Padoobies

I admit that situation sucks. PayPal only lets you dispute anything through them for upto 45 days after the purchase date. What happens with a charge back is that the credit card company that the buyer funded the transaction with granted buyer a charge back, and took the money back from PayPal, so PayPal took it form the seller. If the buyer's credit card had not granted the chargeback, that would have never happened. I completely agree that is a shitty situation, and like I said, I don't agree with all their poilicies, I was just trying to be informative.

Wow, I honestly was not trying to take sides one way or the other. I was just trying to let eveyone know how PayPal makes their decisions (and where their rules are: User Agreement). I was just hoping to give some info so people could avoid issues. If you'd rather avoid issues by not using PayPal; that's totally cool too.

I actually work for PayPal here in Omaha Ne and I do dispute resolutions, so I decide cases all day. Here are how things break down for ease, I'll just cover the eBay rules (slightly different rules apply if you buy elsewhere): There are two types of cases: "Not as Described" and "Non-Receipt" For a non receipt case it is simple, tracking info and signature confirmation is king. If the buyer says they never got an item, the only thing we have to go on is tracking information. If the tracking information shows delivered (for an item under $250), or shows that the item was delivered AND SIGNED FOR (for an item over $250) then the seller will win. Period. If there is no proof of delivery, or no signature confirmation, there is no proof that the buyer ever got the item so they will win and get their money back. The most common complaints from sellers in these cases is that the buyer did not want or pay for tracking information so they did not ship it with tracking info. The tracking info is to protect the seller, not the buyer. I sell on-line all the time and I never give the buyer the option for tracking it is mandatory, and I pass the extra couple of dollar cost on to them. If they don't like it, they are free to buy from someone else, but I will not ship without tracking. The other type of case is "Not as Described" where the buyer and seller are at odds about the condition of an item in relationship to the auction description. These are always a he said - she said type of argument, and since PayPal was not able to see the condition of the item exactly when it arrived (the buyer and sellers always offer to provide photos, but it makes no difference, as we can't prove exactly when the photos were taken or what happened between when the photos were taken and now). So in this type of case where it's one person's word against the other the best that we can do is just try to put the parties back to where they were before the transaction happened. They seller will get their item back, and the buyer will get their money back. The same rules about tracking apply when the buyer returns an item as with a non-receipt claim; the buyer will not get a refund until the tracking shows that the item has been delivered back to the seller. In regards to money: PayPal seizes the money from the account of the seller when a claim is filed, and held until the outcome of the case is decided and we know whether to transfer the money back to the seller, or to the buyer. If there is an insufficient amount in the seller's account the balance will go negative. If the seller wins, the money will be put back and the negative balance will be resolved. If the seller loses, their account will be frozen until the balance is restored. If the balance is never restored, the account will be closed, and you will be sent to collections, and it will affect your credit. Also FYI, PayPal cannot take money form your bank account without you initiating the transaction. So they can't just go and take your money, but what they CAN do is if the amount you are negative is small, they will not freeze your account, and the next time you make another PayPal transaction they will add the negative amount to the transaction you just authorized and take the money then. That is the basics of the decision making. Is it perfect for everyone, no. Are there things about it I would change if I could? You bet. But none-the-less there it is, and I think it's always better to be informed and know the rules before you buy or sell. By the way, this is all spelled out in detail in the user agreement that you have to click "I Accept" to before you can even open a PayPal account. It's just that no-one takes the time to read it.