Seller Beware

[Russianwolf]

Watch out if you are selling items using paypal

I posted a piece on my blog about a recent problem.
http://michaelshue.blogspot.com/

[cgallery]

Interesting read, thanks.

PayPal has quietly (but absolutely) adopted a anti-seller bias over the last four years. Basically, PayPal does what Visa/MC member banks do.

These policies evolved decades ago. Charge card issuers knew two things: (1) Spending any amount of time investigating disputes is extremely expensive, and there are lots of disputes. (2) Taking an anti-seller bias results in fewer resulting lawsuits than a pro-seller bias.

PayPal is huge, but they are nothing when it comes to the Visa/MC bank members. If someone uses a CC to pay a merchant via PayPal, and then disputes the charge with Visa/MC, the bank will get every cent of the customer's money back. The bank members will figuratively stand on PayPal's neck until they cough it up. Because of this (and the reasons above), PayPal decided to just adopt the same policies to keep things simple.

While this sucks for sellers, all is not lost. The Visa/MC associations are developing new systems that will allow them to weed-out problem card holders. Dispute too many charges, and you'll find your card gets yanked. You'll be able to apply to another bank (you won't be blacklisted), but repeatedly bullying merchants into compliance will result in accounts being quickly closed, really hitting your credit score and causing new cards to be issued at substantially higher interest rates.

Once this is achieved, PayPal will undoubtedly adjust their policies again.

[dealweb]

So when you shipped the item the second time you didn't get a tracking # to show that you shipped it back to the seller?

Is there any way to charge a "restocking" fee?

[Tom Slick]

I had a similar situation a month ago, which I posted here about, but the buyer wasn't pushy, just persistent. I clearly stated no returns on the listing. I ended up taking the return just to avoid this kind of garbage. There is no recourse for sellers unless it is a major issue.

I now put a specific disclaimer on the listing which reads:

Buyer pays return shipping. I will charge a 10% return fee. No returns for freight damaged goods, please process the claim through the shipping insurance.



btw, I took the glasses back and resold them for a greater amount than the first time I sold them.

[crokett]

Milke,

It is extremely frustrating when someone won't explain how they arrived at the decision they arrived at. You handled it as well as you could.