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Ebay and PayPal / Buyer Protection = More Risk to Seller


regarding the discussion below, about the Daytona stolen after shipment by Abel, here are a couple of thoughts re ebay and PayPal:

  • Buyers became scared of EBay, so EBay has now changed many rules in some important ways to protect the Buyers; for example, Sellers cannot even leave negative feedback about Buyers . . . only Positive and maybe Neutral, but no negatives

  • EBay has also added many protections for the Buyer; of course, protections for the Buyers amount to risks for the Sellers; this is the way it must work; EBay wants Buyers to feel comfortable, so they change many rules to leave the Sellers at risk

  • EBay now owns PayPal, so they work together in all this; they also seek to get the double-dip on fees -- first EBay fees on the auction, then PayPal fees on the payment;

  • so now PayPal has this same goal -- trying to protect the Buyers at the expense of the Sellers; Seller is exposed to huge risk of charge-back through the credit cards; for example, Buyer says that watch was broken or not as described, and charges-back through the credit card that is used to fund the EBay payment; as with EBay, the more they try to protect the Buyers, the more there is risk for the Sellers

  • Ebay tries to earn more fees, and protect more Buyers, by requiring that many EBay auctions must accept PayPal. This is an outrageous, awful requirement. Why can Seller not insist on bank wire or bank check, like in the old days? How can you sell expensive item, and ship to a stranger, and be left with this risk of PayPal credit card charge-back and EBay buyer protection? Significant risks for sellers!!

  • There are some solutions, at least here in the U.S. -- ship only to verified addresses in the U.S., and do not accept PayPal for International shipments; I am uncertain whether or not this is consistent with EBay rules, but it is the only way for a Seller to have any protection; Seller still has many risks; Seller should accept only bank wire for high-price items.


All this buyer protection, seller protection, charge-back stuff is very technical and very difficult to understand. One thing that is very easy to understand -- EBay and PayPal are determined to add more protections for Buyers; the only way to do this is to add more risk for Sellers. This is the unfortunate reality. So now, we can only say, "Let the seller beware". Unfortunate, but true.

So who else has suggestions for the Sellers?

Jeff

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