eBay Plus PayPal Equals Nightmare – if you’re a seller
I am sorry to say that it looks like eBay Australia may win it claim to use PayPal as the only means of payment for all sales on its site. For sellers, this could be the worst situation possible.
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As a former seller through eBay and having used PayPal as a payment option, I have found that sellers have little in the way of rights and no protection at all from unscrupulous buyers.
As a seller you can offer products for sale. Part of the sale process includes delivery of the item. In Australia, there are several delivery options available that range from standard surface mail through to signature delivery. Each options has a range of costs. Signature delivery requiring the payment of an additional three dollars – not a lot.
In the past, I have sold through eBay and always insisted that if PayPal was used, then the extra $3 had to be paid for signature delivery. Following a complaint from a buyer, eBay insisted that I remove that requirement from my listings. This meant that a buyer could pay $200 for an item, $20 for postage with no proof of delivery and pay via PayPal.
That is all fine. However, as a seller you are at a huge disadvantage now. The buyer pays, you post the item off and the deal is complete. Not quite. The buyer then complains that the item has not arrived. As a seller, what can you do? You have posted the item in good faith. The buyer has refused to pay for the extra proof of delivery or signature delivery so you have no proof of postage.
At this stage it is your word against theirs. You say you posted the item, they claim not to have received it. They now lodge a claim with PayPal and guess what – if you cannot prove the item was sent, they refund the money to the buyer and take it out of your account. Now you are left with no product, no money and both PayPal and eBay have had their pound of flesh.
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To add insult to injury, the buyer has the product and their money back. Yes – it is a big con (I prefer the term fraud) that is known and exploited quite cleverly by a small group.
This has happened to me twice now. The first time I actually tricked the buyer into believing that a relative worked at his local post office and remembered handing him the parcel. He admitted he had received and would send it back to me – of course he didn’t.
The second time the person in question waited about six weeks after the refund had been issued to then send me an email stating there was a problem with the product and wanted a replacement – the cheek – I reminded them of the ‘non receipt’ complaint and of course heard no more from them.
Both times I forwarded these emails to both eBay and PayPal to investigate possible fraud. On both occasions nothing was done. This is a serious flaw in the eBay – PayPal arrangement and if Australia goes down the path of allowing eBay to use PayPal as its only means of payment, many more sellers will be stung.
If your a seller – insist on receipted delivery. Don’t make it an option, just include it in the cost of delivery. If you don’t – watch out you don’t get ripped off. If you have a non receipt claim made – fight it. In the mean time – I am using a rival online auction house that has far lower fees, looks after both the seller and the buyer and has proven profitable – checkout oztion.com if you ever get a chance.
You raise some good points. I have only ever bought with eBay, each time with credit card through paypal. No doubt some competition for paypal and ebay will make the situaiton fairer for sellers.
I have thought about this many times when I hand my package over to the carrier. Luckily none of my sales have ever tried the package did not arrive trick, but I know it will happen eventually. I do know that as a buyer you aren’t always home to receive the item, but there are ways around this. These carriers will deliver it next door and get the signature there, so it should not be where Ebay restricts you from using the option.
Yeah, it’s definitely a problem – you should also consider insurance on the item and making that a mandatory cost (insurance covers the poster, not the receiver, so don’t make it optional on expensive items).
If someone says they didn’t receive the parcel, email them back and let them know that you’ll ring the post office and get them to investigate (logging a complaint at both the sending and receiving post office)… won’t do much, but if you make it sound official enough it might scare them enough to make them rethink their claim.
It’s a problem not just in your country, but mine as well. Ebay is all for the buyers. The fees that sellers are having to pay are ridiculous. Thanks for sharing.
Just thought of something fairly easy that won’t cost you $3 — Assuming you already have a camera! Film yourself putting the parcel (with the address clearly visible) in the post box. This should help with PayPal complaints…
I sold a heavy book through e-bay. It was in good condition and i described it as acceptable (very worn, and ugly but functional was my words). The price was 200 dollars. Three months later, paypal claimed that they sent me notice of dispute and I didn’t reply, so they took the money off my account. The buyer didn’t return the book, and I lost 40 dollars in UPS shipping.
I think between paypal and ebay and theiving buyers, sellers are scr***ed every which way. Never mind about refunding e-bay fees.
Oh, and the buyer’s complaint? The book is worn. Huh?
hi every one,i also sell on ebay and not happy with ebay changes,so i have changed the way i sell,cash on pick up only,i thought my sales would slow down because can only sell to local buyers ,but its been working well and i dont have to pack and run around droping items at courier companys and the chance of negative feedback was reduced to 0,all my buyers pick up and test it on the spot so they know what they payed for,and pay pal is not making 1 cent from me and i still make a good living from ebay,eat shit pay pal ,also the tax man can’t see what i am turning over every year,cash in hand,damn pay pal i hate to say it but you helped me to make my business even better ,and lowered my tax bill,no more cheques or bank deposits,thank you again there is a god out there
Gail K of Canada bought an item from me totaling $261.00. Didn’t pay for insurance, but unfortunately for her I did. So I shipped and she never picked up her package and instead filed a claim against me for non receipt to Paypal. I verified everything and sent documents. She then went and got her package and never dropped the claim. PayPal is still reviewing and of course has my money locked. Until she (Gail) releases it. So Ms. Gail has her item and my money. SCAMMER!!!!