivery after having a few suspect claims, it's always the minority that ruin it for the rest as people don't want to pay the higher postage, And as for paypal claiming the money back, there is something very wrong about that, you'd think they get plenty off us already!

If you are selling items over £30 then you must send them via special delivery. Standard post and recorded delivery only covers items up to £30.

The insurance that special delivery gives is for your benefit not for your buyers protection, so it should never be offered as an option, items over £30 *must* go special. Also, be aware that even sending something special delivery won't stop a paypal chargeback if that item is subsequently showing as undelivered. It is a common misconception that just sending something recorded is sufficient, however, it must also show as delivered.

Soo

nightswimmer

bella4uk wrote:

Thanks, it's just good to be informed, quite often I sell things for £30 plus, I guess I will be a little more cautious. I have only started to send things recorded delivery after having a few suspect claims, it's always the minority that ruin it for the rest as people don't want to pay the higher postage, And as for paypal claiming the money back, there is something very wrong about that, you'd think they get plenty off us already!

If I understand it correctly, and maybe someone else can confirm this, Recorded Delivery isn't enough for PayPal as it isn't trackable (as daft as that sounds). So if your item reaches the person and they claim it didn't, you might lose the PayPal chargeback, and on topof that, you won't be able to claim back from the PO because their records will say it was delivered and signed for.

Like I say, I am not 100% sure about that so maybe someone else can confirm?

You are right though, it is the minority who spoil things. :mad: